241 

 A DISCOURSE ON SCREECH OWLS. 



MR. EDITOR, Your correspondent in Ornithology 

 will speedily perceive, that I am not about to intrude 

 on the department, with some local account of which 

 he favours your work. But I am led to the adoption 

 of this nomenclature for a class of persons who have 

 been so designated by the venerable author of the Ram- 

 bler, who, in his 59th number, happily and pointedly 

 delineates, with his usual acumen the character of those 

 members of society, who, with the assumed sapiency 

 of the birds referred to, in an equally harsh and disso- 

 nant voice, anticipate all the evil that any occurrence 

 may possibly produce, dwell with delight on the dark 

 side of every event, and apparently enjoy the gloom 

 their forebodings spread around. 



This malady is as prevalent at the present moment 

 as it has been at any former period, and might almost 

 induce one to throw his pen into the fire, since that of 

 so able a writer as Dr. Johnson has pleaded with man- 

 kind in vain. But then one recollects that the sins 

 and follies of the present generation must be endeavoured 

 to be corrected by prescriptions from living physicians ; 

 we do not receive the remedies prescribed by our pre- 

 decessors as intended for ourselves, but rather as de- 

 signed to correct ills that no longer exist. 



I have been led to the contemplation of this subject 

 by the conduct of many persons, who, in some respects 

 fill their station in society with advantage to the com- 

 munity, but by this one vice, mar all their other good 

 qualities. We have, of late, experienced great changes 

 in our political institutions ; some men call them inno- 

 vations, others tell you they are restorations only : the 

 former endeavour to persuade you that they will be 

 succeeded by unmixed evil, whilst the other side augurs 

 better things, and contends that they will be productive 

 of as much good as worldly affairs are capable of. 

 Every person who first fairly endeavours to inform 

 himself on a subject is entitled to some consideration 

 in delivering his opinion on it ; and that he should af- 



VOL. III. 1834. KK 



