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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Heads and Tales, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Heads and Tales
+       or, Anecdotes and Stories of Quadrupeds and Other Beasts,
+       Chiefly Connected with Incidents in the Histories of More
+       or Less Distinguished Men.
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Adam White
+
+Release Date: June 28, 2008 [EBook #25918]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEADS AND TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Janet Blenkinship and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+   HEADS AND TALES.
+
+
+
+
+   PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
+   EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
+   [Illustration: The Tasmanian Wolf. (_Thylacinus Cynocephalus._)]
+
+
+
+
+   HEADS AND TALES;
+
+   OR,
+
+   ANECDOTES AND STORIES OF QUADRUPEDS
+   AND OTHER BEASTS,
+
+   CHIEFLY CONNECTED WITH INCIDENTS IN THE
+   HISTORIES OF MORE OR LESS DISTINGUISHED MEN.
+
+   COMPILED AND SELECTED BY
+
+   ADAM WHITE,
+   LATE ASSISTANT IN THE ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, BRITISH MUSEUM.
+
+   Second Edition.
+
+   LONDON:
+   JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
+   MDCCCLXX.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+In this work, a part of which is, so far as it extends, a careful
+compilation from an extensive series of books, the great order mammalia,
+or, rather, a few of its subjects, is treated anecdotically. The
+connexion of certain animals with man, and the readiness with which man
+can subdue even the largest of the mammalia, are very curious subjects
+of thought. The dog and horse are our special friends and associates;
+they seem to understand us, and we get very much attached to them. The
+cat or the cow, again, possess a different degree of attachment, and
+have "heads and hearts" less susceptible of this education than the
+first mentioned. The anecdotes in this book will clearly show facts of
+this nature. In the Letter of the Gorilla, under an appearance of
+exaggeration, will be found many facts of its history. We have a strong
+belief that natural history, written as White of Selborne did his Letter
+of Timothy the Tortoise, would be very enticing and interesting to young
+people. To make birds and other animals relate their stories has been
+done sometimes, and generally with success. There are anecdotes hinging,
+however, on animals which have more to do with man than the other
+mammals referred to in the little story. These stories we have felt to
+be very interesting when they occur in biographies of great men. Cowper
+and his Hares, Huygens and his Sparrow, are tales--at least the
+former--full of interesting matter on the history of the lower animal,
+but are of most value as showing the influence on the man who amused
+himself by taming them. We like to know that the great Duke, after
+getting down from his horse Copenhagen, which carried him through the
+whole battle of Waterloo, clapped him on the neck, when the war-charger
+kicked out, as if untired.
+
+We could have added greatly to this book, especially in the part of
+jests, puns, or cases of _double entendre_. The few selected may
+suffice. The so-called conversations of "the Ettrick Shepherd" are full
+of matter of this kind, treated by "Christopher North" with a happy
+combination of rare power of description and apt exaggeration of detail,
+often highly amusing. One or two instances are given here, such as the
+Fox-hunt and the Whale. The intention of this book is primarily to be
+amusing; but it will be strange if it do not instruct as well. There is
+much in it that is _true_ of the habits of mammalia. These, with birds,
+are likely to interest young people generally, more than anecdotes of
+members of orders like fish, insects, or molluscs, lower in the scale,
+though often possessing marvellous instincts, the accounts of which form
+intensely interesting reading to those who are fond of seeing or hearing
+of "the works of the Lord," and who "take pleasure" in them.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+   MAMMALIA.[1]
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+   MAN                                                                 1
+
+   Gainsborough's Joke--Skull of Julius Caesar when a boy               2
+
+   Sir David Wilkie's simplicity about Babies                          3
+
+   James Montgomery translates into verse a description of
+   Man, after the manner of Linnaeus                                    4
+
+   Addison and Sir Richard Steele's Description of Gimcrack
+   the Collector                                                       5
+
+   MONKEYS                                                             9
+
+   The Gorilla and its Story                                           9
+
+   The Orang-Utan                                                     11
+
+   The Chimpanzee                                                     12
+
+   Letter of Mr Waterton                                              20
+
+   Mr Mitchell and the Young Chimpanzee                               22
+
+   Lady Anne Barnard pleads for the Baboons                           24
+
+   S. Bisset and his Trained Monkeys                                  25
+
+   Lord Byron's Pets                                                  26
+
+   The Ettrick Shepherd's Monkey                                      27
+
+   The Findhorn Fisherman and the Monkey                              29
+
+   "We ha'e seen the _Enemy_!"                                        29
+
+   The French Marquis and his Monkey                                  30
+
+   George IV. and Happy Jerry.--Mr Cross's Rib-nosed
+   Baboon at Exeter Change                                            31
+
+   The Young Lady's pet Monkey and the poor Parrot                    33
+
+   Monkeys "poor relations"                                           34
+
+   Sydney Smith on Monkeys                                            34
+
+   Mrs Colin Mackenzie on the Apes at Simla                           35
+
+   The Aye-Aye, or Cheiromys of Madagascar                            36
+
+   BATS                                                               38
+
+   One of Captain Cook's Sailors sees a Fox-Bat, and describes
+   it as a devil                                                      39
+
+   Fox Bats (_with a Plate_)                                          41
+
+   Dr Mayerne and his Balsam of Bats                                  47
+
+   HEDGEHOG                                                           48
+
+   Robert Southey to his Critics                                      48
+
+   MOLE                                                               49
+
+   Mole, cause of Death of William III.                               49
+
+   BROWN BEAR                                                         56
+
+   The Austrian General and the Bear--"Back, rascal, I
+   am a general!"                                                     58
+
+   Lord Byron's Bear at Cambridge                                     59
+
+   Charles Dickens on Bear's Grease and Bear-keepers                  59
+
+   A Bearable Pun                                                     60
+
+   A Shaved Bear                                                      61
+
+   POLAR BEAR                                                         61
+
+   General History and Anecdotes of Polar Bear, as observed
+   on recent Arctic Expeditions (_with a Plate_)                      61
+
+   Nelson and the Polar Bear                                          67
+
+   A Clever Polar Bear                                                67
+
+   Captain Ommaney and the Polar Bear                                 70
+
+   RACCOON                                                            71
+
+   "A Gone Coon"                                                      71
+
+   BADGER                                                             71
+
+   Hugh Miller sees the "Drawing of the Badger"                       72
+
+   The Laird of Balnamoon and the Brock                               75
+
+   FERRET                                                             75
+
+   Collins and the Rat-catcher, with the Ferret                       76
+
+   POLE-CAT                                                           76
+
+   Fox and the Poll-Cat                                               77
+
+   DOG                                                                77
+
+   Phrases about Dogs                                                 77
+
+   Cowper's Dog                                                       79
+
+   Cowper and his dog Beau                                            81
+
+   Burns's "Twa Dogs"                                                 81
+
+   Dog of Assyrian Monument                                           86
+
+   Bishop Blomfield bitten by a Dog                                   88
+
+   Sydney Smith's Remark on it                                        88
+
+   Bishop of Bristol--"Puppies never see till they are nine
+   days old"                                                          88
+
+   Mrs Browning, the Poetess, and her dog Flush                       89
+
+   Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart., and his dog Speaker               93
+
+   Lord Byron and his dog Boatswain                                   94
+
+   Lady's reason for calling her dog Perchance                        96
+
+   Collins the Artist and his dog Prinny--the faithful
+   Model                                                              96
+
+   Soldier and Dog                                                    97
+
+   Bark and Bite!--Curran on Lord Clare and his Dog                   98
+
+   Mrs Drew and the two Dogs                                          98
+
+   Gainsborough and his Wife and their Dogs                          100
+
+   Sir William Gell's Dog, which was said to speak                   101
+
+   The Duke of Gordon's Wolf-hounds                                  102
+
+   Frederick the Great and his Italian Greyhounds                    104
+
+   The Dog and the French Murderers                                  104
+
+   Hannah More on Garrick's Dog                                      105
+
+   Rev. Robert Hall and the Dog                                      106
+
+   A Queen (Henrietta Maria) and her Lap-Dog                         106
+
+   The Clever Dog that belonged to the Hunters of Polmood            107
+
+   The Irish Clergyman and the Dogs                                  108
+
+   Washington Irving and the Dog                                     108
+
+   Douglas Jerrold and his Dog                                       109
+
+   Sheridan and the Dog                                              109
+
+   Charles Lamb and his dog "Dash"                                   110
+
+   French Dogs of Louis XII.                                         110
+
+   Martin Luther observes a Dog at Lintz                             111
+
+   Poor Dog at the Grotta del Cane                                   111
+
+   Dog a Postman and Carrier                                         113
+
+   South and Sherlock--Dog-matic                                     113
+
+   General Moreau and his Greyhound                                  113
+
+   Duke of Norfolk and his Spaniels                                  114
+
+   Lord North and the Dog                                            115
+
+   Perthes derives Hints from his Dog                                115
+
+   Peter the Great and his dog Lisette                               116
+
+   The Light Company's Poodle and Sir F. Ponsonby                    118
+
+   Admiral Rodney and his dog Loup                                   119
+
+   Ruddiman and his dog Rascal                                       119
+
+   Mrs Schimmelpenninck and the Dogs                                 120
+
+   Sir Walter Scott and his Dogs                                     122
+
+   Sheridan on the Dog-Tax                                           123
+
+   Sydney Smith dislikes Dogs.--An ingenious way of getting
+   rid of them                                                       124
+
+   Sydney Smith on Dogs                                              125
+
+   Sydney Smith.--"Newfoundland Dog that breakfasted
+   on Parish Boys"                                                   126
+
+   Robert Southey on his Dogs                                        126
+
+   A Dog that was a good judge of Elocution.--Mr True
+   and his Pupil                                                     127
+
+   Dog that tried to please a Crying Child                           128
+
+   Horace Walpole's pet dog Rosette                                  128
+
+   Horace Walpole.--Arrival of his dog Tonton                        129
+
+   Horace Walpole.--Death of his dog Tonton                          130
+
+   Archbishop Whateley and his Dogs                                  131
+
+   Archbishop Whately on Dogs                                        132
+
+   Sir David Wilkie.--A Dog Rose                                     133
+
+   Ulysses and his Dog                                               133
+
+   WOLF                                                              135
+
+   Polson and the Last Wolf in Sutherlandshire                       135
+
+   "If the tail break, you'll find that"                             137
+
+   FOX                                                               138
+
+   An Enthusiastic Fox-hunting Surgeon                               138
+
+   Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, on the Pleasures of Fox-hunting,
+   and the gratification of the Fox                                  139
+
+   Arctic Foxes converted into Postmen, with Anecdotes
+   (_with a plate_)                                                  142
+
+   JACKAL                                                            148
+
+   Burke on the Jackal and Tiger                                     149
+
+   CAT                                                               149
+
+   Jeremy Bentham and his pet cat "Sir John Langborn                 150
+
+   S. Bisset and his Musical Cats                                    152
+
+   Constant, Chateaubriand, and their Cats                           153
+
+   Liston, the Surgeon, and his Cat                                  153
+
+   The Banker Mitchell's Antipathy to Kittens                        154
+
+   James Montgomery and his Cats                                     155
+
+   David Ritchie's Cat                                               157
+
+   Sir Walter Scott's Visit to the Black Dwarf                       157
+
+   Southey, the Poet, and his Cats                                   158
+
+   Archbishop Whateley and the Cat that used to ring the
+   Bell                                                              160
+
+   TIGER AND LION                                                    161
+
+   Bussapa, the Tiger-slayer, and the Tiger                          162
+
+   John Hunter and the Dead Tiger                                    164
+
+   Mrs Mackenzie on the Indian's regard and awe for the
+   Tiger                                                             165
+
+   Jolly Jack-tar on Lion and Tiger                                  166
+
+   Androcles and the Lion                                            167
+
+   Sir George Davis and the Lion                                     170
+
+   Canova's Lions and the Child                                      171
+
+   Admiral Napier and the Lion in the Tower                          173
+
+   Old Lady and the Beasts on the Mound                              173
+
+   SEALS                                                             174
+
+   Dr Adam Clarke on Shetland Seals                                  175
+
+   Dr Edmonstone and the Shetland Seals                              176
+
+   The Walrus or Morse (_with a Plate_)                              182
+
+   KANGAROO                                                          188
+
+   Charles Lamb on its Peculiarities                                 188
+
+   Captain Cooke's Sailor and the first Kangaroo seen                189
+
+   Charles Lamb on Kangaroos having Purses in front                  189
+
+   Kangaroo Cooke                                                    189
+
+   TIGER WOLF                                                        190
+
+   SQUIRREL, &c.                                                     194
+
+   Jekyll on a Squirrel                                              195
+
+   Pets of some of the Parisian Revolutionary Butchers               195
+
+   Sir George Back and the poor Lemming                              196
+
+   McDougall and Arctic Lemming                                     197
+
+   RATS AND MICE                                                     198
+
+   Duke of Wellington and Musk-Rat                                   200
+
+   Lady Eglinton and the Rats                                        200
+
+   General Douglas and the Rats                                      201
+
+   Hanover Rats                                                      202
+
+   Irishman Shooting Rats                                            203
+
+   James Watt and the Rat's Whiskers                                 204
+
+   Gray the Poet compares Poet-Laureate to Rat-catcher               204
+
+   Jeremy Bentham and the Mice                                       205
+
+   Robert Burns and the Field Mouse                                  206
+
+   Fuller on Destructive Field Mice                                  208
+
+   Baron Von Trenck and the Mouse in Prison                          209
+
+   Alexander Wilson, the American Ornithologist, and the
+   Mouse                                                             211
+
+   HARES, RABBITS, GUINEA-PIG                                        212
+
+   William Cowper on his Hares                                       213
+
+   Lord Norbury on the Exaggeration of a Hare-Shooter                220
+
+   Duke of L. prefers Friends to Hares                               221
+
+   S. Bisset and his Trained Hare and Turtle                         221
+
+   Lady Anne Barnard on a Family of Rabbits all blind of
+   one eye                                                           222
+
+   Thomas Fuller on Norfolk Rabbits                                  222
+
+   Dr Chalmers and the Guinea-Pig                                    223
+
+   SLOTH                                                             224
+
+   Sydney Smith on the Sloth--a Comparison                           224
+
+   THE GREAT ANT-EATER (_with a Plate_)                              225
+
+   ELEPHANT                                                          229
+
+   Lord Clive--Elephant or Equivalent?                               230
+
+   Canning on the Elephant and his Trunk                             232
+
+   Sir R. Phillips and Jelly made of Ivory Dust                      233
+
+   J. T. Smith and the Elephant                                      234
+
+   Sydney Smith on the Elephant and Tailor                           235
+
+   Elephant's Skin--a teacher put down                               236
+
+   FOSSIL PACHYDERMATA                                               236
+
+   Cuvier's Enthusiasm over Fossils                                  236
+
+   SOW                                                               238
+
+   "There's a hantle o' miscellaneous eatin' aboot a Pig"            238
+
+   "Pig-Sticking at Chicago"                                         238
+
+   Monument to a Pig at Luneberg                                     239
+
+   WILD BOAR (_with a Plate_)                                        239
+
+   THE RIVER PIG (_with a Plate_)                                    245
+
+   S. Bisset and his Learned Pig                                     250
+
+   Quixote Bowles fond of Pigs                                       251
+
+   On Jekyll's treading on a small Pig                               251
+
+   Good enough for a Pig                                             251
+
+   Gainsborough's Pigs                                               252
+
+   Theodore Hook and the Litter of Pigs                              253
+
+   Lady Hardwicke's Pig--her Bailiff                                 253
+
+   Pigs and Silver Spoon                                             253
+
+   Sydney Smith on Beautiful Pigs                                    254
+
+   Joseph Sturge, when a boy, and the Pigs                           255
+
+   RHINOCEROS                                                        229
+
+   The Lord Keeper Guildford and the Rhinoceros in the
+   City of London                                                    230
+
+   HORSE                                                             256
+
+   Horse shot under Albert                                           256
+
+   Bell-Rock Lighthouse Horse                                        257
+
+   Edmund Burke and the Horse                                        257
+
+   David Garrick and his Horse, "A horse! a horse! my
+   kingdom for a horse!"                                             258
+
+   Bernard Gilpin's Horses stolen and recovered                      260
+
+   The Herald and George III.'s Horse                                261
+
+   Rev. Rowland Hill and his Horse                                   261
+
+   Holcroft on the Horse                                             263
+
+   Lord Mansfield, his Joke about a Horse                            267
+
+   Sir John Moore and his Horse at Corunna                           268
+
+   Neither Horses nor Children can explain their Complaints          269
+
+   Horses with Names                                                 270
+
+   Rennie the Engineer and the Horse Old Jack                        270
+
+   Sydney Smith and his Horses                                       271
+
+   Sydney Smith.--He drugs his Domestic Animals                      273
+
+   Horseback, an Absent Clergyman                                    273
+
+   Judge Story and the Names he gave his Horses                      274
+
+   Short-tailed and Long-tailed Horses at Livery, difference
+   of Charge                                                         275
+
+   ASS AND ZEBRA                                                     276
+
+   Coleridge on the Ass                                              276
+
+   Collins and the old Donkey at Odell                               276
+
+   Gainsborough kept one to Study from                               277
+
+   Irishman on the Ramsgate Donkeys                                  278
+
+   Douglas Jerrold and the Ass's Foal                                278
+
+   The Judge and the Barrister                                       279
+
+   Ass that loved Poetry                                             279
+
+   Warren Hastings and the refractory Donkey                         279
+
+   Northcote, an Angel at an Ass                                     281
+
+   Sydney Smith's Donkey with Jeffrey on his back                    281
+
+   Sydney Smith on the Sagacity of the Ass                           283
+
+   Sydney Smith's Deers, how he introduced them into
+   his Grounds to gratify Visitors                                   284
+
+   Asses' Duty Free                                                  284
+
+   Thackeray on Egyptian Donkey                                      285
+
+   Zebra, a Frenchman's _double-entendre_                            287
+
+   CAMELS                                                            287
+
+   Captain William Peel, R.N., on Camel                              287
+
+   Captain in Royal Navy measures the progress of the
+   Ship of the Desert                                                289
+
+   Lord Metcalfe on a Camel when a Boy                               290
+
+   RED DEER                                                          291
+
+   Earl of Dalhousie and the ferocious Stag                          291
+
+   The French Count and the Stag                                     293
+
+   FALLOW DEER                                                       294
+
+   Venison Fat, Reynolds and the Gourmand                            294
+
+   Goethe on Stag-trench at Frankfort-on-Maine                       294
+
+   GIRAFFE                                                           295
+
+   "Fancy Two Yards of Sore Throat!"                                 295
+
+   SHEEP AND GOAT                                                    295
+
+   How many Legs has a Sheep?                                        296
+
+   Goethe on Roos's Etchings of Sheep                                296
+
+   Lord Cockburn and the Sheep                                       298
+
+   Erskine's Sheep--an Eye to the Woolsack                           298
+
+   Sandy Wood and his Pet Sheep and Raven                            298
+
+   General Carnac and She-goat                                       299
+
+   John Hunter and the Shawl-goat                                    300
+
+   Commodore Keppel _beards_ the Dey of Algiers                      303
+
+   OX                                                                304
+
+   Irish Bulls                                                       304
+
+   A great Calf! "The more he sucked the greater Calf he
+   grew!"                                                            304
+
+   Veal _ad nauseam!_ too much of a good thing                       304
+
+   James Boswell should confine himself to the Cow                   305
+
+   Rev. Adam Clarke and his Bullock Pat                              305
+
+   Samuel Foote and the Cows pulling the Bell of Worcester
+   College                                                           306
+
+   The General's Cow at Plymouth                                     308
+
+   Gilpin's Love of the Picturesque carried out--a reason
+   for keeping three Cows                                            308
+
+   King James on a Cow getting over the Border                       309
+
+   Duke of Montague and his Hospital for Old Cows and
+   Horses                                                            309
+
+   Philip IV. of Spain in the Bull-ring                              310
+
+   Sydney Smith and his "Universal Scratcher"                        311
+
+   Rev. Augustus Toplady on the Future State of Animals--the
+   Rev. William Bull                                                 312
+
+   Windham on the Feelings of a Baited Bull                          313
+
+   WHALE                                                             315
+
+   A Porpoise not at Home                                            315
+
+   Whalebone                                                         315
+
+   "What's to become o' the puir Whales?"                            316
+
+   Very like a Whale!                                                316
+
+   Christopher North on the Whale                                    316
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] There are many anecdotes in this book not included in this list,
+which gives however, the principal.
+
+
+
+
+HEADS AND TALES.
+
+
+
+
+MAN.
+
+
+In this collection, like Linnaeus, we begin with man as undoubtedly an
+animal, as opposed to a vegetable or mineral. Like Professor Owen, we
+are inclined to fancy he is well entitled to separate rank from even the
+Linnaean order, _Primates_, and to have more systematic honour conferred
+on him than what Cuvier allowed him. That great French naturalist placed
+man in a section separate from his four-handed order, _Quadrumana_, and,
+from his two hands and some other qualities, enrolled our race in an
+order, _Bimana_. Surely the ancients surpassed many modern naturalists
+of the Lamarckian school, who would derive him from an ourang, a
+chimpanzee, or a gorilla. One of them has nobly said--
+
+     "Os homini sublime dedit, coelumque tueri."
+
+Our own Sir William Hamilton, in a few powerful words has condensed what
+will ever be, we are thankful to suppose, the general idea of most men,
+be they naturalists or not, that mind and soul have much to distinguish
+us from every other animal:--
+
+"What man holds of matter does not make up his personality. Man is not
+an organism. He is an intelligence served by organs. _They are_ HIS,
+_not_ HE."
+
+As a mere specimen, we subjoin two or three anecdotes, although the
+species, _Homo sapiens_, has supplied, and might supply, many volumes of
+anecdotes touching on his whims and peculiarities. As a good example of
+the Scottish variety, who is there that does not know Dean Ramsay's
+"Reminiscences?" Surely each nation requires a similar judicious
+selection. Mr Punch, especially when aided by his late admirable artist,
+John Leech, shows seemingly that John Bull and his family are as
+distinct from the French, as the French are from the Yankees.
+
+
+THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH THE ARTIST, AND THE TAILOR.
+
+Gainsborough, the painter, was very ready-witted. His biographer[2]
+records the following anecdote of him as very likely to be authentic.
+The great artist occasionally made sketches from an honest old tailor,
+of the name of Fowler, who had a picturesque countenance and silver-gray
+locks. On the chimney-piece of his painting-room, among other
+curiosities, was a beautiful preparation of an infant _cranium_,
+presented to the painter by his old friend, Surgeon Cruickshanks.
+Fowler, without moving his position, continually peered at it askance
+with inquisitive eye. "Ah! Master Fowler," said the painter, "that is a
+mighty curiosity." "What might it be, sir, if I may be so bold?" "A
+_whale's eye_," replied Gainsborough. "Oh! not so; never say so, Muster
+Gainsborough. Laws! sir, it is a little child's skull!" "You have hit
+upon it," said the wag. "Why, Fowler, you are a witch! But what will you
+think when I tell you that it is the skull of _Julius Caesar_ when he was
+a little boy?" "Do you say so!" exclaimed Fowler, "what a phenomenon!"
+
+This reminds us of a similar story told of a countryman, who was shown
+the so-called skull of Oliver Cromwell at the museum in Oxford, and
+expressed his delight by saying how gratifying it was to see skulls of
+great men at different ages, for he had just seen at Bath the skull of
+the Protector when a youth!
+
+
+SIR DAVID WILKIE AND THE BABY.
+
+A very popular novelist and author of the present day tells the
+following anecdote of the simplicity of Sir David Wilkie, with regard to
+his knowledge of _infant_ human nature:--
+
+On the birth of his first son, at the beginning of 1824, William
+Collins,[3] the great artist, requested Sir David Wilkie to become one
+of the sponsors for his child.[4] The painter's first criticism on his
+future godson is worth recording from its simplicity. Sir David, whose
+studies of human nature extended to everything but _infant_ human
+nature, had evidently been refreshing his faculties for the occasion, by
+taxing his boyish recollections of puppies and kittens; for, after
+looking intently into the child's eyes as it was held up for his
+inspection, he exclaimed to the father, with serious astonishment and
+satisfaction, "He _sees_!"
+
+
+MAN DEFINED SOMEWHAT IN THE LINNAEAN MANNER.
+
+One who is partial to the Linnaean mode of characterising objects of
+natural history has amused himself with drawing up the following
+definition of man:--"_Simia sine cauda; pedibus posticis ambulans;
+gregarius, omnivorus, inquietus, mendax, furax, rapax, salax, pugnax,
+artium variarum capax, animalium reliquorum hostis, sui ipsius inimicus
+acerrimus._"
+
+Montgomery translated the description thus:--
+
+   "Man is an animal unfledged,
+   A monkey with his tail abridged;
+   A thing that walks on spindle legs,
+   With bones as brittle, sir, as eggs;
+   His body, flexible and limber,
+   And headed with a knob of timber;
+   A being frantic and unquiet,
+   And very fond of beef and riot;
+   Rapacious, lustful, rough, and martial,
+   To lies and lying scoundrels partial!
+   By nature form'd with splendid parts
+   To rise in science--shine in arts;
+   Yet so confounded cross and vicious,
+   A mortal foe to all his species!
+   His own best _friend_, and you must know,
+   His own worst _enemy_ by being so!"[5]
+
+
+ADDISON AND STEELE ON SOME OF THE PECULIARITIES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY
+COLLECTORS OF THE DAY.
+
+In one of the early volumes of _Chambers's Edinburgh Journal_, there was
+a very curious paper entitled "Nat Phin." Although considerably
+exaggerated, no one who had the happiness of knowing the learned,
+amiable, and excellent Dr Patrick Neill, could fail to recognise, in the
+transposed title, an amusing description of his love of natural history
+pets, zoological and botanical. The fun of the paper is that "Nat" gets
+married, and, coming home one day from his office, finds that his young
+wife has caused the gardener to clear out his ponds of tadpoles and
+zoophytes.
+
+Addison or Sir Richard Steele, or both of them, in the following paper
+of the _Tatler_ (No. 221, Sept. 7, 1710), has given one of those quietly
+satiric pictures of many a well-known man of the day, some Petiver or
+Hans Sloane. The widow Gimcrack's letter is peculiarly racy. Although
+old books, the _Tatler_ and _Spectator_ still furnish rare material to
+many a popular magazine writer of the day, who sometimes does little
+more than dilute a paper in these and other rare repertories of the
+style and wit of a golden age. We meditated offering various extracts
+from Swift and Daniel Defoe; but our space limits us to one, and the
+following may for the present suffice.
