1 70 SWALLOWS TORTOISE. 



wind at north-west ; but the tenor of the weather 

 for some time before had been delicate, and the 

 noons remarkably warm. From this incident, and 

 from repeated accounts which I met with, 1 am 

 more and more induced to believe that many of 

 the swallow kind do not depart from this island, 

 but lay themselves up in holes and caverns, and 

 do, insect-like, and bat-like, come forth at mild 

 times, and then retire again to their latebra. Nor 

 make I the least doubt but that, if I lived at 

 Newhaven, Seaford, Brighthelmstone, or any of 

 those towns near the chalk cliffs of the Sussex 

 coast, by proper observations, I should see swal- 

 lows stirring at periods of the winter, when the 

 noons were soft and inviting, and the sun warm 

 and invigorating. And I am the more of this 

 opinion from what I have remarked during some 

 of our late springs, that though some swallows did 

 make their appearance about the usual time, viz. 

 the 13th or 14th of April, yet, meeting with a 

 harsh reception, and blustering cold north-east 

 winds, they immediately withdrew, absconding 

 for several days till the weather gave them better 

 encouragement. 



XIII. 



WHILE I was in Sussex last autumn, my 

 residence was at the village near Lewes, from 

 whence I had formerly the pleasure of writing to 

 you. On the 1st of November I remarked that 

 the old tortoise, formerly mentioned, began first 

 to dig the ground, in order to the forming of its 

 hybernaculum, which it had fixed on just beside a 

 great tuft of hepaticas. It scrapes out the ground 

 with its fore -feet, and throws it up over its back 



