The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-06-03
The Nie<klns HIrd.

Il
How shall describe thee, most thought
ful Of warblersl Shelley and Wilson have
slonc rcactsd tho fountain OF Thy inspla-
iiom the fest in tie song 10 NY foreign
friend, and listen to the song OF the second:
"The ease, elegance and fapidity of his
movements; the animation Of It's eye. and
the intelligence he displays in Listening aud
laying up lessons from almost every species
Of the leatheIed creation, within his hearing,
are really surprising. and mark the pecnli-
aity Of his genius To these qualities We
may add, that Of voice full, strong, and
musical. capable OF almost every modula-
ton, from the clear, mellow tones of the
wood thrush, to the savage scream OF the
bald eagle; in measure and accent be faith.
fully follows his originals; in force and
sweetness Of expression he greatly improves
upon them. He sweeps round with enthu-
siastic ecstacy-he mounts or descends as
his song swells or dies away; and as my
friend Mr.. Bartram has beautifully expressed
it, he bounds aloit with the CELEBRITY Of an
arrow, as if 10 recover or recall his very
soul, expired in the last elevated strain. =
But it is at night that the song OF this
bird is sweetest In front Of rude and
lonely hui, in which lived for many months
on the banks Of the Santa Fe, was the low
er part Of the trunk Of large pine that
had been cut down, lest in some windy
hour il should demolish my dwelling. though
it was hundred feet off. On this firm EN-.
inence, every moon-lit night, this bird with
so blithe a spirit, took up his musical
throne; he would commence when the moon
arose, and sing the night hours away. until
early dawn; no cessation to tune his notes,
no intermission, no tagging OF his indomi-
table spirit checked his harmony. would
awake towards reveille, but the first taps Of
the drum-best had frightened him away,
yet still unwilling TO cease, his last notes
were heard when on wing for the woods:
and in the sultry nights Of the South, when
your rest is broken by the off-shoots of dis
ease preying on your system, but TO which
you do not wholly succumb by the sting
and buzz of mosquitoes; the bowling Of
wolves; the hooting Of owls, and the thous
= and and one annoyances that make nigh
hideous in a southern wilderness; the impas
stoned song Of this bird is heard victorious
f like the sweet melody that is inwoven into
sll the walls Of life How often has tina
: bird been my consolation when stretched OF
an uneasy bed, and hay pillow! Offer
have | turned over to listen to him with botl
8 ears, that no, whisper Of his notes should
escape ME, and then came to the conclu
: sion that that last effort was too soul-inspir
ing for repetition, he had exhausted hinnsel
= there, nature could 60 no further, his physi
n cal powers surely would flag after that, i
his mental ones did not: but no. he was ap
+ parenlly merely at the overtGre-.he wa
+ Celebrating and suggesting to you what wa
TO come. But his time and measure wer
5 all his own, his song was romance, hi
accents could not be written unlike all 9th
> er birds;) his notes were as uncertain as al
s Eolian harps, his next might be grave, o
gay, time only could tell. have hear,
g Rubni, with his head thrown far back, in
n whispered falSetto note, when the hous
was still, sometimes approach the timbre O
lie this bird, but the effort was great-it Taste
but for an instant: and | trenbled for hi
v ary,enoidS. never had the like fears Il
the many hours have listened to the solo
Of this favorite; he always seemed to b
n singing that ne might afterwards have rest
his notes were rolled out in such lavish pre-
III fusion that they seemed struggling whic
should first have utterance.-R. S. H., Lii
eraTy World.