g; but
he's got nice, long ears, and that no other bird has. And how nice and
round his head is. Then he sits on a tree, and looks wise, as father
says. The Canary, and the mocking bird, are good enough to keep in
cages, but of all birds, give me an owl."

Thomas and Samuel laughed at this notion, but John continued:

"Thomas, did not some people, who lived a long while ago, call the owl
the 'bird of wisdom?'"

"Yes," replied Thomas. "I have heard father say that it was the
Athenians."

"That shows how wise they were," said John. "I seems to me as though
that owl, which we saw, was keeping house for poor old soldier Jack."

"Do hush about owls," said his brother, laughing; and they ran together
through the gate, and into the yard.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER III.

A VISIT TO DADDY HALL.

Next morning, Mr. Harvey told his sons that they might go to see an old
man, who lived in a small house, about two miles off, and who was so
sickly that he could not work. This old man's name was Hall, and the
boys of the school called him Daddy Hall. He had once been rich; but
sickness and misfortune had reduced him to poverty, so that he now lived
with his little son, in a small hut, near a hill. Every week he sent
fruit and vegetables to market, in a cart, drawn by a donkey, which some
of the neighbors had given to him. Every week Mr. Harvey sent either a
servant, or one of the boys, to see how he was getting along, and to
carry him something nice.

The two boys, with their cousin, were soon off, carrying with them a
basket full of things for the old man. They went by the road across the
meadows, and through a small gate in the hedge. Samuel observed, that
the hawthorn of the hedge grew very thick and close, so that a bird
could scarcely get through it. The roots and branches were twisted into
each other, appearing like strong, thick chains woven together; and on
the vines grew sharp thorns, longer than a needle. Mr. Harvey's boys
told their cousin, that neither man nor beast could get through such a
hedge; and that if a man were placed on the top, he could walk on the
vines without sinking down, they were so strong and close. "It would be
uneasy travelling, though," added John; "for his feet would be torn to
pieces by these spiky thorns."

They now left the hedge, and went on through two wide fields, until they
reached some hills that stood by themselves, and were steep and bare.
Three of them had deep pits dug i