BIRDS NO SOCIETY FOR HIM. 199 



unfamiliar place, he stayed in the bath-room, 

 with window wide open, for half an hour be- 

 fore he was found. He became so expert in 

 flying out of the door that it was a difficult 

 matter to pass through without his company ; 

 we had to train ourselves in sleight-of-hand 

 to outwit him. There were two ways of get- 

 ting the better of him ; mere suddenness was of 

 no use, he was much quicker than we were. 

 One way was to go to the room on the other 

 side of the passage, where he was sure to fol- 

 low, and before he fairly settled there, to dodge 

 back and shut the door, a proceeding so un- 

 expected that he never learned to allow for 

 it. The other way was to go to the hall- 

 door as if intending to open it; instantly the 

 bird swooped down, ready to slip out also, 

 but finding the way closed, swept around the 

 room and alighted somewhere. This was the 

 second to open the door and step out, for he 

 always paused a moment before flying again. 



The only notice the jay ever took of the 

 birds, as said above, was to tease them, or put 

 them in a flutter ; as society he plainly despised 

 them. They soon learned to regard him as a 

 sort of infernal machine, liable at any moment 

 to explode ; and they were fully justified, for 

 he was fond of surprising them by unexpectedly 

 flying around the room, tail spread, feathers 



