20 
THE MAGPIE. 
And the crafty and dissembling Iago remarks that— 
“ When my outward action doth demonstrate 
The native act and figure of my heart 
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after 
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve 
For daws to peck at.” 
Othello , Act i. Sc. i. 
With the ancients, much superstition prevailed in regard 
to various species of the crow family ; and Shakespeare has 
specially mentioned three of these as birds of omen :— 
“ Augurs that understood relations have, 
By magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth 
The secret’st man of blood.” 
Macbeth , Act iii. Sc. 4. 
Even at the present day, there are many who profess to 
augur good or evil from the flight of a magpie, or from 
the number of magpies seen together at one time. An 
old rhyme on the subject runs thus :— 
“ One for sorrow, two for mirth ; 
Three for a wedding, four for a birth.” 
The origin of the word magpie we have not heard 
explained, but it is possible, from the manner in which 
the name is spelled above, that “ mag ” may be an abbre¬ 
viation of “ maggot,” pointing to a certain propensity of 
the bird, which, however, is not peculiar. Those who have 
spent much time in the country, must have observed not 
