law;
The pilferer _Cuckoo_, whom all must despise,
And the chattering _Jay_, who tells nothing but lies;
While the green-mantled, light-hearted _Love-birds_, 'tis said,
Had been sipping too much, for their noses were red.

How often it is, when the sun is most bright,
That a dark cloud approaches, obscuring his light!
Alas! 'tis the same with all earthly affairs,
And pleasure gives place to a dark crowd of cares.
The _Trees_ were all lively, the _Beasts_ were content,
And the beautiful _Birds_ on their pleasure were bent,
Nothing doubting the multitude, struck with amaze,
Came to gaze on their beauty and speak in their praise
When they saw that the crowd by degrees had retired,
And that they left alone were no longer admired;
They gazed on the _Booths_ that were aptly design'd
To display the fair merchandize art had combined;
They look'd on the spot in wrath, spleen, and despair,
_Rank_, _Beauty_, _Taste_, _Fashion_, and _Fancy_ were there,
And the multitudes round such attractions preferr'd
To a gambolling _beast_ or a chattering _bird_.
Now Envy first enter'd the fair feather'd race,
And invective and dissonance rung round the place;
Their pleasure, their pride, and contentment were o'er,
And Discord presided where Peace was before.

In the midst of the hubbub and riot around,
The _Trees_ were absorb'd in a silence profound,
Till the busy _Dwarf Medlar_ began to explain
His rooted dislike to the booth-loving train.
He branch'd out in florid descriptions to show
That they all ought to stand on their stumps in a row
In defence of their rights, now that _underlings_ drew
That applause and renown which had long been their due.
Then the _Oak_ raised his head, rather hoary with age,
And shook his broad arms in the air in a rage,
And exhorted them all with a feeling of pride,
To maintain their ground firmly, whate'er might betide.
The _Giant Elm_ follow'd and proudly look'd down
On the pitiful plots of their foes with a frown.
The _Ash_, pale with anger, derided "the crew,"
And the smooth-temper'd _Purple Beech_ look'd rather blue.
The _Chesnut_ grew heated, and roasted them well;
And bitter the taunts of the _Almond-tree_ fell.
The _Apple_ and _Pear_ both maintain'd, in their spleen,
That the fruit of their folly would shortly be seen.
The _Laburnum_, the _Lime_, and the _Beech_ seem'd afraid,
But the _Hawthorn_ was po