ept an eye on Mr. Wren; and,
when he came to near, gave chase, driving him to cover under the
fence, or under a rubbish heap or other object, where the wren would
scold and rattle away, while his pursuer sat on the fence or the
pea-brush waiting for him to reappear.

Days passed, and the usurpers prospered and the outcasts were
wretched; but the latter lingered about, watching and abusing their
enemies, and hoping, no doubt, that things would take a turn, as they
presently did. The outraged wrens were fully avenged. The mother
bluebird had laid her full complement of eggs and was beginning to
set, when one day, as her mate was perched above her on the barn,
along came a boy with one of those wicked elastic slings and cut him
down with a pebble. There he lay like a bit of sky fallen upon the
grass. The widowed bird seemed to understand what had happened, and
without much ado disappeared next day in quest of another mate. How
she contrived to make her wants known, without trumpeting them about,
I am unable to say. But I presume that birds have a way of advertising
that answers the purpose well. Maybe she trusted to luck to fall in
with some stray bachelor or bereaved male who would undertake to
console a widow or one day's standing. I will say, in passing, that
there are no bachelors from choice among the birds; they are all
rejected suitors, while old maids are entirely unknown. There is a
Jack to every Jill; and some to boot.

The males, being more exposed by their song and plumage, and by being
the pioneers in migrating, seem to be slightly in excess lest the
supply fall short, and hence it sometimes happens that a few are
bachelors perforce; there are not females enough to go around, but
before the season is over there are sure to be some vacancies in the
marital ranks, which they are called on to fill.

In the mean time the wrens were beside themselves with delight; they
fairly screamed with joy. If the male was before "ruffled with
whirlwind of his ecstasies," he was now in danger of being rent
asunder. He inflated his throat and caroled as wren never caroled
before. And the female, too, how she cackled and darted about! How
busy they both were! Rushing into the nest, they hustled those eggs
out in less than a minute, wren time. They carried in new material,
and by the third day were fairly installed again in their old
headquarters; but on the third day, so rapidly are these little dramas
played, the female blue