ARTISTIC GEOUPING OP ANIMALS. 255 



ever, entangled by a line and liook it liad swallowed ; and the 

 action of tlie fisli-liawk in attempting to tear the fish away was 

 wonderfully fine, the feathers were raised about the head, the 

 eye was fierce, and the sidelong waft of the wings was most 

 natural. The study was all the more interesting from the fact 

 that both bird and fish were poised in air without any visible 

 means of support, the case enclosing them being of glass all 

 around. How it was managed was easy for the professional 

 eye to discover, but I do not think I should be doing justice to 

 the inventor to describe the method. 



Amongst the water birds, which are the next best, perhaps, 

 for artistic treatment, come the swans, in the attitude of 

 swimming (see Chapter XII., page 217), ducks swimming, diving, 

 and flying. " The Widowed Duck " — after the celebrated picture 

 — was one of the things very nicely rendered in the " Fisheries 

 Exhibition;" the painting of an artistic scene at the back of 

 this case helped the effect wonderfully, as it usually does in 

 good work. " Hooded Crows Tracking a Widgeon," and 

 "Wounded Tern," fallen by its eggs, were two other clever 

 groups — said to be " copyright," though how on earth such 

 things can be copyright I do not know, especially as not one of 

 the things exhibited could be called original ; indeed, everything 

 I saw at the "Fisheries," with the exception of the osprey men- 

 tioned above, had been done over and over again by German, 

 French, and English artists. The work of these "copyright" 

 groups — excepting the foliage, which was rather "stiff" — was, 

 however, very clean and nice, and favourably compared with 

 work by other taxidermists, many of whose " pieces " — as the 

 Americans say — should have been refused on the score of pre- 

 tentious incompetence. There was one detestable exhibit, all the 

 more grievous as being professional, l^o wonder that people, 

 seeing this sort of thing, should laugh at fish and bird 

 " stuflB.ng." As I looked and wondered, I felt that a first-class 

 assortment of injurious epithets applied to such " work " would 

 have relieved my perturbed spirit. This digression puts me in mind 

 of another, and that is to warn the amateur not to " know too 

 much," and think he has nothing to learn directly he can set up 

 a bird or mammal, or anything else, in a fairly respectable 

 manner. The people who know everything, and imagine they 



