The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-11-13 00:00:00

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11111:tient, but designed as the essay has been
tor thest__,_
stud of youth, it becomes a duty to ex-
hollownests of the hollowness of its assumed philosophy,
• 0 Protest against the unsafe conclusions it
ineateates.

47T0-132-OGRAPHY OF A -" RABA A VIS."
h , . ---
inh,Lia a glorious, but, at the same time, a very
r.,a nv.,
thing, to form an exception to the
geaeraisqu'Ll
the ,„ rtlie'uf one's kind—to be, if I may use.
Oa iression, being French, not Irish, a white
IC fi,6l. 1 am by no means a fabulous bird.
tliee -1511fon has described me; but it is very
N:ult to find me : I wish, as a great snuff-
music biped, without feathers, once said of a
for Music, it were impossible ! And here, once
.447' j may remark, that having, in the course
4ociet.,4ed life, mingled a good deal in literary
tretitu' In, Y readers are not to be surprised at my
eusto'at'Y introducing allusions to the manners,f
brai4llllB, and opinions of the plumeless and often Nose-sea creatures ,called men, who, for scribbling.ea
1411(4' have hitherto enjoyed so exclusiv
gose' Y iu the quills of my worthy friend the
oat i_that T
i -, on the present occasion, am fain to
the iille;I: illy claw a chance feather dropped from
Ileithb;! 111, Y extremely noisy and impertinent
1,1 Afy faTti," tue crow. But this is a digression.
uLaekbirrr„and mother were an honest pair of
grown gardening'Liv at one end of a retired, os-er-
Vere ail, near the centre of France. They
e,ae,llYearehtlll,Plary couple ; making their
.nest
rChi alla -1; L.ue.interror of an old broken watering-
PrinneiPles, Zipag up their young ones in good
Ifl,ll°-3T' Soon 'With the utmost peace and har-
' -tiler, for --- afttr I came into the world, my
he A
63;14t°111s at :I) ,rst time in his life, showed
tat donbtite
rntber sand grely7lper. My colour was a soirt
Quite different from that of n y
SCIAT, 4 sisters
he' oglille ad' a (I,irtY-10.oking little thing it is. !" said
`` I th. ay, ionk
in A IDIc he ,„ ing at me with much disfavour.
'last -Lust go on purpose, and roll himself
Nonr.,, and lime, or he would not be such a
, Well
ot thZ I'IJ dear,,, replied my mother, hopping
e does T 41, ge of the family mansion, " and if
%elfltbs" uaresay it is only what you did your-
yo Cli 37°11 Were his age. Nestlings are al-
ell Nell 811 tnischief. Wait till he grows up, and
oh
ee he'll attend to his toilette." _
tile gong, 1,,,
Etta conk! ..ly mother thus spoke in my detence,
hie
b 4ot help being shocked herself at the
Yet ,t, aPPearance of growing white plumage ;
h .44 41:9' d f • my
It Nor _ e_ormity seem to endear to her
°, bre pl e' and she sought, b redoubled affection,
ne-;) a„8 it were, the hardships'_ of my future lot.
,!ither Lue time came for my first moulting, my
44thers\vatehed me attentively, and, whileinmay
cher here falling, and I sat shiveringas
my
Poor ' treated me kindly, but, as soon fear pin.
white
hers, I
ath. lolls began to be covered with
141, It041:111e flew into such a rage, that I thought Not
'lit -' have plucked them out every
%at •
I& remirror, I was sadly
Oh," ason of his anger.. .
puzzled etioleu.nder-
-44 811 any morning,
,11,t 11841, I unluckily began
feeling in
to sing. better
At Pt
imrt ihtees.
ISc'itted! `'carbied, my father darted towards
)rtZt blackbiirdhsear?' tie?”that I
he cried. "Is that the, way
Whistle .Is
/ that the way
tabl,,eouclid,dieseilrin,"gsmaiedrrly, humbly, "yI, sung as well
Ying eaten too many flies;
fine da
and perhaps
ti Act , family don't
sinp.
~
voice has b 0 so, retorted my father.
countless r_ • een hereditary among us for
vb I , generations .
ell begm t„ • 'and now, in the evenings,
ilt v sin
ar the house,
..? ' see the old gentleman and his

daughter, who live there, open the windows in
order to hear me. Is it not a sufficient trial to
my feelings to have your frightful white feathers
constantly under my eyes, without having your
very disagreeable noise offending my ears ? For
my part, I don't believe you're a blackbird at all."
" What am I then ?" I asked, in despair.
" I'm sure I don't know, but you're certainly
not a blackbird ; and, if I had not the most

patient temper in the world, I would long since
have driven you away."
During this time my poor mother sat bowing
her head in sorrow, but not daring to interfere ;

and, when my father had done speaking, I flew
away, with a breaking heart, to take refuge in a
neighbouring coppice. Passing by a clear stream,
I saw my form reflected in it, and perceived too
clearly how little I resembled my family. I
perched in a tree. It rained heavily that night,
and, in the morning, I felt half dead from cold,
grief, and hunger. Another wretched-looking
bird came and placed himself near me ; he was
very thin, and his ruffled feathers were, as well as
I could judge, of the same colour as my own.
His body was larger than mine, yet he had
scarcely sufficient plumage to cover a sparrow.
He appeared to me at first like a poor mendicant ;
but, when I looked more closely at him, I disco-
vered an air of innate dignity in his
whole bearing, and especially in his man-
ner of carrying his bald head. I made him a
profound and reverential bow, which he returned
by a thrust of his beak, which nearly threw me
off the branch. Seeing that I merely rubbed my
head, and drew back without retaliating, he said
to me, in a hoarse voice, " Who are you ?"
" Alas, my lord," I replied, fearing a second
push, " that's more than I can tell you. I
thought I was a blackbird, but it seems I am
not."

