80 NOTES ON SWANS. BY COLONEL MILNE HOME. 



fancy, it is at this moment settled on Whitadder, near Clarabad. 

 The female bird met her death I don't know how. The 

 cock alone remained, and ceased to wander from Paxton, till 

 another mate was supplied to him from Duns Castle, by the good 

 offices of Mr Ferguson, factor for the estate. The meeting of 

 the pair took place at the Nabdean Ponds, the cock being 

 brought up there. But he would not agree with his new consort, 

 he insisted on frequenting the pond she did not patronise, and, 

 when they met, he had nothing but abuse of an active sort for 

 her. Things at last got to such a pitch that a year ago he 

 betook himself to the Tweed again, but after some nine or ten 

 months' absence he relented, and returned to Nabdean, where 

 he aided Lady Swan in forming a nest on one of the ponds. 

 Five eggs were laid, and ere six weeks were gone four cygnets 

 came out of the nest. It was a lovely sight, their swimming 

 about among the reeds behind their mother, always well watched 

 and guarded by the once faithless husband. At times, when 

 fearing fatigue for the younglings, or the approach of a possible 

 enemy, she was seen to gather her four children under her 

 mighty wings, without showing there was aught there concealed. 

 We were curious as to what would happen when the cygnets 

 grew older, and, after what had previously occurred, we were 

 not greatly surprised to learn that the gamekeeper had met the 

 Swan family on the march for the river, led by the male. 

 Knowing our desire to keep the birds on the ponds, the keeper 

 drove them back, but then carried Mr Swan to the Tweed. He, 

 however, shortly returned with the evident intention of taking wife 

 and children to the river despite all our wishes. The keeper, a 

 second time, carried him to the river, but before launching him, 

 attached to one of his feet a slight weight, which up till now has 

 appeared to be the means of keeping him anchored to the Paxton 

 pools of the river, where he once more sails to and fro in solitary 

 grandeur, while the mother and children seem satisfied with the 

 restricted sphere of the Nabdean Ponds. It does seem rather hard 

 to thus forcibly disunite the family, but, till the denizens of 

 Tweedside welcome the appearance of the handsomest of birds on 

 their river as do the dwellers on the banks of the Thames, I feel 

 bound to prevent a recurrence of what happened before. I hope 

 thus to keep mother and cygnets at Nabdean, but the old king 

 bird shall be unfettered when nesting-time comes round again, 

 to enable him to rejoin his queen then if so disposed. 



