MUSICAL ENTREES A PLEA. 133 



netter is by no means particular, and every little bird 

 that falls into his snares counts in the bunches that he 

 regularly sends to the market. 



In the South of France and in Italy the entree is of a 

 far more varied ornithological character. There, every 

 small bird is welcomed by the cook and served up in 

 due course under endless disguises. Sad to tell, poor 

 Cock Robin has the repute of being one of the daintiest 

 of morsels ; and he may be seen in large quantities on 

 the stalls in the bird-markets of southern cities, 

 especially in Rome. Other little favourites, some of 

 them possessing songs which rival that of Orpheus 

 himself, are eaten, such as Black-caps, Garden Warblers, 

 and Nightingales. These bird-markets in autumn teem 

 with all the finest feathered musicians of Europe, mixed 

 indiscriminately in heaps ; bought with gusto and eaten 

 with still more, not only by the French and Italians, but 

 by the English and Americans who throng these winter 

 cities when the sun is at Capricorn. Great outcries are 

 raised, and justly so, at the cruel slaughter of Gulls and 

 other birds for hats and plumes, but this endless and 

 increasing destruction of many of our best songsters is 

 allowed to proceed without a word of protest ; although 

 I feel bound to state that, if a thought was given to the 

 poor little choristers which have been sacrificed to 

 furnish in many instances the tasty entrte, it would be 

 left untouched, save only by the veriest gourmand. 



