(supposing that the trees are reasonably near your house) that these little creatures will come and call on you in the cold winter days, when you are shut up in the

I

prison even for one hour I cannot think. Subsequently, one happy morning heard a rustle, and, looking up into the tree, spied two bright black eyes and a furry little brown face looking down at me.

One autumn day I was sitting reading in the garden when a squirrel began bringing beechnuts off a neighbouring beech tree and burying them all around my feet. Another day I was in the little wood reading, and a squirrel sat overhead and talked to me in squirrel language (a sort of chattering noise), then he climbed down and came near to me, and by degrees every fine hot day that summer the little squirrel came to talk to me as I sat under the trees.

My squirrels love me and I love them; they climb on to my shoulders and rub their soft, furry cheeks against mine.

"COMING! DID YOU CALL?"

house. My first squirrel acquaintance began in this way. I had never fed or spoken to a squirrel, and knew not these folk, when one day strolling across my lawn a little brown squirrel startled me by running from a tree to meet me and climbed hastily up my dress and on to my shoulder. I put up my hand and caught the pretty creature, it did not bite, and I carried it indoors and put it in a basket with a cover over it. I kept it there an hour, and then, it seemed so wild and frightened, I carried it out into the garden. and let it go. It scampered gleefully up a tree. Why I was so extremely silly as to put the poor confiding little being in

"Now WE SHAN'T BE LONG."

They are so happy in the trees and swinging from branch to branch. They often come into the house and look round and go out

again to tell their friends what they have. seen. I feed them every morning, summer and winter. The one with whom I first made friends now brings friends, so that a large party visits

me.

I have been told that squirrels sleep in their nests for weeks during the winter months. Mine come frisking to the windows and doors always by eight a.m.,

even

on cold snowy mornings, and I have to give them almonds from my dressingroom window. Can anyone, learned in squirrel ways, tell me, do they really ever hibernate 212 England? I should be greatly interested to know.

One poor squirrel spoilt my Christmas Day this year by

I

Christmas Day. My husband, seeing my grief, and the squirrel's suffering, has ordered the keepers that no more traps are to be set on any part of the estate. I have

coming in a very suffering state to the library. He had evidently been caught in a steel-toothed trap. Poor little maimed thing, he was a piteous sight. One front paw all crushed and broken, up to the elbow joint. He could not clasp. his nuts,and he fell off the window sill, only having one little hand to use. still feel very sad about him. He comes every day for some food. Now two months after his hurt, he is getting more skilful in the use of his one hand, -the broken one has dropped off, or been torn away. It is gone, and the stump is healing. But what a misery for the poor little creature, once SO handsome and agile, having to go through life with only one hand to use! It is marvellous how he can climb at all. Anyone who sets, or orders to be set, these inventions of the Evil One (steel traps), should have seen my poor friend on

not inquired, but I suppose that the "keeping down" of rabbits and rats I will be done in future by ferrets. If so, the cruelty is nothing compared to the horrors of steel traps, with their living victims writhing in torture for hours. Ferrets are Nature's own engines of destruction. If man did not kill weasels and stoats, and so interfere with the balance of Nature, he would not require to constitute himself universal murderer and executioner, for the rats and rabbits would not

swarm in such overwhelming numbers. In the Times (London), has appeared the following appeal from "K. C. B." who, writing from Florence, under date

January 22nd last, puts forward the following plea for making the New Forest a sanctuary for squirrels :

"May I intrude on your valuable space and say with what interest I have read your two correspondents' views on the protection of such wild animals and plants as are still left to us in the New Forest, and how much I wish some steps could be taken to insure it? No one living in Italy, as I do, can fail to realize the ultimate result of such wholesale slaughter of all creatures, be they birds or beasts (except game). Not only is the inexpressible charm of wild nature gone, but it is thought by many that serious harm is done by the lack of small wild birds. Will you allow me to say a few words of pleading for one special inhabitant of the woods-i.e. the squirrel? I know there is a theory that they should be classed as "destructive vermin,"

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the small end next his mouth, and splits the shell into two equal halves with his chisel-shaped front teeth, neatly as a boy would do it with a knife. He thoroughly enjoys the sweet kernel, but pricks his delicate ears to listen all the while. He is startled! away he goes, one might almost say, flies. The little figure disappears like a brown flash of lightning. A distant shaking of the boughs alone tells where he pauses, at a safe distance, with tiny beating breast and bright eyes. to peep out and see what the matter is.

Shut up such a creature as this in a cage? Ah! what a hard, cold, unmerciful person must have first planned such a remorseless act, what unthinking or unfeeling people they must be who can do it now! No squirrel is born in a cage; all that are bought have been either caught or stolen from the nest-taken from the fun and frolic and freedom of the wild wood. There

AN

MY DEAR GABRIELLE,

OPEN

I have received the following from the German S.P.C.A., accompanied by a request for its insertion :

The two presidents of the Society, Superintendent Wegener and Mr. Borman, cashier of the National Bank, together with the secretary of the Society, Major Wegener, have had, by order of Her Majesty the Empress Frederick, the great honour of being received in special audience. The distinguished lady permitted them, in the course of a long conversation, to inform her as to the affairs in general of the S.P.C.A. in Berlin, and announced in the kindest manner Her Majesty's interest in all the efforts made for the protection of animals. Her Majesty deplored the sufferings of draught animals caused by ill-usage, and expressed an earnest wish for the construction of drinking troughs in the streets, for the use of horses and dogs. Her Majesty also expressed the liveliest interest in the question of the protection of birds. After the three gentlemen had presented to Her Majesty a copy of the rules, the calendar, and the journal of the Society (the Ibis), they left the Imperial Palace highly satisfied with the result of the audience granted them.

