112 FOOD FOR CROWS. 
And made a prey for carrion kites and crows 
Even of the bonny beast he lov’d so well.” 
Henry VI. Part II. Act v. Sc. 2. 
Cassius, on the eve of battle, augured a defeat because, 
as he said,— 
“ Crows 
Fly o’er our heads, and downward look on us, 
As we were sickly prey ; their shadows seem 
A canopy most fatal, under which 
Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.” 
 Fulius Cesar, Act v. Se. 1. 
In the third act of Cymbeline (Sc. 1), when Caius 
Lucius, the Roman Ambassador, comes to demand tribute 
from the British King, he is met with a flat refusal, and 
Cloten, one of the lords in waiting, deriding his threat of 
war, says :— 
“His Majesty bids you welcome. Make pastime 
with us a day or two, or longer: if you seek us after- 
wards in other terms, you shall find us in our salt- 
water girdle: if you beat us out of it, it is yours; if 
you fall in the adventure, our crows shall fare the better 
for you ; and there’s an end.” 
Alexander Iden, addressing the lifeless body of Jack 
Cade, whom he had just slain, exclaims :— 
“ Hence will I drag thee headlong by the heels 
Unto a dunghill, which shall be thy grave, 
