We heard a story of the performance of a robin in the garden of one of our citizens, on Friday last, which interested us not a little, inasmuch as the little creature and his mate exhibited a sagacity, amounting to human reason. The incident occurred in the garden of Mr. John Bromhan, which is a large one, reaching from his house in Olive street over to Warren street. While he was attending to some part of it, near his house, a robin flew about him apparently in great excitement. he took but little notice of it at first; but the bird persevered in every effort to attract his attention, and was soon successful. Mr. B. remembered that there was a robin's nest on a tree at the end of the garden, and thought there might be some trouble there, and started in that direction. The bird accompanied him, keeping close by his side, chattering violently all the way. On approaching the nest he found the female bird equally agitated, and on taking deliberate observation, discovered a very young robin sitting on the high fence, and a cat below intently watching it, and ready to pounce upon it on the failure of its attempt to reach the tree. Mr. B. drove away the cat, when the two birds instantly came to the assistance of their young one, encouraged it to try its new fledged wings for the tree, which it did, and safely reached its nest, to the great apparent delight of the whole feathered family. The bird had seen enough of Mr. B. to know that he would not injure it or its progeny — it knew that he could protect them, and knew how to attract his attention and lead him to the scene of danger — and it knew that it would not be safe for it to encourage its young one to make any effort to reach the tree while the dreaded enemy was below, ready to spring upon it in case of its failure. — Is not all this very near akin to human reason?
Robin story. June 13, 1851. Gettysburg Star and Banner 22(14): 2. From the New Haven Palladium.