Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-07-03
aMiseellauu.
Prom Hour. at Home.
The Last of Ny Panama Pets.


but with me the Dear Gazelle principle
fade or fail. With trees or flowers. |
never triel any experiments but it is Ger
tain that never loved pretty girl, and
wrote sOnnetS to her soft, black eve. but
when she came to know me well. she was
sure to either move away. or-worse still
marry some one else in the Immediate
neiehborhood 81 disastrous do my atfec-
rion- prove TO their objects that L now feel
"a certain deicaey about fixing them on
goods. wet or dry, Of perishable charac-
ter
am even afraid To concentrate much
affection on mvself-not from fear of en-
countering a rival-but simply because
admiration OF any particular excellence or
virtue, among my many, Is dangerous.
Once | was proud of my halr-it was
black and shining n a pair of boot-tops,
and grew rich and strong red-top on a
river bottom Now my skull Is smooth
and shining as the summit of the Sierras
the boldues- OF the view only relieved by &
few grizzIed spears. which serve but TO
make the abounding barrenness more mark
ed. Once / was rather vain Of my voice
TWO. and now cannot sustain Its own weight
over the shortest bars, nor reach the lowest
note Of The register And | delighted in
the dance; my step was proverbial for its
fghtuess now | have the gout, and could
not cut pigeon-wing with credit, were it
a. tender even a my own toes.
When lived in the land Of gold never
managed to secure any. The most prom
i~iue mine fretercd out If | invested in it.
At last things reached such pitch that
owners of quartz-leiges would not sell me
stock on any term>-not even on sixty
iav- When it rained, my dish was by no
means upside down. always attended to
jLat-but some way it never lcould hold
water
Making up my miud that there was no
Use >taviug in land Of gold when none OF
the sands rolled down my trowsers-legs.
took passage for home Crossing the 18TH
mus of Panama | felt the need of compan-
ion~hip. and purchased monkey. (That
died. a. the reader knows. some months
-nccI But monkey by no means filled
the aching void. | wanted something
l,rettier, lighter. brighter, better-some-
thing to love, something to caress.
Ii suddenly occurred to me that I'd bet.
ter buy a bird. After casting about for
some time. and cheapening and chatferine
like Chatham street jew. | finally sue
ceeded in purchasing a couple Of paro
auet>-at higher price, | fiattered my
self than any other pair were sold tina
day. or viii be for many day TO come
For the birds, and the cage, paid five
dollars ia gold The cage was Of bamboo
but | did not fully realize how thorough,
had been bamboozled, until | saw tir,
pairs in "a magnificent tin cage, sold To
gentleman on "a neighboring seat for on
dollar and a half Why this difference il
price | did not then know, nor do | noy
clearly understand My birds may hay
been better tor eating, but, 80 tar as look
and behavior are concerned there Is ever
reason to believe that my neiehbor's pur
chase was Just a. good mine.
Ny paroquets We're sad trouble TO IN
crossing the I,thmuS. They conducts
themselves much like Young girls at con
cert, and singing school. seeming TO hav
no idea at all of the proprieties Of life. Al
things. however. have an end, even pertor
mances on the piano BY Indifferent players
and in course of time--a Course of Tim
nearly a. long a. Pollok's, and quite a
tediou--the I-thmus was crossed
Then we embarked On the steamship
they have u rule that 10 pets shall be a
lowed in the cabins and staterooms. Thi
cdict l. promulgated fancy, for the bene
tit Of the porters. who make very handsom
perqui~ites from the parrots and monkey
which the passengers are thus compelled t
iutrtl-r to their care. However, manage
to evade the rule. and smuggled my bird
cage and all. into my Stateroom-
Nv birds being tile only ones allowe
about the after-deck, attracted much a
tention. Bur on all sides [ was warne
of my folly in attempting to bring the
North The oldest passenger-correspo
ding To the oldest inhabitant So fami
lar 10 the ~hore-,tated that they rarel
lived through the voyage; the cold wind
the change of climate. the change Of foo'
the salt air. the motion of the vessel. the
own tenderness Of constitution-each al
All Of these mali@n influences and natur
drawbacks were adduced a. reason for q
certain demise of my pets But had d
termimed whatever their Unborn habits al
instincts might be, TO make them "bir
of passage" and 50 persevered to the ell
The end Of one OF the poor things can
sure enough-one died. 1t was the fema
bird. aud would have been the mother
the br0od-had there been brood. L n
ticed symptoms Of sickness on her part so'
after leaving port The color of her b
underwent a eea-change, from a beautlt
pink II turned an unhealthy yellow. so
fading 10 a spectral white; her feet al
paled and bleached out until the lit
claws looked ike skeleton hands, and
have no doubt the pulse was slow and te
Bile. though all my efforts to find 1t prov
unavailing. Her feathers became roug
she no longer cOmbed her back hair
mornings with her claws and dressed h
side-curlS with her beak; her eyes look
iaundiced and dull she was drowsy
the dav through, and sat with head perC
ed on her breast. Indifferent to food a
inattentive to the performances of
steamers brass band-which latter mig
almost have startled the dead.
/ did all for the sick bird that could
done-if not more-trying various ren
dies The last was olive-oil. suggested
a gentleman who claimed TO know all ab'
paroouets-and | believed he did, from
fact that he knew nothing about anyth
else. The steward brought me cruet
oil from one of the castors, and of Il
gentle aperient | administered to my
tient about three tablespoonful.
consequence was that she died in alb
three minutes,