56 REASONING FACULTY IN ANIMALS. 



There is a bird who by his coat, 

 And by the hoarseness of his note, 



Might be supposed a crow ; 

 A great frequenter of the church, 

 Where bishop-like he finds a perch 



And dormitory too. 



Thrice happy bird ! I too have seen 

 Much of the vanities of men, 



And, sick of having seen them, 

 Would cheerfully these limbs resign 

 For such a pair of wings as thine, 



And such a head between them. 



COWPER. 



WHEN conversing, as I frequently do, with a 

 variety of persons on the subject of Natural His- 

 tory, I almost invariably find, that whenever the 

 reasoning faculty of animals is brought forward 

 as a matter of discussion, there is either an incre- 

 dulous smile, or a disbelief expressed of the fact 

 that any thing approaching to reason can be 

 found in animals. As many proofs however to 

 the contrary have been sent to me, and as I have 

 witnessed not a few myself, I shall mention some 

 of them. I am at the same time aware that such 

 is the feeling of superiority with which we regard 

 ourselves, that we are but little inclined to allow 



