PARROT. 
429 
of words it is capable of repeating, are very sur- 
prising. We are assured by a grave writer, that 
one of them was taught to repeat a whole sonnet 
from Petrarch ; and that I may not be wanting in 
my instance, I have seen a parrot belonging to a 
distiller, who had suffered pretty largely in his cir- 
cumstances from an informer who lived opposite to 
him, very ridiculously employed. This bird was 
taught to pronounce the ninth commandment, 
“ Thou shall not bear false ivilness against thy neigh- 
bour” with a clear, loud, articulate voice. The 
bird was generally placed in its cage over against 
the informer’s house, and delighted the whole 
neighbourhood witlvits persevering exhortations.” 
The society which the parrot forms with man by 
the use of speech, is more intimate and pleasing 
that what the monkey can claim from its antic 
imitations of our gestures and actions. This bird’s 
play of language without meaning is exceedingly 
whimsical, and his conversation is sometimes more 
amusing, without being more nonsensical, than 
much other talk. The Count de Buffon mentions 
a parrot which grew old with its master, and shared 
with him the infirmities of age. Being accustomed' 
to hear scarce any thing but the words I am sick, 
Je suis malade ; when a person asked it. How d'ye, 
Poll, how d'ye t (Qu’as-tu, perroquet, qu’as-tu?) Iam 
sick, it replied with a doleful voice, stretching it- 
self over the fire, I am sick, Je suis malade. 
It is very uncommon for parrots to breed in our 
temperate climates, but there are some instances of 
