CHAPTER XII. 
CONCERNING EYES. 
WuitTs, 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 feature 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 
hfe 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— 
