The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-11-21
Tuesday Morning, Nov. 81, 1865.
[From the Saturday Press.i ETh
nTGK


"Richard is himself again." Richard is our
canary. We call him Dick for short. He has
just got over moulting He Is Just the eayest
afternoon, like Japhet in search of father
he was stranger and we took him in.-
Bought him pretty wire house at the corner
grocery, and a quantity of seed. He was so
pleased with his new quarters that he didn't
stop to be shy and t1nid, but hoped son the
upper perch, and poured forth the meniest
and sweetest strains ever heard in our house.
Miss Keilogs's yoicewas never ngre clear and
silvery. *Just let me have this house rent
free, and give me good store of Seeds" said he,
in his own inimitable way, "and Pll furnish
music for the family He was as good as his
word. sss& II 4 PSrs
1t was summer, and we hung him by the
open window. How he did sing! All day
long he was bubbling over with melody-like
the boy at school,, "it whistled ITSELF" The
mystery was, how he could do it-how such a
tiny body could hold so many tunes. 1t SEEM
ed, sometimes, as If he would split his little
throat, or perish in the attempt. Yet he has
never had the bronchitis, to my knowledge.
Perhaps 1t is because he uses the cold
application so freely. He belongs to the "Or-
der of the Bath" Dick does. My wife slips
the bathing-dish into his cage, first taking tie
precaation to spread cloth upon the carpet.
per perch he watches the preparations, cock
ing his head first on one side, then on the 9TH
er, and uttering an approving peep from time
to time.
When all is ready, in he goes But not di-
rectly, if we are noticing" him. He talks
about it in his jocular way; hops up and hops
down,
''with many firt and futter,"
sticking the feathers up $50 cunning' ON the
top of his head and perking about those
shining black beads of eyes in a hundred
coquettish airs and graces. He enjoys con-
versation, and likes good deal of attention ;
don't mind if put my face up clos, up to his
face, yet fears a human hand as if it were the
Hand of Providence, and seems instinctiyely
to apprehend violence. aF es
Stand back little, and watch the perform
ance. He hops upon the edge of the dish,
takes taste to see if the water is about the
right temperature, then-no he don't. He is
keeping a sharp lookout. You are not going
to come up and hit him rap oyer the head
on the sly, not if he knows himself Pretty
soon he hops in. 1t makes his legs cold and
and he hops out again. Takes another look
to see if the coast is clear, then goes in in ear
nest. First he ducks his head with shake
and a fiirt; then squats his whole body into
the water, and with his wings makes prodi-
gious flutter and spatter;s and concludes BY
final splash with his tail; does it again-does
it ever so many times; and comes out looking
as if he had been on a bender, and got caught
out in rainst0fm His soft, shiny, yellow
coat is all drenched and dripping, his funny
little top knot is all ruflied.
Two or three shakes and a half hour of sun
shine make that all right, and Dick is as
handsome and as merry as ever. A new con-
cert commences Immediately. He is both So
10 and chorus, and dashes of, ,sdIlegrO con spir-
ito all the favorite airs of bird opera, with
many a trill and flourish not down in the
books.
Dick has one bad habit. He gets up too
soon in the morning. He is emphatically an
"early bird" though there are no worms to be
caught The sun has risen with great regu-
larity for so many years, that 1 am quite will
ing to trust Old Sol to light up without giving
the matter my personal attention. Not so
with Dick. He is on a keen lookout for the
first hint of daylight, and reports progress
twenty times minute, in his most gay and
festive tones. Theswhole house rings with his
melody. Talk about the s'armsof Morpheus
morphine could hardly sleep in such jubi-
lee. "Sing before breakfast, cry before sup
per-" says the old adage. Wife didn't like so
much singing before breakfast-it disturbed
her slumbers She shut the blinds closely,
and covered the cage with her apron. No
use-he couldn't hold in. Then she put him
i'm a dark closet. Must leave the door aiar to.
give him air, you know. The little rascal
stuck his bill to the crack of the door, threw
his head back, and ratified away as loudly as
ever. He was just gushing over with song.
We had to let him gush.
One day my wife let him out in the room
for exercise, and he happened to spy his re-
Election in the toilet glass. Dick bristled up
instantly. So did the reflection. Giving a
sharp cry OF defiance, at him he went, pell
nell. 1t rather puzzled him, bringing up
smack against the glass with a concussion
that made us fear for the safety of the mirror,
and landed him in great disorder upon the
bureau. Promptly rallying his forces, he
charged again and again, with great impetu-
osity The one-sided combat was very anus
ing. --------:
Py and by, he saw the joke-he thought.
Finding the other bird had just as good grit as
he, Dick strove to cultivate his acquaintance.
He would stand for the hour together in
front of the glass, putting on his most seduc7
tive airs, chirping and twittering to the hand
some stranger in his softest and sweetest
tones. And on the cage being removed, he
would look and call for his lost companion for
long time, before resuming his musical
practice. To this day, the easiest way to
hush his singing is to set him in front Of the
glass. Ja.ei 3ls a'.ia 37-ag iaa
Canary birds don't have the small-nox or
the whooping-cough that know of, thoueh
did hear, once, OF one that died OF the fnea3les
But they moult. That is the price they have
to pay for a new suit of clothes. When thew
are moulting, they don't. seem to feel we'll
Dick has had his experience. For six weeks
he moped, and scarcely sung note, Occa-
sionally he would brighten up, and softly
thank us for our tender care of him. Once in
a while he would try to sing. He clone his
level best" but the notes wouldn't come out
clear AID strong. His feathers came off like
thistle down, at every feeble .futter zone by
one, his tail feathers dropped of, and Dick
acted as if he was ashamed to be seen in such
aplight s'5ss ..a5 aI.i j ~ ~ ssLai
Now he is all over it. AS remarked In the
beginning with striking originality Richard
is himself again." His eyes sparkle with life
and merrlment; his voice is loud and clear,
and tuned to concert pitch; his bran new
yellow coat is soft and smooth. and fits him to
feather; his tail, like the tales i'm the New
York Ledger, Is destined sto he continued"
and he is so pert and frolicsome so alert and
cunning, and withal SO joyful and happy con-
tinually, that we never tire of petting him.
Look at him now, as he hangs amono the
branches OF a geranium tree, fast asleen and an
unconscious of this long rigmarole r lb.ra
written about him. Dick asleep is NOT at oil
like Dick awake. Unlike most little peonia
he makes no fuss about going to bed. He inst
balances himself on one slender leg, takes his
head off, and tucks 1t under his wing, and the
thing is done. He is nothing now but a little
yellow ball-yet we would hardly be willing to