The Irish standard., 1892-11-19
@ + A Fl RR OF
Nffto SALE MOURNING OVER a
& nucH LOVED HOUSEHOLD PET.

''vsso tEsALE MOURNING OVER "a
I aucH LOVED HousEHoLD PET.
- unfortunate Creature Said s..By BY,
i Lora, BY Bly, and Yielded UP tho
X 0host THE Funeral Was Large one
]: q nd the Furnishings Were Gorgeous.
1 There was q strange scene in Noe
,aalley, away out Castro street, on Thurs
Aay. and those who witnessed it will not
soea tire talking Of it,. To most of those
glieeo took part in it the occasion was
hanght with more Of curiosity than Of
deeper interest. but it was not so with
"a. In u little front parlor at 1414115
0Gstro street stands big empty bird
age. Rising from the top of the cage
. staff on which q. flag. hoisted half mast
nigh. tells the visitor that the one time
occupant is dead. All around the little
Ae1rway where she futtered in and out
1a of black and white still further
ssphasize the fatal fact, and bouquets
4tAowers fitted into feeding and drink
Ing cups and hanging from the swinging
'perch where Polly used to swing are
ttskens to her memory.
d It was only q parrot, this recent
ARpller within those walls Of wire, but
sAdom has bird left more sincere
aourners behind it, and many man or
wesnan would be proud to think that
sash an elaborate funeral was in store
~ him or her. Less than two years
sEe this poor parrot was Matched out in
64 wilderness of Panama. John Stran-
agaann, al honest sailor lad, came into
Possession of the bird on one of his coast
wdao trips and brought it to his uncle's
Assne in Noe Valley. Just one year ago
4 was presented to Mr.. and Mrs. Au-
9uEtus Tache. and in their pretty little
heane On Castro street the bird really
bgan to live the life that has now so
suddenly ended Tho parrots name was
Larotta, but owing to the difficulty par
Et1k8 find in pronouncing the letter T she
called herself Lora, and those who
hmew her and loved her learned to &C
ept the abbreviation. Lora was the
III Of the entire neighborhood, but she
Hss the apple of Mrs. Tache's eye.
Fhere were tears in both Of Mrs.
sche's eyes last evening as she related
tdpries illustrating tho genius and &C
snplishments Of poor Lcra. In ap-
losrance che bird had been quite like.
ny other green parrot with gold trim
s1ings. Her size was roughly but kindly
sisted by Mr.. Tache, who is a carpenter.
@Ao just fitted into box 10 by s
ilDhes." said he. And there stood the
bex OH a pedestal just in front of the
empty cottage" It was dainty box,
more like young lady's glove box than
coffin, covered with blue silk and ine''
VIII the same in quilted squares. Yes
nit poor Lora had been laid out. BY
- silken handles on either side the
pihibearers had carried it to the grave
die, and there in the darkened parlor
i now stands with the other evidences
sf 4 woman's strange devotion to the
aaemory of dead bird.
The lessons that Lora learned in her
heme on Castro street seem all to have
been good ones. She could not only talk
and whistle like other parrots, but as
singer she had an enviable record. Eer
singing of the chorus Of ''.Anld Lang
arne" is said to have made many Of the
rSdidents of Noe Valley weep copiously,
md Mrs. Tache herself was very much
Syarcome last evening in endeavoring to
i've the reporter an idea Of Lora's rem
.1itien of Amid the Raging of Sea
The had sweet and lovely voice, said
1ais fond mistress Of pretty pet. but
III. Tache did not seem TO agree with
her. There was also Il slight difference
U opinion. as to the cause of Lora's de-
1ase. Both agreed that the parrot died
e cholera ,norbus, but Mrs. Tache de-
1Qared that the disease was due to Mr..
Tarhe feeding the bird ON watermelon,
vlhile the latter contended that death
ksA been duo to too freqent bathing at
10 hands Of Mrs. Tache.
Whatsoever the cause. poor Lora was
taken i'll on Monday last. She was '>of
aser feed as Mr.. Tache puts it, all the
sflernoon, and when night came she
1aRlld muster up no words from her vo-
Unanimous vocabulary save poor I.oral
Peer, poor Lora." It should be men
toned here that she never referred to
kerself as Polly, and never made the
stercotyped suggestion regarding tho
proverbial cracker. Just as Monday
was turning into Tuesday Mr.. and Mrs.
Tacne, snugly slowed away in the adj
Joining bedroom, heard "a terrible scream.
They knew at once that Lora was on her
last legs. Mrs. Tache promptly got out
CT bed and went to the rescue. She also
lid what mother would have done for
adying child. She took the bird to her
hpeom and sat with it on her own bed.
Poor Lora lived but q short hour longer:
After the one%shrill scream there came
ut these words, "By by, Lora, by
lTf' They were the last words indeed
Written by the afflicted mistress these
words are still pinned to the wires Of
the empty birdcage. The writer and
her husband are as subdued in their
grisf as If child had been taken away.
The funeral took place at 4 p. N. on
Thursday. The neigi,bors turned outiin
poodly numbers. The house at 141411zz
Castro street was crowded, and there