Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-05-07

(McCosky's boy was not at all skilled
in the secrets of millinery, and had
vague idea that each woman in some
way had shared the bird that adorned
her bonnet.) Lines it all with some
soft downy thing, most like silk, an
lays five eggs-leetle speckled fellers.
Sits ON the top of Norway spruce, an
sings like sixty specially when it's
thunderin' an ligntenin'. That's
cuckoo" he continued, turning to an
other bonnet; Il can't see its feet with
all them ribbons, but it oughter have
two toes in front am two behind. Don't
sing much, but makes a noise like
treetoad; builds his nest in low BUSH
an, like enough, poor codger, that's how
he came to get ketched. He lives near
streams, generally, an my goodness if
he don't eat caterpillars am if there
amt hull flock of leetle weenchy hum
ming birds!''
McClosky's boy came near forgetting
that he was in a place where his
thoughts should dwell on holy things, so
wrought up were his feelings, and almost
spoke his thoughts aloud.
"Och | call that mean, to take adj
vantage of them leetle fellers-not much
bigger than a bum-be I've seen 'em
dippin' them long bills into the honey
suckle on the schoolmaster's veranda at
home an drawin' the honey out by the
," he stopped as though his vocab-
ulary failed to supply word. "How in
the mischief did she ketch so many of
EN-? I've tried over an over agin, an
[ never could ketch one. Wouldn't "a
killed it if | had; jest took a good look
at tiny, how its little heart would
thump-an' then let it fly away. | mind
the little wee nest in the hickory
climbed once-all lined with fluffy bits
o. cat-tals, soft as a feather bed, all
fixed over on the outside as nice as you
please, jest exactly like the bark on a
tree. An there's song-sparrow, pom
my word on that woman's hat with his
head perked up as if he was lookin' up
into the sky an askin' God not to let
her ketch him. Wonder if he'll sing
again. They say there'll be lots o. singin'
in heaven. Wonder if song sparrows, an
eanaries, an catbirds, an flycatchers
will do any of it,"
Here McClosky's boy looked dreamy
and reminiscent; his eyes wandered
away from the bonnets toward q stained
glass window in the end of the church, a
work of art which was intended to be a
representation of the stoning of Stephen.
They killed him, too," whispered Nc
Closky's boy, sorrowfully, cause they
was bigger an stronger than him. Men
did it. Men an women are both
cruel" he added, philosophically.
His eyes soon came back to the bon
nets. Il swan,' he continued, IF there
amt gray and-white phoebe-an' a
grosbeak-an' gull"
He let his eyes rest moment, while
he thought of some barbarous tribes he
had read about in some of his school
books that adorned their gate-posts and
the palings around their Enclosures with
the heads of men.
There's a bluejay," he said again
turning his attention to the bonnets,
'an' blackbird, an robin, an leetle
yellow hammer. am" He was cram
ing his neck for another look at what he
thought was some new kind of bird,
when he caught the eye of a church Of
fetal fixed sternly upon him. He
Strengthened up and tried to remember
that he was in the house of God.
The church had been wonderfully
decorated with flowers for this day of
days; their perfume filled the place like
incense; the choir had given some of its
grandest Easter music; the minister had
preached sermon of great resurrection
power; but McClosky's boy went out
from that church feeling depressed. He
hadn't heard word of the sermon
did not even know the text.
Il s'pose it was for their Easter hats
an bonnets they killed all them birds"
he said modify. "Och, Easter" with a
little shudder at the thought of so many
of his dead favorites. "I'll never come
to church again!" he added fiercely. "Fll
chuck cracker biscuit into my pocket
Sundays an go out into the park an
feed 'em; the robins IL eat anyhow, an
after while the sparrows, an p'raps
the bluebirds.
'I'll go when | get back to the viii
lage," he added, as his conscience gave
him a twinge when he remembered how
his mother had always insisted on HIS
church going.-Published through the
courtesy of the Christian Herald and the
Author