"GENERAL BEM." 
283 
gently pecking mj face and hands, and tried to make me 
speak by tugging at my dress ; he sang to me a meek, loving 
song, so softly in my ear, as he sat on my shoulder, that I 
could not wickedly resist the good angel — my precious Bem ! 
There was yet another charming trait of our pet which I 
must mention. He was, of course, always astir very early 
in the morning, and then, after flitting about the room impa- 
tiently for some time, he would alight upon one or the other 
of our foreheads, and begin to peck at our eye-lashes and 
lids until he had succeeded in waking us both fully, then he 
would dart away and commence singing in great glee. He 
had grown tired of loneliness, and had no toleration for the 
thought of wasting his sweetness I 
His faith in our friendship was so charming. One night 
Mr. Webber was sitting at the window, I on my knees, gaz- 
ing out into the gathering twilight ; Bem forsook his ordinary 
perch for the night, and alit upon my shoulder, nestling 
closer and closer to my cheek, until his warm breast and 
throat were pressed close to my cheek. How we loved the 
dear little fellow ! Oh, to think that I should have lost my 
sweet pet the very next day. That, that was to be his last ca- 
ress ! My heart feels very sad and lonely when I recall that 
night — when I remember the last farewell of my pet Bem ! 
The next morning I went from my room into another — 
the door was left open — Bem followed in search — became 
finally alarmed, and darted from an upper window into the 
wilderness of leaves below. He found his way back, and 
would have been my own again, but a wicked woman who 
had less soul than a wild cat-bird, startled him again aiid 
again, until, panic-stricken, he fled. That evening came a tci- 
rible storm, and my poor, poor Bem never returned. 
I leave this ower true tale " to tell for itself the story of 
this branch of the illustrious family of the Turdin^e, as it 
appears when so strangely humanized by being thrown into 
intimate relations to the higher spiritualities of our race. 
