Let us do justice to the raven, whose merits have been attested not only by the kindlier sentiments of the Roman people, but also by the strong expression of their indignation. In the reign of Tiberius, one of a brood of ravens that had bred on the top of the temple of Castor, happened to fly into a shoemaker’s shop that stood opposite: upon which, from a feeling of religious veneration, it was looked upon as doubly recommended by the owner of the place. The bird, having been taught to speak at an early age, used every morning to fly to the Rostra, which look towards the Forum; here, addressing each by his name, it would salute Tiberius, and then the Cæsars[184] Germanicus and Drusus, after which it would proceed to greet the Roman populace as they passed, and then return to the shop: for several years it was remarkable for the constancy of its attendance. The owner of another shoemaker’s shop in the neighborhood, in a sudden fit of anger killed the bird, enraged, as he would have had it appear, because it had soiled some shoes of his. Upon this, such rage was manifested by the multitude, that he was at once driven from that part of the city, and soon after put to death. The funeral, too, of the bird was celebrated with almost endless obsequies; the body was placed upon a litter carried upon the shoulders of two Æthiopians, preceded by a piper, and borne to the pile with garlands of every size and description. The pile was erected on the right-hand side of the Appian Way, at the second milestone from the City, in the field generally known as the “field of Rediculus.”[185] Thus did the rare talent of a bird appear a sufficient ground to the Roman people for honoring it with funeral obsequies, as well as for inflicting punishment on a Roman citizen. No such crowds ever escorted the funeral of any one out of the whole number of its distinguished men. At the present day, there is in the city of Rome a crow which belongs to a Roman of equestrian rank, and was brought from Bætica. It is remarkable for its color, which is of the deepest black, and is able to pronounce several connected words, while repeatedly learning fresh ones. Recently, too, there has been a story told about Craterus of Erizena in Asia, who was in the habit of hunting with the assistance of ravens, and used to carry them into the woods, perched on the tuft of his helmet and on his shoulders. The birds used to keep on the watch for game, and raise it; and by training he had brought this art to such a pitch of perfection, that even the wild ravens would attend him in a similar manner when he went out. Some authors have thought the following circumstance deserving of remembrance:—A crow that was thirsty was seen heaping stones into the urn on a monument, in which there was some rain-water which it could not reach: by thus accumulating the stones, it raised the level of the water till it came within its reach.