PARROTS. 461 



which, in repeating the lamentable accents several times, " Alas ! 

 my master Leon ! " ended by touching the heart of this barbarous 

 father. M. Lemaout says : " In a town of Normandy a butcher's 

 wife beat her child unmercifully every day. The infant sank 

 under the ill-treatment. The justice of man made no remonstrance, 

 but a Grey Parrot which lived in the house of a rope-maker, 

 opposite to that of the butcher, took upon itself the chastisement 

 of this unnatural mother. It continually repeated the cries which 

 the poor child uttered when he saw his mother rush at him with 

 the rod in her hand ' What for ? what for ? ' This phrase was 

 uttered by the bird with such doleful and supplicating accents, 

 that the indignant passers-by entered unexpectedly into the shop, 

 and reproached the rope-maker with his barbarity. He justified 

 himself by showing his Parrot, and relating the history of his 

 neighbour's child. After some months the woman, pursued by 

 the accusing phrase and the murmurs of public opinion, was 

 obliged to sell her business and leave the village." 



The Marquis of Langle, in his " Travels in Spain," writes thus : 

 " I saw at Madrid, at the English Consul's, a Parrot which has 

 retained a quantity of things an incredible number of stories and 

 anecdotes which it retails and articulates without hesitation. It 

 spoke Spanish, murdered French, knew some verses of Racine, 

 could say grace, repeat the fable of the Crow, and count thirty 

 louis. They dared scarcely hang its cage at the windows ; for 

 when it was there, and the weather was fine, the Parrot talked 

 ceaselessly. It said everything it knew, apostrophised all passers- 

 by (except women), and talked politics. In pronouncing the word 

 "Gibraltar it burst out laughing. One would think it was a man 

 who laughed." 



An English gentleman bought a Grey Parrot in Bristol, the 

 intelligence of which was quite extraordinary. It asked for 

 everything it wanted, and gave orders : it sang several songs, 

 and whistled some airs very well, beating the measure. When 

 it made a false note it recommenced, and never committed the 

 mistake again. We have often, when passing through the 

 Rue Four-des-Flammes, at Montpellier, heard a Parrot which 

 sung and articulated most distinctly the two verses of this 



