,,love',s ,,meinie4   ,,three ,,lectures
 ,,on ,,greek ,,and ,,english ,,birds4  
,by  ,,john ,,ruskin1 ,,ll4,d41         
,d4,c4,l4  ,,honorary ,,student ,,of    
,,christ ,,church1 ,,oxford2 ,,and      
,,honorary ,,fellow ,,of ,,corpus       
,,christi ,,college1 ,,oxford    ,,third
 ,,edition   ,,george ,,allen1          
,,sunnyside1 ,,orpington ,,and #aef1    
,,charing ,,cross ,,road1 ,,london      
#ahig  ,all rights reserved             
,,contents4                             
,,page  ,,preface                       
v  ,,lecture ,i4     ,,the ,,robin      
#a  ,,lecture ,,ii4     ,,the ,,swallow 
#be  ,,lecture ,,iii4     ,,the         
,,dabchicks                             
#eb  ,,appendix                         
#ajg     ,,preface4   ,,brantwood1 #ith 
,june1 #ahha4  ,quarter past five1      
morning4  ,the birds chirping           
feebly1--mostly chaffinches answering   
each other1 the rest discomposed1 ,i    
fancy1 by the ,june snow2#a the lake    
neither smooth nor rippled1 but like a  

surface of perfectly bright glass1 ill  
cast2 the lines of wave few and         
irregular1 like flaws in the planes of a
 fine crystal4        #a ,the summits of
 the ,old ,man1 of ,wetherlam1 and      
,helvellyn1       were all white1 on the
 morning when this was written4  ,i see 
this book was begun eight years         
ago2--then intended to contain only four
 ,oxford lectures3 but the said lectures
 also 'intended' to contain the cream of
 forty volumes of scientific            
ornithology4 ,which intentions1 all and 
sundry1 having gone1 ,carlyle would have
 said1 to water1 and more piously-minded
 persons1 to fire1 ,i am obliged now to 
cast my materials into another form3 and
 here1 at all events1 is a bundle of    
what is readiest under my hand4 ,the    
nature and name of which ,i must try to 
make a little more intelligible than my 
books have lately been1 either in text  
or title4  ',meinie' is the old ,english
 word for ',many1' in the sense of 'a   
many' persons attending one1 as         

bridesmaids1 when in sixes or tens or   
dozens2--courtiers1 footmen1 and the    
like4 ,it passes gradually into         
',menial1' and unites the senses of     
,multitude and ,servitude4  ,in the     
passages quoted from1 or referred to in1
 ,chaucer's translation of the ,romance 
of the ,rose1 at the end of the first   
lecture1 any reader who cares for a clue
 to the farther significances of the    
title1 may find one to lead him safely  
through richer labyrinths of thought    
than mine3 and ladder enough also1--if  
there be either any heavenly1 or pure   
earthly1 ,love1 in his own breast1--to  
guide him to a pretty bird's nest2 both 
in the ,romances of the ,rose and of    
,juliet1 and in the ,sermons of ,st4    
,francis and ,st4 ,bernard4  ,the term  
',lecture' is retained1 for though ,i   
lecture no more1 ,i still write         
habitually in a manner suited for oral  
delivery1 and imagine myself speaking to
 my pupils1 if ever ,i am happily       
thinking in myself4 ,but it will be also

 seen that by the help of this very     
familiarity of style1 ,i am endeavoring1
 in these and my other writings on      
,natural ,history1 to compel in the     
student a clearness of thought and      
precision of language which have not    
hitherto been in any wise the virtues1  
or skills1 of scientific persons4       
,thoughtless readers1 who imagine that  
my own style 7such as it is1 the one    
thing which the ,british public concedes
 to me as a real power7 has been formed 
without pains1 may smile at the         
confidence with which ,i speak of       
altering accepted1 and even             
long-established1 nomenclature4 ,but the
 use which ,i now have of language has  
taken me forty years to attain2 and     
those forty years spent1 mostly1 in     
walking through the wilderness of this  
world's vain words1 seeking how they    
might be pruned into some better        
strength4 ,and ,i think it likely that  
at last ,i may put in my pruning-hook   
with effect2 for indeed a time must come

 when ,english fathers and mothers will 
wish their children to learn ,english   
again1 and to speak it for all scholarly
 purposes2 and1 if they use1 instead1   
,greek or ,latin1 to use them only that 
they may be understood by ,greeks or    
,latins2#b and not that they may mystify
 the illiterate many of their own land4 
,dead languages1 so called1 may at least
 be left at rest1 if not honored2 and   
must not be torn in mutilation out of   
their tumuli1 that the skins and bones  
of them may help to hold our living     
nonsense together2 while languages      
called living1 but which live only to   
slack themselves into slang1 or bloat   
themselves into bombast1 must one day   
have new grammars written for their     
license1 and new laws for their         
insolence4        #b ,greek is now a    
living nation's language1 from ,messina 
to       ,delos--and ,latin still lives 
for the well-trained churchmen       and
 gentlemen of ,italy4  ,observe1        
however1 that the recast methods of     

classification adopted in this book1 and
 in ',proserpina1' must be carefully    
distinguished from their recastings of  
nomenclature4 ,i am perfectly sure that 
it is wiser to use plain short words    
than obscure long ones2 but not in the  
least sure that ,i am doing the best    
that can be done for my pupils1 in      
classing swallows with owls1 or         
milkworts with violets4 ,the            
classification is always given as       
tentative2 and1 at its utmost1          
elementary3 but the nomenclature1 as in 
all probability conclusive4  ,for the   
rest1 the success and the service of all
 depend on the more or less thorough    
accomplishment of plans long since laid1
 and which would have been good for     
little if their coping could at once    
have been conjectured or foretold in    
their foundations4 ,it has been         
throughout my trust1 that if ,death     
should write on these1 ,what this man   
began to build1 he was not able to      
finish1 ,god may also write on them1 not

 in anger1 but in aid1      ,a stronger 
than he1 cometh4     ,,love',s ,,meinie4
  ,il etoit tout convert d'oisiaulx4    
,romance of the ,rose4     ,,lecture    
,i4#c  ,,the ,,robin4   #a4 ,among the  
more splendid pictures in the           
,exhibition of the ,old ,masters1 this  
year1 you cannot but remember the       
,vandyke portraits of the two sons of   
the ,duke of ,lennox4 ,i think you      
cannot but remember it1 because it would
 be difficult to find1 even among the   
works of ,vandyke1 a more striking      
representation of the youth of our      
,english noblesse2 nor one in which the 
painter had more exerted himself1 or    
with better success1 in rendering the   
decorous pride and natural grace of     
honorable aristocracy4        #c        
,delivered at ,oxford1 ,march #aeth1    
#ahgc4  ,vandyke is1 however1 inferior  
to ,titian and ,velasquez1 in that his  
effort to show this noblesse of air and 
persons may always be detected2 also the
 aristocracy of ,vandyke's day were     

already so far fearful of their own     
position as to feel anxiety that it     
should be immediately recognized4 ,and  
the effect of the painter's conscious   
deference1 and of the equally conscious 
pride of the boys1 as they stood to be  
painted1 has been somewhat to shorten   
the power of the one1 and to abase the  
dignity of the other4 ,and thus1 in the 
midst of my admiration of the youths'   
beautiful faces1 and natural quality of 
majesty1 set off by all splendors of    
dress and courtesies of art1 ,i could   
not forbear questioning with myself what
 the true value was1 in the scales of   
creation1 of these fair human beings who
 set so high a value on themselves2     
and1--as if the only answer1--the words 
kept repeating themselves in my ear1 ,ye
 are of more value than many sparrows4  
#b4 ,passeres1 ,greek3 strouthos--the   
things that open their wings1 and are   
not otherwise noticeable2 small birds of
 the land and wood2 the food of the     
serpent1 of man1 or of the stronger     

creatures of their own kind1--that even 
these1 though among the simplest and    
obscurest of beings1 have yet price in  
the eyes of their ,maker1 and that the  
death of one of them cannot take place  
but by ,his permission1 has long been   
the subject of declamation in our       
pulpits1 and the ground of much         
sentiment in nursery education4 ,but the
 declamation is so aimless1 and the     
sentiment so hollow1 that1 practically1 
the chief interest of the leisure of    
mankind has been found in the           
destruction of the creatures which they 
professed to believe even the ,most     
,high would not see perish without pity2
 and1 in recent days1 it is fast        
becoming the only definition of         
aristocracy1 that the principal business
 of its life is the killing of sparrows4
  ,sparrows1 or pigeons1 or partridges1 
what does it matter8 ,centum mille      
perdrices plumbo confecit2#d that is1   
indeed1 too often the sum of the life of
 an ,english lord2 much questionable    

now1 if indeed of more value than that  
of many sparrows4        #d ,the epitaph
 on ,count ,zachdarm1 in ,sartor        
,resartus4  #c4 ,is it not a strange    
fact1 that1 interested in nothing so    
much for the last two hundred years1 as 
in his horses1 he yet left it to the    
farmers of ,scotland to relieve draught 
horses from the bearing-rein8#e ,is it  
not one equally strange that1 master of 
the forests of ,england for a thousand  
years1 and of its libraries for three   
hundred1 he left the natural history of 
birds to be written by a card-printer's 
lad of ,newcastle8#f ,written1 and not  
written1 for indeed we have no natural  
history of birds written yet4 ,it cannot
 be written but by a scholar and a      
gentleman2 and no ,english gentleman in 
recent times has ever thought of birds  
except as flying targets1 or flavorous  
dishes4 ,the only piece of natural      
history worth the name in the ,english  
language1 that ,i know of1 is in the few
 lines of ,milton on the ,creation4 ,the

 only example of a proper manner of     
contribution to natural history is in   
,white's ,letters from ,selborne4 ,you  
know ,i have always spoken of ,bewick as
 pre-eminently a vulgar or boorish      
person1 though of splendid honor and    
genius2 his vulgarity shows in nothing  
so much as in the poverty of the details
 he has collected1 with the best        
intentions1 and the shrewdest sense1 for
 ,english ornithology4 ,his imagination 
is not cultivated enough to enable him  
to choose1 or arrange4        #e ,sir   
,arthur ,helps4 ,animals and their      
,masters1 p4 #fg4        #f ,ariadne    
,florentina1 vi4 #de4  #d4 ,nor can much
 more be said for the observations of   
modern science4 ,it is vulgar in a far  
worse way1 by its arrogance and         
materialism4 ,in general1 the scientific
 natural history of a bird consists of  
four articles1--first1 the name and     
estate of the gentleman whose gamekeeper
 shot the last that was seen in         
,england2 secondly1 two or three stories

 of doubtful origin1 printed in every   
book on the subject of birds for the    
last fifty years2 thirdly1 an account of
 the feathers1 from the comb to the     
rump1 with enumeration of the colors    
which are never more to be seen on the  
living bird by ,english eyes2 and1      
lastly1 a discussion of the reasons why 
none of the twelve names which former   
naturalists have given to the bird are  
of any further use1 and why the present 
author has given it a thirteenth1 which 
is to be universally1 and to the end of 
time1 accepted4  #e4 ,you may fancy this
 is caricature2 but the abyss of        
confusion produced by modern science in 
nomenclature1 and the utter void of the 
abyss when you plunge into it after any 
one useful fact1 surpass all caricature4
 ,i have in my hand thirteen plates of  
thirteen species of eagles2 eagles all1 
or hawks all1 or falcons all--whichever 
name you choose for the great race of   
the hook-headed birds of prey--some so  
like that you can't tell the one from   

the other1 at the distance at which ,i  
show them to you1 all absolutely alike  
in their eagle or falcon character1     
having1 every one1 the falx for its     
beak1 and every one1 flesh for its prey4
 ,do you suppose the unhappy student is 
to be allowed to call them all eagles1  
or all falcons1 to begin with1 as would 
be the first condition of a wise        
nomenclature1 establishing resemblance  
by specific name1 before marking        
variation by individual name8 ,no such  
luck4 ,i hold you up the plates of the  
thirteen birds one by one1 and read you 
their names off the back3--      ,the   
first1 is        an ,aquila4     ,the   
second1          a ,halitus4     ,the   
third1           a ,milvus4     ,the    
fourth1          a ,pandion4     ,the   
fifth1           an ,astur4     ,the    
sixth1           a ,falco4     ,the     
seventh1         a ,pernis4     ,the    
eighth1          a ,circus4     ,the    
ninth1           a ,buteo4     ,the     
tenth1           an ,archibuteo4        

,the eleventh1        an ,accipiter4    
,the twelfth1         an ,erythropus4   
,and the thirteenth1  a ,tinnunculus4   
,there's a nice little lesson to        
entertain a parish school-boy with1     
beginning his natural history of birds6 
#f4 ,there are not so many varieties of 
robin as of hawk1 but the scientific    
classifiers are not to be beaten4 ,if   
they cannot find a number of similar    
birds to give different names to1 they  
will give two names to the same one4    
,here are two pictures of your own      
redbreast1 out of the two best modern   
works on ornithology4 ,in one1 it is    
called ,motacilla rubecula2 in the      
other1 ,rubecula familiaris4  #g4 ,it is
 indeed one of the most serious1 as one 
of the most absurd1 weaknesses1 of      
modern naturalists to imagine that any  
presently invented nomenclature can     
stand1 even were it adopted by the      
consent of nations1 instead of the      
conceit of individuals4 ,it will take   
fifty years' digestion before the       

recently ascertained elements of natural
 science can permit the arrangement of  
species in any permanently 7even over a 
limited period7 namable order2 nor then1
 unless a great man is born to perceive 
and exhibit such order4 ,in the         
meantime1 the simplest and most         
descriptive nomenclature is the best4   
,every one of these birds1 for instance1
 might be called falco in ,latin1 hawk  
in ,english1 some word being added to   
distinguish the genus1 which should     
describe its principal aspect or habit4 
,falco montium1 ,mountain ,hawk2 ,falco 
silvarum1 ,wood ,hawk2 ,falco           
procellarum1 ,sea ,hawk2 and the like4  
,then1 one descriptive epithet would    
mark species4 ,falco montium1 aureus1   
,golden ,eagle2 ,falco silvarum1        
apivorus1 ,honey ,buzzard2 and so on2   
and the naturalists of ,vienna1 ,paris1 
and ,london should confirm the names of 
known creatures1 in conclave1 once every
 half-century1 and let them so stand for
 the next fifty years4  #h4 ,in the     

meantime1 you yourselves1 or1 to speak  
more generally1 the young rising        
scholars of ,england1--all of you who   
care for life as well as literature1 and
 for spirit1--even the poor souls of    
birds1--as well as lettering of their   
classes in books1--you1 with all care1  
should cherish the old ,saxon-,english  
and ,norman-,french names of birds1 and 
ascertain them with the most            
affectionate research--never despising  
even the rudest or most provincial      
forms3 all of them will1 some day or    
other1 give you clue to historical      
points of interest4 ,take1 for example1 
the common ,english name of this        
low-flying falcon1 the most tamable and 
affectionate of his tribe1 and          
therefore1 ,i suppose1 fastest vanishing
 from field and wood1 the buzzard4 ,that
 name comes from the ,latin buteo1 still
 retained by the ornithologists2 but1 in
 its original form1 valueless1 to you4  
,but when you get it comfortably        
corrupted into ,provenal ,busac1 7whence

 gradually the ,french busard1 and our  
buzzard17 you get from it the delightful
 compound busacador1 adorer of          
buzzards--meaning1 generally1 a sporting
 person2 and then you have ,dante's     
,bertrand de ,born1 the first troubadour
 of war1 bearing witness to you how the 
love of mere hunting and falconry was   
already1 in his day1 degrading the      
military classes1 and1 so far from being
 a necessary adjunct of the noble       
disposition of lover or soldier1 was1   
even to contempt1 showing itself        
separate from both4      ,le ric home1  
cassador1     ,m'enneion1 e'l buzacador4
     ,parlan de volada1 d'austor1       
,ne jamais1 d'armas1 ni d'amor4         
,the rich man1 the chaser1     ,tires me
 to death2 and the adorer of buzzards4  
,they talk of covey and hawk1     ,and  
never of arms1 nor of love4  ,cassador1 
of course1 afterwards becomes chasseur1 
and austor vautour4 ,but after you have 
read this1 and familiarized your ear    
with the old word1 how differently      

,milton's phrase will ring to           
you1--,those who thought no better of   
the ,living ,god than of a buzzard      
idol1--and how literal it becomes1 when 
we think of the actual difference       
between a member of ,parliament in      
,milton's time1 and the ,busacador of   
to-day2--and all this freshness and     
value in the reading1 observe1 come of  
your keeping the word which great men   
have used for the bird1 instead of      
letting the anatomists blunder out a new
 one from their ,latin dictionaries4    
#i4 ,there are not so many namable      
varieties1 ,i just now said1 of robin as
 of falcon2 but this is somewhat        
inaccurately stated4 ,those thirteen    
birds represented a very large          
proportion of the entire group of the   
birds of prey1 which in my sevenfold    
classification ,i recommended you to    
call universally1 hawks4 ,the robin is  
only one of the far greater multitude of
 small birds which live almost          
indiscriminately on grain or insects1   

and which ,i recommended you to call    
generally sparrows2 but of the robin    
itself1 there are two important         
,european varieties--one red-breasted1  
and the other blue-breasted4  #aj4 ,you 
probably1 some of you1 never heard of   
the blue-breast2 very few1 certainly1   
have seen one alive1 and1 if alive1     
certainly not wild in ,england4  ,here  
is a picture of it1 daintily done1#g and
 you can see the pretty blue shield on  
its breast1 perhaps1 at this distance4  
,vain shield1 if ever the fair little   
thing is wretched enough to set foot on 
,english ground6 ,i find the last that  
was seen was shot at ,margate so long   
ago as #ahdb1--;and there seems to be no
 official record of any visit before    
that1 since ,mr4 ,thomas ,embledon shot 
one on ,newcastle town moor in #ahaf4   
,but this rarity of visit to us is      
strange2 other birds have no such clear 
objection to being shot1 and really seem
 to come to ,england expressly for the  
purpose4 ,and yet this blue-bird--7one  

can't say blue robin--,i think we shall 
have to call him bluet1 like the        
cornflower7--stays in ,sweden1 where it 
sings so sweetly that it is called a    
hundred tongues4        #g ,mr4         
,gould's1 in his ,birds of ,great       
,britain4  #aa4 ,that1 then1 is the     
utmost which the lords of land1 and     
masters of science1 do for us in their  
watch upon our feathered suppliants4    
,one kills them1 the other writes       
classifying epitaphs4  ,we have next to 
ask what the poets1 painters1 and monks 
have done4  ,the poets--among whom ,i   
affectionately and reverently class the 
sweet singers of the nursery1 mothers   
and nurses--have done much2 very nearly 
all that ,i care for your thinking of4  
,the painters and monks1 the one being  
so greatly under the influence of the   
other1 we may for the present class     
together2 and may almost sum their      
contributions to ornithology in saying  
that they have plucked the wings from   
birds1 to make angels of men1 and the   

claws from birds1 to make devils of men4
  ,if you were to take away from        
religious art these two great helps of  
its--,i must say1 on the whole1 very    
feeble--imagination2 if you were to take
 from it1 ,i say1 the power of putting  
wings on shoulders1 and claws on fingers
 and toes1 how wonderfully the sphere of
 its angelic and diabolic characters    
would be contracted6 ,reduced only to   
the sources of expression in face or    
movements1 you might still find in good 
early sculpture very sufficient devils2 
but the best angels would resolve       
themselves1 ,i think1 into little more  
than1 and not often into so much as1 the
 likenesses of pretty women1 with that  
grave and 7,i do not say it ironically7 
majestic expression which they put on1  
when1 being very fond of their husbands 
and children1 they seriously think      
either the one or the other have        
misbehaved themselves4  #ab4 ,and it is 
not a little discouraging for me1 and   
may well make you doubtful of my right  

judgment in this endeavor to lead you   
into closer attention to the bird1 with 
its wings and claws still in its own    
possession2--it is discouraging1 ,i say1
 to observe that the beginning of such  
more faithful and accurate observation  
in former art1 is exactly coeval with   
the commencement of its decline4 ,the   
feverish and ungraceful natural history 
of ,paul1 called1 of the birds1 ,paolo  
degli ,uccelli1 produced1 indeed1 no    
harmful result on the minds of his      
contemporaries1 they watched in him1    
with only contemptuous admiration1 the  
fantasy of zoological instinct which    
filled his house with painted dogs1     
cats1 and birds1 because he was too poor
 to fill it with real ones4 ,their      
judgment of this morbidly naturalistic  
art was conclusively expressed by the   
sentence of ,donatello1 when going one  
morning into the ,old ,market1 to buy   
fruit1 and finding the animal painter   
uncovering a picture1 which had cost him
 months of care1 7curiously symbolic in 

its subject1 the infidelity of ,st4     
,thomas1 of the investigatory fingering 
of the natural historian17 ,paul1 my    
friend1 said ,donatello1 thou art       
uncovering the picture just when thou   
shouldst be shutting it up4  #ac4 ,no   
harm1 therefore1 ,i repeat1 but1 on the 
contrary1 some wholesome stimulus to the
 fancy of men like ,luca and ,donatello 
themselves1 came of the grotesque and   
impertinent zoology of ,uccello4  ,but  
the fatalest institutor of proud modern 
anatomical and scientific art1 and of   
all that has polluted the dignity1 and  
darkened the charity1 of the greater    
ages1 was ,antonio ,pollajuolo of       
,florence4 ,antonio 7that is to say7 the
 ,poulterer--so named from the trade of 
his grandfather1 and with just so much  
of his grandfather's trade left in his  
own disposition1 that being set by      
,lorenzo ,ghiberti to complete one of   
the ornamental festoons of the gates of 
the ,florentine ,baptistery1 there1     
7says ,vasari7 ,antonio produced a      

quail1 which may still be seen1 and is  
so beautiful1 nay1 so perfect1 that it  
wants nothing but the power of flight4  
#ad4 ,here1 the morbid tendency was as  
attractive as it was subtle4 ,ghiberti  
himself fell under the influence of it2 
allowed the borders of his gates1 with  
their fluttering birds and bossy fruits1
 to dispute the spectators' favor with  
the religious subjects they inclosed2   
and1 from that day forward1 minuteness  
and muscularity were1 with curious      
harmony of evil1 delighted in together2 
and the lancet and the microscope1 in   
the hands of fools1 were supposed to be 
complete substitutes for imagination in 
the souls of wise men3 so that even the 
best artists are gradually compelled1 or
 beguiled1 into compliance with the     
curiosity of their day2 and ,francia1 in
 the city of ,bologna1 is held to be a  
kind of god1 more particularly 7again ,i
 quote ,vasari7 after he had painted a  
set of caparisons for the ,duke of      
,urbino1 on which he depicted a great   

forest all on fire1 and whence there    
rushes forth an immense number of every 
kind of animal1 with several human      
figures4 ,this terrific1 yet truly      
beautiful representation1 was all the   
more highly esteemed for the time that  
had been expended on it in the plumage  
of the birds1 and other minuti in the   
delineation of the different animals1   
and in the diversity of the branches and
 leaves of the various trees seen       
therein2 and thenceforward the          
catastrophe is direct1 to the           
ornithological museums which ,breughel  
painted for gardens of ,eden1 and to the
 still life and dead game of ,dutch     
celebrities4  #ae4 ,and yet ,i am going 
to invite you to-day to examine1 down to
 almost microscopic detail1 the aspect  
of a small bird1 and to invite you to do
 this1 as a most expedient and sure step
 in your study of the greatest art4     
,but the difference in our motive of    
examination will entirely alter the     
result4 ,to paint birds that we may show

 how minutely we can paint1 is among the
 most contemptible occupations of art4  
,to paint them1 that we may show how    
beautiful they are1 is not indeed one of
 its highest1 but quite one of its      
pleasantest and most useful2 it is a    
skill within the reach of every student 
of average capacity1 and which1 so far  
as acquired1 will assuredly both make   
their hearts kinder1 and their lives    
happier4  ,without further preamble1 ,i 
will ask you to look to-day1 more       
carefully than usual1 at your well-known
 favorite1 and to think about him with  
some precision4  #af4 ,and first1 ,where
 does he come from8 ,i stated that my   
lectures were to be on ,english and     
,greek birds2 but we are apt to fancy   
the robin all our own4 ,how exclusively1
 do you suppose1 he really belongs to   
us8 ,you would think this was the first 
point to be settled in any book about   
him4 ,i have hunted all my books        
through1 and can't tell you how much he 
is our own1 or how far he is a traveler4

  ,and1 indeed1 are not all our ideas   
obscure about migration itself8 ,you are
 broadly told that a bird travels1 and  
how wonderful it is that it finds its   
way2 but you are scarcely ever told1 or 
led to think1 what it really travels    
for--whether for food1 for warmth1 or   
for seclusion--and how the traveling is 
connected with its fixed home4 ,birds   
have not their town and country         
houses1--their villas in ,italy1 and    
shooting boxes in ,scotland4 ,the       
country in which they build their nests 
is their proper home1--the country1 that
 is to say1 in which they pass the      
spring and summer4 ,then they go south  
in the winter1 for food and warmth2 but 
in what lines1 and by what stages8 ,the 
general definition of a migrant in this 
hemisphere is a bird that goes north to 
build its nest1 and south for the       
winter2 but1 then1 the one essential    
point to know about it is the breadth   
and latitude of the zone it properly    
inhabits1--that is to say1 in which it  

builds its nest2 next1 its habits of    
life1 and extent and line of southing in
 the winter2 and finally1 its manner of 
traveling4  #ag4 ,now1 here is this     
entirely familiar bird1 the robin4      
,quite the first thing that strikes me  
about it1 looking at it as a painter1 is
 the small effect it seems to have had  
on the minds of the southern nations4 ,i
 trace nothing of it definitely1 either 
in the art or literature of ,greece or  
,italy4 ,i find1 even1 no definite name 
for it2 you don't know if ,lesbia's     
passer had a red breast1 or a blue1 or a
 brown4 ,and yet ,mr4 ,gould says it is 
abundant in all parts of ,europe1 in all
 the islands of the ,mediterranean1 and 
in ,madeira and the ,azores4 ,and then  
he says--7now notice the puzzle of      
this71--,in many parts of the ,continent
 it is a migrant1 and1 contrary to what 
obtains with us1 is there treated as a  
vagrant1 for there is scarcely a country
 across the water in which it is not    
shot down and eaten4  ,in many parts of 

the ,continent it is a migrant4 ,in what
 parts--how far--in what manner8  #ah4  
,in none of the old natural history     
books can ,i find any account of the    
robin as a traveler1 but there is1 for  
once1 some sufficient reason for their  
reticence4 ,he has a curious fancy in   
his manner of traveling4 ,of all birds1 
you would think he was likely to do it  
in the cheerfulest way1 and he does it  
in the saddest4 ,do you chance to have  
read1 in the ,life of ,charles ,dickens1
 how fond he was of taking long walks in
 the night and alone8 ,the robin1 en    
voyage1 is the ,charles ,dickens of     
birds4 ,he always travels in the night1 
and alone2 rests1 in the day1 wherever  
day chances to find him2 sings a little1
 and pretends he hasn't been anywhere4  
,he goes as far1 in the winter1 as the  
north-west of ,africa2 and in ,lombardy1
 arrives from the south early in ,march2
 but does not stay long1 going on into  
the ,alps1 where he prefers wooded and  
wild districts4 ,so1 at least1 says my  

,lombard informant4  ,i do not find him 
named in the list of ,cretan birds2 but 
even if often seen1 his dim red breast  
was little likely to make much          
impression on the ,greeks1 who knew the 
flamingo1 and had made it1 under the    
name of ,phoenix or ,phoenicopterus1 the
 center of their myths of scarlet birds4
 ,they broadly embraced the general     
aspect of the smaller and more obscure  
species1 under the term ,greek3 xonthos1
 which1 as ,i understand their use of   
it1 exactly implies the indescribable   
silky brown1 the groundwork of all other
 color in so many small birds1 which is 
indistinct among green leaves1 and      
absolutely identifies itself with dead  
ones1 or with mossy stems4  #ai4 ,i     
think ,i show it you more accurately in 
the robin's back than ,i could in any   
other bird2 its mode of transition into 
more brilliant color is1 in him1        
elementarily simple2 and although there 
is nothing1 or rather because there is  
nothing1 in his plumage1 of interest    

like that of tropical birds1 or even of 
our own game-birds1 ,i think it will be 
desirable for you to learn first from   
the breast of the robin what a feather  
is4 ,once knowing that1 thoroughly1 we  
can further learn from the swallow what 
a wing is2 from the chough what a beak  
is2 and from the falcon what a claw is4 
,i must take care1 however1 in neither  
of these last two particulars1 to do    
injustice to our little ,english friend 
here2 and before we come to his         
feathers1 must ask you to look at his   
bill and his feet4  #bj4 ,i do not think
 it is distinctly enough felt by us that
 the beak of a bird is not only its     
mouth1 but its hand1 or rather its two  
hands4 ,for1 as its arms and hands are  
turned into wings1 all it has to depend 
upon1 in economical and practical life1 
is its beak4 ,the beak1 therefore1 is at
 once its sword1 its carpenter's        
tool-box1 and its dressing-case2 partly 
also its musical instrument2 all this   
besides its function of seizing and     

preparing the food1 in which functions  
alone it has to be a trap1              
carving-knife1 and teeth1 all in one4   
#ba4 ,it is this need of the beak's     
being a mechanical tool which chiefly   
regulates the form of a bird's face1 as 
opposed to a four-footed animal's4 ,if  
the question of food were the only one1 
we might wonder why there were not more 
four-footed creatures living on seeds   
than there are2 or why those that       
do--field-mice and the like--have not   
beaks instead of teeth4 ,but the fact is
 that a bird's beak is by no means a    
perfect eating or food-seizing          
instrument4 ,a squirrel is far more     
dexterous with a nut than a cockatoo2   
and a dog manages a bone incomparably   
better than an eagle4 ,but the beak has 
to do so much more6 ,pruning feathers1  
building nests1 and the incessant       
discipline in military arts1 are all to 
be thought of1 as much as feeding4      
,soldiership1 especially1 is a much more
 imperious necessity among birds than   

quadrupeds4 ,neither lions nor wolves   
habitually use claws or teeth in contest
 with their own species2 but birds1 for 
their partners1 their nests1 their      
hunting-grounds1 and their personal     
dignity1 are nearly always in           
contention2 their courage is unequaled  
by that of any other race of animals    
capable of comprehending danger2 and    
their pertinacity and endurance have1 in
 all ages1 made them an example to the  
brave1 and an amusement to the base1    
among mankind4  #bb4 ,nevertheless1     
since as sword1 as trowel1 or as        
pocket-comb1 the beak of the bird has to
 be pointed1 the collection of seeds may
 be conveniently intrusted to this      
otherwise penetrative instrument1 and   
such food as can only be obtained by    
probing crevices1 splitting open        
fissures1 or neatly and minutely picking
 things up1 is allotted1 pre-eminently1 
to the bird species4  ,the food of the  
robin1 as you know1 is very             
miscellaneous4 ,linnus says of the      