+
+   "_From my own Apartment, September 6._
+
+"As I was this morning going out of my house, a little boy in a black
+coat delivered me the following letter. Upon asking who he was, he told
+me that he belonged to my Lady Gimcrack. I did not at first recollect
+the name, but, upon inquiry, I found it to be the widow of Sir Nicholas,
+whose legacy I lately gave some account of to the world. The letter ran
+thus:--
+
+"'MR BICKERSTAFF,--I hope you will not be surprised to receive a letter
+from the widow Gimcrack. You know, sir, that I have lately lost a very
+whimsical husband, who, I find, by one of your last week's papers, was
+not altogether a stranger to you. When I married this gentleman, he had
+a very handsome estate; but, upon buying a set of microscopes, he was
+chosen a _Fellow of the Royal Society; from which time I do not remember
+ever to have heard him speak as other people did_, or talk in a manner
+that any of his family could understand him. He used, however, to pass
+away his time very innocently in conversation with several members of
+that learned body: for which reason I never advised him against their
+company for several years, until at last I found his brain quite turned
+with their discourses. The first symptoms which he discovered of his
+being a _virtuoso_, as you call him, poor man! was about fifteen years
+ago; when he gave me positive orders to turn off an old weeding woman,
+that had been employed in the family for some years. He told me, at the
+same time, that there was no such thing in nature as a weed, and that it
+was his design to let his garden produce what it pleased; so that, you
+may be sure, it makes a very pleasant show as it now lies. About the
+same time he took a humour to ramble up and down the country, and would
+often bring home with him his pockets full of moss and pebbles. This,
+you may be sure, gave me a heavy heart; though, at the same time, I must
+needs say, he had the character of a very honest man, notwithstanding
+he was reckoned a little weak, until he began to sell his estate, and
+buy those strange baubles that you have taken notice of. Upon
+midsummerday last, as he was walking with me in the fields, he saw a
+very odd-coloured butterfly just before us. I observed that he
+immediately changed colour, like a man that is surprised with a piece of
+good luck; and telling me that it was what he had looked for above these
+twelve years, he threw off his coat, and followed it. I lost sight of
+them both in less than a quarter of an hour; but my husband continued
+the chase over hedge and ditch until about sunset; at which time, as I
+was afterwards told, he caught the butterfly as she rested herself upon
+a cabbage, near five miles from the place where he first put her up. He
+was here lifted from the ground by some passengers in a very fainting
+condition, and brought home to me about midnight. His violent exercise
+threw him into a fever, which grew upon him by degrees, and at last
+carried him off. In one of the intervals of his distemper he called to
+me, and, after having excused himself for running out his estate, he
+told me that he had always been more industrious to improve his mind
+than his fortune, and that his family must rather value themselves upon
+his memory as he was a wise man than a rich one. He then told me that it
+was a custom among the Romans for a man to give his slaves their liberty
+when he lay upon his death-bed. I could not imagine what this meant,
+until, after having a little composed himself, he ordered me to bring
+him a flea which he had kept for several months in a chain, with a
+design, as he said, to give it its manumission. This was done
+accordingly. He then made the will, which I have since seen printed in
+your works word for word. Only I must take notice that you have omitted
+the codicil, in which he left a large _concha veneris_, as it is there
+called, to a _Member of the Royal Society_, who was often with him in
+his sickness, and _assisted him in his will_. And now, sir, I come to
+the chief business of my letter, which is to desire your friendship and
+assistance in the disposal of those many rarities and curiosities which
+lie upon my hands. If you know any one that has an occasion for a parcel
+of dried spiders, I will sell them a pennyworth. I could likewise let
+any one have a bargain of cockle-shells. I would also desire your advice
+whether I had best sell my beetles in a lump or by retail. The gentleman
+above mentioned, who was my husband's friend, would have me make an
+auction of all his goods, and is now drawing up a catalogue of every
+particular for that purpose, with the two following words in great
+letters over the head of them, Auctio Gimcrackiana. But, upon talking
+with him, I begin to suspect he is as mad as poor Sir Nicholas was. Your
+advice in all these particulars will be a great piece of charity to,
+Sir, your most humble servant,
+
+   "'ELIZABETH GIMCRACK.'
+
+"I shall answer the foregoing letter, and give the widow my best advice,
+as soon as I can find out chapmen for the wares which she has to put
+off."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] Life of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. By the late George Williams
+Fulcher. Edited by his Son. P. 157.
+
+[3] Memoir of the Life of William Collins, R.A. By W. Wilkie Collins.
+I., p. 235.
+
+[4] The future author of "The Woman in White" and "The Dead Secret," and
+many other works of celebrity.
+
+[5] Memoirs of James Montgomery. By Holland and Everett. I., p. 283.
+
+
+
+
+MONKEYS.
+
+THE GORILLA AND ITS STORY.
+
+
+In the British Museum, in handsome glass cases, and on the floors of the
+three first rooms at the top of the stairs, may be seen the largest
+collection of the skins and skeletons of quadrupeds ever brought
+together. In the third, or principal room, will be found a nearly
+complete series of the QUADRUMANA or four-handed Mammalia. Monkeys are
+_quadrumanous mammalia_. The resemblance of these animals to men is most
+conspicuous, in the largest of them, such as the gorilla, orang-utan,
+chimpanzee, and the long-armed or gibbous apes. Such resemblance is most
+distant in the ferocious dog-faced baboons of Africa, the _Cynocephali_
+of the ancients. It is softened off, but not effaced, in the pretty
+little countenances of those dwarf pets from South America, the
+ouistities or marmosets, and other species of new-world monkeys, some of
+which are not larger than a squirrel.
+
+They are well called MONKEYS, Monnikies, Mannikies--little men, "_Simiae
+quasi bestiae hominibus similes_," "monkeys, as if beasts resembling
+man," or "mon," as the word man is pronounced in pure _Doric_ Saxon,
+whether in York or Peebles.
+
+"Monkey! you very degraded little brute, how much you resemble us!" said
+old Ennius, without ever fancying that the day would come when some men
+would regard their own race as little better than highly-advanced
+monkeys.
+
+Let us never for a moment rest in such fallacious theories, or accept
+the belief of Darwin and Huxley, with a few active agitating disciples,
+that animals, and even plants, may pass into each other.
+
+   "I think we are not wholly brain,
+   Magnetic mockeries; ...
+   Not only cunning casts in clay;
+   Let science prove we are, and then
+   What matters science unto men,
+   At least to me! I would not stay:
+   Let him, the wiser man who springs
+   Hereafter, up from childhood shape
+   His action, like the greater ape,
+   But I was born to other things."
+
+   --_In Memoriam_, cxix.
+
+Darwin and Huxley cannot change nature. They may change their minds and
+opinions, as their fathers did before them. It is, we suspect, only the
+old heathen materialism cropping out,--
+
+   "Our little systems have their day--
+   They have their day and cease to be.
+   They are but broken lights of Thee,
+   And Thou, O Lord! art more than they."
+
+   --_In Memoriam._
+
+No artists or authors have ever pictured or described monkeys like Sir
+Edwin Landseer and his brother Thomas. Surely a new edition of the
+_Monkeyana_ is wanted for the rising generation. Oliver Goldsmith, that
+great writer, who was most feeble in knowledge of natural history from
+almost total ignorance of the subject, over which he threw the graces of
+his charming style, noticed, as remarkable, that in countries "where the
+men are barbarous and stupid, the brutes are the most active and
+sagacious." He continues, that it is in the torrid tracts, inhabited by
+barbarians, that animals are found with instinct so nearly approaching
+reason. Both in Africa and America, accordingly, he tells us, "the
+savages suppose monkeys to be men; idle, slothful, rational beings,
+capable of speech and conversation, but obstinately dumb, for fear of
+being compelled to labour."
+
+For the present, I shall suppose that the gorilla, largest of all the
+apes, can not only speak, but write; and is speaking and writing to an
+orang-utan of Borneo. Even a Lamarckian will allow this to be within the
+range of possibility. Were it possible to get Gay or Cowper to write a
+new set of fables, animals, in the days of postoffices and letters,
+would become, like the age, epistolary. But a word on the imaginary
+correspondent.
+
+The orang, as the reader knows, is the great red-haired "Man of the
+Woods," as the name may be rendered in English. My old friend, Mr Alfred
+Wallace, lately in New Guinea, and the adjoining parts, collecting
+natural history subjects, and making all kinds of valuable observations
+and surveys, sent to Europe most of the magnificent specimens of this
+"ugly beast" now in the museum. He has detailed its habits and history
+in an able account, published some years ago in "The Annals and Magazine
+of Natural History."
+
+Its home seems to be the fine forests which cover many parts of the
+coast of Borneo. The home of the gorilla and chimpanzee are in the
+tropical forests of the coasts of Western Africa.
+
+There would seem to be but three or four well established _species_ of
+these apes, though there are, as in man and most created beings, some
+marked or decided varieties. These apes are altogether _quadrupeds_,
+adapted for a life among trees. The late Charles Waterton, of Walton
+Hall, whom I deem it an honour to have known for many years, personally
+and in his writings, has well shown this in his "Essays on Natural
+History." Professor Owen, with his osteologies, and old Tyson, with his
+anatomies, have each demonstrated that--draw what inferences the
+followers of Mr Darwin may choose--monkeys are not men, but quadrupeds.
+
+The structure of chimpanzee, orang, and gorilla considerably resembles
+that of man, but so more distantly does a frog's, so does Scheuchzer's
+fossil amphibian in the museum, so does a squirrel's, so does a
+parrot's. Yet, because parrots, squirrels, frogs, and asses have skulls,
+a pelvis, and fore-arms, they are _not_ men any more than fish are.
+Linnaeus has given the _real_ specific, the _real_ class, order, and
+generic character of man, unique as a species, as a genus, as an order,
+or as a class, as even the greatest comparative anatomist of England
+regards him; "Nosce teipsum:" "[Greek: Gnothi seauton]"--KNOW THYSELF.
+Man alone expects a hereafter. He is immortal, and anticipates, hopes
+for, or dreads a resurrection. Melancholy it is that he alone, as an
+American writer curiously remarks, collects bodies of men of _one_ blood
+to fight with each other. He alone can become a _drunkard_.
+
+The reader must leave rhapsody, and may now be reminded, in explanation
+of allusions in the following letter, that the arm of Dr Livingstone,
+the African traveller, was crushed and crunched by the bite and "chaw"
+of a lion. He will also please to notice, that the skeleton of the
+gorilla in the museum has the left arm broken by some dreadful accident.
+This injury may _possibly_ have been caused by a fall when young, or
+more probably by the empoisoned bite of a larger gorilla, or of a
+tree-climbing Leopard. So much may be premised before giving a letter,
+supposed to be intercepted on its way between the Gaboon and London, and
+London and Borneo, opened at St Martin's-le-Grand, and detained as
+unpaid.
+
+"I was born in a large baobab tree, on the west coast of Africa, not
+very far from Calabar. We gorillas are good time-keepers, rise early and
+go to bed early, guided infallibly by the sun. But though our family has
+been in existence at least six thousand years, we have no chronology,
+and care not a straw about our grandfathers. I suppose I had a
+grandmother, but I never took _any_ interest in any but very close
+relationships.
+
+"We never toiled for our daily food, and are not idle like these lazy
+black fellows who hold their palavers near us, and whom I, for my part,
+heartily despise. They cannot climb a tree, as we do, although they can
+talk to each other, and make one another slaves. At least they so treat
+their countrymen far off where the fine sweet plantains grow, and some
+other juicy tit-bits, the memory of which makes my mouth water. These
+fellows have ugly wives, not nearly so big-mouthed as ours, without our
+noble bony ridge, small ears, and exalted presence. They are actually
+forced to walk erect, and their fore-legs seldom touch the ground,
+except in the case of piccanninies. These little creatures crawl on the
+ground, are much paler when born, and are then perfectly helpless; and
+have no hair except on their heads, whereas our beautiful young are
+fine and hairy, and can swing among the branches, shortly after birth,
+nearly as well as their parents. When I was very young, I could soon
+help myself to fruits which abound on our trees.
+
+"Have you dates, plantains, and soursops--so sweet--at Sarawak, Master
+Redhair? We have, and all kinds of them. I should like, for a variety,
+to taste yours. Mind you send me some of the _durian_.[6] Make haste and
+send it, for Wallace's description makes my mouth water.
+
+"I have told you our little ones soon learn to help themselves, whereas
+I have seen the piccaninnies of the blacks nursed by their mothers till
+many rainy seasons had come and gone. I really think nothing of the
+talking blacks who live near us. They put on bits of coloured rags, not
+nearly so bright, so regular, nor so _contrasting_ as the feathers of
+our birds.
+
+"Beautifully coloured are the green touraco and the purple
+plantain-eater, a rascally bird! who eats some of our finest plantains,
+and has bitten holes in many a one I thought to get entirely to myself.
+Why, our parrots beat these West-African negroes to sticks! Even our
+common gray parrot, so prettily scaled with gray, and with the red
+feathers under his tail, is more natural than these blacks, with their
+dirty-white, yellow, blue, green, and red rags.
+
+"Besides, that gray parrot beats them hollow both in its voice and in
+the way it imitates. Do you know that when I have been giving my quick
+short bark, to tell that I am not well pleased, I have heard one of
+these fellows near me actually make me startle--its bark was so like to
+that of one of our kind! I cannot bear the blacks! I have had a grudge
+against them since some little urchins shot at me when I was young, and
+made my hand bleed. How it bled! My mother, with whom I had been, kept
+out of the way of these blackguards, but I was playing with another
+little gorilla, and forgot to keep a look-out. I have kept a good
+look-out ever since I got _that_ wound, I assure you. I licked it often,
+and so did my mother with her delicious mouth. It soon left off bleeding
+and healed. We gorillas have no brandy, no whisky, no wine, not even
+small beer, to inflame our blood. We sleep, too, among the trees, clear
+off the ground, where there are dangerous vapours, so that we are free
+from all miasmata. West Africa is my lovely home, and I am big and
+beautifully pot-bellied. It is the home of the large-eared chimpanzee, a
+near relative of ours, though we never marry. He is an active fellow,
+with rather large vulgar-looking ears; while mine, though I ought not to
+say so, are beautifully small, and denote my more exalted birth. Master
+Chimpanzee needs all his ears, for he is not so strong as I, and as you
+will hear, we anthropoids have enemies in our trees, just as you perhaps
+have, Master Redhair. We are both cautious of getting on the ground, and
+when there, I assure you I keep a sharp look-out.
+
+"I have told you of one adventure I had in my youth, and now listen to
+another which I have not forgotten to this day. My left arm aches now as
+I think of it.
+
+"As I was one day gambolling with another playfellow in a large tree,
+with great branches standing out from the trunk, and at a good height
+from the ground, my companion, another young gorilla, but with smaller
+mouth, larger nose, and other features uglier than mine, suddenly
+shrieked, and looked frightened and angry. No sooner had I noticed him
+than my whole frame was shaken. I was seized by two paws in the small of
+my back--a very painful part to be dug into--by ten hooked claws, nearly
+as long as tenpenny nails, but horribly sharp and hooked.--Oh my arm!
+
+"I tried to turn round, and there was a most ferocious leopard growling
+at me. I tried to bite, and to scratch his eyes out, but the pain in the
+small of my back made me quite giddy. The spotted scoundrel seized my
+left arm--how it aches!--and gave me a _crunch_ or two. I hear, I feel
+the teeth against my bones as I write. My whole body is full of pain.
+
+"My mother came and released me. She was large, handsome, and
+well-to-do, with _such_ long and strong arms, and with a magnificent
+bulging and pouting mouth. In those days of my infancy I used to fancy I
+should like to try to take as large a bite of a plantain as she could. I
+tried twice or thrice, but could only squash a tenth of the juice of the
+fruit into my mouth. She had glorious white teeth. Her grin clearly
+frightened the leopard, as well as a pinch she gave him in the 'scruff'
+of the neck with one of her hands, while with the other she caught hold
+of his tail and made him yell. How he roared! He fell off the branch on
+to another; but soon, like all the cats, recovered his hold and jumped
+down to the ground, when he skulked away with his tail behind him.
+
+"I must really leave off, warned both by my paper and your impatience.
+Well, I grew stronger and bigger every day, and swung by one arm almost
+as well as the rest did with their two. I got, in fact, so strong on my
+hind feet, that my toes were actually in time thicker than those of any
+of my race. It is well, my dear Orang, to use what you have left you,
+and to try as soon as possible to forget what has been taken from you.
+
+"... Look at my portrait, I am as strong, and as bony, and as bonnie, as
+any gorilla. But I begin to boast, so I will leave off."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+No doubt that gorilla's injured arm affected its habits and its activity
+every day of its life. The broken arm, never set by some gorilla surgeon
+of celebrity, formed a highly important feature in its biography.
+Reader! when next thou visitest the noble Museum in Bloomsbury, look at
+the skeleton of that gorilla, whose probable story Arachnophilus hath
+tried to give thee, and remember that both skin and skeleton were
+exhibited there before Du Chaillu became "a lion."
+
+The gorilla is a native of West Africa. It is closely allied to the
+chimpanzee, but grows to a larger size, and has many striking anatomical
+characters and external marks to distinguish it. It is certainly much
+dreaded by the natives on the banks of the Gaboon, and, doubtless,
+dreads them equally. Dr Gray procured a large specimen in a tub from
+that district. It was skinned and set up by Mr Bartlett. I have seen
+photographs in the hands of my excellent old friend--that admirable
+natural history and anatomical draughtsman--Mr George Ford of Hatton
+Garden. These photographs were taken from its truly ugly face as it was
+pulled out of the stinking brine. Life in death, or death in life, it
+was most repulsive.
+
+Professor Owen read a most elaborate paper on the gorilla before the
+Zoological Society. The great comparative anatomist and zoologist shows
+that it _may_ have been the very species whose skins were brought by
+Hanno to Carthage, in times before the Christian era, as the skins of
+_hairy wild men_. The historian refers to them as "gorullai" ([Greek:
+Goryllai].)
+
+The natives of West Africa name it "N'Geena."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The stuffed specimen at the Museum is a young male. Its preparation does
+great credit to Mr Bartlett's care and knowledge, for the hair over
+nearly all the body was in patches among the spirit--thoroughly
+corrupted in its alcoholic strength by animal matter. The peculiarly
+anthropoid and morbidly-disagreeable look that even the face of the
+young gorilla had was, of course, perfect in the photograph. In the
+_Leisure Hour_, a tolerably good cut of it was given, but the artist did
+not copy the label accurately, for on the photograph from which that cut
+was derived, _another name_ was rendered by _that_ sun, who pays no
+compliments and tells no lies. Professor Owen, the greatest of
+comparative anatomists, has made the subject of anthropoid apes his own,
+by the perfection of his researches, continued and continuous. He would
+have liked, at least I may venture, I believe, to say so (if the matter
+gave him more than a moment's thought), that the name of Dr Gray had
+been on that label.
+
+
+_Letter from C. Waterton, Esq., mentioning a young gorilla._
+
+                                          WALTON HALL, _Feb_. 4, 1856.
+
+"DEAR SIR,--As your favour of the 28th did not seem to require an
+immediate answer I put it aside for a while, having a multiplicity of
+business then on hand, and being obliged to be from home for a couple of
+days.
+
+"I beg to enclose you the letter to which you allude.
+
+"Pray do not suppose that for one single moment I should be illiberal
+enough to undervalue a 'closet naturalist.' 'Non cuivis homini contingit
+adire corinthum.' It does not fall to every one's lot to range through
+the forests of Guiana, still, a gentleman given to natural history may
+do wonders for it in his own apartments on his native soil; and had
+Audubon, Swainson, Jameson, &c., not attacked me in all the pride of
+pompous self-conceit, I should have been the last man in the world to
+expose their gross ignorance.
+
+"You ask me 'If we are to have another volume of essays?' I beg to
+answer, no. Last year, Mrs Loudon (to whom I made a present of the
+essays) wrote to me, and asked for a few papers to be inserted in a
+forthcoming edition. I answered, that as I had had some strange and
+awful adventures since the 'Autobiography' made its appearance, I would
+tack them on to it. But from that time to this, I have never had a line,
+either from Mrs Loudon or from her publishers. But some months ago,
+having made a present of a superb case of preserved specimens in natural
+history to the Jesuits' College in Lancashire, I gave directions to my
+stationer at Wakefield to procure me from London the fourth or last
+edition of the essays; and I made references to it accordingly. But, lo
+and behold, when I had opened this supposed fourth edition, I saw
+printed on the title page 'a new edition.' Better had they printed a
+_fifth edition_. This threw all my references wrong. Should you be
+passing by Messrs Longman, perhaps you will have the goodness to ask
+when this 'new edition' was printed.
+
+"I am sorry you did not show me your drawing of the chimpanzee before it
+was engraved. The artist has not done justice to it. He has made the
+ears far too large.[7] The little brown chimpanzee has very small ears;
+fully as small in proportion as those of a genuine negro. I am half
+inclined to give to the world a little treatise on the monkey tribe. I
+am prepared to show that Linnaeus, Buffon, and all our hosts of
+naturalists who have copied the remarks of these celebrated naturalists,
+are perfectly in the dark with regard to the true character of _all_ the
+monkey tribe. Yesterday, I sent up to the _Gardener's Chronicle_ a few
+notes on the woodpecker.--Believe me, dear sir, very truly yours,
+
+                                                     CHARLES WATERTON.
+
+"P.S.--Many thanks for your nice little treatise on the chimpanzee."
+
+Mr Waterton enclosed me a copy of the following letter, which he
+published in a Yorkshire newspaper:--
+
+   _To Mrs Wombwell._
+
+"MADAM,--I am truly sorry that the inclemency of the weather has
+prevented the inhabitants of this renowned watering-place from visiting
+your wonderful gorilla, or brown orang-outang.
+
+"I have passed two hours in its company, and I have been gratified
+beyond expression.
+
+"Would that all lovers of natural history could get a sight of it, as,
+possibly, they may never see another of the same species in this
+country.
+
+"It differs widely in one respect from all other orang-outangs which
+have been exhibited in England--namely, that, when on the ground, it
+never walks on the soles of its fore-feet, but on the knuckles of the
+toes of those feet; and those toes are doubled up like the closed fist
+of a man. This must be a painful position; and, to relieve itself, the
+animal catches hold of visitors, and clings caressingly to Miss Bright,
+who exhibits it. Here then, it is at rest, with the toes of the
+fore-feet performing their natural functions, which they never do when
+the animal is on the ground.
+
+"Hence I draw the conclusion that this singular quadruped, like the
+sloth, is not a walker on the ground of its own free-will, but by
+accident only.
+
+"No doubt whatever it is born, and lives, and dies aloft, amongst the
+trees in the forests of Africa.
+
+"Put it on a tree, and then it will immediately have the full use of the
+toes of its fore-feet. Place it on the ground, and then you will see
+that the toes of the fore-feet become useless, as I have already
+described.
+
+"That it may retain its health, and thus remunerate you for the large
+sum which you have expended in the purchase of it, is, madam, the
+sincere hope of your obedient servant and well-wisher,
+
+                                                    CHARLES WATERTON."
+
+Scarborough Cliff, No. 1, _Nov. 1, 1855_.
+
+"_P.S._--You are quite at liberty to make what use you choose of this
+letter. I have written it for your own benefit, and for the good of
+natural history."[8]
+
+
+MR MITCHELL ON A YOUNG CHIMPANZEE.
+
+The writer of a most readable article on the acclimatisation of animals
+in the _Edinburgh Review_,[9] gives an amusing recital of the arrival of
+a chimpanzee at the Zoological Gardens. It was related to him by the
+late Mr Mitchell, who was long the active secretary of the society, and
+who did much to improve the Gardens. "One damp November evening, just
+before dusk, there arrived a French traveller from Senegal, with a
+companion closely muffled up in a burnoose at his side. On going, at his
+earnest request, to speak to him at the gate, he communicated to me the
+interesting fact that the stranger in the burnoose was a young chim, who
+had resided in his family in Senegal for some twelve months, and who had
+accompanied him to England. The animal was in perfect health; but from
+the state of the atmosphere required good lodging, and more tender care
+than could be found in a hotel. He proposed to sell his friend. I was
+hard; did not like pulmonic property[10] at that period of the year,
+having already two of the race in moderate health, but could not refrain
+from an offer of hospitality during Chim's residence in London. Chim was
+to go to Paris if I did not buy him. So we carried him, burnoose and
+all, into the house where the lady chims were, and liberated him in the
+doorway. They had taken tea, and were beginning to think of their early
+couch. When the Senegal Adonis caught sight of them, he assumed a jaunty
+air and advanced with politeness, as if to offer them the last news from
+Africa. A yell of surprise burst from each chimpanzella as they
+successively recognised the unexpected arrival. One would have supposed
+that all the Billingsgate of Chimpanzeedom rolled from the voluble
+tongues of these unsophisticated and hitherto unimpressible young
+ladies; but probably their gesticulations, their shrill exclamations,
+their shrinkings, their threats, were but well-mannered expressions of
+welcome to a countryman thus abruptly revealed in the foreign land of
+their captivity. Sir Chim advanced undaunted, and with the composure of
+a high-caste pongo; if he had had a hat he would have doffed it
+incontinently, as it was, he only slid out of his burnoose and ascended
+into the apartment which adjoined his countrywomen with agile grace, and
+then, through the transparent separation, he took a closer view. Juliana
+yelled afresh. Paquita crossed her hands, and sat silently with face
+about three quarters averted. Sir Chim uttered what may have been a
+tranquillising phrase, expressive of the great happiness he felt on thus
+being suddenly restored to the presence of kinswomen in the moment of
+his deepest bereavement. Juliana calmed. Paquita diminished her angle of
+aversion, and then Sir Chim, advancing quite close to the division,
+began what appeared to be a recollection of a minuet. He executed
+marvellous gestures with a precision and aplomb which were quite
+enchanting, and when at last he broke out into a quick movement with
+loud smacking stamps, the ladies were completely carried away, and gave
+him all attention. Friendship was established, refreshments were served,
+notwithstanding the previous tea, and everybody was apparently
+satisfied, especially the stranger. Upon asking the Senegal proprietor
+what the dance meant, he told me that the animal had voluntarily taken
+to that imitation of his slaves, who used to dance every evening in the
+courtyard."
+
+So far Mr Mitchell's narrative; the reviewer relates how a chimpanzee,
+placed for a short time in the society of the children of his owner in
+this country, not only throve in an extraordinary manner, was perfectly
+docile and good-tempered, but learnt to imitate them. When the eldest
+little boy wished to tease his playfellow, he used, childlike, to make
+faces at him. Chim soon outdid him, and one of the funniest things
+imaginable was to see him blown at and blowing in return; his
+protrusible lips converted themselves into a trumpet-shaped instrument,
+which reminded one immediately of some of the devils of Albert Duerer, or
+those incredible forms which the old painters used to delight in piling
+together in their temptations of Saint Anthony.
+
+
+LADY ANNE BARNARD PLEADS FOR THE BABOONS.
+
+Lady Anne Barnard, whose name as the writer of "Auld Robin Gray" is
+familiar to every one who knows that most pathetic ballad, spent five
+years with her husband at the Cape (1797-1802). Her journal letters to
+her sisters are most amusing, and full of interesting observations.[11]
+After describing "Musquito-hunting" with her husband, she writes:--"In
+return, I endeavoured to effect a treaty of peace for the baboons, who
+are apt to come down from the mountain in little troops to pillage our
+garden of the fruit with which the trees are loaded. I told him he would
+be worse than Don Carlos if he refused the children of the sun and the
+soil the use of what had descended from ouran-outang to ouran-outang;
+but, alas! I could not succeed. He had pledged himself to the
+gardener,[12] to the slaves, and all the dogs, not to baulk them of
+their sport; so he shot a superb man-of-the-mountain one morning, who
+was marauding, and electrified himself the same moment, so shocked was
+he at the groan given by the poor creature as he limped off the ground.
+I do not think I shall hear of another falling a sacrifice to Barnard's
+gun; they come too near the human race" (p. 408).
+
+In another letter she says (p. 391), "The best way to get rid of them is
+to catch one, whip him, and turn him loose; he skips off chattering to
+his comrades, and is extremely angry, but none of them return the season
+this is done. I have given orders, however, that there may be no
+whipping."
+
+
+S. BISSET AND HIS TRAINED MONKEYS.
+
+We have elsewhere referred to S. Bisset as a trainer of animals. Among
+the earliest of his trials, this Scotchman took two monkeys as pupils.
