CONVOCATION 101 



outside the city, which so dwarfs the Acropolis 

 and the Areopagus within it, were dotted *itk 

 ravens, walking about in groups of threes or fours, 

 and, anon, congregating together, to the number of 

 about seventy. They were not there for purposes 

 of carrion there was none about. It was a more 

 serious business. No clerical convocation could 

 have looked more sober and sedate ; nor, so far as 

 appearances went, could have more weighty matters 

 to discuss. Why were they there ? My theory is 

 that the convocation consisted of the young birds 

 of the previous year which had recently been sent 

 about their business by their parents, and, by a 

 curious coincidence, had met from all the adjoining 

 parts of Greece at the metropolis, and were now 

 about to take the most far-reaching step in their 

 career. They were about to choose a mate, not for 

 a year, or term of years, but for a lifetime ; and a 

 raven, it is to be remembered to his credit, is never 

 false to his choice. 



One other interesting experience of a raven 

 abroad should be mentioned here. I was on a 

 visit to the site of Carthage and went out to view 

 the Roman aqueduct, several arches of which, nearly 

 as high as those of the Pont du Card, still march 

 across a remote plain in stately procession. On the 



