100 
RAPIDITY OF FLIGHT. 
a boat belonging to the same ship, with such violence, 
that a brace fell senseless into the boat. An addi- 
tional reason for the respect in which they are held 
by the Turks is, that, in consequence, probably, of 
their restless life, they are supposed to be bodies 
animated by condemned souls, thus doomed for ever 
to frequent the scenes of their former existence. 
From this superstition, in addition to the prevailing 
opinion that they are Halcyons or Kingfishers, our 
classical readers may be reminded of the fable of 
Ceyx and Haley one. 
• Volabat 
Percutiensque levem modo natis aera pennis, 
Stringebat summas ales miserabilis undas. 
****** 
Hos aliquis senior circiun freta lata volantes 
Spectat. — Ovid, Metam ., b. xi., 731. 
We cannot quit the subject of the flight of birds, 
without entering a little more at large upon one so 
closely connected with it as migration, to which 
we have already briefly alluded ; for certainly, there 
is no instinct which seems to act upon them more 
forcibly, or wdiich, after all, is so deeply involved in 
mystery. 
A careless observer will probably urge that there 
is no difficulty in accounting for the periodical jour- 
neys and voyages of birds. He will say that it is 
for the sake of food, no longer to be found in the 
particular spot in which the bird has been dwelling 
for a few previous weeks or months; or, that it is 
for the purpose of breeding in more favoured situa- 
tions, or for some other less ostensible cause. But 
none of these reasons will hold good when closely 
