The Lapwing
The Pheasant and Partridge
The PHEASANT is only once mentioned by Shakespeare, and in a ludicrous way. When the Shepherd and the Clown in The Winter’s Tale are accosted by Autolycus on their errand to the king, the following conversation ensues:
Aut. I command thee to open thy affair.
Shep. My business, sir, is to the king.
Aut. What advocate hast thou to him?
Shep. I know not, an’t like you.
Clown [aside] Advocate’s the court-word for a pheasant: say you have none—
Shep. None, sir; I have no pheasant, cock nor hen.
Aut. How blessed are we that are not simple men!
Yet nature might have made me as these are;
Therefore I will not disdain.[124]