230 RAVENS. 



that it is necessary for those who harbour them, to 

 keep a constant watch on their motions, for they will 

 catch up anything that is glittering, and carry it off 

 to some secret hiding-place. Stories without end 

 might be told of their thieving propensities. Let one 

 suffice : a gentleman's butler having missed a great 

 many silver spoons, and other articles, without a 

 suspicion as to who might be the thief, at last 

 observed a tame Raven, with one in his mouth, and 

 watching him to his hiding-place, discovered more 

 than a dozen. But pilferers as they are, and inclined 

 to mischief, they have redeeming good qualities, 

 which often make them deservedly great favourites, 

 and they may be sometimes trained for useful 

 purposes. 



Thus, the landlord of an inn, in Cambridgeshire, 

 was in possession of a Raven which frequently 

 went hunting with a dog that had been bred up 

 with him. On their arrival at a cover, the dog 

 entered, and drove the hares and rabbits from the 

 thicket, whilst the Raven, posted on the outside of 

 the cover, seized every one that came in his way; 

 when the dog immediately hastened to his assistance, 

 and, by their joint efforts nothing escaped. On 

 various occasions, the Raven has proved of more use 

 than a ferret, and has been known to enter a barn 

 with several dogs, and enjoy the sport of rat-hunting. 

 The sagacity of these birds is certainly quite extra- 

 ordinary, and might almost lead us to suppose that 

 they were gifted with reasoning powers. 



It would be needless to enumerate the many in- 

 stances which might be mentioned. We must quote 

 a few, commencing with one communicated by a 



