houses should not throw stones.

In this connection I would remark that birds are shot not only for
pleasure and for their flesh, but in some cases for their plumage, and
women who wear hats adorned with birds' feathers, do, though
indirectly, encourage the slaughter of the innocent. Once a Chinese
was arrested by the police in Hongkong for cruelty to a rat. It
appeared that the rat had committed great havoc in his household,
stealing and damaging various articles of food; when at last it was
caught the man nailed its feet to a board, as a warning to other rats.
For this he was brought before the English Magistrate, who imposed a
penalty of ten dollars. He was astonished, and pleaded that the rat
deserved death, on account of the serious havoc committed in his house.
The Magistrate told him that he ought to have instantly killed the rat,
and not to have tortured it. The amazed offender paid his fine, but
murmured that he did not see the justice of the British Court in not
allowing him to punish the rat as he chose, while foreigners in China
were allowed the privilege of shooting innocent birds without
molestation. I must confess, people are not always consistent.

The Peace Societies should take up this matter, for hunting is an
imitation of war and an apprenticeship to it. It certainly can find no
justification in any of the great world religions, and not even the
British, or the Germans, who idolize soldiers, would immortalize a man
simply because he was a hunter. From whatever point the subject be
viewed it seems undeniable that hunting is only a survival of savagery.

[1] E. B., 9th ed., vol. 33, p. 649.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of America Through the Spectacles of an
Oriental Diplomat, by Wu Tingfang

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECTACLES, ORIENTAL DIPLOMAT ***

***** This file should be named 609.txt or 609.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/609/

Produced by A. Light. HTML version by Al Haines.

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of U