A PLEA FOR THE BIRDS. 



1111 



ought to arrest the at- 

 tention of every Chris- 

 tian woman who dec- 

 orates herself with the 

 skins, and it ought to 

 be with her a ques- 

 tion : ' Am I of the 

 spirit of Christ and of 

 the spirit of humanity 

 in indulging my sense 

 of the beautiful by a 

 method that almost 

 insures their destruct- 

 ion ? ' I do n't suppose 

 that any amount of 

 preaching Would do 

 much good in general. 

 , The appeal which I 

 make is to woman. 

 And if there be any 

 portion of the com- 

 munity that is more 

 sensitive to reasons of 

 humanity, that is more 

 shocked by cruelty, it 

 certainly is woman. 

 And I have a tight to 

 ask every reflecting 



Christian woman whether her happiness, ner sense of the beautiful in 

 taste, demand that she should encourage a traffic which insures this 

 destruction of the feathered songsters-. For they are brought by the 

 hundreds of thousands, into the market, from Canada to Florida and 

 from the pastern coast to the Mississippi and beyond, and it in- 

 creases year by year, and it will increase just so long as fashion de- 

 mands them. 



" Now, I have long ago made up my mind that fashion was a 

 thing not accessible. And, therefore, to preach to fashion is love's 

 labor lost ; but it is not imperious in this respect — it is optional. I 

 am perfectly certain that if thoughtful and humane Christian wo- 

 men would set their fac^s against it, the danger would be greatly 

 diminished. And as all fashions are like tides that go out and come 

 in, we should at least have a vacation in the destruction of innocent 



Fie. 1534.— Rose-colored Pastor. 



Like the beef-eater,, perches on b,aeks of cattle and eats grabs 

 of flies and lice; 



