240 



CORVID^E. 



with awe by the ignorant even at the present time. In 

 Scandinavian mythology it was an important actor ; and 

 all readers of Shakespeare mnst be familiar with passages 



t i THE RAVEN. 



which prove it to have been regarded as a bird of dire 



omen. 



" The sad presaging Raven tolls 

 The sick man's passport in her hollow beak, 

 And in the shadow of the silent night 

 Doth shake contagion from her sable wing." 



Marlowe. 



In the judgment of others, its friendly mission to the Tish- 

 bite invested it with a sanctity which preserved it from 

 molestation. 



