IN HISTORY 79 



attention of Shakespeare. It is worth noting that 

 while the swan, which 



14 With arched neck 



Between her white wings mantling proudly, rows 

 Her state with oary feet," 



so often and so exquisitely referred to by Milton, 

 and the "wakeful nightingale," an equal favourite 

 of his, for the most pathetic of all reasons, that, like 

 himself, she* 



" Sings darkling, and in shadiest covert hid 

 Tunes her nocturnal note/' 



have, each of them, to be content with being 

 mentioned only a modest ten times by Shakespeare, 

 the swallow and the owl may pride themselves on 

 being referred to by him some twenty, the dove some 

 thirty, the eagle some forty, while the crow or raven 

 has the unique distinction of being mentioned over 

 fifty times. In the rich and wide region of fable of 

 books, that is, some of which have been translated 

 into more languages, ancient and modern, Eastern 

 and Western, and have had, I suppose, a greater 

 influence, alike as cause, picture, and effect, upon 

 current morality than any other book except the 

 Bible the raven, as was to be expected from a bird 

 of his marked character, takes a prominent place. 

 In fable, the raven is among birds pretty much 



