The Dominie and the Germans. 87 



aviary for exercise. Moreover, his food has been of the 

 simplest and most ordinary kind, viz., common canary 

 seed mixed with a little rape, with now and then a 

 few hemp for a relish, or a bit of apple or lettuce as 

 the season may be, and a bit of sopped toast every 

 morning as we sit down to breakfast. He has never 

 been either sick or sorry, not even whilst moulting, 

 whilst his song is almost incessant all day long, singing 

 even at night by candle-light, waking up even at mid- 

 night for the purpose whenever he is placed upon the 

 table. I cannot, therefore, believe that they are at all 

 more delicate or difficult to keep than any other, but 

 that where ordinary care and attention, in the matter 

 of proper food and temperature are bestowed upon 

 them, they will be found as hardy as any of our 

 English, and much more hardy- than the Belgian 

 varieties we have yet met with. 



As I intended ours to be a parlour bird, I naturally 

 desired to unite beauty of appearance and excellence of 

 song in the same bird. In this I happily succeeded, 

 choosing a very sprightly, strong-looking little bird, 

 prettily marked on the head and back, with rich 

 chesnut brown, who happened to be an excellent 

 singer as well. Highly pleased with my bargain I 

 hasten to transport him home, when he immediately 

 treated us to a song. The success of his first debut 

 was complete ! all who heard him were enraptured 

 with his performance, and pronounced him to be truly 

 *a master in his art. He thus graduated in high honours 

 as a Doctor of Music, and was at once elected as pro- 

 fessor and tutor to the young princes and nobles in our 



