"WASHING THE BLACKAMOOR WHITE." (To TI18 EDITOR OP THR “SPECTAT0R." . 1
Sin,—Perhaps an illustration in humble life of the ancient proverb, which took place the other day, may not be without interest for your readers. A letter from Elba Castle, Aberdeenshire, received this morning (March 28th), tells the tale, which I send in the narrator's words as follows :—
"The two fantail pigeons you gave us have two young ones, who have been going about on their own account, only for the last week. They are beautiful ; just like their parents, except that one of them has three black feathers in the middle of his tail. This morning I was called to the window to see the two old birds in their bath, the young bird between them, trying to wash his tail white ! They were alternately stamping on the tail in the water and pecking at it. This is a fact. They do not behave unkindly at all; on the contrary, they are extremely affectionate to both young ones alike."
Thus we see the time-honoured old process still goes on in the world, and even pigeons try to remove the birth-stain !-
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