Baltimore StarlingBaltimore Starling, and Nest.
Baltimore Starling, and Nest.
"Right. Well, this nest was like a cylinder, about five inches across, and seven inches long. At the top the bird had worked a level cover, so as to leave a hole only two inches and a half across; at the bottom it was round. It was made of flax, tow, hemp, hair, and wool, and was woven into a complete cloth; it was also tightly sewed through and through with long horse-hairs, some of which when drawn out measured two feet. Here is a picture of thisnest. In the bottom it had bunches of cows' hair, and these were also sewed down with horse-hairs. This bird, boys, is a thief."
"A thief, Uncle Philip! What does it steal?"
"When I say it is a thief, boys, I mean that it takes what does not belong to it: but it is not a thief as man is. When a man takes something which belongs to another person, heknowsthat it is not his; and therefore he steals: but the poor bird does not know, and that makes a difference. You asked me what it steals: I will tell you. At the time for building its nest, it will take whatever suits for that purpose; and therefore the country women are obliged to watch their thread that they have put out to bleach: the farmer, too, who has cut off young grafts from his fruit-trees and tied them up in bundles, must be careful, or the bird will pull at the string till he gets it off; and sometimes, when the bunch is not too large, he will fly off with the whole. In autumn, when the leaves have fallen, you may sometimes see skeins of silk and hanks of thread hanging about the starling's nest, but so woven up and entangled in it that they are good for nothing. Now, boys, before thiscountry was settled by people from Europe, where do you suppose the starling got silk and thread for his nest?"
"Why, Uncle Philip, are you sure he got them at all?"
"A very sensible question, boys. When you are askedwhya thing is so, it is always well, first to be satisfied that it is so, before you begin to look for a reason. I have read a story about this very thing: would you like to hear it?"
"Oh yes, Uncle Philip."
"Well, then, I have read that there were once several philosophers (I told you what a philosopher is, you know), who were in the habit of meeting together to put questions to each other, and to make new discoveries. At one of these meetings, one of them asked the others, 'Whya fish weighed moreinthe water than he didoutof it?' Several of them gave very wise reasons, as they thought; and all the reasons were different: so they could not agree. There was among them, however, a very sensible old gentleman, who listened to them all, but said nothing. When he went home, he got a fish and weighed it, out of the water, and wrote down its weight; he thentook a bucket of water, and weighed that; and when he dropped the fish in the bucket, he found that it increased the weight of the whole, precisely as many pounds as the fish had weighed out of the water; so he found out that there was no reason why a fish weighed more in the water than he did out of it, because it was not true: his weight was the same either in or out of it."
"Ah, Uncle Philip, that is a pleasant story: he was a sensible old gentleman."
"Yes, boys, he was; and it was sensible in you to ask first whether the starlingdid usesilk and thread before Europeans came here; and after that is answered, it is time enough to ask where he got such things. Now the truth is, that hedid notuse them until after Europeans brought them here; because there were no such things in this country: for the Indians who lived here could not make thread. I think; and I am sure they could not spin silk: but I will tell you, boys, what it shows us; and it is that I wish you to notice."
"What is it, Uncle Philip?"
"It is the wisdom of this bird in taking advantage of circumstances. No doubt he built very good nests long before silk and threadwere in the country; but he had sense enough to know that they were exactly what suited him, and he used them as soon as he could get them."
"Then, Uncle Philip, you think that the bird has reason?"
"No, boys, I do not: but you have reason, and I have something to say to you about it. It is this: as God has given you reason, and so made you better than the poor dumb animals, he expects more from you. That is fair, is it not?"
"Yes, Uncle Philip; very fair."
"Then what I wish you to remember is this: that you must use your reason in such way as to glorify God. He gave it to you to learn his will and his commandments, and to live accordingly. So now you see the things which our conversations about the animals can teach us. In the first place, we see the goodness of God; in the second place, we see the power of God; in the third place, we see the wisdom of God: and we see in ourselves that God has done more for us than he has done for them, and therefore we ought to love and serve him: we ought to believe what he says in his Word; we ought to prayto him for his blessed help; we ought,first of all, to seek the salvation of our souls, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Now, my dear children, to-morrow I must leave home for a few weeks; but when I come back we will talk together again: and as I am going to see my nephews, I will get a book which they printed about insects; it is called the History of Insects,[14]—and I will bring it to you; and some of the largest boys among you may read it aloud, and I will explain to you what you cannot understand. If you are pleased with what I have been telling you, that book will tell you a great deal more."
