18.—HE DIDN'T PURCHASE.
Perfect command of one's instrument does not necessarily imply complete control of one's tongue. This was the case with Lindley, an English 'cellist of the first half of this century. Though he gained great fame as a player, he never succeeded in controlling the unruly member,—it would stutter in spite of him.
One day, in his rambles through the streets of London, he came across a shop where there was a parrot hung up for sale in the window. He and his friends were quite interested in the bird, and finally Lindley called out the shopkeeper saying, as he pointed to the polly, "C-c-ca-can h-he t-t-t-talk?"
"Yes," was the answer from the dealer, who thought he could see that it was mere curiosity that prompted the question, and not a desire to purchase. "Yes,—and a d—d sight better than you can, or I'd wring his blanked neck!"