322 Some further Remarks on Sivallows. 



ternately feeding these young ones till they were conipletely 

 gorged, and then returning to rest for the night. 



The circumstance of the cat's devouring the intermediate hatch- 

 ing rendered the old swallows doubly suspicious of the me- 

 anderings and movements of tabby. 



One morning, soon after this catastrophe, I had gone out of 

 doors to examine the state of my ley cisterns, and was attentively 

 observing a curious motion in the alkaline lixivium that had been 

 left at rest over-night. I was soon induced to relinijuish my 

 musing, by the noisy shrieks of a group of swallows that were 

 flying round and hovering about me, and directing not their at- 

 tacks, but their movements, in such a manner as seemed to claim 

 my attention. I had no sooner raised my eyes from looking at the 

 liquor in the cisterns, and turned myself towards them, than they 

 seemed satisfied I had listened to their complaint; they then made 

 a circuit round me, and in a body darted into an open house 

 with great velocity and noise. Finding I did not follow them, they 

 immediately returned and flew round and round me so close as to 

 make me feel the wind from their wings, and again darted into 

 the house, returning instantly with augmented celerity and cla- 

 mour, repeating the same movements and indications of distress, 

 quickening their motions as the danger had become more appa- 

 rent. It then struck me that the extreme distress of the swal- 

 lows must proceed from some cause of alarm within the house, 

 and that by these movements they were using all their art to de- 

 coy me into that place, and anxiously importuning my protection 

 against some common foe. On conceiving this, I immediately fol- 

 lowed them, and was fully confirmed in my conjecture, on finding 

 a cat perched upon a plank that had been incautiously left, as if 

 to enable some of the tribe to reach a nest, and in the very act of 

 placing herself in a position to take the leap. Puss, on seeing that 

 the swallows had procured this timely assistance, betook herself 

 to flight ; when the swallows ceased their clamour, perched, and 

 began trimming their 'feathers while I stood by them, as if no- 

 thing offensive or alarming had occurred. 



A very striking instance of their discriminating discernment 

 occurred about this time, which showed their courage in attack- 

 ing their foes, Uieir disposition to resent an injury, their determi- 

 nation to inflict punishment on the aggressor, and that neither time 

 nor change of circumstances could divert them from their pur- 

 pose of keeping up a continued warfare against the offender, till 

 the day of their final departure for the season. One of the men- 

 servants, standing on a steeping vessel, reached up his hand and 

 took a young swallow from a nest immediately above him, in pre- 

 sence of one of the parent swallows ; who, being previously ac- 

 quainted 





