186 THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL. 



much as a great deal which it would be 

 rude to call nonsense,'' a remark in 

 the professor's usually cynical and caustic 

 language, which reminds one of the very 

 learned parrot mentioned by Darwin as 

 " the sole living creature which could 

 speak the language of a lost tribe " ! 

 Darwin's bird, however, scarcely equals in 

 point of intelligence another parrot of the 

 Roman Catholic persuasion according to 

 the Glories of Mary, a work which was 

 much in use amongst the Papists of the 

 19th century, where you will find at p. 67 

 the following idle legend related, and 

 inasmuch as the work is highly commended 

 by Cardinal Manning, we conclude it is 

 accepted by the Church of Eome. 



" A parrot was taught to say, ' Hail ! 

 Mary.' A hawk was on the point of 

 seizing it, when the bird cried out, ' Hail ! 

 Mary ' / In an instant the hawk fell dead. 

 God intended to show thereby that if 

 even an irrational creature was. preserved 

 by calling on Mary, how much more 

 would those who are prompt in calling 



