478 STRIX FLAMMEA. 



and deservedly miserable queen Mary. But it may not be : 

 we are now reduced to the necessity of seeking for natural 

 causes. Gliding downwards from one of the higher windows 

 comes the bird of night. Meteor-like it sweeps away, flying 

 at the height of a few feet from the ground ; and in endeavour- 

 ing to trace its course, we lose all that mysterious feeling which 

 its scream excited. The poor bird in fact has nothing to do 

 with the ghosts of grim and bloody barons, or gay ladies : it is 

 a thing of mere bone, muscle, and feathers, intent on procur- 

 ing a few heedless mice, to satisfy the cravings of its own 

 appetite and that of its voracious young. Yet, so frail, so sen- 

 sitive, or so imaginative is humanity, that the harsh sound 

 causes to thrill in the breast of him on whose ear it unexpect- 

 edly comes, a cord which emanates directly from the organs of 

 wonder and fear, if such indeed there be, for man must ever be 

 to man a great mystery. The spectral bat now flutters on 

 leathern wing, the beetle bounces away into the dim shade, 

 silence and darkness envelope the earth, and if the lone wan- 

 derer be not a mere philosopher, some holy thought, some sadly 

 pleasing emotion, some sense of the presence of God, must 

 arise in his breast. But let us proceed more methodically. 



The Barn Owl chooses for his place of repose some obscure 

 nook in an old building, the steeple of a church, a tower, a 

 dovecot, or a hollow tree. There he remains from sunrise to 

 sunset, in a nearly erect posture, with retracted neck, and 

 closed eyelids, dozing away the hours in which, from the struc- 

 ture of his eyes, he is unable to perceive his prey, and waiting 

 for the return of twilight. If approached in this state, instead 

 of flying off*, he raises his feathers, hisses like an angry cat, 

 clicks his bill, and thus threatens the intruder. Should he by 

 any accident be driven abroad, he seems dazzled and bewil- 

 dered. Incapable of distinctly perceiving the objects around 

 him, he flits about with an unsteady flight, and is glad to be- 

 take himself to some dark retreat, where he may be sheltered 

 from the light, as well as from his numerous enemies. The 

 appearance of an Owl in open day is a phenomenon that ex- 

 cites the curiosity as well as hatred of many species of birds, 

 even the smallest of which will gather around, chide, and ha- 



