140 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



LETTER XIX. 



TO THE SAME. 



Selborne, Feb. 14, 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 when it sings is so inward as scarce to be heard. 

 Besides, if lignum 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, it's back and wings blue, and all it's 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 JEneas. 

 The verb sonat also seems to imply a bird that is somewhat 

 loquacious. 1 



i ' Nigra velut magnas domini cum divitis aedes 

 ' ' Pervolat, et pennis alta atria lustrat hirundo, 

 " Pabula parva legens, nidisque loquacibus escas : 

 " Et nunc porticibus vacuis, mine humida circum 

 " Stagna sonat, ." * 



*[,-*., xii., 473-477-] 



