Birds as Messengers 
cost of the transaction would probably have 
been more than the birds would have realised. 
They were therefore sold at Courtrai, Lille, 
and other places in France and Belgium, and 
the proceeds of sale divided among charitable 
institutions, in accordance with the wish of 
the breeders who gave the birds to the 
country for the war (Daily Mail, 9.iv. 
IQ). 
The Homine PIGEON has been ridiculously 
libelled during the war, for no spy melodrama 
or novelette has been complete without one 
or more of these attractive birds, which are 
invariably represented as working for the 
Germans. Ever since the original war story 
of the market-woman of Armentiéres, or 
Arras, or Rheims (it is told by veracious 
eye-witnesses of all these towns and many 
more) whose figure attracted the attention 
of the alert soldiery and whose bust flew 
away when they arrested her, the HoMING 
PicEoN has laboured under a load of sus- 
picion (Daily Express, 15.v.18). Asa matter 
of fact, it may safely be said that His Majesty 
had no more devoted, though unwitting, ser- 
aI 
