CHAP, iv.] THE LEAN POET OF COS. EUNTS. 91 



love that they thus display their tail ; but they also set 

 themselves off in this way at other times." That is, in 

 plain English and in matter of fact, the position in which 

 the tail-feathers are fixed, is unalterable. 



" These Pigeons are not much sought by amateurs ; 

 they seldom quit the precincts of their aviary ; appa- 

 rently the fear of being carried away by the wind 

 (which, acting forcibly upon their broad tail would 

 infallibly upset them),* is the reason why they do not 

 venture far from their domicile, nor undertake long 

 journeys. Lastly, these Pigeons which cannot by their 

 own powers travel far, have been transported to a great 

 distance by Man ; perhaps, even, they are not natives of 

 our climate, for many doubts arise against their specific 

 identity with the wild Rock Dove. Striking characters, 

 such as the number of tail-feathers, do not permit us to 

 consider the wild Rock Dove as the type of the Fantail 

 Pigeons. 



" The Fantails are furnished with a considerable num- 

 ber of caudal plumes ; the greater part of indigenous 

 and exotic species of Pigeons, have generally only twelve 

 tail-feathers, more or less. The choicest have thirty 

 tail feathers ; the majority of the Fantails have thirty- 

 two and even thirty-four, but such are rare. 



* In this respect the Fantails remind us of ^Elian's Philetas, the 

 lean poet of Cos, who was so slim and slight, that, being liable to 

 be carried away by the slightest acting force, he wore (they say) 

 leaden soles to his sandals, lest he should be borne off by the wind, 

 when it happened to be high. " But," remarks .ZElian gravely, " if 

 he was so weak as to be unable to withstand the wind, how could he 

 manage to carry about such a burden with him ] / do not believe 

 everything that I read (he was a writer) ; ip.1 plv ovv ro X&%01* ol 

 vt'ifoi." The reader, therefore, need not load his Fantails with 

 leaden clogs on the questionable example of Philetas the Blown- 

 away. 



