Singing in Tribulation
.Confessing when put to the torture. Such a person is termed in gaol slang a “canary bird.”
“‘This man, sir, is condemned to the galleys for being a canary-bird.ʹ ‘A canary-bird! exclaimed the knight. ‘Yes, sir,ʹ added the arch-thief; ‘I mean that he is very famous for his singing.ʹ ‘What!ʹ said Don Quixote: ‘are people to be sent to the galleys for singing?ʹ ‘Marry, that they are,ʹ answered the slave, ‘for there is nothing more dangerous than singing in tribulation.”—Cervantes: Don Quixote, iii. 8.
