, 1877-01-28

| Iookea III my lace with bright, nierrass ~ til
any n,G Gnarped 1 iew notes, which distnrsi, g
AN REALLx FREg1n
my arm to, the shoulder, sanp uopped U,
Of some Joyous carol, md ns . sa2:3
brushing my cheek as it went De" axaf
time, when / picked up some e csHe,. Anoth.ss !:
out OF the deep grass and replace,1 w. et.hrha
nest, the parents actually dashed aasm a1 II Il
head in their distress aud raaet ~. hag"nss U,
had retired few minutes to Ia ,h.a' h.as' aftes
sured, they allowed ME to aonrosch J" y. oe fess
without 1nterruptlng their talk with f.. "e nes
ones. kse1 a hurnming-bird, drensS. {oass
chilled oy September rain, soon iearne,s3o a1& q
s'gaTe Ppy vater nnt " " warm cotton aul to ).
We had parrot but ones.
only. for few weeks. Tie b1r4 dna tAs
mystery to me, and found him aL ~. Hss 1
uncanny to be a pleasant :aeana1Stt aoat toe
Our parrot came directly from 4aaataaee
from what port neglected to lar. Issel I but
entity. understood the English 1anaaa as apppas.
would not speak It. He preferred ths,t II by
Zee to any other dict, and was. weli.hnhaaaa AUG ca
though tremendously e1acting. Whaa - - Y
came little accustomed to us. he uonIi % 1e y
the gamut' both upward and dorngsri !. sns =
aneeus-ua1aiaeu' anee ' ufcamy way, as Il recarsa
some memory Of an opera-singer. H. aass :zs
sit beside ME on perch, seeminoIv aas ns would
until he saw that was absorbed IN eoaIen!ed 'l.t
Then he mounted to the table. plante- sei;lllas e;1
on the paper directly IN the war ~ ~ a4asea
managed, BY nfps OF the ears aud hair ~ s pen q
the top ct my head and make coheTant ;h. apoa
impossible. Once, remembering r. ranaoao moozts p
ballad, I venturcd-though viii soms ~@3apoeps ats
Ior ! half expected to sec him dan n'.4ss!, r1n:,
lne room WILD Joyous screc:h, drop doxn n'aa .a9
ole-io speak to him in Spanish He wa. .ss .aa
prised, interested, and At first seemed io.,;. sa
to answer in the same tongue but sft.t Mel1nsd
Ing hali M hour upon tho question. h. sss! .sssk
his head, and ~ aaook
kEPT THE SECRET TO HIMSELF.
No phrase or word Of any kind eonld h. a.
from him; Jet the same bird, seeing nv a. aasa
ter week after nc had given hiuf sv,s. s.sssE 81
friend, suddenly called her by nam.2 -
parrot should have been the symboI af ta ~
Venetian Council OF Ten. VI 'ie
Three weeks - after the great, f., !.
lineage, IN lS!l, l saw parrot whss =
all household treasures there. Il had haa aass q
to my old friend, Mrs. Kirkland. and v,s1aas;aa
cherished by her daughter. When It rss 14.e! -!
dent thzt the house was doomed, and tks ,.1 s.r
wall OF flame, urged iJy the harricsn. ~. ~
sweeping towards it With terrific Sneed ~. ~
Kirkland saw that she could rescue noth2,9 - =
cept what she instantly took in her k:,Ss
There were two objects, equally dear,-thr N.Y.,
rot and the old family Bible; but she W. nv
able to carry more than one Of them. Atts, T
2 single moment Of choice, she seized Il,
Bible, and was hasteufns apay w. =.
the parrot cried out, in loud and solemn ross
''GooD LORD, DELIVER Cs!n
No human being, I think, could have bern ~,
to such an appeal; the precious Bible xas - -
riaccd. and the parrot saved. The h;n1 ,,sn.
possessed . superior intelligence. Il heani Mn
say + Yes" and s'No," In answer to nuest;on.
the latter being varied SO as to admit. ill.,
nately, OF both replies; and the test IT ha
knowledge was perfect. In the home vher. h.
had found refuge there were many e5esirs
visitors, one Of whom, a gentleman, WA r.itfr
noted for his MONOPOLY OF the. couyenatdn.
