You will not be surprised
to hear that each contained one reference, and some many more; but the text
about which we had most talk was found by Chris--those words spoken by the
Lord to His disciples to show how precious they were to their Father: "Fear
not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows"
The boys wanted to know whether these birds were the same as our sparrows,
which are so common everywhere, even in the busy streets London, and so
mischievous in the country, eating the grain, and stealing the peas, and
nipping off the young buds of the gooseberry-bushes.
[Illustration: Our little English Robin;
The bird that comes about our doors
When winter's winds are sobbing.]
I could not answer this question; so we got the Bible Dictionary and read
there that a great many of our smaller birds, such as the starling, linnet,
goldfinch, blackbird, lark, wagtail, and thrush, are found in Palestine,
and that the Tree-sparrow has been seen in great numbers on Mount Olivet;
while another kind, the Rock-sparrow, is often found perched upon a large
stone, all alone, like the solitary bird mentioned in the hundred and
second Psalm.
One, of whose work among the poor of Lancashire you may some day hear,
tells us that when he was on a visit to America in 1873, he strolled one
morning round a miniature park in New York, glad to find shelter from the
hot beams of the sun.
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