+One of these he taught to dance and tumble on the rope, whilst the other
+held a candle with one paw for his companion, and with the other played
+a barrel organ. These animals he also instructed to play several
+fanciful tricks, such as drinking to the company, riding and tumbling
+upon a horse's back, and going through several regular dances with a
+dog. The horse and dog referred to, were the first animals on which this
+ingenious person tried his skill. Although Bisset lived in the last
+century, few persons seem to have surpassed him in his power of teaching
+the lower animals. We have seen a man in Charlotte Square, in 1865, make
+a new-world monkey go through a series of tricks, ringing a bell, firing
+a pea-gun, and such like. Poor Jacko was to be pitied. His want of heart
+in his labours was very evident. Poor fellow, no time for reflection was
+allowed him. Like some of the masters in the Old High School,--such
+cruelty dates back more than thirty years,--a ferule, or a pair of tawse
+kept Jacko to his work. It was play to the onlookers, but no sport to
+master Cebus. Had he possessed memory and reflection, how his thoughts
+must have wandered from Edinburgh to the forests of the Amazon!
+
+
+LORD BYRON'S PETS.
+
+Beside horses and dogs, the poet Byron, like his own Don Juan, had a
+kind of inclination, or weakness, for what most people deem mere vermin,
+_live animals_.
+
+Captain Medwin records, in one of his conversations, that the poet
+remarked that it was troublesome to travel about with so much live and
+dead stock as he did, and adds--"I don't like to leave behind me any of
+my pets, that have been accumulating since I came on the Continent. One
+cannot trust to strangers to take care of them. You will see at the
+farmer's some of my pea-fowls _en pension_. Fletcher tells me that they
+are almost as bad fellow-travellers as the monkey, which I will show
+you." Here he led the way to a room where he played with and caressed
+the creature for some time. He afterwards bought another monkey in Pisa,
+because he saw it ill-used.[13]
+
+Lord Byron's travelling equipage to Pisa in the autumn of 1821,
+consisted, _inter caetera_, of nine horses, a monkey, a bull-dog, and a
+mastiff, two cats, three pea-fowls, and some hens.[14]
+
+
+THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD'S MONKEY.
+
+(_From the "Noctes Ambrosianae," Dec. 1825._[15])
+
+_Shepherd._ I wish that you but saw my monkey, Mr North. He would make
+you hop the twig in a guffaw. I ha'e got a pole erected for him, o'
+about some 150 feet high, on a knowe ahint Mount Benger; and the way the
+cretur rins up to the knob, looking ower the shouther o' him, and
+twisting his tail roun' the pole for fear o' playin' thud on the grun',
+is comical past a' endurance.
+
+_North._ Think you, James, that he is a link?
+
+_Shepherd._ A link in creation? Not he, indeed. He is merely a monkey.
+Only to see him on his observatory, beholding the sunrise! or weeping,
+like a Laker, at the beauty o' the moon and stars!
+
+_North._ Is he a bit of a poet?
+
+_Shepherd._ Gin he could but speak and write, there can be nae manner o'
+doubt that he would be a gran' poet. Safe us! what een in the head o'
+him! Wee, clear, red, fiery, watery, malignant-lookin een, fu' o'
+inspiration.
+
+_Tickler._ You should have him stuffed.
+
+_Shepherd._ Stuffed, man! say, rather, embalmed. But he's no likely to
+dee for years to come--indeed, the cretur's engaged to be married;
+although he's no in the secret himsel yet. The bawns are published.
+
+_Tickler._ Why really, James, marriage I think ought to be simply a
+civil contract.
+
+_Shepherd._ A civil contract! I wuss it was. But, oh! Mr Tickler, to see
+the cretur sittin wi' a pen in 's hand, and pipe in 's mouth, jotting
+down a sonnet, or odd, or lyrical ballad! Sometimes I put that black
+velvet cap ye gied me on his head, and ane o' the bairns's auld
+big-coats on his back; and then, sure aneugh, when he takes his stroll
+in the avenue, he is a heathenish Christian.
+
+_North._ Why, James, by this time he must be quite like one of the
+family?
+
+_Shepherd._ He's a capital flee-fisher. I never saw a monkey throw a
+lighter line in my life.... Then, for rowing a boat!
+
+_Tickler._ Why don't you bring him to Ambrose's?
+
+_Shepherd._ He's sae bashfu'. He never shines in company; and the least
+thing in the world will make him blush.
+
+
+THE FINDHORN FISHERMAN AND THE MONKEY.
+
+Sir Thomas Dick Lauder[16] records the adventures of a monkey in
+Morayshire, whose wanderings sadly alarmed the inhabitants who saw him,
+all unused as they were to the sight of such an exotic stranger.
+
+"We knew a large monkey, which escaped from his chain, and was abroad in
+Morayshire for some eight or ten days. Wherever he appeared he spread
+terror among the peasantry. A poor fisherman on the banks of the
+Findhorn was sitting with his wife and family at their frugal meal, when
+a hairy little man, as they in their ignorance conceived him to be,
+appeared on the window sill and grinned, and chattered through the
+casement what seemed to them to be the most horrible incantations.
+Horror-struck, the poor people crowded together on their knees on the
+floor, and began to exorcise him with prayers most vehemently, until
+some external cause of alarm made their persecutor vanish. The
+neighbours found the family half dead with fear, and could with
+difficulty extract from them the cause. 'Oh! worthy neebours!' at last
+exclaimed the goodman with a groan, 'we ha'e seen the _Enemy_ glowrin'
+at us through that vera wundow there. Lord keep us a'!!' He next alarmed
+a little hamlet near the hills; appearing and disappearing to various
+individuals in a most mysterious manner; till at last a clown, with a
+few grains of more courage than the rest, loaded his gun and put a
+sixpence into it, with the intention of stealing upon him as he sat most
+mysteriously chattering on the top of a cairn of stones, and then
+shooting him with silver, which is known never to fail in finishing the
+imps of the Evil One. And lucky indeed was it for pug that he chanced,
+through whim, to abscond from that quarter; for if he had not so
+disappeared, he might have died by the lead, if not by the silver. As it
+was, the bold peasant laid claim to the full glory of compelling this
+dreaded goblin to flee."
+
+Sir Thomas Lauder kept several pets in his beautiful seat at the Grange,
+long occupied by the Messrs Dalgleish of Dreghorn Castle as a genteel
+boarding-school, and now by the Misses Mouatt as one for young ladies.
+We have often seen the tombstones to his dogs, which were buried to the
+south of that mansion, in which Principal Robertson the historian died,
+and where Lord Brougham, his relation, used to go when a boy at the High
+School.
+
+
+THE FRENCH MARQUIS AND HIS MONKEY.
+
+Dr John Moore, the father of General Moore, who fell at Corunna, in one
+of the graphic sketches of a Frenchman which he gives in his work on
+Italy, records a visit he paid to the Marquis de F---- at Besancon.
+After many questions, he says, "Before I could make any answer, I
+chanced to turn my eyes upon a person whom I had not before observed,
+who sat very gravely upon a chair in a corner of the room, with a large
+periwig in full dress upon his head. The marquis, seeing my surprise at
+the sight of this unknown person, after a very hearty fit of laughter,
+begged pardon for not having introduced me sooner to that gentleman (who
+was no other than a large monkey), and then told me, he had the honour
+of being attended by a physician, who had the reputation of possessing
+the greatest skill, and who _certainly_ wore the largest periwigs of any
+doctor in the province. That one morning, while he was writing a
+prescription at his bedside, this same monkey had catched hold of his
+periwig by one of the knots, and instantly made the best of his way out
+at the window to the roof of a neighbouring house, from which post he
+could not be dislodged, till the doctor, having lost patience, had sent
+home for another wig, and never after could be prevailed on to accept of
+this, which had been so much disgraced. That, _enfin_, his valet, to
+whom the monkey belonged, had, ever since that adventure, obliged the
+culprit by way of punishment to sit quietly, for an hour every morning,
+with the periwig on his head.--Et pendant ces moments de tranquillite je
+suis honore de la societe du venerable personage. Then, addressing
+himself to the monkey, "Adieu, mon ami, pour aujourdhui--au plaisir de
+vous revoir;" and the servant immediately carried Monsieur le Medicin
+out of the room.[17]
+
+This is a most characteristic bit, which could scarcely have occurred
+out of France, where monkeys and dogs are petted as we never saw them
+petted elsewhere. These things were so when we knew Paris under
+Louis-Philippe. Frenchmen, surely, have not much changed under Louis
+Napoleon.
+
+
+THE MANDRILL AND GEORGE THE FOURTH.
+
+One of the attractive sights of Mr Cross's menagerie, some forty years
+or so ago, was a full-grown baboon, to which had been given the name of
+"Happy Jerry." He was conspicuous from the finely-coloured rib-like
+ridges on each side of his cheeks, the clear blue and scarlet hue of
+which, on such a hideous long face and muzzle, with its small,
+deeply-sunk malicious eyes, and projecting brow and cheeks, seemed
+almost as if beauty and bestiality were here combined. But Jerry had a
+habit which would have made Father Matthew loathe him and those who
+encouraged him. He had been taught to sit in an armchair and to drink
+porter out of a pot, like a thirsty brickmaker; and, as an addition to
+his accomplishments, he could also smoke a pipe, like a trained pupil of
+Sir Walter Raleigh. This rib-nosed baboon, or mandrill, as he is often
+called, obtained great renown; and among other distinguished personages
+who wished to see him was his late majesty King George the Fourth. As
+that king seldom during his reign frequented places of public resort, Mr
+Cross was invited to bring Jerry to Windsor or Brighton, to display the
+talents of his redoubtable baboon. I have heard Mr Cross say, that the
+king placed his hands on the arm of one of the ladies of the Court, at
+which Jerry began to show such unmistakable signs of ferocity, that the
+mild, kind menagerist was glad to get Jerry removed, or at least the
+king and his courtiers to withdraw. He showed his great teeth and
+grinned and growled, as a baboon in a rage is apt to do. Jerry was a
+powerful beast, especially in his fore-legs or arms. When he died, Mr
+Cross presented his skin to the British Museum, where it has been long
+preserved. The mandrill is a native of West Africa, where he is much
+dreaded by the negroes.
+
+In Cross's menagerie at Walworth, nearly twenty years ago, there was
+generally a fine mandrill. We remember the sulky ferocity of that
+restless eye. How angry the mild menagerist used to be at the ladies in
+the monkey-room with their parasols! These appendages were the feelers
+with which some of the softer sex used to touch Cross's monkeys, and, as
+the old gentleman used to insist, helped to kill them. Parasols were
+freely used to touch the boas and other snakes feeding in the same warm
+room. No doubt a boa-constrictor could not live comfortably if his soft,
+muscular sides got fifty pokes a day from as many sticks or parasols.
+Edward Cross, mild, gentle, gentlemanly, Prince of show-keepers, used to
+be very indignant at the inquisitorial desire possessed, especially by
+some of the fairer sex, to try the relative hardness and softness of
+serpents and monkeys, and other mammals and creatures. This story of the
+mandrill may excuse this pendant of an episode.
+
+
+THE YOUNG LADY'S PET MONKEY AND HER PARROT.
+
+Horace Walpole tells an anecdote of a fine young French lady, a Madame
+de Choiseul. She longed for a parrot that should be a miracle of
+eloquence. A parrot was soon found for her in Paris. She also became
+enamoured of General Jacko, a celebrated monkey, at Astley's. But the
+possessor was so exorbitant in his demand for Jacko, that the General
+did not change proprietors. Another monkey was soon heard of, who had
+been brought up by a cook in a kitchen, where he had learned to pluck
+fowls with inimitable dexterity. This accomplished pet was bought and
+presented to Madame, who accepted him. The first time she went out, the
+two animals were locked up in her bed-chamber. When the lady returned,
+the monkey was alone to be seen. Search, was made for Pretty Poll, and
+to her horror she was found at last under bed, shivering and cowering,
+and without a feather. It seems that the two pets had been presented by
+rival lovers of Madame. Poll's presenter concluded that his rival had
+given the monkey with that very view, challenged him; they fought, and
+both were wounded: and a heroic adventure it was![18]
+
+
+MONKEYS POOR RELATIONS.
+
+One of Luttrell's sayings, recorded by Sydney Smith, was,--
+
+"I hate the sight of monkeys, they remind me so of poor relations." Here
+follows a fine passage of Sydney Smith, which he might have written
+after hearing the lectures of Professor Huxley.[19] "I confess I feel
+myself so much at my ease about the superiority of mankind,--I have such
+a marked and decided contempt for the understanding of every baboon I
+have yet seen,--I feel so sure that the blue ape without a tail will
+never rival us in poetry, painting, and music,--that I see no reason
+whatever why justice may not be done to the few fragments of soul, and
+tatters of understanding, which they may really possess. I have
+sometimes, perhaps, felt a little uneasy at Exeter 'Change, from
+contrasting the monkeys with the 'prentice boys who are teasing them;
+but a few pages of Locke, or a few lines of Milton, have always restored
+my tranquillity, and convinced me that the superiority of man had
+nothing to fear."[20]
+
+
+MRS COLIN MACKENZIE OBSERVES APES AT SIMLA.[21]
+
+The monkey she alludes to seems to be the _Semnopithecus Entellus_, a
+black-faced, light-haired monkey, with long legs and tail, much
+venerated by the Hindoos.
+
+"Mrs L. and I were very much amused, early this morning (July 5), by
+watching numbers of huge apes, the size of human beings, with white hair
+all round their faces, and down their backs and chests, who were
+disporting themselves and feeding on the green leaves, on the sides of
+the precipice close to the house. Many of them had one or two little
+ones--the most amusing, indefatigable little creatures imaginable--who
+were incessantly running up small trees, jumping down again, and
+performing all sorts of antics, till one felt quite wearied with their
+perpetual activity. When the mother wished to fly, she clutched the
+little one under her arm, where, clinging round her body with all its
+arms, it remained in safety, while she made leaps of from thirty to
+forty feet, and ran at a most astonishing rate down the khad, catching
+at any tree or twig that offered itself to any one of her four arms.
+There were two old grave apes of enormous size sitting together on the
+branch of a tree, and deliberately catching the fleas in each other's
+shaggy coats. The patient sat perfectly still, while his brother ape
+divided and thoroughly searched his beard and hair, lifted up one arm
+and then the other, and turned him round as he thought fit; and then the
+patient undertook to perform the same office for his friend."
+
+
+THE AYE-AYE (_Chiromys Madagascariensis_).
+
+Zoologists used to know a very curious animal from Madagascar, by name,
+or by an indifferent specimen preserved in the Paris Museum. Sonnerat,
+the naturalist, obtained it from that great island so well known to
+geographical boys in former days by its being, so they were told, the
+largest island in the world. This strange quadruped was named by a word
+which meant "handed-mouse," for such is the signification of _chiromys_,
+or _cheiromys_, as it used to be spelled. This creature, when its
+history was better known, was believed to be not far removed in the
+system from the lemurs and loris. Its soft fur, long tail, large eyes,
+and other features and habits connected it with these quadrumana, while
+its rodent dentition seemed to refer it to the group containing our
+squirrels, hares, and mice. It has been the subject of a profound memoir
+by Professor Owen, our greatest comparative anatomist; and I remember,
+with pleasure, the last time I saw him at the Museum he was engaged in
+its dissection. I may here refer to one of the Professor's lighter
+productions--a lecture at Exeter Hall on some instances of the "power of
+God as manifested in His animal creation"--for a very nice notice of
+this curious quadruped. In one of the French journals, there was an
+excellent account given of the peculiar habits of the little nocturnal
+creature. In those tropical countries the trees are tenanted by
+countless varieties of created things. Their wood affords rich feeding
+to the large, fat, pulpy grubs of beetles of the families _Buprestidae_,
+_Dynastidae_, _Passalidae_, and, above all, that glorious group the
+_Longicornia_. These beetles worm their way into the wood, making often
+long tunnels, feeding as they work, and leaving their _ejecta_ in the
+shape of agglomerated sawdust. It is into the long holes drilled by
+these beetles that the Aye-Aye searches with his long fingers, one of
+which, on the fore-hand, is specially thin, slender, and skeleton-like.
+It looks like the tool of some lock-picker. Our large-eyed little
+friend, like the burglar, comes out at night and finds these holes on
+the trees where he slept during the day. His sensitive thin ears, made
+to hear every scratch, can detect the rasping of the retired grub,
+feasting in apparent security below. Naturalists sometimes hear at
+night, so Samouelle once told me, the grubs of moths munching the dewy
+leaves. Our aye-aye is no collector, but he has eyes, ears, and fingers
+too, that see, hear, and get larvae that, when grown and changed into
+beetles, are the valued prizes of entomologists. Into that tunnelled
+hole he inserts his long finger, and squash it goes into a large, pulpy,
+fat, sweet grub. It takes but a moment to draw it out; and if it be a
+pupa near the bark, so much the better for the aye-aye, so much the
+worse for the beetle or cossus. I might dilate on this subject, but
+prefer referring the reader to Professor Owen's memoir, and to his
+lecture.[22] The aye-aye, in every point of its structure, like every
+created thing, is full of design. Its curious fingers, especially the
+skeleton-like chopstick of a digit referred to, attract especial notice,
+from their evident adaptation to the condition of its situation and
+existence, as one of the works of an omnipotent and beneficent Creator.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] The Durian, a peculiarly favourite fruit in several of the Eastern
+Islands.
+
+[7] Mr Wolf's drawing was taken from a chimpanzee. Mr Waterton's young
+chimpanzee was in reality a small-eared gorilla. The ears of the
+chimpanzee are large.
+
+[8] Written in 1861. Skins and skeletons of the gorilla are to be found
+now in many museums.
+
+[9] For Jan. 1860, vol. iii., p. 177.
+
+[10] Monkeys are very liable to lung diseases in this climate, and all
+menagerie keepers are aware of the bad effects of the winter on these
+denizens of a warm climate.
+
+[11] See "Lives of the Lindsays," by Lord Lindsay, vol. iii., pp.
+371-476.
+
+[12] At Paradise. She describes some plants, one, evidently a Stapelia,
+is a fine large star-plant, yellow and spotted like the skin of a
+leopard, over which there grows a crop of glossy brown hair, at once
+handsome and horrible; it crawls flat on the ground, and its leaves are
+thick and fat (p. 407).
+
+[13] "Conversations of Lord Byron" (p. 9).
+
+[14] _Loc. cit._ (p. 1).
+
+[15] "Works of Professor Wilson," vol. i., p. 73.
+
+[16] Gilpin's "Forest Scenery," edited by Sir T. D. Lauder, vol. i., p.
+354.
+
+[17] "View of Society and Manners in Italy," vol. ii., p. 475.
+
+[18] Extracted from the late Mr Cunningham's complete edition; we
+neglected to quote the page, and have altered and shortened the words.
+
+[19] "Memoirs of Rev. Sydney Smith," i., p. 377.
+
+[20] "Wit and Wisdom of Rev. Sydney Smith" (it is from a lecture at the
+Royal Institution), p. 259.
+
+[21] "Life in the Mission, the Camp, and the Zenana; or, Six Years in
+India," by Mrs Colin Mackenzie, vol. ii., p. 126.
+
+[22] Published by James Nisbet & Co., in 1863, 1864.
+
+
+
+
+BATS.
+
+
+A highly curious, if not the strangest, order of the class are these
+flying creatures called bats. It is evident from Noel Paton's fairy
+pictures that he has closely studied their often fantastic faces. The
+writer could commend to his attention an African bat, lately figured by
+his friend Mr Murray.[23] Its enormous head, or rather muzzle, compared
+with its other parts, gives it an outrageously hideous look. In the late
+excellent Dr Horsfield's work on the animals of Java, there are some
+engravings of bats by Mr Taylor, who acquired among engravers the title
+of "Bat Taylor," so wonderfully has he rendered the exquisite pileage or
+fur of these creatures. It is wonderful how numerous the researches of
+naturalists, such as Mr Tomes, of Welford, near Stratford, have shown
+the order _Cheiroptera_ to be in genera and species. Their profiles and
+full faces, even in outline, are often most bizarre and strange. Their
+interfemoral membranes, we may add, are actual "unreticulated" nets,
+with which they catch and detain flies as they skim through the air.
+They pick these out of this bag with their mouths, and "make no bones"
+of any prey, so sharp and pointed are their pretty insectivorous teeth.
+Their flying membranes, stretched on the elongated finger-bones of their
+fore-legs, are wonderful adaptations of Divine wisdom, a capital subject
+for the natural theologian to select.
+
+Our poet-laureate must be a close observer of natural history. In his
+"In Memoriam," xciv., he distinctly alludes to some very curious West
+African bats first described by the late amiable Edward T. Bennett, long
+the much-valued secretary of the Zoological Society. These bats are
+closely related to the fox bats, and form a genus which is named, from
+their shoulder and breast appendages, _Epomophorus_:--
+
+   "Bats went round in fragrant skies,
+   And wheel'd or lit the filmy shapes
+   That haunt the dusk, with ermine capes,
+   And woolly breasts and beaded eyes."
+
+The species Mr Bennett named _E. Whitei_, after the good Rev. Gilbert
+White, that well-known worthy who wrote "The Natural History of
+Selborne," wherein are many notices of bats.
+
+
+CAPTAIN COOK'S SAILOR AND HIS DESCRIPTION OF A FOX-BAT.
+
+It is curious, now that Australia is almost as civilised, and in parts
+nearly as populous, as much of Europe, to read "Lieutenant Cook's Voyage
+Round the World," in vol. iii. of Hawkesworth's quartos, detailing the
+discoveries of June, July, and August 1770--that is close upon a
+century ago. What progress has the world made since that period! We do
+not require long periods of ages to alter, to adapt, to develop the
+customs and knowledge of man. At p. 156 we get an account of a large
+bat. On the 23d June 1770 Cook says:--"This day almost everybody had
+seen the animal which the pigeon-shooters had brought an account of the
+day before; and one of the seamen, who had been rambling in the woods,
+told us, at his return, that he verily believed he had seen the devil.
+We naturally inquired in what form he had appeared, and his answer was
+in so singular a style that I shall set down his own words. 'He was,'
+says John, 'as large as a one-gallon keg, and very like it; he had horns
+and wings, yet he crept so slowly through the grass, that if I had not
+been _afeared_ I might have touched him.' This formidable apparition we
+afterwards discovered to have been a bat, and the bats here must be
+acknowledged to have a frightful appearance, for they are nearly black,
+and full as large as a partridge; they have indeed no horns, but the
+fancy of a man who thought he saw the devil might easily supply that
+defect."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Having seen some of the very curious fox-bats alive, and given some
+condensed information about them in Dr Hamilton's series of volumes
+called "Excelsior," the writer may extract the account, with some slight
+additions, especially as the article is illustrated with a truly
+admirable figure of a fox-bat, from a living specimen by Mr Wolf. In Sir
+Emerson Tennent's "Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon," p. 14, Mr
+Wolf has represented a whole colony of the "flying-foxes," as they are
+called.
+
+[Illustration: Flying Fox. (Pteropus ruficollis.)]
+
+
+FOX-BATS (_Pteropus_).
+
+In this country that bat is deemed a large one whose wings, when
+measured from tip to tip, exceed twelve inches, or whose body is above
+that of a small mouse in bulk. In some parts of the world, however,
+there are members of this well-marked family, the wings of which, when
+stretched and measured from one extremity to the other, are five feet
+and upwards in extent, and their bodies large in proportion. These are
+the fox-bats, a pair of which were lately procured for the Zoological
+Gardens. It is from one of this pair that the very characteristic figure
+of Mr Wolf has been derived.[24] There is something very odd in the
+appearance of such an animal, suspended as it is during the day head
+downwards, in a position the very sight of which suggests to the
+looker-on ideas of nightmare and apoplexy. As the head peers out from
+the membrane, contracted about the body and investing it as in a bag,
+and the strange creature chews a piece of apple presented by its keeper,
+the least curious observer must be struck with the peculiarity of the
+position, and cannot fail to admire the velvety softness and great
+elasticity of the membrane which forms its wings. It must have been from
+an exaggerated account of the fox-bats of the Eastern Islands that the
+ancients derived their ideas of the dreaded Harpies, those fabulous
+winged monsters sent out by the relentless Juno, and whose names are
+synonymous with rapine and cruelty.
+
+Some of these bats, before they were thoroughly known, frightened
+British sailors not a little when they met with them. We have given an
+anecdote, illustrative of this, in a preceding page.
+
+Dr Forster, who accompanied Captain Cook on the voyage round the world
+from 1772 to 1775, observed fox-bats at the Friendly Islands, where they
+were seen in large groups of hundreds. Our traveller even notices that
+some of them flew about the whole day, doubtless from being disturbed by
+the wandering crews of the British discovery ships. He saw a Casuarina
+tree of large size, the branches of which were festooned with at least
+five hundred of these pendent Cheiroptera in various attitudes of ease,
+according to the habits and notions of the bat tribes, who can hang
+either by the hind or by the fore-feet. He noticed that they skimmed
+over the water with wonderful facility, and he saw one in the act of
+swimming, though he cannot say that it did so with either ease or
+expertness; they are known, however, to frequent the water in order to
+wash themselves from any impurities on their fur and wings, as well as
+to get rid of the vermin which may be infesting them.
+
+Captain Lort Stokes found the red-necked species to be very abundant,
+during his survey of the north coast of Australia in H.M.S. _Beagle_. As
+the boats were engaged in the survey, flights of these bats kept
+hovering over them, uttering a disagreeable screeching noise and filling
+the air with a faint mildewy odour, far from agreeable to the smell. The
+sailors gave these bats the name of "monkey-birds," without being aware
+that naturalists in their system consider them as following closely the
+order which contains these four-handed lovers of trees. Captain Stokes
+observes that the leathern wings have a singular heavy flap, and that a
+flight of bats would suddenly alight on a bamboo and bend it to the
+ground with their weight. Each individual struggles on alighting to
+settle on the same spot, and like rooks or men in similar circumstances,
+they do not succeed in fixing themselves without making a great deal of
+noise. When first they clung to the bamboo, they did so by means of the
+claw on the outer edge of the flying membrane, and then they gradually
+settled.
+
+Among the wild and varied scenery of those groups of islands called the
+Friendly Islands, the Feejees, and the Navigators, species of fox-bat
+form one of the characteristics of the place to the observant eye;
+while, if the traveller should happen to be blind, their presence among
+the otherwise fragrant forests would be readily perceived from the
+strong odour which taints the atmosphere, and which, says the Naturalist
+of the United States Exploring Expedition, "will always be remembered by
+persons who have visited the regions inhabited by these animals." Mr
+Titian Peale mentions that a specimen of the fox-bat was kept in
+Philadelphia for several years; and like most creatures, winged as well
+as wingless, was amiable to those persons who were constantly near it,
+while it showed clearly and unmistakably its dislike to strangers.
+
+On its voyage, this strange passenger was fed on boiled rice, sweetened
+with sugar; while at the Museum, it was solaced and fed during its
+captivity chiefly on fruit, and now and then appeared to enjoy the
+picking from the bones of a boiled fowl. The fox-bat is but seldom
+brought alive to this country. The late Mr Cross of the Surrey
+Zoological Gardens kept one for a short time, and deemed it one of his
+greatest rarities; and, till the arrival lately of the pair alluded to
+at the Gardens in the Regent's Park, we have not heard of other
+specimens having been exhibited in this country. They are difficult to
+keep, and seem to feel very sensibly the changes of our climate, while
+it is a hard thing to get for them the food on which they live when in a
+state of liberty.
+
+Mr Macgillivray discovered a new species of fox-bat on Fitzroy Island,
+off the coast of Australia, when he was naturalist of H.M.S.
