Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone which the swallow
Brings from the shore of the sea to restore the sight of its fledglings;
Lucky was he who found that stone in the nest of the swallow!”
The connection between the stone and the herb is, that both were said to be brought to the nest by the swallow, and both were deemed remedies for defective sight. There is this difference, however, between the current opinion in Brittany and the popular notion in Acadia, that in the former case it is the finder of the stone who is thereby benefited, in the latter it is the sight of the fledglings which is thereby restored.
A friend has suggested that the tradition may have originated with the Chinese, to whom the edible swallows’
nests have been so long known, and to whom credit is now given for having been acquainted centuries ago with inventions which until recently were believed to be modern. Not being conversant, however, with Chinese, we are unable to say whether there is in that language any equivalent for “swallow-stone,” or “swallow’s-herb,” or whether ancient Chinese authors in any way throw light upon the subject.[166]
THE OSTRICH.
Pliny’s mention of the stone found in the stomach of the swallow brings to mind the stones found in the stomach of the ostrich, and so leads to the consideration of another bird noticed by Shakespeare. The food of the ostrich is said to consist of the tops of shrubby plants, seeds, and grain; strange to say, however, it will swallow, with indiscriminating voracity, stones, sticks, pieces of metal, cord, leather, and other substances, which often occasion its destruction. The extraordinary digestion of the bird is thus alluded to in the threat of the rebel Cade, when confronted by Alexander Iden:—
“Ah! villain, thou wilt betray me, and get a thousand crowns of the king by carrying my head to him! but I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow my sword like a great pin, ere thou and I part.”—Henry VI. Part II. Act iv. Sc. 10.
This curious habit is not peculiar to the ostriches. The same thing has been observed in the bustards. Dr.