The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-24
MARKETING THE KINGS SWANS.
Quaint Yearly Custom That is stin
 Observed in England.

s Quaint Yearly Custom That is still
 Observed in England.
 Tn olden times the royal swan master or Kings swanherd, was, I believe, a parsonage indeed; in fact, says writer III the London News, a kind of personi- fled Thames conservancy, with the rougher powers Of a tougher age. For. in those days, old "Tamise ripe, as Le- land called 1t, was "a fishful river" even at London Bridge and the monks of Westminster Abbey could catch their own salmon: it was only the bird that provided the then choisest dish for the table of royalty or the board of worshipful city company that called for conserving. And the royal swanherd was person of might.
 There were other swanherds, many of them, then, though there are only two others now. But none could be swan herd without the license of the Kings man; and without his leave no one, however great, could appoint q swan herd, The word of the royal swan master had to be obeyed by every swan herd on the river and at his will, they had to attend him or else be subjected to a fine. The penalty for marking a swan, except in the presence of the roy al swanherd or his deputy duly appoint- ed to represent him, may probably not have been death but 1t must have been something very near to it, for the steal Ing of single egg was punished by a years Imprisonment and a fine which had no limit but the whim of the king. Swans were swans in those days oddly enough, because people ate them. Now they die of old age. They grace the river with the same stately beauty < as of old. But they rarely or never now grace the tables Of the wealthy or anybody else. Five hundred years ago they were guarded for the very rich with as strict jealously as five centue ries earlier the confessor guarded his hunting grounds.
 To own swan was surer sign of the possession of wealth and power than the driving of carriage and pair, state coach and motor car would be now. It was actually illegal for any landowners of a certain clear yearly value to own them, and then they had to obtain permission of the king and the license of the royal swanherd. Nor, then, were their young swans theirs until the kings swanherd had settled their ownership, supervised their mark ing, and duly entered them up in the swan book.
 Those were the great days of the kings swanmaster. Now we do not eat swans, as least nobody worries whether anybody eats them or not. So the kings swanherd, at any rate for fifty one weeks in the year, may be app preached without fear and trembling Indeed, he will be rather glad, if you do approach, if you are in want of q pleas ure boat for a row on the Thames.
 I found him yesterday among his boats on the palace side of Hampton Court bridge wondering how long the break in the weather was going to in- terfere with the glorious river season which had just got into swing and re- ioicing that he got all the ''uppinga over last week. MT. T. Abnett, Jr., has been Kings swankeeper for nine years. He was almost born to the work for hfs { father was swanmaster to the Winners Company for thirty-nine years down to last year. when he resigned. There are few swans on the river, this side of Henley, he does not know almost by sight, and he speaks of them as fondly as if he looked upon each beautiful bird as pet.
 This has been a splendid season for them he said, in answer to my query. We got through with the tipping last week. though I haven't yet had time to check the totals of all the broods, for I did not get back until late on Saturday evening. think. roughly, the total of cygnets we found amounted to about three hundred and seventy. That is capital Last year we lost nearly all through the floods in June washing away the nests
 Tipping of course, means marking the bills with hicks to show the owner ship?'
 "Yes; but what the word itself means I don't know. Perhaps 1t comes from our driving up stream.
 How do you do it?'
 "Welg go out in six boats, myself and the two other swannasters, and six teen of us altogether, and we get round the young birds by forming a sef1l-circIe. Then we gradually drive up close in, and catch them"
 Much difficulty?"
 ''sometimes. The young beggars are very lively. But we go quietly at 1t, and the old birds are very tame and quite used to boats and people. Stlii, in catching your bird you have to be careful you don't tumble yourself out on top of it and into the strean,'
 What part do you catch hold or them by?" @
 "A leg, generally. That does not hurt them. Then you turn their legs up on top of their wings, and they be- come helpless"
 Then what do you nick them with