FOR CHILDREN. 233

Long time a breeding-place they sought,
Till both grew vexed and tired ;

At length a ship arriving brought
The good so long desired.

A ship ! could such a restless thing
Afford them place of rest ?

Or was the merchant charged to bring
The homeless birds a nest ?

Hush !—silent readers profit most-—
This racer of the sea

Proved kinder to them than the coast,—
It served them with a tree.

But such a tree! ‘twas shaven deal,
The tree they call a mast;

And had a hollow with a wheel,!
Through which the tackle passed.

Within that cavity, aloft,
Their roofless home they fixed ;
Formed with materials neat and soft,
Bents,? wool, and feathers mixed.

Four ivory eggs soon pave its floor,
With russet specks bedight :3

The vessel weighs,‘ forsakes the shore,
And lessens to the sight.

The mother-bird is gone to sea,
As she has changed her kind ;

1 Hollow with a wheel—a block or pulley.
* Bents—the stalks of a species of grass,
3 Bedight—decked, ornamented.
4 Weighs—weighs anchor—sets sail.
x2