Swallow. 303 



really sad to think how many of these happy, innocent birds fall 

 victims to the thoughtless persecution of youthful gunners, who 

 fire at them for no other object than for practice, or from wanton 

 thoughtlessness, regardless alike of their sufferings, their harm- 

 lessness, and the benefits they confer ; and one would rejoice to 

 see them invested here with some of the love and reverence shown 

 towards them by the inhabitants of Scandinavia, among whom 

 the following pretty legend is a familiar household tale : ' When 

 our Blessed Lord was crucified a little bird came and perched 

 upon the Cross, peered sorrowfully down upon the Sufferer, and 

 twittered ' Hugsvala, svala svala Honom' ' Console, console, 

 console Him:' and hence it obtained the name of Svala (Swal- 

 low). In consequence of the commiseration thus evinced by the 

 Swallow towards the Kedeemer, Heaven ordained that blessings 

 and prosperity should ever afterwards attend on those who 

 protected it and its nest;'* and from this tradition the honest 

 Norsemen considered it sinful in any way to injure or molest this 

 favoured bird of Heaven. In Italy, too, there is a strong feeling of 

 reverence for these ' Chickens of the Madonna/ as they are styled, 

 and nobody dreams of harming them. As the autumn draws on 

 and the Swallows begin to prepare for their departure, they may 

 be seen congregated on the roofs of houses in thousands, giving 

 utterance to their soft twittering note, and apparently loth to 

 leave the house where they have reared their young; but at 

 length, when the fitting moment arrives, away goes the vast flock, 

 steering due south, after which scarcely a straggler is to be seen. 

 To the question, Where do they pass the winter ? it may now be 

 confidently replied that the great body retreat far into the 

 interior of Africa ; a considerable portion prolonging their journey 

 to the south of the Equator, and penetrating as far as Natal, 

 where they arrive in November, and whence they depart in March 

 or April, congregating in vast numbers just before they leave the 

 country, alighting in crowds on trees and bushes, as if collecting 

 their forces before they set out on their return journey north- 



Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 355. 



