midst
of "animated nature." We had landed amongst the cockatoos, macaws, and
parrots, and they greeted our arrival with such a chorus of shrieks,
screams, and hideous cries that my first desire was to rush away
anywhere out of the reach of such ear-piercing sounds. One had to bear
it, however, if the curious creatures in the various cages were to be
examined, and after a time the uproar grew less, and I could hear a word
or two from Mr. Jamrach, who called my attention to some armadillos,
huge armour-plated animals, very curious, but somehow not attractive as
pets; one could not fondle a thing composed of metal plates, shaped like
a pig, with a tendency to roll itself up into a ball on the slightest
provocation, and even Mr. Jamrach's argument that if I got tired of it
as a pet I could have it cooked, as they were excellent eating, failed
to lead me to a purchase. There was a fine, healthy toucan, with his
marvellous bill, looking sadly out of place in a small cage in such a
dingy place. Did he ever think of his tropical forest home, I wondered,
and wish himself in happier surroundings? A long wooden box with wire
front contained rows and rows of Grass Parrakeets: many hundreds must
have been on those perches, one behind the other, poor little patient
birdies, sitting in solemn silence, never moving an inch, for they were
wedged in as closely as they could sit and how they could eat and live
seemed a mystery. As I was in quest of some small rodents I was asked to
follow Mr. Jamrach to another place where the animals were kept. We came
to a back yard with dens and cages containing all kinds of tenants, from
fierce hyenas and wolves to tame deer, monkeys, cats, and dogs. A chorus
of yelps and barks and growls sounded a little uninviting, and a caution
from Jamrach, to mind the camel did not seize my young friend's hat,
made us aware of a stately form gazing down upon us from a recess we had
not before noticed. Every nook and corner seemed occupied, and in order
to see a kangaroo rat I was invited up a rickety ladder into a loft
where a Japanese cat, a large monkey, and sundry other creatures lived.
I did not take to the kangaroo rat, he was too large and formidable to
be pleasant, and was by no means tame, but to be pulled out of the cage
by his long tail was, I confess, enough to scare the mildest quadruped.
At length I was shown some Peruvian guinea-pigs. Wonderful little
creatures! With hair three or four inches long, wh