CHAPTEE VII. 
THE HOUSE SPARROW 
(Passer domesticus). 
“ Touch not the little Sparrow, who doth build 
His home so near us. He doth follow us 
From spot to spot amidst the turbulent town 
And ne’er deserts us.” 
B. Cornwall. 
The Sparrow must indeed be a bird of some importance, 
inasmuch as it is so much spoken of. Undoubtedly, 
being so universally known has its disadvantages, for 
everyone fancies that he knows the bird, and considers 
himself justified in abusing it. I hold, however, that it 
is just those people who raise such an outcry against the 
Sparrow, who do not understand the bird. They are, 
it is true, acquainted with the bird’s appearance, but do 
not know how it lives, how it fights its way through the 
world, or how much more good it does than harm. Who 
has ever recognized its services, or ever spoken a word in 
its favour ? At the outside, some fellow blessed with an 
appreciation of the comical; or the cynic, who stands 
amused and astonished at the bird’s ’cuteness and know¬ 
ledge of the world. No one else ! The Sparrow’s sins 
and shortcomings, its debts, so to speak, have been most 
carefully noted down, together with usurious interest; 
they have been duly estimated, and over-estimated too; 
