CHAP. xii. THE OSTRICH. 171 



remain separate, not hooking on to their neighbours. 

 Hence their unconventional character. They also hang 

 equally on either side of the central vane. Wherefore the 

 wise Egyptians chose the ostrich feather as emblematical 

 of even-handed justice, and set it on the head of Thmei, 

 the goddess of truth. 



Look again at the ostrich's quite unconventional wings. 

 It is clear that a bird that cannot fly must be content to 

 accept that lowly, out-of-the-world position among well- 

 bred social birds that people who keep no carriage occupy 

 in human society. " Poor fellow, he has to walk every- 

 where," one can imagine Prince Condor saying as he 

 wheels above the South American ostrich ; and perhaps 

 adding sententiously, " I wonder whether life's worth living 

 if one has to walk." Probably the ostrich, like the human 

 pedestrian, would have no doubt at all about the matter. 

 Certain it is that though unable to fly, the ostrich makes 

 admirable use of his legs. It is said that he can outstrip 

 the fleetest horse ; and when going at full pace he covers 

 twenty-four feet of ground at a single stride. And then, 

 like other unconventional folk, he is particularly fond of 

 dancing in the open air. I once saw, on an ostrich farm in 

 South Africa, some six or eight of these camel-birds, as 

 the ancients called them, waltzing together in full swing. 

 They began by treading the ground with their feet and 

 moving along sideways ; then they began to revolve, at 

 first slowly, gently beating time with their wings, but soon 

 quicker and quicker, until at length they were twirling 

 round at a bewildering rate, threading their way in and 

 out among each other, sweeping round and round with 

 breathless rapidity. I was astonished and pleased ; for I 

 was once informed as a youth that I danced like an ostrich. 

 I did not realize at the time that this was intended as a 

 compliment. 