+_Rattlesnake_.[25] He fell in with this large fruit-eating bat
+(_Pteropus conspicillatus_) on the wooded slope of a hill. They were in
+prodigious numbers, and presented the appearance, as they flew along in
+the bright sunshine, of a large flock of rooks. As they were approached,
+a strong musky odour became apparent, and a loud incessant chattering
+was heard. He describes the branches of some of the trees as bending
+beneath the loads of bats which clung to them. Some of these were in a
+state of inactivity, sleeping or composing themselves to sleep, while
+many specimens scrambled along among the boughs and took to flight on
+being disturbed. He shot several specimens, three or four at a time, as
+they hung in clusters. Unless they were killed outright, they continued
+suspended for some time; when wounded they are difficult to handle, as
+they bite severely, and at such times their cry resembles somewhat the
+squalling of a child. The flesh of these bats is described to be
+excellent, and no wonder, when they feed on the sweetest fruits; the
+natives regard it as nutritious food, and travellers in Australia, like
+the adventurous Leichhardt on his journey to Port Essington, sometimes
+are furnished with a welcome meal from the fruit-eating fox-bats which
+fall in their way. Even the polished French, in the Isle of Bourbon, as
+they used to call the Mauritius, sometimes stewed a Pteropus, in their
+_bouillon_ or broth to give it a relish.
+
+Travellers observe that in a state of nature the fox-bats only eat the
+ripest and the best fruit, and in their search for it they climb with
+great facility along the under side of the branches. In Java, as Dr
+Horsfield observes, these creatures, from their numbers and fruit-eating
+propensities, occasion incalculable mischief, as they attack every kind
+that grows there, from the cocoa-nut to the rarer and more delicate
+productions, which are cultivated with care in the gardens of princes
+and persons of rank. The doctor observes, that "delicate fruits, as they
+approach to maturity, are ingeniously secured by means of a loose net or
+basket, skilfully constructed of split bamboo. Without this precaution
+little valuable fruit would escape the ravages of the kalong."
+
+We have mentioned that the fox-bats are occasionally eaten in Australia.
+Colonel Sykes alludes to the native Portuguese in Western India eating
+the flesh of another species of Pteropus; and it would seem that but for
+prejudice, their flesh, like that of the young of the South American
+monkeys, is extremely delicate; the colonel says, writing of the
+_Pteropus medius_, a species found in India, "I can personally testify
+that their flesh is delicate and without disagreeable flavour."
+
+The Javanese fox-bat occasionally affords amusement to the colonists as
+well as natives, who chase it, according to Dr Horsfield, "during the
+moonlight nights, which, in the latitude of Java, are uncommonly serene.
+He is watched in his descent to the fruit-trees, and a discharge of
+small shot readily brings him to the ground. By this means I frequently
+obtained four or five individuals in the course of an hour." The natives
+of New Caledonia, according to Dr Forster, use the hair of these great
+bats in ropes, and in the tassels to their clubs, while they interweave
+the hair among the threads of the _Cyperus squarrosus_, a grassy-looking
+plant which they employ for that purpose.
+
+William Dampier,[26] in 1687, observed the habits of a fox-bat on one of
+the Philippine Islands, though he has exaggerated its size when he
+judged "that the wings stretched out in length, could not be less
+asunder than seven or eight foot from tip to tip." He records that "in
+the evening, as soon as the sun was set, these creatures would begin to
+take their flight from this island in swarms like bees, directing their
+flight over to the main island. Thus we should see them rising up from
+the island till night hindered our sight; and in the morning, as soon as
+it was light, we should see them returning again like a cloud to the
+small island till sunrising. This course they kept constantly while we
+lay here, affording us every morning and evening an hour's diversion in
+gazing at them and talking about them." Dr Horsfield describes the
+species, which is abundant in the lower parts of Java, as having the
+same habit. During the day it retreats to the branches of a tree of the
+genus _Ficus_, where it passes the greater portion of the day in sleep,
+"hanging motionless, ranged in succession, and often in close contact,
+they have little resemblance to living beings, and by a person not
+accustomed to their economy, are readily mistaken for a part of the
+tree, or for a fruit of uncommon size suspended from its branches." The
+doctor describes their society as being generally silent during the day,
+except when a contention arises among them to get out of the influence
+of the sun, when they utter a sharp piercing shriek. Their claws are so
+sharp, and their attachment is consequently so strong, that they cannot
+readily leave their hold without the assistance of their wings, and if
+shot when in this position, they remain suspended.
+
+
+DR MAYERNE AND HIS BALSAM OF BATS.
+
+Dr Mayerne, a learned English physician, who died, aged eighty-two, in
+1655, showed by his prescriptions that his enlightenment was not more
+than that of the prevailing ignorance of the period. The chief
+ingredient in his gout-powder was "raspings of a human skull unburied;"
+"but," writes Mr Jeaffreson,[27] "his sweetest compound was his 'balsam
+of bats,' strongly recommended as an unguent for hypochondriacal
+persons, into which entered adders, bats, sucking whelps, earth-worms,
+hogs' grease, the marrow of a stag, and the thigh-bone of an ox."
+
+No doubt the doctor imagined that a combination of the virulence,
+flightiness, swiftness, strength, and other qualities of all these
+animals would in some mysterious way be communicated to his melancholy
+patient; and, indeed, by acting on the imagination of such persons a
+favourable direction is given to their thoughts, and in this way their
+severe malady may at times have been removed.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[23] Illustrated Proceedings of Zoological Society.
+
+[24] This was written some years ago; but I was glad to see when last in
+the Zoological Gardens, June 1866, another live specimen of a species of
+fox bat.
+
+[25] "Narrative of the Voyage," i., p. 96 (1852).
+
+[26] "New Voyage round the World" (1698), p. 381.
+
+[27] "A Book about Doctors," by J. Cordy Jeaffreson, i., p. 23.
+
+
+
+
+HEDGEHOG.
+
+
+This well-armed genus of insect-eating quadruped has sometimes given to
+describing zoologists, at least so it is said, an opportunity of paying
+a sly compliment, concealing an allusion to the _touchy_ or supposed
+irritable disposition of the party after whom the species has been
+named. When Southey wrote the following paragraph, he happily expressed
+what is too commonly the meaning and wish of critics and criticised. If
+my readers look into any system of mammalia of recent date, under the
+article _Erinaceus_, he will see one or more instances of concealed
+allusions to touchiness of disposition in the persons of the
+naturalists, _honoured_ by the seeming compliment. The hedgehog is
+itself a very useful and very harmless quadruped. It is of great use in
+a garden, and also in a kitchen frequented by crickets or black-beetles.
+Its food is chiefly grubs, insects, worms, and such like. The creature
+is easily tamed, and becomes a lovable and not a touchy pet. It is
+eminently nocturnal.
+
+
+SOUTHEY AND HIS CRITICS.
+
+Robert Southey ("Common-Place Book," 4th series, p.44) writes:--
+
+"I intend to be a hedgehog, and roll myself up in my own prickles: all I
+regret is that I am not a porcupine, and endowed with the property of
+shooting them to annoy the beasts who come near enough to annoy me."
+
+
+
+
+MOLE.
+
+
+This is perhaps the most remarkable of all our quadrupeds. Its
+subterranean haunts and curious aptitudes for a life below the surface
+of the ground are peculiarly worthy of study. The little hillocks it
+turns up in its excavations are noticed by every one. Its pursuit of
+worms and grubs, its nest, its soft plush-like fur, the pointed nose,
+the strong digging fore-feet, the small all but hidden eyes, and
+hundreds of other properties, render it a noticeable creature. The
+following passage from Lord Macaulay's latest writings, although rather
+long, may interest some in the story of this curious creature:--
+
+
+THE MOLE AND KING WILLIAM.
+
+"A fly, if it had God's message, could choke a king."[28] I never knew
+till the 9th January 1862, when reading vol. v. of Macaulay's England,
+that a horse, stumbling on a mole-hill, was the immediate cause of the
+death of the great William III.
+
+Lady Trevelyan, the sister of Macaulay, published vol. v. of her
+brother's work, and added an account of the death of the illustrious
+Dutchman, who did so much for our religious and civil liberties. The
+historian was very partial to William, and the account of that monarch's
+last days is Macaulay's last finished piece: it is here quoted in full
+from the history:[29]--
+
+"Meanwhile reports about the state of the king's health were constantly
+becoming more and more alarming. His medical advisers, both English and
+Dutch, were at the end of their resources. He had consulted by letter
+all the most eminent physicians of Europe; and, as he was apprehensive
+that they might return flattering answers if they knew who he was, he
+had written under feigned names. To Fagon he had described himself as a
+parish priest. Fagon replied, somewhat bluntly, that such symptoms could
+have only one meaning, and that the only advice which he had to give to
+the sick man was to prepare himself for death. Having obtained this
+plain answer, William consulted Fagon again without disguise, and
+obtained some prescriptions which were thought to have a little retarded
+the approach of the inevitable hour. But the great king's days were
+numbered. Headaches and shivering fits returned on him almost daily. He
+still rode, and even hunted; but he had no longer that firm seat, or
+that perfect command of the bridle, for which he had once been renowned.
+Still all his care was for the future. The filial respect and tenderness
+of Albemarle had been almost a necessary of life to him. But it was of
+importance that Heinsius should be fully informed both as to the whole
+plan of the next campaign, and as to the state of the preparations.
+Albemarle was in full possession of the king's views on these subjects.
+He was therefore sent to the Hague. Heinsius was at that time suffering
+from indisposition, which was indeed a trifle when compared with the
+maladies under which William was sinking. But in the nature of William
+there was none of that selfishness which is the too common vice of
+invalids. On the 20th of February he sent to Heinsius a letter, in which
+he did not even allude to his own sufferings and infirmities. 'I am,'
+he said, 'infinitely concerned to learn that your health is not yet
+quite re-established. May God be pleased to grant you a speedy recovery.
+I am unalterably your good friend, WILLIAM.' These were the last lines
+of that long correspondence.
+
+"On the 20th of February, William was ambling on a favourite horse named
+Sorrel through the park of Hampton Court. He urged his horse to strike
+into a gallop just at the spot where a mole had been at work. Sorrel
+stumbled on the mole-hill, and went down on his knees. The king fell
+off, and broke his collar-bone. The bone was set, and he returned to
+Kensington in his coach. The jolting of the rough roads of that time
+made it necessary to reduce the fracture again. To a young and vigorous
+man such an accident would have been a trifle; but the frame of William
+was not in a condition to bear even the slightest shock. He felt that
+his time was short, and grieved, with a grief such as only noble spirits
+feel, to think that he must leave his work but half finished. It was
+possible that he might still live until one of his plans should be
+carried into execution. He had long known that the relation in which
+England and Scotland stood to each other was at best precarious, and
+often unfriendly, and that it might be doubted whether, in an estimate
+of the British power, the resources of the smaller country ought not to
+be deducted from those of the larger. Recent events had proved that
+without doubt the two kingdoms could not possibly continue for another
+year to be on the terms on which they had been during the preceding
+century, and that there must be between them either absolute union or
+deadly enmity. Their enmity would bring frightful calamities, not on
+themselves alone, but on all the civilised world. Their union would be
+the best security for the prosperity of both, for the internal
+tranquillity of the island, for the just balance of power among European
+states, and for the immunities of all Protestant countries. On the 28th
+of February, the Commons listened, with uncovered heads, to the last
+message that bore William's sign-manual. An unhappy accident, he told
+them, had forced him to make to them in writing a communication which he
+would gladly have made from the throne. He had, in the first year of his
+reign, expressed his desire to see a union accomplished between England
+and Scotland. He was convinced that nothing could more conduce to the
+safety and happiness of both. He should think it his peculiar felicity
+if, before the close of his reign, some happy expedient could be devised
+for making the two kingdoms one; and he, in the most earnest manner,
+recommended the question to the consideration of the Houses. It was
+resolved that the message should be taken into consideration on Saturday
+the 7th of March.
+
+"But, on the 1st of March, humours of menacing appearance showed
+themselves in the king's knee. On the 4th of March he was attacked by
+fever; on the 5th, his strength failed greatly; and on the 6th he was
+scarcely kept alive by cordials. The Abjuration Bill and a money bill
+were awaiting his assent. That assent he felt that he should not be able
+to give in person. He therefore ordered a commission to be prepared for
+his signature. His hand was now too weak to form the letters of his
+name, and it was suggested that a stamp should be prepared. On the 7th
+of March the stamp was ready. The Lord Keeper and the Clerks of the
+Parliament came, according to usage, to witness the signing of the
+commission. But they were detained some hours in the ante-chamber while
+he was in one of the paroxysms of his malady. Meanwhile the Houses were
+sitting. It was Saturday the 7th, the day on which the Commons had
+resolved to take into consideration the question of the union with
+Scotland. But that subject was not mentioned. It was known that the king
+had but a few hours to live; and the members asked each other anxiously
+whether it was likely that the Abjuration and money bills would be
+passed before he died. After sitting long in the expectation of a
+message, the Commons adjourned till six in the afternoon. By that time
+William had recovered himself sufficiently to put the stamp on the
+parchment which authorised his commissioners to act for him. In the
+evening, when the Houses had assembled, Black Rod knocked. The Commons
+were summoned to the bar of the Lords; the commission was read, the
+Abjuration Bill and the Malt Bill became law, and both Houses adjourned
+till nine o'clock in the morning of the following day. The following day
+was Sunday. But there was little chance that William would live through
+the night. It was of the highest importance that, within the shortest
+possible time after his decease, the successor designated by the Bill of
+Rights and the Act of Succession should receive the homage of the
+Estates of the Realm, and be publicly proclaimed in the Council: and the
+most rigid Pharisee in the Society for the Reformation of Manners could
+hardly deny that it was lawful to save the state, even on the Sabbath.
+
+"The king meanwhile was sinking fast. Albemarle had arrived at
+Kensington from the Hague, exhausted by rapid travelling. His master
+kindly bade him go to rest for some hours, and then summoned him to make
+his report. That report was in all respects satisfactory. The States
+General were in the best temper; the troops, the provisions, and the
+magazines were in the best order. Everything was in readiness for an
+early campaign. William received the intelligence with the calmness of a
+man whose work was done. He was under no illusion as to his danger. 'I
+am fast drawing,' he said, 'to my end.' His end was worthy of his life.
+His intellect was not for a moment clouded. His fortitude was the more
+admirable because he was not willing to die. He had very lately said to
+one of those whom he most loved, 'You know that I never feared death;
+there have been times when I should have wished it, but, now that this
+great new prospect is opening before me, I do wish to stay here a little
+longer.' Yet no weakness, no querulousness disgraced the noble close of
+that noble career. To the physicians the king returned his thanks
+graciously and gently. 'I know that you have done all that skill and
+learning could do for me, but the case is beyond your art; and I
+submit.' From the words which escaped him he seemed to be frequently
+engaged in mental prayer. Burnet and Tenison remained many hours in the
+sick-room. He professed to them his firm belief in the truth of the
+Christian religion, and received the sacrament from their hands with
+great seriousness. The antechambers were crowded all night with lords
+and privy-councillors. He ordered several of them to be called in, and
+exerted himself to take leave of them with a few kind and cheerful
+words. Among the English who were admitted to his bedside were
+Devonshire and Ormond. But there were in the crowd those who felt as no
+Englishman could feel, friends of his youth, who had been true to him,
+and to whom he had been true, through all vicissitudes of fortune; who
+had served him with unalterable fidelity when his Secretaries of State,
+his Treasury, and his Admiralty had betrayed him; who had never on any
+field of battle, or in an atmosphere tainted with loathsome and deadly
+disease, shrunk from placing their own lives in jeopardy to save his,
+and whose truth he had at the cost of his own popularity rewarded with
+bounteous munificence. He strained his feeble voice to thank
+Auverquerque for the affectionate and loyal services of thirty years. To
+Albemarle he gave the keys of his closet and of his private drawers.
+'You know,' he said, 'what to do with them.' By this time he could
+scarcely respire. 'Can this,' he said to the physicians, 'last long?' He
+was told that the end was approaching. He swallowed a cordial, and asked
+for Bentinck. Those were his last articulate words. Bentinck instantly
+came to the bedside, bent down, and placed his ear close to the king's
+mouth. The lips of the dying man moved, but nothing could be heard. The
+king took the hand of his earliest friend, and pressed it tenderly to
+his heart. In that moment, no doubt, all that had cast a slight passing
+cloud over their long and pure friendship was forgotten. It was now
+between seven and eight in the morning. He closed his eyes, and gasped
+for breath. The bishops knelt down and read the commendatory prayer.
+When it ended William was no more!"
+
+It was assuredly the stumbling of his horse against a mole-hill that led
+more immediately to the death of this great monarch. It is but one link
+in the chain of many providences affecting his life. We all remember the
+schoolboy ditty--
+
+   "For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
+   For want of a shoe the rider was lost;
+   For want of the rider the battle was lost;
+   For want of the battle the kingdom was lost."
+
+How much the death of King William retarded progress in Great Britain
+can never be judged or determined. His appointed hour had come. It was
+no bullet with its billet on the banks of the Boyne that laid the
+Dutchman low, but the cast-up earth of a specimen of a little
+insectivorous quadruped called the mole, which laid him on that bed from
+which he never arose.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[28] Jeremy Taylor, if I remember aright.
+
+[29] Vol. V., pp. 305-310.
+
+
+
+
+BEARS.
+
+
+A most comfortably clad set of plantigrade creatures, as fond, most of
+them, of fruits as they are of flesh. No creatures are more amusing in
+zoological gardens to children, who wonder at their climbing powers. Who
+is so heartless as not to have pitied the roving polar bear, caged, on a
+sultry July day, in a small paddock with a puddle, and wandering about
+restlessly in his few feet of ground, as the well-dressed mob lounged to
+hear the military band performing in the Regent's Park Zoological
+Gardens? Even young bears have an _adult_ kind of look about them. The
+writer remembers the manner of one, disappointed at its bread sap, most
+of the milk of which had been absorbed. A little girl standing by, not
+two years old, perfectly understood what the little creature was
+searching for, and, looking up, said "milka," or something closely
+resembling it. We recently saw a little brown bear, on board a Russian
+ship at Leith. He acted as a capital guard. The little creature had a
+grown-up face, more easily observed than described.
+
+Bear hams, we speak from rare experience, are truly excellent. Bears, in
+our early London days, were kept by many hairdressers and perfumers. The
+anecdote or passage from Dickens's "Humphrey's Clock" is very
+characteristic.
+
+In one of Wilkie's pictures the brown bear is figured on its way with
+its owners to the parish beadle's "house of detention." We remember the
+very bear and its owners. A fine chapter might be written on the animals
+that used to be led about the country by wandering foreigners. Our first
+sight of guinea-pigs, our first view of the black-bellied hamster, our
+first sight of the camel and dromedary, with a monkey on his neck, and
+our first bear, were seen in this way. Boys and girls in those days
+seldom saw menageries. A muzzled bear on its hind legs in Nicolson
+Street, or at the Sciennes, was an exotic sight seldom witnessed, and
+not easily forgotten. The last we saw was in Bernard Street, Leith, in
+1869. That very day, the police were hunting for Bruin and its leaders
+all over Edinburgh. Bears are now debarred from parading our streets.
+
+
+AN AUSTRIAN GENERAL AND A BEAR.[30]
+
+Mr Paget was told an excellent story of a bear hunt, which took place in
+the mountains of Transylvania, and in the presence of the gentleman who
+told him the story.
+
+"General V----, the Austrian commander of the forces in this district,
+had come to Cronstadt to inspect the troops, and had been invited by our
+friend, in compliment to his rank, to join him in a bear hunt. Now, the
+general, though more accustomed to drilling than hunting, accepted the
+invitation, and appeared in due time in a cocked hat and long gray
+greatcoat, the uniform of an Austrian general. When they had taken up
+their places, the general, with half a dozen rifles arrayed before him,
+paid such devoted attention to a bottle of spirits he had brought with
+him, that he quite forgot the object of his coming. At last, however, a
+huge bear burst suddenly from the cover of the pine forest, directly in
+front of him. At that moment the bottle was raised so high that it quite
+obscured the general's vision, and he did not perceive the intruder till
+he was close upon him. Down went the bottle, up jumped the astonished
+soldier, and, forgetful of his guns, off he started, with the bear
+clutching at the tails of his greatcoat as he ran away. What strange
+confusion of ideas was muddling the general's intellect at the moment it
+is difficult to say, but I suspect he had some notion that the attack
+was an act of insubordination on the part of Bruin, for he called out
+most lustily, as he ran along, 'Back, rascal! back! I am a general!'
+Luckily, a poor Wallack peasant had more respect for the epaulettes
+than the bear, and, throwing himself in the way, with nothing but a
+spear for his defence, he kept the enemy at bay till our friend and the
+jaegers came up, and finished the contest with their rifles."
+
+
+BYRON'S BEAR AT CAMBRIDGE.
+
+When at Trinity College, Cambridge, Lord Byron had a strange pet. He
+"brought up a bear for a degree." He said to Captain Medwyn,[31] "I had
+a great hatred of college rules, and contempt for academical honours.
+How many of their wranglers have ever distinguished themselves in the
+world? There was, by the by, rather a witty satire founded on my bear. A
+friend of Shelley's made an ourang-outang (Oran Hanton, Esq.) the hero
+of a novel ('Melincourt'), had him created a baronet, and returned for
+the borough of One Vote."
+
+
+CHARLES DICKENS ON BEARS' GREASE AND ITS PRODUCERS.
+
+Any one who has been long resident in London, or who has passed through
+Fenchurch Street, or Everett Street, Russell Square, must have been
+struck with the way in which "bears' grease" is or used to be advertised
+in these localities. Dickens makes Mr Samuel Weller tell of an
+enthusiastic tradesman of this description.[32]
+
+"His whole delight was in his trade. He spent all his money in bears,
+and run in debt for 'em besides, and there they wos a growling away in
+the front cellar all day long and ineffectually gnashing their teeth,
+vile the grease o' their relations and friends wos being retailed in
+gallipots in the shop above, and the first floor winder wos ornamented
+with their heads; not to speak o' the dreadful aggrawation it must have
+been to 'em to see a man always a walkin' up and down the pavement
+outside, with the portrait of a bear in his last agonies, and
+underneath, in large letters, 'Another fine animal was slaughtered
+yesterday at Jenkinson's!' Hous'ever, there they wos, and there
+Jenkinson wos, till he was took very ill with some inward disorder, lost
+the use of his legs, and wos confined to his bed, vere he laid a wery
+long time; but sich wos his pride in his profession even then, that
+wenever he wos worse than usual the doctor used to go down-stairs, and
+say, 'Jenkinson's wery low this mornin', we must give the bears a stir;'
+and as sure as ever they stirred 'em up a bit, and made 'em roar,
+Jenkinson opens his eyes, if he wos ever so bad, calls out, 'There's the
+bears!' and rewives agin."
+
+The author of a most amusing article in the seventy-seventh volume of
+the _Edinburgh Review_, on the modern system of advertising, records
+that, in his puff, the first vendor of bears' grease cautioned his
+customers to wash their hands in warm water after using it, to prevent
+them from assuming the hairy appearance of a paw.
+
+
+A BEARABLE PUN.
+
+An illiterate vendor of beer wrote over his door at Harrowgate, "_Bear_
+sold here." "He spells the word quite correctly," said Theodore Hook,
+"if he means to apprise us that the article is his own _Bruin_."[33]
+
+[Illustration: Polar Bear. (Thalassarctos maritimus.)]
+
+
+SHAVED BEAR.
+
+Robert Southey ("Common-Place Book," 4th ser., p. 359) says:--"At
+Bristol I saw a shaved monkey shown for a fairy; and a shaved bear, in a
+check waistcoat and trousers, sitting in a great chair as an Ethiopian
+savage. This was the most cruel fraud I ever saw. The unnatural position
+of the beast, and the damnable brutality of the woman-keeper, who sat
+upon his knee, put her arm round his neck, called him husband and
+sweetheart, and kissed him, made it the most disgusting spectacle I ever
+witnessed. Cottle was with me."
+
+He also tells of a fellow exhibiting a dragon-fly under a magnifier at a
+country fair, and calling it the great High German "Heiter-Keiter."
+
+
+THE POLAR BEAR.
+
+(_Thalassarctos maritimus._[34])
+
+Notwithstanding ice and snow, and the darkness of a nine months' winter,
+the Arctic regions are tenanted by several mammalia. Some of these are
+constant residents, the rest are migratory visitors. Of the former
+division, one of the most conspicuous, as it is certainly the most
+formidable, is the polar bear,--a creature between eight and nine feet
+in length, which, shuffling along the snow at a very quick pace, and
+being an excellent swimmer besides, cannot fail to inspire dread. The
+large wide head and fearfully armed jaws are united by a strong neck to
+powerful shoulders, from which spring the thick and muscular fore-legs.
+The paws, both of the fore and of the hind feet, are broad and admirably
+adapted, with their long hairy covering, to keep the polar bear from
+sinking in the snow. Although the creature has an appearance of
+clumsiness, it is the reverse of inactive. Every one who knows the
+boundless spaces it has to traverse, when in a state of liberty and the
+"monarch of all it surveys," cannot but pity it as a prisoner in the
+Regent's Park, where a tolerably capacious den, supplied with a bath of
+water of very limited dimension, affords the restless creature less
+liberty than a squirrel has in its round-about, or a poor lark in its
+cage.
+
+Voyagers to the Arctic regions describe it as wandering over the fields
+of ice, mounting the hummocks,[35] and looking around for prey. With
+outstretched head, its little but keen eye directed to the various
+points of a wide horizon, the polar bear looks out for seals; or scents
+with its quick nostrils the luscious smell of some stinking
+whale-blubber or half-putrid whale-flesh. Dr Scoresby relates[36] that a
+piece of the _kreng_ of a whale thrown into the fire drew a bear to a
+ship from the distance of miles. Captain Beechey mentions, that his
+party in 1818, as they were off the coast of Spitzbergen, by setting on
+fire some fat of the walrus, soon attracted a bear to their close
+vicinity. This polar Bruin was evidently unaccustomed to the sight of
+masts, and, when approaching, occasionally hesitated, and seemed half
+inclined to turn round and be off. So agreeable a smell as burning
+walrus fat dispelled all distrust, and brought him within musket-shot.
+On receiving the first ball, he sprang round, growled terrifically, and
+half raised himself on his hind-legs, as if expecting to seize the
+object which had caused so much pain; woe to any one who had at that
+moment been within reach of his merciless paws! Although a second and
+third ball laid him writhing on the ice, he was not mastered; and on the
+butt end of a musket directed at his head breaking short off, the bear
+quickly seized the thigh of his assailant, and, but for the immediate
+assistance of two or three of his shipmates, the man would have been
+seriously injured. In these very seas--nearly fifty years before--the
+hero of Trafalgar encountered this Arctic tyrant, and, when missed from
+his ship, was discovered with a comrade attacking a large specimen,
+separated from them by a chasm in the ice. On being reprimanded by his
+captain for his foolhardiness, "Sir," said the young middy, pouting his
+lips, as he used to do when excited, "I wished to kill the bear that I
+might carry the skin to my father."[37]
+
+Barentz, in his celebrated voyage in 1595, had two of his men killed by
+"a great leane white beare." In these early days, so unused were polar
+bears to man, that though thirty of their comrades attempted a rescue,
+the prey was not abandoned. The purser, "stepping somewhat farther
+forward, and seeing the beare to be within the length of a shot,
+presently levelled his peece, and discharging it at the beare, shot her
+into the head, betweene both the eyes, and yet shee held the man still
+fast by the necke, and lifted up her head with the man in her mouth, but
+shee beganne somewhat to stagger; wherewith the purser and a Scottishman
+drew out their courtlaxes (cutlasses), and stroke at her so hard, that
+their courtlaxes burst, and yet shee would not leave the man. At last
+Wm. Geysen went to them, and with all his might stroke the beare upon
+the snowt with his peece, at which time the beare fell to the ground,
+making a great noyse, and Wm. Geysen leaping upon her cut her throat.
