THE MAGPIE. 
of the most disreputable looking birds I have ever seen. He 
had only one eye, having lost the other in some ill- 
starred expedition of his ; his coat was dreadfully shabby, of a 
dusky brown hue, and his plumage was altogether in a vagabond 
condition. From the first, I believe Lion was a shocking coward 
in the presence of the magpie ; somehow his sinister appearance 
seemed to terrify the dog in such a manner, that Bob com- 
pletely subdued him, and, like most evil geniuses, he made him 
his abject slave. In a very short time, the magpie was at feud 
with all the animals in the neighbourhood, and I really believe 
Lion was the only four-footed friend that Bob possessed. Dogs, 
especially, the magpie delighted in worrying, and there was not 
one within a mile of my residence, that did not owe Bob a 
grudge, and would have paid it too, if it had not been for Lion. 
He was a match for half a dozen common curs ; this the mag- 
pie knew, and took advantage of. Bob never ventured abroad 
without his invaluable canine friend. He would walk by his 
side, or rather behind him, well knowing that other dogs always 
came to pay their respects to Lion when he walked out. So 
when they were congregated about the huge fellow, Mag would 
slyly hop round and give one poor animal a pinch in the ear, from 
another he would pluck a beakful of hair from his shaggy coat, 
always taking care that it should be so sudden and sharp, that 
the cur would wince dreadfully. Sometimes he would serve 
three or four dogs in this manner, with marvellous rapidity, 
and then instantly take shelter by mounting on Lion’s back, 
from which eminence he would bully his foes in the most im- 
pudent manner, feeling that his safety was perfectly secure. 
Lion had often to fight battles for his villainous acquaintance, 
in which affrays Bob enjoyed himself mightily, and would de- 
scend again and again from his friend’s back to annoy and 
assault the half-maddened dogs surrounding him.” 
In the days of hawking and falconry, magpies, according to 
Sir John Sebright, formed no inconsiderable feature of the 
noble sport. He says : — “ Nothing can be more animating 
than this sport ; it is in my opinion far superior to any other 
kind of hawking. The object of the chase is fully a match for 
its pursuers, — a requisite absolutely necessary to give an 
interest to any sport of this kind; and it has the advantage 
of giving full employment to the company, which is not the 
case in partridge-hawking. A down or common, where two 
trees or bushes are dispersed at the distance of from thirty to 
fifty yards apart, is the place best calculated for this diversion. 
