THE JACKDAW 389 



would say, "of their own repose," follow in their 

 wake 



"And down they come upon the happy haunts, 

 The pleasant greenery of the favoured groves, 

 Their blissful resting-places." 



The jackdaw abounds at Melcombe ; and is like 

 and yet unlike his constant companion, the rook. 

 He is like him in his general appearance, in his 

 habits, in his food ; but he is more lissome, more 

 lively, quicker in his flight, more graceful in his move- 

 ments, especially when he is on the ground, more 

 full of mischief, more domestic, and much less afraid 

 of man. He makes himself at home everywhere, 

 and claims a share of the food of the pigs, the 

 pigeons, the chickens. He levies ample toll on the 

 garden crops, especially on a row of peas, till one of 

 his number, suspended high as Haman above it, 

 pour encourager les autres, warns him off for the rest 

 of the season. He builds in our hollow trees, in our 

 chimneys, in our castles, in our churches, in our 

 cathedrals. 



" There is a bird who, by his coat 

 And by the hoarseness of his note, 



Might be supposed a crow 

 A great frequenter of the Church, 

 Where, bishop-like, he finds a perch 



And dormitory too." 



