London to John O' Groat's. 45 



ning than our American crow, and some of his feats of 

 legerdemain are quite vulpine. 



. The jackdaw is to the rook what the Esquimaux is to 

 the Alogonquin Indian ; of the same form, color, and 

 general habits, but smaller in size. They are as fond 

 of ancient abbeys and churches as were ever the monks 

 of old. Indeed, they have many monkish habits and 

 predilections, and chatter over their Latin rituals in 

 the storied towers of old Norman cathedrals, and in 

 the belfries of ivy-webbed churches in as vivicacious 

 confusion. 



There is no country in the world of the same size 

 that has so many birds in it as England; and there 

 are none so musical and merry. They all sing here 

 congregationalwise, just as the people do in the churches 

 and chapels of all religious denominations. As these 

 buildings were fashioned in early times after the Gothic 

 order of elm and oak-tree architecture, so the human 

 worshippers therein imitated the birds, as well as the 

 branches, of those trees, and learned to sing their sab- 

 bath hymns together, young and old, rich and poor, 

 in the same general uprising and blending of multi- 

 tudinous voices. I believe everything sings that has 

 wings in England. And well it might, for here it is 

 safe from shot, stones, snares, and other destructives. 

 "Young England" is not allowed to sport with fire- 



