72 The Poets Beasts. 



them, and at night the wolf's "howls" rise almost as 

 punctually as the moon. It may be in Wilson's wild 

 country — 



" Shrill, wildly issuing from a neighbouring height, 

 The wolf's deep howlings pierce the ear of night ; 

 From the dark swamp he calls his skulking crew, 

 Their nightly scenes of slaughter to renew ; 

 Their mingling yells sad savage woes express, 

 And echo dreary through the dark recess." 



Or in (Faber's) civihsation — 



" From time to time a restless watch-dog bayed, 

 And a cock crew, or from the echoing hill 

 The wolf's low whine, prolonged and multiplied, 

 Possessed the ear of night and over-ruled 

 All other sounds." 



Being thus a thing of night, it becomes in poets' phrase 

 " obscene," as in Leyden — 



" Beasts obscene frequent the lonely halls, 

 Howling through windows waste the wolf appear'd. " 



Or in egregious Thomson — 



"Wolves and bears and monstrous things obscene, 

 That vex the swain and waste the country round ; " 



and it is punctually associated with that delightful fiction 

 of the poets, the poetical owl. They are as thick as thieves, 

 these two creatures, and always " on the patter " together. 

 If you see Charley Bates coming up the street you may 

 be sure the Dodger is in the immediate neighbourhood. 

 The rascals converse in highwayman's slang. ** The owlet 

 whoops to the wolf below." The chances are they are 

 decoys for each other, and divide the spoils of the victims 

 whom they assassinate in company. Was there ever such an 

 abominably comic partnership in crime — owls and wolves ! 



