the then periodical crusades in defence of the national 

 religion. During the nine centuries that have elapsed 

 since then there have always been swans on the 

 Thames, and to-day they number between five and six 

 hundred. At one time there were as many as nine 

 hundred swan-owners on the Thames, so that giving 

 each of these the very moderate allowance of one 

 apiece, it is obvious the present number, large though 

 it seems, has been surpassed. Parenthetically, one is 

 led to wonder, how on earth did they know which was 

 whose ? There should have been a good opening for 

 a Chaffers, to catalogue the varied marks which 

 owners would have to employ to distinguish between 

 their own property and their neighbours'. 



Nowadays the whole of the swans belong to the 

 King, the Vintners' Company and the Dyers' Company, 

 who own, roughh^ a third of the total each. It is a 

 little puzzling at first to know how apparently prosaic 

 people like vintners and dyers came to be connected 

 with such a distinctly esthetic addition to the river. 

 It is explained by the fact that in older da3^s an3'body 

 who was anybody — fortunately or unfortunately not 

 being able to indulge in a motor-boat — had a state 

 barge in which he periodically disported himself, and 

 someone with a nice discrimination for art, hit upon 

 this way of imparting a new feature to the water 

 scenes he was thus able to enjoy. 



The King, and the two Companies named, ap- 

 pointed not only a Barge-master, but a Swan-marker 

 — oflSces which have now both merged into one, the 

 holder of which is called the Swan-Master. The 

 owners have each a separate mark for their birds, and 

 every swan on the Thames bears a distinctive badge 



