Chapter Gauntgrim to Geese of G by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

his geese are swans." Commonly applied to people who think too much of the beauty and talent of their children.
   Every man thinks his own geese swans. Everyone is prejudiced by self-love. Every crow thinks its own nestling the fairest. Every child is beautiful in its mother's eyes. (See Æsop's fable, The Eagle and the Owl.)
   Latin: Suum cuique pulchrum. Sua cuique sponsa, mihi meas. Sua cuique res est carissima. Asinus asino, sus suo pulcher.
   German: Eine güte mutter halt ihre kinder vor die schönsten.
   French: A chaque oiseau son nid paraît beau.
   Italian: A ogni grolla paion' belli i suoi grollatini. Ad ogni uccello, suo nido è bello.
   The more geese the more lovers. The French newspaper called L'Europe, December, 1865, repeats this proverb, and says: - "It is customary in England for every gentleman admitted into society to send a fat goose at Christmas to the lady of the house he is in the habit of visiting. Beautiful women receive a whole magazine ... and are thus enabled to tell the number of their lovers by the number of fat geese sent to them." (The Times, December 27th, 1865.) Truly the Frenchman knows much more about us than we ever "dreamt of in our philosophy."
   Geese. (See Goose, Cag Mag.)