HIS APPEARANCE 87 



have to do. It is probable that both nostrils 

 and eyes help him in discovering, at an amazing 

 distance, any offal that has been thrown into 

 the ditch, any sickly lamb that could " never have 

 lived to be turned into mutton," any sheep that 

 has been rendered helpless by being "cast" upon 

 his back. 



With the exception of his eyes, which are dark 

 grey or brown, and the graceful and pointed feathers 

 of his neck, which, in certain lights, seem to be shot 

 with purple, he is black all over feathers, legs, 

 claws, and toes. The stiff bristles which cover half 

 the beak are jet black ; so is the beak itself ; and it 

 is strange but true though I have never seen any 

 mention of the fact that the inside of his mouth 

 and his tongue itself are also black. It is easy to 

 see how country folk, struck by the completeness 

 and intensity of his sable coat, might well conclude 

 that he must be black inside as well as out be black, 

 that is, at heart ; while others, charmed by the gloss 

 and brilliancy of his colouring, might well regard 

 him as almost an ideal of beauty, to which it would 

 be a delicate compliment to compare the dark eyes 

 or hair of their beloved. What says the bride of 

 her lover in the Song of Solomon ? " His head is 

 like fine gold ; his locks are bushy, and black as a 



