dh^ §ixb -as nn hxbM'bxui, 
THE BIRD IN POETRY. 
The Bird has always been a favourite with man; 
and in parable, legend, myth, and song, almost 
invariably occurs in connection with picturesque 
and romantic associations. In the fable of the 
Greek as in the saga of the Norseman, in tlie 
polished odes of the Latin as in the more spon- 
taneous lyrics of the English, it is the image 
of all that is light, and innocent, and graceful. 
Especially is it the embodiment of human aspira- 
' * tion; of the desire of the human heart, when 
oppressed with the burden and the mystery of this unintelligible world, 
to take to itself wings, and flee away, and be at rest. Poised in the 
air on equal wings, it is the type of self-reliance and independence. 
Swooping downwards with arrowy rush on some doomed prey, it is an 
-v/'^■^ 
