In their youthful days they ne'er witness'd such frisking; And how wrong in the Greenfinch to flirt with the

Siskin !*

So thought Lady Mackaw and her friend Cockatoo;
And the Raven foretold that no good could ensue !
They censur'd the Bantam for strutting and crowing
In those vile pantaloons, which he fancied look'd
knowing;

And a want of decorum caused many demurs
Against the Game Chicken for coming in spurs.

Old Alderman Cormorant, for supper impatient, At the eating-room door for an hour had been station'd,

* Siskin. A migratory bird, which is seen in the southern parts of England at the time of the barley harvest, and is sometimes called the Barley-bird. It has a pleasing note, and is sold as a singing-bird in the London bird-shops by the name of the Aberdevine. The accusation of its flirtation with the Greenfinch is to be understood as pure scandal, the most prying naturalists never having discovered any particular attachment between them.

Till a Magpie, at length, the banquet announcing,

Gave the signal, long-wish'd for, of clamouring and

pouncing:

At the well-furnish'd board all were eager to perch, But the little Miss Creepers were left in the lurch.

Description must fail, and the pen is unable To recount all the luxuries that cover'd the table. Each delicate viand that taste could denote, Wasps à la sauce piquante and flies en compôte; Worms and frogs en friture for the web-footed fowl, And a barbecued mouse was prepared for the Owl; Nuts, grains, fruit, and fish, to regale every palate, And groundsel and chickweed served up in a salad. The Razor-bill* carved for the famishing group,

* Razor-bill. A migratory sea-bird, which visits the northern shores in spring, and leaves them in winter: they lay a single egg on the ledges of the rocks without any nest, and on which it is said to be fixed with a cement.

And the Spoon-bill* obligingly ladled the soup;

So they fill'd all their crops with the dainties before 'em, And the tables were clear'd with the utmost deco

rum.

When they gaily had caroll'd till peep of the dawn, The Lark gently hinted 'twas time to be gone; And his clarion so shrill gave the company warning That Chanticleer scented the gales of the morning. So they chirp'd in full chorus a friendly adieu, And, with hearts beating light as the plumage that

grew

On their merry-thought bosoms, away they all flew.

* Spoon-bill. So called from the construction of the bill, which is flat the whole length, but widens towards the end in the form of a spoon or spatula; and is equally remarkable in its substance, not being hard like bone, but flexible like whalebone. They feed on snakes, worms, frogs, and fish, even on shell-fish, which they first break with their bills.