THE COMMON SWAN, 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Emlleni of modest grace, 



Of unaffected dignity and case, 



Of pure and elegant simplicity. 



EunosxA. 



The swan, beyond all question, is the bird to place, 

 as a finishing stroke of art, on the smooth lake which 

 expands before our mansions. It is perfectly needless, 

 however delightful, to quote Milton and others, lauding 

 the arched neck, the white wings, the oary feet, and 

 so on. Its superb beauty is undeniable and acknowl- 

 edged ; and, to borrow an apt, though homely meta- 

 phor, I do not wish, if it can conveniently be avoided, 

 in the present volume, " to thresh straw that has been 

 thrice threshed before," to repeat how lovely the swan 

 is on the silver lake, "floating double, swan and sha- 

 dow ;" for I might thus run, scissors in hand, through 

 the whole Corpus Poetarum ; my object being simply 

 to point out the chief features in their natural history, 

 and the best mode of treating them. 



