62 
THE BROWN THRUSHES: 
enoughj considering the relations that had 
existed between him and the defendants, along 
happens Mr. Blue Jay. Now, Birds of the 
Jury, it is not necessary to advert here to the 
general character of that bird ; you all know 
what it is. Wliy the counsel for the plaintitfs 
calls him a reliable bird I cannot imagine, for 
we all of us know that he is considered as 
being the greatest seallawag in the whole for- 
est. I hope*tha honorable jury will excuse 
my using this word, it is quite common among 
the haymakers over yonder, and I picked it 
up accidentally ; for our present purpose it 
answers very well, however, for the witness is 
in every sense a seallawag, 
“ As I before remarked, that this reliable 
bird should happen along at this particular 
time is a little strange, for he had not been 
near the Thrushes for a great while before, he 
having been smartly thrashed by the defend- 
ants at the last visit that he made, having 
been caught sneaking around, apparently try- 
ing to steal their eggs. Observe, Birds of the 
Jury, he had been thrashed by the defendants, 
against whom he is the principal witness. 
