thing for self-respecting British birds to do," said
the first sparrow. "Stop it. Teach it a lesson."

"Absolutely," said the tit. "I'll go and find some others."

"Yes, so will we," said the sparrows; and off they all flew, full of
righteous purpose.

Meanwhile the canary sang on and on, and the poet at the foot of the
tree listened with delight.

Suddenly, however, he was conscious of a new sound--a noisy chirping and
harsh squeaking which seemed to fill the air, and a great cloud of small
angry birds assailed the tree. For a while the uproar was immense, and
the song ceased; and then, out of the heart of the tumult, pursued
almost to the ground where the poet stood, fell the body of a little
yellow bird, pecked to death by a thousand avenging furies.

Seeing the poet they made off in a pack, still shrilling and squawking,
but conscious of the highest rectitude.

The poet picked up the poor mutilated body. It was still warm and it
twitched a little, but never could its life and music return.

While he stood thoughtfully there an old woman, holding an open cage and
followed by half-a-dozen children, hobbled along the path.

"My canary got away," she said. "Have you seen it? It flew in this
direction."

"I'm afraid I have seen it," said the poet, and he opened his hand.

"My little pet!" said the old woman. "It sang so beautifully, and it
used to feed from my fingers. My little pet."

The poet returned to his work. "'In tooth and claw,'" he muttered to
himself, "'In tooth and claw.'"

* * * * *

[Illustration: HOW TO UTILISE THE ART OF "SUGGESTION."

The Doctor, six down at the turn, "suggests" to his opponent that they
are playing croquet, and wins by two and one.]

* * * * *

OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.

(_By Mr. Punch's Staff of Learned Clerics._)

_Tents of a Night_ (Smith, Elder) is a quite ordinary story, about
entirely commonplace persons, which has however an original twist in it.
I never met a story that conveyed so vividly the nastiness of a summer
holiday that isn't nice. The holiday was in Brittany, just the common
round, Cherbourg, Coutances, Mont St. Michel, and the rest of it; and
the holiday-makers were _Mr._ and _Mrs. Hepburn_, their niece _Anne_,
and a rather pleasant flapper named _Barbara_ whom they had taken in
charge. _Anne_ is the heroine and central character of the holiday; and
certainly whatever discomforts it contained