 | Beasts at law, or zoologian jurisprudence |  |
80
Cervus.
Capra, we call on you again,
Some information to obtain,
Why you have waited till this time
Since Dog's commission of the crime,
And hid his fault till this late season—
Of this delay explain the reason.
Capra.
I feared the consequences, sir,
Would be most dreadful to the Cur;
And so assumed a seigned esteem,
That none the truth might ever dream.
The secret of my wrongs, untold
To any member of the fold,
So weigh'd upon my aching breast,
That I had neither health nor rest;
My spirits sunk beneath the weight,
Till nature found the load too great.
'Twas then, (about six weeks ago)
Finding existence ebbing low,
To Felis I disclosed the fact,
And begg'd her counsel how to act;
But made her promise ne'er to tell
The secret I had kept so well.
Cervus.
But first did she accuse the Cur
Of having done the same to her?
Capra.
Yes, she confided first in me,
So I could do no less, you see,
Than trust her with my confidence,
Though I repent it sadly since.
Cervus.
How came you finally to tell
Your mate, whose rage you knew so well?
81
After the Cat had thus betray'd it,
I knew 'twas useless to evade it;
And so to Capricorn confest
The whole affair—and eas'd my breast.
Cervus.
Ovis affirms she heard a kiss,
When once together—how is this?
Capra.
The time she mentions I can swear
'Twas she who kiss'd the Mastiff there,
And when I charged her with the blame
She begg'd me ne'er to tell the same.
Cervus.
Ovis, you know, has sworn she saw
You coming from the Mastiff's straw;
Explain that matter.
Capra.
'Tis a lie—
The Ewe was there herself—not I.
Cervus.
The Magpie swears you show'd a Stag
Your dugs.
Capra.
What insolence in Mag!
She knows that time I sulkled kid,
And if he saw them—then he did.
Cervus.
The Goldfinch swears you kiss'd the Cur.
What answer can you give to her?
Capra.
My mate was present at the time,
And would he overlook the crime?
Would he see Canis thus offend,
And still remain his warmest friend?
For such he was, I dare avow,
In that affair about the Sow;
Where I am sure (although acquitted)
That Canis had the crime committed.
Cervus.
One witness has affirmed you cried
“Adieu, my dear!—I'm satisfied.”
82
I do not recollect it, sir;
I ne'er in private saw the Cur,
Except, as I have stated here,
The time the villain bit my ear.
Cross-examined, by Leopardus.
Leop.
You heard Columba here relate
Remarks of yours about your mate;
You said you had to kick and spur—
Capra.
I never said the thing to her.
Leop.
What say you of the river scene,
After you both were wash'd so clean?
Did you not nestle in his hair
To screen you from the chilly air?
Capra.
He cover'd me to make me warm,
And I had not a thought of harm;
Had I suspected any evil,
I would have butted like the devil.
Court.
You must have done so, then, 'tis clear,
When he was rude, and bit your ear?
Capra.
I had not time, I fled away,
I felt so vext I could not stay.
Rubecula, the Redbreast, examined.
Leop.
My little Robin, please to state
What you have heard the Ass relate.
Rub.
Ovis enquired of him, one day,
What the poor Mastiff had to say;
And whether he'd the whole confess'd,
When thus the Ass himself exprest:
“The Dog does not confess the fact,
And still denies he did the act;
He only owns he dropt expressions
Which might amount to love-professions.”
83
Some time since the confession-day.
Leop.
Call up the Snipe.
Dama.
She's here at hand.
Leop.
Sweet Gallinago, take the stand.
Tell what you know.
Gall.
I ask'd the Ass,
Who came my way about some grass,
If Canis had confess'd his faults;
He told me he denied assaults,
And every thing akin to force,
But merely own'd some loose discourse.
And then Asinus added to't,
That Capra was a shocking brute;
Obscene in talk, and rude to boot.
Scolopar, the Woodcock, examined.
Scol.
My Gallinago spoke correct,
And I, besides, can recollect
How zealous in the Mastiff's cause
This very same Asinus was,
His crime, he told a dozen birds,
Was merely trifling, foolish words,
For which no creature ought to smart,
And he forgave him from his heart.
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
The Translator must here express his regret for the unavoidable omission of several pages of this interesting trial. But although he has searched high and low for them, they cannot be found. There is but one chance remaining for their existence—They might have been accidentally left with the boatmen, on the Mississippi. The translator has dispatched a courier to Fort Pitt, and another to New Orleans, to make enquiries on this subject. Should these messengers be successful, the public shall be furnished, without delay, with the object of their search, neatly printed in a supplement. Until that auspicious moment, they are requested to suspend their curiosity, and pass on to the remainder of the work.—From a careful perusal of the original, immediately following this unfortunate hiatus, I find, that the Fox has arisen to address the court on the part of the defendant; that he has summed up the evidence, and thus proceeds in addressing the jury:
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