Chapter XXV. 



THE TUMBLER PIGEON. X> 



HE above heading causes the almost forgotten 

 past to be remembered. Visions of bygone 

 celebrities, that were known by such names 

 as the Red Mottle, the Blue Hen, and the Red 

 Breaster, crowd up from the days of the 

 springtime of life. I recall the feat of my little blue Tumbler, 

 which, when heading against a strong wind, and neither 

 making nor losing any headway, turned clean over forty 

 times within the minute, in the same aerial space. The 

 pennies that ought to have been spent on biscuits to appease 

 the mid-day appetite, were hoarded up till such a sum was 

 accumulated as would cause some well-known performer to 

 change ownership; and then there was joy in fetching it 

 home, the basket being opened many times on the way 

 for " another look." I should think there are more Tumbler 

 pigeons kept in this country than there are of all other 

 fancy kinds put together, and that the accumulation of 

 genuine pleasure derived by their owners from them exceeds 

 that from all other kinds. Many a fancier has begun with 

 Tumblers, and but few refuse to provide a place for their 



