CHAPTER XII. 



con(;ekning eyes. 



White, crimson, emerald green, shining golden 

 yellow, are amongst the colours seen in the eyes of 

 birds. In owls, herons, cormorants, and many 

 other tribes, the brightly-tinted eye is incomparably 

 the finest featvire and chief glory. It fixes the at- 

 tention at once, appearing like a splendid gem, for 

 which the airy bird-body, with its graceful curves 

 and soft tints, forms an appropriate setting. When 

 the eye closes in death, the bird, except to the 

 naturalist, becomes a mere bundle of dead feathers; 

 crystal globes may be put into the empty sockets, 

 and a bold life-imitating attitude given to the 

 stuffed specimen ; but the vitreous orbs shoot 

 forth no life-like flames, the " passion and the fire 

 whose fountains are within" have vanished, and 

 the best work of the taxidermist, who has given a 

 life to his bastard art, produces in the mind only 

 sensations of irritation and disgust. In museums, 

 where limited space stands in the way of any abor- 

 tive attempts at copying nature too closely, the 

 stuffer's work is endurable because useful; but in 

 a drawing-room, who does not close his eyes or 

 turn aside to avoid seeing a case of stuffed birds — 



