A CURIOUS NIGHTINGA

Western Star, Issue 826, 15 March 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

A CURIOUS NIGHTINGA

His Majesty the King of Bavaria is passionately fond of the music of the nightingales. One beautiful moonlight night word was sent to His Majesty that a nightingale was singing in the palace gardens. He hastened out, not daring to believe the report. The silvery notes, so wonderful, so beautiful, rich and full, rising, falling, thrilling, and dying away, like the distant echoes of a flute, were filling the air with bewitching melody. The king stood fascinated, entranced, and would have remained in the palace grounds the livelong night had not the bird, weary of its song, ceased its music. After waiting in vain for it to begin again, the king retired. The next night he went into the garden, but was doomed to disappointment; the bird was silent. The third night he was more fortunate. The nightingale warbled sweeter and louder than ever, and the king was in rapture. Then for three nights it failed to be heard, and it was thought that the bird must have died or flown away to warmer skies. The king in despair offered heavy rewards for its return, hut the most diligent search failed to find it. On the seventh night it came again, and continued its songs to the king's great delight for two or three nights. Then it ceased, and the king waited for it long and anxiously for many nights after. And then in i some mysterious manner it came to the king’s ears that he had been imposed upon; that the nightingale which had sung so sweetly to him and given him so much delight for so many moonlight evenings, was six feet high, wearing a spiked military hat and a soldier’s uniform, who had learned the note of these warblers so perfectly that it was difficult to detect the song of the real bird from the imitations. There was a tornado in the king's household when his wrath broke forth, and that night the nightingale was dieting on bread and water in a oeU,