+The 7th of September wee buried the dead bodies of our men in the States
+Island, and having fleaed the beare, carryed her skinne to Amsterdam."
+
+This is about the earliest record of an encounter with this formidable
+creature; sailors now find that they can be attacked with most advantage
+in the water. When in this element, they try to escape by swimming to
+the ice, and when the ice is in the form of loose and detached small
+floes, Dr Sutherland has seen them dive underneath, and appear on the
+opposite side. Scoresby records, that when shot at a distance, and able
+to escape, the bear has been observed to retire to the shelter of a
+hummock, and, as if aware of the styptical effect of cold, apply snow to
+the wound.
+
+In common with nearly every animal, this huge despot of the North is
+strongly attached to its young. Captain Inglefield, on his return home
+from Baffin's Bay in 1852, pursued three bears, as he was anxious to get
+a supply of fresh meat for his Esquimaux dogs. The trio were evidently a
+mother and twins. The captain was anxious to secure the cubs alive as
+trophies, and was cautious in shooting at the mother. All three fell,
+and were brought on board the _Isabel_. He records that it was quite
+heartrending to see the affection that existed between them. When the
+cubs saw their mother was wounded, they commenced licking her wounds,
+regardless of their own sufferings. At length the mother began to eat
+the snow, a sure sign that she was mortally wounded. "Even then her care
+for the cubs did not cease, as she kept continually turning her head
+from one to the other, and, though roaring with pain, she seemed to warn
+them to escape if possible. Their attachment was as great as hers, and I
+was thus obliged to destroy them all. It went much against my feelings,
+but the memory of my starving dogs reconciled me to the necessity."
+
+The female bear when pursued carries or pushes her cubs forwards, and
+the little creatures are described as placing themselves across her path
+to be shoved forwards. Scoresby mentions an instance where, when
+projected some yards in advance, the cubs ran on until she overtook
+them, when they alternately adjusted themselves for a second throw.
+
+It is chiefly on the seal that this bear feeds, and it displays great
+cunning in catching them as they sleep on the ice, or come to the holes
+in the ice to breathe, when it destroys them with one blow of its
+formidable and heavy paw. For its mode of getting the walrus we refer
+the reader to "Excelsior," vol. i. p. 37. Notwithstanding his strength
+and ferocity, the Esquimaux frequently kill the polar bear, as they
+esteem its flesh and fat, and highly prize its skin. The flesh is not so
+prized by Saxons, whether they be European or American. Dr Kane's
+opinion would differ but little from that of Arctic voyagers on our side
+of the Atlantic. The surgeon to the "Grinnell Expedition" in search of
+Sir John Franklin thus characterises its flesh: "Bear is strong, very
+strong, and withal most capricious meat; you cannot tell where to find
+him. One day he is quite beefy and bearable; another, hircine, hippuric,
+and detestable."
+
+It is but fair to say that Captain Parry[38] regards the flesh of the
+polar bear to be as wholesome as any other, though not quite so
+palatable. His men suffered from indigestion after eating it; but this
+he attributes to the quantity, and not to the quality, of the meat they
+had eaten.
+
+There seems to be little doubt that the liver is highly deleterious.
+Some of the sailors of Barentz, who made a meal of it, were very sick,
+"and we verily thought we should have lost them, for all their skins
+came off from the foot to the head."
+
+The skin of the bear is covered with long yellowish white hair, which,
+is very close, and forms a wonderful defence against the cold, and
+against the tusk of the animals on which it feeds. We heard of another
+use of this hair from an officer on one of the late Arctic searching
+expeditions. A bear was seen to come down a tolerably high and steep
+declivity by sliding down on its hinder quarters, in an attitude known,
+in more than one part of the British Islands, by the expressive name of
+"katy-hunkers;" the shaggy hair with which it was covered serving like a
+thick mat to protect the creature from injury. The Esquimaux prepare the
+skin sometimes without ripping it up, and turning the hairy side inward
+a warm sack-like bed is formed, into which they creep, and lie very
+comfortably. Otho Fabricius, in his "Fauna Graenlandica" (p. 24), informs
+us that the tendons are converted into sewing threads. The female bear
+has one or two, and sometimes three, cubs at a time. They are born in
+the winter, and the mother generally digs for them and for herself a
+snug nestling-place in the snow. The males in the winter time leave the
+coast, and go out on the ice-fields, to the edge of the open water after
+seals.--_Adam White, in "Excelsior" (with additions)._
+
+
+NELSON AND THE POLAR BEAR.
+
+In 1773, Captain Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave, sailed on a voyage of
+discovery towards the North Pole. In this expedition sailed two Norfolk
+young men, one in his twenty-third year, the other a mere lad in his
+fifteenth year. The former sailed from a spirit of curiosity, and being
+sorely distressed by sea-sickness was landed in Norway. He afterwards
+became famous in the British Parliament, and the speeches of the Right
+Hon. William Windham, Secretary at War, are often referred to even now.
+The younger man was Horatio Nelson, cockswain under Captain Lutwidge,
+who was killed at the battle of Trafalgar, thirty-two years after his
+Polar expedition, and left a name which is synonymous with the glory of
+the British navy.
+
+Southey, in his admirable life,[39] records an instance of his hardihood
+on this expedition:--"One night, during the mid-watch, he stole from the
+ship with one of his comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and set
+off over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was not long before they were
+missed. The fog thickened, and Captain Lutwidge and his officers became
+exceedingly alarmed for their safety. Between three and four in the
+morning the weather cleared, and the two adventurers were seen at a
+considerable distance from the ship attacking a huge bear. The signal
+for them to return was immediately made; Nelsons' comrade called upon
+him to obey it, but in vain; his musket had flashed in the pan; their
+ammunition was expended; and a chasm in the ice, which divided him from
+the bear, probably preserved his life. 'Never mind,' he cried; 'do but
+let me get a blow at this devil with the butt-end of my musket, and we
+shall have him.' Captain Lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a
+gun, which had the desired effect of frightening the beast; and the boy
+then returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of his trespass. The
+captain reprimanded him sternly for conduct so unworthy of the office
+which he filled, and desired to know what motive he could have for
+hunting a bear. 'Sir,' said he, pouting his lip, as he was wont to do
+when agitated, 'I wished to kill the bear, that I might carry the skin
+to my father.'"
+
+
+A CLEVER POLAR BEAR.
+
+Mr Markham,[40] when the ship _Assistance_ was in the Wellington
+Channel, observed several bears prowling about in search of seals. "On
+one occasion," he writes, "I saw a bear swimming across a lane of water,
+and pushing a large piece of ice before him. Landing on the floe, he
+advanced stealthily towards a couple of seals, which were basking in the
+sun at some little distance, still holding the ice in front to hide his
+black muzzle; but this most sagacious of bears was for once outwitted,
+for the seals dived into a pool of water before he could get within
+reach. On another occasion, a female Bruin having been shot from the
+deck of the _Intrepid_, her affectionate cub, an animal about the size
+of a large Newfoundland dog, remained resolutely by the side of its
+mother, and on the approach of the commander of the _Intrepid_ with part
+of his crew, a sort of tournament ensued, in which the youthful bear,
+although belaboured most savagely, showed a gallant resistance, and at
+length rushing between the legs of the corporal of marines, laid him
+prostrate on the ice, floored another man, who had seized hold of his
+tail, and effected his escape."
+
+
+CAPTAIN OMMANEY AND THE POLAR BEAR.
+
+Captain Ommaney,[41] who led one of the travelling parties in 1851 sent
+out from the ships under Austin in search of Franklin on the 12th of
+June, the day before he arrived at the ships, met with a laughable
+accident, although it might have had a serious termination. They had all
+of them but just got into their blanket bags, when a peculiar noise, as
+if something was rubbing up the snow, was heard outside. The gallant
+captain instantly divined its cause, seized, loaded, and cocked his gun,
+and ordered the tent door to be opened, upon which a huge bear was seen
+outside. Captain Ommaney fired at the animal, but, whether from the
+benumbed state of his limbs, or the dim glimmering light, he
+unfortunately missed him, and shot away the rope that supported the tent
+instead. The enraged monster then poked his head against the poles, and
+the tent fell upon its terrified inmates, and embraced them in its
+folds. Their confusion and dismay can more easily be imagined than
+described, but at length one man, with more self-possession than the
+rest, slipped out of his bag, scrambled from under the prostrate tent,
+and ran to the sledge for another gun; and it was well that he did so,
+for no sooner had he vacated his sleeping sack than Bruin seized it
+between his teeth, and shook it violently, with the evident intention of
+wreaking his vengeance on its inmate. He was, however, speedily
+despatched by a well-aimed shot from the man, the tent was repitched,
+and tranquillity restored.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[30] "Hungary and Transylvania," &c., by John Paget, Esq., vol. ii. p.
+445.
+
+[31] "Conversations of Lord Byron," p. 72.
+
+[32] "Master Humphrey's Clock."
+
+[33] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 331
+
+[34] [Greek: Thalassa], sea; [Greek: arktos], bear.
+
+[35] Those "Arctic hedge-rows," as Mr David Walker calls them, when, on
+the 30th November 1857, he was on board the Arctic yacht _Fox_,
+wintering in the floe-ice of Baffin's Bay. "The scene apparent on going
+on deck after breakfast was splendid, and unlike anything I ever saw
+before. The subdued light of the moon thrown over such a vast expanse of
+ice, in the distance the loom of a berg, or the shadow of the hummocks
+(the Arctic hedge-rows), the only thing to break the even surface, a few
+stars peeping out, as if gazing in wonder at the spectacle,--all united
+to render the prospect striking, and lead one to contemplate the
+goodness and power of the Creator." On the 2d November, they had killed
+a bear, which had been bayed and surrounded by their Esquimaux dogs.
+Captain M'Clintock shot him. He was 7 feet 3 inches long. Only one of
+the dogs was injured by his paws. Much did the hungry beasts enjoy their
+feast, for they "were regaled with the entrails, which they polished off
+in a very short time."--_Mr Walker, in_ _"Belfast News Letter," quoted
+in "Dublin Natural History Review," 1858_, p. 180.
+
+[36] "Account of Arctic Regions," i. 517.
+
+[37] The anecdote is given with more detail at p. 67.
+
+[38] "Attempt to Reach the North Pole," p. 115.
+
+[39] "Life of Nelson," by Robert Southey, Esq., LL.D., Poet Laureate, p.
+11.
+
+[40] "Franklin's Footsteps," by Clement R. Markham, p. 65.
+
+[41] "Franklin's Footsteps," by Clement Robert Markham, late of H.M.S.
+_Assistance_, p. 93.
+
+
+
+
+RACCOON.
+
+
+A strikingly pretty, well-clad, and pleasingly coloured North American
+quadruped, of which many zoological anecdotes might be given. Linnaeus
+named it _Ursu lotor_, or the Washer, from its curious habit of putting
+any food offered to it, at least when in confinement, into water, before
+attempting to eat it.
+
+
+"A GONE COON."
+
+An American phrase for "the last extremity," or, "it's all up." They say
+that a Major, or Colonel, or General Scott "down South" was notorious as
+a dead shot. Once on a time, when out with his gun, he espied a raccoon
+on a lofty tree. The poor raccoon, noticing the gun pointed at him,
+cried to the dead shot, "Air _you_ General Scott?"--"I air."--"Then
+wait, I air a comin' down, for I air _a gone coon_."
+
+
+
+
+BADGER.
+
+
+The badger, or brock, as it is called in Scotland, is yearly becoming
+more and more rare. In a few years, this curious and powerful member of
+the _ferae_, will figure, like the bear and beaver, as among the extinct
+quadrupeds of these islands. Naturalists will be recording that in the
+days of Robert Burns it must have been not at all uncommon, and not rare
+in those of Hugh Miller, since low dram-shops kept them for the
+entertainment of their guests. The Ayrshire bard makes the Newfoundland
+dog, Caesar, say to his comrade Luath, the collie, when, speaking of most
+of the gentry of his day--
+
+   "They gang as saucy by poor folk
+   As I wad by a stinking brock."[42]
+
+The author of "Old Red Sandstone" and "My Schools and Schoolmasters,"
+has recorded in the latter work the history of his employment as a hewer
+of great stones under the branching foliage of the elm and chestnut
+trees of Niddry Park, near Edinburgh, and how, in the course of a strike
+among the masons, he marched into town with several of them to a meeting
+on the Links, where, conspicuous from the deep red hue of their clothes
+and aprons, they were cheered as a reinforcement from a distance. On
+adjourning, Hugh Miller, in his racy style, gives the following account
+of a badger-baiting more than forty years ago:--
+
+
+HUGH MILLER AND THE BADGER-BAITING IN THE CANONGATE.
+
+"My comrades proposed that we should pass the time until the hour of
+meeting in a public-house, and, desirous of securing a glimpse of the
+sort of enjoyment for which they sacrificed so much, I accompanied them.
+Passing not a few more inviting-looking places, we entered a low tavern
+in the upper part of the Canongate, kept in an old half-ruinous
+building, which has since disappeared. We passed on through a narrow
+passage to a low-roofed room in the centre of the erection, into which
+the light of day never penetrated, and in which the gas was burning
+dimly in a close, sluggish atmosphere, rendered still more stifling by
+tobacco-smoke, and a strong smell of ardent spirits. In the middle of
+the crazy floor there was a trap-door, which lay open at the time; and a
+wild combination of sounds, in which the yelping of a dog, and a few
+gruff voices that seemed cheering him on, were most noticeable, rose
+from the apartment below. It was customary at this time for dram-shops
+to keep badgers housed in long narrow boxes, and for working men to keep
+dogs; and it was part of the ordinary sport of such places to set the
+dogs to unhouse the badgers. The wild sport which Scott describes in his
+'Guy Mannering,' as pursued by Dandy Dinmont and his associates among
+the Cheviots, was extensively practised twenty-nine years ago amid the
+dingier haunts of the High Street and Canongate. Our party, like most
+others, had its dog,--a repulsive-looking brute, with an earth-directed
+eye; as if he carried about with him an evil conscience; and my
+companions were desirous of getting his earthing ability tested upon the
+badger of the establishment; but on summoning the tavern-keeper, we were
+told that the party below had got the start of us. Their dog was, as we
+might hear, 'just drawing the badger; and before our dog could be
+permitted to draw him, the poor brute would require to get an hour's
+rest.' I need scarce say, that the hour was spent in hard drinking in
+that stagnant atmosphere; and we then all descended through the
+trap-door, by means of a ladder, into a bare-walled dungeon, dark and
+damp, and where the pestiferous air smelt like that of a burial vault.
+The scene which followed was exceedingly repulsive and brutal,--nearly
+as much so as some of the scenes furnished by those otter-hunts in which
+the aristocracy of the country delight occasionally to indulge. Amid
+shouts and yells the badger, with the blood of his recent conflict still
+fresh upon him, was again drawn to the box-mouth; and the party
+returning satisfied to the apartment above, again betook themselves to
+hard drinking. In a short time the liquor began to tell, not first, as
+might be supposed, on our younger men, who were mostly tall, vigorous
+fellows, in the first flush of their full strength, but on a few of the
+middle-aged workmen, whose constitutions seemed undermined by a previous
+course of dissipation and debauchery. The conversation became very loud,
+very involved, and though highly seasoned with emphatic oaths, very
+insipid; and leaving with Cha--who seemed somewhat uneasy that my eye
+should be upon their meeting in its hour of weakness--money enough to
+clear off my share of the reckoning, I stole out to the King's Park, and
+passed an hour to better purpose among the trap rocks than I could
+possibly have spent it beside the trap-door of that tavern party. I am
+not aware that a single individual, save the writer, is now living; its
+very dog did not live out half his days. His owner was alarmed one
+morning, shortly after this time, by the intelligence that a dozen of
+sheep had been worried during the night on a neighbouring farm, and that
+a dog very like his had been seen prowling about the fold; but in order
+to determine the point, he would be visited, it was added, in the course
+of the day, by the shepherd and a law-officer. The dog meanwhile,
+however, conscious of guilt,--for dogs do seem to have consciences in
+such matters,--was nowhere to be found, though, after the lapse of
+nearly a week, he again appeared at the work; and his master, slipping a
+rope round his neck, brought him to a deserted coal-pit half-filled with
+water, that opened in an adjacent field, and flinging him in, left the
+authorities no clue by which to establish his identity with the robber
+and assassin of the fold."[43]
+
+
+THE LAIRD OF BALNAMOON AND THE BROCK.
+
+The laird, so Dean Ramsay had the story sent him, once riding past a
+high steep bank, stopped opposite a hole in it, and said, "John, I saw a
+brock gang in there."--"Did ye?" said John; "wull ye haud my horse,
+sir?"--"Certainly," said the laird, and away rushed John for a spade.
+After digging for half an hour, he came back, nigh speechless to the
+laird, who had regarded him musingly. "I canna find him, sir," said
+John.--"'Deed," said the laird, very coolly, "I wad ha' wondered if ye
+had, for it's ten years sin' I saw him gang in there."[44]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[42] Poems, chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 1787, p. 14, "The Twa
+Dogs."
+
+
+
+
+FERRET.
+
+
+A truly blood-thirsty member of that slim-bodied but active race, the
+weasel tribe. He is certainly an inhabitant of a warmer climate than
+this, being very sensitive to cold. He is used in killing rats and
+_ferreting out_ rabbits, a verb indeed derived from his name. He has
+been known to attack sleeping infants.
+
+
+COLLINS AND THE RAT-CATCHERS _grip_ OF HIS FERRETS.
+
+That delightful painter of cottage life, says his son,[45] often found
+cottagers who gloried in being painted, and who sat like professional
+models, under an erroneous impression that it was for their personal
+beauties and perfections that their likenesses were portrayed. The
+remarks of these and other good people, who sat to the painter in
+perfect ignorance of the use or object of his labours, were often
+exquisitely original. He used to quote the criticism of a celebrated
+country rat-catcher, on the study he had made from him, with hearty
+triumph and delight. When asked whether he thought his portrait like,
+the rat-catcher, who--perhaps in virtue of his calling--was a gruff and
+unhesitating man, immediately declared that the face was "not a morsel
+like," but vowed with a great oath, that nothing could ever be equal to
+the correctness of the _dirt shine on his old leather breeches_, and the
+_grip_ that he had of _the necks of his ferrets_!
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[43] "My Schools and Schoolmasters; or, The Story of my Education," by
+Hugh Miller, fifth edition, 1856, pp. 321-323.
+
+[44] "Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character," tenth edition,
+1864, p. 183.
+
+
+
+
+POLE-CAT.
+
+
+An equally blood-thirsty member of the weasel family, with the subject
+of the preceding paragraph.
+
+
+FOX AND THE POLE-CAT.--(POLL-CAT.[46])
+
+Francis Grose relates the following as having happened during one of the
+famous Westminster elections:--"During the poll, a dead cat being thrown
+on the hustings, one of Sir Cecil Wray's party observed it stunk worse
+than a fox, to which Mr Fox replied, there was nothing extraordinary in
+that, considering it was a poll-cat."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[45] "Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, R.A," by his son, W.
+Wilkie Collins, i. p. 222.
+
+
+
+
+DOGS.
+
+
+One who seems to love the race of dogs, and who has written a most
+readable book on them,[47] remarks, that the dog "even now is rarely the
+companion of a Jew, or the inmate of his house." He quotes various terms
+of reproach still common among us, and which seem to have originated
+from a similar feeling to that of the Jew. For instance, we say of a
+very cheap article, that it is "dog cheap." To call a person "a dog," or
+"a cur," or "a hound," means something the very opposite of
+complimentary. A surly person is said to have "a dogged disposition."
+Any one very much fatigued is said to be "dog weary." A wretched room or
+house is often called "a dog hole," or said to be only fit for "a dog."
+Very poor verse is "doggerel." It is told of Lady Mary Wortley
+Montague, that when a young nobleman refused to translate some
+inscription over an alcove, because it was in "dog-latin," she observed,
+"How strange a puppy shouldn't understand his mother tongue."
+
+What, too, can be more expressive of a man being on the verge of ruin,
+than the common phrase, that "such a one is going to the dogs." Of
+modern describers of the very life and feelings of dogs, who can surpass
+Dr John Brown of Edinburgh? His "Rab," and his "Our Dogs," are worthy of
+the brush of Sir Edwin Landseer. Who has not heard the answer _said_ to
+have been given by Sydney Smith to the great painter, when he wanted to
+make a portrait of the witty canon, "_Is thy servant a dog, that he
+should do this thing?_"
+
+There is great diversity of standard in matters of taste. In China, a
+well-roasted pup, of any variety of the very variable _Canis
+familiaris_, is a dainty dish. In London the greatest exquisite delights
+in the taste of a half-cooked woodcock, but would scruple to eat a
+lady's lap-dog, even though descended, by indubitable pedigree, from a
+genuine "liver-and-tan" spaniel, that followed King Charles II. in his
+strolls through St James's Park; and which was given to her ladyship's
+ancestress on a day recorded, perhaps, in the diary of Mr Samuel Pepys.
+Again, in the country of the Esquimaux, who has not read in the
+intensely interesting narratives of the Moravian missionaries, how the
+dogs of the "Innuit"--of "the men," as they call themselves--are, in
+winter, indispensable to their very existence? Parry, Lyon, Franklin,
+Richardson, Ross, Rae, Penny, Sutherland, Inglefield, and Kane, have
+told us what excellent "carriage"-pullers these hardy children of the
+snow become from early infancy; and how the more they work, like the
+wives of savages in Australia, the more they are kicked. Passing over
+the dogs of the Indian tribes of North America and the gaunt race in
+Patagonia, the reader may remember that the Roman youth, like the young
+Briton, had, in the days of Horace, his outer marks--one was, that he
+loved to have a dog, or a whole pack beside him--"_gaudet canibus_."
+This attachment to the dog is given us "from above," and is one of the
+many "good gifts" which proceed from Him, who made man and dog
+"familiar," as the apt specific name of Linnaeus denominates the latter.
+One of our greatly-gifted poets, in a cynical mood, could write an
+epitaph on a favourite Newfoundlander, and end it with the dismal lines
+on his views of "earthly friends"--
+
+   "He never knew but one,--and here he lies."
+
+Our genial and home-loving Cowper has made his dog Beau classical. We
+must beg our readers to refresh their memories, by looking into the
+Olney bard's exquisite story,
+
+   "My spaniel, prettiest of his race,
+   And high in pedigree,"
+
+and they will find that _that_ story of "The Dog and the Water-lily" was
+"no fable," and that Beau really understood his master's wish when he
+fetched him a water-lily out of "Ouse's silent tide." How graceful are
+the last two stanzas of that sweet little poem--
+
+   "Charm'd with the sight, 'The world,' I cried,
+     'Shall hear of this thy deed;
+   My dog shall mortify the pride
+     Of man's superior breed.
+
+   'But chief myself I will enjoin,
+     Awake at duty's call,
+   To show a love as prompt as thine
+     To Him who gives me all.'"[48]
+
+[Illustration: BEAU.]
+
+That the world might know the very "mark and figure" of this spaniel,
+the late able illustrator of so many topographical works (Mr James
+Storer) published in his "Rural Walks of Cowper"[49] a figure of Beau,
+from the stuffed skin in the possession of Cowper's kinsman, the Rev.
+Dr Johnson.
+
+Mr Montague, in a letter to the son and biographer of Sir James
+Mackintosh,[50] gives many reminiscences of that eminent man, who was
+much attached to the memory of Cowper. He says, "We reached Dereham
+about mid-day (it was in 1801), and wrote to Mr Johnson, the clergyman,
+who had protected Cowper in the last years of his life, and in whose
+house he died. He instantly called upon us, and we accompanied him to
+his house. In the hall, we were introduced to a little red and white
+spaniel, in a glass case--the little dog Beau, who, seeing the
+water-lily which Cowper could not reach, 'plunging, left the shore.'"
+
+   "I saw him with that lily cropp'd,
+     Impatient swim to meet
+   My quick approach, and soon he dropp'd
+     The treasure at my feet."
+
+We saw the room where Cowper died, and the bell which he last touched.
+We went to his grave, and to Mrs Unwin's, who is buried at some
+distance. I lamented this, "Do not live in the visible, but the
+invisible," said your father,--"his attainments, his tenderness, his
+affections, his sufferings, and his hardships, will live long after both
+their graves are no more."
+
+We could linger over a prized octavo volume, published in Edinburgh in
+1787; the first poem of this, "The Twa Dogs, a Tale," occupies some
+thirteen pages, written with that "rare felicity" so common to _the_
+Bard of Scotland. We mention it, because of the peculiar happiness with
+which the collie, or Scottish shepherd-dog, is described in lines that
+Sir Edwin Landseer alone has equalled on canvas, or his brother Thomas
+with the graver--
+
+   "He was a gash an' faithfu' tyke
+   As ever lap a sheugh or dyke.
+   His honest, sonsie, bawsn't[51] face,
+   Aye gat him friends in ilka place.
+   His breast was white, his touzie back
+   Weel clad wi' coat of glossy black;
+   His gaucie tail, wi' upward curl,
+   Hung owre his hurdies wi' a swirl."
+
+_That's_ the shepherd-dog, as we have heard him described from a
+specimen, which was the friend and follower of a valued one, who, when a
+boy ('tis many years ago), frisked with the dog, over _one_ of the many
+ferny haughs that margin the lovely Tweed above and below Peebles. It is
+_the_ collie we have seen, on one of the sheep-farms of Lanarkshire,
+obey its young master by a word or two, as unintelligible to us as
+Japanese. But to the Culter "Luath," to hear was to obey; and in a
+quarter of an hour a flock of sheep, which had been feeding on a
+hillSide half a mile off, were brought back, driven by this faithful
+"bit doggie." We wonder not that shepherds love their dogs. Why, even
+the New Smithfield cattle-drovers, who drive sheep along the streets of
+London on a Monday or Friday, never even require to urge their faithful
+partners. Well may the gifted authoress of "The Dream" address "the
+faithful guardian"--
+
+   "Oh, tried and trusted! thou whose love
+     Ne'er changes nor forsakes,
+   Thou proof, how perfect God hath stamp'd
+     The meanest thing He makes;
+   Thou, whom no snare entraps to serve,
+     No art is used to tame
+   (Train'd, like ourselves, thy path to know,
+     By words of love and blame);
+   Friend! who beside the cottage door,
+     Or in the rich man's hall,
+   With steadfast faith still answerest
+     The one familiar call;
+   Well by poor hearth and lordly home
+     Thy couchant form may rest,
+   And Prince and Peasant trust thee still,
+     To guard what they love best."
+
+   _Hon. Mrs Norton, "The Dream," &c._, p. 192.