,swedish one1 that it is delectatus     
euonymi baccis1--delighted with dogwood 
berries1--the dogwood growing abundantly
 in ,sweden1 as once in ,forfarshire1   
where it grew1 though only a bush       
usually in the south1 with trunks a foot
 or eighteen inches in diameter1 and the
 tree thirty feet high4 ,but the        
,swedish robin's taste for its berries  
is to be noted by you1 because1 first1  
the dogwood berry is commonly said to be
 so bitter that it is not eaten by birds
 7,loudon1 ,arboretum1 ii41 #dig1 #a472 
and1 secondly1 because it is a pretty   
coincidence that this most familiar of  
household birds should feed fondly from 
the tree which gives the housewife her  
spindle1--the proper name of the dogwood
 in ,english1 ,french1 and ,german being
 alike ,spindle-tree4 ,it feeds1        
however1 with us1 certainly1 most on    
worms and insects4 ,i am not sure how   
far the following account of its mode of
 dressing its dinners may be depended   
on3 ,i take it from an old book on      

,natural ,history1 but find it1 more or 
less1 confirmed by others3 ,it takes a  
worm by one extremity in its beak1 and  
beats it on the ground till the inner   
part comes away4 ,then seizing it in a  
similar manner by the other end1 it     
entirely cleanses the outer part1 which 
alone it eats4  ,one's first impression 
is that this must be a singularly       
unpleasant operation for the worm1      
however fastidiously delicate and       
exemplary in the robin4 ,but ,i suppose 
the real meaning is1 that as a worm     
lives by passing earth through its body1
 the robin merely compels it to quit    
this--not ill-gotten1 indeed1 but now   
quite unnecessary--wealth4 ,we human    
creatures1 who have lived the lives of  
worms1 collecting dust1 are served by   
,death in exactly the same manner4  #bc4
 ,you will find that the robin's beak1  
then1 is a very prettily representative 
one of general bird power4 ,as a weapon1
 it is very formidable indeed2 he can   
kill an adversary of his own kind with  

one blow of it in the throat2 and is so 
pugnacious1 valde pugnax1 says ,linnus1 
ut non una arbor duos capiat            
erithacos1--no single tree can hold two 
cock-robins2 and for precision of       
seizure1 the little flat hook at the end
 of the upper mandible is one of the    
most delicately formed points of forceps
 which you can find among the grain     
eaters4 ,but ,i pass to one of his more 
special perfections4  #bd4 ,he is very  
notable in the exquisite silence and    
precision of his movements1 as opposed  
to birds who either creak in flying1 or 
waddle in walking4 ,always quiet1 says  
,gould1 for the silkiness of his plumage
 renders his movements noiseless1 and   
the rustling of his wings is never      
heard1 any more than his tread on earth1
 over which he bounds with amazing      
sprightliness4 ,you know how much       
importance ,i have always given1 among  
the fine arts1 to good dancing4 ,if you 
think of it1 you will find one of the   
robin's very chief ingratiatory         

faculties is his dainty and delicate    
movement1--his footing it featly here   
and there4 ,whatever prettiness there   
may be in his red breast1 at his        
brightest he can always be outshone by a
 brickbat4 ,but if he is rationally     
proud of anything about him1 ,i should  
think a robin must be proud of his legs4
 ,hundreds of birds have longer and more
 imposing ones--but for real neatness1  
finish1 and precision of action1 commend
 me to his fine little ankles1 and fine 
little feet2 this long stilted process1 
as you know1 corresponding to our       
ankle-bone4 ,commend me1 ,i say1 to the 
robin for use of his ankles--he is1 of  
all birds1 the pre-eminent and          
characteristic ,hopper2 none other so   
light1 so pert1 or so swift4  #be4 ,we  
must not1 however1 give too much credit 
to his legs in this matter4 ,a robin's  
hop is half a flight2 he hops1 very     
essentially1 with wings and tail1 as    
well as with his feet1 and the          
exquisitely rapid opening and quivering 

of the tail-feathers certainly give half
 the force to his leap4 ,it is in this  
action that he is put among the         
motacillae1 or wagtails2 but the        
ornithologists have no real business to 
put him among them4 ,the swing of the   
long tail feathers in the true wagtail  
is entirely consequent on its motion1   
not impulsive of it--the tremulous shake
 is after alighting4 ,but the robin     
leaps with wing1 tail1 and foot1 all in 
time1 and all helping each other4       
,leaps1 ,i say2 and you check at the    
word2 and ought to check3 you look at a 
bird hopping1 and the motion is so much 
a matter of course1 you never think how 
it is done4 ,but do you think you would 
find it easy to hop like a robin if you 
had two--all but wooden--legs1 like     
this8  #bf4 ,i have looked wholly in    
vain through all my books on birds1 to  
find some account of the muscles it uses
 in hopping1 and of the part of the toes
 with which the spring is given4 ,i must
 leave you to find out that for         

yourselves2 it is a little bit of       
anatomy which ,i think it highly        
desirable for you to know1 but which it 
is not my business to teach you4 ,only  
observe1 this is the point to be made   
out4 ,you leap yourselves1 with the toe 
and ball of the foot2 but1 in that power
 of leaping1 you lose the faculty of    
grasp2 on the contrary1 with your hands1
 you grasp as a bird with its feet4 ,but
 you cannot hop on your hands4 ,a cat1 a
 leopard1 and a monkey1 leap or grasp   
with equal ease2 but the action of their
 paws in leaping is1 ,i imagine1 from   
the fleshy ball of the foot2 while in   
the bird1 characteristically ,greek3    
gampsnux1 this fleshy ball is reduced to
 a boss or series of bosses1 and the    
nails are elongated into sickles or     
horns2 nor does the springing power seem
 to depend on the development of the    
bosses4 ,they are far more developed in 
an eagle than a robin2 but you know how 
unpardonably and preposterously awkward 
an eagle is when he hops4 ,when they are

 most of all developed1 the bird walks1 
runs1 and digs well1 but leaps badly4   
#bg4 ,i have no time to speak of the    
various forms of the ankle itself1 or of
 the scales of armor1 more apparent than
 real1 by which the foot and ankle are  
protected4 ,the use of this lecture is  
not either to describe or to exhibit    
these varieties to you1 but so to awaken
 your attention to the real points of   
character1 that1 when you have a bird's 
foot to draw1 you may do so with        
intelligence and pleasure1 knowing      
whether you want to express force1      
grasp1 or firm ground pressure1 or      
dexterity and tact in motion4 ,and as   
the actions of the foot and the hand in 
man are made by every great painter     
perfectly expressive of the character of
 mind1 so the expressions of rapacity1  
cruelty1 or force of seizure1 in the    
harpy1 the gryphon1 and the hooked and  
clawed evil spirits of early religious  
art1 can only be felt by extreme        
attention to the original form4  #bh4   

,and now ,i return to our main question1
 for the robin's breast to answer1 ,what
 is a feather8 ,you know something about
 it already2 that it is composed of a   
quill1 with its lateral filaments       
terminating generally1 more or less1 in 
a point2 that these extremities of the  
quills1 lying over each other like the  
tiles of a house1 allow the wind and    
rain to pass over them with the least   
possible resistance1 and form a         
protection alike from the heat and the  
cold2 which1 in structure much          
resembling the scale-armor assumed by   
man for very different objects1 is1 in  
fact1 intermediate1 exactly1 between the
 fur of beasts and the scales of fishes2
 having the minute division of the one1 
and the armor-like symmetry and         
succession of the other4  #bi4 ,not     
merely symmetry1 observe1 but extreme   
flatness4 ,feathers are smoothed down1  
as a field of corn by wind with rain2   
only the swathes laid in beautiful      
order4 ,they are fur1 so structurally   

placed as to imply1 and submit to1 the  
perpetually swift forward motion4 ,in   
fact1 ,i have no doubt the ,darwinian   
theory on the subject is that the       
feathers of birds once stuck up all     
erect1 like the bristles of a brush1 and
 have only been blown flat by continual 
flying4  ,nay1 we might even            
sufficiently represent the general      
manner of conclusion in the ,darwinian  
system by the statement that if you     
fasten a hair-brush to a mill-wheel1    
with the handle forward1 so as to       
develop itself into a neck by moving    
always in the same direction1 and within
 continual hearing of a steam-whistle1  
after a certain number of revolutions   
the hair-brush will fall in love with   
the whistle2 they will marry1 lay an    
egg1 and the produce will be a          
nightingale4  #cj4 ,whether1 however1 a 
hog's bristle can turn into a feather or
 not1 it is vital that you should know  
the present difference between them4    
,the scientific people will tell you    

that a feather is composed of three     
parts--the down1 the lamin1 and the     
shaft4  ,but the common-sense method of 
stating the matter is that a feather is 
composed of two parts1 a shaft with     
lateral filaments4 ,for the greater part
 of the shaft's length1 these filaments 
are strong and nearly straight1 forming1
 by their attachment1 a finely warped   
sail1 like that of a wind-mill4 ,but    
towards the root of the feather they    
suddenly become weak1 and confusedly    
flexible1 and form the close down which 
immediately protects the bird's body4   
,to show you the typical arrangement of 
these parts1 ,i choose1 as ,i have said1
 the robin2 because1 both in his power  
of flying1 and in his color1 he is a    
moderate and balanced bird2--not turned 
into nothing but wings1 like a swallow1 
or nothing but neck and tail1 like a    
peacock4 ,and first for his flying      
power4 ,there is one of the long        
feathers of robin's wing1 and here      
7,fig4 #a7 the analysis of its form4    

#ca4 ,first1 in pure outline 7,a71 seen 
from above1 it is very nearly a long    
oval1 but with this peculiarity1 that it
 has1 as it were1 projecting shoulders  
at a #a and a #b4 ,i merely desire you  
to observe this1 in passing1 because one
 usually thinks of the contour as       
sweeping unbroken from the root to the  
point4 ,i have not time to-day to enter 
on any discussion of the reason for it1 
which will appear when we examine the   
placing of the wing feathers for their  
stroke4  ,now1 ,i hope you are getting  
accustomed to the general method in     
which ,i give you the analysis of all   
forms--leaf1 or feather1 or shell1 or   
limb4 ,first1 the plan2 then the        
profile2 then the cross-section4  ,i    
take next1 the profile of my feather    
7,b1 ,fig4 #a71 and find that it is     
twisted as the sail of a windmill is1   
but more distinctly1 so that you can    
always see the upper surface of the     
feather at its root1 and the under at   
its end4 ,every primary wing-feather1 in

 the fine flyers1 is thus twisted2 and  
is best described as a sail striking    
with the power of a cimeter1 but with   
the flat instead of the edge4           
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4  7,twice the  
size of reality47  ,a  a #a  a #b  ,b   
#cb4 ,further1 you remember that on the 
edges of the broad side of feathers you 
find always a series of undulations1    
irregularly sequent1 and lapping over   
each other like waves on sand4 ,you     
might at first imagine that this        
appearance was owing to a slight        
ruffling or disorder of the filaments2  
but it is entirely normal1 and1 ,i doubt
 not1 so constructed1 in order to insure
 a redundance of material in the plume1 
so that no accident or pressure from    
wind may leave a gap anywhere4 ,how this
 redundance is obtained you will see in 
a moment by bending any feather the     
wrong way4 ,bend1 for instance1 this    
plume1 ,b1 ,fig4 #b1 into the reversed  
curve1 ,a1 ,fig4 #b2 then all the       
filaments of the plume become perfectly 

even1 and there are no waves at the     
edge4 ,but let the plume return into its
 proper form1 ,b1 and the tissue being  
now contracted into a smaller space1 the
 edge waves are formed in it instantly4 
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4  ,a  ,b       
,hitherto1 ,i have been speaking only of
 the filaments arranged for the strength
 and continuity of the energetic plume2 
they are entirely different when they   
are set together for decoration instead 
of force4 ,after the feather of the     
robin's wing1 let us examine one from   
his breast4  #cc4 ,i said1 just now1 he 
might be at once outshone by a brickbat4
 ,indeed1 the day before yesterday1     
sleeping at ,lichfield1 and seeing1 the 
first thing when ,i woke in the morning1
 7for ,i never put down the blinds of my
 bedroom windows17 the not uncommon     
sight in an ,english country town of an 
entire house-front of very neat1 and    
very flat1 and very red bricks1 with    
very exactly squared square windows in  
it2 and not feeling myself in anywise   

gratified or improved by the spectacle1 
,i was thinking how in this1 as in all  
other good1 the too much destroyed all4 
,the breadth of a robin's breast in     
brick-red is delicious1 but a whole     
house-front of brick-red as vivid1 is   
alarming4 ,and yet one cannot generalize
 even that trite moral with any         
safety--for infinite breadth of green is
 delightful1 however green2 and of sea  
or sky1 however blue4  ,you must note1  
however1 that the robin's charm is      
greatly helped by the pretty space of   
gray plumage which separates the red    
from the brown back1 and sets it off to 
its best advantage4 ,there is no great  
brilliancy in it1 even so relieved2 only
 the finish of it is exquisite4  #cd4   
,if you separate a single feather1 you  
will find it more like a transparent    
hollow shell than a feather 7so         
delicately rounded the surface of       
it71--gray at the root1 where the down  
is1--tinged1 and only tinged1 with red  
at the part that overlaps and is        

visible2 so that1 when three or four    
more feathers have overlapped it again1 
all together1 with their joined red1 are
 just enough to give the color          
determined upon1 each of them           
contributing a tinge4 ,there are about  
thirty of these glowing filaments on    
each side1 7the whole being no larger   
across than a well-grown currant17 and  
each of these is itself another         
exquisite feather1 with central quill   
and lateral webs1 whose filaments are   
not to be counted4  ,the extremity of   
these breast plumes parts slightly into 
two1 as you see in the peacock's1 and   
many other such decorative ones4 ,the   
transition from the entirely leaf-like  
shape of the active plume1 with its     
oblique point1 to the more or less      
symmetrical dualism of the decorative   
plume1 corresponds with the change from 
the pointed green leaf to the dual1 or  
heart-shaped1 petal of many flowers4 ,i 
shall return to this part of our        
subject1 having given you1 ,i believe1  

enough of detail for the present4  #ce4 
,i have said nothing to-day of the      
mythology of the bird1 though ,i told   
you that would always be1 for us1 the   
most important part of its natural      
history4 ,but ,i am obliged1 sometimes1 
to take what we immediately want1 rather
 than what1 ultimately1 we shall need   
chiefly4 ,in the second place1 you      
probably1 most of you1 know more of the 
mythology of the robin than ,i do1 for  
the stories about it are all northern1  
and ,i know scarcely any myths but the  
,italian and ,greek4 ,you will find     
under the name ,robin1 in ,miss ,yonge's
 exhaustive and admirable ,history of   
,christian ,names1 the various titles of
 honor and endearment connected with    
him1 and with the general idea of       
redness1--from the bishop called ,bright
 ,red ,fame1 who founded the first great
 ,christian church on the ,rhine1 7,i am
 afraid of your thinking ,i mean a pun1 
in connection with robins1 if ,i tell   
you the locality of it17 down through   

the ,hoods1 and ,roys1 and ,grays1 to   
,robin ,goodfellow1 and ,spenser's      
,hobbinol1 and our modern ,hob1--joining
 on to the goblin1 which comes from the 
old ,greek ,greek3 ,kobalos4 ,but ,i    
cannot let you go without asking you to 
compare the ,english and ,french feeling
 about small birds1 in ,chaucer's time1 
with our own on the same subject4 ,i say
 ,english and ,french1 because the      
original ,french of the ,romance of the 
,rose shows more affection for birds    
than even ,chaucer's translation1       
passionate as he is1 always1 in love for
 any one of his little winged brothers  
or sisters4 ,look1 however1 either in   
the ,french or ,english at the          
description of the coming of the ,god of
 ,love1 leading his carol-dance1 in the 
garden of the ,rose4  ,his dress is     
embroidered with figures of flowers and 
of beasts2 but about him fly the living 
birds4 ,the ,french is3      ,il etoit  
tout convert d'oisiaulx     ,de         
rossignols et de papegaux     ,de       

calendre1 et de mesangel4     ,il       
semblait que ce fut une angle     ,qui  
fuz tout droit venuz du ciel4  #cf4     
,there are several points of philology  
in this transitional ,french1 and in    
,chaucer's translation1 which it is well
 worth your patience to observe4 ,the   
monkish ,latin angelus1 you see1 is     
passing through the very unpoetical form
 angle1 into ange2 but1 in order to get 
a rhyme with it in that angular form1   
the ,french troubadour expands the      
bird's name1 mesange1 quite arbitrarily1
 into mesangel4 ,then ,chaucer1 not     
liking the mes at the beginning of the  
word1 changes that unscrupulously into  
arch2 and gathers in1 though too        
shortly1 a lovely bit from another place
 about the nightingales flying so close 
round ,love's head that they strike some
 of the leaves off his crown of roses2  
so that the ,english runs thus3         
,but nightingales1 a full great rout    
,that flien over his head about1        
,the leaves felden as they flien        

,and he was all with birds wrien1       
,with popinjay1 with nightingale1       
,with chelaundre1 and with wodewale1    
,with finch1 with lark1 and with        
archangel4     ,he seemed as he were an 
angell1     ,that down were comen from  
,heaven clear4  ,now1 when ,i first read
 this bit of ,chaucer1 without referring
 to the original1 ,i was greatly        
delighted to find that there was a bird 
in his time called an archangel1 and set
 to work1 with brightly hopeful         
industry1 to find out what it was4 ,i   
was a little discomfited by finding that
 in old botany the word only meant      
dead-nettle1 but was still sanguine     
about my bird1 till ,i found the ,french
 form descend1 as you have seen1 into a 
mesangel1 and finally into mesange1     
which is a provincialism from ,greek3   
meion1 and means1 the smallest of       
birds--or1 specially here1--a titmouse4 
,i have seldom had a less expected or   
more ignominious fall from the clouds4  
#cg4 ,the other birds1 named here and in

 the previous description of the garden1
 are introduced1 as far as ,i can judge1
 nearly at random1 and with no precision
 of imagination like that of            
,aristophanes2 but with a sweet childish
 delight in crowding as many birds as   
possible into the smallest space4 ,the  
popinjay is always prominent2 and ,i    
want some of you to help me 7for ,i have
 not time at present for the chase7 in  
hunting the parrot down on his first    
appearance in ,europe4 ,just at this    
particular time he contested favor even 
with the falcon2 and ,i think it a piece
 of good fortune that ,i chanced to draw
 for you1 thinking only of its brilliant
 color1 the popinjay1 which ,carpaccio  
allows to be present on the grave       
occasion of ,st4 ,george's baptizing the
 princess and her father4  #ch4 ,and1   
indeed1 as soon as the ,christian poets 
begin to speak of the singing of the    
birds1 they show themselves in quite a  
different mood from any that ever occurs
 to a ,greek4 ,aristophanes1 with       

infinitely more skill1 describes1 and   
partly imitates1 the singing of the     
nightingale2 but simply as beautiful    
sound4 ,it fills the thickets with      
honey2 and if in the often-quoted--just 
because it is not characteristic of     
,greek literature--passage of the       
,coloneus1 a deeper sentiment is shown1 
that feeling is dependent on association
 of the bird-voices with deeply pathetic
 circumstances4 ,but this troubadour    
finds his heart in heaven by the power  
of the singing only3--      ,trop       
parfoisaient beau servise     ,ciz      
oiselles que je vous devise4     ,il    
chantaient un chant ytel     ,com       
fussent angle esperitel4  ,we want a    
moment more of word-chasing to enjoy    
this4 ,oiseau1 as you know1 comes from  
avis2 but it had at this time got oisel 
for its singular number1 of which the   
terminating sel confused itself with the
 selle1 from ancilla in domisella and   
demoiselle2 and the feminine form       
oiselle thus snatched for itself some of

 the delightfulness belonging to the    
title of a young lady4 ,then note that  
esperitel does not here mean merely     
spiritual1 7because all angels are      
spiritual7 but an angle esperitel is an 
angel of the air4 ,so that1 in ,english1
 we could only express the meaning in   
some such fashion as this3--      ,they 
perfected all their service of love1    
,these maiden birds that ,i tell you of4
     ,they sang such a song1 so         
finished-fair1     ,as if they were     
angels1 born of the air4  #ci4 ,such    
were the fancies1 then1 and the scenes1 
in which ,englishmen took delight in    
,chaucer's time4 ,england was then a    
simple country2 we boasted1 for the best
 kind of riches1 our birds and trees1   
and our wives and children4 ,we had now 
grown to be a rich one2 and our first   
pleasure is in shooting our birds2 but  
it has become too expensive for us to   
keep our trees4 ,lord ,derby1 whose     
crest is the eagle and child--you will  
find the northern name for it1 the bird 

and bantling1 made classical by         
,scott--is the first to propose that    
wood-birds should have no more nests4   
,we must cut down all our trees1 he     
says1 that we may effectively use the   
steam-plow2 and the effect of the       
steam-plow1 ,i find by a recent article 
in the ,cornhill ,magazine1 is that an  
,english laborer must not any more have 
a nest1 nor bantlings1 neither2 but may 
only expect to get on prosperously in   
life1 if he be perfectly skillful1      
sober1 and honest1 and dispenses1 at    
least until he is forty-five1 with the  
luxury of marriage4  #dj4 ,gentlemen1   
you may perhaps have heard me blamed for
 making no effort here to teach in the  
artisans' schools4 ,but ,i can only say 
that1 since the future life of the      
,english laborer or artisan 7summing the
 benefits to him of recent philosophy   
and economy7 is to be passed in a       
country without angels and without      
birds1 without prayers and without      
songs1 without trees and without        

flowers1 in a state of exemplary        
sobriety1 and 7extending the ,catholic  
celibacy of the clergy into celibacy of 
the laity7 in a state of dispensation   
with the luxury of marriage1 ,i do not  
believe he will derive either profit or 
entertainment from lectures on the ,fine
 ,arts4     ,,lecture ,,ii4#h  ,,the    
,,swallow4   #da4 ,we are to-day to take
 note of the form of a creature which   
gives us a singular example of the unity
 of what artists call beauty1 with the  
fineness of mechanical structure1 often 
mistaken for it4 ,you cannot but have   
noticed how little1 during the years of 
my past professorship1 ,i have          
introduced any questions as to the      
nature of beauty4 ,i avoided them1      
partly because they are treated of at   
length in my books2 and partly because  
they are1 in the last degree1           
unpractical4 ,we are born to like or    
dislike certain aspects of things2 nor  
could ,i1 by any arguments1 alter the   
defined tastes which you received at    

your birth1 and which the surrounding   
circumstances of life have enforced1    
without any possibility of your         
voluntary resistance to them4 ,and the  
result of those surrounding             
circumstances1 to-day1 is that most     
,english youths would have more pleasure
 in looking at a locomotive than at a   
swallow2 and that many ,english         
philosophers would suppose the pleasure 
so received to be through a new sense of
 beauty4 ,but the meaning of the word   
beauty in the fine arts1 and in         
classical literature1 is properly       
restricted to those very qualities in   
which the locomotion of a swallow       
differs from that of an engine4         
#h ,delivered at ,oxford1 ,may #b;d1    
#ahgc4  #db4 ,not only from that of an  
engine2 but also from that of animals in
 whose members the mechanism is so      
complex as to give them a resemblance to
 engines4 ,the dart of the common       
house-fly1 for instance1 in full        
strength1 is a more wonderful movement  

than that of a swallow4 ,the mechanism  
of it is not only more minute1 but the  
swiftness of the action so much greater1
 that the vibration of the wing is      
invisible4 ,but though a school-boy     
might prefer the locomotive to the      
swallow1 he would not carry his         
admiration of finely mechanical velocity
 into unqualified sympathy with the     
workmanship of the ,god of ,ekron2 and  
would generally suppose that flies were 
made only to be food for the more       
graceful fly-catcher1--whose finer grace
 you will discover1 upon reflection1 to 
be owing to the very moderation and     
simplicity of its structure1 and to the 
subduing of that infinitude of joints1  
claws1 tissues1 veins1 and fibers which 
inconceivably vibrate in the            
microscopic#i creature's motion1 to a   
quite intelligible and simple balance of
 rounded body upon edged plume1         
maintained not without visible1 and     
sometimes fatigued1 exertion1 and       
raising the lower creature into         

fellowship with the volition and the    
virtue of humanity4        #i ,i call it
 so because the members and action of it
 cannot be       seen with the unaided  
eye4  #dc4 ,with the virtue1 ,i say1 in 
an exceedingly qualified sense2 meaning 
rather the strength and art displayed in
 overcoming difficulties1 than any      
distinct morality of disposition4 ,the  
bird has kindly and homely qualities2   
but its principal virtue for us1 is its 
being an incarnate voracity1 and that it
 moves as a consuming and cleansing     
power4 ,you sometimes hear it said of a 
humane person that they would not kill a
 fly3 from #gjj to #a1jjj flies a day   
are a moderate allowance for a baby     
swallow4  #dd4 ,perhaps1 as ,i say this1
 it may occur to some of you to think1  
for the first time1 of the reason of the
 bird's name4 ,for it is very           
interesting1 as a piece of language     
study1 to consider the different power  
on our minds1--nay1 the different       
sweetness to the ear1--which1 from      

association1 these same two syllables   
receive1 when we read them as a noun1 or
 as a verb4 ,also1 the word is a curious
 instance of the traps which are        
continually open for rash etymologists4 
,at first1 nothing would appear more    
natural than that the name should have  
been given to the bird from its reckless
 function of devouring4 ,but if you look
 to your ,johnson1 you will find1 to    
your better satisfaction1 that the name 
means bird of porticos1 or porches1 from
 the ,gothic swale2 subdivale1--so that 
he goes back in thought as far as       
,virgil's1 ,et nunc porticibus vacuis1  
nunc humida circum1 stagna sonat4       
,notice1 in passing1 how a simile of    
,virgil's1 or any other great master's1 
will probably tell in two or more ways  
at once4 ,juturna is compared to the    
swallow1 not merely as winding and      
turning swiftly in her chariot1 but as  
being a water-nymph by birth1--,stagnis 
quae1 fluminibusque sonoris1 praesidet4 
,how many different creatures in one the

 swallow is by birth1 as a ,virgilian   
simile is many thoughts in one1 it would
 take many more lectures than one to    
show you clearly2 but ,i will indicate  
them with such rough sketch as is       
possible4  #de4 ,it belongs1 as most of 
you know1 to a family of birds called   
,fissirostres1 or1 literally1           
split-beaks4 ,split heads would be a    
better term1 for it is the enormous     
width of mouth and power of gaping which
 the epithet is meant to express4 ,a    
dull sermon1 for instance1 makes half   
the congregation fissirostres4 ,the     
bird1 however1 is most vigilant when its
 mouth is widest1 for it opens as a net 
to catch whatever comes in its          
way1--hence the ,french1 giving the     
whole family the more literal name1     
,gobble-fly--,gobe-mouche1 extend the   
term to the open-mouthed and too        
acceptant appearance of a simpleton4    
#df4 ,partly in order to provide for    
this width of mouth1 but more for the   
advantage in flight1 the head of the    

swallow is rounded into a bullet shape1 
and sunk down on the shoulders1 with no 
neck whatever between1 so as to give    
nearly the aspect of a conical rifle    
bullet to the entire front of the body2 
and1 indeed1 the bird moves more like a 
bullet than an arrow--dependent on a    
certain impetus of weight rather than on
 sharp penetration of the air4 ,i say   
dependent on1 but ,i have not yet been  
able to trace distinct relation between 
the shapes of birds and their powers of 
flight4 ,i suppose the form of the body 
is first determined by the general      
habits and food1 and that nature can    
make any form she chooses volatile2 only
 one point ,i think is always notable1  
that a complete master of the art of    
flight must be short-necked1 so that he 
turns altogether1 if he turns at all4   
,you don't expect a swallow to look     
round a corner before he goes round it2 
he must take his chance4 ,the main point
 is that he may be able to stop himself1
 and turn1 in a moment4  #dg4 ,the      

stopping1 on any terms1 is difficult    
enough to understand2 nor less so1 the  
original gaining of the pace4 ,we always
 think of flight as if the main         
difficulty of it were only in keeping up
 in the air2--but the buoyancy is       
conceivable enough1 the far more        
wonderful matter is the getting along4  
,you find it hard work to row yourself  
at anything like speed1 though your     
impulse-stroke is given in a heavy      
element1 and your return-stroke in a    
light one4 ,but both in birds and       
fishes1 the impelling stroke and its    
return are in the same element2 and if1 
for the bird1 that medium yields easily 
to its impulses1 it secedes as easily   
from the blow that gives it4 ,and if you
 think what an effort you make to leap  
six feet1 with the earth for a fulcrum1 
the dart either of a trout or a swallow1
 with no fulcrum but the water and air  
they penetrate1 will seem to you1 ,i    
think1 greatly marvelous4 ,yet of the   
mode in which it is accomplished you    

will as yet find no undisputed account  
in any book on natural history1 and     
scarcely1 as far as ,i know1 definite   
notice even of the rate of flight4 ,what
 do you suppose it is8 ,we are apt to   
think of the migration of a swallow1 as 
we should ourselves of a serious        
journey4 ,how long1 do you think1 it    
would take him1 if he flew              
uninterruptedly1 to get from here to    
,africa8  #dh4 ,michelet gives the rate 
of his flight 7at full speed1 of        
course17 as eighty leagues an hour4 ,i  
find no more sound authority2 but do not
 doubt his approximate accuracy2#aj     
still how curious and how provoking it  
is that neither ,white of ,selborne1    
,bewick1 ,yarrell1 nor ,gould1 says a   
word about this1 one should have thought
 the most interesting1 power of the     
bird4#aa        #aj ,i wrote this some  
time ago1 and the endeavors ,i have     
since       made to verify statements on
 points of natural history which ,i     
had taken on trust have given me reason 

to doubt everybody's       accuracy4    
,the ordinary flight of the swallow does
 not1 assuredly1       even in the      
dashes1 reach anything like this speed4 
#aa ,incidentally suggestive sentences  
occur in the history of       ,selborne1
 but its author never comes to the      
point1 in this case4  ,taking           
,michelet's estimate--eighty ,french    
leagues1 roughly two hundred and fifty  
miles1 an hour--we have a thousand miles
 in four hours4 ,that is to say1 leaving
 ,devonshire after an early breakfast1  
he could be in ,africa to lunch4  #di4  
,he could1 ,i say1 if his flight were   
constant2 but though there is much      
inconsistency in the accounts1 the sum  
of testimony seems definite that the    
swallow is among the most fatiguable of 
birds4 ,when the weather is hazy1 7,i   
quote ,yarrell7 they will alight on     
fishing-boats a league or two from land1
 so tired that when any one tries to    
catch them1 they can scarcely fly from  
one end of the boat to the other4  ,i   

have no time to read to you the         
interesting evidence on this point given
 by ,yarrell1 but only that of the      
brother of ,white of ,selborne1 at      
,gibraltar4 ,my brother has always      
found1 he himself writes1 that some of  
his birds1 and particularly the swallow 
kind1 are very sparing of their pains in
 crossing the ,mediterranean2 for when  
arrived at ,gibraltar1 they do not 'set 
forth their airy caravan1 high over     
seas1' but scout and hurry along in     
little detached parties of six or seven 
in a company2 and sweeping low1 just    
over the surface of the land and water1 
direct their course to the opposite     
continent at the narrowest passage they 
can find4  #ej4 ,you will observe1      
however1 that it remains an open        
question whether this fear of sea may   
not be1 in the swallow1 like ours of the
 desert4 ,the commissariat department is
 a serious one for birds that eat a     
thousand flies a day when just out of   
the egg2 and it is possible that the    

weariness of swallows at sea may depend 
much more on fasting than flying4       
,captain 7or ,admiral87 ,sir ,charles   
,wager says that one spring-time1 as he 
came into soundings in the ,english     
,channel1 a great flock of swallows came
 and settled on all his rigging2 every  
rope was covered2 they hung on one      
another like a swarm of bees2 even the  
decks were filled with them4 ,they      
seemed almost famished and spent1 and   
were only feathers and bone2 but1 being 
recruited with a night's rest1 took     
their flight in the morning4  #ea4 ,now 
,i detain you on this point somewhat1   
because it is intimately connected with 
a more important one4 ,i told you we    
should learn from the swallow what a    
wing was4 ,few other birds approach him 
in the beauty of it1 or apparent power4 
,and yet1 after all this care taken     
about it1 he gets tired2 and instead of 
flying1 as we should do in his place1   
all over the world1 and tasting the     
flavor of the midges in every marsh     

which the infinitude of human folly has 
left to breed gnats instead of growing  
corn1--he is of all birds1              
characteristically1 except when he      
absolutely can't help it1 the stayer at 
home2 and contentedly lodges himself and
 his family in an old chimney1 when he  
might be flying all over the world4  ,at
 least you would think1 if he built in  
an ,english chimney this year1 he would 
build in a ,french one next4 ,but no4   
,michelet prettily says of him1 ,he is  
the bird of return4 ,if you will only   
treat him kindly1 year after year1 he   
comes back to the same niche1 and to the
 same hearth1 for his nest4  ,to the    
same niche2 and builds himself an opaque
 walled house within that4 ,think of    
this a little1 as if you heard of it for
 the first time4  #eb4 ,suppose you had 
never seen a swallow2 but that its      
general habit of life had been described
 to you1 and you had been asked1 how you
 thought such a bird would build its    
nest4 ,a creature1 observe1 whose life  

is to be passed in the air2 whose beak  
and throat are shaped with the fineness 
of a net for the catching of gnats2 and 
whose feet1 in the most perfect of the  
species1 are so feeble that it is called
 the ,footless ,swallow1 and cannot     
stand a moment on the ground with       
comfort4 ,of all land birds1 the one    
that has least to do with the earth2 of 
all1 the least disposed1 and the least  
able1 to stop to pick anything up4 ,what
 will it build with8 ,gossamer1 we      
should say1--thistledown1--anything it  
can catch floating1 like flies4  ,but it
 builds with stiff clay4  #ec4 ,and     
observe its chosen place for building   
also4 ,you would think1 by its play in  
the air1 that not only of all birds1 but
 of all creatures1 it most delighted in 
space and freedom4 ,you would fancy its 
notion of the place for a nest would be 
the openest field it could find2 that   
anything like confinement would be an   
agony to it2 that it would almost expire
 of horror at the sight of a black hole4

