"general bem." 
281 
had not yet come, lie lived to pass through many such scenes 
of painful suffering. 
I had about the same time a Painted Finch. This was 
the most quarrelsome little rogue in the world, and con- 
tinually invited Bem to a trial of skill. But Bem refused, 
with the most decisive manner, to have anything to do with 
him, and although the Finch was the most tyrannical com- 
panion, preventing Bem from entering his own cage, driving 
him from certain parts of the room, and really making him- 
self intensely disagreeable at times, yet Bem magnanimously 
refused to become provoked into a quarrel with his petite 
enemy, and seemed rather to be amused, never even conde- 
scending to become jealous of the pretty Finch. 
One cold day, the Finch concluded to take a flight among 
the bare branches of the trees in the garden. The window 
was down about two inches, and he went out. We had 
much difficulty in catching the fellow, and only succeeded 
when he had become numbed with the cold. When we re- 
turned from our chase after him, what was our consterna- 
tion at finding that both doors and windows had been left 
open. Bem must be gone — he had gone away from W 
on every possible occasion, and the town time after time had 
been thrown into confusion by the hue and cry, " Bem has 
escaped ! come to the rescue !" 
Had I any hope ? would he be more likely to stay now 
than when snow was on the ground ? He had gone ! My 
ejes were too dim with tears to search for him. I called with 
fearful voice: "Bem! Bem! Avhere are you, my bird?" A 
soft chirp, and Bem hopped from the perch he had made, 
and looked so confidingly at me and kissed me so prettilj^, 
that I felt quite assured that he would never leave me. Yet 
he often after teased me by hiding when I went away, as if 
he enjoyed, coquettishly, the pain he gave me. 
He now refused to allow anybody to caTcss him except us, 
and seemed to imagine that he was sent to be my especial 
protector. One day, early in the spring, we had been walk- 
