CURIOUS NEST IN A BELL-TOWER. 57 



even a portion of reason to any creature below us 

 in the scale of creation. Yet that something 

 approaching to it is to be found in animals cannot 

 by me be doubted. The following curious and 

 interesting fact, seen by many in this neighbour- 

 hood is the first proof I will bring forward. 



A friend called upon me on the 1 1 th day of 

 last May, and asked me to accompany him to 

 Eton College to see a curious bird's nest. We 

 accordingly proceeded thither, and, having passed 

 through the beautiful Chapel attached to that 

 College, ascended the winding steps of the 

 bell-tower or turret of the chapel. After getting 

 to a considerable height, any further progress 

 was stopped by a sort of pillar built of sticks. 

 The staircase was sufficiently lighted to afford 

 complete observation of the proceedings of the 

 birds, which I will now endeavour accurately to 

 describe. 



On the ledge of one of the narrow apertures 

 for the admission of light, a pair of jackdaws had 

 built their nest. The ledge however was so nar- 

 row, that the nest had evidently an inclination 

 inwards, and would probably without some sup- 

 port have fallen down upon the steps below. 

 In order to obviate this difficulty, they contrived 

 the following ingenious method of supporting the 

 nest. As the staircase was a spiral one, the birds 

 began to make a pillar of sticks on that identical 

 D 2 



