I 12 
FOOD FOR CROWS. 
And made a prey for carrion kites and crows 
Even of the bonny beast he lov’d so well.” 
Henry VI. Part II. Act v. Sc. 2. 
Cassius, on the eve of battle, augured a defeat because, 
a 
as he said,— 
“ Crows 
Fly o’er our heads, and downward look on us, 
As we were sickly prey ; their shadows seem 
A canopy most fatal, under which 
Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.” 
Julius CcEsar , Act v. Sc. i. 
In the third act of Cymbeline (Sc. i), when Caius 
Lucius, the Roman Ambassador, comes to demand tribute 
from the British King, he is met with a flat refusal, and 
Cloten, one of the lords in waiting, deriding his threat of 
war, says :— 
“ His Majesty bids you welcome. Make pastime 
with us a day or two, or longer: if you seek us after¬ 
wards in other terms, you shall find us in our salt¬ 
water girdle : if you beat us out of it, it is yours; if 
you fall in the adventure, our crows shall fare the better 
fory oil ; and there’s an end.” 
Alexander Iden, addressing the lifeless body of Jack 
Cade, whom he had just slain, exclaims :— 
“ Hence will I drag thee headlong by the heels 
Unto a dunghill, which shall be thy grave, 
