MAGPIE. 201 



He is, however, to counterbalance his 

 good qualities as great a thief as the crow, 

 of whom we have before spoken. Some 

 of his thefts are historical. One of 

 these is told in the almost fatal story of 

 the "Magpie and the Maid," which has 

 been the foundation of so many dramas 

 and operas, frequently performed in the 

 theatres of America and Europe. 



The Magpie is kept with little difficulty, 

 as he will live upon every thing given to 

 him, no matter of what character. He 

 lives to an extremely great age, some say 

 two hundred years, on which belief a 

 laughable anecdote occurred. A student 

 of one of the English colleges, who was 

 seen taking a young Pie which he had 

 bought, to his apartment, was met and 

 asked by one of his tutors, his reason for 

 having made the purchase. He replied he 

 had heard it stated "that Magpies lived 

 two centuries, and so had bought one, in 

 order to test the truth of the assertion!" 



