CHAPTER XII 

 CONCERNING EYES 



WHITE, crimson, emerald green, shining 

 golden yellow, are amongst the colors seen 

 in the eyes of birds. In owls, herons, cormorants, 

 and many other tribes, the brightly-tinted eye is 

 incomparably the finest feature and chief glory. 

 It fixes the attention at once, appearing like a 

 splendid gem, for which the airy bird-body, with 

 its graceful curves and soft tints, forms an ap- 

 propriate setting. When the eye closes in death, 

 the bird, except to the naturalist, becomes a mere 

 bundle of dead feathers; crystal globes may be 

 put into the empty sockets, and a bold life-imitat- 

 ing attitude given to the stuffed specimen ; but the 

 vitreous orbs shoot forth no life-like flames, the 

 "passion and the fire whose fountains are within" 

 have vanished, and the best work of the taxider- 

 mist, who has given a life to his bastard art, pro- 

 duces in the mind only sensations of irritation and 

 disgust. In museums, where limited space stands 

 in the way of any abortive attempts at copying 

 nature too closely, the stuff er's work is endurable 

 because useful; but in a drawing-room, who does 

 not close his eyes or turn aside to avoid seeing a 



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