The Belgian. 213 



MY FIRST BIRDS. It is now forty years since I purchased 

 my first pair of Belgian canaries, and I have a very vivid recol- 

 lection of the characteristic features that were at that time 

 looked for by fanciers ; they were length and thinness of body, 

 sleekness, and smartness ; and the beau ideal of a bird of this 

 description was one that was so exceedingly slender, that it 

 gave anyone the idea that it could be passed through a lady's 

 gold ring. But this particular fancy at that time was in its 

 infancy in England, and the admirers of Belgian canaries were 

 groping their way in the dark; the birds then imported were 

 not thoroughbred, or at least very few of them, and those 

 that were, were regarded as deformed and ugly. Dealers had 

 to be resorted to at that time for canaries of this sort, as 

 very few fanciers, in the North of England at least, were 

 known to breed birds of this variety, as they had not been 

 introduced into England many years previously. At that time 

 1 resided in a very pretty village about three miles distant from 

 a town, which, in a commercial aspect at least, is now considered 

 one of the chief in the county of Durham. The importer 

 in this instance was Joseph Greenwell, a man known throughout 

 the "fancy" thirty years ago, not only as a dealer, but as 

 a fancier as well. He was in the habit of receiving importations 

 of these birds during the autumn and spring months of the year, 

 at stated periods, and they usually arrived on Saturdays, which 

 1 fancy was a good arrangement on his part, seeing that the 

 majority of his customers were of the artisan class, and these 

 men received their wages weekly, and generally on the 

 Saturdays, consequently they would be prepared with the 

 wherewithal which would enable them to become possessors 

 of the objects of their admiration, and ready cash is considered 

 a sine qua non in the bird fancy. Upon one occasion I 

 called at GreenweM's to purchase a buff Belgian cock, but I 

 found he had not one to suit me. He thereupon informed me 

 that he expected a "fresh lot" on the following Saturday 

 morning. Having ascertained the time of their probable arrival 

 and other necessary information, I determined, if possible, to be 

 one of the first in attendance, so that I might have an oppor- 

 tunity of selecting something to my mind. Although I lived 



