-"Xóu know, Sir, that my houfe is near-a large river. This 
river is, in many parts, fhallow, iuo d anui biim A 
former neighbour of mine, a plain, honeftand fenfible man, 
now deceafed, who lived ftill nearer to the river, ufed frequent- 
ly to fay to me, as the warm! weather came on in-the fpring, . 
** it is almoft time for the fwallows to.comé out.of the mud, 
where they have lain all. winter." On my. calling/his philofo-- 
- phy, once and again, in queftion, ani ihing; m4, formerly?be- 
lieved, that doubtlefs they were birds of pafage, l he has 1 Ten 
peatedly affured me, he had, in the autumn of many years, feen 
great numbers of them, on one day only in each year, and neat- 
dy about, but not always on the fame day of the month, fitting. 
on the yio pues, : (which, by the. wale they are not wont 
to rooft upon at other times) on he borders of the river, alittle 
s finie :—That. they feemed. as i£ chair torpitude had al-- 
ready. begun, as: they would not. ftir from. the, twigs,:which,, 
‘by the weight of the fwallows, were: bent down almoft to. the. 
water ;—and that although he had ever deen them fink into'it, . 
yet he had waited till it &ás fo dark: that he could not difcern » 
them at all ; aud doubted not-of their immérfion any more. vlog 
i£ he had been’ a wwitnels of it 5. for /be had never. observed. any. 
flying about afterwards; tith the lreturn of {pring He added, - 
that if, as the! withed, Io wWoold carefully look out/for their refür- 
rection, he believed it “wouldnot 1 be i& vain, » He had, he faid, 
often taken notice: that Soniy d few: ‘appeared at firft, .and the. 
main body abeat a ied: fao bita. 
“Although I paid bite, géghid/to it di fome years, n al fol- 
lowed his advice at length, and watched for their appearance’ 
feveral alons, a as carefully, as I could, I have not indeed beheld. 
them rifing ovt of the waleks} yet I and my. family have, in 
more 
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