414 



JUDD'S OWN JOURNAL, 



upon bullocks' liver, bear in mind that raw 

 beef must in the first instance be given him, 

 or he will inevitably die. The liver must 

 gradually be introduced in his foo^l, so that 

 he may get an acquired taste for it. By 

 degrees, the quantity of beef must be les- 

 sened, and the liver increased, — the former, 

 eventually, being discontinued altogether. 



The proper place to get your bullocks' 

 liver, well boiled, is at the dealers' in tripe. 

 Ask for a pennyworth of the " nut " of 

 bullocks' liver. See that it is quite fresh, 

 and grate it fine on the smaller-sized holes 

 of a bread-grater. A little stale sweet bun 

 may occasionally be rubbed in with it. If 

 your birds thrive on this — and we have 

 known some remarkably fine birds do so — 

 you will be spared a world of trouble and 

 anxiety. Grate your liver every morning, 

 and see that it is sweet. The blow -flies will 

 do their utmost to poison it, the moment 

 they can get at it. When this occurs, change 

 it directly. 



The food on which Nightingales live, being 

 an animal substance, causes, when digested, 

 a very offensive smell in their cages. This 

 renders it a matter of imperative necessity 

 to clean and scald their trays regularly every 

 morning. When dry, cover them thickly 

 with fine red sand. This will prevent the 

 woodwork from being unduly tainted. You 

 will never regret following out this instruc- 

 tion, to the very letter. 



Many, novices, imagine that because 

 Nightingales are caught with mealworms- -of 

 which they are remarkably fond — that there- 

 fore they should be abundantly supplied 

 with them. This is a palpable mistake. It 

 must be borne in mind, that these birds, like 

 many others, Avhcn in confinement can get 

 little exercise. Consequently, their diges- 

 tion is comparatively feeble : -and, if fed 

 upon much live food, they would be liable to 

 fits — perhaps to apoplexy. We should re- 

 commend not more than one daily. Still, 

 mealworms should always be kept in the 

 house, in case of sickness. When one of 

 these " birds of passage " is ill, nothing is 

 so good as a mealworm to restore him. It 

 acts beneficially on his system. We are 

 induced to be very precise and very minute 

 in our instructions with respect to these 

 birds. When we first commenced treating 

 of them, we thought, and hoped by the way 

 we expressed ourself, that we should deter 

 many persons from attempting to keep them: 

 It seems, however, that the effect has been 

 the extreme opposite from what was in- 

 tended ; and we are daily urgently entreated 

 to give the fullest possible instructions for 

 their being kept in a state of health and song. 

 It fortunately happens that we are well and 

 deeply read in all that concerns the Night- 

 ingale. As, therefore, it would be unkind in 



us to withhold the knowledge of what will 

 benefit our little " pet,"— seeing that he is 

 " doomed " to be immured in a cage — we 

 will continue to speak clearly and kindly of 

 all that will tend to his well-being in con- 

 finement. Let us hope in return, that our 

 advice will be strictly followed. 



WHITEBAIT AT GBSEIfWICH. 



_ On thinking over the various whitebait 

 dinners which have fallen to our lot in the 

 last month — somehow you are sure to find 

 the remembrance of them all "pleasant." I 

 have seen some wretches taking whitebait 

 and tea, which has always inspired me with 

 a sort of terror, and a yearning to go up to 

 the miserable objects so employed, and say — 

 " My good friend, here is a crown-piece ; 

 have a bottle of iced punch, or a tankard of 

 delicious cider-cup, — but not tea, dear sir • 

 no, no, not tea ; you can get that at home — 

 there's no exhilaration in congou." It was 

 not made to be drunk on holidays. Those 

 people are unworthy of the " Ship." I don't 

 wish to quarrel with the enjoyments of any 

 man : but fellows who take tea and white- 

 bait should not be allowed to clamp the 

 festive feelings of persons better engaged. 

 They should be consigned to the smiling 

 damsels whom one meets on the walk to 

 Mr. Derbyshire's, who issue from dingy 

 tenements no bigger than houses in a pan- 

 tomime, and who, whatever may be the 

 rank of the individual, persist in saying, 

 " Tea, sir ? I can accommodate your party ; 

 tea, sir, ? srimps ?" 



About the frequenters of Greenwich and 

 the various classes of icthyophagi, many 

 volumes might be written. All classes of 

 English Christians, with the exception of her 

 Majesty and Prince Albert (and the more is 

 the pity that their exalted rank deprives 

 them of an amusement so charming !) fre- 

 quent the hospitable taverns— the most cele- 

 brated gormandiser and the very humble. 

 There are the annual Ministerial Saturnalia 

 just now " on ;" and which, whenever I am 

 called in by her Majesty, I shall have great 

 pleasure in describing in these pages, and in 

 which the lowest becomes the highest for the 

 occasion, and Taper and Tadpole take just 

 as high a rank as Lord E. or Lord M. 

 Then there are many " private " banquets 

 here ; at which many remarkable sayings 

 and doings take place, which need not to be 

 " reported !" There are the lawyers' dinners, 

 too, when Sir F. or Sir W. are advanced to 

 the honor of the bench of the attorney-ge- 

 neralship, and where much legal pleasantry 

 is elicited. The last time I dined at the 

 " Ship," hearing a dreadful Bacchanalian 

 noise issuing from a private apartment, I 

 was informed, " It's the gentlemen of Punch, 



