BLACK AS A CROW. I 1 3 



And there cut off thy most ungracious head ; 

 Which I will bear in triumph to the king, 

 Leaving thy trunk for crows to feed upon." 



Henry VI. Part II. Act iv. Sc. 10. 



Many similar instances might be brought forward. 



As in the case of the raven, we find the crow, as the 

 emblem of blackness, contrasted with the white dove : — 



" With the dove of Paphos might the crow 

 Vie feathers white." 



Pericles, Act iv. Introd. 

 Again — 



" Lawn as white as driven snow ; 

 Cyprus black as e'er was crow." 



Winter s Tale, Act iv. Sc. 3. 



Here we have not only the crow contrasted with snow, 

 but also Cyprus, a thin transparent black stuff, somewhat 

 like crape, placed in contradistinction with lawn, which is 

 a white material, like muslin.* 



" So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, 

 As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows." 



Romeo and Juliet, Act i. Sc. 15. 



• Compare, " A Cyprus, not a bosom, hides my heart." 



Twelfth Night, Act iii. Sc. 1. 



