he had little but dust for his guerdon, but now fresh, juicy fruit
repays him as he swings to and fro on the pliant branches. The
blackbirds and starlings find the worms an easy prey--poor brother
worm ever ready for sacrifice. I can hear the soft expectant
chatter of the family of martins under the roof; there will be good
hunting, and they know it, for the flies are out when the rain is
over, and there are clamorous mouths awaiting. My little brown
brothers, the sparrows, remain my chief delight. Of all the birds
these nestle closest to my heart, be they grimy little cockneys or
their trim and dainty country cousins. They come day by day for
their meed of crumbs spread for them outside my window, and at this
season they eat leisurely and with good appetite, for there are no
hungry babies pestering to be fed. Very early in the morning I
hear the whirr and rustle of eager wings, and the tap, tap, of
little beaks upon the stone. The sound carries me back, for it was
the first to greet me when I rose to draw water and gather kindling
in my roadmender days; and if I slip back another decade they
survey me, reproving my laziness, from the foot of the narrow bed
in my little attic overseas.

Looking along the roadway that we have travelled we see the
landmarks, great and small, which have determined the direction of
our feet. For some those of childhood stand out above all the
rest; but I remember few notable ones, and those few the emphatic
chord of the universe, rather than any commerce with my fellows.
There was the night of my great disappointment, when I was borne
from my comfortable bed to see the wonders of the moon's eclipse.
Disappointment was so great that it sealed my lips; but, once back
on my pillow, I sobbed for grief that I had seen a wonder so far
below my expectation. Then there was a night at Whitby, when the