PARROT, 
423 
assist the tongue in the modulation of sounds. To 
this power to imitate the human voice the par- 
rot joins a fixed attention to what is said, which 
greatly facilitates his purpose, and enables him to 
repeat the words of others. When taken very young 
they are capable of great improvement, and show 
astonishing instances of memory. Rhodiginus 
mentions one that recited correctly the apostles’ 
creed. This bird belonged to a cardinal. We 
should suppose the attachment of these creatures to 
be merely mechanical, if we quote the note com- 
municated to the Count de Euffon by Madame 
Nadault, his sister, who had a parrot that was ex- 
cessively fond of the cook-maid, and followed her 
every where. If she had been absent for any 
time, the bird would, on her return, climb to her 
shoulders, and lavish his caresses upon her with 
every appearance of fondness. While the girl 
was ill of a slight wound, which was tedious in 
the healing, the parrot never failed to visit her 
chamber the first thing every morning, and to con- 
tinue his attention during the cure. Yet this strong 
predilection for the girl seems to have been more 
directed to her office in the kitchen than her per- 
son ; for, when another cook-maid succeeded to her, 
the parrot showed the same degree of fondness the 
very first day. 
This indiscriminate regard seems only to apply to 
their attachment to us, which must be always arti- 
ficial ; it does not operate in any degree to diminish 
the opinion we may entertain of their natural afifec- 
