Our Misfortunes. 125 



laid four eggs, but only succeeded in hatching two, 

 which, like those of Brilliant and Blanche above, 

 seemed to thrive and do very well until they had got 

 well covered over with pin-feathers, so that we could 

 see what colour they would be, when they, from some 

 cause, suddenly stopped in their growth, languished 

 and died. Though apparently excessively fond of 

 them, neither she nor Dandy would feed them suffi- 

 ciently, and so they died. A third time she made a 

 nest, laid and hatched one young one, which perished 

 in the same way, and then I thought she had done 

 enough for one season, and so took her away from her 

 lord. We had seen enough to show the unsoundness 

 of the theory propounded by our German friend as to 

 the colour of the offspring from two vivid green birds, 

 for although one had a yellow mark on his back, all 

 the others were undoubtedly green, thus showing that, 

 after all, " like will produce like," not only in shape 

 but colour. 



By the beginning of June, Daisy and Marquis had 

 completed their second nest, and the former safely 

 deposited four more exceedingly fine eggs therein, 

 which, after due time, were all hatched, producing 

 four young birds. This was famous luck, and now we 

 thought we should surely succeed, as Daisy, we did 

 not doubt, would prove an exemplary mother. But 

 alas ! no, it was just as though an epidemic, or species 

 of mania, had seized the birds ; like the rest, after a 

 few days, she seemed tired of feeding them, and her 

 husband did not seem much inclined to supply her 

 place. Thus they shared the same fate as the others, 