+
+No ordinary-sized volume, much less a short article, could give a tithe
+of the true anecdotes of members of the dog race. Mere references to
+their biography would take up a volume of Bibliography itself, just as
+their forms, and character, and "pose," give endless subject to the
+painter. Of modern authors, no one loved dogs more truly than Sir Walter
+Scott, as the reader of his writings and of his biography is well
+aware;[52] but it may not be generally known that, on the only occasion
+when the great novelist met the Ayrshire peasant,--
+
+   "Virgilium tantum vidi,"--
+
+the poem, which had made Burns a wonder to the boy then "unknown," was
+that of "The Twa Dogs;" so that, even then, Scott had commenced to show
+his attachment to these faithful followers. It was in the house of Sir
+Adam Ferguson, when Scott was a mere lad; and the scene was described
+most vividly to the writer by the late Scottish knight, after whose
+battle in South Italy the author of "Marmion" named his pet staghound
+Maida, or, as Scott pronounced it, "Myda." It was as the author of "The
+Twa Dogs" that young Ferguson and Scott regarded Burns on his entrance
+into the room with such wistful attention. The story is told in
+Lockhart, and we will not quote it further; but, leaving dogs of our own
+days and lands to Mr Jesse, who has given an interesting volume on them,
+we will close with a few paragraphs on the dog of the East--a very
+differently treated animal to that generally prized and esteemed
+"friend" of man in these lands of the West.
+
+The Holy Scriptures show us that dogs were generally despised. We select
+three, out of many instances. "Is thy servant a _dog_ that he should do
+this thing?" was the question with which Hazael, ignorant of the
+deceitfulness of his own heart, indignantly replied to Elisha, when the
+prophet told him of the evil that he would yet do unto the children of
+Israel (2 Kings viii. 13). He, "who spake as never man spake," knowing
+the faith of the Syrophoenician woman, and giving her an opportunity
+of manifesting it "for our example," said, in the Syriac fashion of
+thought, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to
+_the dogs_" (Mark vii. 27). And the apostle John, in that wondrous close
+of the prophetical writings, says, "For without," _i.e._, outside of the
+New Jerusalem, "are _dogs_" (Rev. xxii. 5). In the East up to the
+present day, with but few exceptions, dogs are treated with great
+dislike. We might quote passages in proof from almost every Eastern
+traveller, and may venture to extract one from the graphic page of the
+Rev. W. Graham, who lived five years in Syria, and who has given some
+noble word-pictures of men, and streets, and scenes in Damascus and
+other Turkish towns. Writing of Damascus,[53] he remarks, "The dogs are
+considered unclean, and are never domesticated in the East. They are
+thin, lean, fox-like animals, and always at the starving point. They
+live, breed, and die in the streets. They are useful as scavengers. They
+are neither fondled nor persecuted, but simply tolerated; and no dog has
+an owner, or ever follows and accompanies a man as the sheep do. I once
+went out in the evening at Beyrout, with my teacher to enjoy the fresh
+air and talk Arabic. My little English dog, the gift of a friend,
+followed us. We passed through a garden, where a venerable Moslem was
+sitting on a stone, silently and solemnly engaged in smoking his pipe.
+He observed the dog _following_ us, and was astonished at it, as
+something new and extraordinary; and rising, and making out of the way,
+he cried out, 'May his father be accursed! Is that a dog or a fox?'"
+Again, in Damascus, should a worn-out horse, donkey, or camel die in the
+streets, in a few hours the dogs have devoured it; and the powerful rays
+of the sun dry up all corrupt matter. Mr Graham tells us that the dogs
+of Damascus are brown, blackish, or of an ash colour, and that he saw no
+white or spotted specimens. He never saw a case of hydrophobia, nor did
+he hear a _bark_. The dogs "howl, and make noise enough," he continues,
+"but the fine, well-defined _bow-wow_ is entirely wanting." With a quiet
+humour, he hints at the bark being a mark of the civilised, domesticated
+dog, and as denoting, apparently, "the refinement of canine education."
+We have been struck with the attempts of Penny's Esquimaux dogs,
+deposited by the gallant Arctic mariner in the Zoological Gardens, to
+_get up_ a bark somewhat like the "well-bred" dogs in the cages near
+them. Mr Graham tells us of the Damascus dogs having established a kind
+of police among themselves, and, like the rooks, driving all intruders
+far from their district.
+
+Dogs were not always disregarded in the East. Herodotus informs us,[54]
+during the Persian occupation the number of Indian dogs kept in the
+province of Babylon for the use of the governor was so great, that four
+cities were exempted from taxes for maintaining them. In the mountain
+parts of India, travellers describe the great dogs of Thibet and
+Cashmere as being much prized.
+
+"The domestic dog of Ladak," says Major Cunningham,[55] "is the
+well-known shepherd's dog, or Thibetan mastiff. They have shaggy coats,
+generally quite black, or black and tan; but I have seen some of a light
+brown colour. They are usually ill-tempered to strangers; but I have
+never found one that would face a stick, although they can fight well
+when attacked. The only peculiarity that I have noticed about them is,
+that the tail is nearly always curled upward on to the back, where the
+hair is displaced by the constant rubbing of the tail." And that the
+same massive variety was also prized in ancient times we know, by a
+singularly fine, small bas-relief in baked clay, found in 1849 in the
+Birs-i-Nimrud, Babylon, by Sir Henry Rawlinson, which is preserved in
+the British Museum, to which it was presented by the late Prince Albert,
+and an outline of which, reduced one-half, will convey a good idea to
+the reader of its form. We may add that this bas-relief was first
+noticed and figured, in 1851, in the third edition of a truly learned
+and excellent work on "Nineveh and Persepolis," by Mr Vaux of the
+British Museum (p. 183). These dogs, then, were nothing else than big,
+"low jowled" Thibetan mastiffs, such as we occasionally see brought over
+by some Indian officer; and the use for which they were employed by the
+ancient kings and their attendants is strikingly exhibited on some slabs
+from a chamber in the north palace of Koujunjik, a part of the great
+Nineveh. On some of these slabs, dogs are seen engaged in pulling down
+wild asses, deer, and other animals; and they were evidently kept also
+to assist in securing nobler game--"the king of beasts;"--the sport of
+which animals shows how truly the Assyrian king was named "Nimrod, the
+mighty hunter before the Lord."--_Adam White, in "Excelsior" (with
+additions)._
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+BISHOP BLOMFIELD BITTEN BY A DOG.
+
+His natural temperament was quick, and he was fond of authority. "A
+saying of Sydney Smith's has been preserved, humorously illustrative of
+the view which he took of Bishop Blomfield's character. The bishop had
+been bitten by a dog in the calf of the leg, and fearing possible
+hydrophobia in consequence, he went, with characteristic promptitude, to
+have the injured piece of flesh cut out by a surgeon before he returned
+home. Two or three on whom he called were not at home; but, at last, the
+operation was effected by the eminent surgeon, Mr Keate. The same
+evening the bishop was to have dined with a party where Sydney Smith was
+a guest. Just before dinner, a note arrived, saying that he was unable
+to keep his engagement, a dog having rushed out from the crowd and
+bitten him in the leg. When this note was read aloud to the company,
+Sydney Smith's comment was, '_I should like to hear the dog's account of
+the story_.'
+
+"When this accident occurred to him, Bishop Blomfield happened to be
+walking with Dr D'Oyly, the rector of Lambeth. A lady of strong
+Protestant principles, mistaking Dr D'Oyly for Dr Doyle, said that she
+considered it was a judgment upon the bishop for keeping such
+company."[56]
+
+
+"PUPPIES NEVER SEE TILL THEY ARE NINE DAYS OLD."
+
+It is related, that when a former Bishop of Bristol held the office of
+Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, he one day met a couple
+of under-graduates, who neglected to pay the accustomed compliment of
+_capping_. The bishop inquired the reason of the neglect. The two men
+begged his lordship's pardon, observing they were _freshmen_, and did
+not know him. "How long have you been in Cambridge?" asked his lordship.
+"Only _eight_ days," was the reply. "Very good," said the bishop;
+"_puppies_ never see till they are _nine_ days old."[57]
+
+
+MRS ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING'S DOG FLUSH.
+
+Few have written so lovingly on the dog as this gifted poetess. Her dog
+Flush is described so well that Landseer could paint the creature almost
+to a hair. She has entered into the very feeling created in us by this
+favoured pet of our race. The beautiful stanzas[58] I have copied give
+also many little touches of her autobiography. This gifted lady was long
+an invalid. She could enter with rare sympathy into Cowper's attachments
+to animals. Her experience of the friendship of Flush is well told in
+the following lines, so different from Lord Byron's misanthropic verses
+on his dog:--
+
+
+   TO FLUSH, MY DOG.
+
+   Loving friend, the gift of one
+   Who her own true faith has run
+     Through her lower nature,
+   Be my benediction said
+   With my hand upon thy head,
+     Gentle fellow-creature!
+
+   Like a lady's ringlets brown
+   Flow thy silken ears adown
+     Either side demurely
+   Of thy silver-suited breast,
+   Shining out from all the rest
+     Of thy body purely.
+
+   Darkly brown thy body is,
+   Till the sunshine, striking this,
+     Alchemise its dulness,
+   When the sleek curls manifold
+   Flash all over into gold
+     With a burnish'd fulness.
+
+   Underneath my stroking hand,
+   Startled eyes of hazel bland
+     Kindling, growing larger,
+   Up thou leapest with a spring,
+   Full of prank and curveting
+     Leaping like a charger.
+
+   Leap! thy broad tail waves a light;
+   Leap! thy slender feet are bright,
+     Canopied in fringes;
+   Leap! those tassell'd ears of thine
+   Flicker strangely, fair and fine,
+     Down their golden inches.
+
+   Yet, my pretty, sporting friend,
+   Little is 't to such an end
+     That I praise thy rareness;
+   Other dogs may be thy peers
+   Haply in these drooping ears
+     And this glossy fairness.
+
+   But of _thee_ it shall be said,
+   This dog watch'd beside a bed
+     Day and night unweary--
+   Watch'd within a curtain'd room,
+   Where no sunbeam brake the gloom,
+     Round the sick and dreary.
+
+   Roses gather'd for a vase
+   In that chamber died apace,
+     Beam and breeze resigning;
+   This dog only waited on,
+   Knowing that, when light is gone,
+     Love remains for shining.
+
+   Other dogs in thymy dew
+   Track'd the hares, and follow'd through
+     Sunny moor or meadow;
+   This dog only crept and crept
+   Next a languid cheek that slept,
+     Sharing in the shadow.
+
+   Other dogs of loyal cheer
+   Bounded at the whistle clear,
+     Up the woodside hieing;
+   This dog only watch'd in reach
+   Of a faintly-utter'd speech,
+     Or a louder sighing.
+
+   And if one or two quick tears
+   Dropp'd upon his glossy ears,
+     Or a sigh came double,
+   Up he sprang in eager haste,
+   Fawning, fondling, breathing fast
+     In a tender trouble
+
+   And this dog was satisfied
+   If a pale, thin hand would glide
+     Down his dewlaps sloping,
+   Which he push'd his nose within,
+   After--platforming his chin
+     On the palm left open.
+
+   This dog, if a friendly voice
+   Call him now to blither choice
+     Than such chamber-keeping,
+   "Come out!" praying from the door,
+   Presseth backward as before,
+     Up against me leaping.
+
+   Therefore to this dog will I,
+   Tenderly, not scornfully,
+     Render praise and favour:
+   With my hand upon his head
+   Is my benediction said,
+     Therefore, and for ever.
+
+   And because he loved me so,
+   Better than his kind will do,
+     Often man or woman,
+   Give I back more love again
+   Than dogs often take of men,
+     Leaning from my Human.
+
+   Blessings on thee, dog of mine,
+   Pretty collars make thee fine,
+     Sugar'd milk make fat thee!
+   Pleasures wag on in thy tail,
+   Hands of gentle motion fail
+     Nevermore to pat thee!
+
+   Downy pillow take thy head,
+   Silken coverlet bestead,
+     Sunshine help thy sleeping!
+   No fly's buzzing wake thee up,
+   No man break thy purple cup
+     Set for drinking deep in.
+
+   Whisker'd cats arointed flee,
+   Sturdy stoppers keep from thee
+     Cologne distillations;
+   Nuts lie in thy path for stones,
+   And thy feast-day macaroons
+     Turn to daily rations!
+
+   Mock I thee in wishing weal?
+   Tears are in my eyes to feel
+     Thou art made so straightly;
+   Blessing needs must straighten too;
+   Little canst thou joy or do,
+     Thou who lovest _greatly_.
+
+   Yet be blessed to the height
+   Of all good and all delight
+     Pervious to thy nature;
+   Only _loved_ beyond that line,
+   With a love that answers thine,
+     Loving fellow-creature!
+
+
+SIR THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, BART., AND HIS DOG "SPEAKER."
+
+Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton was very fond of dogs; his son[59] tells an
+anecdote of the singular manner in which one of his pets came into his
+possession. "He was standing at the door of the House of Commons talking
+to a friend, when a beautiful black and tan terrier rushed between them,
+and immediately began barking furiously at Mr Joseph Pease, who was
+speaking. All the members jumped up, shouting and laughing, while the
+officers of the house chased the dog round and round, till at last he
+took refuge with Mr Buxton, who, as he could find no traces of an owner,
+carried him home. He proved to be quite an original. One of his whims
+was, that he would never go into the kitchen nor yet into a poor man's
+cottage; but he formed a habit of visiting by himself at the country
+houses in the neighbourhood of Cromer, and his refined manners and
+intelligence made 'Speaker' a welcome guest wherever he pleased to go."
+
+
+LORD BYRON AND HIS DOG BOATSWAIN.
+
+In November 1808 Lord Byron lost his favourite dog Boatswain; the poor
+animal having been seized with a fit of madness, at the commencement of
+which so little aware was Byron of the nature of the malady, that he
+more than once, with his bare hand, wiped away the slaver from the dog's
+lips during the paroxysms. In a letter to his friend Mr Hodson, he thus
+announces this event:--"Boatswain is dead! he expired in a state of
+madness on the 18th, after suffering much, yet retaining all the
+gentleness of his nature to the last, never attempting to do the least
+injury to any one near him. I have now lost everything except old
+Murray."
+
+The monument raised by him to this dog--the most memorable tribute of
+the kind since the dog's grave, of old, at Salamis--is still a
+conspicuous ornament of the gardens of Newstead. The misanthropic verses
+engraved upon it may be found among his poems, and the following is the
+inscription by which they are introduced:--
+
+
+
+         "Near this spot Are deposited the remains of one Who
+   possessed beauty without vanity, Strength without insolence, Courage
+   without ferocity, And all the virtues of man without his vices. This
+   praise, which would be unmeaning flattery If inscribed over human ashes,
+   Is but a just tribute to the memory of BOATSWAIN, a dog, Who was born at
+   Newfoundland, May 1803, And died at Newstead Abbey, November 18, 1805."
+
+The poet Pope, when about the same age as the writer of this
+inscription, passed a similar eulogy on his dog, at the expense of human
+nature; adding that "histories are more full of examples of the fidelity
+of dogs than of friends." In a still sadder and bitterer spirit, Lord
+Byron writes of his favourite:--
+
+   "To mark a friend's remains these stones arise;
+   I never knew but _one_, and _here_ he lies."[60]
+
+Moore relates a story of this dog, indicative, not only of intelligence,
+but of a generosity of spirit, which might well win for him the
+affections of such a master as Byron. A fox-terrier of his mother's,
+called Gilpin, was an object of dislike to Boatswain, who worried him
+nearly to the death. Gilpin was sent off and Boatswain was missed for a
+day. To the surprise of the servants, towards evening Gilpin and
+Boatswain were in company, the former led by the latter, who led him to
+the kitchen fire, licked him and lavished on him every possible
+demonstration of joy. He had been away to fetch him, and ever after
+caressed him, and defended him from the attacks of other dogs. (P. 44.)
+
+
+"PERCHANCE"--A LADY'S _reason_ FOR SO NAMING HER DOG.
+
+A lady had a favourite lap-dog, which she called Perchance. "A singular
+name," said somebody, "for a beautiful pet, madam; where did you find
+it?"--"Oh," drawled she, "it was named from Byron's dog. You remember
+where he says, '_Perchance_ my dog will howl.'"[61]
+
+
+COLLINS THE ARTIST AND HIS DOG "PRINNY"--A MODEL OF "_a model_."
+
+William Wilkie Collins, after a most graphic account of the companions
+of his artist-father's home,[62] notices "one who was ever as ready to
+offer his small aid and humble obedience as were any of his superiors,
+to confer the benefit of their penetrating advice." I refer to Mr
+Collins's dog "Prinny" (Prince). This docile and affectionate animal had
+been trained by his master to sit in any attitude, which the
+introduction of a dog in his picture (a frequent occurrence) might
+happen to demand. So strict was "Prinny's" sense of duty, that he never
+ventured to move from his set position until his master's signal gave
+him permission to approach his chair, when he was generally rewarded
+with a lump of sugar, placed, not between his teeth, but on his nose,
+where he continued to balance it, until he was desired to throw it into
+the air and catch it in his mouth, a feat which he very seldom failed to
+perform. On one occasion his extraordinary integrity in the performance
+of his duties was thus pleasantly exemplified:--"My father had placed
+him on the backs of two chairs, his fore-legs on the rails of one, and
+his hind-legs on the rails of the other; and in this rather arduous
+position had painted from him for a considerable time, when a friend was
+announced as waiting for him in another apartment. Particularly desirous
+of seeing this visitor immediately, the painter hurried from the room,
+entirely forgetting to tell 'Prinny' to get down, and remained in
+conversation with his friend for full half an hour. On returning to his
+study the first object that greeted him was poor 'Prinny,' standing on
+his 'bad eminence' exactly in the position in which he had been left,
+trembling with fatigue, and occasionally vending his anguish and
+distress in a low piteous moan, but not moving a limb, or venturing even
+to turn his head. Not having received the usual signal he had never once
+attempted to get down, but had remained disconsolate in his position
+'sitting' hard, with nobody to paint him, during the long half hour that
+had delayed his master's return."
+
+
+THE SOLDIER AND THE MASTIFF.
+
+A soldier passing through a meadow, a large mastiff ran at him, and he
+stabbed the dog with a bayonet. The master of the dog asked him why he
+had not rather struck the dog with the butt-end of his weapon? "So I
+should," said the soldier, "if he had run at me with his tail!"[63]
+
+
+BARK AND BITE.
+
+Lord Clare, who was much opposed to Curran, one day brought a
+Newfoundland dog upon the bench, and during Curran's speech turned
+himself aside and caressed the animal. Curran stopped. "Go on, go on, Mr
+Curran," said Lord Clare.--"Oh, I beg a thousand pardons," was the
+rejoinder. "I really thought your lordship was employed in
+_consultation_."[64]
+
+
+MRS DREW AND THE TWO DOGS.
+
+(A CURIOUSLY NEAR APPROACH TO MORAL PERCEPTION.)
+
+In the biography of Samuel Drew, A.M., a great name among the
+metaphysical writers of this country, we read a very interesting
+anecdote of two dogs.
+
+His father, a farmer and mail-carrier in Cornwall, had procured a
+Newfoundland dog for protection on his journeys, having been attacked by
+highwaymen. There was a smaller dog which had been bred in the house.
+The son was living at Poplea, in Cornwall, when the following
+circumstance occurred, and he witnessed it:[65]--
+
+"Our dairy was under a room which was used occasionally as a barn and
+apple-chamber, into which the fowls sometimes found their way; and, in
+scratching among the chaff, scattered the dust on the pans of milk
+below, to the great annoyance of my mother-in-law. In this a favourite
+cock of hers was the chief transgressor. One day in harvest she went
+into the dairy, followed by the little dog, and finding dust again on
+her milk-pans, she exclaimed, 'I wish that cock were dead!' Not long
+after, she being with us in the harvest field, we observed the little
+dog dragging along the cock, just killed, which, with an air of triumph,
+he laid at my mother-in-law's feet. Highly exasperated at the literal
+fulfilment of her hastily-uttered wish, she snatched a stick from the
+hedge, and attempted to give the dog a beating. The luckless animal,
+seeing the reception he was likely to meet with, where he expected marks
+of approbation, left the bird and ran off, she brandishing her stick,
+and saying, in a loud angry tone, 'I'll pay thee for this by and by.' In
+the evening, when about to put her threat into execution, she found the
+little dog established in a corner of the room, and the large one
+standing before it. Endeavouring to fulfil her intention by first
+driving off the large dog, he gave her plainly to understand that he was
+not at all disposed to relinquish his post. She then sought to get at
+the small dog behind the other, but the threatening gesture, and fiercer
+growl of the large one, sufficiently indicated that the attempt would be
+not a little perilous. The result was that she was obliged to abandon
+her design. In killing the cock I can scarcely think that the dog
+understood the precise import of my stepmother's wish, as his immediate
+execution of it would seem to imply. The cock was a more recent
+favourite, and had received some attentions which had previously been
+bestowed upon himself. This, I think, had led him to entertain a feeling
+of hostility to the bird, which he did not presume to indulge, until my
+mother's tone and manner indicated that the cock was no longer under her
+protection. In the power of communicating with each other, which these
+dogs evidently possess, and which, in some instances, has been displayed
+by other species of animals, a faculty seems to be developed of which we
+know very little. On the whole, I never remember to have met with a case
+in which to human appearance there was a nearer approach to moral
+perception than in that of my father's two dogs."
+
+
+THE DIFFERENCE OF EXCHANGE.--"DOG-CHEAP."
+
+Dining at a nobleman's table, where the company were praising the
+claret, his lordship told them that he had received that hogshead of
+wine in return for a couple of hounds, which he sometime before
+presented to Count Lauragais. "Why, then, my lord," cried Foote, "I not
+only think your wine excellent, but _dog-cheap_."[66]
+
+
+GAINSBOROUGH AND HIS WIFE AND THEIR DOGS.
+
+Thomas Gainsborough, the rival of Sir Joshua in portraiture, wanted that
+evenness of temper which the President of the Royal Academy so
+abundantly possessed. He was easily angered, but as soon appeased, and
+says his biographer,[67] "If he was the first to offend, he was the
+first to atone. Whenever he spoke crossly to his wife, a remarkably
+sweet-tempered woman, he would write a note of repentance, sign it with
+the name of his favourite dog 'Fox,' and address it to his Margaret's
+pet spaniel, 'Tristram.' Fox would take the note in his mouth, and duly
+deliver it to Tristram. Margaret would then answer--'My own dear Fox,
+you are always loving and good, and I am a naughty little female ever to
+worry you, as I too often do, so we will kiss and say no more about it;
+your own affectionate Tris.'" The writers of such a correspondence could
+not have led what is called "a cat and dog life." Husbands and wives
+might derive a hint from this anecdote; for we know, from the old
+ballad, that they will be sulky and quarrel at times even about getting
+
+   "Up to bar the door, O!"
+
+
+SIR WILLIAM GELL'S DOG.
+
+The reviewer[68] of Sir Thomas Browne's works says--"We ourselves have
+witnessed an example of the curious and credulous exaggeration which has
+construed certain articulations in animals into rational speech. Some
+time since, in travelling through Italy, we heard, in grave earnest,
+from several Italians, of the prodigy of a Pomeranian dog that had been
+taught to speak most intelligibly by Sir William Gell. Afterwards, in
+visiting that accomplished and lamented gentleman at Naples, we
+requested to hear an animal possessed of so unusual a gift. And, as the
+friends of the urban scholar can bear witness, the dog undoubtedly could
+utter a howl, which, assisted by the hand of the master in closing the
+jaw at certain inflections, might be intelligibly construed into two
+words not to be repeated. Such a dog, with such an anathema in his
+vocabulary, would have hanged any witch in England three centuries ago."
+
+
+ELIZABETH, THE LAST DUCHESS OF GORDON, AND THE WOLF-DOG KAISER.
+
+The Rev. A. Moody Stuart, in his "Life of the last Duchess of
+Gordon,"[69] that truly Christian lady, refers to some old pets of the
+duke's and her own, which, on her becoming a widow, she took with her
+from Gordon Castle to Huntly Lodge, a bullfinch, an immense Talbot
+mastiff named Sall, and others. He adds--"To a stranger, the most
+remarkable of the duke's old favourites was Kaiser, an Hungarian
+wolf-dog, with a snow-white fleece, and most sheep-like aspect in the
+distance, but at whose appearance out of doors, man, woman, and child
+fled as from a wolf. The duchess called him 'The wolf in sheep's
+clothing.' Her husband's tastes having brought her much into contact
+with all sorts of dogs, she had learned to pat them confidently at their
+first introduction, when a large space between their eyes betokened a
+kindly temper. This open breadth of forehead was strongly marked in
+Sall, a fine old mastiff that used at this time to walk round the
+dining-room after breakfast, with her noble head reaching the level of
+the table. But the duke had chosen Kaiser for other qualities. Two of
+those wolf-dogs had been brought to him for sale when travelling on the
+Continent; the other was the larger and handsomer animal; but Kaiser's
+eyes, sunk deep in the head, and all but meeting under his shaggy hair,
+at once fixed his choice on him as 'likest his work.' That work was to
+defend the sheep from the wolves, and one mode of defence was by laying
+a strange trap for the enemy. The dog was remarkably like a sheep, his
+hair white without a dark speck, and he carried a great load of it, long
+and fleecy like wool. In the Hungarian steppes four or five of those
+dogs would lay themselves down on the grass in the evening, sleeping
+there like so many harmless lambs, with their faces inward for the heat
+of each other's breath. The keen eye of the wolf was soon attracted by
+the white fleeces, with no shepherd near to guard them. Eager for blood,
+he careered swiftly over the plain, and sprang unsuspecting into the
+midst of the flock, only to find himself clenched in the relentless jaws
+of Kaiser and his comrades, wolves more terrible than himself under the
+clothing of timid sheep. A conversation once took place at the Lodge on
+the character ascribed to dogs in Scripture. It slightly vexed the good
+duchess that they were so often mentioned in the Bible, but only as
+emblems of what is foul and fierce, except in a single instance, and
+that not of commendation, but neutrality. This exception, she said,
+occurred in the Book of Proverbs, where the greyhound is named, along
+with the lion and the goat, as 'comely in going,' yet merely in praise
+of his external beauty. But her difficulty was relieved by the reply,
+that in Isaiah lvi. 10, the "dog" is really used in a good sense as
+applied to the spiritual watchmen of the Lord's flock. For the
+unfaithful shepherds, being there likened to dumb dogs that cannot bark,
+were not censured under the simple image of watch-dogs, but because, as
+such, they were faithless and useless; implying that the good watch-dog
+is an honourable emblem of the true pastor, watching for the souls
+committed to his care, and solemnly warning them of approaching danger."
+
+
+FREDERICK THE GREAT AND HIS ITALIAN GREYHOUNDS.
+
+Dr John Moore, when travelling with the Duke of Hamilton, saw and heard
+a good deal of Frederick the Great, and has given in his second volume
+of "A View of Society and Manners in France," &c., many interesting
+particulars of his private and public life. Among these, he alludes to
+his using "a very large gold snuff-box, the lid ornamented with
+diamonds," and his taking "an immoderate quantity of Spanish snuff, the
+marks of which very often appear on his waistcoat and breeches. These
+are also liable to be soiled by the paws of two or three Italian
+greyhounds, which he often caresses" (vol. ii. p. 236).
+
+
+THE DOG AND THE FRENCH MURDERERS. (AN OCCURRENCE IN THE SPRING OF 1837.)
+
+Thomas Raikes,[70] in his Journal 8th March 1837, records:--"Eight years
+ago, a labouring man in the department of the Loire was found murdered
+in a wood near his house, and his dog sitting near the body. No clue
+could be gained to the perpetrators of the crime, and his widow
+continued to live in the same cottage, accompanied always by the
+faithful animal. Last week two men, apparently travellers, stopped at
+the house, requesting shelter from the storm, which was granted; but no
+sooner had the dog perceived them, than he flew at them with fury, and
+could not be pacified. As they were quitting the house, one of them said
+to the other, 'That rascally dog has not forgotten us.' This raised the
+suspicion of the widow, who overheard it, and applying to the gendarmes
+in the neighbourhood, they followed and arrested them. The result has
+been that, after a long examination, one of them has confessed the
+crime, and impeached his associate."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Hannah More wrote an ode addressed to Garrick's famous house-dog Dragon.
