The Sorrows of a House Martin 35 



time, the people look out for us, and welcome us. 

 So they used to, at least : but of late years some- 

 thing has possessed them, I don't know what, 

 and they have set themselves to catch and kill 

 us. It may be only a few wicked persons : but 

 this year nearly all those towers and wires were 

 smeared with some dreadful sticky stuff, which 

 held us fast when we settled on it, until rough 

 men came along and seized us. Hundreds and 

 thousands of us were caught in this way and 

 cruelly killed, and will never see their old home 

 again." 



"Horrible!" cried Gwenny. "I believe I know 

 what that was for : I heard mother reading about 

 it in the paper. They wanted to sell the birds 

 to the Paris milliners to put on ladies' bonnets. 

 But how did you escape ? " 



"Only by a miracle," said the bird. "And 

 indeed I do wonder that I'm safe here ; I 

 alighted on a tall iron fence near the sea, and 

 instantly I felt my claws fastened to the iron, 

 not a bit would they move. A few yards off 

 were two or three of my friends just in the same 

 plight ; and after a time of useless struggling, I 



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