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hens and two cocks. Would I like them ? I wrote a big “ Yes,”

and anxiously awaited the next news. Alas ! it was sad when it

came. The cock Many-Colours had all died in the Mediterranean.

Would I have the hens. I said I would. One morning they

arrived quite safely. For weeks I kept them indoors, and as the

weather got warm (it was Xmas when they landed) I put them

out of doors. How I used to watch them ; how I hoped against

hope that one might develop into a cock. I thought it had a

rather masculine head and a rather brighter shoulder patch, and

—I wanted it to be a cock so badly , but it was no good ; they all

remained of the feminine gender. Of the four, two, alas, died.

Some disease of the throat carried them off. If you see a Many-

Colour with an apparent difficulty in swallowing, make up your

mind to lose him.


Where was I to get a cock from. I wrote to my friend Mr.

Savage, but he could not help me. “ Many-Colours are,” he wrote,

“as scarce here as in England. I have not seen any offered for

years.” Then I wrote to Mr. Pekholtz. Could he help me ? No !

But lie gave me the address of a German dealer who sometimes

had Many-Colours. I wrote off; and after a time got the offer of a

cock at a very great price. They say “ a fool and his money are

soon parted ; ” they were in this case. I sent off the money

and the Many-Colour arrived. He “ had been ” a good one,

but was so no longer. Moreover, he had that horrid difficulty in

swallowing. I tried to think he was healthy, that it was only the

infirmity of a noble mind, but in my heart I knew better, and I

felt that the days of mourning were at hand. They were. He

lingered about a fortnight, and then I had a lovely corpse!

Months now passed away, and there was no sign of a Many-

Colour anywhere.


One morning I got a post card from the celebrated J. D. H. :

“Am sending you two cock Many-Colours.” How my heart

went pit-a-pat. Alas! when the} 7 came, and I opened the cage,

one was quite dead. He was such a beauty too. The} 7 had

arrived by the last train at night, and were not delivered till the

next morning. The other, I was delighted to see, was equally good

as his dead brother, and seemed all right after a rest and some

needful refreshment.


For a long time I kept him in a cage, as I did not dare to

trust his precious life to our abominable climate. The two hens

wintered out of doors, in separate compartments, as the} 7 did not

seem very amiable. As the spring advanced last year, I suddenly

missed the younger hen. I feared she was dead, or had got out



