230 



A 71 Earnest Appeal to ''Young America" 



time to twenty or twenty-four cents. It will 

 be something for the Bunyas to get full 

 prices for all the grain on hand, and with 

 the blessing of Brahma, the farmers will be 

 able to pay it and live." 



"But the stocks are not heavy," said one 

 Bunya, who was immediately supported by 

 a score of others; and then began a general 

 clamor, everybody talking at once, in loud, 

 disputatious tones. Byram took no part in 

 it, and the discussion was continued until 

 sunset, Bunyas and farmers breaking up 

 into little knots, discussing and arguing 

 among themselves and with each other. At 

 sunset they had arrived at a dead-lock, the 

 farmers asserting that more than forty-eight 

 they would not give, the Bunyas that less 

 than sixty-four they would not take. 



" Better refer the matter to the arbitra- 

 tion of five," said Gunnoo Lall." 



"Agreed," said the Bunyas. 



The leading farmers discussed the propo- 

 sition a few minutes and then said: 



"We, too, are agreed. Let there be two 

 bankers, two farmers, and let Byram the 

 Wise give the casting vote." 



The proposal satisfied all parties, the ar- 

 bitrators were selected, and after an hour's 

 talk which did not in any way affect the 

 issue, Byram announced that forty-eight 

 cents a maund had been fixed for seed 

 grain for the next three days. 



Bunyas and farmers were alike pleased 

 that the matter had been so satisfactorily 

 settled. The Bunyas said that Byram had 

 been influenced more by consideration for 

 the poor than by strict justice, but this, of 

 course, was intended for the ears of the 

 farmers, to make them think they had got 

 the best of the bargain. 



AN EARNEST APPEAL TQ "YOUNG AMERICA. 



BOYS, spare the birds. What I am go- 

 ing to say will not be addressed to 

 the ingrain bad boy ; for him there is little 

 hope for reform. The boy who feels pleas- 

 ure in killing a poor innocent bird, or in 

 robbing it of its eggs, or its young, is not 

 far removed from the Pomeroy boy, who 

 took pleasure in enticing little children into 

 cellars, and other out of the way places, 

 and then killing them. To such boys I 

 have not a word to say; they are past re- 

 demption, and unless they repent and re- 

 form, the devil, m his own good time, will 

 surely get them. 



But there is another class of boys, who 

 are naturally kind and tender-hearted. To 

 such boys I would say, become missionar- 

 ies to other boys, who practice unkindness 

 through thoughtlessness and the bad exam- 

 ple of innately bad boys. Persuade these 

 kindly disposed boys to come and. go with 

 you, and be disciples of the Audubon 



Society, teach them to preach a crusade 

 against cruelty to animals in general, and 

 birds in particular. 



To thinking, kind-hearted men it is un- 

 necessary to say anything. I judge others 

 by myself. When I was a thoughtless boy, 

 led on by the example of other thoughtless 

 and bad boys, I used to throw stones at 

 birds ; aye, and rob their nests, too, and 

 now that I am an old man, I feel exceed- 

 ingly sorry that I did it. 



I well recollect that, once of a time, I 

 shot a robin. He flew some distance, and 

 fell in the tall grass. I went and picked 

 him up and found that I had inflicted a fatal 

 wound in his breast. The poor wounded 

 bird looked up into my face so imploringly, 

 that it caused me to shed tears, and now, 

 to-day, at the age of eighty-five years, I am 

 haunted by the pitiful imploring look of 

 that poor, innocent, dying bird, and feel- 

 ings of deep remorse come over me when- 



