The spring drew near, each felt a breast

With genial instinct fill'd;

They pair'd, and would have built a nest, But found not where to build.

The heaths uncover'd and the moors

Except with snow and sleet,

Sea-beaten rocks and naked shores
Could yield them no retreat.

Long time a breeding-place they sought,

Till both grew vex'd 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 hearers profit most

This racer of the sea

Prov'd kinder to them than the coast,

It serv'd 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 pass'd.

Within that cavity aloft

Their roofless home they fix'd,

Form'd with materials neat and soft, Bents, wool, and feathers mixt.

Four iv'ry eggs soon pave its floor,

With russet specks bedight

The vessel weighs, forsakes the shore,

And lessens to the sight.

No-Soon as from ashore he saw

The winged mansion move,

He flew to reach it, by a law

Of never-failing love.

Then perching at his consort's side, Was briskly born along,

The billows and the blast defied, And cheer'd her with a song.

The seaman with sincere delight His feather'd shipmates eyes,

Scarce less exulting in the sight

Than when he tows a prize.

For seamen much believe in signs,

And from a chance so new

Each some approaching good divines, And may his hopes be true!

Hail, honour'd land! a desart where Not even birds can hide,

Yet parent of this loving pair

Whom nothing could divide.

And ye who, rather than resign
Your matrimonial plan,

Were not afraid to plough the brine
In company with Man.

For whose lean country much disdain We English often show,

Yet from a richer nothing gain

But wantonness and wo.

Be it your fortune, year by year,

The same resource to prove,

And may ye, sometimes landing here,

Instruct us how to love!

This tale is founded on an article of intelligence which the au thor found in the Buckinghamshire Herald, for Saturday, June 1, 1793, in the following words.

Glasgow, May 23.

"In a block, or pulley, near the head of the mast of a gabert, now lying at the Broomielaw, there is a chaffinch's nest and four eggs. The nest was built while the vessel lay at Greenock, and was followed hither by both birds. Though the block is occasionally lowered for the inspection of the curious, the birds have not for saken the nest. The cock however visits the nest but seldom, while the hen never leaves it, but when she descends to the hull for food."