i8o 
THE PIGEON : 
Twelfth Night, where Fabian, speaking of Malvolio to 
Andrew Aguecheek, says 
“ Contemplation makes a rare turkey-cock of him : how 
he jets under his advanc’d plumes ! ”— Twelfth Nighty 
Act ii. Sc. 5. 
The Pigeon and the Dove are repeatedly mentioned in 
the works of Shakespeare, although on different grounds. 
The former bird is noticed as a letter-carrier ( Titus An- 
droniciiSy Act iv. Sc. 3), as an article of food ( Henry IV. 
Part II. Act v. Sc. 1), and as an example of conjugal 
fidelity and attachment to offspring (As You Like It, Act i. 
Sc. 2, and Act iii. Sc. 3). The latter is alluded to 
as the emblem of peace (Henry IV. Part I. Act iv. 
Sc. 1.; Henry VIII. Act iv. Sc. 1), modesty (Taming of 
the Shrew, Act iii. Sc. 2), patience (Hamlet, Act v. 
Sc. 1), innocence (Henry VI. Part II. Act iii. Sc. 1), 
fidelity (Troilus and Cressida, Act iii. Sc. 2 ; Winter's Tale, 
Act iv. Sc. 3), and love (Venus and Adonis; Henry VI. 
Part I. Act ii. Sc. 2 ; Romeo and Jidiet, Act ii. Sc. 5). 
In one passage only is the word “ dove ” used synony¬ 
mously for “ pigeon.” I11 Romeo and Jidiet we are told of 
the nurse “ sitting in the sun under the dove- house wall ” 
(Act i. Sc. 3). 
The practice, here alluded to, of keeping pigeons in a 
domesticated state is of very ancient date. Mr. Darwin 
has been at considerable pains to collect information 
