NOTES TO THE 



why they are taken is to stop the increase of jackdaws in the 

 neighbourhood If the young jackdaws are taken when about 

 a fortnight old, the old ones will not " go to nest " again that 

 season. If the eggs only were taken, the birds would lay again 

 immediately. Mr. Jackdaw is " birdivorous ; " when he has got 

 his young he looks out where there are young sparrows, then 

 " in he pops, and out he pops" with a young sparrow, and so he 

 goes on backwards and forwards till he has taken the lot ; he 

 then pulls them to pieces afterwards and feeds his young on 

 them in turn. 



A curious and very ancient custom at Oxford is connected 

 with jackdaws' eggs. A Latin hymn is sung on the top of 

 Magdalen Tower, Oxford, at daybreak, on the 1st of May every 

 year. Close to Magdalen Bridge stands the magnificent tower 

 of Magdalen College. The foundation of this structure was 

 laid in 1492 by President Mayhew. The tower is 150 feet high, 

 and contains a very fine peal of ten bells. On May 1st, at 

 daybreak, the choristers assemble at the top of the tower, and 

 sing a Latin hymn as the sun rises. The first verse of the 

 hymn is as follows : 



" Te Deum Patrem colimus 

 Te laudibns prosequiinur 

 Qui Corpus cibo regicis, 

 Ccelesti mentem gratia." 



"To Thee, God the Father Thee 

 All worship praise and glory be ! 

 Thy hand bestows our daily bread, 

 And that wherewith our souls are fed." " 



The origin of this custom, it is written, is as follows : " Previ- 

 ously to the Reformation, a mass was performed every May-day 

 morning at an early hour on the top of this Tower for the 

 repose of the soul of Henry VII., who had honoured the College 

 with a visit in 1488. Certain pieces of choir music are still per- 

 formed, in the same place and on the same day, at five o'clock 

 in the morning, for which harmonious service the rectory of 

 Slymbridge, in Gloucestershire, pays the yearly sum of 10/." 



I have heard another version of this stoiy from my friend 

 Dr. Newman, a Fellow of Magdalen College. He informs 

 me the story goes that, long ago, certain estates were given to 

 the College on condition that a mass was said on behalf of the 

 benefactor on the 1st of May, and that if this mass were 

 omitted the estates were to lapse. After the Reformation they 

 could not say the mass in the chapel, so they went to the top 



1 The whole of this hymn can be found in the " Historical Handbook of 

 Oxford." T. Shrimpton and Son, Broad Street, Oxford. Price 2s. 