When the parrot first heard him, il Estsn. a.
ed in silence for some time; then, tn
the amazcment and, perhaps, the confusion
OF all present, it said very emnhit.
ically, ''You talk altogether too much! n Tbe
gentleman, at first somewhat embarrassed
presently resumed his interrupted discourse.
Thcreupon the parrot laid hi. head On Que ST..
gave nindescnhably comical and contemptuous
''H'm-mi'' u and added,
THERE he GOES AGAIS!"
II there ever was an aisean- terrible, It Is Tia
parrot; his instinct for discovering ways md
means Of annoyance is something diaboucaI,
II the little brain of q bird contains 50 much,
manifested to lis simply because its tongue nav
be taught to utter articulatc sounds, wby baJe
we not right to assume q much greater degree
Of intelligence in animals to whom articulation
is impossiblcs If dogs or horses we're r.
pable Of initiating Our speech, as well Is con-
it, would they not hare grea. deal
more to say to uss Articulation Is a meehapt
al, not an intellectual popularity; but IN the
sase OF the parrot, and notably the fniao, It Il
generally go employed us to prove very muca
more than routine aad coincidence. t neyu
'aw 1nino (the name is possibly corruption d
but once. entered the vacant read
ns-room OF hotel, early in the morning, toot
Up paper, and sat down, when suddenlt
Eoice said, ttGool morningt' / saw nothi1,
,ut what seemed to be a black bind II /
age, and could not have believed thas
he perfectly human voice came from It,
lad it not once more said, In the politest taas
ooked at it. ':Open tic door and LET ne out
,lease!'' said the bird. ssWhy, what are youl"
involuntarily exclaimed.
s'1'M 4 M1SO!"
answered the amazing creature. It WAS tie G.
1T voice Of boy OF II.
When we turn to the lower forms OF life !
ceiling OF rcpulsiou, il not OF positive disgus5
hecks our interest. Very few persons are CPS.
lie Of fairly observing snakes, toady, lizsrda
nd other reptiles which siiegest either sliueoE
imost universal. I confess should ne1e1E
sct one of those creatures as : suh-
ect OF study; but in sinsa
ase, where the creature presented itsalt IN.
olicited, and became familiar with encour1se-
lent, it soon lost its repulsire character. It
'as 4 huge, venerable toad, which for ye1s
aunted the terrace in front Of my hoast
tr1ct orders had been giveI, from the frst, ths
c was not to be molcstcd; and he soon ceasedn
how alarm whcn any one appeared. DutR
lie warm weather Of summer, it was our eias
, sit upon the terrace and enjoy the sunset mi
arly twilight From hopping around Is H
lch times, the toad gradually came to TAXI 9
:atipn near us, rs il he crayed Il higher form j
ociety and was satisfied to be simply tolcFatA
lnaIly he seemed to watch for our Appearance
nd whenever we came out with chairs am
smp-stoois for the evening, be strachts!
opped forth from some covert under the eat
lshcs and took his station beside some ooe y
}. lie was veEy fond OF sitting On the tdst
y wte's dress, but his greatest familiarity fn
PERCH ON ONE OF MI BOOTS,
here his profound content at haying hts oaca
ca6ioually stroked was shown In tue sios!
xurious winking ard rolling Of his oreh
Us. His advances to US had been made
:ntly and tinidly that it would have hss
uel to repe1 them: but We ended By heasa!
ding him and welcoming his EaA
or several summers he was cur e!ss
e companion; even the house4loc, W.T.
It command, respected his right y
ace. One May he failed to appear, not non
d age, for his term OF life was tar beyond en-.
It probably from having fallen victim to set''
9 against which nc could hot guard him.
I hare found field-tortoiscs With dates neAY
hundred Years old carved on the under s9en.
lch an aged fellow never shows the same a1 PEI
man as those OF i later gene1ation. insFs
shutting himself up with an alarmed nlss, ~ "
rusts out his head, peers boldly into IoIs, ~
&c, and paws impatfently in the air, Is na%