74 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



" Oh yes, you shall have a breeze," says the gar- 

 dener ; " I'll make one on purpose for you," and he 

 shoots him dead. Of the justice of this act the 

 gardener must be allowed to be the best judge. He 

 is probably bound in self-defence to protect his pro- 

 duce from the mischief wrought by birds of this sort. 

 From my own experience, I may say that many of 

 the most innocent-looking creatures are really the 

 most destructive of the gardener's labour. When 

 it is found that injury is done, and that in consid- 

 erable quantity, the sentimental side of the question, 

 to which our pity inclines, must give place to the 

 practical. 



The greenfinch is associated with my earliest 

 childhood. On the wild sea-coast where we lived 

 then, he was a great favourite as a cage-bird. Pets 

 of that kind were much sought after at a time when 

 books and amusements for the young were scarce, 

 and any boy whose parents allowed him to keep 

 a green linnet was considered lucky indeed. The 

 birds were carried about by the boys in their 

 pockets when out of school. They w r ere docile 

 and affectionate creatures, and I remember well 

 that amongst them was a tame sparrow, which 



