248 HOME LIFE ON AN OSTRICH FARM. 



our feathered friends one of the gods of ancient Egypt 

 in the shape of as tiny and chubby a little Horus as 

 ever sat for his portrait to the sculptors of Philas or 

 Thebes. He was but a wee thing, about the size of a 

 wild dove, but possessed an amount of intelligence 

 which made him one of the most interesting even 

 among Cape pets. Sad to say, the poor little fellow 



was minus one wing. T , noticing him one day 



flying near the house, and not knowing what bird he 

 was, brought him down with a small rifle bullet. The 

 shot passed through the wing, so completely smashing 

 it that the only thing we could do was to take it off 

 close to the body. We tied it up at once and stopped 

 the bleeding, the plucky little patient never uttering a 

 sound, though his jewel-like eyes seemed really to blaze 

 with anger. They were the most wonderful eyes 

 imaginable, almost owl-like in size and roundness, and of 

 a lovely red with an orange tinge. A ruby with a candle 

 behind it is what I imagine would come nearest to them 

 in colour. The plumage of Horus, instead of being 

 speckled and barred with different shades of brown 

 like that of the falcons one is accustomed to see, was 

 of the loveliest silver-grey, darkest on the back and 

 wing, and shading off gradually into very pale grey 

 on the head, and into purest white on the breast and 

 beneath the body ; the breast feathers being soft and 

 fluffy, like eider-down. The legs and feet were bright 

 yellow, the bill dark grey, edged with yellow, and a 

 circle of dark feathers round the eyes, drawn off into 

 a long line at each side, gave a sphinx-like appearance 