+A copy of this she gave to Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1777, while still
+unprinted, under an oath neither to take nor give a copy of it, which
+oath Sir Joshua had observed (she says) like a true knight, only reading
+it to his visitors till some of them learned it by heart. The "charming
+bagatelle" was afterwards printed, that posterity might be enabled to
+wonder what a small expenditure of wit in metre sufficed to purchase a
+large modicum of fame among the blues of that day.[71]
+
+
+ROBERT HALL AND THE DOG.
+
+The eloquent Robert Hall and Dr Leifchild were often in each other's
+company when at Bristol, travelling and preaching together at
+anniversaries and ordinations. The son and biographer of the latter
+says:[72]--"I rode with them from Bristol to Wells, and can now, in
+imagination, see Mr Hall smoking and reclining on one seat of the
+carriage, while my father sat on the other. I can see Mr Hall descending
+at a blacksmith's shop to re-light his pipe, making his way directly to
+the forge, and jumping aside with unwonted agility, when a huge dog
+growled at him. I can recall his look, when rallied on his agility,
+after his return to the carriage. 'You seemed afraid of the dog, sir,'
+said my father. 'Apostolic advice, sir--Beware of dogs,' rejoined Mr
+Hall." Dr Leifchild, in another part of the memoir (p. 360), relates
+that some housekeeper would exclaim to him, as he was about to enter the
+house of friend or stranger, "Don't be afraid of the dog, sir, he never
+bites."--"Are you quite sure he never bites?" was his prompt
+question.--"Quite sure, sir," rejoined the servant.--"Then," rejoined
+the good-humoured doctor, "if he never _bites_, how does he live?"
+
+
+A QUEEN AND HER LAP-DOG.
+
+Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I., on her return to Burlington Bay
+with assistance for her husband, was attacked in the house where she
+slept by the cannonade of five ships of war belonging to the
+Parliament. She left the house amid the whistling of balls, one of which
+killed one of her servants. When on her way to the shelter of a ditch,
+she remembered that an aged lap-dog, called "Mitte," was left behind.
+She was much attached to this old favourite, and returned to the house
+she had left. Rushing up-stairs into her chamber, she caught up her old
+pet, which was reposing on her bed, and carried her off in safety.
+Having done this, the queen and her ladies gained the ditch, and
+crouched down in it, while the cannon played furiously over their
+heads.[73]
+
+
+THE CLEVER DOG THAT BELONGED TO THE HUNTERS OF POLMOOD.
+
+The estate of Polmood, in Peeblesshire, was the subject of extraordinary
+litigation, and a volume of considerable bulk is devoted to its history.
+This work contains much curious evidence from aged country folks in the
+western parts of the country. Mr Chambers[74] tells us that in the
+history "reminiscences concerning a wonderfully clever dog are put
+forward as links in the line of propinquity." The deponent has heard his
+father say that Robert Hunter had a remarkable dog called "Algiers;" and
+that, when Robert lived at Woodend, he used to tie a napkin round the
+dog's neck with money in it, and send him for snuff to Lammington, which
+is about three miles from Woodend, and that the dog executed his
+message faithfully, and prevented everybody from laying hold of or
+stopping him. Another venerable deponent, aged eighty-nine, had heard
+his mother tell many stories about a dog belonging to Uncle Robert,
+which went by the name of "Algiers;" that they used to cut a fleece off
+him every year sufficient to make a pair of stockings; and that Uncle
+Robert used to tie a purse round his neck, with money in it, and the dog
+then swam the Tweed, and brought back tobacco from the Crook! And a
+third declares that "Algiers" could be sent to Edinburgh with a letter,
+and bring back a letter to his master.
+
+
+THE IRISH CLERGYMAN AND THE DOGS.
+
+Mr Fitzpatrick, in his anecdotal memoirs of Archbishop Whately, tells a
+story of an eccentric Irish parson. This person, when preaching, was
+interrupted in his homily by two dogs, which began to fight in church.
+He descended the pulpit, and endeavoured to separate them. On returning
+to his place, the clergyman, who was rather an absent man, asked the
+clerk, "Where was I a while ago?"--"Wasn't yer Riverence appaising the
+dogs?" responded the other.[75]
+
+
+WASHINGTON IRVING AND THE DOG.
+
+Patrick Fraser Tytler, author of "The History of Scotland," in a letter
+to his wife in 1830, says--"At Lady Morton's, one evening, I met with
+Washington Irving. I had heard him described as a very silent man, who
+was always observing others, but seldom opened his lips. Instead of
+which, his tongue never lay still; and he gets out more wee wordies in a
+minute than any ordinary converser does in five. But I found him a very
+intelligent and agreeable man. I put him in mind of his travelling with
+our dear Tommy. He had at first no recollection; but I brought it back
+to his memory by the incident of the little black dog, who always went
+before the horses in pulling up hill, and pretended to assist them. I
+put him in mind of his own wit, 'that he wondered if the doggie mistook
+himself for a horse;' at which he laughed, and added, 'Yes, and thought
+it very hard that he was not rubbed down at the end of the
+journey.'"[76]
+
+
+DOUGLAS JERROLD AND HIS DOG.
+
+Jerrold had a favourite dog that followed him everywhere. One day in the
+country, a lady, who was passing, turned round and said audibly, "What
+an ugly little brute!" Whereupon Jerrold, addressing the lady, replied,
+"Oh, madam! I wonder what he thinks _about us_ at this moment."[77]
+
+
+SHERIDAN AND THE DOG.
+
+After witnessing the first representation of a dog-piece by Reynolds,
+called the "Caravan," Sheridan suddenly came into the green-room, on
+purpose, it was imagined, to wish the author joy. "Where is he?" was
+the first question; "where is my guardian angel?"--"Here I am," answered
+Reynolds.--"Pooh!" replied Sheridan, "I don't mean _you_, I mean _the
+dog_."[78]
+
+
+CHARLES LAMB AND HIS DOG.
+
+Thomas Hood had a dog called "Dash." This dog he gave to Charles Lamb.
+The ready-witted Elia often took the creature out with him when walking
+at Enfield. On one occasion, the dog dashed off to chase some young
+sheep. The owner of the muttons came out quite indignant at the owner,
+to expostulate with him on the assault of Lamb's dog on his sheep. Elia,
+with his quiet ready wit, replied, "Hunt _Lambs_, sir?--why, he never
+hunted _me_."[79]
+
+
+FRENCH DOGS, TIME OF LOUIS XI.--HISTORY OF HIS DOG "RELAIS" BY LOUIS
+XII.
+
+Horace Walpole, in one of his gossiping letters to the Countess of
+Ossory in 1781, writes, "You must not be surprised if I should send you
+a collection of Tonton's _bons-mots_. I have found a precedent for such
+a work. A grave author wrote a book on the 'Hunt of the Grand Senechal
+of Normandy,' and of _les DITS du bon chien Souillard, qui fut au Roi
+Loy de France onzieme du nom_. Louis XII., the reverse of the
+predecessor of the same name, did not leave to his historian to
+celebrate his dog "Relais," but did him the honour of being his
+biographer himself; and for a reason that was becoming so excellent a
+king. It was _pour animer les descendans d'un si brave chien a se rendre
+aussi bons que lui, et encore meilleurs_. It was great pity the Cardinal
+d'Amboise had no bastard puppies, or, to be sure, his Majesty would have
+written his Prime Minister's life too, for a model to his
+successors."[80]
+
+
+MARTIN LUTHER OBSERVES A DOG AT LINTZ.
+
+In the "Table Talk" of Martin Luther, it is recorded:--"I saw a dog at
+Lintz, in Austria, that was taught to go with a hand-basket to the
+butchers' shambles for meat. When other dogs came about him, and sought
+to take the meat out of the basket, he set it down and fought lustily
+with them; but when he saw they were too strong for him, he himself
+would snatch out the first piece of meat, lest he should lose all. Even
+so does now our Emperor Charles; who, after having long protected
+spiritual benefices, seeing that every prince takes possession of
+monasteries, himself takes possession of bishoprics, as just now he has
+seized upon those of Utrecht and Liege."[81]
+
+
+THE POOR DOG AT THE GROTTA DEL CANE.
+
+Henry Matthews,[82] like other visitors of Naples, went to the
+celebrated _Grotta del Cane_, or Dog Grotto, on the borders of Lake
+Agnano, so called from the vapour in the cave, destructive to animal
+life, being shown by means of a dog. In his diary, of March 3, 1818, he
+records:--"Travellers have made a great display of sensibility in their
+strictures upon the spectacle exhibited here; but to all appearance the
+dog did not care much about it. It may be said, with truth of him, that
+he is _used_ to it; for he dies many times a day, and he went to the
+place of execution wagging his tail. He became insensible in two
+minutes; but upon being laid on the grass, he revived from his trance in
+a few seconds, without the process of immersion in the lake, which is
+generally mentioned as necessary to his recovery. From the voracity with
+which he bolted down a loaf of bread which I bought for him, the vapour
+does not seem to injure the animal functions. Addison seems to have been
+very particular in his experiments upon the vapour of this cavern. He
+found that a pistol would not take fire in it; but upon laying a train
+of gunpowder, and igniting it beyond the sphere of the vapour, he found
+that it could not intercept the train of fire when it had once begun
+flashing, nor hinder it from running to the very end. He subjected a dog
+to a second trial in order to ascertain whether he was longer in
+expiring the first than the second time; and he found there was no
+sensible difference. A viper bore it _nine minutes_ the first time he
+put it in, and _ten minutes_ the second; and he attributes the prolonged
+duration of the second trial to the large provision of air that the
+viper laid in after his first death, upon which stock he supposes it to
+have existed a minute longer the second time."
+
+
+DOG, A POSTMAN AND CARRIER.
+
+Robert Southey says, that "near Moffat a dog used for many years to meet
+the mail and receive the letters for a little post-town near."[83]
+
+How often may you see a dog carrying a basket or a parcel. No
+enticement, even of a dog-friend or of a great bone, will induce this
+faithful servant to abandon his charge. Every one must have observed
+this.
+
+
+DOG-MATIC.
+
+In the great dispute between South and Sherlock, the latter, who was a
+great courtier, said--"His adversary reasoned well, but he barked like a
+cur." To which the other replied, "That _fawning_ was the property of a
+cur as well as barking."[84]
+
+
+GENERAL MOREAU AND HIS GREYHOUND.
+
+"The day after the battle of Dresden (27th Aug. 1812), a greyhound was
+brought to the King of Saxony, the ally of Napoleon. The dog was moaning
+piteously. On the collar were engraved the words, 'I belong to the
+General Moreau.' Where was the dog's master? By the side of the Emperor
+Alexander. Moreau had been mortally wounded. The dog had remained with
+his master until his death. While Moreau was conversing with the Emperor
+Alexander a cannon-shot nearly carried off both his legs. It is said
+that throughout the five days during which he lingered he uttered not a
+murmur of pain."[85]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At the battle of Solferino, where rifled cannon were first brought to
+bear in warfare, a dog excited great attention by its attachment to the
+body of its slain master. It became the chief object in a painting of
+the circumstance, from which an engraving was executed.
+
+
+A DUKE OF NORFOLK AND HIS SPANIELS.
+
+In Southey's "Common-place Book," 4th ser. p. 479, he writes--"Our
+Marlborough and King James's spaniels are unrivalled in beauty. The
+latter breed (black and tan, with hair almost approaching to silk in
+fineness, such as Vandyke loved to introduce into his portraits) were
+solely in the possession of the late Duke of Norfolk. He never travelled
+without two of his favourites in the carriage. When at Worksop he used
+to feed his eagles with the pups; and a stranger to his exclusive pride
+in the race, seeing him one day employed in thus destroying a whole
+litter, told his grace how much he should be delighted to possess one of
+them. The duke's reply was a characteristic one. 'Pray, sir, which of my
+estates should you like to have?'"
+
+There are shepherds who possess collies, such _proud_, useful servants
+and friends, that no bribe would induce them to part with them. But what
+old favourite dog or even bird is there that any one would part with?
+Man, be he scavenger or duke, is very similar in this species of
+attachment.
+
+
+LORD NORTH AND THE DOG.
+
+In several of the caricatures published about the year 1783, when Fox
+and Burke had joined Lord North, and helped to form what is called the
+Coalition Ministry, a dog is represented. This, says Mr Wright,[86] is
+said to be an allusion to an occurrence in the House of Commons. During
+the last defensive declamation of Lord North, on the eve of his
+resignation, a dog, which had concealed itself under the benches, came
+out and set up a hideous howling in the midst of his harangue. The house
+was thrown into a roar of laughter, which continued until the intruder
+was turned out; and then Lord North coolly observed, "As the new member
+has ended his argument, I beg to be allowed to continue mine."
+
+
+PERTHES DERIVES HINTS FROM HIS DOG.
+
+In a letter, written when he first came to Gotha, Perthes, the
+publisher, says--"Do not laugh if I tell you that my dog has given me
+many a hint upon human nature. I never before had a dog constantly with
+me, and I now ask myself whether the poodle be not a man, and men
+poodles. I am not led to this thought by the animal propensities which
+we have in common, such as eating, drinking, &c., but by those of a more
+refined character. He too is cheerful and dejected, excited and supine,
+playful and morose, gentle and bold, caressing and snappish, patient
+and refractory; just like us men in all things, even in his dreams! This
+likeness is not to me at all discouraging; on the contrary, it suggests
+a pleasing hope that this flesh and blood which plagues and fetters us,
+is not the real man, but merely the earthly clothing which will be cast
+off when he no longer belongs to earth, provided he has not sinfully
+chosen to identify himself with the merely material. The devil's chief
+seat is not in matter but in the mind, where he fosters pride,
+selfishness, and hatred, and by their means destroys not what is
+transitory but what is eternal in man."[87]
+
+
+PETER THE GREAT AND HIS FAVOURITE DOG LISETTE.
+
+Mr Stoehlin[88] relates the following anecdote of the Czar Peter, on
+the authority of Miss Anne Cramer, the chambermaid to the empress. In
+the cabinet of natural history of the academy at St Petersburg, is
+preserved, among a number of uncommon animals, Lisette, the favourite
+dog of the Russian monarch. She was a small, dun-coloured Italian
+greyhound, and very fond of her master, whom she never quitted but when
+he went out, and then she laid herself down on his couch. At his return
+she showed her fondness by a thousand caresses, followed him wherever he
+went, and during his afternoon nap lay always at his feet.
+
+A person belonging to the court, having excited the anger of the czar--I
+do not know by what means--was confined in the fort, and there was
+reason to suppose that he would receive the punishment of the knout on
+the first market-day. The whole court, and the empress herself, thought
+him innocent, and considered the anger of the czar as excessive and
+unjust. Every means was tried to save him, and the first opportunity
+taken to intercede in his favour. But, so far from succeeding, it served
+only to irritate the emperor the more, who forbade all persons, even the
+empress, to speak for the prisoner, and, above all, to present any
+petition on the subject, under the pain of incurring his highest
+displeasure.
+
+It was supposed that no resource remained to save the culprit. However,
+those who in concert with the czarina interested themselves in his
+favour, devised the means of urging their suit without incurring the
+penalty of the prohibition.
+
+They composed a short but pathetic petition, in the name of Lisette.
+After having set forth her uncommon fidelity to her master, she adduced
+the strongest proofs of innocence of the prisoner, entreated the czar to
+take the matter into consideration, and to be propitious to her prayer,
+by granting him his liberty.
+
+This petition was tied to her collar, in such a manner as to be easily
+visible.
+
+On the czar's return from the Admiralty and Senate, Lisette, as usual,
+came leaping about him; and he perceived the paper, folded in the form
+of a petition. He took, and read it--"What!" said he; "Lisette, do you
+also present me petitions? Well, as it is the first time, I grant your
+prayer." He immediately sent a denthtchick[89] to the fort, with orders
+to set the prisoner at liberty.
+
+
+THE LIGHT COMPANY'S POODLE AND SIR F. PONSONBY.
+
+Captain Gronow, in his gossiping book,[90] says--"Every regiment has a
+pet of some sort or another. One distinguished Highland regiment
+possesses a deer; the Welsh Fusiliers a goat, which is the object of
+their peculiar affection, and which generally marches with the band. The
+light company of my battalion of the 1st Guards in 1813 rejoiced in a
+very handsome poodle, which, if I mistake not, had been made prisoner at
+Vittoria. At the commencement of the battle of the 9th of December 1813,
+near the mayor's house, not far from Bidart, we observed the gallant
+Frederick Ponsonby well in front with the skirmishers, and by the side
+of his horse the soldiers' poodle. The colonel was encouraging our men
+to advance, and the poodle, in great glee, was jumping and barking at
+the bullets, as they flew round him like hail. On a sudden we observed
+Ponsonby struggling with a French mounted officer, whom he had already
+disarmed, and was endeavouring to lead off to our lines; when the French
+skirmishers, whose numbers had increased, fired several shots, and
+wounded Ponsonby, forcing him to relinquish his prisoner, and to retire.
+At the same time, a bullet broke one of the poor dog's legs. For his
+gallant conduct in this affair, the poodle became, if possible, a still
+greater favourite than he was before; and his friends, the men of the
+light company, took him to England, where I saw my three-legged friend
+for several years afterwards, the most prosperous of poodles, and the
+happiest of the canine race."
+
+
+ADMIRAL RODNEY AND HIS DOG LOUP.
+
+Earl Stanhope, in his History,[91] remarks--"To those who love to trace
+the lesser lights and shades of human character, I shall owe no apology
+if I venture to record of the conqueror of De Grasse, that even in his
+busiest hours he could turn some kindly thoughts not only to his family
+and friends, but to his dog in England. That dog, named Loup, was of the
+French fox-breed, and so attached to his master, that when the admiral
+left home to take the command of his fleet, the faithful animal remained
+for three days in his chamber, watching his coat, and refusing food. The
+affection was warmly returned. On many more than one occasion we find
+Rodney wrote much as follows to his wife--'Remember me to my dear girls
+and my faithful friend Loup; I know you will kiss him for me.'"[92]
+
+
+RUDDIMAN AND HIS DOG RASCAL.
+
+George Chalmers, in his Life of the learned Thomas Ruddiman,[93] tells
+us that "young Ruddiman was initiated in grammar at the parish-school of
+Boyndie, in Banffshire, which was distant a mile from his father's
+dwelling; and which was then taught by George Morison, whom his pupil
+always praised for his attention and his skill. To this school the boy
+walked every morning, carrying his daily provisions with him. He is said
+to have been daily accompanied by a dog, which, when he had proceeded to
+the top of Tooting-hillock, the halfway resting-place, always returned
+home after partaking of his victuals. This story is still (1794)
+remembered, as if there were in it something supernatural. We may
+suppose, however, that the excursion was equally agreeable to both
+parties; and when it was once known that the dog was to eat at a
+particular place at a stated hour, an appropriate allowance was
+constantly made for him. Whether Ruddiman had a natural fondness for
+dogs, or whether a particular attachment began, when impressions are
+easily made, which are long remembered, cannot now be ascertained. He
+certainly, throughout a long life, had a succession of dogs, which were
+invariably called _Rascal_; and which, being springing spaniels, ever
+accompanied him in all his walks. He used, with affectionate
+recollection, to entertain his friends with stories of dogs, which all
+tended to show the fidelity of that useful animal to man."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs Schimmelpenninck, authoress of "Select Memoirs of Port Royal," died
+in 1856. Her interesting Autobiography and Life were published in 1858
+by her relation, Christiana C. Hankin. In p. 467 it is remarked that
+"her love of animals formed quite a feature in her daily habits. Like St
+Francis, she delighted to attract the little birds, by tempting them
+with dainty food upon her verandah; and it was a positive pleasure to
+her to watch their feast. She had a bag made, which was always filled
+with oats, to regale any stray horse or ass; and she has been seen
+surrounded by four goats, each standing on its hind legs, with its
+uplifted front feet resting on her, and all eagerly claiming the salt
+she had prepared for them. But her great delight was in dogs. She never
+forgot those sad hours in childhood, when, unable to mix in the sports
+of children from illness (perhaps, too, from her want of sympathy in the
+usual pleasures of that age), the beautiful dogs at Barr were her
+companions and friends.
+
+"It is no figure of speech to say that she had a large acquaintance
+amongst the dogs at Clifton. She always carried a pocketful of biscuit
+to feed them; and she had a canine friend who for years was in the daily
+habit of waiting at her door to accompany her morning walk, after which
+he received his little portion of biscuit, and returned to his home.
+Timid as Mrs Schimmelpenninck was by nature and by habit, she had no
+idea of personal fear of animals, and especially of dogs. I have seen
+her go up without hesitation to some splendid specimen of the race, of
+which everybody else was afraid, to stroke him, or offer food; when the
+noble creature, with that fine perception often so remarkably manifested
+by dogs and children, would look up in her face, and then return her
+caress, and crouch down at her feet in love and confidence. Her own two
+beautiful little spaniels were her constant companions in her walks;
+their happy gambols were always a source of pleasure."[94]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sir Walter Scott loved dogs dearly. In his novels and poetical works his
+knowledge of them and his regard often appear. He loved them, from the
+stately deerhound to the wiry terrier. He was quite up to the ways of
+their education. Dandie Dinmont, in "Guy Mannering," speaking of his
+terriers, says, "I had them a' regularly entered, first wi' rottens,
+then wi' stots and weasels, and then wi' the tods and brocks, and now
+they fear naething that ever comes wi' a hairy skin on't." Then, again,
+read Washington Irving's description of his visit to Abbotsford, and
+how, on Scott taking him out for a walk, a host of his dogs attended,
+evidently as a matter of course. He often spoke to them during the walk.
+The American author was struck with the stately gravity of the noble
+staghound Maida, while the younger dogs gambolled about him, and tried
+to get him to gambol. Maida would occasionally turn round suddenly, and
+give one of the playful creatures a tumble, and look at Scott and
+Irving, as much as to say, "You see, gentlemen, I cannot help giving way
+to this nonsense;" when on he would go as grave as ever. "I make no
+doubt," said Scott to his companion, "when Maida is alone with these
+young dogs, he throws gravity aside, and plays the boy as much as any of
+them; but he is ashamed to do so in our company, and seems to say, "Ha'
+done with your nonsense, youngsters; what will the laird and that other
+gentleman think of me if I give way to such foolery?" A little volume
+might almost be made on Sir Walter Scott and his dogs. Wilkie, Allan,
+and especially Sir Edwin Landseer, have handed down to us the portraits
+of many of them. His works, and biography by Lockhart, and the writings
+of his many visitors, would afford many an interesting extract.
+
+
+SHERIDAN ON THE DOG-TAX.
+
+In 1796, a tax, which caused great discontent and ridicule, was laid for
+the first time upon dogs. Mr Wright, in his "England under the House of
+Hanover," says--"The debates on this tax in the House of Commons appear
+to have been extremely amusing. In opposing the motion to go into
+committee, Sheridan objected that the bill was most curiously worded, as
+it was, in the first instance, entitled, 'A bill for the protection of
+his Majesty's subjects against dogs.' 'From these words,' he said, 'one
+would imagine that dogs had been guilty of burglary, though he believed
+they were a better protection to their masters' property than watchmen.'
+After having entertained the House with some stories about mad dogs, and
+giving a discourse upon dogs in general, he asked, 'Since there was an
+exception in favour of puppies, at what age they were to be taxed, and
+how the exact age was to be ascertained?' The Secretary at War, who
+spoke against the bill, said, 'It would be wrong to destroy in the poor
+that _virtuous feeling_ which they had for their dog.' In committee, Mr
+Lechmere called the attention of the House to ladies' 'lap-dogs.' He
+knew a lady who had _sixteen_ lap-dogs, and who allowed them a roast
+shoulder of veal every day for dinner, while many poor persons were
+starving; was it not, therefore, right to tax lap-dogs very high? He
+knew another lady who kept one favourite dog, when well, on Savoy
+biscuits soaked in Burgundy, and when ailing (by the advice of a doctor)
+on minced chicken and sweetbread! Among the caricatures on this subject,
+one by Gillray (of which there were imitations) represented Fox and his
+friends, hanged upon a gallows, as 'dogs not worth a tax;' while the
+supporters of Government, among whom is Burke, with 'G. R.' on his
+collar, are ranged as well-fed dogs 'paid for.'"[95]
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH DISLIKES DOGS.
+
+AN INGENIOUS WAY OF GETTING RID OF THEM.
+
+Lady Holland tells us[96] that her father, the witty canon of St Paul's,
+disliked dogs. "During one of his visits to London, at a dinner at
+Spencer House, the conversation turned upon dogs. 'Oh,' said my father,
+'one of the greatest difficulties I have had with my parishioners has
+been on the subject of dogs.'--'How so?' said Lord Spencer.--'Why, when
+I first went down into Yorkshire, there had not been a resident
+clergyman in my parish for a hundred and fifty years. Each farmer kept a
+huge mastiff dog ranging at large, and ready to make his morning meal on
+clergy or laity, as best suited his particular taste. I never could
+approach a cottage in pursuit of my calling but I rushed into the jaws
+of one of these shaggy monsters. I scolded, preached, and prayed without
+avail; so I determined to try what fear for their pockets might do.
+Forthwith appeared in the county papers a minute account of the trial of
+a farmer, at the Northampton Sessions, for keeping dogs unconfined;
+where said farmer was not only fined five pounds and reprimanded by the
+magistrates, but sentenced to three months' imprisonment. The effect was
+wonderful, and the reign of Cerberus ceased in the land.'--'That
+accounts,' said Lord Spencer, 'for what has puzzled me and Althorp for
+many years. We never failed to attend the sessions at Northampton, and
+we never could find out how we had missed this remarkable dog case.'"
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH ON DOGS.[97]
+
+"No, I don't like dogs; I always expect them to go mad. A lady asked me
+once for a motto for her dog Spot. I proposed, 'Out, damned Spot!' But
+she did not think it sentimental enough. You remember the story of the
+French marquise, who, when her pet lap-dog bit a piece out of her
+footman's leg, exclaimed, 'Ah, poor little beast! I hope it won't make
+him sick.' I called one day on Mrs ----, and her lap-dog flew at my leg
+and bit it. After pitying her dog, like the French marquise, she did all
+she could to comfort me by assuring me the dog was a Dissenter, and
+hated the Church, and was brought up in a Tory family. But whether the
+bite came from madness or Dissent, I knew myself too well to neglect it,
+and went on the instant to a surgeon, and had it cut out, making a mem.
+on the way to enter that house no more."
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH'S "NEWFOUNDLAND DOG THAT BREAKFASTED ON PARISH BOYS."
+
+The Rev. Sydney Smith used to be much amused when he observed the utter
+want of perception of a joke in some minds. One instance we may cite
+from his "Memoirs:"[98] "Miss ----, the other day, walking round the
+grounds at Combe Florey, exclaimed, 'Oh, why do you chain up that fine
+Newfoundland dog, Mr Smith?'--'Because it has a passion for breakfasting
+on parish boys.'--'Parish boys!' she exclaimed; 'does he really eat
+boys, Mr Smith?'--'Yes, he devours them, buttons and all.' Her face of
+horror made me die of laughing."
+
+
+SOUTHEY ON DOGS.
