The evening times., 1899-09-05
80 z-< 49, ~ ~
(From the New York Sun. }

the piano, initiate a banjo and do many
other remarkable things. Miss Thursby
owned Mynah twelve years. and was al
most inconsolable when he died of spinal
meningitis about two months ago.
Immediately dozens of clippings. describ-
ing the dead bird, were sent to her by
friends from all over The country; letters
OF condoleaee. began to come, and are still
coming; some of them from total strang-
ers. Without making any attempt to col
lect references to the bird which has
proved to,bs soiamous, Miss Fhursby found
them accumulating in such numbers that
the plan of arranging them in some per-
manent form occurred to her. That is what
she ahd her sister are now doing. Only the
other day the following letter came from
Miss Sarah j. Farmer, who is the head and
front OF the Greenacre- movement, with its
annual meetings near Portsmouth, N. H.:
Il enclose the picture OF dear Mynah
which l promised you. 1t Is very litelike
| and makes il seem as II he had not flown
from our sight. / missed seeing him on
| my last visit; missed his cordial greeting
SO like happy chiid's; missed the gentle
| way in which he would follow US about
| simply for companionship. To one who had
| not seen evidences of the real fneness Of
| his nature it would seem almost Incredible
to listen to the stories his friends tell, but
we know their truth. The loveliness of his
disposition and the beauty OF his voice are
| beyond comparison. These he cannot lose.
nor can you. In fields elysian' you will
| find him again, and he will not cry so pit
| fully then, i want to get out! I'll come
| right back He touched a tender chord in
every heart and he made the worid-espec-
| tally of little children-brighter for his
| being in it. We would be glad to have that
said of us when We go, would we not?"
This seems rather extravagant language
AI4,,t hsrI htre nr,YAnr flx
is none too strong In the opinion of those
who knew Mynah. Even Mrs. Margaret
Sullivan, the writer, woman not given
to rhapsodies, wrote in the same strain
I'VE must condole with you and your
sister," she said. May the groves of
the elysian fields open their sweetest
branches to his winged feet. For there is
no other bird spirit there daintier or more
fit TO entertain his kind and all other
kinds
Another letter which has a place In the
collection is one written in large. round
childish hand. 1t says:
Dear Miss Thursby: / read about My
nah's death and l thought would sympa-
thiZe with you, for | had such pleasant
time with him when l was over there.
Mama promised 10 take me-over again.
am sorry she did not do so before Mynah
died. l did not think he would die so
There was one formal letter, seriously
and stifiy written and saying that the
writer had just seen the notice of the
death OF the youngest member OF your
family and extends sincere sympathy and
coincidence. There was another from the
mother of one of Mynah's many child
friends. The little girl was sorrowing
over the loss OF her canary Patsie. When
she heard of Mynah's death, her grief was
less hacangp PafSisa
and Mynah were together One letter
lamented: Alas! he has gone the way of
all earthy' Another said, 1.-The entire
household sends sympathy" One writer !
enclosed clipping from Boston paper |
which said: Who knows but into the body |
Of some human being this soul may still |
be marching on.
The letters came from all over the coun-
try, from Florida to Washington, while |
there is one from Nicaragua. Perhaps the |
most peculiar CT these missives was one |
from q total stranger, who apologized for |
writing. excusing herself on the ground of |
a community of Affections. II have just |
lost my beautiful and valuable Mexican |
double yellow headed parrot she says, |
from the same illness which has deprived |
you OF your Mynah, and may therefore be
excused for offering you few words OF
heartfelt sympathy. The enclosed lines
consonance with our feelings. The per-
usal Of these lines have been a great con-
ISOLATION to me, and know you will appre-
ciate them"
Miss Thursby, who is the soul of kind
ness, doesn't like to admit that the lines
have not been so much of consolation to
her as the sender evidently intended them |
to be- She regards them, in fact, with |
somewhat puzzled air. merely remarking |
49, thap on Sn1nd much |
like Latin" Nevertheless the lines will go
into the scrapbook, where, as will be evil
dent from a perusal of them, they certain
ly belong. Here they are:
Alas! poor Mynah my Indian talker, dies!
Go, birds and celebrate his obsequies:
Co. birds and beat your breasts, your faces tear,
And pluck your gaudy piumes, instead OF hair;
Let dolefu tunes the frightened forest wound,
And YOUR sad notes supply the trumpet sound
But ah, what did thy faith, thy plumes and tail,
And what thy.pretty speaking art avail?
In speaking thou didst every bird excel.
None prattled and none lisped the words so well.
Twas envy alone sent this fierce disease,
Thou vert averse to war and liv DIST in peace,
talking harmless thing, and low DIST thy
The fighting g,lails still live midst all their strife,
And even that perhaps prolongs their life
Thy meat little and thy prattling tongue
Would never permit to make thy dinner long.
Plain fountain water all thy drink allowed.
And nut and poppy seed were all thy food.
And the unucky crow still caws for rain.
The choughl still lives midst fierce Minerva's hate |
And scarce nine hundred years conclude her fate.
But my poor pet now hangs bis sickly head.
My bird, my present from the East is dead
Best things soonest snatehed by covetous fate,
To worse she freely gives longer date
There is shady cypress grove below,
And hither (if such doubtful things know |
The ghosts of pious birds departed go.
'Tis watered well and sverdant iall the year.
And birds obscene do never venture there;
There harmless swans securely take their rest,
And there the single phoenix builds her nest |
To these dark shades my Mynahs soul shall CO.
And with his talk divert the birds below,
Whilst here his bones enjoy noble grave,
A little marble and epitaph:
"In talking i did every bird excel, |
And my tomb proves my mistress loved me well.'
OF course it would be too much to ex-
pect Of 1.-The old. Latin poet who wrote |
these lines that he should anticipate that |
Mynah would be stuffed and mounted in |
stead of being buried in a noble grave |
by little marble and an cpl |
tave The taxidermist has done all that |
he could to preserve the image Of Mynah,
and Miss Thursby strokes the shining |
neck of the dead bird with affection and |
with something very like tears in her eyes. |
But she says that it doesn't seem to her |
like anything more than "Mynah's old |
Clothes" The serapbook, when finished, |
will contain truly remarkable collection |
Of tributes to truly remarkable bird.
A Costly siesta.
Willis w. Fisher, whose home is at 112 jackson |
Street, Anacostia, reported to the police last |
night that while asleep in the White Lot he had |
been robbed of articles valued at SIPS. The ar.