  ,and its favorite home is down a      
chimney4  #ed4 ,not for your hearth's   
sake1 nor for your company's4 ,do not   
think it4 ,the bird will love you if you
 treat it kindly2 is as frank and       
friendly as bird can be2 but it does    
not1 more than others1 seek your        
society4 ,it comes to your house because
 in no wild wood1 nor rough rock1 can it
 find a cavity close enough to please   
it4 ,it comes for the blessedness of    
imprisonment1 and the solemnity of an   
unbroken and constant shadow1 in the    
tower1 or under the eaves4  ,do you     
suppose that this is part of its        
necessary economy1 and that a swallow   
could not catch flies unless it lived in
 a hole8  ,not so4 ,this instinct is    
part of its brotherhood with another    
race of creatures4 ,it is given to      
complete a mesh in the reticulation of  
the orders of life4  #ee4 ,i have       
already given you several reasons for my
 wish that you should retain1 in        
classifying birds1 the now rejected     

order of ,picae4 ,i am going to read you
 a passage from ,humboldt1 which shows  
you what difficulties one may get into  
for want of it4  ,you will find in the  
second volume of his personal narrative1
 an account of the cave of ,caripe in   
,new ,andalusia1 which is inhabited by  
entirely nocturnal birds1 having the    
gaping mouths of the goat-sucker and the
 swallow1 and yet feeding on fruit4     
,unless1 which ,mr4 ,humboldt does not  
tell us1 they sit under the trees       
outside1 in the night time1 and hold    
their mouths open1 for the berries to   
drop into1 there is not the smallest    
occasion for their having wide mouths1  
like swallows4 ,still less is there any 
need1 since they are fruit eaters1 for  
their living in a cavern #a1ejj feet out
 of daylight4 ,they have only1 in       
consequence1 the trouble of carrying in 
the seeds to feed their young1 and the  
floor of the cave is thus covered1 by   
the seeds they let fall1 with a growth  
of unfortunate pale plants1 which have  

never seen day4 ,nay1 they are not even 
content with the darkness of their cave2
 but build their nests in the funnels   
with which the roof of the grotto is    
pierced like a sieve2 live actually in  
the chimney1 not of a house1 but of an  
,egyptian sepulcher6 ,the color of this 
bird1 of so remarkable taste in lodging1
 ,humboldt tells us1 is of dark         
bluish-gray1 mixed with streaks and     
specks of black4 ,large white spots1    
which have the form of a heart1 and     
which are bordered with black1 mark the 
head1 the wings1 and the tail4 ,the     
spread of the wings1 which are composed 
of seventeen or eighteen quill feathers1
 is three feet and a half4 ,suppressing1
 with ,mr4 ,cuvier1 the order of ,picae1
 we must refer this extraordinary bird  
to the ,sparrows4  #ef4 ,we can only    
suppose that it must be1 to our popular 
sparrows1 what the swallow of the       
cinnamon country is to our subordinate  
swallow4 ,do you recollect the cinnamon 
swallows of ,herodotus1 who build their 

mud-nests in the faces of the cliffs    
where ,dionusos was brought up1 and     
where nobody can get near them2 and how 
the cinnamon merchants fetch them joints
 of meat1 which the unadvised birds1    
flying up to their nests with1 instead  
of cinnamon1--nest and all come down    
together1--the original of ,sindbad's   
valley-of-diamond story8  #eg4 ,well1   
,humboldt is reduced1 by necessities of 
recent classification1 to call a bird   
three feet and a half across the wings1 
a sparrow4 ,i have no right to laugh at 
him1 for ,i am just going1 myself1 to   
call the cheerfulest and brightest of   
birds of the air1 an owl4 ,all these    
architectural and sepulchral habits1    
these ,egyptian manners of the          
sand-martin1 digging caves in the sand1 
and border-trooper's habits of the      
chimney swallow1 living in round towers 
instead of open air1 belonging to them  
as connected with the tribe of the      
falcons through the owls6 and not only  
so1 but with the mammalia through the   

bats6 ,a swallow is an emancipated owl1 
and a glorified bat2 but it never       
forgets its fellowship with night4  #eh4
 ,its ancient fellowship1 ,i had nearly 
written2 so natural is it to think of   
these similarly-minded creatures1 when  
the feelings that both show are         
evidently useless to one of them1 as if 
the inferior had changed into the       
higher4 ,the doctrine of development    
seems at first to explain all so        
pleasantly1 that the scream of consent  
with which it has been accepted by men  
of science1 and the shriller            
vociferation of the public's gregarious 
applause1 scarcely permit you the power 
of antagonistic reflection4 ,i must     
justify to-day1 in graver tone than     
usual1 the terms in which ,i have       
hitherto spoken1--it may have been      
thought with less than the due respect  
to my audience1--of the popular theory4 
#ei4 ,supposing that the octohedrons of 
galena1 of gold1 and of oxide of iron1  
were endowed with powers of             

reproduction1 and perished at appointed 
dates of dissolution or solution1 you   
would without any doubt have heard it by
 this time asserted that the octohedric 
form1 which was common to all1 indicated
 their descent from a common progenitor2
 and it would have been ingeniously     
explained to you how the angular        
offspring of this eight-sided ancestor  
had developed themselves1 by force of   
circumstances1 into their distinct      
metallic perfections2 how the galena had
 become gray and brittle under prolonged
 subterranean heat1 and the gold yellow 
and ductile1 as it was rolled among the 
pebbles of amber-colored streams4  #fj4 
,by the denial to these structures of   
any individually reproductive energy1   
you are forced to accept the            
inexplicable 7and why expect it to be   
otherwise than inexplicable87 fact1 of  
the formation of a series of bodies     
having very similar aspects1 qualities1 
and chemical relations to other         
substances1 which yet have no connection

 whatever with each other1 and are      
governed1 in their relation with their  
native rocks1 by entirely arbitrary     
laws4 ,it has been the pride of modern  
chemistry to extricate herself from the 
vanity of the alchemist1 and to admit1  
with resignation1 the independent1      
though apparently fraternal1 natures1 of
 silver1 of lead1 of                    
platinum1--aluminium1--potassium4       
,hence1 a rational philosophy would     
deduce the probability that when the    
arborescence of dead crystallization    
rose into the radiation of the living   
tree1 and sentient plume1 the splendor  
of nature in her more exalted power     
would not be restricted to a less       
variety of design2 and the beautiful    
caprice in which she gave to the silver 
its frost and to the opal its fire1     
would not be subdued under the slow     
influences of accident and time1 when   
she wreathed the swan with snow1 and    
bathed the dove in iridescence4 ,that   
the infinitely more exalted powers of   

life must exercise more intimate        
influence over matter than the reckless 
forces of cohesion2--and that the loves 
and hatreds of the now conscious        
creatures would modify their forms into 
parallel beauty and degradation1 we     
might have anticipated by reason1 and we
 ought long since to have known by      
observation4 ,but this law of its spirit
 over the substance of the creature     
involves1 necessarily1 the              
indistinctness of its type1 and the     
existence of inferior and of higher     
conditions1 which whole eras of heroism 
and affection--whole eras of misery and 
misconduct1--confirm into glory1 or     
confuse into shame4 ,collecting the     
causes of changed form1 in lower        
creatures1 by distress1 or by           
adaptation1--by the disturbance or      
intensifying of the parental strength1  
and the native fortune--the wonder is1  
not that species should sometimes be    
confused1 but that the greater number of
 them remain so splendidly1 so          

manifestly1 so eternally distinct2 and  
that the vile industries and vicious    
curiosities of modern science1 while    
they have robbed the fields of ,england 
of a thousand living creatures1 have not
 created in them one4  #fa4 ,but even in
 the paltry knowledge we have obtained1 
what unanimity have we8--what security8 
,suppose any man of ordinary sense1     
knowing the value of time1 and the      
relative importance of subjects of      
thought1 and that the whole scientific  
world was agog concerning the origin of 
species1 desired to know first of       
all--what was meant by a species4  ,he  
would naturally look for the definition 
of species first among the higher       
animals1 and expect it to be best       
defined in those which were best known4 
,and being referred for satisfaction to 
the #bbfth page of the first volume of  
,mr4 ,darwin's ,descent of ,man1 he     
would find this passage3--  ,man has    
been studied more carefully than any    
other organic being1 and yet there is   

the greatest possible diversity among   
capable judges1 whether he should be    
classed as a single species or race1 or 
as two 7,virey71 as three 7,jacquinot71 
as four 7,kant71 five 7,blumenbach71 six
 7,buffon71 seven 7,hunter71 eight      
7,agassiz71 eleven 7,pickering71 fifteen
 7,bory ,st4 ,vincent71 sixteen         
7,desmoulins71 twenty-two 7,morton71    
sixty 7,crawford71 or as sixty-three    
according to ,burke4  ,and in the       
meantime1 while your men of science are 
thus vacillating1 in the definition of  
the species of the only animal they have
 the opportunity of studying inside and 
out1 between one and sixty-three2 and   
disputing about the origin1 in past     
ages1 of what they cannot define in the 
present ones2 and deciphering the filthy
 heraldries which record the relation of
 humanity to the ascidian and the       
crocodile1 you have ceased utterly to   
distinguish between the two species of  
man1 evermore separate by infinite      
separation3 of whom the one1 capable of 

loyalty and of love1 can at least       
conceive spiritual natures which have no
 taint from their own1 and leave behind 
them1 diffused among thousands on earth1
 the happiness they never hoped1 for    
themselves1 in the skies2 and the other1
 capable only of avarice1 hatred1 and   
shame1 who in their lives are the       
companions of the swine1 and leave in   
death nothing but food for the worm and 
the vulture4  #fb4 ,now ,i have first   
traced for you the relations of the     
creature we are examining to those      
beneath it and above1 to the bat and to 
the falcon4 ,but you will find that it  
has still others to entirely another    
world4 ,as you watch it glance and skim 
over the surface of the waters1 has it  
never struck you what relation it bears 
to the creatures that glance and glide  
under their surface8 ,fly-catchers1 some
 of them1 also1--fly-catchers in the    
same manner1 with wide mouth2 while in  
motion the bird almost exactly combines 
the dart of the trout with the dash of  

the dolphin1 to the rounded forehead and
 projecting muzzle of which its own     
bullet head and bill exactly correspond4
 ,in its plunge1 if you watch it        
bathing1 you may see it dip its breast  
just as much under the water as a       
porpoise shows its back above4 ,you can 
only rightly describe the bird by the   
resemblances1 and images of what it     
seems to have changed from1--then adding
 the fantastic and beautiful contrast of
 the unimaginable change4 ,it is an owl 
that has been trained by the ,graces4   
,it is a bat that loves the morning     
light4 ,it is the arial reflection of a 
dolphin4 ,it is the tender domestication
 of a trout4  #fc4 ,and yet be assured1 
as it cannot have been all these        
creatures1 so it has never1 in truth1   
been any of them4 ,the transformations  
believed in by the mythologists are at  
least spiritually true2 you cannot too  
carefully trace or too accurately       
consider them4 ,but the transformations 
believed in by the anatomist are as yet 

proved true in no single instance1 and  
in no substance1 spiritual or material2 
and ,i cannot too often1 or too         
earnestly1 urge you not to waste your   
time in guessing what animals may once  
have been1 while you remain in nearly   
total ignorance of what they are4  #fd4 
,do you even know distinctly from each  
other1--7for that is the real           
naturalist's business2 instead of       
confounding them with each other71--do  
you know distinctly the five great      
species of this familiar bird8--the     
swallow1 the house-martin1 the          
sand-martin1 the swift1 and the ,alpine 
swift8--or can you so much as answer the
 first question which would suggest     
itself to any careful observer of the   
form of its most familiar species1--yet 
which ,i do not find proposed1 far less 
answered1 in any scientific             
book1--namely1 why a swallow has a      
swallow-tail8  ,it is true that the tail
 feathers in many birds appear to be    
entirely1--even cumbrously1 decorative2 

as in the peacock1 and birds of         
paradise4 ,but ,i am confident that it  
is not so in the swallow1 and that the  
forked tail1 so defined in form and     
strong in plume1 has indeed important   
functions in guiding the flight2 yet    
notice how surrounded one is on all     
sides with pitfalls for the theorists4  
,the forked tail reminds you at once of 
a fish's2 and yet1 the action of the two
 creatures is wholly contrary4 ,a fish  
lashes himself forward with his tail1   
and steers with his fins2 a swallow     
lashes himself forward with his fins1   
and steers with his tail2 partly1 not   
necessarily1 because in the most dashing
 of the swallows1 the swift1 the fork of
 the tail is the least developed4 ,and  
,i never watch the bird for a moment    
without finding myself in some fresh    
puzzle out of which there is no clue in 
the scientific books4 ,i want to know1  
for instance1 how the bird turns4 ,what 
does it do with one wing1 what with the 
other8 ,fancy the pace that has to be   

stopped2 the force of bridle-hand put   
out in an instant4 ,fancy how the wings 
must bend with the strain2 what need    
there must be for the perfect aid and   
work of every feather in them4 ,there is
 a problem for you1 students of         
mechanics1--,how does a swallow turn8   
,you shall see1 at all events1 to begin 
with1 to-day1 how it gets along4  #fe4  
,i say you shall see2 but indeed you    
have often seen1 and felt1--at least    
with your hands1 if not with your       
shoulders1--when you chanced to be      
holding the sheet of a sail4  ,i have   
said that ,i never got into scrapes by  
blaming people wrongly2 but ,i often do 
by praising them wrongly4 ,i never      
praised1 without qualification1 but one 
scientific book in my life 7that ,i     
remember7--this of ,dr4 ,pettigrew's on 
the ,wing2#ab and now ,i must qualify my
 praise considerably1 discovering1 when 
,i examined the book farther1 that the  
good doctor had described the motion of 
a bird as resembling that of a kite1    

without ever inquiring what1 in a bird1 
represented that somewhat important part
 of a kite1 the string4 ,you will1      
however1 find the book full of important
 observations1 and illustrated by       
valuable drawings4 ,but the point in    
question you must settle for yourselves1
 and you easily may4 ,some of you       
perhaps1 knew1 in your time1 better than
 the doctor1 how a kite stopped2 but ,i 
do not doubt that a great many of you   
also know1 now1 what is much more to the
 purpose1 how a ship gets along4 ,i will
 take the simplest1 the most natural1   
the most beautiful of sails1--the lateen
 sail of the ,mediterranean4        #ab 
,on the ,physiology of ,wings4          
,transactions of the ,royal             
,society of ,edinburgh4 ,vol4 xxvi41    
,part ii4 ,i cannot sufficiently        
express either my wonder or regret at   
the petulance in which men       of     
science are continually tempted into    
immature publicity1 by       their      
rivalship with each other4 ,page after  

page of this book1       which1 slowly  
digested and taken counsel upon1 might  
have been a       noble contribution to 
natural history1 is occupied with       
dispute       utterly useless to the    
reader1 on the question of the priority 
of       the author1 by some months1 to 
a ,french savant1 in the statement      
of a principle which neither has yet    
proved2 while page after       page is  
rendered worse than useless to the      
reader by the author's       passionate 
endeavor to contradict the ideas of     
unquestionably       previous           
investigators4 ,the problem of flight   
was1 to all serious       purpose1      
solved by ,borelli in #afhj1 and the    
following passage is       very notable 
as an example of the way in which the   
endeavor to       obscure the light of  
former ages too fatally dims and        
distorts       that by which modern men 
of science walk1 themselves4 ,borelli1  
and all who have written since his time1
 are unanimous in       affirming that  

the horizontal transference of the body 
of the       bird is due to the         
perpendicular vibration of the wings1   
and to       the yielding of the        
posterior or flexible margins of the    
wings in       an upward direction1 as  
the wings descend4 ,i 7,dr4 ,pettigrew7 
am1 however1 disposed to attribute it to
 the fact 7#ast71 that       the wings1 
both when elevated and depressed1 leap  
forwards in       curves1 those curves  
uniting to form a continuous waved      
track2       7#b;d71 to the tendency    
which the body of the bird has to swing 
forwards1 in a more or less horizontal  
direction1 when once set       in       
motion2 7#c;d71 to the construction of  
the wings2 they are       elastic       
helices or screws1 which twist and      
untwist while they       vibrate1 and   
tend to bear upwards and onwards any    
weight       suspended from them2       
7#dth71 to the action of the air on the 
under surfaces of the wings2 7#eth71 to 
the ever-varying power       with which 

the wings are urged1 this being greatest
 at the       beginning of the          
down-stroke1 and least at the end of the
 up one2       7#fth71 to the           
contraction of the voluntary muscles and
 elastic       ligaments1 and to the    
effect produced by the various inclined 
surfaces formed by the wings during     
their oscillations2 7#gth71       to the
 weight of the bird--weight itself1 when
 acting upon       wings1 becoming a    
propelling power1 and so contributing to
       horizontal motion4        ,i will
 collect these seven reasons for the    
forward motion1 in the       gist of    
them1 which ,i have marked by italics1  
that the reader may       better judge  
of their collective value4 ,the bird is 
carried       forward1 according to ,dr4
 ,pettigrew--        #a4 ,because its   
wings leap forward4        #b4 ,because 
its body has a tendency to swing        
forward4        #c4 ,because its wings  
are screws so constructed as to screw   
upwards and onwards any body suspended  

from them4        #d4 ,because the air  
reacts on the under surfaces of the     
wings4        #e4 ,because the wings are
 urged with ever-varying power4         
#f4 ,because the voluntary muscles      
contract4        #g4 ,because the bird  
is heavy4        ,what must be the      
general conditions of modern science1   
when it is       possible for a man of  
great experimental knowledge and        
practical       ingenuity1 to publish   
nonsense such as this1 becoming1 to all 
intents and purposes1 insane1 in the    
passion of his endeavor to              
overthrow the statements of his rival8  
,had he merely taken       patience to  
consult any elementary scholar in       
dynamics1 he would       have been      
enabled to understand his own machines1 
and develop1       with credit to       
himself1 what had been rightly judged or
 noticed       by others4  #ff4 ,i draw 
it rudely in outline1 as it would be set
 for a side-wind on the boat you        
probably know best1--the boat of burden 

on the ,lake of ,geneva 7,fig4 #c71 not 
confusing the drawing by adding the     
mast1 which1 you know1 rakes a little1  
carrying the yard across it 7a74 ,then1 
with your permission1 ,i will load my   
boat thus1 with a few casks of ,vevay   
vintage--and1 to keep them cool1 we will
 put an awning over them1 so 7b74 ,next1
 as we are classical scholars1 instead  
of this rustic stern of the boat1 meant 
only to run easily on a flat shore1 we  
will give it an ,attic ,greek3 embolon  
7c74 7,we have no business1 indeed1 yet1
 to put an ,greek3 embolon on a boat of 
burden1 but ,i hope some day to see all 
our ships of war loaded with bread and  
wine1 instead of artillery47 ,then ,i   
shade the entire form 7c72 and1 lastly1 
reflect it in the water 7d7--and you    
have seen something like that before1   
besides a boat1 haven't you8            
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c4  ,there is the
 gist of the whole business for you1 put
 in very small space2 with these only   
differences3 in a boat1 the air strikes 

the sail2 in a bird1 the sail strikes   
the air3 in a boat1 the force is        
lateral1 and in a bird downwards2 and it
 has its sail on both sides4 ,i shall   
leave you to follow out the mechanical  
problem for yourselves1 as far as the   
mere resolution of force is concerned4  
,my business1 as a painter1 is only with
 the exquisite organic weapon that deals
 with it4  #fg4 ,of which you are now to
 note farther1 that a bird is required  
to manage his wing so as to obtain two  
results with one blow3--he has to keep  
himself up1 as well as to get along4    
,but observe1 he only requires to keep  
himself up because he has to get along4 
,the buoyancy might have been given at  
once1 if nature had wanted that only2   
she might have blown the feathers up    
with the hot air of the breath1 till the
 bird rose in air like a cork in water4 
,but it has to be1 not a buoyant cork1  
but a buoyant bullet4 ,and therefore    
that it may have momentum for pace1 it  
must have weight to carry2 and to carry 

that weight1 the wings must deliver     
their blow with effective vertical1 as  
well as oblique1 force4  ,here1 again1  
you may take the matter in brief sum4   
,whatever is the ship's loss1 is the    
bird's gain2 whatever tendency the ship 
has to leeway1 is all given to the      
bird's support1 so that every atom#ac of
 force in the blow is of service4       
#ac ,i don't know what word to use for  
an infinitesimal degree or       divided
 portion of force3 one cannot properly  
speak of a force       being cut into   
pieces2 but ,i can think of no other    
word than       atom4  #fh4 ,therefore  
you have to construct your organic      
weapon1 so that this absolutely and     
perfectly economized force may be       
distributed as the bird chooses at any  
moment4 ,that1 if it wants to rise1 it  
may be able to strike vertically more   
than obliquely2--if the order is1       
go-ahead1 that it may put the oblique   
screw on4 ,if it wants to stop in an    
instant1 that it may be able to throw   

its wings up full to the wind2 if it    
wants to hover1 that it may be able to  
lay itself quietly on the wind with its 
wings and tail1 or1 in calm air1 to     
regulate their vibration and expansion  
into tranquillity of gliding1 or of     
pausing power4 ,given the various       
proportions of weight and wing2 the     
conditions of possible increase of      
muscular force and quill-strength in    
proportion to size2 and the different   
objects and circumstances of            
flight1--you have a series of           
exquisitely complex problems1 and       
exquisitely perfect solutions1 which the
 life of the youngest among you cannot  
be long enough to read through so much  
as once1 and of which the future        
infinitudes of human life1 however      
granted or extended1 never will be      
fatigued in admiration4  #fi4 ,i take   
the rude outline of sail in ,fig4 #c1   
and now considering it as a jib of one  
of our own sailing vessels1 slightly    
exaggerate the loops at the edge1 and   

draw curved lines from them to the      
opposite point1 ,fig4 #d2 and ,i have a 
reptilian or dragon's wing1 which would1
 with some ramification of the          
supporting ribs1 become a bat's or      
moth's2 that is to say1 an extension of 
membrane between the ribs 7as in an     
umbrella71 which will catch the wind1   
and flutter upon it1 like a leaf2 but   
cannot strike it to any purpose4 ,the   
flying squirrel drifts like a falling   
leaf2 the bat flits like a black rag    
torn at the edge4 ,to give power1 we    
must have plumes that can strike1 as    
with the flat of a sword-blade2 and to  
give perfect power1 these must be laid  
over each other1 so that each may       
support the one below it4 ,i use the    
word below advisedly3 we have to strike 
down4 ,the lowest feather is the one    
that first meets the adverse force4 ,it 
is the one to be supported4             
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #d4  ,now for the 
manner of the support4 ,you must all    
know well the look of the machicolated  

parapets in medival castles4 ,you know  
they are carried on rows of small       
projecting buttresses constructed so    
that1 though the uppermost stone1       
far-projecting1 would break easily under
 any shock1 it is supported by the next 
below1 and so on1 down to the wall4 ,now
 in this figure ,i am obliged to        
separate the feathers by white spaces1  
to show you them distinctly4 ,in reality
 they are set as close to each other as 
can be1 but putting them as close as ,i 
can1 you get a or b1 ,fig4 #e1 for the  
rough section of the wing1 thick towards
 the bird's head1 and curved like a     
sickle1 so that in striking down it     
catches the air1 like a reaping-hook1   
and in rising up1 it throws off the air 
like a pent-house4  ,illustration3      
,,fig4 #e4  #gj4 ,the stroke would      
therefore be vigorous1 and the recovery 
almost effortless1 were even the        
direction of both actually vertical4    
,but they are vertical only with        
relation to the bird's body4 ,in space  

they follow the forward flight1 in a    
softly curved line2 the downward stroke 
being as effective as the bird chooses1 
the recovery scarcely encounters        
resistance in the softly gliding ascent4
 ,thus1 in ,fig4 #e1 7,i can only       
explain this to readers a little versed 
in the elements of mechanics17 if ,b is 
the locus of the center of gravity of   
the bird1 moving in slow flight in the  
direction of the arrow1 w is the locus  
of the leading feather of its wing1 and 
a and b1 roughly1 the successive        
positions of the wing in the down-stroke
 and recovery4  #ga4 ,i say the         
down-stroke is as effective as the bird 
chooses2 that is to say1 it can be given
 with exactly the quantity of impulse1  
and exactly the quantity of supporting  
power1 required at the moment4 ,thus1   
when the bird wants to fly slowly1 the  
wings are fluttered fast1 giving        
vertical blows2 if it wants to pause    
absolutely in still air1 7this large    
birds cannot do1 not being able to move 

their wings fast enough17 the velocity  
becomes vibration1 as in the            
humming-bird3 but if there is wind1 any 
of the larger birds can lay themselves  
on it like a kite1 their own weight     
answering the purpose of the string1#ad 
while they keep the wings and tail in an
 inclined plane1 giving them as much    
gliding ascent as counteracts the fall4 
,they nearly all1 however1 use some     
slightly gliding force at the same time2
 a single stroke of the wing1 with      
forward intent1 seeming enough to enable
 them to glide on for half a minute or  
more without stirring a plume4 ,a       
circling eagle floats an inconceivable  
time without visible stroke3 7fancy the 
pretty action of the inner wing1 backing
 air instead of water1 which gives      
exactly the breadth of circle he        
chooses74 ,but for exhibition of the    
complete art of flight1 a swallow on    
rough water is the master of masters4 ,a
 sea-gull1 with all its splendid power1 
generally has its work cut out for it1  

and is visibly fighting2 but the swallow
 plays with wind and wave as a girl     
plays with her fan1 and there are no    
words to say how many things it does    
with its wings in any ten seconds1 and  
does consummately4 ,the mystery of its  
dart remains always inexplicable to me2 
no eye can trace the bending of bow that
 sends that living arrow4  ,but the main
 structure of the noble weapon we may   
with little pains understand4        #ad
 ,see ,app4 p4 #aab1  #ade4  #gb4 ,in   
the sections a and b of ,fig4 #e1 ,i    
have only represented the quills of the 
outer part of the wing4 ,the relation of
 these1 and of the inner quills1 to the 
bird's body may be very simply shown4   
,fig4 #f is a rude sketch1 typically    
representing the wing of any bird1 but  
actually founded chiefly on the         
sea-gull's4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #f4  
,it is broadly composed of two fans1 ,a 
and ,b4 ,the out-most fan1 ,a1 is       
carried by the bird's hand2 of which ,i 
rudely sketch the contour of the bones  

at a4 ,the innermost fan1 ,b1 is carried
 by the bird's forearm1 from wrist to   
elbow1 b4  ,the strong humerus1 c1      
corresponding to our arm from shoulder  
to elbow1 has command of the whole      
instrument4 ,no feathers are attached to
 this bone2 but covering and protecting 
ones are set in the skin of it1         
completely filling1 when the active wing
 is open1 the space between it and the  
body4 ,but the plumes of the two great  
fans1 ,a and ,b1 are set into the bones2
 in ,fig4 #h1 farther on1 are shown the 
projecting knobs on the main arm bone1  
set for the reception of the quills1    
which make it look like the club of     
,hercules4 ,the connection of the still 
more powerful quills of the outer fan   
with the bones of the hand is quite     
beyond all my poor anatomical           
perceptions1 and1 happily for me1 also  
beyond needs of artistic investigation4 
#gc4 ,the feathers of the fan ,a are    
called the primaries4 ,those of the fan 
,b1 secondaries4 ,effective actions of  

flight1 whether for support or forward  
motion1 are1 ,i believe1 all executed   
with the primaries1 every one of which  
may be briefly described as the         
strongest cimeter that can be made of   
quill substance2 flexible within limits1
 and elastic at its edges--carried by an
 elastic central shaft--twisted like a  
windmill sail--striking with the flat1  
and recovering with the edge4  ,the     
secondary feathers are more rounded at  
the ends1 and frequently notched2 their 
curvature is reversed to that of the    
primaries2 they are arranged1 when      
expanded1 somewhat in the shape of a    
shallow cup1 with the hollow of it      
downwards1 holding the air therefore1   
and aiding in all the pause and buoyancy
 of flight1 but little in the activity  
of it4 ,essentially they are the        
brooding and covering feathers of the   
wing2 exquisitely beautiful--as far as  
,i have yet seen1 most beautiful--in the
 bird whose brooding is of most use to  
us2 and which has become the image of   

