appearing to hold whispering discourse with their benefactor, who
fondly caressed and chirruped to them in turn. He was of middling stature,
perceptibly and painfully deformed; but his countenance was such an one as
Raphael would have loved to portray--holy, placid, and spiritual, beyond
any mortal face I have looked upon before or since. His voice was
inexpressibly touching and melodious; it thrilled the heart of the
listener, for there was an intonation of sadness in its tone, though the
words were cheerful, as he cordially and warmly welcomed us. We followed
him into a long, low-roofed apartment, the windows of which looked out on
woodland vistas, and on all sides, from floor to ceiling, it was lined
with books, and cases containing stuffed birds, for Mr. Edwin was devoted
to the study of ornithology, and almost rivaled Audubon in patient
watching and research. A married couple, of quiet and orderly habits,
formed the domestic establishment at Ivy Lodge; and the profound stillness
and solitude of this sylvan retreat was unbroken, save by the cooing of
the cushat dove, the song-birds' varied notes, the sonorous hooting of the
white owl up among the eaves, and the occasional screams of the splendid
peacocks ringing through the greenwood glades.

Here was the paradise of the feathered creatures, here they were all
fostered and protected; and Mr. Edwin had attained the mysterious art of
taming the wild denizens of the woods as surely and wonderfully, if not
quite as rapidly, as did that celebrated Arab horse-leech exert his skill
on quadrupeds, whispering in the ear of vicious and hitherto untamable
steeds, who immediately became docile and subdued. Even shy and stately
swans knew this lonely clearing on the river banks, and frequently came to
be fed by Mr. Edwin's gentle hand; the swans had a nest here among the
reeds, and broods of cygnets were reared in this haven of peace. Mr. Edwin
had made many beautiful copies of rare birds, which he could not otherwise
preserve, the colors being brilliant and true to nature, as well as the
size of each specimen; and I felt not a little delighted when he accepted
my timid offer of assistance in this branch of his study, for I was afraid
that my poor efforts would fall far short of his masterly productions. But
Mrs. Priestly re-assured me, and she told Mr. Edwin that he had found a
valuable coadjutor, for bird-painting had always been quite a passion with
me--a strange taste, perhap