THE ART OF THE FANCY. 19 



Fancier, adhered rigidly to the same rule. 

 And if, after protracted chaffering, he did dis- 

 possess himself of a choice specimen to en- 

 rich the stud of a brother of the craft, he ex- 

 plained himself naively to a friend of mine, 

 "You see, I have a better bird behind it now." 

 So the purchaser never got what he coveted — 

 Chapman's best bird. He parted with a good 

 bird only when he had bred a better one. 



Having spoken on the Art, the Artist also 

 demands our attention. The Pigeon-Fancier is 

 essentially a man of quiet, contemplative mind, 

 for his work demands the constant action of 

 thought, and the love of it compels the effort. 

 Add to this the habits which one must fall into 

 in being with the birds, the enforced calmness 

 and gentleness, without which the best efforts 

 are lost. Absorbed in his innocent pursuit, he 

 dwells apart from the world of struggles and 

 scandals, nor has he time to encourage the 

 fungus growth of envy or malice in his own 

 heart. Thus your artist in living pictures gene- 

 rally develops into a harmless member of so- 

 ciety, living a gentle and kindly-mannered life. 

 Mr. Ure says, " In the whole of my experience 

 I never knew an instance of a real Fancier being 

 a degraded or an immoral man." 



