BIBTH, SLEEP, AND DEATH 93 



THE SLEEPING PRINCESS 



Can any of your readers who are wise about birds 

 give an explanation of the strange and captivating be- 

 haviour of certain swifts, of which I subjoin an account? 

 Ever since we came here, three weeks ago, I have noticed 

 numbers of swifts hawking about in the angle of the hotel 

 into which my bedroom window looks. Two or three days 

 ago, on coming into the room, I saw a swift clinging to 

 the lace curtain. I easily captured it, and at first 

 imagined it must have stunned itself against the window, 

 as, after a slight struggle on finding itself enclosed in a 

 human hand, it lay quite still. Closer inspection, however 

 showed that it was well and lively, so, not knowing what 

 to do with it, I opened my hand out of the window as a 

 suggestion that it was at liberty to fly away. But this it 

 quite refused to do. It lay quite still in my open hand, 

 not stirring a feather, its bright eye seeming to say " I 

 wish you would shut again." Again and again I took it 

 to the window, but each time it refused the opportunity 

 of escape. I then kept it in my hand for about an hour, 

 during which time it went to sleep. On waking, it gave 

 a very human yawn, and seemed rather surprised to find 

 itself where it was. I again held it out of the window, 

 and after waving it up and down on my open hand as the 

 politest form of intimating to the bird that it really must 

 go now, it suddenly was off like a flash of lightning, thus 

 proving that it was not at all hurt. My little guest 

 seems to have given a very good account of his entertain- 

 ment to his friends, for in a few hours' time two or three 

 more came in to be treated in much the same way ; and 

 if I had not closed the window, there might have been 

 half a dozen. One beautiful swift alighted on my hand 

 as I was in the act of reaching out to shut the window, and 

 held on for some seconds with most determined grasp 

 while I admired his velvet head, bright, quick eyes, and 



