120 THE FANTAIL PIGEON, & c.
tent began to be heard; an alarming deficiency in the revenue, caused by the enormous consumption of stationery in the department of foreign affairs, was foretold, and a few fierce spirits pronounced the word republic! What would have been the result heaven only knows, had not his Prussian Majesty made due reparation to the wounded honour of his Highness of Bentheim Steinfurth, an event which was celebrated at court by a grand fete.
My conge was expired, and I returned to Breda. A few years afterwards I met this exsovereign Prince in Paris, where he was living upon a pension from the French government, his principality having been converted into a parochial arrondissement of the newly formed kingdom of Westphalia. "
I was highly amused with these anecdotes, which were rendered more piquant by the Baron's art de raconter, a talent he possessed to a degree that would have pleased the fastidious taste of Louis Quatorze himself.
It is these political territorial divisions that are the curse of Germany. Among her children we see much to admire, —a depth of thought-a love of science-a martial independence of character that elevates the personal dignity of man; but we nowhere find the virtues of the citizen-their love of father-land is not a political aspiration, and in fact how should it be so-a German but seldom dies the subject of the prince under whose dominion he first drew breath; he may have been born a Prussian, lived an Austrian, and died a Bavarian. Or it may have been his worst fate to have been the subject of some petty independent prince, to support whose beggarly pride, and aristocratic, nay autocratic pretensions, his industry, his energies, his manly pride, have been borne to the earth.
But a change is fast coming over this state of things, the vibrations of the political substratum
have already foretold the coming earthquake; one, if we are not mistaken, that will not stay its fury until it has swept from the face of the land the race of pigmy despots, who have so long disgraced it with their tyranny and oppression.
THE WIFE.
WOMAN'S love, like the rose blossoming in the arid desert, spreads its rays over the barren plain of the human heart, and while all around it is black and desolate, it rises more strengthened from the absence of every other charm. In no situation does the love of women appear more beautiful than in that of WIFE; parents, brethren, and friends, have claims upon the affections; but the LOVE of a WIFE is of a distinct and different nature. A daughter may yield her life to the preservation of a parent, a sister may devote herself to a suffering brother; but the feelings which induce her to this conduct are not such as those which lead a WIFE to follow the husband of her choice through every pain and peril that can befall him; to watch over him in danger; to cheer him in adversity, and ever remain unalterable at his side in the depths of ignominy and shame. It is an heroic devotion which a woman displays in her adherence to the fortunes of a hapless husband; when we behold her in her domestic scenes, a mere passive creature of an enjoyment; an intellectual toy, brightening the family circle with her endearments, and prized for the extreme joy which that presence and those endearments are calculated to impart, we can scarcely credit that the fragile being who seems to hold her existence by a thread, is capable of supporting the extreme of human suffering; nay when the heart of man sinks beneath the weight of agony, that SHE should maintain her pristine powers of delight, and with words of comfort and patience, lead the distracted murmurer to peace and resignation.
THE TUMBLER PIGEON.
THE Tumbler is a small Pigeon, with a thin neck, full breast, round head, and small beak. The eyes of the better sort of Tumblers are usually of a fine pearly hue. These birds display a variety of beautiful colours. The Almond, or Ermine Tumbler, is particularly conspicuous for the richness and variety of tints of its plumage. The head, tips of the wings, and tail, of the Bald-pated Tumbler, are white. There is another variety called Bearded Tumblers: the plumage of these is either blue or black, except on the upper part of the throat and the cheeks, which are ornamented with a dash of white. The Tumblers are very excellent birds for flying : they possess a peculiarity, of throwing themselves completely over when in the air, and in an instant resuming their flight. They are very hardy birds, and may be classed among the prettiest of the Pigeon tribe.
THE FANTAIL PIGEON.
THE Fantails are particularly elegant birds : they have a frequent, peculiar, tremulous motion in the neck; from this circumstance they are sometimes called Shakers. The tail of these birds is spread out, and so raised, that it nearly touches the head. The Fantail has a full projecting breast, a thin neck, and a very small beak. It is generally supposed that these birds are always white : this is not the case, as there are Fantails of various colours. The white birds are, however, not only the most common, but, deservedly, the greatest favourites. There is a variety of the Fantail, called the Narrow-tailed Shakers; the necks of which are shorter and thicker, their backs longer, and their tails, as the name imports, narrower than those of the true Fantails.
