YELLOW OWL. 127 



and refuse all food, pass the day moping in a corner, and the 

 night in vaulting about the place of confinement in ineffectual 

 attempts to escape; these stratagems have, however, the 

 desired effect, the unfortunate captive excites pity, and is 

 eventually set at liberty. The living subject from which 

 the plate was taken was the polite bird above mentioned. 



The young of owls are proverbially hideous creatures, and 

 we think (parent though we be) that the eagle, in the delicious 

 fable of Lafontaine,* deserves to be freely pardoned for not 

 recognizing as the children of his friend, which had been 

 described to him as 



" Mignons 

 Beaux, bienfaits, et jolis, sur tous leurs compagnons." 



which he afterwards met with, and with such exquisite 

 deliberation proceeded to demolish for his evening meal. We 

 may conclude they belong to the species under present con- 

 sideration, for various reasons, especially the locality assigned 

 them by the fabulist (and there is much truth in fables) who 

 thus proceeds to the fatal catastrophe : — 



" Un beau soir qu'il etoit en pature, 



Notre aigle apercut, d'aventure, 



Dans les coins d'une roche dure, 



Ou dans les trous d'une masure, 



(Je ne sais pas lequel des deux) 



De petits monstres fort hideux, 



Rechignes, un air triste, une voix de Megere 



Ces enfants ne sont pas, dit l'aigle, a notre ami ; 



Croquons-les." 



But we must intreat the forgiveness of our readers for 

 thus interrupting the truth of our history by such fabulous 

 digressions. 



The egg No. 25 in the plate belongs to the Yellow Owl. 



* L'aigle et le Hibou. 



