NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 169 



LETTER XIX, 



TO THE SAME. 



SELBORNE, Feb. -a,th, 1774, 



DEAR SIR, I received your favour of the eighth, and am pleased 

 to find that you read my little history of the swallow with your 

 usual candour; nor was I the less pleased to find that you made 

 objections where you saw reason. 



As to the quotations, it is difficult to say precisely which species 

 of hirundo Virgil might intend in the lines in question, since the 

 ancients did not attend to specific differences like modern 

 naturalists : yet somewhat may be gathered, enough to incline 

 me to suppose that in the two passages quoted the poet had his 

 eye on the swallow. 



In the first place the epithet garrula suits the swallow well, who 

 is a great songster, and not the martin, which is rather a mute 

 bird ; and \dien it sings is so inward as scarce to be heard. 

 Besides, if tignum in that place signifies a rafter rather than a 

 beam, as it seems to me to do, then I think it must be the swallow 

 that is alluded to, and not the martin, since the former does 

 frequently build within the roof against the rafters ; while the 

 latter always, as far as I have been able to observe, builds without 

 the roof against eaves and cornices. 



As to the simile, too much stress must not be laid on it ; yet 

 the epithet nigra speaks plainly in favour of the swallow, 

 whose back and wings are very black ; while the rump of the 

 martin is milk-white, its back and wings blue, and all its under 

 part white as snow. Nor can the clumsy motions (comparatively 

 clumsy) of the martin well represent the sudden and artful 

 evolutions and quick turns which Juturna gave to her brother's 

 chariot, so as to elude the eager pursuit of the enraged /Eneas. 



G 2 



