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70
Läsebok. N:o 76 — 77. 70
75. Those Evening Bells.
Those evening bells! Those evening bells!
O b o
IIow many a tale their music tells
Of youth, and home, and that sweet time,
When last 1 heard their soothing chime.
Those joyous hours are past away;
And many a heart that then was gay;
Within the tomb now darkly dwells,
And hears no more those evening bells.
And so ’twill be when I am gone:
That tuneful peal will still ring on;
While other bards shall walk these dells,
And sing your praise, sweet evening bells!
Thomas Moore.
76. The Nests of Birds.
How curious is the structure of the nest of the goldfinch
or chaffinch! The inside of it is lined with cotton and fine
silken threads; and the outside cannot be sufficiently
admired, though it is composed only of various species of fine
moss. The colour of these mosses, resembling that of the
bark of the tree, on which the nest is built, proves that the
bird intended it should not be easily discovered. In some
nests, hair, wool, and rushes are dexterously interwoven. In
some, all the parts are firmly fastened by a thread, which
the bird makes of hemp, wool, hair or more commonly of
spiders’ webs. Other birds, as for instance the blackbird and
the lapwing, after they have constructed their nest, plaster
the inside with mortar, which cements and binds the whole
together; they then stick upon it, while quite wet, some wool
or moss, to give it the necessary degree of warmth. The
nests of swallows are of a very different construction from
those of other birds. They require neither wood, nor hay,
nor cords; they make a kind of mortar, with which they
form a neat, secure, and comfortable habitation for
themselves and their family. To moisten the dust, of which they
build their nest, they dip their breasts in water and shake
the drops from their wet feathers upon it. But the nests
most worthy of admiration are those of certain Indian birds,
which suspend them with great art from the branches of
trees, to secure them from the depredations of various
animals and insects. In general, every species of bird has a
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