THE EAGLE AND THE CANARY 185 



** O wise man that knows so much about the ways of 

 birds, if you were shut up in a big cage — ^in Windsor 

 Castle, let us say — ^with scores of menials to wait on 

 you and anticipate your every want i That is, I must 

 explain, every want compatible with — ^ahem ! — ^the 

 captive condition. Would you be happy in your 

 confinement, practising with the dumb-bells, riding 

 up and down the floors on a bicycle and gating at 

 pictures and filigree caskets and big malachite vases 

 and eating dinners of many, many courses i Or 

 would you begin to wish that you might be allowed 

 to live on sixpence a day — and earn iti and even 

 envy the tagged tramp who dines on a handful of 

 half-rotten apples and sleeps in a hay-stack, but is 

 free to come and go, and range the world at will S" 

 You have been playing at nature ; but Nature mocks 

 you, for your captives thank you not. They would 

 rather go to her without an intermediary, and take 

 a scantier measure of food from her hand, but 

 flavoured as she only can flavour it. Widen your cage, 

 naturalist; replace the little twinkling lustres with 

 sun and moon and milky way ; plant forests on the 

 floor, and let there be hills and valleys, rivers and 

 wide spaces ; and let the blue pillars of heaven be 

 the wires of your cage with free entrance to wind 

 and rain; then your little captives will be happy, 

 even happy as I am, in spite of all the perils which 