all tenderness4 ,how often would ,i have
 gathered thy children 444 and ye would 
not4  #gd4 ,over these two chief masses 
of the plume are set others which partly
 complete their power1 partly adorn and 
protect them2 but of these ,i can take  
no notice at present4 ,all that ,i want 
you to understand is the action of the  
two main masses1 as the wing is opened  
and closed4  ,fig4 #g roughly represents
 the upper surface of the main feathers 
of the wing closed4 ,the secondaries are
 folded over the primaries2 and the     
primaries shut up close1 with their     
outer edges parallel1 or nearly so4     
,fig4 #h roughly shows the outline of   
the bones1 in this position1 of one of  
the larger pigeons4#ae  ,illustration3  
,,fig4 #g4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #h4   
#ae ,i find even this mere outline of   
anatomical structure so       interferes
 with the temper in which ,i wish my    
readers to think1       that ,i shall   
withdraw it in my complete edition4     
#ge4 ,then ,fig4 #i is 7always sketched 

in the roughest way7 the outer1 ,fig4   
#aj the inner1 surface of a sea-gull's  
wing in this position4 ,next1 ,fig4 #aa 
shows the tops of the four lowest       
feathers in ,fig4 #i1 in mere outline2  
,a separate 7pulled off1 so that they   
can be set side by side71 ,b shut up    
close in the folded wing1 ,c1 opened in 
the spread wing4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 
#i4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #aj4         
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #aa4  #gf4 ,and   
now1 if you will yourselves watch a few 
birds in flight1 or opening and closing 
their wings to prune them1 you will soon
 know as much as is needful for our art 
purposes2 and1 which is far more        
desirable1 feel how very little we know1
 to any purpose1 of even the familiar   
creatures that are our companions4      
,even what we have seen to-day#af is    
more than appears to have been noticed  
by the most careful painters of the     
great schools2 and you will continually 
fancy that ,i am inconsistent with      
myself in pressing you to learn1 better 

than they1 the anatomy of birds1 while  
,i violently and constantly urge you to 
refuse the knowledge of the anatomy of  
men4 ,but you will find1 as my system   
develops itself1 that it is absolutely  
consistent throughout4 ,i don't mean1 by
 telling you not to study human anatomy1
 that you are not to know how many      
fingers and toes you have1 nor how you  
can grasp and walk with them2 and1      
similarly1 when you look at a bird1 ,i  
wish you to know how many claws and     
wing-feathers it has1 and how it grips  
and flies with them4 ,of the bones1 in  
either1 ,i shall show you little2 and of
 the muscles1 nothing but what can be   
seen in the living creature1 nor1 often1
 even so much4        #af ,large and    
somewhat carefully painted diagrams were
 shown at       the lecture1 which ,i   
cannot engrave but for my complete      
edition4  #gg4 ,and accordingly1 when ,i
 now show you this sketch of my favorite
 ,holbein1 and tell you that it is      
entirely disgraceful he should not know 

what a wing was1 better1 ,i don't mean  
that it is disgraceful he should not    
know the anatomy of it1 but that he     
should never have looked at it to see   
how the feathers lie4  ,now ,holbein    
paints men gloriously1 but never looks  
at birds2 ,gibbons1 the wood-cutter1    
carves birds1 but can't men2--of the two
 faults the last is the worst2 but the  
right is in looking at the whole of     
nature in due comparison1 and with      
universal candor and tenderness4  #gh4  
,at the whole of nature1 ,i say1 not at 
super-nature--at what you suppose to be 
above the visible nature about you4 ,if 
you are not inclined to look at the     
wings of birds1 which ,god has given you
 to handle and to see1 much less are you
 to contemplate1 or draw imaginations   
of1 the wings of angels1 which you can't
 see4 ,know your own world first--not   
denying any other1 but being quite sure 
that the place in which you are now put 
is the place with which you are now     
concerned2 and that it will be wiser in 

you to think the gods themselves may    
appear in the form of a dove1 or a      
swallow1 than that1 by false theft from 
the form of dove or swallow1 you can    
represent the aspect of gods4  #gi4 ,one
 sweet instance of such simple          
conception1 in the end of the ,odyssey1 
must surely recur to your minds in      
connection with our subject of to-day1  
but you may not have noticed the        
recurrent manner in which ,homer insists
 on the thought4 ,when ,ulysses first   
bends and strings his bow1 the vibration
 of the chord is shrill1 like the note  
of a swallow4 ,a poor and unwarlike     
simile1 it seems6 ,but in the next book1
 when ,ulysses stands with his bow      
lifted1 and ,telemachus has brought the 
lances1 and laid them at his feet1 and  
,athena comes to his side to encourage  
him1--do you recollect the gist of her  
speech8 ,you fought1 she says1 nine     
years for the sake of ,helen1 and for   
another's house3--now1 returned1 after  
all those wanderings1 and under your own

 roof1 for it1 and its treasures1 will  
you not fight1 then8 ,and she herself   
flies up to the house-roof1 and thence1 
in the form of the swallow1 guides the  
arrows of vengeance for the violation of
 the sanctities of home4  #hj4 ,to-day1 
then1 ,i believe verily for the first   
time1 ,i have been able to put before   
you some means of guidance to understand
 the beauty of the bird which lives with
 you in your own houses1 and which      
purifies for you1 from its insect       
pestilence1 the air that you breathe4   
,thus the sweet domestic thing has done1
 for men1 at least these four thousand  
years4 ,she has been their companion1   
not of the home merely1 but of the      
hearth1 and the threshold2 companion    
only endeared by departure1 and showing 
better her loving-kindness by her       
faithful return4 ,type sometimes of the 
stranger1 she has softened us to        
hospitality2 type always of the         
suppliant1 she has enchanted us to      
mercy2 and in her feeble presence1 the  

cowardice1 or the wrath1 of sacrilege   
has changed into the fidelities of      
sanctuary4 ,herald of our summer1 she   
glances through our days of gladness2   
numberer of our years1 she would teach  
us to apply our hearts to wisdom2--and  
yet1 so little have we regarded her1    
that this very day1 scarcely able to    
gather from all ,i can find told of her 
enough to explain so much as the        
unfolding of her wings1 ,i can tell you 
nothing of her life--nothing of her     
journeying3 ,i cannot learn how she     
builds1 nor how she chooses the place of
 her wandering1 nor how she traces the  
path of her return4 ,remaining thus     
blind and careless to the true          
ministries of the humble creature whom  
,god has really sent to serve us1 we in 
our pride1 thinking ourselves surrounded
 by the pursuivants of the sky1 can yet 
only invest them with majesty by giving 
them the calm of the bird's motion1 and 
shade of the bird's plume3--and after   
all1 it is well for us1 if1 when even   

for ,god's best mercies1 and in ,his    
temples marble-built1 we think that1    
with angels and archangels1 and all the 
company of ,heaven1 we laud and magnify 
,his glorious name--well for us1 if our 
attempt be not only an insult1 and ,his 
ears open rather to the inarticulate and
 unintended praise1 of the ,swallow1    
twittering from her straw-built shed4   
,,lecture ,,iii4  ,,the ,,dabchicks4    
#ha4 ,i believe that somewhere ,i have  
already observed1 but permit myself1 for
 immediate use1 to repeat what ,i cannot
 but think the sagacious                
observation1--that the arrangement of   
any sort of animals must be1 to say the 
least1 imperfect1 if it be founded only 
on the characters of their feet4 ,and1  
of all creatures1 one would think birds 
were those which1 continually dispensing
 with the use of their feet1 would      
require for their classification some   
attention also to be paid to their      
bodies and wings1--not to say their     
heads and tails4 ,nevertheless1 the     

ornithological arrangement at present in
 vogue may suffice for most scientific  
persons2 but in grouping birds1 so that 
the groups may be understood and        
remembered by children1 ,i must try to  
make them a little more generally       
descriptive4  #hb4 ,in talking of       
parrots1 for instance1 it is only a     
small part of the creature's nature     
which is told by its scientific name of 
',scansor1' or ',climber4' ,that it only
 clutches with its claws1 and does not  
snatch or strike with them2--that it    
helps itself about with its beak1 on    
branches1 or bars of cage1 in an absurd 
manner1 as if partly imagining itself   
hung up in a larder1 are by no means the
 most vital matters about the bird4     
,whereas1 that its beak is always       
extremely short1 and is bent down so    
roundly that the angriest parrot cannot 
peck1 but only bite1 if you give it a   
chance2 that it can bite1 pinch1 or     
otherwise apply the mechanism of a pair 
of nut-crackers from the back of its    

head1 with effect2 that it has a little 
black tongue capable of much talk2 above
 all1 that it is mostly gay in plumage1 
often to vulgarity1 and always to       
pertness2--all these characters should  
surely be represented to the            
apprehensive juvenile mind1 in sum2 and 
not merely the bird's climbing          
qualities4  #hc4 ,again1 that the race  
of birds called in ,latin ',rasores' do1
 in the search for their food1 usually  
scratch1 and kick out their legs behind1
 living for the most part in gravelly or
 littery places1 of which the hidden    
treasures are only to be discovered in  
that manner1 seems to me no supremely   
interesting custom of the animal's life1
 but only a manner of its household1 or 
threshold1 economy4 ,but that the tribe1
 on the whole1 is unambitiously         
domestic1 and never predatory2 that they
 fly little and low1 eat much of what   
they can pick up without trouble--and   
are themselves always excellent         
eating2--yet so exemplary in their own  

domestic cares and courtesies that one  
is ashamed to eat them except in        
eggs2--that their plumage is for the    
most part warm brown1 delicately and    
even bewitchingly spotty2--and that1 in 
the goodliest species1 the spots become 
variegated1 and inlaid as in a          
,byzantine pavement1 deepening to       
imperial purple and azure1 and          
lightening into luster of innumerable   
eyes2--all this1 ,i hold1 very clearly  
and positively1 should be explained to  
children as a part of science1 quite as 
exact1 and infinitely more gracious1    
than that which reckons up the whole    
tribe of loving and luminous creatures  
under the feebly descriptive term of    
',scratchers4'  ,i will venture         
therefore to recommend my younger       
readers1 in classing birds1 to think of 
them literally from top to toe--from toe
 to top ,i should say1--foot1 body1 and 
head1 studying1 with the body1 the wings
 that bear it2 and with the head1 what  
brains it can bring to bear on practical

 matters1 and what sense on sentimental4
 ,but indeed1 primarily1 you have to    
consider whether the bird altogether may
 not be little more than a fat1 cheerful
 little stomach1 in a spotted waistcoat1
 and with legs to it4 ,that is the main 
definition of a great many birds--meant 
to eat all day1 chiefly1 grubs1 or      
grain--not at all1 unless under wintry  
and calamitous conditions1 meant to fast
 painfully1 or be in concern about their
 food4 ,faultless in digestion--dinner  
lasting all day long1 with the delight  
of social intercourse--various chirp and
 chatter4 ,flying or fluttering in a    
practical1 not stately1 manner3 hopping 
and creeping intelligently4 ,sociable to
 man extremely1 building and nestling   
and rustling about him1--prying and     
speculating1 curiously watchful of him  
at his work1 if likely to be profitable 
to themselves1 or even sometimes in mere
 pitying sympathy1 and wonder how such a
 wingless and beakless creature can do  
anything4#ag        #ag ,compare        

',paradise of ,birds1' 7song to the     
young ,roc1 page       #fg17 and see    
close of lecture for notes on that book4
  #hd4 ,the balance of this kind of bird
 on its legs is a very important part of
 its--diagnosis2 7we must have a fine   
word now and then67 ,its action on the  
wing1 is mere flutter or flirt1 in and  
out of the hedge1 or over it2 but its   
manner of perch1 or literally           
'bien-sance1' is admirable matter of    
interest4 ,so also in the birds which   
are on the water what these are on land2
 picking up anything anywhere2 lazy and 
fortunate1 mostly1 themselves2 fat1     
floating1 daintiest darlings2--their    
balance on the water1 also1 and under   
it1 in 'ducking1' a most essential part 
of their business and being4  #he4      
,then1 directly opposed to these1 in    
both kinds1 you have the birds which    
must fast long1 and fly far1 and watch  
or fight for their food4 ,not stomachic 
in profile2 far from cheerful in        
disposition2 more or less lonely in     

habit2 or1 if gregarious1 out of the way
 of men4 ,the balance of these on the   
wing1 is no less essential a part of    
their picturing1 than that of the       
buntings1 robins1 and ducks on the foot1
 or breast3 and therefore1 especially   
the position of the head in flying4     
#hf4 ,accordingly1 for complete         
ornithology1 every bird must be drawn1  
as every flower for good botany1 both in
 profile1 and looking down upon it3 but 
for the perchers1 the standing profile  
is the most essential2 and for the      
falcons and gulls1 the flying plan1--the
 outline of the bird1 as it would be    
seen looking down on it1 when its wings 
were full-spread4  ,then1 in connection 
with these general outlines1 we want    
systematic plan and profile of the foot 
and head2 but since we can't have       
everything at once1 let us say the plan 
of the foot1 and profile of the head1   
quite accurately given2 and for every   
bird consistently1 and to scale4        
,profile and plan in outline2 then1 at  

least the head in light and shade1 from 
life1 so as to give the expression of   
the eye4 ,fallacious1 this latter1      
often1 as an indication of character2   
but deeply significant of habit and     
power3 thus the projecting1 full1 bead1 
which enables the smaller birds to see  
the smallest insect or grain with good  
in it1 gives them much of their bright  
and often arch expression2 while the    
flattened iris under the beetling brow  
of the falcons1--projecting1 not in     
frown1 but as roof1 to shade the eye    
from interfering skylight1--gives them  
their apparently threatening and ominous
 gaze2 the iris itself often wide and   
pale1 showing as a lurid saturnine ring 
under the shadow of the brow plumes4    
#hg4 ,i speak of things that are to be3 
very assuredly they will be done1 some  
day--not far off1 by painters educated  
as gentlemen1 in the strictest          
sense--working for love and truth1 and  
not for lust and gold4 ,much has already
 been done by good and earnest          

draughtsmen1 who yet had not received   
the higher painter's education1 which   
would have enabled them to see the bird 
in the greater lights and laws of its   
form4 ,it is only here and there1 by    
,drer1 ,holbein1 ,carpaccio1 or other   
such men1 that we get a living bird     
rightly drawn2#ah but we may be greatly 
thankful for the unspared labor1 and    
attentive skill1 with which many        
illustrations of ornithology have been  
produced within the last seventy or     
eighty years4 ,far beyond rivalship     
among them1 stands ,le ,vaillant's      
monograph1 or dualgraph1 on the ,birds  
of ,paradise1 and ,jays3 its plates1    
exquisitely engraved1 and colored with  
unwearying care by hand1 are insuperable
 in plume-texture1 hue1 and             
action1--spoiled in effect1 unhappily1  
by the vulgar boughs for sustentation4  
,next1 ranks the recently issued history
 of the birds of ,lombardy2 the         
lithographs by ,herr ,oscar ,dressler1  
superb1 but the coloring                

7chromo-lithotint7 poor3 and then1 the  
self-taught1 but in some qualities      
greatly to be respected1 art of ,mr4    
,gould4 ,of which1 ,i would fain have   
spoken with gratitude and admiration in 
his lifetime2 had not ,i known1 that the
 qualified expressions necessary for    
true estimate of his published plates1  
would have caused him more pain1 than   
any general praise could have           
counteracted or soothed4 ,without       
special criticism1 and rejoicing in all 
the pleasure which any of my young      
pupils may take in his drawing1--only   
guarding them1 once for all1 against the
 error of supposing it exemplary as     
art1--,i use his plates henceforward for
 general reference2 finding also that1  
following ,mr4 ,gould's practical and   
natural arrangement1 ,i can at once     
throw together in groups1 easily        
comprehensible by ,british children1 all
 they are ever likely to see of ,british
 or ,britain-visitant birds3 which ,i   
find fall1 with frank casting1 into     

these following divisions1 not in any   
important matters varying from the usual
 ones1 and therefore less offensive1 ,i 
hope1 to the normal zoologist than my   
heresies in botany2 while yet they      
enable me to make what ,i have to say   
about our native birds more simply      
presentable to young minds4#ai          
#ah ,the ,macaw in ,sir ,joshua's       
portrait of the ,countess of ,derby     
is a grand example4        #ai ,see the 
notes on classification1 in the         
,appendix to the       volume2          
published1 together with the ,preface1  
simultaneously with       this number4  
#hh4  #a4 ,the ,,hawks come first1 of   
course1 massed under the single ,latin  
term ',falco1' and next them1       #b4 
,the ,,owls second1 also of             
course1--unmistakable1 these two tribes1
 in all types of form1 and ways of      
living4       #c4 ,the ,,swallows ,i put
 next these1 being connected with the   
owls by the ,goatsucker1 and with the   
falcons by their flight4       #d4 ,the 

,,pies next1 whose name has a curious   
double meaning1 derived partly from the 
notion of their being painted or        
speckled birds2 and partly from their   
being1 beyond all others1 pecking1 or   
pickax-beaked1 birds4 ,they include1    
therefore1 the ,crows1 ,jays1 and       
,woodpeckers2 historically and          
practically a most important order of   
creatures to man4 ,next which1 ,i take  
the great company of the smaller birds  
of the dry land1 under these following  
more arbitrary heads4       #e4 ,the    
,,songsters4 ,the ,thrush1 ,lark1       
,blackbird1 and ,nightingale1 and one or
 two choristers more4 ,these are        
connected with the pheasants in their   
speckledness1 and with the pies in      
pecking2 while the nightingale leads    
down to the smaller groups of familiar  
birds4       #f4 ,the ,,robins1 going on
 into the minor warblers1 and the       
,wrens2 the essential character of a    
,robin being that it should have some   
front red in its dress somewhere2 and   

the ,cross-bills being included in the  
class1 partly because they have red in  
their dress1 and partly because ,i don't
 know where else to put them4       #g4 
,the ,,creepers and ,,tits--separated   
chiefly on the ground of their          
minuteness1 and subtle little tricks and
 graces of movement4       #h4 ,the     
,,sparrows1 going on into ,buntings and 
,finches4       #i4 ,the ,,pheasants    
7substituting this specific name for    
that of ,scratchers74      #aj4 ,the    
,,herons2 for the most part wading and  
fishing creatures1 but leading up to the
 ,stork1 and including any long-legged  
birds that run well1 such as the        
,plovers4      #aa4 ,the                
,,dabchicks--the subject of our present 
chapter4      #ab4 ,the ,,swans and     
,,geese4      #ac4 ,the ,,ducks4        
#ad4 ,the ,,gulls4  ,of these1 ,i take  
the ,dabchicks first1 for three         
sufficient reasons2--that they give us  
least trouble1--that they best show what
 ,i mean by broad principles of         

grouping1--and that they are the        
effective clasp1 if not center1 of all  
the series2 since they are the true link
 between land and water birds4 ,we will 
look at one or two of their leading     
examples1 before saying more of their   
position in bird-society4 ,i shall give 
for the heading of each article1 the    
name which ,i propose for the bird in   
,english children's                     
schools--,dame-schools if possible2 a   
perfectly simple ,latin one1 and a      
familiar ,english one4 ,the varieties of
 existing nomenclature will be given in 
the ,appendix1 so far as ,i think them  
necessary to be known or remembered4    
,i4  ,,merula ,,fontium4                
,,torrent-,,ouzel4  #hi4 ,there are very
 few good popular words which do not    
unite two or more ideas1 being founded  
on one1 and catching up others as they  
go along4 ,thus ,i find 'dabchick' to be
 a corruption of 'dip-chick1' meaning   
birds that only dip1 and do not dive1 or
 even duck1 for any length of time3 but 

in its broader and customary use it     
takes up the idea of dabbling2 and1 as a
 class-name1 stands for                 
'dabbling-chick1' meaning a bird of     
small size1 that neither wades1 nor     
dives1 nor runs1 nor swims1 nor flies1  
in a consistent manner2 but humorously  
dabbles1 or dips1 or flutters1 or trips1
 or plashes1 or paddles1 and is always  
doing all manner of odd and delightful  
things3 being also very good-humored1   
and in consequence1 though graceful1    
inclined to plumpness2#bj and though it 
never waddles1 sometimes1 for a minute  
or two1 'toddles1' and now and then     
looks more like a ball than a bird4 ,for
 the most part1 being clever1 they are  
also brave1 and would be as tame as any 
other chickens1 if we would let them4   
,they are mostly shore birds1 living at 
the edge of irregularly broken water1   
either streams or sea2 and the          
representative of the whole group with  
which we will begin is the mysterious   
little water-ouzel1 or 'oiselle1'       

properly the water-blackbird1--,buffon's
 'merle d'eau'--for ouzel is the classic
 and poetic word for the blackbird1 or  
ouzel-cock1 so black of hue1 in         
',midsummer ,night's ,dream4' ,johnson  
gives it from the ,saxon 'osle'2 but in 
,chaucer it must be understood simply as
 the feminine of oiseau4 ,the bird in   
question might1 however1 be more        
properly called1 as ,bewick calls it1   
'water pyot1' or water magpie1 for only 
its back and wings are black1--its head 
brown1 and breast snow white4        #bj
 ,or in ,french1 'embonpoint4'  #ij4    
,and now ,i must1 once for all1 get over
 a difficulty in the description of     
birds' costume4 ,i can always describe  
the neck-feathers1 as such1 when birds  
have any neck to speak of2 but when1 as 
the majority of dabchicks1 they have not
 any1--instead of talking of            
'throat-feathers' and                   
'stomach-feathers1' which both seem to  
me rather ugly words1 ,i shall call the 
breast feathers the 'chemisette1' and   

all below them the 'bodice4'  ,i am now 
able1 without incivility1 to distinguish
 the two families of ,water-ouzel4 ,both
 have white chemisettes1 but the common 
water-ouzel 7,cinclus aquaticus of      
,gould7 has a white bodice1 and the     
other a black one1 the bird being called
 therefore1 in ugly ,greek1             
',melanogaster1' 'black-stomached4' ,the
 black bodice is ,norwegian fashion--the
 white1 ,english2 and ,i find that in   
,switzerland there is an intermediate   
,robin-ouzel1 with a red bodice3 but the
 ornithologists are at variance as to   
his 'specific' existence4 ,the          
chemisette is always white4  #ia4       
,however dressed1 and wherever born1 the
 ,ouzel is essentially a                
mountain-torrent bird1 and1 ,bewick     
says1 may be seen perched on a stone in 
the midst of a stream1 in a continual   
dipping motion1 or short curtsey often  
repeated1 while it is watching for its  
food1 which consists of small fishes and
 insects1--water insects1 that is to    

say1 caught mostly at the bottom2       
many-legged and shrimpy things1         
according to ,gould's plate4 ,the       
popular tradition that it can walk under
 the water has been denied by scientific
 people2 but there is no doubt whatever 
of the fact1--see the authentic evidence
 of it in the delightful little         
monograph of the bird published by the  
,carlisle ,naturalist's ,society2 but   
how the thing is done nobody but the    
ouzel knows4 ,its strong little feet1   
indeed1 have plenty of grip in them1 but
 cannot lay hold of smooth stones1 and  
,mr4 ,gould himself does not solve the  
problem4 ,some assert that it is done by
 clinging to the pebbles with its strong
 claws2 others1 by considerable exertion
 and a rapid movement of the wings4 ,its
 silky plumage is impervious to wet2 and
 hence when the bird returns to the     
surface1 the pearly drops which roll off
 into the stream are the only evidence  
of its recent submersion4 ,it is1       
indeed1 very interesting to observe this

 pretty bird walk down a stone1 quietly 
descend into the water1 rise again      
perhaps at a distance of several yards  
down the stream1 and 'fly'#ba back to   
the place it had just left1 to perform  
the same maneuver the next minute1 the  
silence of the interval broken by its   
cheerful warbling song4        #ba ,wing
 its way in the ornithological language4
 ,i shall take       leave usually to   
substitute the vulgar word 'fly1' for   
this       poetical phrase4  #ib4 ,in   
which1 you see1 we have the reason for  
its being called 'water-blackbird1'     
being1 ,i think1 the only one of the    
dabchicks that really sings4 ,some of   
the others1 7sand-pipers7 pipe2 and     
others1 the stints1 say 'stint' in a    
charming manner2 but none of them sing  
except the oiselle4 ,very singularly1   
the black-bodiced one seems to like     
living near manufactories4 ,the specimen
 in the ,norwich ,museum1 says ,mr4     
,gould1 is the one mentioned by ,mr4    
,lubbock1 in #ahde1 as 'lately' shot at 

,hellesdon ,mills2 and two others are   
stated by the same author to have been  
seen at different times by trustworthy  
observers at ,marlingford and           
,saxthorpe4 ,of more recent occurrence  
,i may mention a male in my own         
collection1 which was brought to me in  
the flesh1 having been shot in          
,november1 #ahee1 whilst hovering over  
the river between the foundry bridge and
 the ferry4 ,it is not a little singular
 that a bird so accustomed to the clear 
running streams of the north1 and the   
quiet haunts of the 'silent angler1'    
should be found1 as in this case1 almost
 within the walls of the city1 sporting 
over a river turbid and discolored from 
the neighboring factories1 and with the 
busy noise of traffic on every side4    
,about the same time that this bird     
appeared near the city1 three others    
were observed on more than one occasion 
on the ,earlham river1 by ,mr4          
,fountaine1 of ,easton1 who is well     
acquainted with our ,british birds2 but 

these suddenly disappeared1 and were not
 seen again4  ,and all will disappear1  
and never be seen again1 but in         
skeleton1 ill-covered with camphorated  
rags of skin1 under the present         
scientific dispensation2 unless some    
kind-hearted northern squire will let   
them have the run and the dip of his    
brooks2 and teach the village children  
to let them alone if they like to wade  
down to the village4  ,i am sixty-two1  
and have passed as much time out of     
those years by torrent sides as most    
people4 ,but ,i have never seen a       
water-ouzel alive4   ,,ii4  ,,allegretta
 ,,nymph,a4    ,,lily-,,ouzel4  #ic4 ,we
 have got so far1 by help of our first  
example1 in the etymology of our entire 
class1 as to rest in the easily         
memorable root 'dab1' short for dabble1 
as the foundation of comprehensive      
nomenclature4 ,but the earlier 7if not  
,aryan67 root 'dip1' must be taken good 
heed to1 also1 because1 as we further   
study the customs of aquatic chickens1  

we shall find that they really mass     
themselves under the three great heads  
of ',duckers1' birds that duck their    
heads only1 and stick up their tails in 
the air2--',dippers1' birds that take   
real dips under1 but not far down1 in   
shallow water mostly1 for things at the 
bottom1 or else to get out of harm's    
way1 staying down about as long as we   
could ourselves1 if we were used to     
it2--and ',divers1' who plunge like     
stones when they choose1--can go nobody 
knows how deep in the deep sea1--and    
swim under the water just as comfortably
 as upon it1 and as fast1 if not faster4
  ,but although this is clearly the     
practical and poetical division1 we     
can't make it a scientific one2 for the 
dippers and dabblers are so like each   
other that we must take them together2  
and so also the duckers and divers are  
inseparable in some of their forms3 so  
that1 for convenience of classing1 we   
must keep to the still more general rank
 ,i have given--dabchick1 duck1 and     

gull1--the last being essentially the   
aerial sea-bird1 which lives on the     
wing4  #id4 ,but there is yet one more  
'mode of motion' to be thought of1 in   
the class we are now examining4 ,several
 of them ought really to be described1  
not as dipchicks1 but as trip-chicks2   
being1 as far as ,i can make out1 little
 in the habit of going under water2 but 
much in the habit of walking or tripping
 daintily over it1 on such raft or float
 as they may find constructed for them  
by water-lily or other buoyant leaves4  
,of these come and trip it as you come  
chicks1--7my emendation of ,milton is   
surely more reasonable than the         
emendations of commentators as a body1  
for we do not1 any of us1 like to see   
our mistresses trip it as they          
go7--there are1 ,i find1 pictured by    
,mr4 ,gould1 three 'species1' called by 
him1 ,porzana ,minuta1 ,olivaceous      
,crake2 ,porzana ,pygma1 ,baillon's     
,crake2 and ,porzana ,maruetta1 ,spotted
 ,crake4  ,now1 in the first place1 ,i  

find ',porzana' to be indeed ,italian   
for 'water-hen1' but ,i can't find its  
derivation2 and in the second place1    
these little birds are neither          
water-hens nor moor-hens1 nor           
water-cocks nor moor-cocks2 neither can 
,i find1 either in ,gould1 ,yarrell1 or 
,bewick1 the slightest notice of their  
voices6--though it is only in implied   
depreciation of their quality1 that we  
have any business to call them          
',crakes1' ',croaks1' or ',creaks4' ,in 
the third place1 ',olivaceous' is not a 
translation of ',minuta1' nor           
',baillon's' of ',pygma1' nor 'spotted' 
of ',maruetta'2 which last is another of
 the words that mean nothing in any     
language that ,i know of1 though the    
,french have adopted it as ',marouette4'
 ,and in the fourth place1 ,i can't make
 out any difference1 either in text or  
picture1 between ,mr4 ,baillon's ,crake1
 and the 'minute' one1 except that the  
minute one is the bigger1 and has fewer 
white marks in the center of the back4  

#ie4 ,for our purposes1 therefore1 ,i   
mean to call all the three varieties    
neither ,crake nor ,porzan1 but         
',allegretta1' which will at once remind
 us of their motion2 the larger one1    
nine inches long1 ,i find called always 
,spotted ,crake1 so that shall be       
',allegretta ,maculata1' ,spotty        
,allegret2 and the two little ones shall
 be1 one1 the ,tiny ,allegret1 and the  
other the ,starry ,allegret 7,allegretta
 ,minuta1 and ,allegretta ,stellaris72  
all the three varieties being generally 
thought of by the plain ,english name ,i
 have given at the head of this section1
 ',lily-,ouzel' 7see1 in  #g1 page #e1  
the explanation of my system of dual    
epithet1 and its limitations4 ,i note1  
briefly1 what may be properly considered
 distinctive in the three kinds47       
,,ii4,a4  ,,allegretta ,,nymph,a1       
,,maculata4    ,,spotted ,,allegret4    
#if4 ,water-,crake or ',skitty' of      
,bewick1--,french1 ',poule d'eau        
,marouette1' 7we may perhaps take       

