CHAPTER XVIII. 



ONE OF THE FIl AL KICKS. 



I WAS oliosen by somebody (wiio will here permit me to 

 present them my thanks for the honor) as one of the judges 

 to decide upon the merits of the birds then to be exhibited : 

 and my colleagues on this Committee were Dr. J. C. Ben- 

 nett, and Messrs. Andrews, Balch and Fussell. 



On the morning of the opening of this show the names 

 of .the judges were first announced to the contributors. 

 Immediately there follow^ed a "hullabaloo" that would 

 have done credit to any bedlam, ancient or modern, ever 

 heard or dreamed of The lead in this burst of rebellion 

 amongst the hitherto " faithfiil " was taken by one promi- 

 nent member, who announced publicly, then and there, that 

 the selection of the judges was an infamous imposition. 

 They were incompetent, dishonest, prejudiced, calculating, 

 speculative, ambitious competitors. Moreover, that it had 

 all been " contrived by that damned Bumham, who would 

 rob a church-yard, or steal the cents off the eyes of his dead 

 uncle, any time, for the price of a hen." 



