The Hawaiian gazette., 1899-04-25
Mis- ThlTShy's Remarkable Bird
is Dead.
OBITUARY sCsApBooK MAKING
Tho eird That spoke Five Lansus-
sss-valued at Sio.ooo-Many
Letters ~ Coincidence.

Miss Emma Tbursby of New York Is
making a scrapbook which will be an
interesting monument in lis way 10
1ae Accomplishments of her famous
bird Mynah. Almost everybody has
halrd OF Mynah. the little feathered
friend which Miss Thursby valued al
$4,000. He could speak five Ian
guages. play the piano. initiate a ban
- and do many other remarkable
things Miss Thursby owned Mynah
twelve years, and was almost incon-
solable when he died of spinal menin-
gifts about two months ago.
Immediately dozens Of clippings,
describing the dead bird, were sent
70 her BY friends from all over the
country; letters Of coincidence began
70 come, and are still coming: some
of them from total strangers. With
out making any attempt to collect ref
.erences to the bird which has proved
TO be SO famous. Miss Thursby found
them accommodating in such numbers
that the plan OF arranging them in
some permanent form occurred TO her.
That Is what she and her sister ere
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. II.
Il enclose the picture OF dear My
nah which / promised you. 1t Is very
life-like and makes 1t seem as If he
had not flown from our sight | missed
seeing him on my last visit: missed
his cordial greeting SO like a happy
ohild's; missed the gentle way in which
ne would follow us about simply for
companionship. To one who had not
seen evidences OF the real fineness Of
his nature 1t would seem almost in
credible TO listen TO the stories his
friends tell, but we know their truth.
The iovel!ness 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 pitifully then, 4 want to get out!
I'll come right back He touched
tender chord in every heart and he
made the world-especially Of little
ohildren-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 lam
g,age to be used about a bird, but ap-
parently 1t is none too strong, in the
opinion OF those who knew Mynah.
Even Mrs. Margaret Sullivan, the wri-
ter. a woman not given to rnapsodies.
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 dain-
tier or more fit to entertain his kind
and all other kinds"
Another letter which has place in
the collection is one written in a large
round, childish hand. It says:
Dear Miss Thursby:-I read about
Mynah's death and | thought would
sympathize with you, for | had such
pleasant time with him when l was
over there. Mamma promised to take
me over again. ! am sorry she did
not do SO before Mynah died. l did
not think he wouli die so quick, and
l did want to see him SO much"
There was one formal letter, SER
iously and stihly written, and saying
that the writer had just seer 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 sorrowful over the
loss Of her canary Patsie When she
heard OF Mynah's death, her grief was
both greater and less; less because
Patsie and MynaJh were together. One
letter lamented ALIAS! he has gone
the way Of all earth!" Another said,
"The entire household sends sympa-
thy" One writer enclosed a 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
country, from Florida to Washington,
while there Is one from Nicaragua.
Perhaps the most peculiar OF these
adsslyes was one from total stran-
ger who apologized for writing, ex-
eusing herself on the ground Of com
munity OF Affections, II have Just lost
my beautiful and valuable Mexican
double yellow-headed parrot" she says,
"lrom the same tllness which has de-