SWA 
SWA 
$he latter with splendid figures. In 1C72, he published, as a 
■medical anatomist, a work entitled “ Miraculum Naturae, 
seu Uteri Muliebris Fabrica, notis in I. V. Horne Pro- 
dromum illustratum,” Leid. 4to., many times reprinted. By 
intense application he became hypochondriac, and wholly 
unfit for society. In this state he was so impressed by the 
reveries of Antoinette Bourignon, as to be plunged into the 
depth of mysticism, and to be induced to abandon all his 
scientific pursuits. At her desire he presented to the world, 
in 1675, his last publication, which was an account, in 
Dutch, of the insect called Ephemeris. He followed this 
fanatical female to her retreat in Holstein ; and on his return 
to Amsterdam, his constitution was worn out by his mortifi¬ 
cations, and he died in 1680. In one of the paroxysms that 
seized him not long before his death, he burned all his 
remaining papers; but in a state of indigence he had dis¬ 
posed of the greater part to Thevenot for a trifling sum. 
On the lapse of about half a century, these came into the 
possession of Boerhaave, who caused them to be published 
in Dutch and Latin by Gaubius, under the title of “ Biblia 
Naturae, sive Historia Insectorum in certas classes reducta, 
&c. &c.” 2 vols. large folio, 1737, with plates; translated 
also into German, English, and French. The history of 
bees in this work is highly esteemed, as peculiarly valuable. 
Life by Boerhaave. Haller. 
SWAMP, s. [swamms , Goth.; ppam, Sax.; siiamm, 
Icel.; swamme, Dutch; suomp, Danish; swamp, Swed.] 
A marsh; a bog; a fen. 
Behold the duteous son, the sire decay’d. 
The modest matron, and the blushing maid. 
Forc’d from their homes, a melancholy train, 
To traverse climes beyond the western main ; 
Where wild Oswego spreads her swamps around, 
And Niagara stuns with thundering sound. Goldsmith. 
To SWAMP, v. a. To whelm or sink as in a swamp. 
A modern word. 
SWA'MPY, adj. Boggy ; fenny.— Swampy fens breathe 
destructive myriads. Thomson. 
SWAMPY BAY, on the coast of North Carolina. Lat. 
35. 42. N. long. 76. 7. W. 
SWAMSCOT, the Indian name of Exeter river, in the 
United States, as far as the head of the tide. 
SWAN, s. [jpan, Saxon ; suan, Danish; swaen, Dutch; 
cygnus, Lat. from the Celt, gwyn.~\ —The swan is a large 
water fowl, that has a long neck, and is very white, except¬ 
ing when it is young. Its legs and feet are black, as is its 
bill, which is like that of a goose, but something rounder, 
and a little hooked at the lower end of it: the two sides 
below its eyes are black and shining like ebony. Swans 
use wings like sails, which catch the wind, so that they are 
driven along in the water. They feed upon herbs and 
grain like a goose, and some are said to have lived three 
hundred years. There is a species of swans with the 
feathers of their heads, towards the breast, marked at the 
ends with a gold colour inclining to red. The swan is 
reckoned by Moses among the unclean creatures; but it was 
consecrated to Apollo the god of music, because it was said 
to sing melodiously when it was near expiring; a tradition, 
generally received, but fabulous. Calmet. 
Let music sound, while he doth make his choice; 
Then if he lose, he makes a swan like end. Shakspeare. 
SWAN CREEK, a river of the United States, in the 
Michigan territory, which falls into the Miami of the lakes; 
4 miles from its mouth. 
SWAN ISLAND, an island of the United States, on 
the coast of Maine; 4 miles south-west of Mount Desert. 
It is 7 miles long, and has a navigable channel on both sides. 
It contains about 6000 acres. Population 51. 
SWAN ISLANDS, a group of islands at some distance 
from the north coast of Honduras, being chiefly barren 
rocks. 
