THE GARTER-SNAKE 



mouse and noxious insect will go into 

 his maw to his own and your benefit. 

 If there go also some eggs and cal- 

 low young of ground-nesting birds, why 

 should you question his right, you, who de- 

 fer slaughter out of pure selfishness, that 

 a little later you may make havoc among 

 the broods of woodcock and grouse ? 



Of all living things, only man disturbs 

 the nicely adjusted balance of nature. 

 The more civilized he becomes the more 

 mischievous he is. The better he calls 

 himself, the worse he is. For uncounted 

 centuries the bison and the Indian 

 shared a continent, but in two hundred 

 years or so the white man has destroyed 

 the one and spoiled the other. 



Surely there is little harm in this 

 lowly bearer of a name honored in 

 knighthood, and the motto of the noble 

 order might be the legend written on 

 his gilded mail, " Evil to him who evil 

 thinks." If this sunny patch of earth is 

 not wide enough for you to share with 

 him, leave it to him and choose another 

 for yourself. The world is wide enough 

 for both to enjoy this season of its prom- 

 ise. 



47 



