THE CRUEL GODDESS FASHION— AN APPEAL 203 



whether the " Society for the Protection of Birds " had not done 

 something to stop bird-slaughter, he replied that was so, but they 

 " managed to dodge all that sickly sentimentality by tearing up 

 the wings and remaking them in the fashion. Some of the 

 members (ladies) of that Society he would like to broil, but 

 he gave it straight to one of them. She saw him once 

 dangling a bunch of birds, and remonstrated with him upon 

 his cruelty, whereupon he replied, ' You eat lamb, don't 

 you ? ' ' Yes,' said the lady. ' Then have you no compassion 

 for the little lambs slaughtered for you ? What is the differ- 

 ence between my trade, by which I have to live, and your 

 pleasure ? ' " 



Venturing to remark that the cases were hardly parallel, as 

 he slaughtered thousands to make an ignominious living, whilst 

 his natural talents fitted him for something higher and nobler, 

 and that the lady had lamb killed only now and then for the 

 perfectly legitimate purpose of eating to live, he rather begged 

 the question, and stated, what is indeed comforting news, that 

 where there were formerly many like himself, he is now the only 

 one in England who makes a living at it, and this but a precarious 

 one, whilst in the " old days " he had followed the birds in every 

 part of Britain, and slaughtered many thousands of terns alone 

 in one year. Even then he " had an order from one firm for 

 teH thousand wings, but did not know how he should get them, 

 birds were so scarce." 



He was an interesting though misguided personality, and 

 perhaps the luxury of killing will pall some day, and he will 

 become a " collector " for the love of the bird, and not for the 

 love of the few pence their poor wings make. 



Ladies, it is to be feared, will never see these, to them, dry- 

 as-dust pages, but their husbands and brothers are asked to 

 point out to them the cruelty which lurks within each fibre of 

 their " ospreys " and " wings." 



