176 THE COMICAL CHEBEC 



reading our own mood into it. And I could 

 not resist the conviction, that night, so far 

 from being the terror it is to some of us, 

 with our possessions to guard, is a time of 

 rest and peace to our brothers of the woods ; 

 that if death comes to some of them, as it 

 must to all of us, it is sudden and unexpected, 

 and doubtless generally unconscious surely 

 a more " happy dispatch " than the lingering 

 exit we crave. 



The question of the preying of animals 

 upon one another is of great interest, and 

 considering the example in the way of taking 

 life that we set them, it is amusing to see the 

 horror and virtuous indignation we lavish 

 upon birds and beasts who simply follow our 

 lead, though in a much more humane man- 

 ner. 



Moreover, if the late Maurice Thompson's 

 theory is true, that birds in a state of nature 

 never die of old age, that they are immortal 

 unless killed, it would appear that they were 

 created to be the prey of one another. It is 

 to be regretted that Mr. Thompson did not 

 live to produce the proofs he promised in 

 support of this extraordinary theory. 



