294 COMMON PIGEON. Class II. 



fatal cart is drawn away, to notify to diftant friends, 

 the departure of the unhappy criminal. 



In the Eaji^ the ufe of thefe birds feems to have 

 been improved greatly, by having, if we may 

 uie the exprefTion, relays of them ready to fpread 

 intelligence to all parts of the country. Thus the 

 governor of Bamiata circulated the news of the 

 death of Orrilo : 



Tofto che'l Caftellan di Damiata 

 Certificoffi, ch'era morto Orrilo, 

 La Cclomba lafcio, ch'avea legata 

 Sotto I'ala la lettera col filo. 

 Quelle ando al Cairo, ed indi fu lafciata 

 Un' altra altrove, come quivi e ftilo : 

 Si, che in pochiffime ore ando I'avvifo 

 Per tutto Egitto, ch'era Orrilo uccifo *. 



But the fimple ufe of them was known in very 

 early times : Anacreon tells us, he conveyed his 

 billet-doux, to his beautifuU Bathyllus^ by a dove. 



Eyw V ' Avoix^sovTi 

 Aiaxovu roa-ocuTiX* 

 K.ai vuv o'loci; EHslvfi 



* ' As foon as the commandant of Damiata heard that Or- 



* rilo was dead, he let loofe a pigeon, under whofe wing he 



* had tied a letter ; this fled to Cairo, from whence a fecond 



* was difpatched to another place, as is ufual ; fo that in a 



* very few hours, all Egypt was acquainted with the death 



* of Orrilo.^ Ariojio, canto 15. 



f Anacreon^ ode 9. e/j TTE^irs^aiv. 



I am 



