150 SENSATIONAL MANNERS. 



great rustle, turning an anxious eye on me, then 

 on the wriggling attraction, running a step or 

 two, and repeating the performance. In this 

 way he advanced very gradually till near 

 enough to half encircle his prey ; or to run and 

 hop sideways as though to describe a circle, 

 turning away at each pause as before, all the 

 time jerking and fluttering in intense agitation, 

 and always keeping an eye on me. Not that 

 he was in the least afraid of me ; it was simply 

 his sensational way of doing everything. When 

 he finally came within reach of the worm, he 

 snatched it, and ran as though the enemy were 

 upon him. 



His performances before entering the bath 

 were even more amusing. The bathing-dish, a 

 broad, deep plate, stood upon a towel on a ta- 

 ble. The bird alighted on the table, and began 

 first to peck the towel, pulling the fringe, work- 

 ing at any loose thread he discovered, and in- 

 dustriously enlarging any small hole he chanced 

 to find. In doing thus he often turned over the 

 edge, when he sprang back as though he had 

 seen a ghost. Recovering from the shock, he 

 circled around the dish with little hops, occa- 

 sionally giving a gentle peck at the edge of the 

 dish, or a snip at the water with his beak. Thus 

 he waltzed around the bath perhaps forty times, 

 now and then going so far as to jump up on the 



