270 THE RAVEN. 



every thing. He was as playful as a kitten ; he 

 showed vast aptitude in learning to talk; and he 

 was so correct an imitator of sounds, that I had 

 every hope of teaching him the tune, which Gold- 

 smith informs us he heard a raven sing, with " great 

 distinctness, truth, and humour." Marco was fond 

 of seeing a carriage approach the house. He would 

 attend company on their arrival at the bridge, and 

 wait near the gate until their return ; and then he 

 would go part of the way back with them. He was 

 an universal favourite, notwithstanding that at times 

 his evil genius prompted him to commit almost 

 unpardonable excesses ; so much so, that I often 

 said to him in the words of the poet, 



" Difficilis, facilis, jucundus acerbus es idem." 



" In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow, 

 Thou art sucli a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow ; 

 Hast so much wit, and mirth, and glee about thee, 

 There is no living with thee, nor without thee." 



One day, he took a sudden dislike to an old duck, 

 with which, till then, he had been upon the best of 

 terms ; and he killed her in an instant. The coach- 

 man and Marco were inseparable companions ; but 

 at last they had a serious and a fatal quarrel. Marco 

 bit him severely in the thumb; upon which, this 

 ferocious son of the whip seized the bird by the 

 throat, and deliberately strangled it. I learned 

 from poor Marco, that birds will occasionally do 

 that which I had always supposed to be solely con- 

 fined to quadrupeds. When Marco could find a 

 heap of sand, or when there was snow upon the 



