EXTRACTS FROM AN ANONYMOUS JOURNAL. 77 



its head against his neck in a most affectionate 

 manner. 



It has been already noticed that Sukumar, a boy 

 friend of Janardan's, got one of the young parrots. 

 Though good-natured and fond of birds, the lad 

 was careless and lazy, and in spite of the remons- 

 trances of his guardian, he would often forget to feed 

 his pet at proper time ; as to cleaning the cage he 

 would seldom attend to it. No pious Hindu would 

 so much as touch food and drink, if a single ani- 

 mal in the house remained unfed and uncared for. 

 From this point of view, old Devi Datta had not un- 

 frequently to pay the penalty of his nephew's trans- 

 gression by having to personally attend to the feeding 

 of the parrot. Whatever his sentiments might have been 

 as to the_ ; propriety of a bird fasting in his house, he did 

 not like Polly which hated him in return. One 

 morning Sukumar was unconsolable at rinding that his 

 pet had escaped. Whether old Devi Datt had a hand 

 in the bird's escape or not, deponent saith not ; but 

 certain it is, that he made no attempts to recapture it. 

 After having hbvered about the place for a few days, 

 always eluding other people's attempts at depriving 

 it of its liberty, it winged its way towards Basantapore f 

 where it soon made friends with a male bird of its 

 own kind, which Sham Chand Mudi a thriving 

 grocer, owned as a pet. It had in the meantime de- 

 veloped roving propensities, and was very erratic in its 

 movements. So that one day it would keep compan y 



