CLERK AND THE LAST RAVENS 255 



for the purpose was engaged in wrenching it off when 

 the squirrel made its jump, and as it came flying 

 down past his head he attempted to capture it, using 

 both hands, but missed it, and at the same time his 

 legs lost their grip on the branch he was on; and 

 down after the squirrel he came, crashing through 

 the higher branches and coming at last with a thud 

 to the earth. He had fallen on his back, and was 

 taken up senseless and terribly injured and sent away 

 to the hospital at Winchester. For twelve long months 

 he was kept there, on his back, and when sent home 

 was told that he would never be fit to do any outdoor 

 work, although he might perhaps live for some years. 

 They were wrong; he did get perfectly well, and when 

 I knew him, half a century or more after this terrible 

 accident, he was still hard at work mowing, digging, 

 and wood-cutting. 



Two or three years before this terrible fall put 

 an end to his tree-climbing exploits, a member of 

 the ducal family who were then the owners of Aving- 

 ton thought it would be interesting to have some 

 tame ravens as pets, and the young champion climber 

 was instructed to take the fledglings from the nest 

 in the park. 



When he got up to the nest he was surprised to 

 find six birds, half fledged; and he took them all, 

 and all were safely reared at the house. These birds 

 when grown remained perfectly tame although they 

 were never pinioned; they spent most of their time 

 flying about the park and outside of it, but invariably 

 came to the house to be fed and to roost. 



