At the annual July meeting of this renowned establishment, petitions
were presented from the animals of the menagerie, respecting their
grievances: the following were the greatest cases of hardship:—The
Carnivora, in a body, complained of a diminution and recent alteration
in their diet; the Society having, from a regard to economy and its
diminished finances, changed their food from good ox beef to asses'
flesh. They feared that, should they become addicted to this kind of
viand, they might, in a moment of desperation, be tempted, from the
similarity, to make free with the bodies of any of the members that came
in their way, a piece of ingratitude of which the great brown bruin, in
particular, said he could not bear the thought. The Royal Tigers
complained that some of their family had been carried off by a disorder
resembling the "King's evil;" this they attributed to the Society's
being under Royal patronage, which they had, in the course of their
travels, observed to be fatal in many other establishments. The Dogs
begged that, if they were to have no more meat, they might, at least, be
indulged with a copy of "South on the Bones." The beasts and birds,
generally, declared themselves ashamed of the shabby appearance of their
friends in the Museum, asserting that, living and dead, they were alike
badly stuffed. The Parrots spoke of the smallness of their cages, which,
they entreated, might be enlarged in dimensions by at least a perch or
two. The whole tribe of Simiæ, like the Baronets, prayed for a badge of
distinction. They stated that their appearance was so closely imitated
by numerous individuals who crowded around their cages on fine days in
the fashionable season, that their visitors did not know one from the
other, and frequently asked "Which _are_ the monkeys?"
All the animals prayed the benefit of clergy for the remission of their
Sunday fasts, and implored the Bishop of London, though he could not get
them a holiday on that day, to at least interfere to procure them a
dinner.