FEBRUARY 293 



finger of scorn at a neglected horse, you call 

 him a "crow-bait." You could hardly 

 make a more unflattering remark concern- 

 ing any one's personal appearance than to 

 call him a "scarecrow." 



Amongst his fellow birds his reputation 

 is even more doubtful. He has a fashion 

 of slinking about the backdoors of their 

 homes, and, when he finds the mother has 

 gone out for a minute, to get a bite of some- 

 thing or other or to look up a recreant hus- 

 band, Jim is not at all above snatching an 

 egg or even one of the children. So the rest 

 of the birds become anxious when he gets to 

 their end of the settlement, and they are 

 quite apt to gather together and say very 

 unflattering things about him as he ap- 

 proaches and are not above saying them to 

 his face when he arrives. 



His tribe shares his bad reputation; and, 

 while in the sad tale of Cock Robin his 

 cousin the rook may take -the part of the 

 parson, I much doubt whether there is in it 

 any compliment to the sacred office. The 

 most serious attempt to give the family an 



