THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



THE males of the gallinaceous family may be regarded 

 as types of what is best and most chivalrous in man, 

 and the cock bird of the variety that has become domes- 

 ticated by man has lost' none of the qualities that distinguish 

 his wild congenitors. He is among birds what the knight 

 of chivalry was among the herd of humanity in the Middle 

 Ages. Splendid in his appearance, erect and martial in 

 gait, proud of his prowess, fierce in battle, ready to die 

 rather than acknowledge his defeat, he is yet the mirror of 

 courtesy among his dames. Not only does he guard them 

 from all foes, but he watches over their safety with anxious 

 care, leads them to the spot where food is the most 

 abundant, and will even scratch the ground to procure 

 dainties for them. He possesses, too, the faults of the 

 human type ; he is needlessly quarrelsome, and prone to 

 take offence ; he will challenge to combat a distant stranger 

 with whom he has no dispute whatever, and will fight for 

 fighting's sake, while, if victorious, he indulges in a good deal 

 of unseemly exultation and boasting at the expense of his 

 foe. Whatever his hue, whether clad in brilliantly-coloured 

 panoply or in burnished black, the cock is the type of 

 the true warrior, with his bright eye, his martial mien, his 

 readiness for battle, his obstinate courage, and the display 

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