142 WHITE 



LETTER XIX 



SELBORNE, Feb. i^th, 1774. 



DEAR SIR, I received your favor of the 8th, and am pleased 

 to find that you read my little history of the swallow with your 

 usual candor : nor was I the less pleased to find that you made 

 objections where you saw reason. 



As to the quotations, it is difficult to say precisely what 

 species of hirundo Virgil might intend in the lines in question, 

 since the ancients did not attend to specific differences like 

 modern naturalists : yet somewhat may be gathered, enough 

 to incline me to suppose that in the two passages quoted the 

 poet had his eye on the swallow. 



In the first place the epithet garrula suits the swallow well, 

 who is a great songster, and not the martin, which is rather a 

 mute bird ; and when it sings is so inward as scarce to be heard. 

 Besides, if tignum in that place signifies a rafter rather than 

 a beam, as it seems to me to do, then I think it must be the 

 swallow that is alluded to, and not the martin, since the former 

 does frequently build within the roof against the rafters ; while 

 the latter always, as far as I have been able to observe, builds 

 without the roof against eaves and cornices. 



As to the simile, too much stress must not be laid on it; 

 yet the epithet nigra speaks plainly in favor of the swallow, 

 whose back and wings are very black ; while the rump of the 

 martin is milk-white, its back and wings blue, and all its under 

 part white as snow. Nor can the clumsy motions (compara- 

 tively clumsy) of the martin well represent the sudden and 

 artful evolutions and quick turns which Juturna gave to her 

 brother's chariot, so as to elude the eager pursuit of the en- 

 raged ^Eneas. The verb sonat also seems to imply a bird 

 that is somewhat loquacious. 1 



We have had a very wet autumn and winter, so as to raise 

 the springs to a pitch beyond anything since 1764 ; which was 

 a remarkable year for floods and high waters. The land-springs 

 which we call lavants, break out much on the downs of Sus- 

 sex, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. The country-people say when 

 the lavants rise corn will always be dear ; meaning that when 



