Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-11-02
Our Church Swallows.
As wildly as II it were but ye'

AS VlVluly as III IL Weic put yestcr'
dav. though it Is an event OF many
~ rsago. comes up the memory OF the
experience of pair of barn swallows.
Hirundo horreorum. The two had
determined TO build nest in the porch
of our church. Ny little daughter was
the first to detect the fact aud every
day she went to see how the brides
were getting along, How the child
mind watched AMI wondered! To her
their ways were marvellous. How they
brought the mud, or. more properly.
the brd-mortar! How rapidly they
worked! Now came the male, who
emptled and spread his little hodful Of
cement. Then came the female. who
added hers. And so fast did sone sue
boys in winter on the pond. who would
slide 10y in rapid succession. filling in
each his place. and crying out keep
the pot a-boiinc!'
Thus it went on for three days, when
the mud walls were well up. Then be-
gan the work on the interior. the lin
ing with hair aud fine downy feathers.
Now came the full gushing of the
child's delight. The wind had caught
up little feather from the barnyard
and whired it into the air. The male
swallow saw it. There was little
twitter. Doubtless in the bird Ian
guage it sgnitied. Quite the thing!"
And the bird caught it just as easy as
her brother eau yht his bali The child
took hint. Having collected some
feathers, she let them 20 one by one
out of the window. and. to her in
tense de- ght occas onally one would
Le caught by the bird.
The nest was probably completed
when Saturday eycni = closed in. 1t
was followed by beautiful Sabbath
morning. but one which almost broke
the little damsels heart Pray how
can people who work in mortar avoid
making Dirt? These bird builders had
badly spotted the floor Of the porch.
To his intense disgust. the old sexton
beheld il all. aud was not slow to guess
the cause. With long pole he knock
ed the nest down, then swept the
porch. How that ch Id did weep tor
his calam ties to the brides! She even
gave vent to some temper. and called
the sexton naughty man.
At breakfast The next morning the
child tod us with evident joy that the
birdies had begun aga to build their
nest, and in the same spot, too. What
n busy week it was for those swallows!
On Saturday evening the nest again
seemed finished. But Sabbath morn
ing brought the same disaster. Some
what petulnnt. the sexton brought the
long pole into requisition once more
The child was now painfully exercised.
and it cost US considerable effort to
!. quiet her agitation.
The next day she aston shed us b,
saying that the brides had begun to
build again. 1t Was true. What splen.
did courage! What genuine pluck!
How the dear little fellows did work to
repair the d saster? 1t was real
strain. for the inducement bad become
extraordinary. There were five pretty
white eggs about which they were get
ting anxious BY Saturday evening all
was fin shed. I he nest was ready for
occupancy. The sun went down beau.
tifully as those tired little workers
went to rest
In the dusk Of evening a new worker
came. Keeping her own counsel. tho
little maiden appeared as noiselessly
as possible with water. broom, and
scrubbing brush No one knew what
had become OF the child. When she
came home, she said that she guessed
she had the church steps so clean that
the sexton could not see any d TT this
time. So it was And the sexton
quite forgot all about it; and the swal.
lows raised their callow brood in peace
i took the child up to small opening
over the porch, through VIII ch she
was able to see the pretty eggs, and
afterwards the Little birds. Next year
daughters brides. as we called them,
came back. AMI again built in the
same spot and they again received the
attention of their child protector. - Dr..
LoctWo ds Readings. m Natural HIS :
f0r1