THE SWAN. 



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table. The wanton destruction of the birds, or the taking of their eggs, was 

 severely punished in the reigns of Edward IV. and of Henry VII. 



The swan possesses great strength and power in the wing. With one blow 

 it can break a man's leg, and has been sometimes seen to dash him headlong 

 into the water. 



The gift of instinct is bestowed largely on the water birds, and enables 

 them to escape accidents, and to overcome a great many difficulties. 



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THE WHISTLING SWAN. 



We can tell you something about the swans that live on the banks of the 

 Thames. At times the violent rains will cause the river to swell, and the water 

 begins to rise. When this happens at the season for hatching, the birds have 

 been seen busily employed in raising their nests, in order to save their eggs 

 from being washed away by the flood. 



For eighteen years a swan had built her nest by the side of the Thames, 

 in the same spot. One spring she was sitting on her eggs as usual, when it 



