^ THE RINGDOVE, 145 
that, during the search and contemplation, either 
the dame herself was in liquor, or her wooer in 
hallucination. 
A DESCRIPTION OF THE HABITS OF THE 
RINGDOVE. 
The supposed purity of the dove is a common 
topic with many writers ; and their readers are apt 
to imagine that this bird has been more favoured 
by Nature than the rest of the feathered tribe. 
What may be allowed to romantic and sentimental . 
composers cannot by any means be conceded to 
writers on natural history. Genuine ornithology 
would be offended at the attempt to introduce un- 
warrantable matter into her pages ; while her true 
votaries would always grieve on seeing it admitted 
into them. 
All wild birds which go in pairs are invariably 
attached to each other by Nature's strongest ties; 
and they can experience no feelings of what may be 
called mistrust or suspicions of unfaithfulness ; 
otherwise we should witness scenes of ornitholo- 
gical assault and battery in every hedge and wood, 
during the entire process of their incubation. The 
soot-black crow is just as chaste, affectionate, and 
constant as the snow-white dove itself. The move- 
ments of both these birds, at a certain time of the 
year, tend exactly to the same point. They are 
