408 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 



Lucretius, referring to this event (lib. iv. 686) attributes the 

 vigilance of the Geese to their fine sense of smell : " The 

 White Goose, the preserver of the citadel of the descendants 

 of Romulus, perceives at a great distance the odour of the hu- 

 man race." 



Virgil, alluding to the same occurrence, (JEn. viii. 655,) 

 ascribes the preservation of the capitol to an " Argenteus 

 Anser" (a Silver Goose). Both these poets, therefore, inform 

 us that the Domestic Goose of their day differed as much from 

 the Gray-leg or the White-fronted, as it does at present, a cir- 

 cumstance which the reader is requested to bear in mind. 



Pliny, about four hundred years later, remarks, (lib. x. 26,) 

 " The Goose is carefully watchful ; witness the defence of the 

 capitol, when the silence of the dogs would have betrayed 



every thing It is possible, also, that they may have some 



discernment of wisdom. Thus, one is said to have stuck per- 

 petually to the Philosopher Lacydis, never leaving him, either 

 in public, in the baths, by night, or by day." And again, at 

 xxvii. " Our folks are wiser, who are aware of the goodness 

 of their liver. In those that are crammed it increases to a 

 great size ; when taken out, it is laid to swell in milk mixed 

 with honey. And it is not without cause that it is a matter 

 of debate who was the first to discover such a dainty, whether 

 Scipio Metellus, of consular dignity, or M. Seius, a Koman 

 knight at the same epoch. But (what is certain) Messalinus 

 Cotta, the son of Messala, the orator, discovered the method 

 of cooking the web of their feet, and fricasseeing them in small 

 dishes along with Cocks' combs. I am ready heartily to 

 attribute the merit to the kitchen of either. It is wonderful 

 that this bird should travel on foot from the Morini (in the 

 north of France) to Rome. Those which are tired are carried 

 to the front; so that the rest push them on by a natural 

 crowding In some places they are plucked twice a year/' 



