Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1846-01-29
From the Beacon of Liberty.
The Meeting of the Birds,

HAcetiuS OF the Birds.
he birds bad meeting few days ago,
10 settle some matters of state
ana wlthal, to consider their friends in limbo,
VINO long had been pining in want and in wo,
J And lew to mourn over their fate,
In cages OF wire, and in cages of wood,
| They were hanging all over the land
And there made to sing all the day for their food
And dream all the night in their dark solitude,
OF the groves by the free zephyrs famed.
The Crow called the meeting to order--'caw cav y
For he had far reaching ken,
The Eagle was scribe, he was skilled in the law,
And knew where T was safest to put in his claw
And he, too, was great with the pen.
The Pigeon was there to carry the news,
For Bird-dom was waiting to hear;
The most part were anxious to get their friends
loose,
And break all the cages and the traps that they use,
Those bird catchers, year after year.
The Lnnet was foremost to open the cause
For the dropping wngd captives he spoke,
His kindred they were, and he thought that it was
\ sin against God and the old forest laws,
To bring them thus under the woke
The Canary arose with tear in his cen,
And his musical voice choked with grief,
This caging his kindred, he thought it was mean
The wickedest thing that ever was seer
And he called the bird holder thief
Hold hold, says the OWL not so fast, my young
spark
And he opened his eyes in maze.
There's a difference between them old cagers,
(now bark
see it as plain as chick in the dark)
And those that hold birds in these days
The fathers transgressed the old law, it is true,-
1t was bad for the captive birds, quite,
But that's not our fault-we follow the new;
What the many call right, it is proper to do
And therefore bird holding is right
Twas clear case, he thought, and the logic was
prime;
Bot the Goldhnch was not quite so clear;
He could not but think is as much of crime,
To cage bird as it was in old time,
Sin was sin, the same now as last year
Then up got the Raven, and bowed as he spoke,
The case seemed to him very plain,
The fathers who put the birds under the yoke,
II was they who the great law of liberty broke;
Sure we cannot break it again
The Sparrow was grieved at such logic, he said,
They might bring US all into the wires,
And lay all the sin and blame on the head
OF some old transgressor a thousand years dead
'Twoud excuse all the robbers and liars
sweet little bird, with his wings tipped with gold.
(The chairman did not know his name,)
Said, the wrongs Of the captives could never be
told,
Their snf1ern2s now were like those Of old,
Then, why not bird holding the samel
quit said the Wren. you're as blind as bat
They may suffer and long TO be free;
But the master has nothing to do with all that,
He sticks to the law-thai's what ne is at;
What the law says,--,ha,'s right--don't you see
The Redwing retor,ed in fiery mood,
Few talk about law. You marauder.
You'd be bird holder yourself, if you could,
wish your whole tribe was driven out of the
wood
But the chairman here called him to order,
Next the Ostrich got up, by courtesy there
And the meeting most gravely ADDRESSED:
His opinion, he said, he was free to declare,
| That the birds of themselves who could not take
care,
Were meant 10 be slaves to the rest.
The Woodpecker reused up, and gave him scowl
! As if he would peek out his eyes,
/ Avaunt! who sent you thither. old fowl
Go, hatch your own egg Order" said the Owl
Keep cool-you are more nice than wise.
| Blu, now, it grew dark, and twas thought TO be
best,
! AT least, bv the Owl and such sages,
To vote that bird holding was proper, unless
The treatment was bad. Then, each to bis nest
And left the poor slaves in their cages
! There is often more comfort, more genuine
friendship, to be met with from an humble and un
pretending friend, than from those whose attain
men,s and professions are placed on higher stan
( dayd ave. and more to be learned, too, In th'