THE DAW SENTIMENT 261 



or three barrow-loads of hard earth which had no 

 doubt once been sticks, centuries ago, as the building 

 was very ancient. No one had remembered that the 

 daws had always occupied the same chimney ; the 

 old dame herself had seen them going in and out of 

 it from her childhood, and her end was probably 

 hastened by the disturbance made in cleaning it. 

 Now she is gone the daws here are in possession of 

 it once more. 



All through the month of May daws were to 

 be seen about the village, dropping from time to 

 time upon the chimney-pots where they had their 

 nests and occasionally bringing some slight materials 

 to form a new lining, but it was very rare to see one 

 with a stick in his beak. The flues were already full 

 of old sticks and no more were wanted. It was 

 amusing to see a bird flying about, suddenly tumble 

 out of the air on to a chimney-pot, then with tail 

 tipped up and wings closed dive into the cavity 

 below. One wondered how the young birds would 

 be got out ! 



Talking with the rector of the neighbouring 

 parish of Phillack one day on this subject, he said, 

 " Don't imagine that the daws restrict themselves 

 to the chimneys where fires are not lighted. At all 

 events it isn't so at Phillack. Perhaps we have too 

 many daws in our village, but every year before 

 lighting fires in the drawing and dining-rooms 



