The English Sparrow Discussed. 



15 



ed really alarmed ; "there are foxes about, 

 and it's downright dangerous for rabbits. 

 You had better stay here to-night ; I don't 

 know when my husband will be home." 



But Charley was inflexible, and although 

 Mrs. Rabbit fondled and coaxed him to 

 Stay, he broke away from her, and bounded 

 off toward home. 



The scamper over the green grass was 

 delightful ; Charley never enjoyed a run 

 more in his life ; but suddenly his quick 

 ear caught a slight rustling in a little tuft of 

 long grass, a little ahead and to his left. 

 He swerved off, and the next moment a fox 

 made a dash at him. He bounded forward, 

 the fox missed his spring, and away went 

 Charley at top speed for the creek, the fox 

 after him. Charley reached the creek, 

 sprang in, and found himself in his own 

 proper shape, up to his knees in water. He 

 was not frightened now, but oh, his feet 

 were cold ! All the same he couldn't help 

 laughing at the baffled fox. 



"Were you looking for anything?" asked 

 Charley. 



"Oh no, nothing particular," said the 

 fox. I saw something white glance by, and 

 just ran up to see what it was. Did you 

 notice it? Something like a white rabbit it 

 looked to me." 



"I give it up," said Charley. "Do tell." 



"Oh, you've been there, have you?" said 

 the fox, as he turned tail, and scampered off 

 as fast as his legs would carry him. 



Charley tried to laugh, but his teeth were 

 chattering with cold ; he hitched up his 

 pants, and made another step forward, and 

 went in up to his middle. The cold was 

 so intense that he awoke. The gray dawn 

 was just breaking, and as Charley sat up in 

 bed and looked round to make sure that he 

 was at home, he saw his naked feet stick- 

 ing out, and found that he had pulled all 

 the bed clothes up above his middle. He 

 straightened them out as well as he could 

 without getting up, and then drew up his 

 knees and lay awake, recalling all the ad- 

 ventures of the night, until the sun rose 

 high, and his mother came to give him his 

 morning kiss and call him for breakfast. 



C. F. Amery. 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW DISCUSSED. 



GENERAL SPINNER'S "Earnest Ap- 

 peal to Young America," which ap- 

 peared in our November number, would 

 have been lauded to the echo, if he had 

 omitted all allusion to the European spar- 

 row, but in drawing the line at that impu- 

 dent little marauder he has stirred up a con- 

 siderable measure of dissent, for the sparrow 

 is by no means without friends. We have 

 quite a number of interesting communica- 

 tions on the subject, one of which was ad- 

 dressed by the writer to General Spinner 

 personally, with a request to him to have it 

 published. 



The letter has consequently found its 

 way to our columns, and it will be seen that 

 the General, neither softened nor convinced, 



has double-shotted his guns, and ranged 

 himself in line of battle. 



After the smoke of the conflict shall have 

 cleared away, it will be for our readers to 

 determine to which side the balance of vic- 

 tory inclines. 



The English sparrow himself, we have 

 ascertained, takes no stock in the discus- 

 sion; he has come to stay, and will pursue 

 the even tenor of his way, undismayed by 

 the screaming of the American eagle. 



From Lydia L. A. Very, to General F. F. Spinner. 



No. 154 Federal Street, Salem, Mass. 



Dear Sir — I was reading (with pleasure) your 



remarks and advice to the boys to spare the birds, 



when I came to your ending, advising them to kill 



the poor little English (European more properly) 



