THE FAERY YEAR 



Lincolnshire, there were young rooks in a solitary 

 nest a month since. The old man who lives in the 

 cottage close to the nest was asked how many young 

 rooks there were. " Well," said he, " I could see 

 two cockin' their nebs when the old 'uns came to 

 feed 'em." 



The Cat as Mesmerizer 



The question whether a cat catches a bird by 

 fascinating it is one of the most curious in natural 

 history. It is closely allied with the subject of 

 snakes and serpents paralyzing their victim before 

 they seize it "like birds the charming serpent 

 draws " and, perhaps, with that of the weasel 

 cajoling birds by a display of spin and tumble. 

 Human phenomena of the same kind were interest- 

 ing people at the very dawn of history. In the 

 charm of the " evil eye " fact and fable were so 

 jumbled that even to-day we cannot quite disentangle 

 them. The ancient antidote for such sinister charms 

 was absurd, but in the light of mesmerism we 

 hesitate now to scoff at the whole idea. 



J. G. Wood thought that birds were peculiarly 

 susceptible to fascination or mesmerism. He mes- 

 merized canaries, he said, by laying them on their 

 backs and pointing his finger at them, or by laying 

 them on their backs along a white chalk-line drawn 

 on a blackboard, and leaving them there. It is said 

 300 



