So the ravens built on, nest upon
nest, in perfect security, till the fatal day arrived in which the wood
was to be levelled. It was in the month of February, when those
birds usually sit. The saw was applied to the butt, the wedges were
inserted into the opening, the woods echoed to the heavy blows of
the beetle or mallet, the tree nodded to its fall; but still the dam sat
on. At last, when it gave way, the bird was flung from her nest;
and, though her parental affection deserved a better fate, was
whipped down by the twigs, which brought her dead to the ground.
Letter III
To Thomas Pennant, Esquire
The fossil-shells of this district, and sorts of stone, such as have
fallen within my observation, must not be passed over in silence.
And first I must mention, as a great curiosity, a specimen that was
ploughed up in the chalky fields, near the side of the down, and
given to me for the singularity of its appearance, which, to an
incurious eye, seems like a petrified fish of about four inches long,
the cardo passing for an head and mouth.
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