SWAN ISLES, a cluster of small rocky islets, which lie 
between the north coast of Van Diemen’s Land and the south 
coast of New Holland. The largest is 2 j miles long, and 
779 
about 1 mile in breadth, and appears uninhabited either by 
man or beast. 
SWAN POINT, a cape of the United States, on the 
coast ofMaryland, in the Chesapeake. Lat. 38.11. N. long. 
76. 22. W. 
SWAN PORT, a harbour in Derwent river, on the south¬ 
east coast of Van Diemen’s Land, so called from the numer¬ 
ous flocks of black swans by which it is frequented. The 
shores are covered with lofty trees and rich verdure, the sea 
is replete with fish of every description, and there are in¬ 
numerable cockatoos and parroquets of the richest plumage 
in the woods. 
SWAN RIVER, a river of North America, which takes 
its rise in Etowwemahmeh lake, from whence it passes 
through Swan lake into the little Winnipic lake. This 
latter is connected, by a considerable river, with the lake of 
Manitoba, which, by the river Dauphin, finally discharges 
its waters into Lake Winnipic, the common reservoir 
for the waters of a great number of the adjacent rivers and 
lakes. All the country in the neighbourhood of this, and 
of Red Deer river, to the south branch of the Laskatchi- 
wine, abounds in beaver, moose deer, fallow deer, elks, 
bears, buffaloes, &c. The soil is good, and wherever any 
attempts have been made to raise the esculent plants, it has 
been found productive. On this river a fort is erected for 
the convenience of the fur trade. 
SWAN RIVER, a river of North America, which falls 
into the Mississippi about 40 miles from its source. Its 
course is from the east, and it is navigable for canoes 90 
miles. 
SWANBOURNE, a parish of England, in Buckingham¬ 
shire; 3 miles east-by-south of Winslow. Population 499. 
SWANEVELT, or Swanefeld, (Herman,) was born at 
Woerden in 1620, and, as it is said, was a disciple of 
Gerard Douw, whose style, however, he did not long 
follow; but as his disposition inclined him to landscape, he 
travelled to Rome, and there, in 1640, became acquainted 
with Claude de Lorraine. 
He was among the few artists who receive the due meed 
of praise and profit during their lives; his works were 
eagerly coveted, and he received very high prices for them. 
Since his time, a greater honour has been rendered to many, 
at the expense of amateurs, and cognoscenti, who have not 
unfrequently purchased as the works of Claude de Lorraine, 
pictures which were completed on the easel of Swanevelt. 
Swanevelt was not only an agreeable and excellent 
painter, but he also handled the etching-needle and the 
graver with great taste and skill; and has left us many plates 
of landscapes and animals, which rival the best with con¬ 
siderable effect. 
SWANINGTON, a township of England in Leicester¬ 
shire; 4 miles east-by-south of Asby de la Zouch. Popula¬ 
tion 427. 
SWANINGTON, a parish of England, in Norfolk; 31- 
miles south-east of Reephan. 
SWANLAND, a township of England, East Riding of 
Yorkshire, 6h miles west-by-south of Kingston-upon-Hull. 
SWANI.OW, a hamlet of England, in the parish of 
Whitegate, Cheshire. 
SWANSBOROUGH, a post township of the United 
States, and capital of Onslow county. North Carolina, on 
White Oak river; 40 miles south-south-west of Newbern. 
Population 100. Lat. 34. 41. N. long. 77. 17. W. 
SWANSCOMBE, a parish of England, in Kent. Po¬ 
pulation 848; 4 miles east-by-south of Dartmouth, and 2 
west of Grangemouth. 
SWANSEA, a market town and borough of Wales, in 
the county of Glamorgan. It is a place of great trade and 
importance, has increased of late years with extraordinary 
rapidity in size and population, and is now ranked as the 
chief town of the county, if not the metropolis of the whole 
principality. It stands on a beautiful bay of the Bristol 
channel, on the western side of the river Tawe, near the 
junction of that river with the sea, and hence in the Welch 
it is named Abertawe. The English name is supposed to 
have 
