The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-14

~ oGoBURN is not patent prepa-
 ration for taking vitriol marks Off 0 the face, nor is it short way of saying "Go to blazes." It is the name of a three-masted bark trading between New York and the West Indies. Quite as odd as the ships name is the name of -he cook; and more remarkable than either was the visit he received last December from the man with the, cage of green parrots. This man must have arrived on the steamship Esperanza, which got ir from Havana early the same day. At eny rate the man was a Cuban, and knew no English.
 Stoveheter, the cook of the Gogoburn, was at work in the galley washing up dishes and putting the pots and pans in order when he happened to look up and saw this man climbing aboard.
 ''He had a dark, furrin-lookin' face" said he, "an' it give me quite a start go see i'm, so I puts down the pan I was scourin' an goes out to see what he wants. Tn first thing I noticed about i'm was that he had on longsh kind of opery cloak with big hood to it, an then I see that he had cage of parrots in his hand. I thought he was one of them Eyetalians workin' at tn wharf next us.
 sHisty says he as soon as he claps eyes on me, putin his finger to his lip, an lookin' roun over his shoulder like tn villain does at tn theayeter, I am pursued
 l" Be you indeed? says I; for knew Spanish pretty well, an that was tn lingo he spoke. Well, I don't wonder none at it. You ought to be anyway; you look tn part all right" Howsomever I takes him in, him an his cage of green parrots, an asks him if he was hun gry.
 q No tengo hambre says he; 'tengo miedo.' Meanin' he was too scared 10
 We'll says I, 'wha. can I do for you?
 '' I have here,' says he, tn ryal birds or paradise stolen long ago from tn hangin' gardings of Babylon An he held Up the cage for me to see. Inside was four little green parrots sech as 1 have seen hundreds of in tn woods 'roun' San tiago. They was settin a couple of wooden benches half froze, an lookin' solemn as owls Of course I see then that he was loony, an I reckn I ought erve gone for tn police; but he didn't look mite dangerous, only scared to death, so I waits to hear what more he has to say. First he takes a good look out of tn winder to see if any one was after him, an then he puts tn cage on tn floor, an sets down.
 |" I am tn last of the Merryvingians.' says he, glarin' at me.
 Too bad says I soothin'ly, shakin' my head. I'm all broke up to hear 1t, but somebody's got to be tn last of ev'ry family, an you'll get over it in time. Was your people well known on tn island?' l asks him. Merryvingia sounded some like a Spanish name; they most generally ends in ia or 'ez or os' like Garcia or Velasquez or Campos, or any of them titles you finds on tn band of a 50-cent cigar
 "'Well knownr cries he, scornful like, an loolxin' daggers at me. Well known! I sh'd say they was. My ancestors was kings of Tarshsh
 "'Oh, ho,' thinks I, was they? I'll bet it's a heap more likely they come from Ethiopia;' for he was one of tn blackest Cubians I ever lays eyes on.
 You've quite pedigree. l observes pleasantly. Looks to me like you'd oughter have kinfolks all 'roun tn world. Any one here n New York you know?
 'sHe jumps up like a shot when l asks him that. Any one here in New York know! he says. 'Caramba! hay muchos, muchos. There's my cousin, tn Duke of York, an my uncle, tn Gran Alarmer of Tribet. an my father-in-law. tn Shah