The Swallow and the Sparrow 



edifice. The illustrious guest is given a 

 Bear-skin and a heap of leaves for a bed: 



stratisque locavit 



Effultum foliis et pelle Libystidis ursa. 1 



Evander's Louvre therefore was a cabin 

 a little larger than the others, made per- 

 haps of tree-trunks laid one on top of the 

 other, perhaps of unhewn stone employed 

 as found, perhaps of reeds and clay. This 

 rustic palace would have a thatched roof, 

 of course. However primitive the habita- 

 tion was, the Swallow and Sparrow were 

 there, at least the poet says so. But where 

 did they stay before they found a lodging in 

 man's abode? 



The industry of the Sparrow, the Swal- 

 low, the Pelopaeus and many others cannot 

 be subordinate to mankind's: each of them 

 must possess a primordial art of building, 

 one which makes the best use of the site 

 within reach. If better conditions present 

 themselves, they profit thereby; if these con- 

 ditions are lacking, they go back to their 

 ancient customs, whose practice, though 



1 " Then underneath a lowly roof he led 

 The weary prince and laid him on a bed; 

 The stuffing leaves with hides of bears o'erspread." 

 JEneid: book viii; Dryden's translation. 

 137 