,marouette as euphonious for ,maculata1 
but ,i wish ,i knew what it             
meant72--though so light of foot1 flies 
heavily2 and1 when compelled to take    
wing1 merely passes over the tops of the
 reeds to some place of security a short
 distance off4 7,gould47 ,the body is in
 all these ,rails compressed            
7,yarrell1--he means laterally thin71   
which enables them to make their way    
through dense herbage with facility4 ,i 
can't find anything clear about its     
country1 except that it 'occasionally   
visits' ,sweden in summer1 and ,smyrna  
in winter1 and that it has been found in
 ,corfu1 ,sicily1 ,crete1--,whittlesea  
,mere1--and ,yarley ,fen2--in marshes   
always1 wherever it is2 7nothing said of
 its behavior on ice17 and not generally
 found farther north than ,cumberland4  
,its food is rather nasty--water-slugs  
and the like1--but it is itself as fat  
as an ortolan1 almost melts in the hand4
 7,gould47 ,its own color1 brown spotted
 with white2 the spots on the wing      

coverts surrounded with black1 which    
gives them a studded or pearly          
appearance4 7,bewick1--he means by      
'pearly1' rounded or projecting47 ,hence
 my specific epithet4 ,its young are of 
the liveliest black1 little balls of    
black glistening down1 beautifully put  
by ,mr4 ,gould among the white water    
,crowfoot 7,ranunculus ,aquatilis71     
looking like little ducklings in        
mourning4 ,its nest is made of rushes   
and other buoyant materials matted      
together1 so as to float on1 and rise or
 fall with1 the ebbing or flowing of the
 water like a boat2 and to prevent its  
being carried away1 it is moored or     
fastened to a reed4 7,bewick47          
,,ii4,b4  ,,allegretta ,,nymph,a1       
,,stellaris4    ,,starry ,,allegret4    
#ig4 ,called ',stellaris' by            
,temminck4--,i do not find why1 but it  
is by much the brightest in color of the
 three1 and may be thought of as the    
star of them4 ,gould says it is the     
least1 also1 and calls it the ',pigmy'2 

but we can't keep that name without     
confusing it with the ',minuta4'        
',baillon's ,crake' seems the most      
commonly accepted title1--as the worst  
possible4 ,both this1 and the more      
quietly toned ,tiny1 in ,mr4 ,gould's   
delightful plates of them1 have softly  
brown backs1 exquisitely ermined by     
black markings at the root of each      
feather1 following into series of small 
waves1 like little breakers on sand4    
,they have lovely gray chemisettes1     
striped gray bodices1 and green bills   
and feet2 a little orange stain at the  
root of the green bill1 and the bright  
red iris of the eye have wonderful      
effect in warming the color of the whole
 bird3 and with beautiful fancy ,mr4    
,gould has put the ,stellaris among     
yellow water-lilies to set off its gray2
 and a yellow butterfly with blue and   
red spots1 and black-speckled wings     
7,papilio ,machaon71 to harmonize both4 
,it is just as if the flower were       
gradually turning into the bird4        

,examples of the ,starry ,allegret have 
been 'obtained'--in the ,british        
,islands4 ,it is said to be numerous1   
unobtained1 in ,india1 ,china1 ,japan1  
,persia1 ,greece1 ,north ,africa1       
,italy1 and ,france4 ,i have never heard
 of anybody's seeing it1 however4       
,,ii4,c4  ,,allegretta ,,nymph,a1       
,,minuta4    ,,tiny ,,allegret4  #ih4   
',tiny ,allegret1'--,yarrell's ',little 
,crake1' 7but see names in ,appendix74  
,it is a little more rosy than          
',stellaris' in the gray of its neck1   
passing into brown2 and ,mr4 ,gould has 
put it with a pink water plant1 which   
harmonizes with it to the bird's        
advantage2 while the tiny creature      
stands on the bent leaf of a reed1 and  
scarcely bends it more6 ,it runs with   
rapidity over broken reeds1 and moves   
gracefully1 raising and displaying its  
tail at every step4 ,it has so very     
small a tail to display1 however1 that  
,i should hardly think the display was  
worth while4 ,it is very cunning1 and   

especially noticeable for the subtlety  
with which it wearies the dog of the    
sportsman by executing a thousand       
evolutions with surprising celerity2    
whence comes the trivial name of        
'kill-dog' bestowed upon it in some     
localities4 ,pursued to extremity1 it   
casts itself into the water1 swims with 
ease1 and dives at the moment its enemy 
is about to seize it2 or it conceals    
itself in a tuft of reeds or a bush1 and
 by this means often escapes with       
impunity4 ,it loves to breed among the  
reeds1 and in long and thick grass1     
frequently in small companies of its own
 species1 or of the ,stellaris4 ,the    
female lays her eggs on an              
inartificially constructed platform of  
decayed leaves or stalks of marsh       
plants1 slightly elevated above the     
water4 ,how elevated1 ,i cannot find    
proper account1--that is to say1 whether
 it is hung to the stems of growing     
reeds1 or built on hillocks of soil1 but
 the bird is always liable to have its  

nest overflowed by floods4 ,the         
full-grown bird is dressed in an        
exquisite perfection of barred bodice1  
spotted chemisette1 and waved feathers  
edged with gray on the back4  #ii4 ,the 
reader will please recollect these three
 ,allegrets as the second group of the  
dab- or dabble-chicks2 and1 while the   
water-ouzel is a mountain and torrent   
bird1 these inhabit exclusively flat    
lands and calm water1 belonging properly
 to temperate1 inclining to warm1       
climates1 and able to gladden for us--as
 their name now given implies--many     
scenes and places otherwise little      
enlivened2 and to make the very gnats of
 them profitable to us1 were we wise    
enough4 ,dainty and delightful creatures
 in all their ways1--voice only         
dubitable1 but ,i hope not a shriek or a
 squeak2--and there seems to be no      
reason whatever why half our fen lands  
should not be turned into beds of white 
water lilies and golden ducks1 with     
jetty ducklings1 to the great comfort of

 ,english souls4#bb        #bb ,compare 
,bishop ,stanley's account of the larger
 tropical       ',jacana1' p4 #caa4 ,one
 species is often tamed1 and from its   
being       a resolute enemy to birds of
 prey1 the inhabitants of the           
countries where it is found 7which be   
they87 rear it as a       protector for 
their fowls1 as it not only feeds with  
them1 but       accompanies them into   
the fields1 and brings them back in the 
evening6   ,,iii4  ,,trepida            
,,stagnarum4    ,,little ,,grebe4  #ajj4
 ,the two birds--,torrent-ouzel1 and    
,lily-ouzel1--which we have been just   
describing1 agree1 you will observe1 in 
delicate and singular use of their feet 
in the water2 the torrent-ouzel holding 
itself mysteriously at the bottom2 and  
the lily-ouzel1 less mysteriously1 but  
as skillfully1 on the top 7for ,i forgot
 to note1 respecting this raft-walking1 
that the bird1 however light1 must be   
always careful not to tread on the edges
 of leaves1 but in the middle1 or1      

rather1 as nearly as may be where they  
are set on the stalk2 it would go in at 
once if it trod on the edges74 ,but both
 the birds have the foot which is really
 characteristic of land1 not            
water-birds2 and especially of those    
land species that run well4 ,of the real
 action of the toes1 either in running1 
or hopping1 nothing is told us by the   
anatomists--7compare lecture on ,robin1 
#bf72 but ,i hope before long to get at 
some of the facts respecting the greater
 flexibility of the gripping and        
climbing feet1 and elasticity of running
 ones2 and to draw up something like a  
properly graduated scale of the length  
of the toes in proportion to that of the
 body4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #ab4      
,and1 for one question1 relative to     
this--the balance of a bird standing1   
not gripping--is to be thought of4      
,taking a typical profile of bird-form  
in its abstract1 with beak1 belly1 and  
foot1 horizontal 7,fig4 #ab71 the       
security of the standing1 7supposing    

atomic weight equal through the bird's  
body1 and the will1 in the ankle1 of    
iron17 is the same as of an inverted    
cone1 between the dotted lines from the 
extremities of the foot to those of the 
body2 and1 of course1 with a little grip
 of the foot or hind claw1 the bird can 
be safe in almost any position it likes4
 ,nevertheless1 when the feet are as    
small in proportion as the              
,torrent-ouzel's1 ,i greatly doubt the  
possibility of such a balance as ,bewick
 has given it 7,fig4 #ac a74 ,gould's of
 the black-bodiced ,ouzel 7,fig4 #ac b7 
is1 ,i imagine1 right4 ,bewick was      
infallible in plume texture1 and        
expression either of the features of    
animals1 or of any action that had      
meaning in it2 but he was singularly    
careless of indifferent points in       
geometry or perspective2 and even loses 
character in his water-birds1 by making 
them always swim on the top of the      
water4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #ac;a4    
#aja4 ,but1 whatever their balance of   

body1 or use of foot1 the two birds just
 examined are1 as ,i said1 essentially  
connected with the running land birds1  
or broadly1 the ,plovers2 and with the  
,sand-runners1 or 7from their cry7      
,sandpipers1 which ,mr4 ,gould evidently
 associates mentally with the ,plovers1 
in his description of the plumage of the
 ,dunlin2 while he gives to them in his 
plates of that bird--the little ,stint1 
and common ,sandpiper--most subtle      
action with their fine                  
feet1--thread-fine1 almost1 in the toes2
 requiring us1 it seems to me1 to       
consider them as entirely land-birds1   
however fond of the wave margins4 ,but  
the next real water-ouzel we come to1   
belongs to a group with feet like little
 horse-chestnut leaves2 each toe having 
its separate lobes of web4 ,why         
separated1 ,i cannot yet make out1 but  
the bird swims1 or even dives1 on       
occasion1 with dexterity and force4     
,these lobe-footed birds consist first  
of the ,grebes1 which are connected with

 fresh-water ducks2 and1 secondly1 of   
the ,phalaropes1 which are a sort of    
sea-gulls4 ,no bird which is not        
properly web-footed has any business to 
think itself either true duck or true   
gull2 but as1 both in size and habit of 
life1 the larger grebes and phalaropes  
are entirely aquatic and marine1 ,i     
shall take out of them into my class of 
dabchicks1 only those which are         
literally dabblers in habit1 and        
chickens in size4 ,and of the ,grebes1  
therefore1 only the one commonly known  
as the ,dabchick1 the ',little ,grebe1' 
',colymbus ,minutus' 7,minute ,diver71  
of ,linnus4 ,a summary word or two1     
first1 respecting the ,grebe family1    
will be useful4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4  
#ac;b4  #ajb4 ,grebe1 properly1 ,i      
suppose1 ,grbe1 from the ,french1 is not
 in ,johnson1 nor do any of my books    
tell me what it means4 ,i retain it1    
however1 as being short1 not ugly1 and  
well established in two languages4 ,we  
may think of it as formed from gr1 and  

meaning 'a nice bird4' ,the specialities
 of the whole class1 easily remembered1 
are1 first1 that they have chestnut-leaf
 feet2 secondly1 that their legs are    
serrated behind with a double row of    
notches--7why872 thirdly1 that they have
 no tails2 fourthly1 that they have1    
most of them1 very fine and very comic  
crests1 tufts1 tippets1 and other       
variously applied appendages to their   
heads and chins1 so that some are called
 'crested1' some 'eared1' some          
'tippeted1' and so on2 but the least of 
them1 our proper ,dabchick1 displays no 
absurdity of this sort1 and ,i have the 
less scruple in distinguishing it from  
others4 ,i find1 further1 in ,stanley's 
classes1 the ,grebes placed among the   
short-winged birds1 and made to include 
all the divers2 but he does not say how 
short their wings are2 and his grouping 
them with guillemots and puffins is     
entirely absurd1 all their ways and     
looks1 and abodes1 being those of ducks4
 ,we can say no more of them as a       

family1 accordingly1 until we know what 
a duck is2--and ,i go on to the little  
pet of them1 whose ways are more        
entirely its own4  #ajc4 ,strangely1 the
 most interesting fact 7if fact it be7  
that it builds a floating nest1 gains   
scarcely more than chance notice from   
its historians4 ,here is ,mr4 ,gould's  
account of it3 ,the materials composing 
this raft or nest are weeds and aquatic 
plants carefully heaped together in a   
rounded form2 it is very large at the   
base1 and is so constantly added to1    
that a considerable portion of it       
becomes submerged2 at the same time it  
is sufficiently buoyant to admit of its 
saucer-like hollow top being always     
above the surface4 ,in this wet         
depression five or six eggs are laid4   
,the bird1 always most alert1 is still  
more so now1 and scarcely ever admits of
 a near examination of the nest-making1 
or of a view of the eggs4 ,in favorable 
situations1 however1 and with the aid of
 a telescope1 the process may be        

watched2 and it is not a little         
interesting to notice with what         
remarkable quickness the dabchick       
scratches the weeds over her eggs with  
her feet1 when she perceives herself    
observed1 so as not to lead even to the 
suspicion that any were deposited on the
 ill-shapen floating mass4 ,this work of
 an instant displays as much skill in   
deception as can well be imagined4      
#ajd4 ,it is still left to question1    
first1 what is meant by a wet           
depression8--does the bird actually sit 
in the water1 and are the eggs under it8
 and1 if not1 how is the water kept out8
 ,secondly1 is the floating nest        
anchored1 and how8 ,looking to other    
ornithologists for solution of these    
particulars1 ,i find nobody else say    
anything about a floating nest at all4  
,bewick describes it as being of a large
 size1 and composed of a very great     
quantity of grass and water plants1 at  
least a foot in thickness1 and so placed
 in the water that the female hatches   

her eggs amidst the continual wet in    
which they were first laid4 ,yarrell    
says only that it is a large flat nest  
made of aquatic plants2 while ,morris   
finally complicates the whole business  
by telling us that the nest is placed   
often as much as twenty or thirty yards 
from the water1 that it is composed of  
short pieces of roots1 reeds1 rushes1   
and flags1 and that when dry the whole  
naturally becomes very brittle4#bc      
#bc ,i hear1 from a friend in whose     
statements ,i have absolute             
confidence1 that he has found the eggs  
of the water-hen laid on a       dead   
sycamore leaf by the side of a shallow  
stream1 one of the       many brooks    
near ,uxbridge4  #aje4 ,while1 out of my
 fifteen volumes of ornithology1 ,i can 
obtain only this very vague account of  
the prettiest bird1 next to the         
kingfisher1 that haunts our ,english    
rivers1 ,i have no doubt the most       
precise and accurate accounts are       
obtainable of the shapes of her bones   

and the sinuosities of her larynx2 but  
about these ,i am low-minded enough not 
to feel the slightest curiosity4 ,i     
return to ,mr4 ,gould1 therefore1 to    
gather some pleasanter particulars2     
first1 namely1 that she has a winter and
 summer dress1--in winter olive gray and
 white1 but in summer1 7changing at     
marriage time7 deep olive black1 with   
dark chestnut chemisette4 ,infant       
dabchicks have delicate rose-colored    
bills1 harlequin-like markings1 and     
rosy-white aprons4 ,the harlequin-like  
markings ,i should call1 rather1        
agate-like1 especially on the head1     
where they are black and white1 like an 
onyx4 ,the bodies look more like a      
little walnut-shell1 or nutmeg with     
wings to it1 or things that are to be   
wings1 some day4  #ajf4 ,even when      
full-grown1 the birds never fly         
much1--never more1 says ,morris1 than   
six or ten feet above the water1 and for
 the most part trailing their legs in   
it2 but either on the water or under it1

 every movement is characterized by the 
most consummate dexterity1 and facile   
agility4 ,the most expert waterman that 
sculls his skiff on the ,thames or      
,isis1 is but an humble and unskillful  
imitator of the dabchick4 ,in moving    
straightforward 7under water871 the     
wings are used to aid its progress1 as  
if in the air1 and in turning it has an 
easy gliding motion1 feet and wings     
being used1 as occasion requires1       
sometimes on one side and sometimes on  
the other4 ,it walks but indifferently1 
as may readily be imagined from the     
position of the legs1 so very far back4 
,it is pleasant to watch the parent bird
 feeding her young3 down she dives with 
a quick turn1 and presently rises again 
with1 five times out of six1 a minnow1  
or other little fish1 glittering like   
silver in her bill4 ,the young rush     
towards the spot where the mother has   
come up1 but she does not drop the fish 
into the water for them to receive until
 she has well shaken it about and killed

 it1 so that it may not escape1 when for
 the last time in its own element4 ,i   
have seen a young one which had just    
seized1 out of its turn ,i have no      
doubt1 the captured prey1 chased away by
 her1 and pursued in apparent anger1 as 
if for punishment1 the following one    
being willingly given the next fish     
without any demur4  #ajg4 ,mr4 ,gould   
seems to think that the dabchick likes  
insects and fish spawn better than fish1
 or at least more prudently dines upon  
them4 ,that fish are taken we have      
positive evidence from examples having  
been repeatedly picked up dead by the   
fishermen of the ,thames1 with a        
bull-head or miller's thumb in their    
throats1 and by which they had evidently
 been choked in the act of swallowing   
them4 ,that it is especially fond of    
insects is shown by the great activity  
it displays1 when in captivity1 in      
capturing house-flies and other diptera4
 ,those who have visited ,paris will    
probably have seen the grebes in the    

window of the restaurateur in the ,rue  
de ,rivoli4 ,for years have a pair of   
these birds been living1 apparently in  
the greatest enjoyment1 within the glass
 window1 attracting the admiration of   
all the passers-by4 ,the extreme agility
 with which they sailed round their     
little prison1 or scrambled over the    
half-submerged piece of rock for a fly1 
was very remarkable4 ,that no bird can  
be more easily kept in a state of       
confinement is certain4  #ajh4 ,this    
question about its food is closely      
connected with that of its diving4 ,so  
far as ,i understand ,mr4 ,morris1 it   
dives only when disturbed1 and to       
escape1--remaining under water1 however1
 if need be1 an almost incredible time1 
and swimming underneath it to great     
distances4 ,here we have1 if we would   
only think of it1 the same question as  
that about the water-ouzel1 how it keeps
 down2 and we must now note a few       
general points about diving birds       
altogether4  ,it is easy to understand  

how the properly so-called divers can   
plunge with impetus to great depths1 or 
keep themselves at the bottom by        
continued strokes of the webbed feet2   
but neither how the ouzel walks at the  
bottom1 if it be specifically lighter   
than the water1 nor how a bird can swim 
horizontally under the surface2 at least
 it is not enough explained that the    
action must be always that of oblique   
diving1 the bird regulating the stroke  
according to the upward pressure of the 
water at different depths4  #aji4 ,but  
there are many other points needing     
elucidation4 ,it is said 7and           
beautifully insisted on1 by ,michelet17 
that great spaces in the bones of birds 
that pass most of their lives in flight 
are filled with air3 presumably the     
bones of the divers are made            
comparatively solid1 or it is even      
conceivable--if conceptions or          
suppositions were of any use1--that the 
deep divers may take in water1 to help  
themselves to sink4 ,the enormous depths

 at which they have been caught1        
according to report1 cannot be reached  
by any mere effort of strength1 if the  
body remained as buoyant as it evidently
 is on the surface4 ,the strength of the
 wing must1 however1 be enormous1 for   
the great northern diver is described as
 swimming under water as it were with   
the velocity of an arrow in the air     
7,yarrell1 vol4 iii41 page #dca72 or to 
keep to more measured fact1 ,sir        
,william ,jardine says1 ,i have pursued 
this bird in a ,newhaven fishing-boat   
with four sturdy rowers1 and            
notwithstanding it was kept almost      
constantly under water by firing as soon
 as it appeared1 the boat could not     
succeed in making one yard upon it      
7ibid41 p4 #dcb74  #aaj4 ,but this is   
followed by the amazing statement of    
,mr4 ,robert ,dunn1 p4 #dcc1 that in the
 act of diving it does not appear to    
make the least exertion1 but sinks      
gradually under the surface1 without    
throwing itself forward1 the head being 

the last part that disappears4 ,i am not
 fond of the word 'impossible1' but ,i  
think ,i am safe in saying that         
according to the laws of nature no      
buoyant body can sink merely by an act  
of volition2 and that it must pull      
itself down by some hitherto unconceived
 action of the feet1 which in this bird 
are immensely broad and strong1 and so  
flat that it cannot walk with them1 any 
more than we could with two flat boards 
a yard square tied to our feet2 but1    
when it is caught on land1 shoves its   
body along upon the ground1 like a seal1
 by jerks4 ,all these diving motions are
 executed in a more delicate but quite  
as wonderful way by the dabchick1--more 
wonderful indeed it may be said1 because
 it has only the divided or             
chestnut-leaf-like foot1 to strike with4
 ,we shall understand it perhaps a      
little better after tracing1 in a future
 talk1 the history of its relations     
among the smaller sea-gulls2 meantime1  
in quitting the little dainty creature1 

,i must plead for a daintier ,latin name
 than it has now--',podiceps4' ,no one  
seems to have the least idea what that  
means2 and ',colymbus1' diver1 must be  
kept for the great ,northern ,diver and 
his deep-sea relatives1 far removed from
 our little living ripple-line of the   
pools4 ,i can't think of any one pretty 
enough2 but for the present ',trepida'  
may serve2 and perhaps be applied1 not  
improperly1 to all the ,grebes1 with    
reference to their subtle and instant   
escape from any sudden danger4 7,see    
,stanley1 p4 #dai47 ,it requires all the
 address of a keen sportsman to get     
within shot1 and when he does1 the bird 
may still be too shrewd for him4 ,i     
fired at the distance of thirty yards2  
my gun went quick as lightning1 but the 
grebe went quicker1 and scrambling over1
 out of sight1 came up again in a few   
seconds perfectly unhurt4  ,i think1    
therefore1 that unless ,i receive some  
better suggestion1 ',trepida ,stagnarum'
 may be the sufficiently intelligible   

,latin renaming of our easily startled  
favorite4   ,,iv4  ,,titania ,,arctica4 
,,arctic ,,fairy4  #aaa4 ,i must first  
get quit of the confusion of names for  
this bird4 ,linnus1 in the ,fauna       
,suecica1 p4 #fd1 calls it ',tringa     
,lobata1' but afterwards ',northern     
,tringa'2 and his editor1 ,gmelin1      
',dark ,tringa4' ,other people agree to 
call it a 'phalarope1' but some of them 
'northern' phalarope1 some1 the 'dark'  
phalarope2 some1 the 'ashy' phalarope1  
some1 the 'disposed to be ashy'         
phalarope2 some1 the 'red-necked'       
phalarope2 and some1 ',mr4 ,williams's' 
phalarope2 finally1 ,cuvier calls it a  
',lobipes1' and ,mr4 ,gould1 in         
,english1 'red-necked phalarope4' ,few  
people are likely to know what          
',phalarope' means1#bd and ,i believe   
nobody knows what ',tringa' means2 and  
as1 also1 nobody ever sees it1 the      
little bird being obliged to live in    
,orkney1 ,greenland1 ,norway1 and       
,lapland1 out of human creatures' way1  

,i shall myself call it the ,arctic     
,fairy4 ,it would come south if we would
 let it1 but of course ,mr4 ,bond says1 
,the first specimen ,i ever had was shot
 by a friend of mine in ,september1     
#ahdb1 near ,southend1 ,essex1 where he 
saw the phalarope swimming on the water1
 like a little duck1 about a mile from  
land2 not knowing what it was1 he shot  
it1 and kindly brought it to me4        
,another was shot while running between 
the metals of the ,great ,eastern       
,railway1 near the ,stratford station1  
early in ,june1 #aheb2 and on the       
,norfolk coast1 four others have been   
killed during the last fifteen years2   
and the birds' visits1 thus1            
satisfactorily1 put a stop to4 ,i can   
therefore study it only in ,mr4 ,gould's
 drawing1 on consulting which1 ,i find  
the bird to be simply a sea             
dabchick1--brown stripes on the back1   
and all2 but the webs of the feet a     
little finer1 and in its habits it is   
more like the ,lily-ouzel1 according to 

the following report of ,mr4 ,st4 ,john3
 ,the red-necked phalarope is certainly 
the most beautiful little wader of my   
acquaintance4 ,there were a pair of     
them1 male and female1 feeding near the 
loch1 in a little pool which was covered
 with weeds of different kinds4 ,nothing
 could be more graceful than the        
movements of these two little birds1 as 
they swam about in search of insects1   
etc4 ,sometimes they ran lightly on the 
broad leaves of the water-lily which    
served them for a raft1 and entirely    
kept them out of the water4 ,though not 
exactly web-footed1 the phalarope swims 
with the greatest ease4 ,the attachment 
of these two birds to each other seemed 
very great3 whenever in their search for
 food they wandered so far apart as to  
be hidden by the intervening weeds1 the 
male bird stopped feeding suddenly1 and1
 looking round1 uttered a low and       
musical call of inquiry1 which was      
immediately answered by the female in a 
different note1 but perfectly expressive

 of her answer1 which one might suppose 
to be to the purport that she was at    
hand and quite safe2 on hearing her1 the
 male immediately recommenced feeding1  
but at the same time making his way     
towards her2 she also flew to meet him2 
they then joined company for a moment or
 two1 and1 after a few little notes of  
endearment1 turned off again in         
different directions4 ,this scene was   
repeated a dozen times while ,i was     
watching them4 ,they seemed to have not 
the slightest fear of me1 for frequently
 they came to within a yard of where ,i 
was sitting1 and after looking up they  
continued catching the small            
water-insects1 etc41 on the weeds1      
without minding my presence in the      
least4 ,what reward the birds got for   
this gentle behavior1 we learn from the 
sentence following after the next two   
lines1 containing the extremely valuable
 contribution to their natural history1 
that on dissecting the female we found  
two eggs in her4        #bd ,the        

terminal 'pe' is short for pus1 7pous67 
and 'phalero1'       from phalera1      
fringes--,fringe-foot 7,morris74  #aab4 
,all other accounts concur in expressing
 7with as much admiration as is possible
 to naturalists7 the kindly and frank   
disposition of this bird2 which for the 
rest is almost a central type of all    
bird power with elf gifts added3 it     
flies like a lark1 trips on water-lily  
leaves like a fairy1 swims like a duck1 
and roves like a sea-gull1 having been  
seen sixty miles from land3 and1        
finally1 though living chiefly in       
,lapland and ,iceland1 and other such   
northern countries1 it has been seen    
serenely swimming and catching flies in 
the hot water of the geysers1 in which a
 man could not bear his hand4  ,and no  
less harmoniously than in report of the 
extreme tameness1 grace1 and            
affectionateness of this bird do        
sportsmen agree also in the treatment   
and appreciation of these qualities4    
,thus says ,mr4 ,salmon3 ,although we   

shot two pairs1 those that were swimming
 about did not take the least notice of 
the report of the gun1 and they seemed  
to be much attached to each other2 for  
when one of them flew to a short        
distance1 the other directly followed2  
and while ,i held a wounded female in my
 hand1 its mate came and fluttered      
before my face4 7,compare the scene     
between ,irene and ,hector1 at page #cic
 of the ,may number of ,aunt ,judy's    
,magazine47 ,and1 again1 says ,mr4      
,wolley3 ,the bird is extremely tame1   
swimming about my india-rubber boat so  
near that ,i could almost catch it in my
 hand2 ,i have seen it even1 when far   
from its nest1 struck at many times with
 an oar before it flew away4 ,in its    
domestic habits also the creature seems 
as exemplary as1 in its social habits1  
it is frank2 for on the approach of     
danger to her nestlings1 the hen uses   
all the careful subtleties of the most  
cunning land birds1 spreading her wings1
 and counterfeiting lameness1 for the   

purpose of deluding the intruder2 and   
after leading the enemy from her young1 
she takes wing and flies to a great     
height1 at the same time displaying a   
peculiar action of the wings2 then      
descending with great velocity1 and     
making simultaneously a noise with her  
wings4 ,on her return to her young1 she 
uses a particular cry for the purpose of
 gathering them together4 ,as soon as   
she has collected them1 she covers them 
with her wings1 like the domestic hen4  
#aac4 ,i cannot quite make out the      
limits of the fairy's migrations2 but it
 is said by ,morris to 'occur' in       
,france1 ,holland1 ,germany1 ,italy1 and
 ,switzerland4 ,i find that one was what
 sportsmen call 'procured' near ,york1  
in full summer dress2 and another killed
 at ,rottingdean1 swimming in a pond in 
the middle of the village1 in the       
company of some ducks4 ,at ,scarborough1
 ,louth1 and ,shoreham1 it has also been
 captured or shot1 and has been 'found' 
building nests in ,sutherland3 and1 on  

the whole1 it seems that here is a sort 
of petrel-partridge1 and duckling-dove1 
and diving-lark1 with every possible    
grace and faculty that bird can have1 in
 body and soul2 ready1 at least in      
summer1 to swim on our village ponds1   
or1 wait at our railway stations1 and   
make the wild north-eastern coasts of   
,scotland gay with its dancing flocks   
upon the foam2 were it not that the idle
 cockneys1 and pot-headed squires fresh 
out of ,parliament1 stand as it were on 
guard all round the island1 spluttering 
small-shot at it1 striking at it with   
oars1 cutting it open to find how many  
eggs there are inside1 and1 in fine1    
sending it for refuge into the hot water
 of ,hecla1 and any manner of stormy    
solitude that it can still find for     
itself and its amber nestlings4 ,i have 
never seen one1 nor ,i suppose ever     
shall see1 but hear of some of my       
friends sunning themselves at midnight  
about the ,north ,cape1 of whom1 if any 
one will bring me a couple of ,arctic   

fairies in a basket1 ,i think ,i can    
pledge our own ,squire's and ,squire's  
lady's faith1 for the pair's getting    
some peace1 if they choose to take it1  
and as many water-lily leaves as they   
can trip upon1 on the tarns of          
,monk-,coniston4   ,,iv4,b4  ,,titania  
,,inconstans4    ,,changeful ,,fairy4   
,phalaropus ,fulicarius4 7,coot-like    
,phalarope--,gould47  #aad4 ,i think the
 epithet 'changeful' prettier1 and1     
until we know what a coot is like1 more 
descriptive1 than 'coot-like'2 the bird 
having red plumage in summer1 and gray  
in winter1 while the coot is always     
black4 ,it is a little less pretty and  
less amiable than its sister fairy2     
otherwise scarcely to be thought of but 
as a variety1 both of them being        
distinguished from the coot1 not only by
 color1 but by their smaller            
size2--7they eight inches long1 it      
sixteen7--and by the slender beaks1 the 
coot having a thick one1 half-way to a  
puffin's4  ,and here1 once for all1--for

