200 FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS 



wanted, making the setting of any snare, or using 



any engine-net, or other instrument for the capture 



of birds on any lands, common or private lands, 



without the consent of all parties who shall be 



owners, lessees, and occupiers, or in or upon any 



public road without the consent of adjoining owners, 



lessees, and occupiers, . . . punishable with fine, 



or imprisonment in default. Why should not 



boys be punished for stealing my birds as much 



as for stealing my fruit ? There is a great deal 



of mawkish sentimentality about punishing boys 



and village lads for trespass. . . . The police in 



many rural districts are shamefully negligent about 



shooting in season without a license particularly 



on a Sunday and out of season, bird-snaring out 



of season, common firing, and other offences. . . . 



You may use this letter as you please ; only don't 



publish my name, as it is very well known, and I 



am afraid my dogs may be poisoned, or some other 



spiteful action done against my pets of land and 



air. I will tell you what I will do, and it is this, 



namely, if you will have a small council of such 



men as yourself, Mr. Grantley Berkeley, Mr. Frank 



Buckland, and others whom you know, I will do 



all the work quick enough." 



The following was sent to my father by a lady in 

 Shropshire, and shows how much can be done with 

 animals by kindness, even in cases where we might 

 least expect it. It forcibly reminds one of the 

 many similar feats performed by Mrs. Brightwen, 

 and told in her delightful volumes, showing how 



