The Dominie and the Germans. 81 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE DOMINIE AND THE GERMANS. 



]E had now completed our stock of canaries for 

 breeding, having eight pairs, four for each com- 

 partment of our aviary. We had thus speci- 

 mens of every kind of breed, and almost every variety 

 of colour. Belgians with their fine orange yellow and 

 peculiar form, lizards with their beautifully speckled 

 plumage of grey and yellow green ; the London fancy 

 with its burnished golden body and jet black wings and 

 tail ; Yorkshire spangles with their gaily marked heads 

 and wings ; the pure grass green, the mealy white or 

 buff, and the beautiful chesnut, fawn, or cinnamon, as 

 they are more commonly called. We had thus far been 

 highly successful in realising the plan we had sketched 

 out for ourselves, and now possessed birds of almost 

 every form and colour. To make our establishment 

 quite complete, there was one thing still wanting, viz., 

 an accomplished vocalist ; for, though we had several 

 very excellent singers amongst our gentlemen canaries, 

 yet their song was only the uncultivated and inartistic 

 ditty of England. But as the time was fast approach- 

 ing when we hoped to have a numerous progeny of 

 young princes and scions of noble blood, we felt it a 

 duty to provide a suitable master for their vocal educa- 



