46 



Blue Thrushes 



In fact, " a most unattractive old thing ! " 



But what </zi/ attract me, was a bird in a picturesque 

 cane-barred cage, which hung from the tumble-down 

 iron balcony, amongst bunches of golden maize, 

 above the stall laden with fruit and vegetables. The 

 bird was singing in spite of its woe-begone appearance, 

 for it was evident that old Pietro considered a bath 

 for his bird as unnecessary as for himself. I asked 

 him to let me see it. What did he call it ? " Passera 

 Solitaria, signore. Un uccello magnifico ! Canta 

 tutto il giorno, dalla mattina fin alia sera ! " 



A blue thrush, which under such unwashen cir- 

 cumstances " sang all the day from morning till 

 night," must be a treasure of a bird ; so that after a 

 good deal of chattering and haggling, in the midst 

 of which old Pietro shrugged his fat shoulders above 

 his ears, and I turned abruptly away with an imitative 

 shrug, both of us thereby expressing our opinion of 

 the futility of our bargaining, an agreement was 

 arrived at, and the Passera became mine. Oh ! the 

 dirt of his cage ! no wonder the poor bird's tail was 

 worn to a shred, and his body coated with filth ; his 

 feet too, each toe firmly embedded in a hardened 

 lump of dirt and sand, so that each time he hopped 

 from perch to perch there was a sound as of three 

 or four peas rattling about. 



It was a real joy, when I had him in my room, to 

 soak those poor neglected feet in a basin of warm 

 water, and to perform the office of a chiropodist. 

 A joy to see those nasty lumps soften and drop ofE, 

 like great clod-hopping, ill-fitting boots. 



