A Kite was sent to us bearing a flag of truce. We deigned to receive and listen to him. He said, “You, sirs, have spoken and managed affairs after your own fashion; now listen, we must each one have our turn. Over there, we number thirty three million free subjects, God’s creatures, and every one as ambitious as yourselves to make a stir in the world; to write and speak fearlessly, Equality is our divine right!”
“What is a right?” inquired an old Crow whose acquaintance the reader has already made, “summum jus, summa injuria! If you must all write, the folios of the whole world would not be sufficient to contain the manuscript, not even if each one restricted himself, not to his history, nor to a page, line, word, letter, or even a comma.”
This judicious refutation was deemed simply absurd, and the foolish Kite replied by asking another question. “That is enough! who endowed you with your power of reckoning? Has the God of Scarabs not made earth, sky, light, trees, and even leaves, that every one who has an equal stake, may have an equal share in all created things?”
O folly! the victory of such reasonable kites and scarabs is certain. Go back to your camp.
Alas! civil war is making its way into the most peaceful valleys. The spirit of revolt has spread from the insects to the birds, and even to the quadrupeds. Alarm is everywhere abroad. The doors of the cages have to be kept shut, a proceeding most galling to those animals who sit outside watching their neighbours. Let the peacefully disposed take courage, the geese are still guarding the capital.
The insurgents have replied to the articles of our journal, in a paper they have established, called “The Guardian of Freedom;” or, “Review of Animal Reform.”
Yesterday, the friends of liberty assembled in the Hall of Natural History, where stuffed animals are preserved.
This preliminary meeting was held at a late hour. One by one the members assembled, and silently exchanging tokens of recognition, seated themselves in the galleries opposite their preserved ancestors. The stillness was such, that one could hardly distinguish the dead from the living. The Elephant, Bear, Buffalo, Bison, and the Eagle all arrived at the same moment, as if drawn thither by some power supernatural. But who can deny that love of liberty moves mountains, and at once explains the presence of these noble beasts.
