BIRDS IN A VILLAGE 133 



tiful common there; but, so far as I know, such 

 measures have only been taken in boroughs after 

 the birds have been almost exterminated. 



Doubtless the day will come when, law or no 

 law, the bird-catcher will find it necessary to go 

 warily, lest the people of any place where he 

 may be tempted to spread his nets should have 

 formed the custom of treating those of his calling 

 somewhat roughly. That it will come soon is 

 earnestly to be wished. Nevertheless, it would 

 be irrational to cherish feelings of animosity and 

 hatred against the bird-catcher himself, the "man 

 and brother," ready and anxious as we may be 

 to take the bread out of his mouth. He certainly 

 does not regard himself as an injurious or dis- 

 reputable person; on the contrary he looks on 

 himself as a useful member of the community, 

 and in some cases even more. If anyone is to 

 be hated or blamed, it is the person who sends 

 the bird-catcher into the fields; not the dealer, 

 but he who buys trapped birds and keeps them 

 in cages to be amused by their twitterings. This 

 is not a question of morality, nor of sentimental- 

 ity, as some may imagine; but rather of taste, of 

 the sense of fitness, of that something vaguely 