"Oh, thank you, Uncle Philip. We shall like it very much."
"Farewell, boys."
"Good-by, dear Uncle Philip."
FOOTNOTES:[12]Myiothera obsoleta of Bonaparte.[13]Tyrannus intrepidus.[14]Family Library, No. VIII.—Publishers.
[12]Myiothera obsoleta of Bonaparte.
[13]Tyrannus intrepidus.
[14]Family Library, No. VIII.—Publishers.
Now republishing, on good paper and large type, in 18mo. volumes,
SOCIAL EVILSANDTHEIR REMEDY.
A SERIES OF NARRATIVES TO BE PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.BY THEREV. CHARLES B. TAYLER, M.A.
No. I.THE MECHANIC.IS NOW REPUBLISHED, AND FOR SALE BY THE BOOKSELLERS.
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
AUTHOR'S ADDRESS
No doubt can be felt as to the fact, that there are at present many crying evils in all ranks of society—perhaps there never was a time when more remedies were proposed. It is, however, a melancholy truth, that the only remedy is too generally over-looked, or despised. Remedies, selfish in principle, and selfish in their proposed end, are held forth and confided in by those who profess to be Christians, and, as such, dependent on the Great Head of the church. Man is taught how to live in time, and to be wise for time; but it has become unusual to refer to that fine old scriptural prayer, "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Indeed, the wisdom desired by too many is that which is so forcibly described by an apostle's pen, as "earthly, sensual, devilish;" not that wisdom the attributes of which form the graces of man's new and regenerate character, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated; "full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
It is intended, in the series of narratives now advertised, to set forth, faithfully and simply, the one great principle on which Christians profess to act. This principle should never be lost sight of, in any publication addressed by a Christian author to Christian readers. "Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid," laid by Infinite Wisdom himself—"which is Christ Jesus." My illustrations will extend to every class of society; from the highest to the lowest. When it is found necessary to introduce the subject of political economy, I shall endeavour to give what seem to me the right views of the subject; and I shall take care to show, that when political economy cannot be identified with Christian economy, it ought to occupy a subordinate place. If it enters society as the servant of Christian principle, it may be very useful as a servant; but, if it is to teach a man to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, to speak of its usefulness in a Christian community is absurd.
False principles, however taking they may be, for a while, with the ignorant, or with those who are not deep thinkers, can never stand for any length of time; and as for the ungodly, we knowWhohas told us they are "like the chaff which the wind driveth away." I have undertaken this work in a spirit of prayer to God for His assistance, and His blessing. Many of my readers. I am sure, will unite their prayers to mine, that it may be continued in the same spirit. Some few may object to this address from a minister of Christ to a Christian community, and say that it is according to the puritanical cant of the day. I answer, that such cant (if mere cant) is quite as offensive to me as to themselves; almost as offensive as the cant of ungodliness; but I cannot forget those words of solemn warning, from One who, alas, is still the despised and rejected of many men: "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
The second number of "Social Evils," entitled "The Lady and the Lady's Maid," will be republished about the 1st of February, 1834.
THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY.
No. I.The Life of Wiclif.By Charles Webb Le Bas, A.M.
II.The Consistency of the whole Scheme of Revelation with Itself and with Human Reason.By Philip Nicholas Shuttleworth, D.D.
III., IV.Luther and the Lutheran Reformation.By John Scott, A.M.
V., VI.The Life of Archbishop Cranmer.By Charles Webb Le Bas, A.M.
VII., VIII.History of the Reformed Religion in France.By Rev. Edward Smedley, M.A.In Press.
Transcriber's Note:Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired.Original spelling and its variations were not standardized.Original use of quotation marks was left unchanged.The word "scattered is missing between pages 135 and 136."... have got permission from your friends...." This should be "permission from parents," as the context suggests.Footnotes were moved to the end of the paragraphs to which they applied and numbered in one continuous sequence.