238 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



and rendezvous by thousands over Selborne-down, where 

 they wheel round in the air, and sport and dive in a 

 playful manner, all the while exerting their voices, and 

 making a loud cawing, which, being blended and softened 

 by the distance that we at the village are below them, 

 becomes a confused noise or chiding ; or rather a pleasing 

 murmur, very engaging to the imagination, and not unlike 

 the cry of a pack of hounds in hollow, echoing woods, or 

 the rushing of the wind in tall trees, or the tumbling of 

 the tide upon a pebbly shore. When this ceremony is 

 over, with the last gleam of day, they retire for the night 

 to the deep beechen woods of Tisted and Ropley. We 

 remember a little girl who, as she was going to bed, used 

 to remark on such an occurrence, in the true spirit of 

 physico-theology, that the rooks were saying their prayers; 

 and yet this child was much too young to be aware that 

 the scriptures have said of the Deity — that "he feedeth 

 the ravens who call upon him." 



I am, etc. 



LETTER LX 



TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON 



In reading Dr. Huxham's Observationes de Acre, etc., 

 written at Plymouth, I find by those curious and accurate 

 remarks, which contain an account of the weather from the 

 year 1727 to the year 1748, inclusive, that though there 

 is frequent rain in that district of Devonshire, yet the 

 quantity falling is not great; and that some years it has 

 been very small: for in 1731 the rain measured only 

 j^inch — 266*°"- and in 1741, 20 — 354; and again in 

 1743 only 20 — 908. Places near the sea have frequent 

 scuds, that keep the atmosphere moist, yet do not reach 

 far up into the country ; making thus the maritime 

 situations appear wet, when the rain is not considerable. 

 In the wettest years at Plymouth the Doctor measured 



