If he arise, is mocked and wondered at.”
Henry VI. Part III. Act v. Sc. 4.
“For night-owls shriek, where mounting larks should sing.”
Richard II. Act iii. Sc. 3.
ITS HABITS MISUNDERSTOOD.
Should an owl appear at a birth it is said to forbode ill-luck to the infant. King Henry VI., addressing Gloster, says,—
“The owl shriek’d at thy birth, an evil sign.”
Henry VI. Part III. Act v. Sc. 6.
While upon any other occasion its presence was supposed to predict a death, or at least some dire mishap:—
“The screech-owl, screeching loud,