.16 LIGHTNESS AND BEAUTY OF FEATHERS. 



or glides slowly, whithersoever the will directs, more like 

 an ethereal spirit than a bodily substance. 



One of the most remarkable characteristics of a feather 

 is its lightness ; if we speak of anything which has little or 

 no weight, we say it is i as light as a feather.' In illustra- 

 tion of this quality, it may be just mentioned that the quill 

 of a Golden Eagle weighs only sixty-five grains, and seven 

 such do not weigh more than a copper penny-piece. The 

 feathers of a common Fowl weigh only about three ounces, 

 and the plumage of an Owl but one ounce and a half. 

 i Which weighs most, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers?' 

 is a question often put to puzzle children and thought- 

 less persons, who generally decide in favour of the lead, as 

 if the question had been which of the two materials has 

 the greatest weight in the smallest compass ? Great, in- 

 deed, is the difference in the bulk of a similar weight of 

 the ponderous metal and the light downy plumage, and no 

 less remarkable is it in appearance. Elegant and beautiful 

 are feathers in all their forms and adaptations ; often in 

 their hues most gorgeous, glittering with metallic lustre, 

 and reflecting the rays of the sun with a splendour and 

 brilliancy equalled only by that of the most precious gems, 

 with which they are often associated in the dress and deco- 

 rations of the mighty and the beautiful, whose pride has 

 been sometimes rebuked by a reference to the humble 

 creatures for whose pleasure and adornment God intended 

 them. Thus we read that Croesus, king of Lydia, who felt 

 presumptuously proud on account of his power and his 

 riches, had dressed himself one day in his utmost splendour 

 of apparel and regal ornament, and, seating himself on his 

 throne, exhibited his person to Solon, the Greek lawgiver, 

 as comprehending within itself the substance and sum of 

 worldly glory. * Have you ever beheld, 7 said he to the 

 Grecian sage, ' a spectacle more august V i I have,' was 

 the answer ; * there is neither a pheasant in our fields, nor 

 a peacock in our court, nor a cock on our dunghill, that 

 does not surpass you in glory !' 



In our own country we must not look for that richness 

 and diversity of colour, which makes the plumage of many 

 foreign birds so gorgeous and resplendent. True it is, we 



