200 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIRDS. 
at tlie right time, tlie heathenisli Kelpie obstinately refused 
to do. Brownie, in the meantime, was in a perfect agony of 
worry that his good intentions should be so misunderstood, 
and when even the creature became clamorous, he renewed 
his efforts in a seeming entire forgetfulness of himself On 
the third morning he seemed to have begun to lose all pa- 
tience, and to be determined that his protege should accept 
his kind offices, whether or no. 
I observed him now pushing at the corners of its mouth 
with all its might, to force it open, and that evening, seeing 
Brownie grievously disturbed and troubled — fluttering about 
the Eobin, I took it up to examine what had happened. 1 
was not a little shocked to see that one eye was entirely de- 
stroyed ! Poor Brownie, in his zeal to force its mouth open, 
had wounded the eye-ball fatally with his sharp bill ! In all 
my experience of human actions and emotions, I never wit- 
nessed anything more touchingly expressive of distress for 
an accident and affectionate solicitude for the subject of it 
than was now displayed by our Brownie. He evidently un- 
derstood perfectly that he had done serious mischief, and ap- 
peared to feel that he could not do enough to make amends. 
He now almost killed the little sufferer with kindness, and 
stuffed it incessantly with food, for the unfortunate Kelpie 
seemed, when it was now only just too late, to understand 
what had been all the time required of him, and fed with 
the utmost readiness. This was certainly a singular and 
touching exhibition of a parental, or else chivalrous feeling, 
on the part of this bird, which was only a few weeks older 
than the other. The Kelpie died not long afterwards, and 
we were not sorry except for Brownie's sake, who seemed to 
feel the loss very seriously. After its painful mutilation, we 
neither expected nor desired to raise it. I have known many 
instances in which old birds that had bred before captivity, 
have exhibited this sort of solicitude for young birds that 
might be placed in the cage, without reference to the species. 
Indeed, I knew an old woman in Washington City, who pos- 
