I’d Be Very Grateful If Someone Could Shed Light On The Origin Of This Extract

[marg13]

Sparrows are common

Yet who can describe their thousand and one changes

Of colour as they quiver in the sun

Like thoughts of old rainbows?

[mallyh]

from ...The Natural History of Antiquities of Selborne by Gilbert White?

[mallyh]

and antiquities not of ^^^^^

[marg13]

I was thinking along those lines but it's unlikely that the quiz I'm doing would have more than one reference to the same work. (And I've already got one ..)

I also wondered about someone like John Clare but have turned anything up yet

this is the last of 72 extracts so it's v frustrating!!

[blaris]

This is from a poem by Hugh MacDiarmid, in the collection Stony Limits. Not sure of the title.

A handy tip for using the all knowing Google search engine, take a distinctive passage, 4,5,6 words or so, enter it in quotation marks in the search box, and select Books tab rather than All tab. This will bring up snippets which can provide at least a lead.

[marg13]

Blaris - your tip is going to change my life radically ! Thank you!