 ,i see ,i have taken no note yet of the
 beaks or bills of my dabchicks1--,i    
will at once arrange a formula of the   
order of questions which it will be     
proper to ask1 and get answered1        
concerning any bird1 in the same order  
always1 so that we shall never miss     
anything that we ought to think of4 ,and
 ,i find these questions will naturally 
and easily fall into the following      
twelve3   #a4 ,country1 and scope of    
migration4  #b4 ,food4  #c4 ,form and   
flight4  #d4 ,foot4  #e4 ,beak and eye4 
#f4 ,voice and ear4  #g4 ,temper4  #h4  
,nest4  #i4 ,eggs4 #aj4 ,brood4 #aa4    
,feathers4 #ab4 ,uses in the world4  ,it
 may be thought that ,i have forced--and
 not fallen into--my number #ab1 by     
packing the faculties of sight and      
hearing into by-corners4 ,but the       
expression of a bird's head depends on  
the relation of eye to beak1 as the     
getting of its food depends on their    
practical alliance of power2 and the    
question1 for instance1 whether peacocks

 and parrots have musical ears1 seems to
 me not properly debatable unless with  
due respect to the quality of their     
voices4 ,it is curious1 considering how 
much1 one way or another1 we are amused 
or pleased by the chatter and song of   
birds1 that you will scarcely find in   
any ornithic manual more than a         
sentence1 if so much1 about their       
hearing2 and ,i have not myself1 at this
 moment1 the least idea where a         
nightingale's ears are6 ,but see        
,appendix1 p4 #abb4  ,i retain1         
therefore1 my dodecahedric form of      
catechism as sufficiently clear2 and    
without binding myself to follow the    
order of it in strictness1 if there be  
motive for discursory remark1 it will   
certainly prevent my leaving any bird   
insufficiently distinguished1 and enable
 me to arrange the collected statements 
about it in the most easily compared    
order4  #aae4 ,we will try it at once on
 this second variety of the ,titania1 of
 which ,i find nothing of much interest 

in my books1 and have nothing discursive
 myself to say4   #a4 ,country4 ,arctic 
mostly2 seen off ,greenland1 in lat4    
#fh1 swimming among icebergs three or   
four miles from shore4 ,abundant in     
,siberia1 and as far south as the       
,caspian4 ,migratory in ,europe as far  
as ,italy1 yet always rare4 7,do a few  
only1 more intelligently curious than   
the rest1 or for the sake of their      
health1 travel87   #b4 ,food4 ,small    
thin-skinned crustacea1 and aquatic     
surface-insects4   #c4 ,form and flight4
 ,stout1 for a sea-bird2 and they don't 
care to fly1  preferring to swim out of 
danger4 ,body #g to #h inches long2     
wings1  from carpal joint to end1       
#d-c_/d1--say #e4 ,these quarters of    
inches1 are  absurd pretenses to        
generalize what varies in every bird4 #h
 inches  long1 by #aj across the wings  
open1 is near enough4 ,in future1 the   
brief notification #h  #aj1 #e  #g1 or  
the like1 will enough express a  bird's 
inches1 unless it possess decorative    

appendage of tail1 which  must be noted 
separately4   #d4 ,foot4                
,chestnut-leaved in front toes1 the     
lobes slightly serrated on the edges4   
,hind toe without membrane4 ,color of   
foot1 always black4   #e4 ,beak4 ,long1 
slender1 straight4 7,how long8 ,drawn as
 about a fifth of the bird's length--say
 an inch1 or a little over47 ,upper     
mandible slightly curved down at the    
point4 ,in ,titania arctica1 the beak is
 longer and more slender4   #f4 ,voice4 
,a sharp1 short cry1 not conceived by me
 enough to spell any likeness of it4    
#g4 ,temper4 ,gentle1 passing into      
stupid1 7it seems to me72 one1 in       
meditative travel1 lets itself be       
knocked down by a gardener with his     
spade4   #h4 ,nest4 ,little said of it1 
the bird breeding chiefly in the ,north4
 ,among marshes1 it is of weeds and     
grass2 but among icebergs1 of what8     
#i4 ,eggs4 ,pear-shape2 narrow ends     
together in nest2 never more than four4 
#aj4 ,brood4 ,no account of4  #aa4      

,feathers4 ,mostly gray1 passing into   
brown in summer1 varied with white on   
margin4 ,reddish chestnut or bay        
bodice--well oiled or varnished4  #ab4  
,uses4 ,fortunately1 at present1        
unknown4   ,v4  ,,rallus ,,aquaticus4   
,,water-,,rail4  #aaf4 ,thus far1 we    
have got for representatives of our     
dabchick group1 eight species of little 
birds--namely1 two ,torrent-ouzels1     
three ,lily-ouzels1 one ,grebe1 and two 
,titanias4 ,and these we associate1     
observe1 not for any specialty of       
feature in them1 but for common         
character1 habit1 and size2 so that1 if 
perchance a child playing by any stream1
 or on the sea-sands1 perceives a       
companionable bird dabbling in an       
equally childish and pleasant manner1 he
 may not have to look through half a    
dozen volumes of ornithology to find it2
 but may be pretty sure it has been one 
of these eight4 ,and having once        
fastened the characters of these well in
 his mind1 he may with ease remember    

that the little grebe is the least of a 
family of chestnut-leaf-footed1 and     
sharp-billed creatures1 which yet in    
size1 color1 and diving power1 go       
necessarily among ,ducks1 and cannot be 
classed with ,dabblers2 though it must  
be always as distinctly kept in mind    
that a duck proper has a flat beak1 and 
a fully webbed foot4  ,again1 he may    
recollect that with these leaf-footed   
ducks of the calm and fresh waters1 must
 be associated the leaf-footed or       
fringe-footed ducks of the              
sea2--'phalaropes1' which by their short
 wings connect themselves with many     
clumsy marine creatures1 on their way to
 become seals instead of birds2 and that
 ,i have kept the two little ,titanias  
out of this class1 not merely for their 
niceness1 but because they are not      
short-winged in any vulgar degree1 but  
seem to have wings about as long as a   
sandpiper's2--and indeed ,i had put the 
purple sandpiper1 ,arquatella maritima1 
with them1 in my own folio2 only as the 

,arquatella's feet are not chestnutty1  
she had better go with her own kind in  
our notes on them4  #aag4 ,but there are
 yet two birds1 which ,i think well to  
put with our eight dabchicks1 though    
they are much larger than any of        
them1--partly because of their          
disposition1 and partly because of their
 plumage1--the water-rail1 and          
water-hen4 ,modern science1 with        
instinctive horror of all that is pretty
 to see1 or easy to remember1 entirely  
rejects the plumage1 as any element or  
noticeable condition of bird-kinds2 nor 
have ,i ever yet tried to make it one   
myself2 yet there are certain qualities 
of downiness in ducks1 fluffiness in    
owls1 spottiness in thrushes1 patchiness
 in pies1 bronzed or rusty luster in    
cocks1 and pearly iridescence in doves1 
which ,i believe may be aptly brought   
into connection with other defining     
characters2 and when we find an entirely
 similar disposition of plumage1 and    
nearly the same form1 in two birds1 ,i  

do not think that mere difference in    
size should far separate them4  ,bewick1
 accordingly1 calls the water-rail the  
',brook-ouzel1' and puts it between the 
little crake and the water-ouzel2 but he
 does not say a word of its living by   
brooks1--only 'in low wet places4'      
,buffon1 however1 takes it with the     
land-rail2 ,gould and ,yarrell put it   
between the little crake and water-hen4 
,gould's description of it is by no     
means clear to me3--he first says it is1
 in action1 as much like a rat as a     
bird2 then that it bounds like a ball1  
7before the nose of the spaniel72 and   
lastly1 in the next sentence1 speaks of 
it as this lath-like bird6 ,it is as    
large as a bantam1 but can run1 like the
 ,allegretta1 on floating leaves2       
itself1 weighing about four ounces and a
 half 7,bewick71 and rarely uses the    
wing1 flying very slowly4 ,i imagine the
 'lath-like' must mean1 like the more   
frequent epithet 'compressed1' that the 
bird's body is vertically thin1 so as to

 go easily between close reeds4  #aah4  
,we will try our twelve questions again4
   #a4 ,country4 ,equally numerous in   
every part of ,europe1 in ,africa1      
,india1 ,china1 and ,japan2 yet hardly  
anybody seems to have seen it4 ,living1 
however1 near the perennial fountains   
7wherever those may be2--it sounds like 
the garden of ,eden67 during the greater
 part of the winter1 the birds pass     
,malta in spring and autumn1 and have   
been seen fifty leagues at sea off the  
coast of ,portugal 7,buffon72 but where 
coming from1 or going to1 is not told4  
,tunis is the most southerly place named
 by ,yarrell4   #b4 ,food4 ,anything    
small enough to be swallowed1 that lives
 in mud or water4   #c4 ,form and       
flight4 ,i am puzzled1 as aforesaid1    
between its likeness to a ball1 and a   
lath4 ,flies heavily and unwillingly1   
hanging its legs down4   #d4 ,foot4     
,long-toed and flexible4   #e4 ,beak4   
,sharp and strong1 some inch and a half 
long1 showing distinctly the            

cimeter-curve of a gull's1 near the     
point4   #f4 ,voice4 ,no account of4    
#g4 ,temper4 ,quite easily tamable1     
though naturally shy4 ,feeds out of the 
hand in a day or two1 if fed regularly  
in confinement4   #h4 ,nest4 ,slight1 of
 leaves and strips of flags 7,gould72 of
 sedge and grass1 rarely found1         
7,yarrell74 ,size not told4   #i4 ,eggs4
 ,eight or nine6 cream-white1 with rosy 
yolk66 rather larger than a             
blackbird's666  #aj4 ,brood4 ,velvet    
black1 with white bills2 hunting with   
the utmost activity from the minute they
 are hatched4  #aa4 ,feathers4 ,brown on
 the back1 a beautiful warm ash gray on 
the breast1 and under the wings         
transverse stripes of very dark gray and
 white4 ,the disposition of pattern is  
almost exactly the same as in the       
,allegretta4  #ab4 ,uses4 ,by many      
thought delicious eating4 7,bewick47    
,the fact is1 or seems to me1 that this 
entire group of marsh birds is meant to 
become to us the domestic poultry of    

marshy land2 and ,i imagine that by     
proper irrigation and care1 many        
districts of otherwise useless bog and  
sand1 might be made more profitable to  
us than many fishing-grounds4   ,,vi4   
,,pulla ,,aquatica4    ,,water-,,hen4   
7,gallinula ,chloropus4--,pennant1      
,bewick1 ,gould1 and ,yarrell47  #aai4  
',green-footed little cock1 or hen1'    
that is to say1 in ,english2 only       
observe1 if you call the ,fringe-foot a 
,phalarope1 you ought in consistency to 
call the ,green-foot a ,chlorope4 ,their
 feet are not only notable for          
greenness1 but for size3 they are very  
ugly1 having the awkward and ill-used   
look of the feet of ,scratchers1 while a
 trace of beginning membrane connects   
them with the fringe-foots4  ,their     
proper name would be ,marsh-cock1 which 
would enough distinguish them from the  
true ,moor-cock or ,black-cock4         
',moat-cock' would be prettier1 and     
characteristic2 for in the old ,english 
days they used to live much in the moats

 of manor-houses2 mine is the name      
nearest to the familiar one2 only note  
there is no proper feminine of 'pullus1'
 and ,i use the adjective 'pulla' to    
express the dark color4  ,it is a       
dark-brown bird1 according to the       
colored pictures--iron gray1 ,buffon    
says1 with white stripes of little order
 on the bodice1 clumsy feet and bill1   
but makes up for all ungainliness by its
 gentle and intelligent mind2 and seems 
meant for a useful possession to mankind
 all over the world1 for it lives in    
,siberia and ,new ,zealand2 in ,senegal 
and ,jamaica2 in ,scotland1             
,switzerland1 and ,prussia2 in ,corfu1  
,crete1 and ,trebizond2 in ,canada1 and 
at the ,cape4 ,i find no account of its 
migrations1 and one would think that a  
bird which usually flies dip1 dip1      
dipping with its toes1 and leaving a    
track along the water like that of a    
stone at 'ducks and drakes' 7,yarrell71 
would not willingly adventure itself on 
the ,atlantic4 ,it must have a kind of  

human facility in adapting itself to    
climate1 as it has human domesticity of 
temper1 with curious fineness of        
sagacity and sympathies in taste4 ,a    
family of them1 petted by a clergyman's 
wife1 were constantly adding materials  
to their nest1 and made real havoc in   
the flower-garden1--for though straw and
 leaves are their chief ingredients1    
they seem to have an eye for beauty1 and
 the old hen has been seen surrounded   
with a brilliant wreath of scarlet      
anemones4 ,thus ,bishop ,stanley1 whose 
account of the bird is full of          
interesting particulars4 ,this aesthetic
 water-hen1 with her husband1 lived at  
,cheadle1 in ,staffordshire1 in the     
rectory moat1 for several seasons1      
always however leaving it in the spring1
 7for ,scotland1 supposably873 being    
constantly fed1 the pair became quite   
tame1 built their nest in a thorn-bush  
covered with ivy which had fallen into  
the water2 and when the young are a few 
days old1 the old ones bring them up    

close to the drawing-room window1 where 
they are regularly fed with wheat2 and1 
as the lady of the house pays them the  
greatest attention1 they have learned to
 look up to her as their natural        
protectress and friend2 so much so1 that
 one bird in particular1 which was much 
persecuted by the rest1 would1 when     
attacked1 fly to her for refuge2 and    
whenever she calls1 the whole flock1 as 
tame as barn-door fowls1 quit the water1
 and assemble round her1 to the number  
of seventeen4 7,november1 #ahcc47  #abj4
 ,they have also made other friends in  
the dogs belonging to the family1       
approaching them without fear1 though   
hurrying off with great alarm on the    
appearance of a strange dog4  ,the      
position of the water1 together with the
 familiarity of these birds1 has        
afforded many interesting particulars   
respecting their habits4  ,they have    
three broods in a season--the first     
early in ,april2 and they begin to lay  
again when the first hatch is about a   

fortnight old4 ,they lay eight or nine  
eggs1 and sit about three weeks1--the   
cock alternately with the hen4 ,the nest
 in the thorn-bush is placed usually so 
high above the surface of the water1    
they cannot climb into it again2 but1 as
 a substitute1 within an hour after they
 leave the nest1 the cock bird builds a 
larger and more roomy nest for them1    
with sedges1 at the water's edge1 which 
they can enter or retire from at        
pleasure4 ,for about a month they are   
fed by the old birds1 but soon become   
very active in taking flies and         
water-insects4 ,immediately on the      
second hatch coming out1 the young ones 
of the first hatch assist the old ones  
in feeding and hovering over them1      
leading them out in detached parties1   
and making additional nests for them1   
similar to their own1 on the brink of   
the moat4  ,but it is not only in their 
instinctive attachments and habits that 
they merit notice2 the following        
anecdote proves that they are gifted    

with a sense of observation approaching 
to something very like reasoning        
faculties4  ,at a gentleman's house in  
,staffordshire1 the pheasants are fed   
out of one of those boxes described in  
page #bhg1 the lid of which rises with  
the pressure of the pheasant standing on
 the rail in front of the box4 ,a       
water-hen observing this1 went and stood
 upon the rail as soon as the pheasant  
had quitted it2 but the weight of the   
bird being insufficient to raise the lid
 of the box1 so as to enable it to get  
at the corn1 the water-hen kept jumping 
on the rail to give additional impetus  
to its weight3 this partially succeeded1
 but not to the satisfaction of the     
sagacious bird4 ,accordingly it went    
off1 and soon returning with a bird of  
its own species1 the united weight of   
the two had the desired effect1 and the 
successful pair enjoyed the benefit of  
their ingenuity4  ,we can vouch for the 
truth of this singular instance of      
penetration1 on the authority of the    

owner of the place where it occurred1   
and who witnessed the fact4  #aba4 ,but 
although in these sagacities1 and       
teachablenesses1 the bird has much in   
common with land poultry1 it seems not a
 link between these and water-fowl2 but 
to be properly placed by the            
ornithologists between the rail and the 
coot3 this latter being the largest of  
the fringefoots1 singularly dark in     
color1 and called 'fulica' 7sooty71 or1 
with insistence1 'fulica atra' 7black   
sooty71 or even 'fulica aterrima'       
7blackest sooty74 ',coot' is said by    
,johnson to be ,dutch2 and that it      
became 'cote' in ,french2 but ,i cannot 
find cote in my ,french dictionary4 ,in 
the meantime1 putting the coot and      
water-hen aside for future better       
knowledge1 we may be content with the   
pentagonal group of our                 
dabchicks--passing at each angle into   
another tribe1 thus1--7if people must   
classify1 they at least should also     
map74 ,take the ,ouzel1 ,allegret1      

,grebe1 ,fairy1 and ,rail1 and1 only    
giving the ,fairy her ,latin name1 write
 their fourpenny-worth of initial       
letters 7groat7 round a pentagon set on 
its base1 putting the ,ouzel at the top 
angle1--so4 ,then1 the ,ouzels pass up  
into ,blackbirds1 the ,rails to the left
 into ,woodcocks1 the ,allegrets to the 
right into ,plovers1 the ,grebes1 down  
left1 into ,ducks1 and the ,titanias1   
down right1 into ,gulls4 ,and there's a 
bit of pentagonal ,darwinism for you1 if
 you like it1 and learn it1 which will  
be really good for something in the end1
 or the five ends4  #abb4 ,and for the  
bliss of classification pure1 with no   
ends of any sort or any number1         
referring my reader to the works of     
ornithologists in general1 and for what 
small portion of them he may afterwards 
care to consult1 to my ,appendix1 ,i    
will end this lecture1 and this volume1 
with the refreshment for us of a piece  
of perfect ,english and exquisite wit1  
falling into verse1--the ,chorus of the 

,birds1 in ,mr4 ,courthope's ,paradise  
of them1--a book lovely1 and often      
faultless1 in most of its execution1 but
 little skilled or attractive in plan1  
and too thoughtful to be understood     
without such notes as a good author will
 not write on his own work2 partly      
because he has not time1 and partly     
because he always feels that if people  
won't look for his meaning1 they should 
not be told it4 ,my own special         
function1 on the contrary1 is1 and      
always has been1 that of the            
,interpreter only1 in the ',pilgrim's   
,progress2' and ,i trust that ,mr4      
,courthope will therefore forgive my    
arranging his long cadence of continuous
 line so as to come symmetrically into  
my own page1 7thus also enforcing1 for  
the inattentive1 the rhymes which he is 
too easily proud to insist on17 and my  
division of the whole chorus into equal 
strophe and antistrophe of six lines    
each1 in which1 counting from the last  
line of the stanza1 the reader can      

easily catch the word to which my note  
refers4  #abc4     ,we wish to declare1 
,how the birds of the air          ,all 
high institutions designed1             
,and1 holding in awe                    
,art1 ,science1 and ,law1               
,delivered the same to mankind4         
#f           ,to begin with2 of old     
,man went naked1 and cold1              
,whenever it pelted or froze1           
,till we showed him how feathers        
,were proof against weathers1           
,with that1 he bethought him of hose4   
#ab           ,and next1 it was plain1  
,that he1 in the rain1          ,was    
forced to sit dripping and blind1       
,while the ,reed-warbler swung          
,in a nest1 with her young              
,deep sheltered1 and warm1 from the     
wind4        #ah           ,so our homes
 in the boughs                 ,made him
 think of the ,house2          ,and the 
,swallow1 to help him invent1           
,revealed the best way                  
,to economize clay1          ,and bricks

 to combine with cement4                
#bd           ,the knowledge withal     
,of the ,carpenter's awl1          ,is  
drawn from the ,nuthatch's bill2        
,and the ,sand-,martin's pains          
,in the hazel-clad lanes                
,instructed the ,mason to drill4        
#cj           ,is there one of the      
,arts1                 ,more dear to    
men's hearts8          ,to the bird's   
inspiration they owe it2          ,for  
the ,nightingale first                  
,sweet music rehearsed1                 
,prima-,donna1 ,composer1 and ,poet4    
#cf           ,the ,owl's dark retreats 
,showed sages the sweets          ,of   
brooding1 to spin1 or unravel           
,fine webs in one's brain1              
,philosophical--vain2          ,the     
,swallows1--the pleasures of travel4    
#db           ,who chirped in such      
strain                 ,of ,greece1     
,italy1 ,spain          ,and ,egypt1    
that men1 when they heard1              
,were mad to fly forth1                 

,from their nests in the ,north1        
,and follow--the tail of the ,bird4     
#dh           ,besides1 it is true1     
,to our wisdom is due          ,the     
knowledge of ,sciences all2             
,and chiefly1 those rare                
,metaphysics of ,air          ,men      
',meteorology' call1                    
#ed           ,and men1 in their words1 
,acknowledge the ,birds'                
,erudition in weather and star2         
,for they say1 ',twill be dry1--        
,the swallow is high1          ,or1     
,rain1 for the ,chough is afar4         
#fj           ',twas the ,rooks who     
taught men                 ,vast        
pamphlets to pen          ,upon social  
compact and law1          ,and          
,parliaments hold1                 ,as  
themselves did of old1                  
,exclaiming ',hear1 ,hear1' for ',caw1  
,caw4'        #ff           ,and whence 
arose ,love8                 ,go1 ask of
 the ,dove1          ,or behold how the 
,titmouse1 unresting1                   

,still early and late                   
,ever sings by his mate1          ,to   
lighten her labors of nesting4          
#gb           ,their bonds never gall1  
,though the leaves shoot1 and fall1     
,and the seasons roll round in their    
course1          ,for their marriage1   
each year1                 ,grows more  
lovely and dear2          ,and they know
 not decrees of ,divorce4           #gh 
,that these things are truth            
,we have learned from our youth1        
,for our hearts to our customs incline1 
,as the rivers that roll                
,from the fount of our soul1            
,immortal1 unchanging1 divine4          
#hd           ,man1 simple and old1     
,in his ages of gold1          ,derived 
from our teaching true light1           
,and deemed it his praise               
,in his ancestors' ways          ,to    
govern his footsteps aright4            
#ij           ,but the fountain of woes1
                 ,philosophy1 rose2     
,and1 what between reason and whim1     

,he has splintered our rules            
,into sections and schools1          ,so
 the world is made bitter1 for him4     
#if           ,but the birds1 since on  
earth                 ,they discovered  
the worth          ,of their souls1 and 
resolved with a vow                 ,no 
custom to change1                 ,for a
 new1 or a strange1          ,have      
attained unto ,paradise1 now4           
#ajb        ,line #i4 ,,pelted1 said of 
hail1 not rain4 ,felt by nakedness1 in  
a more severe manner than mere rain4    
#aa4 ',,weathers1' i4e41 both           
weathers--hail and cold3 the armor      
of the feathers against hail2 the down  
of them against cold4 ,see       account
 of ,feather-mail in ',laws of ,fsole1' 
chap1 vi41 p4 #ec1       with the first 
and fifth plates1 and figure #ae4       
#ae4 ,,blind4 ,by the beating of the    
rain in his face4 ,in hail1       there 
is real danger and bruising1 if the hail
 be worth calling       so1 for the     
whole body2 while in rain1 if it be rain

 also worth       calling rain1 the     
great plague is the beating and         
drenching in       the face4        #af4
 ,,swung4 ,opposed to 'sit' in previous 
line4 ,the human creature1       though 
it sate steady on this unshakable earth1
 had no house over       its head4 ,the 
bird1 that lived on the tremblingest and
 weakest of       bending things1 had   
her nest on it1 in which even her       
infinitely tender brood were deep       
sheltered and warm1 from the       wind4
 ,it is impossible to find a lovelier   
instance of pure       poetical         
antithesis4        #bj4 ,,house4 ,again 
antithetic to the perfect word ',home'  
in the       line before4 ,a house is   
exactly1 and only1 half-way to a 'home4'
       ,man had not yet got so far as   
even that6 and had lost1 the chorus     
satirically imply1 even the power of    
getting the other half1       ever1     
since his ,she gave me of the tree4     
#bd4 ,,bricks4 ,the first bad inversion 
permitted1 for to combine       bricks  

with cement4 ,in my ,swallow lecture ,i 
had no time to go       into the        
question of her building materials2 the 
point is1       however1 touched upon in
 the ,appendix 7pp4 #aaj1 #aab1 and     
note74        #cj4 ',,drill1' for       
'quarry out1' 'tunnel1' etc41 the best  
general       term available4           
#cf4 ,,composer of the music2 ,,poet of 
the meaning4        ,compare1 and think 
over1 the ,bullfinch's nest1 etc41  #dh 
to #fa       of ',eagle's ,nest4'       
,in modern music the meaning is1 ,i     
believe1 by the reputed       masters   
omitted4        #ci4 ,to ,,spin1 or     
unravel4 ,synthesis and analysis1 in the
 vulgar       ,greek slang4        #df4 
,,mad4 ,compare ,byron of the ,english  
in his day4 ,a parcel of       staring  
boobies who go about gaping and wishing 
to be at once       cheap and           
magnificent4 ,a man is a fool now1 who  
travels in ,france       or ,italy1 till
 that tribe of wretches be swept home   
again4 ,in two       or three years1 the

 first rush will be over1 and the       
,continent       will be roomy and      
agreeable4 7,life1 vol4 ii41 p4 #cai47  
,for       sketches of the ,english of  
seventeen years later1 at the same      
spots 7,wengern ,alp and ,interlachen71 
see1 if you can see1 in       any       
library1 public or private1 at ,geneva1 
,topffer's ',excursions       dans les  
,alpes1 #ahcb4' ,douzime1 ,treizime1 and
 ,quatorzime       ,journe4        #dh4 
,,the ,,tail4 ,mr4 ,courthope does not  
condescend to italicize his       pun2  
but a swallow-tailed and adder-tongued  
pun like this must be       paused upon4
 ,compare ,mr4 ,murray's ,tale of the   
,town of ,lucca1 to       be seen       
between the arrival of one train and the
 departure of the       next1--nothing  
there but twelve churches and a         
cathedral1--mostly       of the tenth to
 thirteenth century4        #fj4 ,,afar4
 ,i did not know of this weather sign2  
nor1 ,i suppose1       did the ,duke of 
,hamilton's keeper1 who shot the last   

pair of       ,choughs on ,arran in     
#ahfc4 7',birds of the ,west of         
,scotland1' p4       #afe47 ,i trust the
 climate has wept for them2 certainly   
our       ,coniston clouds grow heavier1
 in these last years4        #fc4       
,,social4 ,rightly sung by the ,birds in
 three syllables2 but the       lagging 
of the previous line 7probably          
intentional1 but not       pleasant17   
makes the lightness of this one a little
 dangerous for       a clumsy reader4   
,the 'i-al' of 'social' does not fill   
the line as       two full short        
syllables1 else the preceding word      
should have       been written 'on1' not
 'upon4' ,the five syllables1 rightly   
given1 just take the time of two iambs2 
but there are readers       rude enough 
to accent the 'on' of upon1 and take    
'social' for two       short syllables4 
#fd4 ,,hold4 ,short for 'to hold'--but  
it is a licentious       construction1  
so also1 in next line1 'themselves' for 
'they       themselves4' ,the stanza is 

on the whole the worst in the poem1     
its irony and essential force being much
 dimmed by obscure       expression1 and
 even slightly staggering continuity of 
thought4       ,the ,rooks may be       
properly supposed to have taught men to 
dispute1       but not to write4 ,the   
,swallow teaches building1 literally1   
and       the ,owl moping1 literally2   
but the ,rook does not teach            
pamphleteering literally4 ,and the 'of  
old' is redundant1 for       rhyme's    
sake1 since ,rooks hold parliaments now 
as much as ever       they did4         
#gf4 ,,each ,,year4 ,i doubt the fact2  
and too sadly suspect that birds        
take different mates4 ,what a question  
to have to ask at this time       of day
 and year6        #hb4 ,,rivers4 ,read  
slowly4 ,the 'customs' are rivers that  
'go on       forever' flowing from the  
fount of the soul4 ,the ,heart drinks of
       them1 as of waterbrooks4         
#ib4 ,,philosophy4 ,the author should at
 least have given a note or       two to

 explain the sense in which he uses     
words so wide as this4       ,the       
philosophy which begins in pride1 and   
concludes in malice1 is       indeed a  
fountain--though not the fountain--of   
woes1 to       mankind4 ,but true       
philosophy such as ,fnelon's or ,sir    
,thomas       ,more's1 is a well of     
peace4        #ih4 ,,worth4 ,again1 it  
is not clearly told us what the author  
means       by the worth of a bird's    
soul1 nor how the birds learned it4 ,the
       reader is left to discern1 and   
collect for himself--with patience      
such as not one in a thousand now-a-days
 possesses1 the       opposition between
 the fount of our soul 7line #hc7 and   
fountain       of philosophy4  #abd4 ,i 
could willingly enlarge on these last   
two stanzas1 but think my duty will be  
better done to the poet if ,i quote1 for
 conclusion1 two lighter pieces of his  
verse1 which will require no comment1   
and are closer to our present purpose4  
,the first1--the lament of the ,french  

,cook in purgatory1--has1 for once1 a   
note by the author1 giving ,m4 ,soyer's 
authority for the items of the great    
dish1--symbol of philanthropy1 served at
 ,york during the great commemorative   
banquet after the first exhibition4 ,the
 commemorative soul of the tormented    
,chef--always making a dish like it1 of 
which nobody ever eats--sings thus3--   
,do you veesh     ,to hear before you   
taste1 of de hundred-guinea deesh8      
,has it not been sung by every knife and
 fork1     ',l'extravagance culinaire   
l',alderman1' at ,york8     ,vy1 ven ,i 
came here1 eighteen ,octobers seence1   
,i dis deesh was making for your ,royal 
,preence1     ,ven half de leeving      
world1 cooking all de others1     ,swore
 an oath hereafter1 to be men and       
brothers4     ,all de leetle ,songsters 
in de voods dat build1     ,hopped into 
the kitchen asking to be kill'd2        
,all who in de open furrows find de     
seeds1     ,or de mountain berries1 all 
de farmyard breeds1--     ,ha--,i see de

 knife1 vile de deesh it shapens1       
,vith les petits noix1 of               
four-and-twenty capons1     ,dere vere  
dindons1 fatted poulets1 fowls in       
plenty1     ,five times nine of         
partridges1 and of pheasants twenty2    
,ten grouse1 that should have had as    
many covers1     ,all in dis one deesh1 
with six preety plovers1     ,forty     
woodcocks1 plump1 and heavy in the      
scales1     ,pigeons dree good dozens1  
six-and-dirty quails1     ,ortulans1 ma 
foi1 and a century of snipes1     ,but  
de preetiest of dem all was twice tree  
dozen pipes     ,of de melodious larks1 
vich each did clap the ving1     ,and   
veeshed de pie vas open1 dat dey all    
might sing6  #abe4 ,there are stiff bits
 of prosody in these verses1--one or    
two1 indeed1 quite unmanageable1--but we
 must remember that ,french meter will  
not read into ours4 ,the last piece ,i  
will give flows very differently4 ,it is
 in express imitation of ,scott--but no 
nobler model could be chosen2 and how   

much better for minor poets sometimes to
 write in another's manner1 than always 
to imitate their own4  ,this chant is   
sung by the soul of the ,francesca of   
the ,bird-ordained purgatory2 whose     
torment is to be dressed only in falling
 snow1 each flake striking cold to her  
heart as it falls1--but such lace       
investiture costing1 not a cruel price  
per yard in souls of women1 nor a mortal
 price in souls of birds4  ,her         
'snow-mantled shadow' sings3      ,alas1
 my heart6 ,no grief so great     ,as   
thinking on a happy state     ,in       
misery4 ,ah1 dear is power     ,to      
female hearts6 ,oh1 blissful hour       
,when ,blanche and ,flavia1 joined with 
me1     ,tri-feminine ,directory1       
,dispensed in latitudes below     ,the  
laws of flounce and furbelow2     ,and  
held on bird and beast debate1     ,what
 lives should die to serve our state6   
,we changed our statutes with the moon1 
,and oft in ,january or ,june1     ,at  
deep midnight1 we would prescribe       

