172 TO THE RESCUE OF BIRDS. 
when fashionable, as in recent years, when for her live birds 
are plucked, and dead ones skinned, one grows sick over 
beings capable of such revolting cruelty. 
In vain we recount with condemnation woman’s vanities 
and cruelties—vainly we cry that her evils return upon her 
in physical woe and the lack of man’s respect. Thereis a 
defect somewhere in our methods, and it is to the solution 
of this problem that I address myself in seeking to rescue 
birds from destruction. We need these little feathered 
beings, that so gracefully flit through the air and swing on the 
branches of trees ; there rises before us the beauteous vision 
of these lovely creatures in their myriad hues; and the 
memory of their blithe or pathetic melodies seems almost to 
bring back sylvan harmonies to our ears. These pictures 
are part of our youth ; we could not bid them farewell. Oh! 
how can we let the threatened destruction come on the 
authors of all these tender memories? I was proud of 
Mississippi when I learned that she had passed a law against 
imprisoning Mocking-birds ; but that aid, whilst appreciated, 
is but a drop against the sea of sorrow that cruelty causes. 
We have all read of English falconry, and seen pictures of 
the hooded bird chained to the lady’s wrist, as she gayly 
goes forth on her prancing steed to destroy innocent birds; 
and it has seemed incomprehensible that a woman could 
find pleasure in such wanton wickedness. We have read of 
ladies at Naples crushing the heads of quail, and regarding 
it as rare sport. Alas! shall we ever be free from the idea 
that sport must be bloody and painful to make it real ? 
Love of inflicting pain, terrible joy over agony, man has 
concentrated in vivisection. Here too we find woman, who 
should be an angel of mercy, performing with coolness and 
method the diabolism of the knife, the burning-iron, and 
other horrible instruments of torture. A student of medi- 
cine described to me a woman’s performances in vivisection 
as exceeding those of the men, if that were possible, and she 
chose as one of her victims a snow-white dove ; yet the last 
