“All furnish’d, all in arms; All plumed like estridges that with the wind Baited like eagles having lately bathed.” It must, however, be conceded, according to Douce’s clear annotation (vol. i. p. 435), that “it is by no means certain that this bird (the ostrich) is meant in the present instance.” A line probably is lost from the passage, and if supplied would only the more clearly show that the falcon was intended,—“estrich,” in the old books of falconry, denoting that bird, or, rather, the goshawk. In this sense the word is used in _Antony and Cleopatra_ (act iii. sc. 13, l. 195, vol. ix. p. 100),— “To be furious Is to be frighted out of fear; and in that mood The dove will peck the _estridge_.” Though a fabulous animal, the Unicorn has properties and qualities attributed to it which endear it to writers on Heraldry and on Emblems. These are well, it may with truth be said, finely set forth in Reusner’s _Emblems_ (edition 1581, p. 60), where the creature is made the ensign for the motto, _Faith undefiled victorious_. Victrix casta fides. _EMBLEMA IV._ [Illustration: _Reusner_, 1581.] _Caſta pudicitiæ defenſtrix bellua: cornu Vnum quæ media fronte, nigrumque gerit: Theſauros ornans regum, preciumque rependens: (Nam cornu præſens hoc leuat omne malum) Fraude capi nulla, nulla valet arte virorum Callida: nec gladios, nec fera tela pauet: Solius in gremio requieſcens ſpontè puellæ: Fœminea capitur, victa ſopore, manu._ [Sidenote: _i.e._] “This creature of maiden modesty protectress pure. In the mid-forehead bears one dark black horn, Kings’ treasures to ornament, and equalling in worth: (For where the horn abides, no evil can be born). Captured nor by guile, nor by crafty art of man, Trembling nor at swords nor iron arms, firm doth it stand; Of choice reposing in the lap of a maiden alone,[160] Should sleep overpower, it is caught by woman’s hand.” A volume of tales and wonders might be collected respecting the unicorn; for a sketch of these the article on the subject in the _Penny Cyclopædia_ (vol. xxvi. p. 2) may be consulted. There are the particulars given which Reusner mentions, and the medical virtues of the horn extolled,[161] which, at one time, it is said, made it so estimated that it was worth ten times its weight in gold. It is remarkable that Shakespeare, disposed as he was, occasionally at least, to magnify nature’s marvels, does not dwell on the properties of the unicorn, but rather discredits its existence; for when the strange shapes which Prospero conjures up to serve the banquet for Alonso make their appearance (_Tempest_, act iii. sc. 3, l. 21, vol. i. p. 50), Sebastian avers,—