126 HISTORY OF THE NIGHTINGALE. Oft. 5, 



in the houfe of Commons, and I ufed to think he had bor- 

 rowed his manner from the Nightinfrnle. When I after- 

 wards heard his fon, young Pitt fpeak, I thought his ora- 

 tory morerefembled the notes of the fparrow, continually 

 yerking at the American war :j;. — So much for orators, 

 and the oratory ot the Nightingale. I come now to 

 confider with what degree of probability, and in what 

 manner Nightingales may be transferred from one 

 country to another. 



The appearance, or rather the fong of the Night- 

 ingale "which leads to his being obferved, is expefted by 

 the bird catchers in the neighbourhood of London the 

 firll week of April. At firll, few but cocks are taken, 

 which I afcribe to the circumftance of their being eafiell 

 diftinguifl'.ed by their note, and being moft upon the 

 wm^' in purfuic of the females. They build their nefls 

 generally about the middle of May, in quickfet hedges, 

 from whence they feldom remove at any diftance. 'I^hey 

 do not congregate, or pack, like other birds that are fup- 

 pofed to be birds of paflage, in March and October, 

 ■ but hop from hedge to hedge, and are very local, not 

 only in England, but wherever this charming bird is to 

 be found in Europa, or Afia. 



^ Now thefe circumftances acknowledged by Mr Pen- 

 nant, and all the other advocates for the migration of 

 Nightingales feem fulEciently to prove the reverfe of 

 their fuppofition : more efpecially when we refleft 

 that if Nightingales left Enghnd in flocks to the 

 continent, they would be obferved there in winter, and 

 ia returning, would as naturally take their occafional 

 flights to Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, as to the fpots 

 they are feen to frequent. The great dijeafe that a£licls 

 cur literary republic is fyjlem. We need a Lord Bacon at 



\ Perhaps feme of our readers will think, that like Mr Pitt with 

 *>ie American \var, or Mr Hume with the clergy, or Mr Gibbon at the 

 Chr.ilian religion, our ingenious concfpondent does not diflike to go a 

 '■'■.'At out of his v/ay to get a liit at the minifter. Edit, 





