is bound to hurt trade."

By trade she meant the millinery business.

"What is it?" her husband inquired, looking over the top of the page he
held.

"Why, here's a lot of women who have been meeting in a convention in
Chicago and getting excited and losing their heads, and passing some
ridiculous resolutions."

"What kind of resolutions?" he inquired.

"Oh, they've been denouncing the fashion of wearing birds. They belong
to a society called--called--something or other, I forget what. Let me
see," and she ran her eye down the column. "Oh, yes, here it is. They
are members of the O'Dobbin society, and they got so wrought up on the
subject they took the feathers out of their hats right there in the
meeting and vowed never to wear bird trimming again. Well, if such
outlandish notions spread, you'll soon see how it will injure the
millinery trade."

"Pshaw! you needn't worry. The protests of a handful of fanatical
women can't do your business any harm," he answered carelessly, and
turned to his paper again.

She shook her head. "I'm not so sure of that. I think there are some
women in this very town just cranky enough to endorse such foolishness.
There's Mrs. Judge Jenkins for one. I've never yet been able to sell
her a real stylish hat. She won't wear birds, because she thinks it's
wicked. I hope to goodness she won't consider it her duty to start an
O'Dobbin society here."

From the depths of my heart I blessed those kind women who had shown
their disapproval of the nefarious traffic in bird life, and had
pledged themselves to our protection. True, they were but a handful
compared with the millions whom the god Fashion still held in bondage,
only a handful who were fighting the good fight; but would not the
influence of their noble example and their pledge of mercy be spread
abroad till all the women in Christian lands would join in the crusade
against the wrong?

In my joy at the thought I chirped so loudly that the lady looked up
from her reading. She seemed suddenly to recall a thought as she
glanced at my cage, for she said, "I must not forget to ask Katharine
if she can take the bird home with her next week and keep it while
Polly is gone to the country. I'll be sure to forget to feed it.
Anyway, I haven't time to bother with it."

The day before Polly left for the country I heard her inquiring for the
"Daily," which I remembered was the name they called the newspaper
containing the accou