THE BIRD OF SUPERSTITION. 



There are several possible reasons why 

 the owl has always been regarded as an 

 ominous bird. Something uncanny seems 

 to inhere in its noiseless flight, something 

 unearthly to look out from its large, 

 strange eyes. Even its voice arouses an 

 eerie feeling, which is increased by the 

 knowledge of its nocturnal habits. The 

 poets are fond of alluding to its auguries 

 of evil, Shakespeare alone finding a 

 merry note in its *'Tu-whit, tu-whoo," 

 and even he added an "owlet's ring" to 

 the noisome ingredients of the witches' 

 cauldron in Macbeth. He also speaks of 



The fatal bellman 

 That givest the stern'st good night. 



Chaucer speaks of the screech owl as 



The prophet of woe and of mischance, 



while Spencer alludes to — 



The whistler shrill, that whoso hears doth 

 die. 



Roman soothsayers were accustomed 

 to use owls' feathers in their incantations. 

 In many -places its note is still considered 

 a sure sign of impending death. In Bor- 

 neo, it is said, that if a person on enter- 

 ing a forest hears the voice of an owl, 

 he will at once return. The Mexicans, 

 Indians and Basque shepherds regard 

 the monkey-faced owl as an omen of ill- 

 luck. 



There is a story that Agrippa was so 

 superstitious that when he beheld an owl 

 perched over him on the occasion when 

 the people shouted, 'Tt is not the voice 

 of a man, but of a God !" that he felt 

 assured of the speedy death which fol- 

 lowed. 



But, on the other hand, instead of a 

 prophet of evil, legend has it that the 

 owl is the "bird of wisdom." It was cer- 

 tainly consecrated to the service of Pal- 

 las Athene by the wise Greeks, whether 

 on account of a certain air of intelli- 

 gence, or because the goddess was her- 

 self the moon and therefore a nocturnal 

 bird would be especially appropriate, we 

 may never know. 



There is a story to the effect that on 

 one occasion, when an emblem of wisdom 

 was to be chosen, all the contestants for 

 the honor were finally eliminated except 

 the Philosopher and the Owl. When 

 the arguments in favor of the Philoso- 

 pher had been duly considered, the Owl 

 lifted up his voice and hooted : "I do 

 not profess to embody all knowledge, but 

 I have that which is better. I possess 

 the art of concealing my ignorance.'' 

 Whereupon the judges, delighted with 

 the idea, unanimously elected him as the 

 better emblem of wisdom ! 



Many ancient customs had their origin 

 in Egypt. The Egyptian wise men told 

 the most learned of the Greeks that in 

 knowledge they were but children com- 

 pared with themselves. The supersti- 

 tions regarding the owl may have arisen 

 on the banks of the Nile, from a custom 

 of the king of the country, who, when- 

 ever the death of a person was decided 

 upon, sent to such individual the image 

 of an owl, whereupon the unfortunate 

 one was expected to kill himself at once. 

 Small wonder the owl' became in time 

 a bird of ill-omen. 



Belle Paxon Drury. 



THE WISCONSIN DELLS. 



Half-veiled by a purple haze. 



The cliffs and crags, their turrets raise. 



The fragrant forests, umber, green. 



Scintillate in the sunlight's sheen, 



And whispering low, through clinging vines, 



A berceuse comes from singing pines. 



— Illyria Turner. 



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