102 ANECDOTE OF A GOOSE. 



in these apparently peaceful and sociable birds. 

 There is, however, remarked to be a natural an- 

 tipathy between the game-cock and gander. As 

 another example of the native courage of this bird 

 several years past, some geese were feeding near 

 Congleton, Cheshire, opposite the tithe-barn doors, 

 having a sparrow for their companion. Suddenly a 

 hawk pounced upon the sparrow, when a gander 

 flew to his relief, and laid the hawk prostrate. 



It has been remarked by naturalists, that the 

 goose and the eagle, to which should have been 

 adde,d the swan, are, as far as it is known, the 

 longest lived of the feathered tribe ; and in addition 

 to the instances above given of the longevity of the 

 former, it is a well authenticated fact that, in 1824, 

 there was a goose living in the possession of Mr. 

 Hewson, of Glenham, near Market Rasen, Lincoln- 

 shire, which was then upwards of a century old. 

 It had been, throughout that term, in the constant 

 possession of Mr. Hewson's fore- fathers and himself: 

 and on quitting his farm, he would not suffer it to 

 be sold with his other stock, but made a present of 

 it to the in-coming tenant, that the venerable fowl 

 might terminate its career on the spot where its use- 

 ful life had been spent such a length of days. 



The following singular trait of a sincere attach- 

 ment to man, was communicated to me by a respect- 

 able correspondent of N. B. In March of the pre- 

 sent year, 1829, Mr. Burnett, Craigellachie-Inn, 

 Elgin, had a goose nearly a year old, that formed 

 so strong an attachment to him, as to follow him 



