INTRODUCTION. 21 



showing the profit to be derived from a study of natural 

 objects, is everywhere apparent. 



The words of the banished Duke, in As You Like It 

 (Act ii. Sc. i), seem to no one so applicable as to Shake- 

 speare himself. He — 



" Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 

 Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 



But to come to the Ornithology. The accurate observa- 

 tions on this subject, the apt allusions, and the beautiful 

 metaphors to be met with throughout the Plays, may be 

 said to owe their origin mainly to three causes. Firstly, 

 Shakespeare had a good practical knowledge of Falconry, 

 a pastime which, being much in vogue in his day, brought 

 under his notice, almost of necessity, many wild birds, 

 exclusive of the various species which were hawked at 

 and killed. Secondly, he was a great reader, and, pos- 

 sessing a good memory, was enabled subsequently to 

 express in verse ideas which had been suggested by 

 older authors. Thirdly, and most important of all, he was 

 a genuine naturalist, and gathered a large amount of 

 information from his own practical observations. In all 

 his walks, he evidently did not fail to note even the 

 most trivial facts in natural history, and these were 

 treasured up in his memory, to be called forth as occasion 

 required, to be aptly and eloquently introduced into his 

 works. 



