"Sed neque Cygni canunt," says Leland, in his Cygnea Cantio, "nisi flante zephyro vento geniali quidem illo, si quicquam Æliani judicio tribuendum."
In the work itself, which is a poetical panegyric on King Henry VIII., the following lines occur:
"Strepitum dedit sonorum
Cygnorum niveus chorus canentûm,
Concussis alacri vigore pennis.
Applausus placuit mihi canorus."
The last line, however, seems only to apply to the applauding sound of the wings, and not to intimate that any music was produced by them.
C. I. R.
Cimmerii (Vol. v., p. 188.).
—The belief that the Cymry are descended from Gomer can prove very little as to the restlessness of those who hold it; and if it is making progress, the opinion must be supported by probability: consequently a mere denial will not dispel the illusion. Authors quite as remarkable for their matter-of-fact opinions as A. N. may be, have not rejected the connexion of the Cymry with Gomer. For instance, Volney, in his attacks on Scripture history, when examining Gen. x. on Gomer, adopts an argument in support of this paternity, though not in its Biblical sense, viewing Gomer as a chief. As it is not an unusual circumstance for a nation to adopt the name of its patriarch or founder (and on this point I would refer to a note to Gibbon's Decline, chap. lxiv.), I trust I shall be excused for believing myself descended from Gomer, until decided evidence is adduced that I am not.