CRUELTY TO BIRDS. 161 



many lovely honey and sun birds, whose claws 

 adhere to it when they alight to sip their food 

 from the flower. The cruelty shown to the poor 

 little things when captured is revolting, their 

 legs and wings usually getting broken by being 

 rudely torn off the sticks, the little breast feathers 

 remaining on the india-rubber. 



The Kafirs offer large bunches of these unfor- 

 tunates for sale, tied together by one leg to a 

 long string, which they swing about in all 

 directions. 



Sometimes a big brute Kafir will stop me and 

 open his hand, disclosing about a dozen of the 

 pretty little thiugs gasping and half dead. I 

 often buy them and stuff them into my poison- 

 bottle, fervently wishing it was large enough to 

 hold the Kafir as well ; but then the horrid 

 thought comes that most likely the man will go 

 and catch more on purpose for me, not believiog, 

 of course, that any one would be so foolish as to 

 buy them merely for mercy's sake, so it is really 

 difficult to know how to act for the best. 



Many a time have T seen quite small boys and 



L 



