45 



almost famished and S23eiit, and were only feathers and 

 bone ; but, being recruited with a night's rest, took their 

 iiio-lit in the mornino^." 



51. Xow I detain yon on this point somewhat, because 

 it is intimately connected with a more important one. I 

 told you we should learn from the swallow what a wing- 

 was. Few other birds approach him in the beauty of it, 

 or ap2:>arent power. And yet, after all this care taken 

 about it, he gets tired ; and instead of flying, as we sliould 

 do in his place, all over the world, and tasting the flavour 

 of the midges in every marsh which the infinitude of 

 human- folly has left to breed gnats instead of growing 

 corn, — he is of all birds, characteristically, except when 

 he absolutely can't help it, the stayer at home ; and con- 

 tentedly lodges himself and his family in an old chimney, 

 when he might be flying all over the world. 



At least you would think, if he built in an English 

 (;hinmey this year, he would build in a Fi'ench one next. 

 But no. ]\Iichelet prettily says of him, " lie is the bird 

 of return." If you will only treat him kindly, year after 

 year, he comes back to the same niche, and to the same 

 hearth, for his nest. 



To the same niche ; and builds himself an opaque 

 walled house within that. Think of this a little, as if you 

 heard of it for the first time. 



52. Suppose you had never seen a swallow; but that its 

 general habit of life had been described to you, and you 

 had been asked, how you thought such a bird would build 



