194 GILBEET WHITE OF SELBOENE 1771 



have been very glad to have seen Mr. Twisse : he just came 

 to London, called on Bro. Ben, and set out for Gibraltar 

 again. N° five is Eay's Junco, and the Turdus arundinaceus 

 of Linn. The Merula passer solitarius of Eay is said to be 

 a fine songster, and is supposed to be the bird mentioned 

 in Psalm cii. 7. Your winter swallow is undoubtedly the 

 Hirundo rwpestris of Scopoli; you however will have the 

 credit of discovering its winter quarters. Brisson mentions 

 a tridactyl quail from Madagascar. He calls it "Perdix 

 infern^ cinerea, superne e cinereo, rufo, & nigro variegata, 

 gutture & collo inferiore nigris ; coturnici nostrati paululum 

 crassitie cedens" His 'Ornithology' is extravagantly dear: 

 7 or 8 guineas. Geoffroy will set you right by means of his 

 cuts in many genera of insects. 



The motto from the 'Odyssey,' book iv. 566, is a description 

 of the Elysian fields, and will suit the climate of Andalusia 

 well — 



" Ov VLcf)€TOS, Oi5t' a/3 )(€lfia)V TToXvS, 0VT6 TTOt' OfJL^pOS' 



'AAA.' aUl Z€<l>vpoLO Atyv Trveiovras diJTas 

 'Q,Keavos dvLrjcTLV avaiJ/v)(€Lv dvOpunrovs." 



" Stern winter smiles on that auspicious clime ; 

 Tlie fields are florid with unfading prime : 

 From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow, 

 Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow ; 

 But from the breezy deep the blest inhale 

 The fragrant murmurs of the western gale." 



The prose motto is perfectly suitable to your present 

 situation, and prophetic of your undertaking. 



"Certe si aliquis Naturse consultus in maxime australi 

 Hispania in aves observaret, quando accedant aut recedant 

 austrum et septentrionem versus, notatis scilicet diebus 

 mensis et speciebus; res haec adeo obscura brevi maxime 

 illustraretur." ' Amoenitates Academicse ' Lin., vol. iv. 



Now Mr. Twisse is returned, be sure get his conjectures 

 on the currents of the Streights : you will want dissertations 



