THE SWAN. 



227 



vinity, and a Norwegian by nation. This 

 man did, upon his credit, and with the inter- 

 position of an oath, solemnly affirm, that once 

 in the territory of Dronten, as he was stand- 

 ing on the sea-shore, early in the morning, he 

 heard an unusual and sweet murmur, com- 

 posed of the most pleasant whistlings and 

 sounds; he knew not at first whence they 

 came, or how they were made, for he saw no 

 man near to produce them ; but looking round 

 about him, and climbing to the top of a cer- 

 tain promontory, lie there espied an infinite 

 number of swans gathered together in a bay, 

 and making the most delightful harmony ; a 

 sweeter in all his life- time he had never 

 heard." These were accounts sufficient at 

 least to keep opinion in suspense, though in 

 contradiction to our own experience ; but Al- 

 drovandus, to put, as he supposed, the ques- 

 tion past all doubt, gives us the testimony of 

 a countryman of our own, from whom he had 

 the relation. This honest man's name was 

 Mr Geo. Braun, who assured him, that no- 

 thing was more common in England than to 

 hear swans sing ; that they were bred in 

 great numbers in the sea near London ; and 

 that every fleet of ships that returned from 

 their voyages from distant countries, were met 

 by swans, that came joyfully out to welcome 

 their return, and salute them with a loud and 

 cheerful singing ! It was in this manner that 

 Aldrovandus, that great and good man, was 

 frequently imposed upon by the designing 

 and the needy : his unbounded curiosity drew 

 round him people of every kind, and his ge- 

 nerosity was as ready to reward falsehood as 

 truth. Poor Aldrovandus ! after having spent 

 a vast fortune for the purposes of enlightening 

 mankind ; after having collected more truth, 

 and more falsehood, than any man ever did 

 before him, he little thought of being reduced 

 at last to want bread, to feel the ingratitude of 

 his country, and to die a beggar in a public 

 hospital ! 



Thus it appears that our modern authori- 

 ties, in favour of the singing of swans, are 

 rather suspicious, since they are reduced to 

 this Mr G. Braun, and John Rostorph, the 

 native of a country remarkable for ignorance 

 and credulity. It is probable the ancients 

 had some mythological meaning in ascribing 

 melody to the swan ; and as for the moderns, 

 they scarcely deserve our regard. The swan, 

 therefore, must be content with that share of 

 fame which it possesses on the score of its 

 beauty ; since the melody of its voice, without 

 better testimony, will scarcely be admitted by 

 even the credulous. 



This beautiful bird is as delicate in its ap- 

 petites, as elegant in its form. Its chief food, 

 is corn, bread, herbs growing in the water, 

 and roots and seeds, which are found near the 



margin. It prepares a nest in some retired 

 part of the bank, and chiefly where there is 

 an islet in the stream, This is composed of 

 water-plants, long grass, and sticks ; and the 

 male and female assist in forming it with 

 great assiduity. The swan lays seven or 

 eight eggs, white, much larger than those of 

 a goose, with a hard, and sometimes a tuber- 

 ous, shell. It sits near two months before its 

 young are excluded ; which are ash-coloured 

 when they first leave the shell, and for some 

 months after. It is not a little dangerous to 

 approach the old ones when their little family 

 are feeding round them. Their fears as well 

 their pride, seem to take the alarm ; and they 

 have sometimes been known to give a blow 

 with their pinion, that has broke a. man's leg 

 or arm. 



It is not till they are a twelvemonth old 

 that the young swans change their colour with 

 their plumage. All the stages of this bird's 

 approach to maturity are slow, and seem to 

 mark its longevity. It is two months hatch- 

 ing ; a year in growing to its proper size : and 

 if, according to Pliny's observation, those ani- 

 mals that are longest in the womb are the 

 longest lived, the swan is the longest in the 

 shell of any bird we know, and is said to be 

 remarkable for its longevity. Some say that 

 it lives three hundred years ; and Willoughby , 

 who is in general diffident enough, seems to 

 believe the report. A goose, as he justly ob- 

 serves, has been known to live a hundred ; and 

 the swan, from its superior size, and from its 

 harder, firmer flesh, may naturally be sup- 

 posed to live still longer. 



Swans were formerly held in such great es- 

 teem, in England, that by an act of Edward 

 the Fourth none, except the son of the king, 

 was permitted to keep a swan, unless posses- 

 sed of five marks a year. By a subsequent 

 act, the punishment for taking their eggs was 

 imprisonment for a year and a day, and a fine 

 at the king's will. At present, they are but 

 little valued for the delicacy of their flesh ; but 

 many are still preserved for their beauty. 

 We see multitudes on the Thames and Trent; 

 but no where greater numbers than on the 

 salt water inlet of the sea, near Abbotsbury, 

 in Dorsetshire. 



CHAP. XI. 



OF THE GOOSE, AND ITS VARIETIES. 1 



THE Goose, in its domestic state, exhibits 

 a variety of colours. The wild goose always 



1 From the concurrent testimony of our old writers, 

 (says Mr Selby) it appears that this species was formerly 



