“One peculiarity of this bird is, that he has but one wife, and never marries again. The pairs form lasting attachments, and when one dies the mate sometimes mourns itself to death. They make a kind of nest in the hollow trees, and there bring up their young. They belong to the scansorial order of birds; that is, they have two toes forward and two backward. Some of them fly slowly; but others wing their way with the greatest rapidity, and for a long period.”
“I think,” remarked Mrs. Lee, “they are the most intelligent of the feathered race.”
“Yes, naturalists decidedly give them that character. Poll sometimes seems almost too human; and then they are so quick to learn. Did you know, Minnie, that a parrot is considered an article of delicacy for the table?”
“O, no, indeed, sir! I wouldn’t eat a parrot for any thing.”
“Nor I; but among other rare and luxurious articles on the bill of fare, described by Ælian, as entering into the feasts of the Emperor Heliogabalus, are the combs of fowls, the tongues of peacocks and nightingales, the heads of parrots and thrushes; and it is reported that with the bodies of the two latter he fed his beasts of prey.”
Minnie’s countenance expressed great distress, as she quickly exclaimed, “O, how cruel!”
“Now, papa,” said Lizzie, “please tell her about Poll and the bacon.”
“Yes, I mustn’t forget that. When I was a little boy, Minnie, my father kept a country store, where all manner of things were exposed for sale. On one counter, in the genteel part, were cambrics, calicoes, and even silks for ladies’ dresses, while at the other end were barrels of sugar, boxes of cheese, and other groceries, and above them hung large legs of bacon.
“Midway between these, a hook was driven into the beam, and there Poll used to hang as long ago as I can remember any thing.
“It was the custom for the men of the village to gather together at the store, and talk politics, or gossip about the affairs of the place. Long before town meeting, it was well understood at the store how each man in the community would vote, and who would be elected to the different offices.