,some furry kind1 or feathered tribe4   
,at morn1 we sent the mandate forth2    
,then rose the hunters of the ,north3   
,and all the trappers of the ,west      
,bowed at our feminine behest4     ,died
 every seal that dared to rise     ,to  
his round air-hole in the ice2     ,died
 each ,siberian fox and hare     ,and   
ermine trapt in snow-built snare4       
,for us the ,english fowler set     ,the
 ambush of his whirling net2     ,and by
 green ,rother's reedy side     ,the    
blue kingfisher flashed and died4       
,his life for us the seamew gave        
,high upon ,orkney's lonely wave2       
,nor was our queenly power unknown      
,in ,iceland or by ,amazon2     ,for    
where the brown duck stripped her breast
     ,for her dear eggs and windy nest1 
,three times her bitter spoil was won   
,for woman2 and when all was done1      
,she called her snow-white piteous      
drake1     ,who plucked his bosom for   
our sake4  #abf4 ,see ',hartwig's ,polar
 ,world' for the manner of taking       

,eiderdown4--,once more1 we have thus   
much of author's note1 but edition and  
page not specified1 which1 however1 ,i  
am fortunately able to supply4 ,mr4     
,hartwig's miscellany being a           
favorite--what can ,i call it1          
sand-hill8--of my own1 out of which     
every now and then1 in a rasorial       
manner1 ,i can scratch some savory or   
useful contents2--one or two1 it may be 
remembered1 ,i collected for the behoof 
of the ,bishop of ,manchester1 on this  
very subject1 7,contemporary ,review1   
,feb4 #ahhj72 and some of ,mr4          
,hartwig's half-sandy1 half-soppy1      
political opinions1 are offered to the  
consideration of the ,british workman in
 the last extant number of ',fors4'     
,touching eider ducks1 ,i find in his   
fifth chapter--on ,iceland--he quotes   
the following account1 by ,mr4          
,shepherd1 of the shore of the island of
 ',isafjardarjup'--a word which seems to
 contain in itself an introduction to   
,icelandic literature3--  #abg4 ,the    

ducks and their nests were everywhere1  
in a manner that was quite alarming4    
,great brown ducks sat upon their nests 
in masses1 and at every step started up 
from under our feet4 ,it was with       
difficulty that we avoided treading on  
some of the nests4 ,the island being but
 three-quarters of a mile in width1 the 
opposite shore was soon reached4 ,on the
 coast was a wall built of large stones1
 just above the high-water level1 about 
three feet in height1 and of            
considerable thickness4 ,at the bottom1 
on both sides of it1 alternate stones   
had been left out1 so as to form a      
series of square compartments for the   
ducks to make their nests in4 ,almost   
every compartment was occupied2 and1 as 
we walked along the shore1 a long line  
of ducks flew out one after another4    
,the surface of the water also was      
perfectly white with drakes1 who        
welcomed their brown wives with loud and
 clamorous cooing4 ,when we arrived at  
the farmhouse1 we were cordially        

welcomed by its mistress4 ,the house    
itself was a great marvel4 ,the earthen 
wall that surrounded it and the window  
embrasures were occupied by ducks4 ,on  
the ground1 the house was fringed with  
ducks4 ,on the turf-slopes of the roof  
we could see ducks2 and a duck sat in   
the scraper4  ,a grassy bank close by   
had been cut into square patches like a 
chess-board1 7a square of turf of about 
eighteen inches being removed1 and a    
hollow made17 and all were filled with  
ducks4 ,a windmill was infested1 and so 
were all the out-houses1 mounds1 rocks1 
and crevices4 ,the ducks were           
everywhere4 ,many of them were so tame  
that we could stroke them on their      
nests2 and the good lady told us that   
there was scarcely a duck on the island 
which would not allow her to take its   
eggs without flight or fear4  #abh4 ,but
 upon the back of the canvas1 as it     
were1 of this pleasant picture--on the  
back of the leaf1 in his book1 p4       
#fe1--this description being given in p4

 #ff1--;,doctor ,hartwig tells us1 in   
his own peculiar soppy and sandy        
way--half tearful1 half ,dryasdusty1 7or
 may not we say--it sounds more         
,icelandic--',dry-as-sawdusty1'7 these  
less cheerful facts4 ,the eiderdown is  
easily collected1 as the birds are quite
 tame4 ,the female having laid five or  
six pale greenish-olive eggs1 in a nest 
thickly lined with her beautiful down1  
the collectors1 after carefully removing
 the bird1 rob the nest of its contents2
 after which they replace her4 ,she then
 begins to lay afresh--though this time 
only three or four eggs1--and again has 
recourse to the down on her body4 ,but  
her greedy persecutors once more rifle  
her nest1 and oblige her to line it for 
the third time4 ,now1 however1 her own  
stock of down is exhausted1 and with a  
plaintive voice she calls her mate to   
her assistance1 who willingly plucks the
 soft feathers from his breast to supply
 the deficiency4 ,if the cruel robbery  
be again repeated1 which in former times

 was frequently the case1 the poor      
eider-duck abandons the spot1 never to  
return1 and seeks for a new home where  
she may indulge her maternal instinct   
undisturbed by the avarice of man4      
#abi4 ,now1 as ,i have above told you1  
these two statements are given on the   
two sides of the same leaf2 and the     
reader must make what he may of them4   
,setting the best of my own poor wits at
 them1 it seems to me that the merciless
 abstraction of down is indeed the usual
 custom of the inhabitants and visitors2
 but that the 'good lady1' referred to  
by ,mr4 ,shepherd1 manages things       
differently2 and in consequence we are  
presently farther told of her1 7bottom  
of p4 #fe17 that when she first became  
possessor of the island1 the produce of 
down from the ducks was not more than   
fifteen pounds weight in the year2 but  
under her careful nurture of twenty     
years it had risen to nearly one hundred
 pounds annually4 ,it requires about one
 pound and a half to make a coverlet for

 a single bed1 and the down is worth    
from twelve to fifteen shillings per    
pound4 ,most of the eggs are taken and  
pickled for winter consumption1 one or  
two only being left to hatch4  ,but     
here1 again1 pulverulent ,dr4 ,hartwig  
leaves us untold who 'consumes' all     
these pickled eggs of the cooing and    
downy-breasted creatures2 7you observe1 
in passing1 that an eider-duck coos     
instead of quacking1 and must be a sort 
of ,sea-,dove17 or what addition their  
price makes to the good old lady's      
feather-nesting income of1 as ,i        
calculate it1 sixty to seventy-five     
pounds a year1--all her twenty years of 
skill and humanity and moderate plucking
 having got no farther than that4 ,and  
not feeling myself able1 on these       
imperfect data1 to offer any            
recommendations to the ,icelandic       
government touching the duck trade1 ,i  
must end my present chapter with a rough
 generalization of results4 ,for a      
beginning of which1 the time having too 

clearly and sadly come for me1 as ,i    
have said in my preface1 to knit up1 as 
far as ,i may1 the loose threads and    
straws of my raveled life's work1 ,i    
reprint in this place the second        
paragraph of the chapter on ,vital      
,beauty in the second volume of ',modern
 ,painters1' premising1 however1 some   
few necessary words4  #acj4 ,i intended 
never to have reprinted the second      
volume of ',modern ,painters'2 first1   
because it is written in affected       
imitation of ,hooker1 and not in my own 
proper style2 and1 secondly1 yet        
chiefly1 because ,i did not think the   
analytic study of which it mainly       
consists1 in the least likely to be     
intelligible to the general student1 or1
 therefore1 profitable to him4 ,but ,i  
find now that the 'general student' has 
plunged himself into such abysses1 not  
of analytic1 but of                     
dissolytic1--dialytic--or even          
diarrhoeic--lies1 belonging to the sooty
 and sensual elements of his ,london and

 ,paris life1 that1 however imperfectly 
or dimly done1 the higher analysis of   
that early work of mine ought at least  
to be put within his reach2 and the     
fact1 somehow1 enforced upon him1 that  
there were people before he lived1 who  
knew what 'sthesis' meant1 though they  
did not think that pigs' flavoring of   
pigs'-wash was ennobled by giving it    
that ,greek name3 and that there were   
also people before his time who knew    
what vital beauty meant1 though they did
 not seek it either in the model-room1  
or the ,parc aux ,cerfs4  ,therefore1 ,i
 will republish 7,d4,v47 the analytic   
parts of the second volume of ',modern  
,painters' as they were written1 but    
with perhaps an additional note or two1 
and the omission of the passages        
concerning ,evangelical or other        
religious matters1 in which ,i have     
found out my mistakes4  #aca4 ,to be    
able to hunt for these mistakes1 and    
crow over them1 in the original volume1 
will always give that volume its        

orthodox value in sale catalogues1 so   
that ,i shall swindle nobody who has    
already bought the book by bringing down
 its price upon them4 ,nor will the new 
edition be a cheap one--even if ,i ever 
get it out1 which is by no means        
certain4 ,here1 however1 at once1 is the
 paragraph above referred to1 quite one 
of the most important in the book4 ,the 
reader should know1 preparatorily1 that 
for what is now called 'sthesis1' ,i    
always used1 and still use1 the ,english
 word 'sensation'--as1 for instance1 the
 sensation of cold or heat1 and of their
 differences2--of the flavor of mutton  
and beef1 and their differences2--of a  
peacock's and a lark's cry1 and their   
differences2--of the redness in a blush1
 and in rouge1 and their                
differences2--of the whiteness in snow1 
and in almond-paste1 and their          
differences2--of the blackness and      
brightness of night and day1 or of smoke
 and gaslight1 and their differences1   
etc41 etc4 ,but for the ,perception of  

,beauty1 ,i always used ,plato's word1  
which is the proper word in ,greek1 and 
the only possible single word that can  
be used in any other language by any man
 who understands the                    
subject1--',theoria1'--the ,germans only
 having a term parallel to it1          
',anschauung1' assumed to be its        
equivalent in p4 #bb of the old edition 
of ',modern ,painters1' but which is not
 its real equivalent1 for ,anschauung   
does not 7,i believe7 include bodily    
sensation1 whereas ,plato's ,theoria    
does1 so far as is necessary2 and mine1 
somewhat more than ,plato's4 ,the first 
perfection1 7then ,i say1 in this so    
long in coming paragraph7 of the        
theoretic faculty1 is the kindness and  
unselfish fullness of heart1 which      
receives the utmost amount of pleasure  
from the happiness of all things4 ,of   
which in high degree the heart of man is
 incapable2 neither what intense        
enjoyment the angels may have in all    
that they see of things that move and   

live1 and in the part they take in the  
shedding of ,god's kindness upon them1  
can we know or conceive3 only in        
proportion as we draw near to ,god1 and 
are made in measure like unto ,him1 can 
we increase this our possession of      
charity1 of which the entire essence is 
in ,god only4 ,but even the ordinary    
exercise of this faculty implies a      
condition of the whole moral being in   
some measure right and healthy1 and to  
the entire exercise of it there is      
necessary the entire perfection of the  
,christian character2 for he who loves  
not ,god1 nor his brother1 cannot love  
the grass beneath his feet1 and the     
creatures which live not for his uses1  
filling those spaces in the universe    
which he needs not2 while1 on the other 
hand1 none can love ,god1 nor his human 
brother1 without loving all things which
 his ,father loves2 nor without looking 
upon them1 every one1 as in that respect
 his brethren also1 and perhaps worthier
 than he1 if1 in the under concords they

 have to fill1 their part be touched    
more truly4 ,it is good to read of that 
kindness and humbleness of ,s4 ,francis 
of ,assisi1 who never spoke to bird or  
cicala1 nor even to wolf and beast of   
prey1 but as his brother2 and so we find
 are moved the minds of all good and    
mighty men1 as in the lesson that we    
have from the mariner of ,coleridge1 and
 yet more truly and rightly taught in   
the ,hartleap ,well3--      ',never to  
blend our pleasure1 or our pride1       
,with sorrow of the meanest thing that  
feels4'  ,and again in the ,white ,doe  
of ,rylstone1 with the added teaching1  
that anguish of our own      ',is       
tempered and allayed by sympathies1     
,aloft ascending1 and descending deep1  
,even to the inferior kinds2'  so that  
,i know not of anything more destructive
 of the whole theoretic faculty1 not to 
say of the ,christian character and     
human intellect1 than those accursed    
sports1 in which man makes of himself1  
cat1 tiger1 serpent1 chtodon1 and       

alligator in one2 and gathers into one  
continuance of cruelty1 for his         
amusement1 all the devices that brutes  
sparingly1 and at intervals1 use against
 each other for their necessities4      
#acb4 ,so much ,i had perceived1 and    
said1 you observe1 good reader1         
concerning ,s4 ,francis of ,assisi1 and 
his sermons1 when ,i was only           
five-and-twenty1--little thinking at    
that day how1 ,evangelical-bred as ,i   
was1 ,i should ever come to write a     
lecture for the first ,school of ,art in
 ,oxford in the ,sacristan's cell at    
,assisi1#be or ever--among such poor    
treasures as ,i have of friends'        
reliquaries--,i should fondly keep a    
little 'pinch' of his cloak4        #be 
,see ',ariadne ,florentina1' chap4 v41  
#afd2 compare ',fors1'       ,letter ,v4
  ,rough cloak of hair1 it is1 still at 
,assisi2 concerning which1 and the      
general use of camels' hair1 or         
sackcloth1 or briars and thorns1 in the 
,middle ,ages1 together with seal-skins 

7not badgers'71 and rams' skins dyed    
gules1 by the ,jews1 and the ,crusaders1
 as compared with the use of the two    
furs1 ,ermine and ,vair1 and their final
 result in the operations of the        
,hudson's ,bay ,company1 much casual    
notice will be found in my former work4 
,and now1 this is the sum of it all1 so 
far as ,i can shortly write it4  ,there 
is no possibility of explaining the     
system of life in this world1 on any    
principle of conqueringly ,divine       
benevolence4 ,that piece of bold        
impiety1 if it be so1 ,i have always    
asserted in my well-considered          
books1--,i considering it1 on the       
contrary1 the only really pious thing to
 say1 namely1 that the world is under a 
curse1 which we may1 if we will1        
gradually remove1 by doing as we are    
bid1 and believing what we are told2 and
 when we are told1 for instance1 in the 
best book we have about our own old     
history1 that unto ,adam also1 and to   
his wife1 did the ,lord ,god make coats 

of skins1 and clothed them1 we are to   
accept it as the best thing to be done  
under the circumstances1 and to wear1 if
 we can get them1 wolf skin1 or cow     
skin1 or beaver's1 or ermine's2 but not 
therefore to confuse ,god with the      
,hudson's ,bay ,company1 nor to hunt    
foxes for their brushes instead of their
 skins1 or think the poor little black  
tails of a ,siberian weasel on a judge's
 shoulders may constitute him therefore 
a ,minos in matters of retributive      
justice1 or an acus in distributive1 who
 can at once determine how many millions
 a ,railroad ,company are to make the   
public pay for not granting them their  
exclusive business by telegraph4  #acc4 
,and every hour of my life1 since that  
paragraph of ',modern ,painters' was    
written1 has increased1 ,i disdain to   
say my feeling1 but say1 with fearless  
decision1 my knowledge1 of the          
bitterness of the curse1 which the      
habits of hunting and 'la chasse' have  
brought upon the so-called upper classes

 of ,england and ,france2 until1 from   
knights and gentlemen1 they have sunk   
into jockeys1 speculators1 usurers1     
butchers by battue2 and1 the ,english   
especially1 now1 as a political body1   
into what ,i have called them in the    
opening chapter of ',the ,bible of      
,amiens1'--the scurviest louts that ever
 fouled ,god's earth with their         
carcasses4  ,the language appears to be 
violent4 ,it is simply brief1 and       
accurate4 ,but ,i never meant it to     
remain without justification1 and ,i    
will give the justification here at     
once4  ,take your ,johnson1 and look out
 the adjective ,scurvy1 in its higher or
 figurative sense4  ,you find the first 
quotation he gives is from ',measure for
 ,measure1' spoken of the ,duke1 in     
monk's disguise3      ,i know him for a 
man divine and holy2     ,not scurvy1   
nor a temporary meddler4  ,in which     
passage1 ,shakspeare1 who never uses    
words in vain1 nor with a grain less    
than their full weight1 opposes the     

divineness of men1 or their walking with
 ,god1 to the scurviness of men1 or     
their wallowing with swine2 and again1  
he opposes the holiness of men1--in the 
sense of ,holy--harmless1 undefiled1 and
 more than that1 helpful or healthful in
 action--to the harmful and filthy      
action of temporary meddlers1 such as   
the hanging of seventeen priests before 
breakfast1 and our profitable military  
successes1 in such a prolonged piece of 
'temporary meddling' as the ,crimean    
war4  #acd4 ,but1 secondly1 if you look 
down ,johnson's column1 you will find   
his last quotation is not in the higher 
or figurative1 but the lower and literal
 sense1 from ,swift1 to the effect that 
it would be convenient to prevent the   
excess of drink1 with that scurvy custom
 of taking tobacco4 ,and you will also  
find1 if you ever have the sense or     
courage to look the facts of modern     
history in the face1 that those two     
itches1 for the pot and the pipe1 have  
been the roots of every other           

demoralization of the filthiest and     
literally 'scurviest' sort among all    
classes2--the dirty pack of cards2 the  
church pavement running with human      
saliva1--7,i have seen the spittings in 
ponds half an inch deep1 in the choir of
 ,rouen cathedral72 and the entirely    
infernal atmosphere of the common cafs  
and gambling-houses of ,european        
festivity1 infecting every condition of 
what they call 'sthesis1' left in the   
bodies of men1 until they cannot be     
happy with the pines and pansies of the 
,alps1 until they have mixed tobacco    
smoke with the scent of them2 and the   
whole concluding in the endurance--or   
even enjoyment--of the most squalid     
conditions of filth in our capital      
cities1 that have ever been yet         
recorded1 among the disgraces of        
mankind4  #ace4 ,but1 thirdly1          
,johnson's central quotation is again   
from ',measure for ,measure'3--      ,he
 spoke scurvy and provoking terms       
against your honor4  ,the debates in the

 ,english ,house of ,commons1 for the   
last half-century1 having consisted     
virtually of nothing else6  ,i next take
 the word 'lout1' of which ,johnson     
gives two derivations for our choice3 it
 is either the past participle of 'to   
lower1 or make low2' a lowed person1 7as
 our ,house of ,lords under the         
direction of railway companies and      
public-house keepers72 or else--and more
 strictly ,i believe in etymology--a    
form of the ,german 'leute1' 'common    
people4' ,in either case1 its proper    
classical ,english sense is given by    
,johnson as a mean1 awkward fellow2 a   
bumpkin1 a clown4  ,now ,i surely cannot
 refer to any general representation of 
,british society more acceptable to1 and
 acknowledged by1 that society1 than the
 finished and admirably composed        
drawings of ,du ,maurier in ,punch which
 have become every week more and more   
consistent1 keen1 and comprehensive1    
during the issues of the last two years4
  ,i take three of them1 as quite       

trustworthy pictures1 and the best our  
present arts of delineation could       
produce1 of the three ,etats1 or        
representative orders1 of the ,british  
nation of our day4  ,of the ,working    
class1 take the type given in ,lady     
,clara ,robinson's garden tea party1 p4 
#agd1 vol4 #gi4  ,of the ,mercantile    
class1 ,mr4 ,smith1 in his drawing-room 
after dinner1 p4 #bbb1 vol4 #hj4  ,and  
of the ,noblesse1 the first five        
gentlemen on the right 7spectator's     
right7 of the line1 in the ball at      
,stilton ,house1 7,july #c;d1 #ahhj74   
#acf4 ,of the manner or state of lout1  
to which our manufacturing prosperity   
has reduced its artisan1 as represented 
in the first of these frescoes1 ,i do   
not think it needful to speak here2     
neither of the level of sublime         
temperament and unselfish heroism to    
which the dangers of commercial         
enterprise have exalted ,mr4 ,smith4    
,but the five consecutive heads in the  
third fresco are a very notable piece of

 ,english history1 representing the     
polished and more or less lustrous type 
of lout2 which is indeed a kind of      
rolled shingle of former ,english       
noblesse capable of nothing now in the  
way of resistance to ,atlantic          
liberalism1 except of getting itself    
swept up into ugly harbor bars1 and     
troublesome shoals in the tideway4  ,and
 observe also1 that of the three types  
of lout1 whose combined chorus and      
tripudiation leads the present ,british 
,constitution its devil's dance1 this   
last and smoothest type is also the     
dullest4 ,your operative lout cannot    
indeed hold his cup of coffee with a    
grace1 or possess himself of a biscuit  
from ,lady ,clara's salver without      
embarrassment2 but1 in his own mill1 he 
can at least make a needle without an   
eye1 or a nail without a head1 or a     
knife that won't cut1 or something of   
that sort1 with dexterity4 ,also1 the   
middle class1 or ,smithian lout1 at     
least manages his stockbroking or       

marketing with decision and cunning2    
knows something by eye or touch of his  
wares1 and something of the characters  
of the men he has to deal with4 ,but the
 ,ducal or ,marquisian lout has no      
knowledge of anything under the sun1    
except what sort of horse's quarters    
will carry his own1 farther weighted    
with that smooth block or pebble of a   
pow2 and no faculty under the sun of    
doing anything1 except cutting down the 
trees his fathers planted for him1 and  
selling the lands his fathers won4      
#acg4 ,that is indeed the final result  
of hunting and horse-racing on the      
,british landlord4 ,of its result on the
 ,british soldier1 perhaps the figures  
of ,lord ,george ,sackville at the      
battle of ,minden1 and of ,lord ,raglan 
at the battle of ,alma1 7who in the     
first part of the battle did not know   
where he was1 and in the second plumed  
himself on being where he had no        
business to be17 are as illustrative as 
any ,i could name2 but the darkest of   

all1 to my own thinking1 are the various
 personages1 civil and military1 who    
have conducted the ,caffre war to its   
last successes1 of blowing women and    
children to death with dynamite1 and    
harrying the lands of entirely innocent 
peasantry1 because they would not betray
 their defeated king4  #ach4 ,of the due
 and noble relations between man and his
 companion creatures1 the horse1 dog1   
and falcon1 enough has been said in my  
former writings--unintelligible enough  
to a chivalry which passes six months of
 its annual life in ,rotten ,row1 and   
spends the rents of its ,cumberland     
,hills in building furnaces round       
,furness ,abbey2 but which careful      
students either of past knighthood1 or  
of future ,christianity1 will find      
securely and always true4 ,for the      
relations between man and his beast of  
burden1 whether the burden be himself or
 his goods1 become beautiful and        
honorable1 just in the degree that both 
creatures are useful to the rest of     

mankind1 whether in war or peace4 ,the  
,greeks gave the highest symbol of them 
in the bridling of ,pegasus for         
,bellerophon by ,athena2 and from that  
myth you may go down to modern          
times--understanding1 according to your 
own sense and dignity1 what all         
prophecy1 poetry1 history1 have told    
you--of the horse whose neck is clothed 
with thunder1 or the ox who treadeth out
 the corn--of ,joseph's chariot1 or of  
,elijah's--of ,achilles and             
,xanthus--,herminius and ,black         
,auster--down to ,scott and ,brown      
,adam--or ,dandie ,dinmont and ,dumple4 
,that pastoral one is1 of all1 the most 
enduring4 ,i hear the proudest tribe of 
,arabia ,felix is now reduced by poverty
 and civilization to sell its last      
well-bred horse2 and that we send out   
our cavalry regiments to repetitions of 
the charge at ,balaclava1 without horses
 at all2 those that they can pick up    
wherever they land being good enough for
 such military operations4 ,but the     

cart-horse will remain1 when the charger
 and hunter are no more2 and with a     
wiser master4      ,i'll buy him1 for   
the dogs shall never     ,set tooth upon
 a friend so true2     ,he'll not live  
long2 but ,i forever     ,shall know ,i 
gave the beast his due4      ,ready as  
bird to meet the morn     ,were all his 
efforts at the plow2     ,then the      
mill-brook--with hay or corn1     ,good 
creature6 how he'd spatter through4     
,i left him in the shafts behind1       
,his fellows all unhook'd and gone2     
,he neigh'd1 and deemed the thing       
unkind2     ,then1 starting1 drew the   
load alone4                  99    99   
99    99      ,half choked with joy1    
with love1 and pride1     ,he now with  
dainty clover fed him2     ,now took a  
short1 triumphant ride1     ,and then   
again got down1 and led him4  #aci4     
,where ,paris has had to lead her       
horses1 we know2 and where ,london had  
better lead hers1 than let her people   
die of starvation4 ,but ,i have not lost

 my hope that there are yet in ,england 
,bewicks and ,bloomfields1 who may teach
 their children--and earn for their     
cattle--better ways of fronting1 and of 
waiting for1 ,death4  ,nor are the uses 
of the inferior creatures to us less    
consistent with their happiness4 ,to all
 that live1 ,death must come4 ,the      
manner of it1 and the time1 are for the 
human ,master of them1 and of the earth1
 to determine--not to his pleasure1 but 
to his duty and his need4  ,in          
sacrifice1 or for his food1 or for his  
clothing1 it is lawful for him to slay  
animals2 but not to delight in slaying  
any that are helpless4 ,if he choose1   
for discipline and trial of courage1 to 
leave the boar in ,calydon1 the wolf in 
,taurus1 the tiger in ,bengal1 or the   
wild bull in ,aragon1 there is forest   
and mountain wide enough for them3 but  
the inhabited world in sea and land     
should be one vast unwalled park and    
treasure lake1 in which its flocks of   
sheep1 or deer1 or fowl1 or fish1 should

 be tended and dealt with1 as best may  
multiply the life of all ,love's        
,meinie1 in strength1 and use1 and      
peace4     ,,appendix4   #adj4 ,this    
part of the book will1 ,i hope1 be      
continuous with the text of it1         
containing henceforward1 in each number1
 the nomenclature hitherto used for the 
birds described in it1 and the ,author's
 reason for his choice or change of     
names4 ,in the present number1 it       
supplies also the nomenclature required 
for the two preceding ones1 and thus    
finishes the first volume4  ,the names  
given first1 in capitals1 for each bird1
 are those which the ,author will in    
future give it1 and proposes for use in 
elementary teaching4 ,they will consist 
only of a plain ,latin specific name1   
with one1 or at the most two1 ,latin    
epithets2 and the simplest popular      
,english name1 if there be one2 if not1 
the ,english name will usually be the   
direct translation of the ,latin one4   
,then in order will follow--  ,i4       

,linnus's name1 marked ,l4  ,,ii4       
,buffon's name1 marked ,f1 the ,f       
standing also for ',french' when any    
popular ,french name is given with      
,buffon's4  ,,iii4 ,the ,german popular 
name1 marked ,t 7,teutonic71 for ,i want
 the ,g for ,mr4 ,gould2 and this ,t    
will include authoritative ,german      
scientific names also4  ,,iv4 ,the      
,italian popular name1 if one exists1 to
 give the connection with old ,latin1   
marked ,i4  ,v4 ,mr4 ,gould's name1 ,g2 
,yarrell's1 ,y2 ,dressler's1 ,d2 and    
,gesner's1 ,ges1 being added1 if        
different4  ,,vi4 ,bewick's1 ,b4  ,,vii4
 ,shakspeare's and ,chaucer's1 if ,i    
know them2 and general references1 such 
as may be needful4  ,the ,appendix will 
thus contain the names of all the birds 
,i am able to think or learn anything   
about1 as ,i can set down what ,i think 
or learn2 and with no other attempt at  
order than the slight grouping of       
convenience3 but the numbers of the     
species examined will be consecutive1 so

 that ,l4 ,m4 #be1--,love's ,meinie1    
,number twenty-five1--or whatever the   
number may be1 will at once identify any
 bird in the system of the ,st4         
,george's schools4  ,the following note 
by the ,author has in previous editions 
faced the first page of ,lecture ,,iii41
 with the exception of the ,nos4        
i4-vii41 which are now added by the     
,editor for the sake of completeness4   
99          99          99          99  
,names of the birds noticed1 according  
to the ,author's system1 with           
reference to the sections of the text   
and the ,appendix in which the          
reader will find their more melodious   
scientific nomenclature3--              
,sect4       ,sect4      ,i4   ,rutila  
,familiaris4     ,robin ,redbreast      
,text #a seqq4  ,app4 #ada    ,,ii4     
,hirundo ,domestica4     ,house ,swallow
                                        
#da seqq4      #adb   ,,iii4   ,hirundo 
,monastica4     ,martlet                
--            #adc    ,,iv4   ,hirundo  

,riparia4       ,bank ,martlet          
--            #add     ,v4   ,hirundo   
,sagitta4       ,swift                  
#fd            #ade    ,,vi4   ,hirundo 
,alpina4        ,alpine ,swift          
--            #adf   ,,vii4   ,noctua   
,europa4        ,night-jar of ,europe   
--            #adg  ,,viii4   ,merula   
,fontium4        ,torrent ,ouzel        
#hi            #adh    ,,ix4            
,allegretta ,nympha4    ,lily ,ouzel    
#ic            #adi    ,,ix4,a4         
,allegretta ,maculata4   ,spotted       
,allegret                               
#if            #adi    ,,ix4,b4         
,allegretta ,stellaris4  ,starry        
,allegret                               
#ig            #adi    ,,ix4,c4         
,allegretta ,minuta4     ,tiny ,allegret
                                        
#ih            #adi     ,x4   ,trepida  
,stagnarum4     ,little ,grebe          
#ajj            #aej    ,,xi4,a4        
,titania ,arctica4       ,arctic ,fairy 
#aaa            #aea    ,,xi4   ,titania

