96 THE WREN, THE HEDGE-SPARROW, 



account of his well-known depredations amongst 

 these birds, had it not been that he is an 

 universal favourite with the household, and par- 

 ticularly caressed by the ladies for his engaging 

 manners. It is supposed, and with too much 

 reason, that he murdered two fine cock phea- 

 sants only a week ago. Indeed, I had no 

 doubt in my own mind but that he was the 

 real culprit, although a stranger cat was taken 

 up at the time, and hanged for the offence. 

 My conscience rebuked me for partiality on 

 that occasion ; and I felt that I had done wrong. 

 But it w r as only an affair with a cat: and I 

 trust that the public will overlook it, when we 

 reflect that, only the other day, in Dublin, a 

 high dignitary of the law did exhibit such pal- 

 pable partiality in a cause of " Victoria versus 

 Repeal," that he ought to have been unwigged 

 there and then, and banished for ever from 

 that arena of marked injustice to poor ould 

 Ireland, and her patriot sons. 



We are still in uncertainty, and probably 

 must ever remain so, concerning the story of 

 the newly hatched cuckoo in the nest of the 

 hedge-sparrow. 



It is an undisputed fact in natural history 



