22 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIKDS. 
a " minnion of the mud" who has set up for worldly wisdom, 
and he will dole you, measured by the foot-rule, putrescing 
fragments of stale conventionalities, until the mortal stench, 
rank in your complaining nostrils, offends your very life ; 
but your singing birds prattle out of fashion, to lull the dewy 
eye-lids of the eve; so do blithe young girls and angels, if 
we may judge — as for the morning stars that " sang together" 
long ago, no doubt they did it out of all "rule and precedence." 
Would that there were more of this prattling out of fashion, 
to battle with the monster " monotone of Boredom." But 
hear what Mr. Audubon himself writes concerning this quaint 
citizen of whom we were speaking, while he pleads like 
an old Priest of Brahma for mercy to all God's creatures. 
He says — ■ 
" The Crow is an extremely shy bird, having found famil- 
iarity with man no way to his advantage. He is also cun- 
ning — at least he is so called, because he takes care of him- 
self and his brood. The state of anxiety, I may say of ter- 
ror, in which he is constantly kept, would be enough to 
spoil the temper of any creature. Almost every person has 
an antipathy to him, and scarcely one of his race would be 
left in the land, did he not employ all his ingenuity, and 
take advantage of all his experience, in counteracting the 
evil machinations of his enemies. I think I see him perched 
on the highest branch of a tree, watching every object 
around. He observes a man on horseback travelling towards 
him ; he marks his movements in silence. No gun does the 
rider carry — no, that is clear ; but perhaps he has pistols in 
the holsters of his saddle ! of that the crow is not quite sure, 
as he cannot either see them or ' smell powder.' He beats 
the points of his wings, jerks his tail once or twice, bows his 
head, and merrily sounds the joy which he feels at the mo- 
ment. Another man he spies walking across the field to- 
wards his stand, but he has only a stick. Yonder comes a 
boy, shouldering a musket, loaded with large shot, for the 
express purpose of shooting crows ! The bird immediately 
