e said, like bees swarming, only they were much
larger. Occasionally a few stragglers could be seen, hurrying on to
join their party, which was in advance of them. Perhaps they had
delayed to take a last farewell of their pleasant summer homes, or,
may be, they were dilatory in their habits, and did not make their
morning toilet in season. I hope they will be more prompt in future,
for it is a bad habit to be late, and occasions, often, much vexation
and inconvenience.

I never before saw so many birds together, although I have frequently
been startled by the peculiar sound made by large numbers flying in
company, and have looked at them with wonder and admiration.

The migration of birds is one of the most remarkable phenomena in
natural history. "The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times,
and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of
their coming," and so do all birds of passage. Their Creator has
endowed them with a wonderful instinct, which, in some way, unknown to
us, teaches them to guard against the severity of the season by
seeking a warmer climate, and when "winter is past," and "the flowers
appear on the earth," and "the vines, with the tender grape, give a
good smell," then "the time of the singing of birds is come," and
their voice is heard in our land. Some of them return, not only to the
same country, but to the same place, where they have previously built
their nests, and, year after year, raise their broods in the same
friendly tree.

It is said that, to enable birds to fly with ease, and to continue
long on the wing, they must fly against the wind. I observed, this
morning, that there was a brisk wind from the west, while the birds
were flying a little south of west. Perhaps they had been waiting
several days for a favourable wind, and that may have been the reason
of the great number of flocks we saw.

"Behold the fowls of the air," said our Saviour, in his sermon on the
mount; "for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than
they?" At another time, when he was talking with his disciples about
the persecutions they should endure for his sake, he said to them,
"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore; ye are of more value
than many sparrows."

No