154 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



a nestling blackbird, of whom -we were very- 

 fond; and he gave early proof of the " fact ' 

 on which we are now insisting ; nor was he 

 the only witness for us. A second, an equally 

 favorite bird of ours, shall be brought upon 

 the tapis. The first, rejoicing in the name 

 of" Mush " (he so christened himself), made 

 friends with a neighboring pot-boy, who taught 

 him to salute us, whenever we called him to 

 task, with—" Oh, Cm— key ! " The second 

 picked an acquaintance with an itinerant milk- 

 carrier, whose instruction perfected his pupil 

 in the musical enunciation of " Lul-li-e-te I " 

 The name of the performer last alluded to, 

 was " Jark-o." He also improvised his own 

 Christian-name. 



For song, then, it has become clear that 

 none but bat -folded birds can be depended 

 upon. Nestlings will sing loud— aye, raise a 

 whole village at four o'clock in the morning \ 

 but the " wild " note forms but a small por- 

 tion of their song. Any grinding organs, any 

 dogs that may bark, or any cats that may 

 " moll-row " — these and other drawbacks 

 are fatal to the " Blackbird's Song. " If you 

 are possessed of a good old bird, and can 

 bring " nestlings" up under him, in a quiet 

 room, — then will you succeed bravely. We 

 have done so, and found the plan answer. 

 In tenui labor. No one thing, however tri- 

 fling, can be well done without taking suffi- 

 cient pains with it. 



We have now done our best to procure 

 this king of birds all proper attention. He 

 is not suited to a cage, — certainly not. His 

 proper position is on the summit of a tower- 

 ing tree. Here his soul, ' full to overflowing,' 

 can unbosom its thoughts ; and while we listen 

 to them distilling on our ear, we sigh to think 

 of the many cruelties we all thoughtlessly 

 practise at this season, in placing such cho- 

 risters in prisons of wire and wood ! We 

 mean it kindly ; but could we read the pri- 

 vate thoughts of our prisoners, how would 

 our hearts yearn to let them be " free!" 



Before taking leave of the blackbird, — let 

 us make one more effort to prevent his being 

 caught and caged at this season. Will our 

 kind readers rise betimes, on some fine mor- 

 ning, and go abroad to listen to our hero's 

 " Matins ?" If, after hearing his Morning 

 Hymn, they still seek to make him prisoner 

 — then indeed will WE relinquish all hopes 

 of ever becoming an eminent special-pleader. 



ADVANTAGES OF CONTENTMENT. 



Too nice a taste, in no matter what, is little 

 less than a misfortune ; for he who is pleased with 

 nothing short of perfection, has less pleasure and 

 less real happiness than one who is more moderate 

 in his expectation, and who is contented with life 

 as he finds it. Happiness is rarely met with, 

 simply because people will not seek it in a rational 

 manner. 



MEMORY. 



When last thy pleasant face I saw, a calmness 



filled ray heart, 

 And present bliss was so complete, that fancy 



would not part 

 With its image of the future, though its prospect 



looked so drear, 

 When thou wouldst go, depriving me of all I 



held so dear. 



With childlike grace and innocence I've seen thy 

 features beam, 



When side by side in simple faith we dreamt our 

 fairy dream; 



That in after years, despite of change, in sym- 

 pathy and truth, 



Maturity would still confirm the feeling of our 

 youth. 



I miss thy face — I mis3 thy hand ; yet love of 



thee remains. 

 Affection firmly keeps her seat, and binds my 



soul in chains; 

 Thy memory serves to teach me that the world 



has joy to give, 

 For those who, loving faithfully, in hopeful spirit 



live. 



Oh! good the lesson I have learnt, to live in 



patient pride 

 With ever-present earnest love for my enduring 



guide; 

 For though Fate takes away from us the faithful 



and the kind, 

 Life's beacon-star is left us while remembrance 



stays behind! 



THE AVIARY AND ITS OCCUPANTS. 

 No. VIII. 



[Continued from Page 92.) 



Having now made a somewhat for- 

 midable collection of the feathered tribe, 

 — say about one hundred — and confined them 

 all in one room, it behoves us to pay marked 

 attention to their peculiarities and habits ; 

 the more so, as perhaps, in the first instance, 

 no two of them will be found alike in dis- 

 position. By studying their likes and dislikes, 

 there will be little difficulty in making them 

 a " United Happy Family." If any " incor- 

 rigible varlet " appears among them, out 

 with him at once — by way of u example." 



We may get a good hint or two on the 

 subject of colonisation from the " Happy 

 Families " confined in large locomotive cages, 

 which are now being exhibited in three dif- 

 ferent quarters of London, daily. 



In these cages, we find living together in 

 perfect amity — cats, mice, rats, pigeons, 

 crows, sparrows, hawks, owls, starlings, fer- 

 rets, monkeys, rabbits, weazels, young foxes, 

 and leverets ; cum multis aliis. The extreme 

 natural opposites seem, in all these animals, 

 to have become annihilated. Thus, we see 

 the sparrow and the hawk doing the loving 

 and the amiable, with the most sympathetic 



