THE MAGPIE. 233 



eggs, and to strangle young game ; whilst, in 

 general, the lower orders have an insurmountable 

 prejudice against it, on the score of its supposed 

 knowledge of their future destiny. They tell you 

 that, when four of these ominous birds are seen 

 together, it is a sure sign, that, ere long, there will 

 be a funeral in the village ; and that nine are quite 

 a horrible sight. I have often heard countrymen 

 say that they had rather see any bird than a 

 magpie ; but, upon my asking them the cause of 

 their antipathy to the bird, all the answer that I 

 could get was, that they knew it to be unlucky, 

 and that it always contrived to know what was 

 going to take place. My keeper both hates and 

 fears a magpie ; but self-interest forces upon the 

 fellow the unpleasant task of encouraging the 

 breed, in order to keep well with me. He was 

 once in conversation with the keeper of a neigh- 

 bouring gentleman, at the door of a little alehouse 

 in the village of Heath, when a magpie flew into 

 a tree hard by. " I must have thee killed," said 

 the gentleman's keeper, " otherwise there will be 

 a blow up betwixt me and my master.'' " Ah ! " 

 rejoined my keeper, " were I to kill a magpie, my 

 master would. soon blow me out of his service/' 

 The keeper thought this too good to be lost, and I 

 had it from his own mouth. 



I love in my heart to see a magpie, for it always 

 puts me in mind of the tropics. There is such a 

 rich glow of colour, and such a metallic splendour 

 of plumage, in this bird, that one would almost be 



