Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-02-06
SKYLARK OF FICTION.
ne IS NO SUCH SINGER OR soARsR AS
THE WORLD HAS BELIEVED.
So mt Least, an Orniti,o ogist Has Dis
covered-Ths Nightingale Is Net
Quite so overrated n Warbler.

lnuGn DcllcC huOHu IMAM TIC DlEdS
themselves.
The skylark of fiction. SAYS corre-
spondent in the n. Y. E0c Ii'Ig Post.
in Lucerne. Switzerland, it may he
well to state. is songster of sur
passing ability. whose habitual station
while singing is mt n point sufficiently
above the earth's surface to render him
invisible TO the naked eye. His music
descends rs il from heaven itself,
challenging the admiration of the
densest clodhoppcr. and lifting the cul-
tured soul TO dizzy heights OF senti-
mcnt.
The real skvlark has, indeed. the
habit of singing on the wing; Doubt
less he sometimes mounts hi sh enough
TO become invisible; there is good evil
dence To that effect. But he certainly
prefers to he within easy optical range.
Though do not myself profess to have
acquired perfect familiarity with his
habits. | have studied him in
many parts of Europe; | have
watched him patiently, sympathct-
ically. hopefully. for hours ut a time.
aud never have known him 10 reach
an altitude ut which he could not he
seen plainly by any normal eye. More
than this, he delights to- sing upon tho
ground. Very often. indeed. when
careless misunderstanding ia mind the
lark of Observation-Disclosures him out of
sight in the sky. he is 10 be found in
some favorite spot a-perch.
The lark Possesses voice of medi-
OGRE quality. and produces sony far
inferior to those of many other birls.
Al best his music is canary like; at
worst it is positively insectile. Dis
lance does not enhance its effect. On
the contrary the farther away the sing
ing bird, the harsher and shriller his
performances.
But let me do the lark justice. He
is one of the most CHEEKY aud indefati-
gable OF bird Singers. Be il fair or
foul. be- it sultry or chill his stridulous
notes may be heard from morning till
night in the season. | have seen him
exulting over snow-cnvered fields in
Switzerland when June had suddenly
produced u day with the characteristics
of December-as heartily aud persist
emily rs if he had looked down upon
the grecneSt meadows aod the gayest
flowers. Such thoroughgoing optim-
ism has n charm of its own; and one
listens to the lark with approval ana
pleasure in spite of his musical deli
ciencipS.
Need it he said that the nightingale
of fiction is the Incompatible songSter.
who through all the hours of daylight
turks per'lu, silent. melancholy. but in
the depths of night tranScends imagi-
nation with his melody? On the morning
of May was walking in The park of
VincenueS, with an eye 10 the birds.
Not far from the old chateau was
brought to Il stop by loud thru 'h-
like SOM. which came from thicket
at a distances of half-a-,lozen PAGES. |
did not know the song. and drew my
Ged-gIaSs out OF its ease and took up
position behind the nearest tree in the
hope of identifying the musician. Hts
strain was ut once repeated. noted
that it was quite complicated. and that
it was delivered with much bOidnesS
aud decision; hut it did not impress me
~ being OF unusual excellence. Yet.
Il moment later. rs the singer desceud-
cl to the ground just before me To
secure Il tidbii that had eau ht his eve,
| discovered that | hail becn listening
To a nj Shtingaic. Tnc bril- saw me at
the same Instant. and. with short.
cultural note OF alarm, disappeared in
his lhickct. waited Attendance upon
his pleasure for some tine afterward.
hut in vain; he neither showed himself
again nor favored pio with another
song.
walked many kilometprs about Vim
crnnes that day. aud found several
other nighiingales within its bound
aries. all of thcm more or less tune:ul.
no one of them the acronplis ie,l singer
was prepared to- hear. Two days later
! had similar experience 1T ST. Cloud.
| Bul | told my self that must hear tue
! bird ut night before should Inc co9,ne-
tent tn pass judi ruheul upon his uElli-
lies. and on the TN of May | went ont
from Paris to the Forest of st. Ger
man en- Lave. Ia that end.
! 1t was u line morning and a hot one
upon which | entered tho forest. At
high noon. WHEN I first heard the sou
Of Danlias lusciuia. TIVE local tk"r-
momsierS must have indicated n tenn
perature Of about 50 degrees in the
shade. Nevrrl hrless. that same first song
hNN OHf vi lHG 4 INV tNFl
pruduced Ivy any nj -hiingae under ANY
circumsiances--a really delightful oul :
pnuring. rivaling in It's ar,lor The 1--we
aon.s of the bobplnk andi tie purp,e
tinci. II was an admirable prrIurin-
aRce hut 1t was not 10y any means u
mnlchless one. felt that it was rich
~ worth bearing again. Ii was not re-
pealrd. however And during thu uext
four hours and half. thou gh tramp
ell about pcrsi>tentlv. heard o.iy Oc-
casional distant aud fragmentIry songs
10y the nightingale.
Tue attempt has often been made 10
Indicate by sylI'tbicutiou the character
Of the Nightingale ssong but never with
success. me judice. RE executes so
rapidly. so a,piaciouSly, and with sucl
frequent variation of theuIc. t!'ut a
listener must las clever indeed To out
line in tire crudest manner any one of
his longer airs: and no arrangement vi
his syIlables, however accurate. can
convey an idea of the peculiar clarinet
like richness of the birds voice. Ii
might be tire voice OF an oriole. or of a
ing-tIirush--pprhaps of Il wagiail
(Seu us); some OF It's tones nre repru-
tluced ut times Ivy our counnOn cnrdi-