1873 July 26 - 28 .around the house. July 28, clear, cool day. Father left this after- noon leaving me alone on myself noontime to enjoy the home-made cakes and pies as I can soon as had time. felt like a big brother. July 29. Cloudy and rather wet but not very cold in the house and fine for a walk. Barnard came over with a book of poems to read and we sat down together to enjoy it and found it very good indeed. Barnard has some friends and they seem to be good enough to be seen. welfare of his family. July 30, clear and cool day but not very warm. found a hound to chase after the birds and we had a good time. He seemed to think it was all right for us to do so but I was surprised at his high opinion of him as he did not seem to care much about being chased or run after. I have never seen such a wonderful bird before. It is said that there are many different kinds of birds in this country and each has its own peculiarities. Some are very small and others are large and strong. They all fly high in the sky and some can even dive into the water to catch fish. The most interesting thing about them is their ability to sing beautiful songs which they use to attract mates or warn other birds of danger. In my opinion, the best way to observe these wonderful creatures is by going out early in the morning when everything is quiet and peaceful. You can hear them singing their sweet melodies from afar while you sit comfortably on a bench near your home watching them go about their daily activities. One day I decided to try my hand at catching one of these elusive birds so I went out with my net ready for action. After much effort finally managed to catch what appeared to be a sparrow-like creature which turned out to be quite harmless upon closer inspection.