S/iLBOKX/A.VA 
M9 
“ ‘ She : My modiste keeps on the alert, 
Owls, hawks, jays, swallows, most approve. 
He : yi>it — clothed with murder of His best 
Of harmless beings ! ’ 
For twenty years these stories have been told and retold, but we 
appear to preach to deaf ears, and it is the good women who are 
the greatest hindrances. If an out-and-out worldling declares 
by her words and her conduct that she will wear feathers pro- 
cured only at the cost of great suffering, and that she cares 
nothing for the e.xtermination of lovely species of useful beings, 
we fear that her heart and conscience must be non-existent ; but 
when good women, who we knojv are in earnest in their desire 
that right should triumph over wrong, refuse to help our 
righteous cause, then we feel in despair, and ready to cry, ‘ Let 
the birds perish ! Let them perish ! The sooner their sufferings 
are ended the better, and then, when it is too late, man (and 
woman) wll discover what a poor, worthless, uninhabitable 
place this world is without the birds.’ 
“ The statements I have made are not sensational stories, 
made up by sentimental women or ignorant men. Scientific 
men, men who would not swerve a hair’s breadth from the truth 
to make the story sound pathetic, and who are down upon any 
•exaggeration remorselessly, are those who have used the 
strongest language in condemning the wickedness, cruelty, and 
waste of the fashion of bird wearing. 
“ I have quoted poets and men of science. In conclusion, 
may I call attention to a great artist’s appeal. At the New 
Gallery, in Regent Street, there is now to be seen a picture by 
Mr. G. F. Watts, painted for the express purpose of pleading 
the cause of the birds. It is called ‘ A Dedication to all who 
love beauty and mourn over the senseless and cruel destruction 
of bird life and beauty.’ It represents an angel with bowed 
head and despairing figure, bending over a marble tomb covered 
with birds’ wings, while a spirit of evil (Fashion) grins below. 
While he was painting it Mr. Watts called it his ‘ Shuddering 
Angel ’ ; and as we look at it we are reminded of the following 
lines, which appeared in Punch : — 
“ ‘ Feathers deck the hat and bonnet ; 
Though the plumage seemeth fair, 
* Angels as they look upon it 
See but slaughter in the air. 
Many a fashion gives employment 
Unto thousands needing bread ; 
This to add to your enjoyment. 
Means the dying and the dead. 
“ ‘ Wear the hat without the feather. 
All ye women, kind and true ; 
Birds enjoy the summer weather 
And the sea as much as you. 
There’s the riband, silk, or jewel ; 
Fashion’s whims are oft absurd. 
This is execrably cruel. 
Leave his feathers to the bird.’” 
