BIRDS NO SOCIETY FOR HIM. 199 



unfamiliar place, he stayed in the bath-room, 

 with window wide open, for half an hour be- 

 fore he was found. He became so expert in 

 flying out of the door that it was a difficult 

 matter to pass through without his company ; 

 we had to train ourselves in sleight-of-hand 

 to outwit him. There were two ways of get- 

 ting the better of him ; mere suddenness was of 

 no use, — he was much quicker than we were. 

 One way was to go to the room on the other 

 side of the passage, where he was sure to fol- 

 low, and before he fairly settled there, to dodge 

 back and shut the door, — a proceeding so un- 

 expected that he never learned to allow for 

 it. The other way was to go to the hall- 

 door as if intending to open it; instantly the 

 bird swooped down, ready to slip out also, 

 but finding the way closed, swept around the 

 room and alighted somewhere. ' This was the 

 second to open the door and step out, for he 

 always paused a moment before flying again. 



The only notice the jay ever took of the 

 birds, as said above, was to tease them, or put 

 them in a flutter ; as society he plainly despised 

 them. They soon learned to regard him as a 

 sort of infernal machine, liable at any moment 

 to explode; and they were fully justified, for 

 he was fond of surprising them by unexpectedly 

 flying around the room, tail spread, feathers 



