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Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864

"Passages from the English Notebooks, Volume 1."

No ebullition
of any sort was apparent.

May 31st.--Last Sunday week, for the first time, I heard the note of the
cuckoo. "Cuck-oo--cuck-oo" it says, repeating the word twice, not in a
brilliant metallic tone, but low and flute-like, without the excessive
sweetness of the flute,--without an excess of saccharine juice in the
sound. There are said to be always two cuckoos seen together. The note
is very soft and pleasant. The larks I have not yet heard in the sky;
though it is not infrequent to hear one singing in a cage, in the streets
of Liverpool.
Brewers' draymen are allowed to drink as much of their master's beverage
as they like, and they grow very brawny and corpulent, resembling their
own horses in size, and presenting, one would suppose, perfect pictures
of physical comfort and well-being. But the least bruise, or even the
hurt of a finger, is liable to turn to gangrene or erysipelas, and become
fatal.
When the wind blows violently, however clear the sky, the English say,
"It is a stormy day." And, on the other hand, when the air is still, and
it does not actually rain, however dark and lowering the sky may be, they
say, "The weather is fine!"

June 2d.--The English women of the lower classes have a grace of their
own, not seen in each individual, but nevertheless belonging to their
order, which is not to be found in American women of the corresponding
class.


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