20 
INTRODUCTION. 
and angry tsherr. My late friend, the venerable William Bartram, 
was also much amused by the intelligence displayed by this bird, 
and relates, that, one which he kept, being fond of hard bread 
crumbs, found, when they grated his throat, a very rational remedy 
in softening them, by soaking in his vessel of water; he likewise, 
by experience, discovered that the painful prick of the wasps on 
which he fed, could be obviated by extracting their stings. But it 
would be too tedious and minute to follow out these glimmerings of 
intelligence, which exist as well in birds as in our most sagacious 
quadrupeds. The remarkable talent of the Parrot for imitating the 
tones of the human voice has long been familiar. The most ex- 
traordinary and well authenticated account of the actions of one 
of the common Ash-colored species, is that of a bird which Colonel 
O’Kelly bought for a hundred guineas at Bristol. This individual 
not only repeated a great number of sentences, but answered many 
questions, and was able to whistle a variety of tunes. While thus 
engaged, it beat time with all the appearance of science ; and pos- 
sessed a judgment, or ear so accurate, that, if by chance it mistook 
a note, it would revert to the bar where the mistake was made, 
correct itself, and still beating regular time, go again through the 
whole with perfect exactness. So celebrated was this surprising bird, 
that an obituary notice of its death appeared in the General Even- 
ing Post for the 9th of October, 1802. In this account it is added, 
that, besides her great musical faculties, she could express her wants 
articulately, and give her orders in a manner approaching to ration- 
ality. She was, at the time of her decease, supposed to be more 
than thirty years of age. The Colonel was repeatedly offered five 
hundred guineas a year for the bird, by persons who wished to make 
a public exhibition of her; but out of tenderness to his favorite, he 
constantly refused the offer. 
The story related by Goldsmith of a Parrot belonging to King 
Henry the Seventh, is very amusing, and possibly true. It was kept 
in a room in the palace of Westminster, overlooking the Thames, 
and had naturally enough learnt a store of boatmen’s phrases ; one 
day sporting somewhat incautiously, Poll fell into the river, but had 
rationality enough, it appears, to make a profitable use of the words 
she had learnt, and accordingly vociferated, u A boat / twenty 
pounds for a boat ! ” This welcome sound reaching the ears of a 
waterman, soon brought assistance to the parrot, who delivered it to 
the king, with a request to be paid the round sum so readily promised 
by the bird ; but his majesty, dissatisfied with the exorbitant demand, 
