CHAPTER IX. 



Nellie's Affections.— A Little Flirtation.— Some of my Per- 

 sonal Friends. 



Nellie had spent much of her life in captiv- 

 ity, and had been used to the society of children, 

 for whom she showed the greatest fondness. She 

 rarely ever betrayed the slightest aversion to any 

 of them. She delighted to pat their cheeks, pull 

 their ears, and tangle their hair. One of her 

 favorite pastimes was to pull the hairpins out of 

 my wife's hair so that she could get hold of it 

 the better to play with it, and my wife has often 

 remarked that Nellie would make an excellent 

 lady's maid. She would clean one's finger-nails 

 with the skill of a manicure. She would pick 

 every shred, ravelling, or speck from one's cloth- 

 ing. Her aversions and her attachments were 

 equally strong. She was not selfish in selecting 

 her friends, nor did she seem to be influenced by 

 age or beauty. 



To let her out of her cage and give her some- 

 thing to play with was happiness enough for her, 



