THE FAERY YEAR 



are cooped up in the cruellest of prisons think of 

 it creatures whose lives in the natural state stand 

 for all that is free and airy. Recalling it afterwards, 

 one sees linnets all a-flutter, but the thrushes, 

 perhaps, are worst of all I see great-eyed thrushes 

 that look like haunted birds. 



No one who has feeling for birds, at any rate 

 who would not have them tortured, should allow 

 the bird catcher on his land. A caged bird is by 

 no means always wretched. On the contrary, it 

 is often happy and long-lived. I have kept caged 

 birds, and intend to again. But with these snared 

 birds the case is very different. Even if eventu- 

 ally the snared linnet be tamed, it goes through 

 such terror and wildness and pining, during 

 these first hateful weeks or months of prison 

 life, that it were kinder to wring its neck at the 

 beginning. 



Happily there are many free as well as gaoled 

 birds in London. Tne starling has established itself 

 in strength in many parts of the town and suburbs, 

 and nests freely there ; but the large starling roost- 

 ing parties which are now gathering in the trees 

 in the parks between five and six o'clock may 

 include many country birds and foreigners. It 

 is fine to see the starlings going down into the 

 large plane trees of St. James's Park, at the back 

 of the India Office. Party after party will arrive 

 within half a minute or so of each other, and, 

 flying swiftly when they have reached a point high 

 above their trees, they stop of a sudden, without 

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