SAGACITY OF THE GOOSE. 159 



ral History there occurs a remarkable anec- 

 dote in point. An old goose, that had been 

 sitting upon her eggs for two weeks in a 

 farmer's kitchen, was perceived on a sudden 

 to be taken violently ill. She soon after left 

 the nest and repaired to an outhouse, where 

 there was a young goose of the first year ; 

 this she brought into the kitchen. The 

 young one immediately scrambled into the 

 old one's nest, sat, hatched, and afterward 

 brought up the brood. The old goose, as 

 soon as the young one had taken her place, 

 sat down by the side of the nest, and short- 

 ly after died. The young goose had never 

 been in the habit of entering the kitchen be- 

 fore, and the person who relates the trans- 

 action received the account the same day 

 it occurred from his sister, who witnessed it. 

 In Europe, where the luxury of the ta- 

 ble is proudly pointed to as one of the in- 

 dices of a refined civilization, the unfortu- 

 nate goose is subjected to a series of cruel 

 tortures, which we should say could only be 

 practised by a tribe of miserable barbarians. 

 The goose is first deprived of its eyes, then 



