128 



THE DOMESTIC SWAN. 



after this, his neck became wonderfully stretched 

 out ; webs grew betwixt his fingers, and feathers 

 sprouted out from beneath his flannel waistcoat. 

 In a few minutes more, his mouth had all the 

 appearance of a beak, and he actually became 

 a swan ; and to this day, he is seen to frequent 

 swamps and lakes, as being places the most 

 secure against fire, which had done such mis- 

 chief to his family. 



" Stagna colit, patulosque lacus ; ignemque perosus, 

 Quae colat, elegit contraria fluraina flammis," 



Once I had an opportunity, which rarely oc- 

 curs, of being with a swan in its last illness. 

 Although I gave no credence to the extravagant 

 notion which antiquity had entertained of 

 melody from the mouth of the dying swan, 

 still I felt anxious to hear some plaintive sound 

 or other, some soft inflection of the voice, 

 which might tend to justify that notion in a 

 small degree. But I was disappointed. 



This poor swan was a great favourite, and 

 had been the pride of the lake time out of 

 mind. Those who spend their life in the 

 country, and pay attention to the ordinary 

 movements of birds, will easily observe a change 

 in them, whenever their health is on the de- 



