December, 1S92.J 



AND OOLOGIST. 



179 



and awoke the garrison. Marcus Manlius 

 rushed to the wall and hurled the venture- 

 some Gaul over the precipice. To com- 

 memorate this event, the Romans carried 

 a golden goose in procession to tJie capi- 

 tal every year. 



In the Isle of Man a fairy and wonder- 

 ful beauty, whose singing was so sweet 

 and fascinating that' fishermen were con- 

 stantly being enticed to follow her into the 

 sea, where the}' were drowned, to the deep 

 sorrow of the Manx maidens left pining on 

 the shore. 



At last there came forward from among 

 the young men of the island a champion 

 with heart and soul duly steeled by prayer 

 and fasting upon whom the charms of the 

 Manx siren had no effect. He had deter- 

 mined to destroy the fairy in order to in- 

 sure the safety of his countrymen for all 

 time, but just when he thought he had her 

 in his power she took the form of a Wren 

 and made her escape. The champion 

 then cast upon her a spell which compels 

 her to reappear in the form of a Wren once 

 a year ; for this reason the Wrens are 

 hunted — it is hoped that one of those 

 killed may be the wicked fairy. 



MAGPIE SUPERSTITIONS. 



The mischievous Magpie is a bird of 

 both good and evil omen. We are told 

 by Grose that it is unlucky to see one 

 Magpie and afterward several others ; but 

 if two Magpies are seen it is a sure sign of 

 a wedding soon to come ; three means a 

 prosperous journey, and four good news 

 will be received. An old Scotch rhyme 

 sums up all these Magpie signs as follows : 



" One's sorrow, two's mirth. 

 Three's a wedding, four's a birth. 

 Five's a christening, six a dearth, 

 Seven's heaven, eight is hell, 

 And nine is the devil his ane sel." 



In "Macbeth" Shakespeare says: 



"Augurs and understood relations have 



(by Magpies, and Choughs, and Rooks) brought 



forth 

 The secret'st man of blood." 



In England in 1S23, at Stogumber, a 

 thing occurred that showed Shakespeare 

 was not far wrong. A servant who was 

 entering a field had his attention attracted 

 by a Magpie, which appeared to have es- 

 caped from a neighboring house. The bird 

 spoke so uncommonly plain that the man 

 was induced to follow it. "Cheese for 

 Marget, cheese for Marget ! " was its con- 

 tinual cry as it hopped forward, till it 

 stopped behind a hay-stack and began to 

 eat. On inspecting a number of hams, a 

 quantity of cheese and other articles were 

 found in sacks. The finding of the plun- 

 der led to the arrest of four men wanted for 

 a murder. 



MANY NOTIONS ABOUT THE RAVEN. 



The Raven, a bird related to the Mag- 

 pie, being of the family Corvidae, owing 

 to its harsh voice more than to any harm 

 actually done by it, is classed among birds 

 of evil omen. There are an almost infin- 

 ite number of superstitions and legends of 

 various kinds connected with the Raven. 

 More than almost any other bird it is men- 

 tioned in the Bible, and also much is said 

 of it by the ancient writers of all nations. 



A Raven was sent out by Noah from 

 the ark to see whether the waters were 

 abated. Ravens were the means, under 

 divine command, of supporting the pro- 

 phet Elijah at the brook Cherith. They are 

 expressly mentioned as instances of God's 

 protecting love and goodness, as in Job : 

 "Who provideth for the Ravens his food.' 

 when his young ones cry unto God, they 

 wander for lack of meat.'' Also see 

 Luke xii., 34, and Psalm cxlvii., 9. The 

 Raven is enumerated with the Owl, Bit- 

 tern, etc., as marking the desolation of 

 Edom (Is., xxxiv., 11). "The locks of 

 the beloved" are compared to the glossy 

 blackness of the Raven's plumage. The 

 Raven's carniverous habits, and especially 

 his readiness to attack the eyes are alluded 

 to in Prov., xxx., 17. To the fact of the 



