KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



53 



mentioned by Fitzstephens, who died at the 

 latter end of the twelfth century. He says : — 



'* Yearly at shrove- tide, the boys of every 

 school bring fighting- cocks to their masters ; 

 and all the fore noon is spent at school, to see 

 these cocks fight together. After dinner, all 

 the youth of the city goeth to play at the 

 ball in the fields ; the scholars of every study 

 have their balls ; the practisers also of all 

 the trades have each their ball in their hands. 

 The ancienter sort, the fathers, and the weal- 

 thy citizens, came on horseback, to see these 

 youngsters contending at their % sport, with 

 whom, in a manner, they participate by mo- 

 tion ; stirring their own natural heat in the 

 view of the active youth, with whose mirth 

 and liberty they seem to communicate " 



Let us thank God, and the schoolmaster, 

 that these brutalities have disappeared ; and 

 that we have nought of the old customs left, 

 but the fritters and the pancakes. 



We care not how often we are called upon 

 to pay our compliments to the two last. 



THE YOITNG GIPSY. 

 A CAUTION. 



" Shall I tell your fortune, good gentle- 

 man?" said a sweet, musical voice, as we 

 were gazing on a group of swarthy beings 

 busily employed in preparing a Gipsy encamp- 

 ment. 



We turned, and beheld a young creature, 

 slightly formed, with a complexion that might 

 vie with the lily : a winning smile irresistibly 

 aided her request, and we were prevailed on 

 to listen to her prognostics of the future — mar- 

 velling how so fair a being could have aught 

 in communion with the rude group around 

 her. Regarding us intently for a few seconds, 

 she sighed involuntarily, and pressed her 

 hands over her eyelids, as if to control a 

 sudden and unexpected emotion. 



" Stranger," said she, " you are young, 

 and doubtless happy ; pardon me if I seem 

 intrusive, but I would not cast a shade on 

 a brighter lot than my own. You have a 

 wife that loves you dearly, is it not so ? You 

 need not answer me, I can see it in your 

 looks. You have a father," she proceeded in 

 a faltering voice — "would that mine still sur- 

 vived to guide my steps in this world of woe! 

 Alas ! the poor Gipsy has little to expect on 

 earth save contempt and abhorrence ! " 



Here her feelings overcame her, and she 

 wept violently : we tried in vain to resist 

 the infection, but every look at her sorrowful 

 features weakened our stoicism, and at last 

 we fairly began to use our handkerchief. 

 Pressing a gold piece into her hand, we turned 

 away, anxious to conceal our emotions. 



Ere we had proceeded far, a most unsenti- 

 mental laugh caused us to look back ; and to 



our horror, we beheld the lovely maiden dis- 

 playing our purse and handkerchief, which 

 she had contrived to abstract during our 

 momentary fit of compassion. We could not 

 bear the sight of a number of unwashed 

 ferocious-looking wretches, listening eagerly 

 to her account of our credulity; so we turned 

 rapidly down a bye-path ; and safe at home, 

 threw our affectionate wife into hysterics by 

 our description of the too interesting Gipsy 



girl. 



Motley. 



ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.* 



Piping Bullfinches. — My Dear Mr. Editor, — 

 The readers of our own Journal will no doubt 

 like to hear, what they ought all to know ; viz : 

 the manner in which these birds are taught the 

 various airs, in the execution of which they show 

 so much excellence. They are not instructed here, 

 hut in Germany. They arrive in England about 

 April. The month of June is the time for taking 

 the young ones, in a wild state, from the nest, 

 They should he about eight days old when so 

 removed. They are then handed over to the care 

 of one man only, who, by feeding and caressing 

 them, becomes so much the object of their notice 

 as to he able to command and direct them, at his 

 pleasure. They are attended to by him until they 

 are about two months old, at which age they first 

 begin to whistle. They then go through a regular 

 routine of "exercises *," nor is the strictest mili- 

 tary discipline more arduous to the sergeant, or 

 more oppressive to. the men, than are these exer- 

 cises to the bullfinch and his instructor. In 

 receiving the first rudiments of their musical 

 education, they are taught in "classes" of about 

 six in each. They are naturally "imitative." 

 The instrument by which they learn, is a barrel- 

 organ of a single diapason. It plays nothing 

 beyond the air to he acquired by the birds. The 

 pupils, before they make their first essay, are 

 kept very hungry. They are then placed in a 

 dark room — the organ in the centre — and the air 

 is slowly played over to them. Hunger works 

 wonders, and most of these little imitators make 

 the most of Nature's gifts. Children cry, dogs 

 howl, and asses bray, always louder and oftener 

 when they feel the " vulture in their jaws." It 

 is just so with these vocalists. They make a 

 virtue of necessity. The moment they imitate 

 the organ, at that moment the light is admitted 

 into the room, and a morsel of food is given them. 

 This is repeated so often — use is second nature — 

 and works upon them so mechanically, that the 

 sound of the organ is a sure presage of their being 

 fed. When they have been thus drilled for about 

 a month, their old feeder, called in Germany 

 Lehrer, hands them over to the care of some 

 intelligent boy, kept for the purpose of playing the 

 organ to their pupils. Each boy takes a bird, and 

 during these exercises,, or rather rehearsals, they 



* Under this head, we shall contrive to give (by a 

 peculiar mode of condensation) much and very valuable 

 matter, on a multitude of interesting topics. The sub- 

 jects introduced will be inexhaustible, and constantly 

 varied. 



