THE JACKDAW. 
on foot.’ This awakened my interest, and I received these 
further particulars of this extraordinary bird. 
“ He belonged to the son of the ostler of the ‘Bush,’ at Staines, 
and was constantly fed and taken care of by him, until he 
became quite his familiar friend ; so much so indeed, that the 
circumstance created wonder in the vicinity of his home. So 
convinced was the ostler of the faith and devotion of his 
feathered acquaintance, that on one particular occasion, as he 
was setting off from Staines to Hounslow on horseback, he 
made a wager (a large one for him) of two bowls of punch, with 
a person who doubted that the bird would obey the call of his 
master and follow his route. He then mounted, and exclaiming, 
‘ Come, Jack, I’m going !’ put his horse in motion. In a very 
short time the bird’s wings were extended, and he attended the 
progress and return of his feeder, leaving not the shadow of a 
plea for the non-payment of the bet which the sceptic had so 
unwittingly ventured. 
“ This, and some other circumstances which my informant 
mentioned, induced me to watch more narrowly the motions of 
the bird, and I observed him constantly hopping from place 
to place, and every now and then pitching upon the sill 
of the window that lighted the tap -room, in order to as- 
certain if his travelling companion were still within. On one 
occasion, indeed, he pressed quite anxiously into the room, and 
observing him he sought not inclined immediately to move, he 
took a flight in a circular direction for nearly half a mile, re- 
turning again to his former station. Soon after this, the man 
prepared his horse, Jack mounted upon the sign-post, and as 
soon as the former had ridden about a hundred yards on his 
road to Staines, he fluttered his dark pinions, and followed the 
well-remembered track of the ostler-boy of Staines.” 
Some years ago, a jackdaw, the property of a retired inn- 
keeper residing at Aylesbury, was the means of saving his 
master’s property, and perhaps his life. The inn-keeper had 
possessed the jackdaw while he was in business. He had learnt 
the bird to utter “mind the reckoning,” and as a warning, — a 
caution to reckless customers — hung him in the public parlour. 
Ho doubt the jackdaw’s friendly admonition aided his master 
not a little in the accumulation of a fortune. It was fortunate, 
however, that Jack did not forget his share of the business; for, 
a long time after his master had retired to private life, his 
house was attacked by a gang of burglars. They effected an 
entrance through the window of the room in which hung the 
44 
