THE POULTRY KIND. 



497 



ed to be a short lived-aniraal ; but how long 

 these birds live, if left to themselves, is not 

 yet well ascertained by any historian. As 

 they are kept only for profit, and in a few 

 years become unfit for generation, there are 

 few that, from mere motives of curiosity, will 

 make the tedious experiment of maintaining a 

 proper number till they die. Aldrovandus 



hints their age to be ten years ; and it is pro- 

 bable that this may be its extent. They are 

 subject to some disorders, which it is not our 

 business to describe ; and as for poisons, be- 

 sides nux vomica, which is fatal to most ani- 

 mals except man, they are injured, as Linnaeus 

 asserts, by elder-berries, of which they are 

 not a little fond. 



CHAPTER XC. 



OF THE PEACOCK. 



THE Peacock, by the common people of 

 Italy, is said to have the plumage of an angel, 

 the voice of the devil, and the guts of a thief. 

 In fact, each of these qualities mark pretty 

 well the nature of this extraordinary bird. 

 When it appears with its tail expanded, there 

 is none of the feathered creation can vie with 

 it for beauty ; yet the horrid scream of its 

 voice serves to abate the pleasure we find 

 from viewing it ; and still more, its insatia- 

 able gluttony, and spirit of depredation, make 

 it one of the most noxious domestics that man 

 has taken under his protection. 



Our first peacocks were brought from the 

 East Indies; and we are assured, that they 

 are still found in vast flocks, in a wild state, 

 in the Islands of Java and Ceylon. So beau- 

 tiful a bird, and one esteemed such a delicacy 

 at the tables of the luxurious, could not be 

 permitted to continue long at liberty in its 

 distant retreats. So early as the days of 

 Solomon, we find in his navies, among the 

 articles imported from the east, apes and 

 peacocks. ./Elian relates, that they were 

 brought into Greece from some barbarous 

 country, and were held in such high esteem 

 among them, that a male and female were 

 valued at above thirty pounds of our money. 

 We are told also, that when Alexander was 

 in India, he found them flying wild, in vast 

 numbers, on the banks of the river Hyarotis, 

 and wris so struck with their beauty, that he 

 laid n severe fine and pu'-.ishment on all who 

 shoulvl kill or disturb them. Nor are we to 

 be surprised at this, as the Greeks were so 



much struck with the beauty of this kird, 

 when first brought among them, that every 

 person paid a fixed price for seeing it ; and 

 several people came to Athens, from Laced x- 

 mon and Thessaly, purely to satisfy their 

 curiosity. 



It was probably first introduced into the 

 West, merely on account of its beauty ; but 

 mankind, from contemplating its figure, soon 

 came to think of serving it up for a different 

 entertainment. Aufidius Hurco stands charg- 

 ed by Pliny with being the first who fatted 

 up the peacock for the feast of the luxuri- 

 ous. Whatever there may be of delicacy in 

 the flesh of a young peacock, it is certain an 

 old one is very indifferent eating; neverthe- 

 less, there is no mention made of choosing the 

 youngest; it is probable they were killed 

 indiscriminately, the beauty of the feathers 

 in some measure stimulating the appetite. 

 Hortensius, the orator, was the first who 

 served them up at an entertainment at Rome; 

 and from that time they were considered as 

 one of the greatest ornaments of every feast. 

 Whether the Roman method of cookery, 

 which was much higher than ours, might not 

 have rendered them more palatable than we 

 find them at present, I cannot tell; but cer- 

 tain it is, they talk of the peacock as being 

 the first of viands. 



Its fame for delicacy, however, did not 

 continue very long; for we find in the times 

 of Francis the First, that it was a custom to 

 serve up peacocks to the tables of the great, 

 with an intention not to be eaten, but only 



