294 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



air of respectability was when the raven 

 "perched upon the bust of Pallas" just 

 above Poe's chamber door, from which 

 point of vantage he interjected his depress- 

 ing remarks into the poet's musings. I 

 know Poe calls him a raven, but if he met 

 him near his Baltimore home his raven cer- 

 tainly was a crow. 



Jim takes on the manners of a respectable 

 bird for a time in the spring. During his 

 courtship and his early married life he is 

 really well-behaved. He forsakes his cron- 

 ies and pays faithful and devoted atten- 

 tion to the "crowess" of his choice. To- 

 gether they build a rather shiftless-looking 

 sort of a home on some high tree. Here 

 they have their little romance, which is 

 probably as sweet to them as if they had 

 a more pretentious nest of grasses and horse- 

 hair and were in better odor with their 

 neighbors. 



At this time their fare is quite a varied 

 one. I suggested eggs and young birds, but 

 these are only tid-bits as an occasional treat. 

 Their steady diet is more commonplace. 



