The Republican journal., 1902-04-24
A Spring Poem in Prose.

So far as the common feeble mortal
is concerned he wants the sun to shine
if his mood is to be testal, and it shone
gloriously sunday The morning indi
cations We're all for rain before the day
should end, bright though it began:
but the wind shifted to northwest,
wi ithout much increase of cold and the
splendid sun ruled the day to a fine sun
set. Life infused the air, the earth,
the birds, the marsh-king's courtiers-
hyla and croaking frog: and breathed
low beneath the ground the summons
of bloom. Every character of life was
in the over breeze and the subterranean
whispers,
There We're bluebiIds with the sky on
their backs aud the earth OH their
breasts, Warbing with that tender and
unobtrusiye dellcacy OF which they
have the sole secret There We're robins
CHEEKY and bold; and there was the
modest phoebe-Whose fellow the chick
adee now is little in evidence, going
northWaId There is much talk OF
plagiarism i'll music, and it might be a
question which of these birds is the
plagiarist OF the phoebe call, if it had
not been for Paderewski's S daring and
truthful assertion that there is no
proper theft i'll music, since no theme
can be absolutely original. and the
question depends on the use of the
theme. This lets out both the phoebe
and the chickadee, for they each have
an undeniable right to the notes they
were born with. The song sparrow,
most celestially lovely of all the song
sters of our cline, is now in his first Tic h
delight i'll new light, new love, new
home, new life. He is a wonderful fel-
low for continuous joy; for sweet as all
these are, lie viii sing for the beautiful
love of song until November chills.
Other SparroWS there are now to keep
him company, called by various names,
but none of them has quit the insplra-
ton of this n0npareil of the early fields
and copses. There is pleasure now, as
always, in the hoarse and knowing caWs
of the crows and the lighter but still
passionate temperS OF the blue Jay.
But no longer the crow and his cousin
Jay, no longer the notes of winter strike
the keynote gentler, tenderer, more
exquisite strains are filling the air.
One may hardly call the croak of the
early frog and the shrill piping of the
HSld DN SuCD lltleS MS UueSe, DuL llleSe
queer creatures now make, wherever
there are ponds or marshes, an impor-
tant part of the spring symphony.
What an elusive creature is the little
hyla, clinging to the stems of the cat
tail or sweet flag OF to the sedges and
water grasses, indistinguishable from
the stem he clings to, unless one with
exhaustless patience sits beside some
marsh until these tiny creatures forget
that the alien is there and again raise
their mllzzles above the water. Even
then what long time will pass before
the curious impertinent" ITO quote
from the Cardenio story in Don Qui-
xote") may detect the tifer, Shrill be-
yond the high-keyed piccolo rises the
hyla's greeting to spring, and none may
be sure that the winter barrier has been
broken until it is heard. This year
hyla is ahead of time, as indeed all the
birds have been. One of our few close
observers assures us that this is an ex-
traordinary season for early migrations
to our latitude.--Springtied Republican,