RING-DOVE. 129 



sands, if they happened to be suddenly roused 

 from their roost-trees on an evening, 



" Their rising all at once was like the sound 

 Of thunder heard remote." r>V 



- ) ' <* x&< 



It will by no means be foreign to tjie present 

 purpose to add, that I had a relation in this neigh- 

 bourhood who made it a practice, for a time, 

 whenever he could procure the eggs: of a ring- 

 dove, to place them under a pair of 4qves that 

 were sitting in his own pigeon-hou^/^ioping ^^ 

 thereby, if he could bring about a coalitiohS-%jen->^ 

 large his breed, and teach his own doves to beat 

 out into the woods and support themselves by 

 mast ; the plan was plausible, but something al- 

 ways interrupted the success ; for though the 

 birds were usually hatched, and sometimes grew 

 to half their size, yet none ever arrived at maturity. 

 I myself have seen these foundlings in their nest 

 displaying a strange ferocity of nature, so as 

 scarcely to bear to be looked at, and snapping 

 with their bills by way of menace. In short, they 

 always died, perhaps for want of proper suste- 

 nance ; but the owner thought that by their fierce 

 and wild demeanour they frighted their foster-mo- 

 thers, and so were starved. 



Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way of 

 simile, describes a dove haunting the cavern of a 

 rock, in such engaging numbers, that I cannot 

 refrain from quoting the passage ; and John Dry- 

 den has rendered it so happily in our language, 

 that without further excuse, I shall add his trans- 

 lation also. 



" Qualis spelunca subito commota columba, 

 Cui domiis, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi, 

 Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis 

 Dat tecto ingentem mox aere lapsa quieto, 

 Radit iter liquidum, celeris neque commovet alas." 

 K 



