THE SWAN'S NEST. 281 



summarily secured, and safe in the basket by 

 one act. It is a beautiful fish, well fed, over a 

 pound, short and thick, silvery below, of a rich 

 olive brown above; a good specimen of the 

 Derwentwater trout, and I am sure it will cut 

 red and be well flavoured when dressed. 



AMICUS. What is that amongst the reeds ? 



PISCATOR. That fine bird just gliding out, 

 like the guardian of the place, that male 

 swan, may enable you to conjecture. The 

 great heap you see of broken reeds rising 

 securely above the water, is a swan's nest ; and 

 the female, now we have a better view of it, 

 you may distinguish sitting on it. The pair 

 belong to a friend of mine, whose house is 

 yonder, a lover of all things graceful, and 

 who, with the hope of adding a new feature of 

 beauty to this charming lake, has introduced 

 these birds and others, but with less success 

 than he deserves, as hitherto he has failed 

 in naturalising them by breeding: no young 

 ones have yet been reared. The nest, I am 

 assured, is constructed entirely by the male, 

 who with his powerful bill breaks off portions 

 of the reeds as they grow in the water, selecting 

 those suitable for the purpose ; and, what in 



