ALEXANDRINE PABBAKEET. 53 



fondness for, and her sympathetic attachment to, me was something 

 more than mere instinct, for if I think strangely of her at any time, 

 even in the middle of the night, she is sure to answer me with her 

 own little note, her eyes remaining shut, and her head tucked in her 

 shoulder, as though she were fast asleep/'' 



That is "thought reading" to some purpose, and, as the writer of 

 the above note truly says, shows "something more than mere instinct": 

 it would really seem now and then as if an erring sylph, or sprite, 

 had been condemned to pass a certain period of its existence under 

 the form of one of these cunning-looking birds, so remarkable is their 

 intelligence, though not always, it must be confessed, made use of to 

 the best advantage; for occasionally the indwelling sprite seems rather 

 to be a gnome, or a black dwarf endowed with malicious propensities, 

 than a beneficent fairy, such as we read of in the "good old times" 

 when we wore pinafores, and had no cares but lessons. 



The great fault of all these birds is their extreme noisiness, and 

 with every care, and much patience, we have not been able to succeed 

 in breaking one of them of the habit, though we have succeeded in 

 preventing their acquiring it, and others have been more fortunate 

 than we; the Rev. J. Gr. "Wood, for instance, who, writing about one 

 of these birds, says: 



"This species of Parrot is not very good at talking, though it can 

 learn to repeat a few words, and is very apt at communicating its own 

 ideas by a language of gesture and information especially its own. It 

 is, however, very docile, and will soon learn any lesson that may be 

 imposed, even that most difficult task to a Parrot — remaining silent 

 while any one is speaking. One of my pupils had one of these birds, 

 of which he was exceedingly fond; and finding that although his body 

 was in the schoolroom below, his mind was with his Polly in the room 

 above, I allowed her to stay in the room on condition that the lesson 

 should be properly learned. At first, however, Polly used to screech 

 so continually that all lessons were stopped for the time, and I was 

 fearful that Polly must be banished. However I soon overcame the 

 difficulty, for every time that Polly screamed I used to put her into 

 a dark cupboard, and not release her for some time. She soon found 

 out my meaning, and it was very amusing to see her push out her head 

 ready for a scream, and then check herself suddenly. She was a very 

 nice Polly, and became a great favourite; her great treat was half a 

 walnut, which she held tightly in one claw, while she delicately prized 

 out the kernel with her hooked beak and horny tongue. The end of 

 the poor bird was very tragic; she got out of a window, flew to a tree, 

 and was there shot by a stupid farmer" — one of those bovine-brained 



