Aa Evening Among the Cages in Thibet Road By The Idler,"?
Lo was an ancient Son of Han," wh, very ancient, and walked along clothed in his mantle © of dignity, glancing neither to the right or left. Dressed in formal black brocades, the only.spot of colour being the crimson button in the centre of his round cap, he might easily have been mistaken for a lofty Tuchun, er perhaps a magistrate bound on an errand of official business, except that he was: walking, and carried tenderly under his right arm a la: ge bird cage, the sides of-which were enveloped in green cloth.
I idly wondered why he did not permit one of the two—stalwart coolies, who followed in his wake to carry the cage, and since he seemed hurrying to an important rendezvous, I decided to follow inconspicuously and discover whither he was bound.
At the corner of Thibet and Nanking roads' the little procession turned south and proceeded along the outer palings of the Race Course. It had been a glorious spring day, and now the amber rays of sunshine cast hazy blue shadows across the light green lawns and paddocks of the Recreation grounds. A few golf enthusiasts: tapped little white balls with long spindly sticks, then walked after the balls to tap them again. Thibet road was alive with many little groups; watching the antics of a Chinese juggler; buying sticky candy mannikins from a very dirty vendor; and strolling up and down enjoying the clean fresh wind from the South.
My "ancient" appeared oblivious to all surroundings and strode ahead, a little faster now, and clutching his bird*cage more tightly. Suddenly I became aware of the sound of many birds singing. The songs were very sweet and I stopped to listen, endeavouring to locate from whence came the sound. There were no songbirds perched in the limbs of the little saplings that line the narrow parkway, and with the exception of a line of blackbirds roosting along the telephone wires, the immediate atmosphere appeared free from feathered occupants.
Then at the corner-of Taku Read T saw them. I might hazard that there were at least one hundred, perhaps more, arranged in their vages in orderly rows, and hanging from the palings and the limbs of the trees. The owner of each cage stood proudly at the.side or gossipped with his neighbours nearby.
The arrival of 'The Ancient' was the occasion of much comment and gesticulation. He proceeded at-once to the largest group, the members. of which greeted him deferentially. The green cloth surrounding the cage he carried was removed with a deal of cere-many, disclosing a beautiful brown and white bird, somewhat larger
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.