112 THE SWALLOW 



their nests, and go away silent" is an old 

 Latin proverb. 



When a little German boy salutes a friend 

 by raising his hat in nervous haste, the 

 people joke: " He has some swallows under 

 his hat," and when he plays truant, they say 

 of him : " He has been to school to the swal- 

 lows." By these they mean that, like the 

 swallows, he is restless and would rather 

 roam about at his own free will than spend 

 his time in one place. 



" A swallow without a louse " is a man 

 without a cent, or a beggar, in a homely and 

 common proverb of Holland. In a certain 

 city in the north of Italy, they name a 

 " swallow " the black silk ribbon with which 

 the engaged girls tie their braids, which rib- 

 bon distinguishes them from the girls who 

 are not yet betrothed. We all know what a 

 " swallow-tailed coat " is. 



The beauty and grace of young girls is 

 sometimes compared to the beauty and grace 

 of swallows, as in Tuscany : — 



