130 VELOCITY OF 



LETTER XVI. 



FROM EMILY TO CAROLINE. 



DEAR CAROLINE, 



When my father and Mr. Craven return from 

 the sports of the field, they generally chat over the 

 exploits of the day, and are often led into cmious dis- 

 quisitions on the nature of animals, and other topics 

 of natural history. On these occasions, I am usually 

 an attentive listener, as I employ myself with my 

 work ; but seldom take any part in the conversation, 

 unless my curiosity is particularly excited, my father 

 not being fond of interruption. But the other evening 

 I was so much interested, I could not restrain myself 

 from urging Mr. Craven to give me all the information 

 he could on the amazing swiftness of the flight of birds. 



A partridge that had escaped beyond the aim of 

 their guns, gave rise to an argument on the compara- 

 tive velocity of different creatures. 



My father remembered having seen a famous race- 

 horse, called Eclipse, gallop a mile in a minute ; and 

 he was of opinion that few birds could fly faster. Mr. 

 Craven rephed, that the instance he mentioned far 

 exceeded the utmost efforts of horses in general, but 

 that even that extraordinary example would not bear 



