'Twas the white-throated sparrow, that sped a light arrow
Of song from his musical quiver;
And the lingering spell slid through every dell
On the banks of the Runaway River.
"O sing! sing-away! sing-away!"
And the trill of the sweet singer had
The sound of a soul that is glad.
I hope there are plenty of the St. Nicholas children who know our wild birds well enough to see for themselves that I must have meant the one commonly known as the "Peabody-bird," so styled because his song seems always to be calling some human estray of that name, who never comes.
But, indeed, I am afraid that none of us know our musical little friends of the fields and woods as well as we should and might know them, if we studied into the matter,—Truly yours,
Lucy Larcom.