"This declaration of Her Majesty's interest, which later found expression in a graciously-worded acceptance of the position of patron of the German S.P.C.A.,

they run races with each other round and round the boughs in pure glee, it is a real game at hide and seek, mixed with pretty staccato talk, little grunts of question and reply, and sounds like inward laughter.

Some man greedy of gain grabs and sells them, that somebody away in the town may buy. Some of us go through the world with sore hearts enough—others are happy. In either case shall we better our condition by making innocent things suffer? Drugged with strychnine to make them quiet and "tame," their front teeth drawn maybe to prevent them from biting in their first misery and rage at being caught, these unfortunate pets" are doomed to a whirligig treadmill, to a cage, to solitary confinement for life. If such deeds as these "brighten many a human life," as folk say, then the noble, the kind, the generous will prefer the sadder road. EDITH CARRINGTON.

LETTER.

has the greatest significance for the future. progress of the Society. May the public in the future also take a livelier interest in the work of the Society than has hitherto been the case."

The chief feature of the past month to many humanitarians has been the inauguration of the Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund for celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. You want to know the exact connection between animal protection and hospitals? Let us put it this way the exact connection between humanitarianism and hospitals. It is obvious, is it not? The provision of hospitals is the work of a large-hearted beneficence, of humanitarianism writ large; their maintenance is the care of the public at large. What the humanitarians who are animal lovers as well want to guard against is the use of hospitals as places of illegitimate experimentation on patients. And for this reason:-They notice that the pseudoscientific experimenters on living animals largely attach themselves to hospital staffs. Why? Many of the text books on physiology will tell you that the results obtained in the physiological laboratories from experiments on animals are tested on the patients in the adjoining hospitals. The Lancet, I think it was, said that hospitals existed primarily for the training of medical students and nurses, and next for the treatment of patients. Animal

experimentation is the thin end of the wedge. Many such experiments are, no doubt, interesting in themselves without being in any way applicable to human beings; but others are only interesting when there is some supposed connection between them and human diseases.

That experiments have taken place on human beings in hospitals is undoubted. Mr. Mark Thornhill, J.P., formerly Judge of Sakarumpore, India, has written and published a most careful and exhaustive pamphlet on the question, giving chapter and verse with deadly accuracy, the medical journals being largely drawn upon for the material. Hatchards, of Piccadilly, formerly published this, but it can now be obtained (by sending 3d. in stamps) from the Secretary of the Victoria Street Society, 20, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. This is no mere prejudiced compilation; it is the production of an old and experienced lawyer, trained in the collection and dissection of evidence, and it is a paper to which the experimenting school have never attempted an answer, nor have they been able to point to a single flaw in it. That many medical men are absolutely incapable of treating patients otherwise than for their benefit no reasonable person denies, but the fingers of the experimenter have often itched, and will itch again, when he finds the human material at hand. It is desirable to protect the patient from all experiments, unless they are for the benefit of the person on whom they are tried, and not performed merely in the interest of contingent rich patients outside, to whom the experimenter may be looking as profitable and probable private clients of the future. If we protect the lesser (the animals) we shall also protect the greater (the human), but if we are treacherous in small things-and to animals, we shall find it hard not to be treacherous and cruel in large things-particularly in dealing with our fellow humans who may be too weak and helpless to defend themselves. subscribing to the Prince's Fund it would be well to say that the money is sent on condition that not a penny of it is given to hospitals which have animal torturers on their staffs.

In

Over a year ago a great deal of attention was attracted towards Teneriffe and the cruelty perpetrated there, particularly in connection with the bull fights. A correspondent who has recently been visiting there, has called on me twice and drawn my attention to several matters needing eform. My correspondent says:—

In very many seaport towns donkeys are cruelly used, overloaded, and beaten excessively. As soon as vessels, particularly large liners, arrive, and passengers land, a gay saddle and trappings are put on the poor little animals, and a big hulking fellow, far better able to carry the donkey, is persuaded to get astride the small, patient beast and go for a country ride. The poor creature is remorselessly over-ridden for the gratification of this thoughtless person. A journey over, another commences, and the donkey's life is one of bitter drudgery and abuse. Donkeys do not live long in Teneriffe.

So far my correspondent on this point. Evidently the legend about never seeing a dead donkey does not apply to these summery isles. But the writer goes on to another matter:

The Graphic of December 12th had a reference to the cruelty at Teneriffe, etc., I am glad to say; but very little can be done in the islands, public opinion, such opinion as there is, being absolutely indifferent. The only thing to do is to keep hammering away in the English and American press, and for this reason such articles as those in the Graphic make the Spaniards, both in the islands and in London, grind their teeth with anger. Their whole salvation in the former is to stand well with the English and Americans; it is British capital which has been the salvation of the islands. They never knew what prosperity meant until within the last seven years, when British capital began to pour into the place. They know that every word said against their hideous cruelty to animals hurts them financially, and helps to keep visitors away. hotels in the Canaries have never yet paid a dividend. Much of the hotel stocks and shares is held by Spaniards, who are the supporters of all kinds of cruelty-bull fights, cock fights, dog fights, sea-gull shooting, etc., and they literally foam at the mouth with wrath when these are attacked. They counted upon England and America pouring crowds of visitors into the island, and that Madeira would be ruined. The jealousy between Teneriffe and Grand Canary is very great, and although the people are very cruel at the latter, they will not have bull fights because Teneriffe will, and they are Republicans in politics because Teneriffe is Conservative.

The

Is it too much to hope that so gallant a race as the Spanish will in time come to see that the world is growing out of the barbaric customs of the past, and that it behoves a nation, with so great a past as that of Spain, not to be behind in the march of a higher and a more humane civilization ?

There is quite a collection of other matters with which I should have liked to deal, but I am almost swept out of my usual space this month by the torrent of correspondence. If evidence is needed of the