304 LETTER XLVII. 



add such graceful tones, that the master- could scarcely 

 recognize his own music, and: acknowledge that the 

 scholar excelled him. 



THE ORTOLAN 



is a bird which has acquired an extraordinary degree 

 of celebrity, from the delicacy of its flesh. The 

 -plumage, on the upper part, is of a chesnut colour, 

 mixed with black-; the under parts are of a dusky white. 

 These birds are common in France and Italy, and are 

 found in most countries of Europe, except Great 

 Britain. In their migrations i\\nn one country to an- 

 other, numbers are caught, and fattened for the table. 1 

 When 'thoroughly fed it weighs sometimes three 

 ounces, and is accounted the most delicious morsel 

 which the culinary art can prepare; but it would not 

 perhaps be equally agreeable to every one's taste, a* 

 it is little else than an entire lump of fat 



The birds commonly distinguished by the appella-' 

 tion of the finch kind, are divided into above a hun- 

 dred well known species, and undoubtedly there arc 

 many others unknown to our ornithologists. Of these 

 the goldfinch is one of the most beautiful, the most 

 docile, and the most harmonious. This charming 

 little songster is too well known to require any de- 

 scription. This species is widely diffused, for we 

 jmd it an inhabitant of almost every quarter of the 

 old continent, although it abounds principally in Eu- 

 rope. 



The finch genus comprehends a great variety of fo- 

 reign birds, some of which are remarkable -for the 

 -beauty of their plumage, and others for their har- 

 mony. Among these the canary bird is universally 

 known and esteemed. Its name indicates its origin, 

 whrch is from the Canary island*, although we have 

 them now from Germany, where they are -bred up 

 tame in great numbers, and sold into different parts 

 of Europe. In a wild state it cannot bear the severity 

 of our climate ; but kept in a cage it will live ten or 

 fifteen years. 



In its native islands, which are rendered delightful 

 &y the beauty of their landscapes, and the harmony. 



