GQ2 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Wonderful performances. 



containing their food and drink: for this last pur- 

 pose, they must have fastened round them a small 

 belt of soft leather, two lines broad, with four holes, 

 through which the feet and wings are passed ; 

 and the ends joining under the belly, are to be 

 held by a ring which supports the chain ami cup. 

 A few years ago the Sieur Roman exhibited 

 in this country the wonderful performances of 

 his birds. These were goldfinches, linnets, and 

 canary-birds. One appeared dead, and was held 

 up by the tail or claw without exhibiting any 

 signs of life. A second stood on its head, with 

 its claws in the air. A third imitated a Dutch 

 milkmaid going to market with pails on its 

 shoulders. A fourth mimicked a Venetian girl 

 looking out at a window. A fifth appeared as a 

 soldier, and mounted guard as a sentinel. The 

 sixth was a cannoneer, with a cap on its head, a 

 firelock on its shoulder, and a match in its claw; 

 and discharged a small cannon. The same bird 

 also acted as if it had been wounded : it was 

 wheeled in a barrow, to convey it (as- it were) to 

 the hospital ; after which it flew away before the 

 company. The seventh turned a kind of wind- 

 mill. And the last bird stood in the midst ef 

 some fire-works which were discharged all round 

 it; and this without exhibiting the least sign of 

 fear. 



