Miscellany: The Instinct Of Childhood

A beautiful child slood near a large open ivindow. The window was completely overshadowed with wild-grape and blossoming tioney suckle, and the drooping branches of a prodigious elm - the largest anJ handsomest vou ever saw. Tlje child was leaning forward, with half open mouth and thoughtful eyes, and looking up into the firmament of green leaves, forever at play, that appcared to overhang the whote neighborhood; and her loose bright liair, as it broke away in the cheerful morning wind, glittering like etray sunshines among the branches and blossoms. Just underneath her feet, and alinost within reach of her little hand, swung a large and prettily contrived bird-ca - all open to the sky! The broad plentiful grape leaves lay upun it in heaps - the morning wind biew ylcatantly Ihrough it, making the very inuaicthat birdu and children love best - and the delicate branches of the drooping elm swept over t- and the glow of blossomingr herbage round about, feil wilh a sort of shadowy lustre upon the basin of bright water, and the floor of glittering nver sand, witlijn the cage. Well, if everP eaid the child; and then she stooped and pulled awoy the trajling branches, and looked into the cage; and then her lips begnn lo tremble and her eoft eyes aloioet filled with tears. Within the cage was the mother bird, fluttering and whistling - not cheerfully, but nvurnfully - and bcatmg herself to death against the delicate wires: and three little bits of birds watching her, mouthed, and trying to follow her fróm perch to perch, as she opened her golden wings, like endden flashes of sunshine, and darted hither and thither, as if hunted by something invisible- a enake in the grass, or a bird of prey, perhops - or a cat foraging in the shrubbery.'There, now! - there you go again! you „ ;le foolish thing, you! Why, vvhat is the t nalter with you? J should bo ashamed of j. uyself ! I should so! Havn't we bought the v irettiest enge in the world for you? Havn't zou enough to eat, and the best that could y je had for love or money- -sponge cake - r foaf sugar - and all sorts of seeds? Didu't j. ather put a little nest for you with his own . lands; and havn't I watched over you - you t it'.le ungrnteful Ihing! - UU the eggs they 7Ut there had all turned to birds - litlle live 1 jin's, no bigger than grasshoppers, and so } loisy - ah, you can' t thmk! Just look at the j beautiful clear water there - and the clean tvhite sand - where do you (hink you could iind such clear water as that, or such a pretty [jlass dish - or such beautiful bright sand, if we wei e to take you at your word, and let you out with Ihat little nest f uil of young ones, to shift for yourselves, heyV The door opened, and a toll benevolent looking man stepped up to her side. 'Oh, father, Pm so glad youvecome! What do you think is the matter with poor little birdy?' The father looked down araong the grass and 8hrubüery, and op into the branches, and Uien into the cage - the countennnce of the poor girl growing more and more perplex - ed and more sorrowful every moment. Well, father- what is it?- does it see any thing?' 'No, my love - nothing to frighten her, but where is the father bird?' 'Hes in the other cage. He made such a to-do when the litlle birds bega to chipper this morning that I was obliged to let him cut and brother Bobby he fnghtened him into the other cage end carried him off.' 'Was that right, my love?' Why not, father? He woulcTnt be quie' here, you know; and what was I to do?' 'Btit Moggy, dear - these little birda ma y want their father tn help feed them; the poor mother bird may want him to help take care of them - or to smg to her.' 'Or, perhaps, to Bhow them how to fly father?'Yes, dear. And to separate thero just n0v - how would yon like to have mecarried off, and put into another house, leaving nobody at home but vour raother to walch over you nnd the rest of my little birdsV The child gre'v more tboughtful. She looked up nto her father's face, and appeared as if more than half disposed to ask a question - which might be a little out of place; but she forbore, and after mus'nig a few moments, went back to the original subject: 'But, falher - wliat can be the matter with the poor f hing7 - you seo how she keeps flying oboui, and the little ones trying to follow her - und tunibling upon their noses - and toddling about as if they were tipsy, and couldn't see straight?' 'I atn afraid she is getting discontented.' 'Disconlenled! how can that be father1- Hasn't she her little ones about her, and every thing on earth &he can wish? And then, you know- fche never used to be so before.' 'When her mate was with her, perhaps?'Yes father - and yet, now I ihink of it, the moment these little witches begnn to pee-peep, and tumble about so funny, the father and the mother began to fly about the cage, as if thcy werecrazy. What can be the reason? the water you see is cool and clear; the sand all bright: they are out ín the open air, with all the green lea vee blowing about them;their cage has been scoured with soap and sand, the founlain filled, and the ed-box - and - and - I declare, I cannot think what ails them!' 'My love - may it not be the very things you speak of- things which you think ought to make them happy, are the very cause of all the trouble you see? The father and mother are separated! How can they tcach their young to fly in that cage? how teach them to provide for themselves!' 'But, father- dear father-!' laying her little hand upon the spring of the cage door: 'dear father! wouldyouP And why not, my dear childT And the father's eyes filled with toars, and he stoopet and kissed the brijjht face uptnrned to his,and glowing as if illuminated with inward eunshine. 