The singularity of my reply, joined to my air
of sincerity, interested him. He came close to
me, and made me relate my history, which I did,
in the fulness of my heart.
" If you were a carrier-pigeon like me," he said,
when I had ended, " you would not trouble your
head about such trifles. We are constantly on
the wing, travelling from country to country, and
we neither know nor care who were our fathers.
We fly like an arrow through the air, from one
well-known point to another, and we never tease
ourselves about domestic concerns."
" But, sir," I said, " may I take the liberty of
asking what that crushed-looking packet is, which
hangs from your neck ?"
" Papers of importance," replied the pigeon,
" which I am carrying to a celebrated banker in
Brussels, and which, I can tell you, will lower the
funds."
" Yours must be a pleasant life," I said, " and
Brussels, I am certain, must be well worth seeing.
Could you not take me with you ? Since lam
not a blackbird, who knows but I may be a carrier-
pigeon ?"
If you were," replied my friend, "you would
have returned me the blow I gave you."
" Well, sir, I'll owe it you, and, if you like,
with interest. We wont differ about a trifle.
See, the storm is lulled ; for pity's sake, let me
go with you. If you refuse, I'll just go and
drown myself."
" Come on, then ; follow me, if you can."
I gave a last look towards the garden where my
mother slept. Tears filled my eyes, but the wind
dried them up, and, spreading my wings, I flew
away. My pinions were not yet strong, and, as
my companion sped along rapidly, I soon felt
unable to keep up with him. I bore on, panting,
for a while, but at length I felt ready to sink with
fatigue.

‘"Jlave we far to go ?" I quavered forth.

" No, only about sixty leagues."
Summoning all my strength, I managed to get
on for another quarter of an hour, but then I felt
completely spent.
" Sir," said I, " could you have the kindness
to stop just for one moment? I feel terribly
thirsty, and if we perched on a tree-" -
" Get away with you! You're nothing but a
blackbird !" shouted the angry pigeon ; and, with-
out deigning to look round, he continued his
flight. _As for poor me, I fell half dead into a

corn-field.
For a time I remained in a stupefied state, and
when I recovered, I found myself too weak either
to walk or fly. As I sat amongst the corn, in a
very disconsolate frame of mind, I saw, tripping
towards me, through the poppies and bluebottles,
two very charming ladies. One of them was a
smart, coquettish little magpie, the other a rose-
coloured turtle-dove. The latter paused at a
little distance, and looked at me compassionately ;
while her companion hopped towards me, with
the pleasantest air possible.
" Poor fellow ! what's the matter with you ?"
asked the black and white lady, turning up her
roguish eye.
" Please your ladyship, I am a poor weary
traveller, ready to die of hunger."
" Oh, but that's dreadful !" replied she, and
immediately began to flutter and hop to and fro,
bringing several berries and wild fruits, which she
piled up next me, at the same time continuing her
questions. " But who are you ? Whence do you
come ? And whither are you going ? So young,
too, and alone in the world ! 'Tis really enough
to make one's feathers stand on end,"

While she spoke, I was eating with an excel-
lent appetite. The turtle-dove looked at me with
a gentle eye of pity. Knowing that I must be
thirsty, she dipped her bill into a little reservoir,
formed in the hollow of a leaf, and brought me
some fresh, clear water. But for the exigency of
the case, so reserved a young lady would never
have made so free with a stranger. I ate and
drank with much satisfaction ; but, as everything
in this world has an end, even the appetite of a
convalescent, I at length finished my repast, and
then satisfied the little magpie's curiosity by
telling her my history with the same frankness
that I had used towards the pigeon. But when
I came to speak of my doubts as to what I was,
my
.lively auditor interrupted me. " You
are jesting. You a blackbird ! you a pigeon !
Fie, fie, my friend ; you are a 'magpie—and a
very pretty magpie, too," she added, giving me a
playful little slap with the tip of her wing.
" But, madame," I replied, "it seems to me
that my plumage—don't be offended—is not
exactly that of your tribe."
" A Russian magpie, my dear ; you're a Russian
magpie. Don't you know that they are white ?
Poor child ! how ignorant you are of the world !"
" But, madame," I persisted, "how can I be a
Russian magpie, seeing that I was born in France,
in an old broken watering-pot ?"
" Because, child, your ancestors came from the
north. Depend upon it, lam right. You cannot
do better than come and be introduced to my
family, and settle amongst us. Our colony con-
sists of about one hundred birds ; and I assure
you we are not like those great vulgar magpies
who go hopping about on the highways. We
are very genteel and very select ; and, having
each of us exactly seven black marks and five
white, we feel entitled to look down upon our
neighbours. You unfortunately want the black
marks, hut that will be overlooked, on account of
your Russian extraction. We pass most of our
time in chatting together, and in arranging our
plumage. In the midst of our forest stands a
fine old oak, inhabited by our king, Magpius