TTie Magpie. 79 



posed to derive from its aerial hatching, my father said that 

 hirds so brought into existence were popularly credited with 

 the possession of greater courage, and more indomitable spirit 

 than their brethren hatched in the ordinary way. "What if 

 the chicken turned out to be a hen?" I asked. "In that 

 case", returned my father, "there was nothing to be done 

 but wait until the following spring; but experienced cock- 

 fighters seldom made a mistake in their choice of the egg 

 that was to be hatched by the Magpie." 



These birds commit sad havoc among the cherries, as we 

 used to find to our cost at Launay, where, as I have already 

 said, two or three pairs, generally three, made their nests 

 every year: contenting themselves, however, with repairing 

 the old one when not blown down by the winter winds, or 

 removed by the hand of the gardener. And in this connection 

 I must mention what cannot fail to appear a very remarkable 

 circumstance, when one considers that the Magpie makes no 

 sort of scruple of dining off a nestful of young birds when he 

 can find one; namely, that a pair of Sparrows, sometimes two, 

 made a practice of building their nest just below that of the 

 Magpies that dwelt in our tall fir tree. 



One summer, irritated beyond measure by their depredations 

 among the cherries, my father fired at and killed the mother 

 Magpie of the fir tree, shortly after her first brood was hatched : 

 the bereaved husband made such a to-do, and seemed so 

 thoroughly overcome by his grief, that "the Governor" had 

 not the heart to shoot him also, and really regretted that he 

 had deprived the poor fellow of his wife ; after a while, how- 

 ever, Mr. Mag bethought him that his young progeny required 

 his attention, and recommenced his onslaught on our cherries 

 as boldly as if nothing had happened, flying to and from the 

 nest to the cherry trees a score of times, or more, in an 

 hour. 



The strangest part of the tale, however, is to follow: the 

 next morning we were surprised to see two Magpies hard at 



