THE OWLS. 
From time immemorial, there has attached to these birds 
a considerable degree of superstition. The shriek of an owl 
heard at midnight by the friends of one lying sick was re- 
garded as a certain omen of death, and if heard by the sick 
man himself, in all probability often hastened his demise. Says 
Bishop Stanley : “ These conceits wiser people have long since 
thrown aside ; but, nevertheless, there is something so mournful 
and dismal in its night shriek, and such a ghostly sort of 
motion in its silent gliding movements, when seen glancing 
through the twilight, or hunting for food on a bright moonlight 
night, that we can scarcely be surprised at the strange opinions 
and prejudices of ignorant or superstitious people.” 
Not only in England is the owl regarded with awe. Amongst 
the North- American Indians it is customary, at their most 
solemn meetings, for the chief to wear on his head a hood 
made from the skin of the great white northern owl. In some 
countries, it was formerly believed that the heart of a screech 
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