ship. At this moment a shadow darkened the French window, and Mrs. Lindsay loudly screamed" Murder!" and "

Help!"

In vain-it was the incensed Grunter only, who, glad to see her in the power of the avengers, appeared not to hear her, and hastened on. Frantic with rage and pain, the cockatoo still clinging to his victim, Mrs. Lindsay forced open the French window, and darted into the gardens. In running, she fortunately shook off Screechwho, however, followed her with the resolute speed of a but half-finished vengeance. She limped along as fast as her wounded and bleeding foot would allow; and so eagerly, that, in running, he frequently pitched upon his beak. Screech waddled after her.

She had traversed the gardens thus, followed at a distance by the fat and whelping spaniels, and Screech gaining upon her at each moment, when, at the entrance of the meadow, a new and more terrible foe, roused

by the commotion, broke from a tree, to which he was tied, and, rearing himself on his hind legs, making a butting movement with his head, and uttering a strange, outlandish noise, came towards her, looking, to her excited fancy, like the foul fiend himself let loose to torment her.

Her new assailant was no less a person than Capricorn, the cashmere buck-arrived that morning, and full of what, as she afterwards said, was "fun to him and death to her!" After rearing several times, and butting the air, as if for practice, he rushed after her; she fled, spite of her wounded foot, with miraculous speed; in vain, in vain he gained upon her, he has reached her, he rears-she feels his fore-feet on her shrinking shoulders, she dares not look round-the next moment came a sharp butt from his horns, and she is prostrate on the grass. Too noble to persecute a prostrate foe, he repairs to peel the bark off of some valuable young trees, and

66

Misfortunes," as Manzoni observes, and as we must all have perceived, " love a crowd." When Mrs. Lindsay, flushed, trembling, and irate, entered the drawing-room, an object met her view, which rekindled her wrath, and fanned it into a far fiercer flame than before. A scrunching sound having attracted her attention, she looked in the direction whence it came, and there beheld Screech, the cockatoo, who, deprived of his habitual perch (which, by the bye, was obliged to be renewed every month), had been most industriously exercising his beak on two rosewood chairs and part of the wainscoting. The carpet was literally strewed with the proofs of his illdirected energy. In an uncontrollable passion she darted at the bird, and knocked him down from a corner of the chair on which he had perched, and whence, coquettishly and (as she thought) mockingly, putting his head on one side, and glancing at her with his round, black eye, in his softest tone he said, "Cockatoo...."

An instant convinced Mrs. Lindsay of her error; for Screech's vengeance (like Mazaroni's)" was sweeping as it was sure." With extended wings, and with his plume of yellow feathers rearing itself perpendicularly above his black and eagle beak- - which, opening, showed a round and jetty tonguehe flew at his assailant, who screamed and yelled, and vainly tried to ward him off. Protecting her face with a cushion she caught up, she, for a moment, paused to take breath; when, to her unspeakable horror, she found Screech had dug his dreadful beak into her foot.

Visions of lock-jaw flitted before her mind -she kicked and roared in terror and in torture, but Screech was firm. The noise roused Fatima and her daughters from an adjoining room. They came - but, alas! only to Screech's aid! Luckily for Mrs. Lindsay, they were toothless, for they flew at her with all the warmth of injured and avenging friend

ship. At this moment a shadow darkened the French window, and Mrs. Lindsay loudly screamed "Murder!" and " Help!"

In vain-it was the incensed Grunter only, who, glad to see her in the power of the avengers, appeared not to hear her, and hastened on. Frantic with rage and pain, the cockatoo still clinging to his victim, Mrs. Lindsay forced open the French window, and darted into the gardens. In running, she fortunately shook off Screechwho, however, followed her with the resolute speed of a but half-finished vengeance. She limped along as fast as her wounded and bleeding foot would allow; and so eagerly, that, in running, he frequently pitched upon his beak. Screech waddled after her.

She had traversed the gardens thus, followed at a distance by the fat and whelping spaniels, and Screech gaining upon her at each moment, when, at the entrance of the meadow, a new and more terrible foe, roused