Of harmony, with instinct more divine;
Type of the wise, who soar but never roam—
True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!”
But to return to Shakespeare. Perhaps no bird has received more notice at his hands than the one now under consideration. To enumerate all the passages in which it is mentioned, would probably only weary the reader. In addition to those already named, “the shrill-gorg’d lark” is alluded to in King Lear (Act iv. Sc. 6); while to sing “as sweetly as the lark” has passed into a proverb (Merchant of Venice, Act v. Sc. 1).
Mention is made of this bird in Titus Andronicus (Act ii. Sc. 3, and Act iii. Sc. 1); in Cymbeline (Act iii. Sc. 6); and in Richard II. (Act iii. Sc. 3).
Formerly, a curious method of taking larks was practised by means of small pieces of looking-glass and red cloth. These were made to move at a little distance from the fowler by means of a string, and when the birds, impelled by curiosity, came within range, they were taken in a net. This practice is referred to by Shakespeare in Henry VIII.—
“Let his grace go forward,
And dare us with his cap, like larks.”
Henry VIII. Act iii. Sc. 2.
The cap in this case was the scarlet hat of the Cardinal, which it was intended to use as a piece of red cloth. It seems probable, from the context, that the word “dare” should be “draw.”