Page:Natural History of the Nightingale, John Legg, 1779.djvu/8

 ure to let him have plenty of water, and to keep his eyes very clean.

The melody of the nightingale being univerally admired, many lovers of birds have been induced to rob it of its liberty, in order to be poeed of its ong in that dreary eaon, when it is abent from our climate. In a tate of captivity, however, its notes are les pleaing, being neither o trong, o bold, nor harmonious. The bleaknes of our winters chills its powers, and abates the energy of its vocal faculties; beides, it is of o delicate and tender a nature, that it cannot eaily be kept alive in confinement, nor "brook the harh confinement of the cage." Indeed the muic of any bird in captivity produces no very pleaing enations: it is but the mirth of a little animal, inenible of its cruel and unfortunate ituation. It is the gay meadow and the grove, the contet for a female, the fluttering from hedge to hedge, their unconfined liberty, and their roving at large in the extenive landcape of nature, which enables the little ongters to exalt their trains, and raie their notes to a tate of perfection.

Gener, indeed, allows the nightingale to be an unparalleled ongter in a cage, and he declares that with proper tuition it may be brought to talk in a very ditinct and articulate manner.—He even relates a long dialogue which paed between two nightingales at an inn at Ratibon, in which not only the human voice was mot exactly imitated, but great agacity and trength of argument were diplayed on both ides. I will not preume to jutify this aertion of Gefner's, but leave the reader to judge of it as he thinks proper: it is, however, I think, too extraordinary a phænomenon to deerve our credit.

This bird is not to be met with in many parts of Great Britain: it is found only in ome of the outhern counties, being entirely unknown in the more northern parts, particularly in Scotland, Ireland, North-Wales, &c. The reaon of their not viiting thoe places cannot eaily be acertained, as their food abounds there as well as where they haunt. Probably the air may be too cold for ummer birds of much tender contitutions, which is the opinion of ome.——It is very remarkable that the nightingales in Italy, and ome other countries, hould differ from ours in point of ong, though the pecies are the ame. We are aured by Pliny, and other hitorians, there are ome of this tribe that will continue inging, without any intermiion, for everal days together.

The nightingale is a pretty long-lived bird, and with proper attendance, and good management, will reach eight or nine years. Their lives are protracted or abridged according to the good or bad management of their owners. In the midt of winter, if they are kept clean and warm, they will ing mot delightfully, though with les energy and vigour than at the proper eaon, and when wild. It is aerted by ome, that they uually improve in their ong for the firt ix years, but afterwards decline by degrees. Lord Bacon aith, when the nightingale arrives early, it portends a hot and dry ummer to follow; and if there is any truth in the obervation, I will ay it preages the ame when it comes late. Sometimes it hath not arrived in thee parts till almot the middle of May, notwithtanding an extreme hot ummer hath frequently been the conequence. When it hath come early, the ucceeding eaon hath sometimes been remarkably cold and wet. We mut not, thefore, always depend upon the prophetical obervations of great men, though they apire to reach the temple of fame, and make a great noie in the world.

Market-Lavington.