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Take another case. A fancier who is sensible 

 enough to breed his birds either out of doors or else 

 in cages in a cold room, sells a songster to some 

 person who wants one to enliven his house. Such a 

 bird would be able to live and enjoy his life practically 

 anywhere except where he will presently find himself: 

 he would thrive mightily in quarters like those he 

 came from : kept even on the dining room table or on 

 a stand in the ordinary living room he would be 

 healthy and merry, caring nothing for the changes 

 between the warm days and colder nights, and having 

 enough close human companionship to console him 

 for his solitary confinement and to prevent him from 

 moping himself into a condition receptive of disease 

 and death. But none of these situations will be his 

 happy lot. He will be either hung up in the drawing- 

 room window just above the meeting of the sashes so 

 as to shew off his beautiful brass cage to the outside 

 public, or else he will be stuck up in a dirty wooden 

 cage close to the ceiling in the darkest and warmest 

 corner of the living-room or kitchen. In the first 

 case it is true that he will most likely be properly 

 looked after as to seed and water, but on the other 

 hand he will be constantly exposed to every draught 

 that blows, and sooner or later will reap the certain 

 harvest of catarrh and bronchitis, however sLrong and 

 robust he ma}^ have been at the beginning. If it is 

 his still more miserable lot to be placed in the " warm 

 corner " under the ceiling he will never again know 

 the pleasure of breathing even comparatively clean 

 and healthy air, while at night when the gas is alight 

 his sufferings will be simply intense. Let his owner 

 stand on a pair of steps for just one half hour with 

 his face on a level with the cage of the unhappy 

 prisoner, and let him then try to imagine what it must 

 be to live up there from day to day and week to week, 

 with no companionship of his own kind, no ray of 

 sunshine, and with nothing to do but satisfy the 



