YAS THE LITCH OWL. 
fortunes from! Which is the Owl there is 
so much superstition about in our own 
country ? 
«‘¢ The shrieking Litch Owl, that does never cry, 
But boding death, and quick herself inters 
In darksome graves, and hollow sepulchres.’ ” * 
“That, I fancy, is any Owl; unless, in- 
deed, the Hawk Owl, if we had it in Eng- 
land ; for the Hawk Owl is a day-bird, and 
not a bird of darkness.” 
‘‘ But is there no Litch Owl, then ?” 
“Lich, or Litch Owl, is only the name 
given by superstition to any Owl. Its 
meaning is, Corpse Owl, or Dead Owl.” 
“It is in the same sense of the word 
Litch, or Lich, that those picturesque 
porches, which we see adjoining the yew- 
trees, in the walls of some of our country 
churchyards, are called Litch-gates, and the 
lanes leading to them, Litch-ways. The 
porches are designed for coverings under 
which the mourners at funerals may await 
the arrival of the clergyman. In the same 
way, too, the city of Litchfield receives its 
* Drayton. 
