128 DEATH AND RESURRECTION. 



or a hen, the bird often recovers from 

 the radical operation and may remain 

 alive for months and even years. But 

 the dove has become an entirely differ- 

 ent being. Immobile she sits on the 

 same place. If she were not heard to 

 breathe she might be taken for a 

 stuffed bird. She lacks ability to judge 

 her position and resembles a living 

 machine that breathes, and swallows 

 the food brought into her bill. The 

 higher qualities of the dove are entirely 

 lost. She shows no signs of fear and 

 is incapable of initiative. She remains 

 sitting in the same place and will not 

 even fly down from small heights. If 

 thrown into the air, she flies until her 

 wings are tired or until she strikes an 

 obstacle that she makes no effort to 

 avoid. From the first day she must be 

 fed artificially, but she digests her 

 food as usual. The heart, the circula- 

 tion of the blood, the respiration, in 

 short, all the vegetative functions of 

 life continue regularly. Such a state 



