voice. The longest of liis many sentences was, “ The Queen,

Prince Albert, and all the Royal Family, hip ! hip ! hurrah!

“Joe” had a keen sense of humour, and would whistle for the

dog, and then if the animal obediently answered his call, would

command him in scathing tones to “get out.” At times “Joe”

would put on a pathetic air, and bid “Anne, fetch the doctor,

poor Joe’s very poorly.” He was a born actor, and could dance very

prettily, lifting his feet most daintily, and whistling softly mean¬

while. Then too, when told to ‘put his coat on,’ he would

imitate in a most amusing fashion the struggles of a man getting

into a great coat. He would make any number of courtly bows

when bidden, and like the celebrated “ Grip,” could uncork and

decanter innumerable bottles of imaginary wine.


Another of my special favourites was “ Ben,” a tufted

duck. In his summer suit of white and glossy purple-black he

looked very fine, with his quaint little “duck tails” depending

from the back of his head, which he used to shake in the most

old fashioned manner.


His wife “Susan,” and a little Teal named “ Oliver,” were

his most devoted slaves. The trio spent most of the day basking

under some bushes near the house, but in the evening they

regularly journeyed down to a small artificial stream, some

way down the garden. “ Ben ” always led the van, and called

for frequent halts, squatting on the grass, whilst the other two

would patiently wait beside him until he was ready to proceed,

never dreaming of going on alone.


“ Ben ” had a great weakness for freshly dug up worms,

and I had only to come into the garden with a small fork or

trowel in my hand to fill him with the greatest excitement. He

would follow me all over, and when overcome by his importunity,

I tried to find some of the coveted dainties, he would stand close

to me with his eyes fixed on the hole I was digging, and if the

worms did not appear fast enough—as sometimes happened in

hot weather—he would tug at my dress with his bill, and then

run away frightened for the moment at his own boldness, only to

return presently with renewed courage. “Ben” would feed

from our hands, but much preferred to wash his worms before

eating them, and would solemnly lead the way, with a worm

dangling in his bill, to a bowl ot water (that always stood in the



* Probably “Joe” learnt this sentence previous to Prince Albert’s death in 1861.

This being so the parrot must have been at least 23 years old when he died, which was

about 1883, but I only remember him for the latter part of his life.—R. A.



