84 THE SWALLOW. 



see her not ourselves, we are at least anxious to 

 learn if others have been more fortunate ; and 

 when at length she flies before us, we hail her 

 as the sure herald of brighter days, and forget 

 for a moment the sage adage, so often dealt 

 out to us by the wise and prudent, that " one 

 swallow does not make a summer." It is a 

 sober truth which we may not deny, yet doth 

 the first swallow, come she early or late, bring 

 fair summer promises, which we hope ever to 

 welcome with delight. The physician carries 

 the intelligence of her arrival to the chamber of 

 the invalid, as the cheering presage of a more 

 genial season ; the aged man rests on his staff, 

 and watches with pleasure the swift flight of the 

 new-comer, as she sweeps over the valley ; the 

 little child tells the news to his mates of the 

 nursery and the school-room, and they rejoice in 

 the pleasant tidings. 



" The welcome guest of settled spring, 



The swallow too is come at last ! 

 Just at sunset, when thrushes sing, 

 I saw her dash with rapid wing, 



And hail'd her as she past."* 



Charlotte Smith. 



