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XXXVI INTRODUCTION. 
rationality. She was, at the time of her decease, supposed to 
be more than thirty years of age. The colonel was repeat- 
edly offered five hundred guineas a year for the bird, by 
persons who wished to make a public exhibition of her; but 
out of tenderness to his favorite he constantly refused the 
offer. 
The story related by Goldsmith of a parrot belonging to 
King Henry the Seventh, is very amusing, and possibly true. It 
was kept in a room in the Palace of Westminster, overlooking 
the Thames, and had naturally enough learned a store of boat- 
men’s phrases; one day, sporting somewhat incautiously, Poll 
fell into the river, but had rationality enough, it appears, to 
make a profitable use of the words she had learned, and ac- 
cordingly vociferated, ‘A boat! twenty pounds fora boat!” 
This welcome sound reaching the ears of a waterman, soon 
brought assistance to the Parrot, who delivered it to the 
king, with a request to be paid the round sum so readily prom- 
ised by the bird; but his Majesty, dissatisfied with the exor- 
bitant demand, agreed, at any rate, to give him what the 
bird should now award; in answer to which reference, Poll 
shrewdly cried, “Give the knave a groat!” 
“~The story given by Locke, in his “Essay on the Human 
Understanding,” though approaching closely to rationality, and 
apparently improbable, may not be a greater effort than could 
have been accomplished by Colonel O’Kelly’s bird. This 
Parrot had attracted the attention of Prince Maurice, then 
governor of Brazil, who had a curiosity to witness its powers. 
The bird was introduced into the room, where sat the prince 
in company with several Dutchmen. On viewing them, the 
Parrot exclaimed, in Portuguese, “ What a company of white 
men are here!” Pointing to the prince, they asked, “ Who is 
that man?” to which the Parrot replies, “Some general or 
other.” The prince now asked, “From what place do you 
come?” The answer was, “From Marignan.” ‘To whom 
do you belong?” It answered, ‘To a Portuguese.” «What 
do you do there?” To which the Parrot replied, “I look after 
chickens!” The prince, now laughing, exclaimed, “ Vou look 