 ,inconstans4    ,changeful ,fairy      
#aad            #aea   ,,xii4   ,rallus 
,aquaticus4      ,water ,rail           
#aaf            #aeb   ,,xii4,a4 ,pulla 
,aquatica4        ,water ,hen           
#acc            #aec   ,i4  #ada4       
,,rutila ,,familiaris4    ,,robin       
,,redbreast4  ,motacilla ,rubecula4 ,l4 
,rouge-,gorge4 ,f4                      
,roth-breustlein4--,wald-roetele4--,wint
er-roetele4--,roth-kehlschen4 ,t4       
,petti-rosso4 ,i4  ,erythacus ,rubecula4
 ,g4 ,rubecula ,erythacus4 ,ges4        
,erythaca ,rubecula4 ,y4                
,rebecula ,familiaris4 ,d4  ,ruddock4   
,b4 ,ruddock1 in ,cymbeline2 tame       
,ruddocke1 in ,assembly of ,fowls2 full 
robin-redebreast1 in the ,court of      
,love3      ,the second lesson1 ,robin  
,redebreast sang4  ,it is rightly       
classed by ,f4 and ,y4 with the         
,warblers4 ,gould strangely puts it with
 his rock-birds1 'saxicolin1'--in which1
 however1 he also includes the sedge    
warbler4  ,the true ,robin is properly a

 wood-bird2 the ,swedish blue-throated  
one lives in marshes and arable fields4 
,i have never seen a robin in really    
wild mountain ground4  ,there is only   
one ,european species of the            
red-breasted ,robin4 ,gould names two   
,japanese ones4   ,,ii4  #adb4 ,,hirundo
 ,,domestica4    ,,house ,,swallow4     
,hirundo ,rustica4 ,l4 ,hirondelle      
,domestique4 ,f4 ,schwalbe4 ,t4 ,swala1 
,swedish1 and ,saxon1 whence our        
,swallow3 but compare   ,lecture ,,ii41 
#dd4 ,rondine ,comune4 ,i4 7note        
,rondine1 the ,swallow2 ,rondone1 the   
,swift74 ,hirundo ,rustica4 ,g4 and ,y4 
,chimney-,swallow4 ,b4   ,,iii4  #adc4  
,,hirundo ,,monastica4    ,,martlet4    
,hirundo ,urbica4 ,l4 ,hirondelle de    
,fenetre4 ,f4 ,kirch-schwalbe4          
7,church-,swallow47 ,t4 ,balestruccio4  
,i4 ,chelidon ,urbica4 ,d4 and ,g4      
,hirundo ,urbica4 ,martin4 ,y4 ,martlet1
 ,martinet1 or ,window-,swallow4 ,y4  ,i
 cannot get at the root of this word1   
',martlet1' which is the really         

classical and authoritative ,english    
one4 ,i have called it ,monastica1 in   
translation of ,shakspeare's            
temple-haunting4 ,the main idea about   
this bird1 among people who have any    
ideas1 seems to be that it haunts and   
builds among grander masses or clefts of
 wall than the common ,swallow4 ,thus   
the ,germans1 besides ,church-,swallow1 
call it wall1--rock1--roof1--or window1 
swallow1 and ,mur-,spyren1 or ,munster  
,spyren4 7,wall-walker8                 
,minster-walker87 ,but by the people who
 have no ideas1 the names 'town' and    
'country1' 'urbica' and 'rustica1' have 
been accepted as indicating the         
practical result1 that a bird which     
likes walls will live in towns1 and one 
which is content with eaves may remain  
in farms and villages1 and under their  
straw-built sheds4  ,my name1           
,monastica1 is farther justified by the 
,dominican severity of the bird's dress1
 dark gray-blue and white only2 while   
the ,domestica has a red cap and light  

brown bodice1 and much longer tail4 ,as 
far as ,i remember1 the bird ,i know    
best is the ,monastica4 ,i have seen it 
in happiest flocks in all-monastic      
,abbeville1 playing over the ,somme in  
morning sunlight1 dashing deep through  
the water at every stoop1 like a        
hardcast stone4   ,,iv4  #add4 ,,hirundo
 ,,riparia4    ,,bank ,,martlet4        
,hirundo ,riparia4 ,l4 ,hirondelle de   
,rivage4 ,f4 ,rhein-schwalbe1           
7,rhine-,swallow17--ufer-schwalbe1      
7,shore-,swallow17--erd-schwalbe1       
7,earth-,swallow74 ,t4 ,topino1 7,the   
mouse-color47--,rondine de riva4 ,i4    
,cotyle ,riparia4 ,g4 ,hirundo ,riparia4
 ,y4 ,bank-,martin4 ,b4  ,the ,italian  
name1 ',topino1' is a good familiar one1
 the bird being scarcely larger than a  
mouse1 and the head1 neck1 breast1 and  
back of a mouse-color4 7,b47 ,it is the 
smallest of the ,swallow tribe1 and     
shortest of wing2 accordingly1 ,i find  
,spallanzani's experiment on the rate of
 swallow-flight was1 for greater        

certainty and severity1 made with this  
apparently feeblest of its kind3--a     
marked ,topino1 brought from its nest at
 ,pavia to ,milan1 7fifteen miles17 flew
 back to ,pavia in thirteen minutes4 ,i 
imagine a ,swift would at least have    
doubled this rate of flight1 and that we
 may safely take a hundred miles an hour
 as an average of swallow-speed4 ,this1 
however1 is less by three-fifths than   
,michelet's estimate4 ,see above1       
,lecture ,,ii41  #dh4  ,i have          
substituted 'bank' for 'sand' in the    
,english name1 since all the six quoted 
authorities give it this epithet in     
,latin or ,french1 and ,bewick in       
,english4 ,also1 it may be well thus to 
distinguish it from birds of the        
sea-shore4   ,v4  #ade4 ,,hirundo       
,,sagitta4    ,,swift4  ,hirundo ,apus4 
,l4 ,martinet ,noir4 ,f4 ,geyr-schwalbe4
 7,vulture-,swallow47 ,t4 ,rondone4     
7,plural1 ,rondini47 ,i4 ,cypselus      
,apus4 ,g4 and ,y4 ,swift1 ,black       
,martin1 or ,deviling4 ,b4  ,i think it 

will be often well to admit the license 
of using a substantive for epithet1 7as 
one says rock-bird or sea-bird1 and not 
'rocky1' or 'marine1'7 in ,latin as well
 as in ,english4 ,we thus greatly       
increase our power1 and assist the      
brevity of nomenclature2 and we gain the
 convenience of using the second term by
 itself1 when we wish to do so1 more    
naturally4 ,thus1 one may shortly speak 
of ',the ,sagitta' 7when one is on a    
scientific point where ',swift' would be
 indecorous67 more easily than one could
 speak of ',the ,stridula1' or ',the    
,velox1' if we gave the bird either of  
those epithets4 ,i think this of        
,sagitta is the most descriptive one    
could well find2 only the reader is     
always to recollect that arrow-birds    
must be more heavy in the head or shaft 
than arrow-weapons1 and fly more in the 
manner of rifle-shot than bow-shot4 ,see
 ,lecture ,,ii41  #df1 #fg1 #ga1 in     
which last paragraph1 however1 ,i have  
to correct the careless statement1 that 

in the sailing flight1 without stroke1  
of the larger falcons1 their weight ever
 acts like the string of a kite4 ,their 
weight acts simply as the weight of a   
kite acts1 and no otherwise4 7,compare  
#fe47 ,the impulsive force in sailing   
can be given only by the tail feathers1 
like that of a darting trout by the tail
 fin4 ,i do not think any excuse        
necessary for my rejection of the name  
which seems most to have established    
itself lately1 ',cypselus ,apus1'       
',footless ,capsule4' ,it is not        
footless1 and there is no sense in      
calling a bird a capsule because it     
lives in a hole1 7which the ,swift does 
not47 ,the ,greeks had a double idea in 
the word1 which it is not the least     
necessary to keep2 and ,aristotle's     
cypselus is not the swift1 but the      
bank-martlet--they bring up their young 
in cells made out of clay1 long in the  
entrance4 ,the swift being precisely the
 one of the ,hirundines which does not  
make its nest of clay1 but of           

miscellaneous straws1 threads1 and      
shreds of any adaptable rubbish1 which  
it can snatch from the ground as it     
stoops on the wing1#bf or pilfer from   
any half-ruined nests of other birds4   
#bf ,i have in different times and      
places opened ten or twelve             
swifts' nests2 in all of them ,i found  
the same materials1 and       these     
consisting of a great variety of        
substances--stalks of       corn1 dry   
grass1 moss1 hemp1 bits of cord1 threads
 of silk and       linen1 the tip of an 
ermine's tail1 small shreds of gauze1 of
       muslin and other light stuffs1   
the feathers of domestic birds1         
charcoal1--in short1 whatever they can  
find in the sweepings of                
towns4--,buffon4        ,belon asserts  
7,buffon does not venture to guarantee  
the       assertion71 that they will    
descry a fly at the distance of a       
quarter of a league6  ',cotyle' is only 
a synonym for ,cypselus1 enabling       
ornithologists to become farther        

unintelligible4 ,we will be troubled no 
more either with cotyles or capsules1   
but recollect simply that ,hirundo1     
,greek3 chelidn1 swallow1 schwalbe1 and 
hirondelle1 are in each language the    
sufficing single words for the entire   
,hirundine race4   ,,vi4  #adf4         
,,hirundo ,,alpina4    ,,alpine ,,swift4
  ,hirundo ,melba4 ,l4 ,le grand        
,martinet a ,ventre ,blanc4 ,f4         
,cypselus ,melba4 ,g4 ,cypselus         
,alpinus4 ,y4 ,alpine                   
,swift1--,white-bellied ,swift4 ,y4 ,not
 in ,bewick4  ,i cannot find its ,german
 name4 ,the ,italians compare it with   
the sea-swallow1 which is a gull4 ,what 
',melba' means1 or ever meant1 ,i have  
no conception4  ,the bird is the noblest
 of all the swallow tribe--nearly as    
large as a hawk1 and lives high in air1 
nothing but rocks or cathedrals serving 
it for nest4 ,in ,france1 seen only near
 the ,alps2 in ,spain1 among the        
mountains of ,aragon4 ,almost every     
person who has had an opportunity of    

observing this bird speaks in terms of  
admiration of its vast powers of flight2
 it is not surprising1 therefore1 that  
an individual should now and then wing  
its way across the ,channel to the      
,british ,islands1 and roam over our    
meads and fields until it is shot4 7,g47
 ,it is1 ,i believe1 the swallow of the 
,bible1--abundant1 though only a summer 
migrant1 in the ,holy ,land4 ,i have    
never seen it1 that ,i know of1 nor     
thought of it in the lecture on the     
,swallow2 but give here the complete    
series of ,hirundines1 of which some    
notice may incidentally afterwards occur
 in the text4   ,,vii4  #adg4 ,,noctua  
,,europ,a4    ,,night-,,jar ,,of        
,,europe4  ,caprimulgus ,europus4 ,l4   
,l',engoulevent4 ,f4 7,crapaud-volant1  
popular47 ,geissmelcher4--,nacht-schade4
 ,t4 ,covaterra4 ,i4 ,caprimulgus       
,europus4 ,g4 and ,y4 ,night-jar4 ,b4   
,dorrhawk and ,fern-owl1 also given by  
,bewick1 are the most beautiful ,english
 names for this bird2 but as it is      

really neither a hawk nor an owl1 though
 much mingled in its manners of both1 ,i
 keep the usual one1 ,night-jar1        
euphonious for ,night-,churr1 from its  
continuous note like the sound of a     
spinning wheel4 ,the idea of its sucking
 goats1 or any other milky creature1 has
 long been set at rest2 and science1    
intolerant of legends in which there is 
any use or beauty1 cannot be allowed to 
ratify in its dog or pig-,latin those   
which are eternally vulgar and          
profitless4 ,i had first thought of     
calling it ,hirundo ,nocturna2 but this 
would be too broad massing2 for although
 the creature is more swallow than owl1 
living wholly on insects1 it must be    
properly held as a distinct species from
 both4 ,owls cannot gape like           
constrictors2 nor have swallows whiskers
 or beards1 or combs to keep both in    
order with1 on their middle toes4 ,this 
bird's cat-like bristles at the base of 
the beak connect it with the bearded    
,toucans1 and so also the toothed       

mandibles of the ,american cave-dwelling
 variety4 ,i shall not want the word    
,noctua for the owls themselves1 and it 
is a pretty and simple one for this     
tribe1 enabling the local epithet       
',european1' and other necessary ones1  
of varieties1 to be retained for the    
second or specific term4 ,nacht-schade1 
,night-loss1 the popular ,german name1  
perhaps really still refers to this     
supposed nocturnal thieving2 or may have
 fallen euphonious from ,nacht-schwalbe1
 which in some places abides4           
',crapaud-volant' is ugly1 but          
descriptive1 the brown speckling of the 
bird being indeed toadlike1 though      
wonderful and beautiful4 ,bewick has put
 his utmost skill into it2 and the cut1 
with the ,bittern and ,white ,owl1 may  
perhaps stand otherwise unrivaled by any
 of his hand4  ,gould's drawing of the  
bird on its ground nest1 or ground      
contentedly taken for nest1 among heath 
and scarlet-topped lichen1 is among the 
most beautiful in his book2 and there   

are four quite exquisite drawings by    
,mr4 ,ford1 of ,african varieties1 in   
,dr4 ,smith's zoology of ,south ,africa4
 ,the one called by the doctor ,europus 
seems a grayer and more graceful bird   
than ours4 ,natalensis wears a most     
wonderful dark oak-leaf pattern of      
cloak4 ,rufigena1 ,i suppose1 blushes   
herself separate from ,ruficollis of    
,gould8 but these foreign varieties seem
 countless4 ,i shall never have time to 
examine them1 but thought it not well to
 end the titular list of the swallows   
without notice of the position of this  
great tribe4   ,,viii4  #adh4 ,,merula  
,,fontium4    ,,torrent-,,ouzel4        
,sturnus ,cinclus4 ,l4 ,merle d',eau4   
,f4 ,bach-,amsel4 ,t4 ,merla ,aquaiola4 
,i4 ,cinclus ,aquaticus4 ,g4 and ,y4    
,water ,ouzel4 ,b4  ,turdus ,cinclus1   
,pennant2 ,common ,dipper1 ,y42         
,didapper1 ,doucker1 ,water ,crow1      
,water ,piot1 ,b42 ,cincle ,plongeur1   
,temminck2 ,wasser ,trostel1 ,swiss4    
,the scientific full arrangement1       

according to ,yarrell1 is thus3--  #a4  
,order--,,insessores4 #b4               
,tribe--,dentirostres4 #c4              
,genus--,merulid4 #d4                   
,species--,cinclus4 #e4                 
,individual--,aquaticus4  ,you will     
please observe that some of the         
scientific people call it a             
blackbird--some a thrush--some a        
starling--and the rest a ,cincle1       
whatever that may be4 ,it remains for   
them now only to show how the ,cincle   
has been developed out of the ,winkle1  
and the ,winkle out of the              
,quangle-,wangle4 ,you will note also   
that the ,yorkshire and ,durham mind is 
balanced between the two views of its   
being a crow or a magpie4 ,i am content 
myself to be in harmony with ,france and
 ,italy1 in my ',merula1' and with      
,germany in my ,torrent-,ouzel4 ,their  
'bach' 7as in ,staubbach1 ,giesbach1    
,reichenbach7 being essentially a       
mountain waterfall2 and their 'amsel1'  
as our ,damsel1 merely the ,teutonic    

form of the ,demoiselle or              
,domicilla--',house-,ouzel1' as it were1
 7said of a nice girl7--,domicilla again
 being1 ,i think1 merely the            
transposition of ,ancilla               
,domini1--,behold1 the handmaid of the  
,lord3 7see frontispiece to third volume
 of ',modern ,painters'7 which1 if young
 ladies in general were to embroider on 
their girdles--though their dresses1    
fitting at present 'as close as a glove'
 7see description of modern ,american   
ideal in ',a ,fair ,barbarian'7 do not  
usually require girdles either for their
 keys or their manners1--it would       
probably be thought irreverent by modern
 clergymen2 but if the demoiselle were  
none the better for it1 she could       
certainly be none the worse4  #adi4     
,,allegretta ,,nymph,a4                 
,,lily-,,ouzel4  ,var4 #a 7,,ix4,a47    
,,allegretta ,,nymph,a1 ,,maculata4     
,,spotted ,,allegret4  ,rallus ,porzana4
 ,l4 ,poule d',eau ,maronette4 ,f4      
,winkernell4 ,t4 ,porzana4 ,i4 ,zapornia

 ,porzana4 ,g4 ,crex ,porzana4 ,y4      
,ortygometra ,porzana4 ,steph4          
,gallinula ,maculata et ,punctata4      
,brehmen4 ,spotted ,crake4 ,b4  ,the    
',winkernell' is ,i believe provincial  
7,alsace72 so1 ,girardina1 ,milanese1   
and ,girardine1 ,picard4--,i can make   
nothing whatever of any of these        
names2--,porzana1 ,bolognese and        
,venetian1 might perhaps mean           
,piggy-bird2 and ,ortygometra ,porzana  
would then mean1 in serious ,english1   
the ',quail-sized ,pig-bird4' ,i am     
sorry not to be able to do better as    
,interpreter for my scientific friends4 
,,ix4,b4  ,,allegretta ,,nymph,a1       
,,stellaris4    ,,starry ,,allegret4    
,not separated by ,linnus1 or ,buffon1  
or ,bewick1 nor by popular ,german   or 
,french names1 from the ,marouette4     
,crex ,baillonii1 ,baillon's ,crake4 ,y4
 ,porzana ,pygma4 ,g4 ,gallinula        
,stellaris4 ,temminck4   ,,ix4,c4       
,,allegretta ,,nymph,a1 ,,minuta4       
,,tiny ,,allegret4  ,porzana ,minuta1   

,olivaceous ,crake4 ,g4 ,crex ,pusilla1 
,little ,crake4 ,y4 ,poule d',eau       
,poussin4 ,temminck4 ,little ,gallinule4
 ,b4  ,it never occurred to me1 when ,i 
was writing of classical landscape1 that
 ',poussin' to a ,french ear conveyed   
the idea of 'chicken1' or of the young  
of birds in general4 7,is it from       
'pousser1' as if they were a kind of    
budding of bird87 ,everybody seems to   
agree in feeling that this is a kind of 
wren among the dabchicks4 ,bewick's     
name1 ',little ,gallinule1' meaning of  
course1 if he knew it1 the twice-over   
little ,gallina2--and here again the    
question occurs to me about its voice4  
,is it a twice-over little crow1 called 
a 'creak1' or anything like the ,rail's 
more provokingly continuous             
objurgation8--compare notes below on    
,rallus ,aquaticus4 ,i find1 with some  
alarm1 in ,buffon1 that one with a      
longer tail1 the ,cau-rale or ,tail-rail
 of ,cayenne1 is there called ',little  
,peacock of the ,roses2' but its cry is 

represented by the liquid syllables     
',piolo1' while the black-spotted one of
 the ,society ,islands--,magellan's     
',water-quail'--says ',poo-a-nee1' and  
the ,bidi-bidi of ,jamaica says         
',bidi-bidi4'   ,x4  #aej4 ,,trepida    
,,stagnarum4    ,,little ,,grebe4       
,colymbus ,minor4 ,l4 ,le ,castagneux4  
,f4 ,deutchel4 ,t4 ,tropazarola8 ,i4    
,podiceps ,minor4 ,c4 ,little ,grebe4   
,b4  ,the ,yorkshire accents and changes
 of its name are given by ,bewick3      
,dobchick--small doucker2 ,dipper1 or   
,didapper4  ,in ,barbadoes--,two-penny  
chick4  ,it seems to me curious that    
without knowing ,buffon's name1 which ,i
 have only looked up now1 'the          
,chestnutty1' given from the brown on   
its back1 ,i should have1 myself1 always
 called its foot 'chestnutty1' from the 
shape of its lobes4  ,my ',trepida' will
 do well enough1 ,i think1 for a ,latin 
rendering of ,grebe1 and will include   
the whole group of them1--'stagnarum'   
remaining for this species only1 and the

 others being called ,tippeted ,trepids1
 or ,muffed ,trepids1 ,eared ,trepids or
 ,majestic ,trepids1 as ,i find out what
 they wear1 and how they behave4 ,grbe  
is used by ,buffon only for the larger  
ones1 and ,castagneux for the smaller1  
which is absurd enough1 unless the      
smaller are also the browner4  ,but ,i  
find in ,buffon some interesting        
particulars not given in my             
text--namely1 that the whole group      
differs from common chicks1 not only in 
the lobed feet1 but in these being set  
so far back1 7becoming almost a fish's  
tail indeed1 rather than a bird's legs17
 that they are quite useless for        
walking1 and could support the bird only
 on land if it stood upright3 but that  
it dashes through the waves 7i4e41 the  
larger varieties through sea waves71 and
 runs on the surface8 7i4e41 the smaller
 varieties on pools17 with surprising   
rapidity2 its motions are said to be    
never quicker and brisker than when     
under water4 ,it pursues the fish to a  

very great depth1 and is often caught in
 fishermen's nets4 ,it dives deeper than
 the scoter duck1 which is taken only on
 beds of shellfish left bare by the     
ebb-tide2 while the ,grebes are taken in
 the open sea1 often at more than twenty
 feet depth4   ,,xi4  #aea4 ,,titania   
,,arctica4    ,,arctic ,,fairy4  ,tringa
 ,fulicaria4 ,l4 7,no ,french name given
 in my edition of ,buffon67 ,no ,german1
 anywhere4 ,no ,italian1 anywhere4  ,but
 of suggestions by scientific authors1  
here are enough to choose from3--       
,lobipes ,hyperboreus1 ,g4 ,lobipes     
,hyperborea1 ,selby4 ,phalaropus        
,hyperboreus1 ,penn4 ,phalarope         
,hyperbore1 ,temm4 ,phalaropus          
,fulicaria1 ,mont4 ,phalaropus ,fuscus1 
,bewick4 ,phalaropus ,rufescens1 ,briss4
 ,red ,coot-footed ,tringa1 ,edw4       
,red-necked ,phalarope1 ,gould4         
,lobe-foot1 ,selby4 ,coot-foot1         
,fleming4  ,i am a little shocked at my 
own choice of name in this case1 not    
quite pleasing my imagination with the  

idea of a ,coot-footed ,fairy4 ,but     
since ,athena herself thinks it no      
disgrace to take for disguise the       
likeness either of a sea-gull or a      
swallow1 a sea-fairy may certainly be   
thought of as condescending to appear   
with a diving bird's foot2 and the      
rather that1 if one may judge by        
painters' efforts to give us sight of   
,fairyland1 the general character of its
 inhabitants is more that of earthly or 
marine goblins than aerial ones4  ,now  
this is strange6 ,at the last moment1 ,i
 find this sentence in ,gould's         
introduction3 ,the generic terms        
,phalaropus and ,lobipes have been      
instituted for the fairy-like           
phalaropes4   ,,xi4,a4  ,,titania       
,,inconstans4    ,,changeful ,,fairy4   
,tringa ,lobata4 ,l4 ,phalaropus        
,fulicarius 7,gray ,phalarope74 ,g4     
,phalaropus ,lobatus4 ,latham4          
,phalarope with indented festoons1      
,english trans4 of ,buffon4--,it is of  
no use to ring the changes farther4     

,,xii4  #aeb4 ,,rallus ,,aquaticus4     
,,water ,,rail4  ,rallus ,aquaticus4    
,l41 ,g41 ,y4 ,rle d',eau4 ,f4          
,samet-,hennle--,velvet 7silken87 hen4  
,ges4 ,schwartz-,wasser-,hennle4 ,t48   
,vagtel-,konge4 ,danish4 ,porzana1 or   
,forzana1 at ,venice4                   
,brook-,ouzel--,velvet ,runner4 ,b4  ,i 
take this group of foreign names from   
,buffon1 but question the ,german one1  
which must belong to the ,water ,hen2   
for the ,rail is not black1 but prettily
 gray and spotted1 and ,i think ,buffon 
confuses the two birds1 as several      
popular names do4 ,thus1 the ,velvet    
,hen also1 ,i fancy1 is the ,water ,hen2
 but ,bewick's ,velvet-,runner partly   
confirms it to the ,rail4 ,i find       
nothing about velvet said in describing 
the plumage4  ,i leave ,linnus's for our
 ,latin name1 under some protest4       
,rallus is a late ,latin adjective1     
meaning 'thin1' and if understood as    
',thin-bird1' or ',lath-like' bird1     
would be reasonable2 but if it stand1 as

 it does practically1 for ,railing or   
,rattling bird1 it is both bad ,latin1  
and1 as far as ,i can make out1         
calumnious of the usually quiet         
creature4  ,note also1 for a connected  
piece of scholarship1 that our ,english 
verb to 'rail' does not properly mean to
 scold1 or to abuse noisily2 it is from 
'railler1' and means to 'rally1' or jest
 at1 which is often a much wickeder     
thing to do1 if the matter be indeed no 
jest4  ,note also of ,samet or ,samite1 
its derivation from late ,greek ,greek3 
examitos1 silken stuff woven of six     
threads1 of which ,i believe two were of
 gold4 ,the ,french oriflamme was of    
crimson samite1 and ,i don't see why the
 ,french shouldn't call this bird ,poule
 de ,soie1 instead of by their present  
ugly name--more objectionable on all    
grounds1 of sense1 scholarship1 and     
feeling1 than the ,english one4 ,but see
 the next species4   #aec4 ,,xii4,a4    
,,pulla ,,aquatica4    ,,water ,,hen4   
,there seems so much confusion in the   

minds1 or at least the language1 of     
ornithologists1 between the ,water ,rail
 and ,water ,hen1 that ,i give this     
latter bird under the number ,,xii4,a4  
rather than ,,xiii41 7which would1      
besides1 be an unlucky number to end my 
,appendix with72 and it would be very   
nice1 if at all possible or proper1 to  
keep these two larger dabchicks         
connected pleasantly in school-girl     
minds by their costumes1 and call one   
',silken ,runner1' and this1--which1 as 
said above1 ,gesner seems to mean1      
,velvet ,runner1 or ,velvet             
,hen4--,poule de ,soie or ,poule de     
,velours8 ,i am getting a little        
confused myself1 however1 ,i find at    
last1 between ,poules1 ,poussins1       
,pullets1 and ,pullas2 and must for the 
present leave the matter to the reader's
 choice and fancy1 till ,i get some more
 birds looked at1 and named3--only1 for 
a pretty end of my ,appendix1 here are  
two bits of very precious letters1 sent 
me by friends who know birds better than

 most scientific people1 but have been  
too busy--one in a ',dorcas ,society1'  
and the other in a children's           
hospital--to write books1 and only now  
write these bits of letters on my       
special petition4 ,the member of the    
,dorcas ,society sends me this brief but
 final and satisfactory answer to my    
above question about birds' ears3--  ,we
 talk and think of birds as essentially 
musical and mimetic1 or at least vocal  
and noisy creatures2 and yet we seem to 
think that although they have an ear1   
they have no ears4 ,little or nothing is
 told us of the structure of a bird's   
ear4 ,we are now too enlightened to     
believe in what we can't see2 and ears  
that are never pricked1 or cocked1 or   
laid back1--that merely receive and     
learn1 but don't express1--that are     
organs1 not features1 don't interest our
 philosophers now4  ,if you blow gently 
on the feathers of the side of a bird's 
head1 a little above and behind the     
corner of the beak1 a little below and  

behind the eye1 the parted feathers will
 show the listening place2 a little hole
 with convolutions of delicate skin     
turning inwards1 very much like what    
your own ear would be if you had        
none1--,i mean1 if all of it that lies  
above the level of the head had been    
removed1 leaving no trace4 ,no one who  
looks at the little hole could fail to  
see that it is an ear1 highly           
organized--an ear for music2 at least1  
,i found it so among the finches ,i have
 examined2 ,i know not if a simpler     
structure is evident in the ear of a    
rook or a peacock4  ,the feathers are so
 planted round a bird's ears1 that      
however ruffled or wet1 they can't get  
in--and possibly they conduct sound4    
,birds have no need of ears with a      
movable cowl over them1 to turn and     
twist for the catching of stray sounds1 
as foxes have1 and hares1 and other     
four-footed things2 for a bird can turn 
his whole head so as to put his ear     
wherever he pleases in the twinkling of 

an eye2 and he has too many resources1  
whatever bird he may be1 of voice and   
gesture1 to need any power of           
ear-cocking to welcome his friends1 or  
ear-flattening to menace his foes4  ,the
 long and the short of it is1 that we   
may as well take the trouble first to   
look for1 and then to look at1 a bird's 
ear--having first made the bird like us 
and trust us so much1 that he won't mind
 a human breath upon his cheek1 but will
 let us see behind the veil1 into the   
doorless corridor that lets music into  
the bird-soul4  #aed4 ,next2 the        
physician 7over whom1 to get the letter 
out of him1 ,i had to use the authority 
of a more than ordinarily imperious     
patient7 says1--  ,now for the grebes   
lowering themselves in water1 7which    
,lucy said ,i was to tell you about74   
,the way in which they manage it1 ,i    
believe to be this4 ,most birds have    
under their skins great air-passages    
which open into the lungs1 and which1   
when the bird is moving quickly1 and    

consequently devouring a great deal of  
air1 do1 to a certain extent1 the work  
of supplementary lungs4 ,they also      
lessen the bird's specific gravity1     
which must be of some help in flying4   
,and in the gannet1 which drops into the
 sea from a great height after fish1    
these air-bags lessen the shock on      
striking the water4 ,now the grebes 7and
 all diving-birds7 which can swim high  
up out of water when the air-cushions   
are full1 and so feel very little the   
cold of the water beneath them1 breathe 
out all spare air1 and sink almost out  
of sight when they wish to be less      
conspicuous2--just as a balloon sinks   
when part of the gas is let out4 ,and ,i
 have often watched the common divers   
and cormorants too1 when frightened1    
swimming about with only head and neck  
out of water1 and so looking more like  
snakes than birds4  ,then about the     
,dippers3 they 'fly' to the bottom of a 
stream1 using their wings1 just as they 
would fly up into the air2 and there is 

the same difficulty in flying to the    
bottom of the stream1 and keeping there1
 as there would be in flying up into the
 air1 and keeping there1--perhaps       
greater difficulty4  ,they can never    
walk comfortably along the bottom of a  
river1 as they could on the bank1 though
 ,i know they are often talked of as    
doing it4 ,they too1 no doubt1 empty    
their air-bags1 to make going under     
water a little less difficult4  #aee4   
,this most valuable letter1 for once1   
leaves me a minute or two1 disposed to  
ask a question which would need the     
skinning of a bird in a diagram to      
answer--about the air-passages1 which   
are a kind of supplementary lungs4      
,thinking better of it1 and leaving the 
bird to breathe in its own way1 ,i do   
wish we could get this ,dipper question 
settled1--for here we are all at sea--or
 at least at brook1 again1 about it3 and
 although in a book ,i ought to have    
examined before--,mr4 ,robert ,gray's   
',birds of the ,west of ,scotland1'     

which contains a quantity of useful and 
amusing things1 and some plates         
remarkable for the delicate and spirited
 action of birds in groups1--although1  
,i say1 this unusually well-gathered and
 well-written book has a nice little    
lithograph of two dippers1 and says they
 are quite universally distributed in   
,scotland1 and called ',water ,crows1'  
and in ,gaelic ',gobha dubh nan allt1'  
7which ,i'm sure must mean something    
nice1 if one knew what17 and though it  
has a lively account of the bird's ways 
out of the water--says not a word of its
 ways in it6 except that dippers        
everywhere delight in deep linns and    
brawling rapids1 where their interesting
 motions never fail to attract the      
angler and bird-student2 and this of    
their voices3 ,in early spring1 the male
 birds may be seen perched on some      
moss-covered stone1 trilling their fine 
clear notes2 and again3 ,i have stood   
within a few yards of one at the close  
of a blustering winter's day1 and       

enjoyed its charming music unobserved4  
,the performer was sitting on a stake   
jutting from a mill-pond in the midst of
 a cold and cheerless ,forfarshire moor1
 yet he joyously warbled his evening    
hymn with a fullness which made me      
forget the surrounding sterility4       
,forget it not1 thou1 good reader2 but  
rather remember it in your own hymns1   
and your own prayers1 that still--in    
,bonnie ,scotland1 and ,old             
,england--the voices1 almost lost1 of   
,brook1 and ,breeze1 and ,bird1 may1 by 
,love's help1 be yet to their lovers    
audible4 ,ainsi soit il4   ,,brantwood1 
#hth ,july1 #ahha4