'Why not.1''I wns only thinking, father, if I should iet them out, who will feed tliemf 'Who feeds the young ravens, dear? Who feeds the ten thousand little birdsthat are flying about us nowT 'True, father; but they have never been imprisoned, you know, and have already learned to take care of themselves!' Themothcr looked up and srailed. 'Worthy of profound consideration, my dear- I admit your plea; but have a care. lest you may overrate the danger, and the difficulty, in your unwilhngness to part with your beautiful little birds.' 'Father' - and the little hand pressed upon the spring, and doorflew open - wide open! 'Stay, my child! Whut you do must be done thoughtfully - conscientiously, so that you may be satisfied with yourself hereafter, when it is all oveft Shut the dcor a moment, and allow me to liear all your objectiuns.' I was thinking, father, about the cold rains, and the long winters - nnd how the poor birds that have been eo long confined would never be able to find a place to sleep in, or water to wash in, jr seeds for their little ones.' 'In our climate, my love, the winters are very short: and the rainy season itselfdoes not drive the birds away; and then you know birds always follow the sun - if our climate isLoo cold for them, they have only to go ( Lhersouth. But in a word, my love - you { are to do as you would be done by. As yon t would not like to have me separated from your mother and you; as you would not like to be imprisoned for life, though your coge were rammed with loaf sugar and sponge cake; as ou ' That'll do, fathei ! that's enough ! Brother Bobby! hither, Bobby! bring the litUe cage vith you, there'sa dear!1 Brotlier Bobby sung out in reply - and after a moment or two of anxious enquiry, appeared at the window with the litlle coge. The rison doors were opened - the father bird escapeo1 - the mother bird followed, with a cry of joy - and tlien carne back and tolled her ittle onesforth among the bright green leaves. The children clopped their hands in an ecstasy, the father feil upon their necks te kissed their; and the moJier who sat by sobbed over them bolh for a whole hour, as if her very hear would break; and told all her ncighbors th story with tears in her eyes. 'The ungrateful hussey! WhatI after all that we have done for her; giving her the best room we could spare - feeding her from our own table - clothin? lier from our own wardrobe - giving her the handsomest and shrewdest fellow for ahusband within twenty miles of us - allowing them to live together till a child is Lom: and now, because we have Ihought proper to send him away for a while, where he may earn hiskeep - now, forsooth! we are to find my lady discontented with her situation.' 'Dear father!' Hush, chili!''Ay, discontented- that's the word- ■ illy dissatisfied with hercondition! thejade! with the best of every thing to raake her ' oy: coüifits and luxuries ehe could never Jream oí" obtaining were she free tomorrow -and always contented, never presuming to c be disconlented till now.' ' And what does she complain of, father?' Why, my dear child, the unrensonable thing L compluins just because we have sent her ' husband away to the other p'.antation for a few months: he was getting idle here, and ' might have grown discontented, too, if we ' had not packed him off. And then, nstead ' ofbeing happier, and more thankful - more thankful to her Heavenly Father, for the gift of a man-ctnld, Murtha tells me that she just found her crying over it, cslling it a little sïave, and wishing the Lord would take t away from her - the ungíate ful wench! when the death of that child would be two hundred dollars out of my pocket, every cent of it! 'After all we have done for her too!' sighed the mot her. I declare, I have no patience with thejade!' continued the father. 'Father, dear father!' 'Be quiet, Moggy; don't teaze me now.' 'But, father!' and as she spoke, the child ran up to her father and drew him to the window, and threw back her sun-shiny tresses, &. ooked up into his eyes with the face of an ! gel, and pointed to the enge as it still huiig at the window, with the door widc open! The faiher understood her - and colored to J the eyes; and 'hen,asif more Ihnn half ashamed of the weakness, bent over and kissed her forehead - smoothed down her silken hair - and told her 6he was a child now, and must not talk about such matters tiil ehe had grown older. 'Why not, father?' 'Why not? Why, blesg your littlc hcart! Suppose I were eilly enongh to open my doors and turn the poor thing adrift with ber chüd at her breast- what would become of her? Who would take care of her? who feed her? 'Who feeds the younir ravens, fathor? Who takes care of all the wlivtc motherp, nnd all the n hite babes wc Beer'Yes, child - but, then - I know what you i are thinkmgof, -hut, then- there's a mighty dificrence, let mo teil you, bet ween a slave mother and a white mother - between a elave child and a white cliild.' ♦Yes, futher.' Don't interrupt me: you drivp. every thing out of my head. What was I going to say? Oh - ah - that in our long winters and cold roinsjt.heso poor things, who have been brought up in our houses, and who know nothing about the anxieties of life, and have never learned to take care of Ihemselves - and - a - a ' 'Yes. father, but couldn't theyfoUow the sun, too? or go farthtr south?' 'And why not be happy here?' 'But, father - dear father? Hoto can. they teach their liltle ones tojiy in a cagv?' ♦ChiJd, you are gettingtroublesome!' 'And hovj teach their young to proviïs for themselves, father?' Put the little imp to bed, directly - do you hear?' Good night, father! good night, mother. - Do AS VOU WOULD BK DONE BYÜ'