THE RAVEN. 
123 
ing miserably under its rutliless attacks. I am sure, liowever, 
that my friends in Shetland will heartily agree with me tliat 
the neglect of the ponies by their owners in the winter-time 
is often a disgrace to humanity. No doubt it may gratify a 
man’s vanity to be able to call a score or so of ponies, good, 
bad, and indifferent, his own, while unable to feed even one- 
third of them, and it is probable that he experiences a sort of 
melancholy pleasure in recounting to his neighbours the ravages 
committed amongst his herd by “ those rascally corbies,” for- 
getting that he himself has placed the temptation in the way. 
It is an unfortunate boast among Shetlanders that their ponies 
can live upon almost nothing; and the boast is so often repeated 
as to be at last believed in and acted upon. Thus it happens 
that when the snow comes, the poor animals may too commonly 
be seen congregating about the walls unfed and uncared for, 
sometimes for weeks in succession, occasionally creeping down 
to the beach to pluck a few mouthfuls of seaweed; and when, 
either on account of the depth of snow or from utter weakness, 
they are unable to move from the wretched shelter of the low 
wall, they will positively gnaw the hair from one another’s 
bodies, as I myself have witnessed. Then, if the snow continues, 
nothing remains for the less robust among them but to lie down 
and die; and if the animal’s sufferings happen to be speedily 
and cruelly ended by a hungry Eaven, he of course is supposed 
to reEeve the owner of all responsibility. 
I regret, however, my inability to add even one word in 
defence of the charges of greed, cruelty, and open robbery, uni- 
versally preferred against the Eaven. The supply of starved 
and ill-used ponies, large though it is, would but scantily provide 
for the whole community; therefore the birds will scour the 
hills and glens in quest of a weakly sheep, and murder it 
without the smallest hesitation. Indeed, I have seen Eaven s 
hunting the terrified animals down the hillside, striking at their 
heads repeatedly, and, as I imagined, endeavouring to drive them 
into the loch below. Sometimes an unfortunate sheep or pony, 
pressed with hung(3r, will partly descend a high clilf, attracted 