+
+Southey was likewise not a little attached to the memory at least of
+dogs, as may be inferred by the following passage in a letter to Mr
+Bedford, Jan. 27, 1823. Snivel was a dog belonging to Mr B. in early
+days. "We had an adventure this morning, which, if poor Snivel had been
+living, would have set up her bristles in great style. A foumart was
+caught in the back kitchen; you may perhaps know it better by the name
+of polecat. It is the first I ever saw or smelt; and certainly it was in
+high odour. Poor Snivel! I still have the hairs which we cut from her
+tail thirty years ago; and if it were the fashion for men to wear
+lockets, in a locket they should be worn, for I never had a greater
+respect for any creature upon four legs than for poor Sni. See how
+naturally men fall into relic worship; when I have preserved the
+memorials of that momentary whim so many years, and through so many
+removals."[99]
+
+
+DOG, A GOOD JUDGE OF ELOCUTION.
+
+When Dr Leifchild, of Craven Chapel, London, was a student at Hoxton
+Academy, there was a good lecturer on elocution there of the name of
+True. In the Memoir, published in 1863, are some pleasing reminiscences
+by Dr Leifchild of this excellent teacher, who seems to have taken great
+pains with the students, and to have awakened in their breasts a desire
+to become proficients in the art of speaking. The doctor himself was an
+admirable example of the proficiency thus attained under good Mr True.
+He records[100] a ludicrous circumstance which occurred one day. "In
+reciting Satan's address to the evil spirits from 'Paradise Lost,' a
+stout student was enjoined to pronounce the three words, 'Princes,
+potentates, warriors,' in successively louder tones, and to speak out
+boldly. He hardly needed this advice, for the first word came out like
+distant thunder, the second like approaching thunder, and the third like
+a terribly near and loud clap. At this last the large housedog,
+Pompey, who had been asleep under the teacher's chair, started up and
+jumped out of the window into the garden. 'The dog is a good judge,
+sir,' mildly remarked Mr True."
+
+
+COWPER'S DOG BEAU AND THE WATER-LILY.
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY THE STORY OF AS INTELLIGENT A DOG.
+
+In _Blackwood's Magazine_ for 1818 there is an address, in blank verse,
+by Mr Patrick Fraser Tytler, "To my Dog." Mr Tytler's brother-in-law, Mr
+Hog,[101] recorded the fact on which this address was founded in his
+diary at the time. "Peter tells a delightful anecdote of Cossack, an
+Isle of Skye terrier, which belonged originally to his brother at
+Aldourie. It was amazingly fond of his children, one of which, having
+fallen on the gravel and hurt itself, began to cry out. Cossack tried in
+vain to comfort it by leaping upon it and licking its face. Finding all
+his efforts to pacify the child fruitless, he ran off to a mountain-ash
+tree, and leaping up, pulled a branch of red _rowan_ berries and carried
+it in his mouth to the child."
+
+
+HORACE WALPOLE'S PET DOG ROSETTE.
+
+Horace Walpole, writing to Lord Nuneham in November 1773,[102]
+says:--"The rest of my time has been employed in nursing Rosette--alas!
+to no purpose. After suffering dreadfully for a fortnight from the time
+she was seized at Nuneham, she has only languished till about ten days
+ago. As I have nothing to fill my letter, I will send you her epitaph;
+it has no merit, for it is an imitation, but in coming from the heart if
+ever epitaph did, and therefore your dogmanity will not dislike it--
+
+   'Sweetest roses of the year,
+   Strew around my Rose's bier,
+   Calmly may the dust repose
+   Of my pretty, faithful Rose!
+   And if yon cloud-topp'd hill[103] behind
+   This frame dissolved, this breath resign'd,
+   Some happier isle, some humbler heaven,
+   Be to my trembling wishes given;
+   Admitted to that equal sky,
+   May sweet Rose bear me company!'"
+
+
+ARRIVAL OF TONTON, A PET DOG, TO WALPOLE.--TONTON DOES NOT UNDERSTAND
+ENGLISH.
+
+Horace Walpole, in May 1781,[104] had announced Tonton's arrival to his
+correspondent, the Hon. H. S. Conway. He says:--"I brought him this
+morning to take possession of his new villa, but his inauguration has
+not been at all pacific. As he has already found out that he may be as
+despotic as at St Joseph's, he began with exiling my beautiful little
+cat, upon which, however, we shall not quite agree. He then flew at one
+of my dogs, who returned it by biting his foot till it bled, but was
+severely beaten for it. I immediately rung for Margaret (his
+housekeeper) to dress his foot; but in the midst of my tribulation could
+not keep my countenance, for she cried, 'Poor little thing; he does not
+understand my language!' I hope she will not recollect, too, that he is
+a Papist!" In a postscript he tells the general that Tonton "is a
+cavalier, and a little of the _mousquetaire_ still; but if I do not
+correct his vivacities, at least I shall not encourage them, like my
+dear old friend."
+
+In a letter of about the same date to Mason the poet, he again alludes
+to his fondness of Tonton, but adds--"I have no occasion to brag of my
+dogmanity."[105]
+
+Horace Walpole, in 1774, thus refers to Margaret, in a letter to Lady
+Ossory:--"Who is to have the care of the dear mouse in your absence? I
+wish I could spare Margaret, who loves all creatures so well that she
+would have been happy in the ark, and sorry when the deluge ceased;
+unless people had come to see Noah's old house, which she would have
+liked still better than cramming his menagerie."[106] A sly allusion to
+the numerous fees Margaret got from visitors. Horace, in another of his
+letters, alludes to this, and, in a joke, proposes to marry Margaret to
+enrich himself.
+
+
+HORACE WALPOLE.--DEATH OF HIS DOG TONTON.
+
+Horace Walpole, writing to the Countess of Ossory, Feb. 24, 1789,[107]
+says:--"I delayed telling you that Tonton is dead, and that I comfort
+myself. He was grown stone deaf, and very nearly equally blind, and so
+weak that the two last days he could not walk up-stairs. Happily he had
+not suffered, and died close by my side without a pang or a groan. I
+have had the satisfaction, for my dear old friend's sake and his own, of
+having nursed him up, by constant attention, to the age of sixteen, yet
+always afraid of his surviving me, as it was scarcely possible he could
+meet a third person who would study his happiness equally. I sent him to
+Strawberry, and went thither on Sunday to see him buried behind the
+chapel near Rosette. I shall miss him greatly, and must not have another
+dog; I am too old, and should only breed it up to be unhappy when I am
+gone. My resource is in two marble kittens that Mrs Damer has given me,
+of her own work, and which are so much alive that I talk to them, as I
+did to poor Tonton! If this is being superannuated, no matter; when
+dotage can amuse itself it ceases to be an evil. I fear my marble
+playfellows are better adapted to me, than I am to being your ladyship's
+correspondent." Poor Tonton was left to Walpole by "poor dear Madame de
+Deffand." In a letter to the Rev. Mr Cole, in 1781, he announces its
+arrival, and how "she made me promise to take care of it the last time I
+saw her. That I will most religiously, and make it as happy as is
+possible."[108]
+
+
+ARCHBISHOP WHATELY AND HIS DOGS.
+
+"In these rambles he was generally attended by three
+uncompromising-looking dogs, the heads of which, if it were possible to
+draw them together in shamrock form, would forcibly suggest Cerberus.
+Richard Whately found, or thought he found, in the society of these dogs
+far brighter intelligence, and infinitely more fidelity, than in many of
+the Oxford men, who had been fulsomely praised for both.
+
+"In devotion to his dogs, Dr Whately continued true to the end of his
+life, and during the winter season might be daily seen in St Stephen's
+Green, Dublin, playing at 'tig' or 'hide and seek' with his canine
+attendants. Sometimes the old archbishop might be seen clambering up a
+tree, secreting his handkerchief or pocket-knife in some cunning nook,
+then resuming his walk, and, after a while, suddenly affecting to have
+lost these articles, which the dogs never failed immediately to regain.
+
+"That he was a close observer of the habits of dogs and other quadrupeds
+we have evidence in his able lecture on 'Animal Instinct.' Dr Whately,
+when referring to another subject, once said not irrelevantly, 'The
+power of duly appreciating _little_ things belongs to a great mind: a
+narrow-minded man has it not, for to him they are _great_ things.' Dr
+Whately was of opinion that some brutes were as capable of exercising
+reason as instinct. In his 'Lectures and Reviews' (p. 64) he tells of a
+dog which, being left on the bank of a river by his master, who had gone
+up the river in a boat, attempted to join him. He plunged into the
+water, but not making allowance for the strength of the stream, which
+carried him considerably below the boat, he could not beat up against
+it. He landed, and made allowance for the current of the river by
+leaping in at a place higher up. The combined action of the stream and
+his swimming carried him in an oblique direction, and he thus reached
+the boat. Dr Whately adopts the following conclusion--'It appears, then,
+that we can neither deny reason universally and altogether to brutes,
+nor instinct to man; but that each possesses a share of both, though in
+very different proportions.'"[109]
+
+
+SIR DAVID WILKIE COULD NOT SEE A PUN.--"A DOG-ROSE."
+
+The son and biographer of William Collins, the Royal Academician,[110]
+quotes from a manuscript collection of anecdotes, written by that
+charming painter of country life and landscape, the following on Sir
+David Wilkie:--"Wilkie was not quick in perceiving a joke, although he
+was always anxious to do so, and to recollect humorous stories, of which
+he was exceedingly fond. As instances, I recollect once when we were
+staying at Mr Wells's, at Redleaf, one morning at breakfast a very small
+puppy was running about under the table. 'Dear me,' said a lady, 'how
+this creature teases me!' I took it up and put it into my breast-pocket.
+Mr Wells said, 'That is a pretty nosegay.'--'Yes,' said I, 'it is a
+dog-rose.' Wilkie's attention, sitting opposite, was called to his
+friend's pun, but all in vain. He could not be persuaded to see anything
+in it. I recollect trying once to explain to him, with the same want of
+success, Hogarth's joke in putting the sign of the woman without a head
+('The Good Woman') under the window from which the quarrelsome wife is
+throwing the dinner into the street."
+
+
+ULYSSES AND HIS DOG.
+
+Richard Payne Knight, in his "Inquiry into the Principles of
+Taste,"[111] when treating of the "sublime and pathetic," quotes the
+story of Ulysses and his dog, as follows:--"No Dutch painter ever
+exhibited an image less imposing, or less calculated to inspire awe and
+terror, or any other of Burke's symptoms or sources of the sublime
+(unless, indeed, it be a stink), than the celebrated dog of Ulysses
+lying upon a dunghill, covered with vermin and in the agonies of death;
+yet, when in such circumstances, on hearing the voice of his old master,
+who had been absent twenty years, he pricks his ears, wags his tail, and
+expires, what heart is not at once melted, elevated, and expanded with
+all those glowing feelings which Longinus has so well described as the
+genuine effects of the true sublime? That master, too--the patient,
+crafty, and obdurate Ulysses, who encounters every danger and bears
+every calamity with a constancy unshaken, a spirit undepressed, and a
+temper unruffled--when he sees this faithful old servant perishing in
+want, misery, and neglect, yet still remembering his long-lost
+benefactor, and collecting the last effort of expiring nature to give a
+sign of joy and gratulation at his return, hides his face and wipes away
+the tear! This is true sublimity of character, which is always mixed
+with tenderness--mere sanguinary ferocity being terrible and odious, but
+never sublime. [Greek: Agathoi polydakrytoi andres]--_Men prone to tears
+are brave_, says the proverbial Greek hemistich; for courage, which does
+not arise from mere coarseness of organisation, but from that sense of
+dignity and honour which constitutes the generous pride of a high mind,
+is founded in sensibility."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[46] "The Olio," by the late Francis Grose, Esq., F.A.S., p. 203.
+
+[47] "Dogs and their Ways;" illustrated by numerous anecdotes, compiled
+from authentic sources, by the Rev. Charles Williams. 1863.
+
+[48] It may interest the reader, who does not dive deep into literary
+curiosities, to refer to the original edition of Hayley's "Cowper" (4to,
+1803, vol. i. p. 314), where the poet, in a letter to Samuel Rose, Esq.,
+written at Weston, August 18, 1788, alludes to his having "composed a
+_spick_ and _span_ new piece called 'The Dog and the Water-lily;'" and
+in his next letter, September 11, he sent this piece to his excellent
+friend, the London barrister. Visitors to Olney and Weston, who have
+gone over the poet's walks, cannot but have their love for the gentle
+and afflicted Cowper most deeply _intensified_.--_See_ Miller's "First
+Impressions."
+
+[49] This book, like Storer's other illustrations of the scenes of the
+poems of Burns and Bloomfield, drawn immediately after the death of
+these poets, will become year by year more valuable.
+
+[50] "Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honourable Sir James Mackintosh,"
+edited by his son, Robert James Mackintosh, Esq., vol. i. p. 164.
+
+[51] "Bawsn't," having a white stripe down the face.--_Glossary to
+Burns's Poems._
+
+[52] See an extract farther on, in proof of this.
+
+[53] "The Jordan and the Rhine" (1854), p. 46, and pp. 91-93.
+
+[54] _See_ Layard's "Nineveh and its Remains," vol. ii. (1849), p. 425.
+
+[55] "Ladak, Physical, Statistical, and Historical," p. 218.
+
+[56] "Memoir of Bishop Blomfield," by his son, i. 220.
+
+[57] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 177.
+
+[58] A selection from the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. London,
+1866, pp. 134-138.
+
+[59] "Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart.," edited by his son,
+Charles Buxton, Esq., B.A., third edition, p. 139.
+
+[60] Moore's "Life of Byron," chap. vii. p. 74.
+
+[61] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 279.
+
+[62] "Memoirs of the Life of Wm. Collins, R.A.," by his Son, i. 105.
+
+[63] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 203.
+
+[64] _Loc. cit._ p. 213.
+
+[65] "The Life, Character, and Literary Labours of Samuel Drew, A.M.,"
+by his eldest son, p. 66.
+
+[66] "Memoirs of Samuel Foote, Esq.," &c., by W. Cooke, Esq., vol. ii.
+p. 36.
+
+[67] "Life of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.," by the late George William
+Fulcher, p. 155.
+
+[68] _Edinburgh Review_, 1836, vol. lxiv. p. 17.
+
+[69] "Life and Letters of Elizabeth, last Duchess of Gordon," by the
+Rev. A. Moody Stuart, 1865, pp. 198-200.
+
+[70] Portion of the Journal kept by Thomas Raikes, Esq., from 1831 to
+1837, vol. iii. p. 134.
+
+[71] "Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds," by C. R. Leslie, R.A. and
+Tom Taylor, M.A., vol. ii. p. 191.
+
+[72] "John Leifchild, D.D. His Public Ministry, &c.," by J. R.
+Leifchild, A.M., p. 143.
+
+[73] Agnes Strickland, "Lives of the Queens of England," vol. v. p. 293
+(ed. 1851).
+
+[74] "A History of Peeblesshire," by William Chambers of Glenormiston,
+p. 428.
+
+[75] Vol. i. p. 156.
+
+[76] Memoir by his friend, the Rev. John W. Burgon, p. 204.
+
+[77] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 44.
+
+[78] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 43.
+
+[79] "Charles Lamb: his Friends, his Haunts, and his Books," by Percy
+Fitzgerald, M.A., 1866, p. 161.
+
+[80] Cunningham's Edition of Correspondence, viii. p. 331.
+
+[81] "The Table Talk; or, Familiar Discourse of Martin Luther," p. 66.
+
+[82] "The Diary of an Invalid; being the Journal of a Tour in Pursuit of
+Health in Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, and France in 1817-1819," p.
+144.
+
+[83] "Common-Place Book," 4th ser. p. 423.
+
+[84] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 24.
+
+[85] "Memoir of Baron Larrey, Surgeon-in-chief of the Grande Armee."
+London. 1861. P. 191.
+
+[86] "England under the House of Hanover," by Thomas Wright, Esq., M.A.,
+vol. ii. p. 57.
+
+[87] "Memoir of Perthes," vol. ii. pp. 153-4.
+
+[88] "Original Anecdotes of Peter the Great, collected from the
+conversation of several persons of distinction at St Petersburg and
+Moscow," by Mr Stoehlin, Member of the Imp. Acad., St Peters., p. 306.
+
+[89] A denthtchick is a soldier appointed to wait on an officer.
+
+[90] "Recollections and Anecdotes," 2d ser., by Capt. R. H. Gronow, p.
+194 (1863).
+
+[91] "History of England, from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of
+Versailles," by Lord Mahon, vii. p. 261.
+
+[92] See Mundy's "Life of Lord Rodney," vol. i. 258. "Remember me to my
+dear girls and poor Loup. Kiss them for me. I hope they were pleased
+with my letter." Vol. ii. p. 28.
+
+[93] "Life of Thomas Ruddiman, A.M., the Keeper for almost fifty years
+of the Library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh," p. 4.
+
+[94] See her "Autobiography," p. 85, for an anecdote of her saving a
+little dog, tied in a basket of stones, from the water. She called it
+"Moses."
+
+[95] Vol. ii. pp. 264, 265.
+
+[96] "Memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith," by his daughter, Lady Holland,
+&c., vol. i. p. 200.
+
+[97] "Life of the Rev. Sydney Smith," by his daughter, Lady Holland,
+&c., vol. i. p. 379.
+
+[98] Vol. i. p. 267.
+
+[99] "Life and Correspondence," vol. v. p. 133.
+
+[100] "John Leifchild, D.D., his Public Ministry, Private Usefulness,
+and Personal Characteristics," founded upon an autobiography, by J. R.
+Leifchild, A.M., p. 34.
+
+[101] See Burgon's "Memoir of Patrick F. Tytler," p. 140.
+
+[102] Letter first published in Cunningham's Chronological Edition, vol.
+vi. p. 4.
+
+[103] Richmond Hill. The dog died at Strawberry Hill.
+
+[104] Correspondence, chronologically arranged by Peter Cunningham,
+viii. p. 39.
+
+[105] _Loc. cit._, p. 44.
+
+[106] Vol. vi. p. 117.
+
+[107] "The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford," edited by Peter
+Cunningham, now first chronologically arranged, ix. p. 173.
+
+[108] _Loc. cit._, viii. p. 35.
+
+[109] Fitzpatrick, "Memoirs of Richard Whately, Archbishop of Dublin,"
+vol. i. pp. 21, 22 (1864).
+
+[110] "Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, R.A.," by his son, W.
+Wilkie Collins, i. 193.
+
+[111] Third edition, 1806, p. 385.
+
+
+
+
+WOLF.
+
+
+Surely the man should get a monument who is proved to have killed the
+last she-wolf in these islands. How closely allied the wolf is to the
+dog may be clearly read in the accounts of Polar winterings. Some of the
+larger butchers' dogs are singularly wolf-like, and it seems to be
+_that_ variety which occasionally, as it were, resumes its wolfish
+habits of prowling at night and killing numbers of sheep in certain
+districts, as we sometimes read in the country papers of the day. In
+Strathearn, we lately heard of a very recent instance of this wolf-like
+ferocity breaking out. The dog was traced with great difficulty, and at
+last shot. He proved to be of the kind alluded to.
+
+
+POLSON AND THE LAST SCOTTISH WOLF.
+
+Mr Scrope[112] describes, from traditions still existing on the east
+coast of Sutherland, the destruction of what is supposed to have been
+the last Scottish wolf and her cubs. This was between 1690 and 1700.
+This wolf had committed many depredations on their flocks, and the
+inhabitants had been unsuccessful in their attempts to hunt it down.
+
+A man named Polson, attended by two herd boys, went in search of it.
+
+Polson was an old hunter, and had much experience in tracing and
+destroying wolves and other predatory animals. Forming his own
+conjectures, he proceeded at once to the wild and rugged ground that
+surrounds the rocky mountain-gulley which forms the channel of the burn
+of Sledale. Here, after a minute investigation, he discovered a narrow
+fissure in the midst of a confused mass of large fragments of rock,
+which, upon examination, he had reason to think might lead to a larger
+opening or cavern below, which the wolf might use as his den. Stones
+were now thrown down, and other means resorted to, to rouse any animal
+that might be lurking within. Nothing formidable appearing, the two lads
+contrived to squeeze themselves through the fissure, that they might
+examine the interior, while Polson kept guard on the outside. The boys
+descended through the narrow passage into a small cavern, which was
+evidently a wolf's den, for the ground was covered with bones and horns
+of animals, feathers, and egg-shells; and the dark space was somewhat
+enlivened by five or six active wolf cubs. Not a little dubious of the
+event, the voices of the poor boys came up hollow and anxious from
+below, communicating this intelligence. Polson at once desired them to
+do their best, and to destroy the cubs. Soon after, he heard the feeble
+howling of the whelps as they were attacked below, and saw almost at the
+same time, to his great horror, a full-grown wolf, evidently the dam,
+raging furiously at the cries of her young, and now close upon the mouth
+of the cavern, which she had approached unobserved, among the rocky
+irregularities of the place. She attempted to leap down at one bound
+from the spot where she was first seen. In this emergency, Polson
+instinctively threw himself forward on the wolf, and succeeded in
+catching a firm hold of the animal's long and bushy tail, just as the
+forepart of the body was within the narrow entrance of the cavern. He
+had unluckily placed his gun against a rock, when aiding the boys in
+their descent, and could not now reach it. Without apprising the lads
+below of their imminent peril, the stout hunter kept firm grip of the
+wolf's tail, which he wound round his left arm; and although the
+maddened brute scrambled, and twisted, and strove with all her might to
+force herself down to the rescue of her cubs, Polson was just able, with
+the exertion of all his strength, to keep her from going forward. In the
+midst of this singular struggle, which passed in silence--for the wolf
+was mute, and the hunter, either from the engrossing nature of his
+exertions, or from his unwillingness to alarm the boys, spoke not a word
+at the commencement of the conflict--his son within the cave, finding
+the light excluded from above, asked in Gaelic, and in an abrupt tone,
+"Father, what is keeping the light from us?"--"If the root of the tail
+break," replied he, "you will soon know that." Before long, however, the
+man contrived to get hold of his hunting-knife, and stabbed the wolf in
+the most vital parts he could reach. The enraged animal now attempted to
+turn and face her foe, but the hole was too narrow to allow of this; and
+when Polson saw his danger, he squeezed her forward, keeping her jammed
+in, whilst he repeated his stabs as rapidly as he could, until the
+animal, being mortally wounded, was easily dragged back and finished.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A similar story has been given, with the wilds of Canada for the scene.
+The young Highlander was said to be dirking pigs, while the father was
+keeping guard. "Phat's keeping out the licht, fayther?" shouts the
+son.--"If ta tail preaks, tou 'lt fine tat," were the question and
+answer.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[112] "The Art of Deer-Stalking," &c., by William Scrope, Esq., F.L.S.,
+p. 371.
+
+
+
+
+FOX.
+
+
+The sharp-faced fox is a very epitome of cunning, and his name is a
+by-word for slyness. Farmers know well that no fox, nestling close to
+their houses, ever meddles with their poultry. Reynard rambles a good
+way from home before he begins to plunder. How admirable is Professor
+Wilson's description of fox-hunting, quoted here from the "Noctes." Sir
+Walter Scott, in one of his topographical essays, has given a curious
+account of the way in which a fox, acquainted with the "ins and outs" of
+a certain old castle, outwitted a whole pack of dogs, who had to jump up
+singly to get through a small window to which Reynard led them. His
+large tail, so bushy and so free, is of great use to Reynard. He often
+brushes the eyes of his pursuers with it when sprinkled with water
+anything but sweet, and which, by its pungency, for a time blinds them.
+The pursuit of the fox is most exciting, and turns out the lord "of high
+degree," and the country squire and farmer. It is the most
+characteristic sport of the "better classes" in this country.
+
+
+AN ENTHUSIASTIC FOX-HUNTING SURGEON.[113]
+
+A medical gentleman, named Hansted, residing near Newbury, who was very
+fond of fox-hunting, ordered his gardener to set a trap for some vermin
+that infested his garden. As ill luck would have it, a fox was found in
+the morning with his leg broken, instead of a plant-eating rabbit. The
+gardener took Reynard to the doctor, when he exclaimed, "Why did you not
+call me up in the night, that I might have set the leg?" Better late
+than never: the surgeon set the leg; the fox recovered, and was killed
+in due form, after a capital run.
+
+
+FOX-HUNTING.
+
+(_From the "Noctes Ambrosianae," April 1826._[114])
+
+_North._ It seems fox-hunting, too, is cruel.
+
+_Shepherd._ To wham? Is't cruel to dowgs, to feed fifty or sixty o' them
+on crackers and ither sorts o' food, in a kennel like a Christian house,
+wi' a clear burn flowin' through 't, and to gie them, twice a-week or
+aftener, during the season, a brattlin rin o' thretty miles after a fox?
+Is that cruelty to dowgs?
+
+_North._ But the fox, James?
+
+_Shepherd._ We'll come to the fox by and by. Is't cruel to horses, to
+buy a hundred o' them for ae hunt, rarely for less than a hundred pounds
+each, and aften for five hundred--to feed them on five or sax feeds o'
+corn _per diem_--and to gie them skins as sleek as satin--and to gar
+them nicher (_neigh_) wi' fu'ness o' bluid, sae that every vein in their
+bodies starts like sinnies (_sinews_)--and to gallop them like deevils
+in a hurricane, up hill and doun brae, and loup or soom canals and
+rivers, and flee ower hedges, and dikes, and palings, like birds, and
+drive crashin' through woods, like elephants or rhinoceroses--a' the
+while every coorser flingin' fire-flaughts (_flakes_) frae his een, and
+whitening the sweat o' speed wi' the foam o' fury--I say, ca' you that
+cruelty to horses, when the hunt charge with all their chivalry, and
+plain, mountain, or forest are shook by the quadrupedal thunder?
+
+_North._ But the fox, James?
+
+_Shepherd._ We'll come to the fox by and by. Is 't cruel to
+men to inspirit wi' a rampagin happiness fivescore o' the flower o'
+England or Scotland's youth, a' wi' caps and red coats, and whups in
+their hauns--a troop o' lauchin, tearin', tallyhoin' "wild and wayward
+humorists," as the doctor ca'd them the tither Sunday?
+
+_North._ I like the expression, James.
+
+_Shepherd._ So do I, or I would not have quoted it. But it's just as
+applicable to a set o' outrageous ministers, eatin' and drinkin', and
+guffawin' at a Presbytery denner.
+
+_North._ But the fox, James?
+
+_Shepherd._ We'll come to the fox by and by. Is't cruel to the lambs,
+and leverets, and geese, and turkeys, and dyucks, and patricks, and wee
+birds, and ither animal eatables, to kill the fox that devoors them, and
+keeps them in perpetual het water?
+
+_North._ But the fox, James?
+
+_Shepherd._ Deevil take baith you and the fox; I said that we would come
+to the fox by and by. Weel, then, wha kens that the fox isna away
+snorin' happy afore the houn's? I hae nae doubt he is, for a fox is no
+sae complete a coward as to think huntin' cruel; and his haill nature
+is then on the alert, which in itsel' is happiness. Huntin' him fa'in
+into languor and ennui, and growin' ower fat on how-towdies (_barn-door
+fowls_). He's no killed every time he's hunted.
+
+_North._ Why, James, you might write for the "Annals of Sporting."
+
+_Shepherd._ So I do sometimes--and mair o' ye than me, I jalouse; but I
+was gaun to ask ye if ye could imagine the delicht o' a fox gettin' into
+an undiggable earth, just when the leadin' houn' was at his
+hainches?--ae sic moment is aneuch to repay half an hour's draggle
+through the dirt; and he can lick himsel' clean at his leisure, far ben
+in the cranny o' the rock, and come out a' tosh and tidy by the first
+dawn o' licht, to snuff the mornin' air, and visit the distant
+farm-house before Partlet has left her perch, or Count Crow lifted his
+head from beneath his oxter on his shed-seraglio.
+
+_North._ Was ye ever in at a death? Is not that cruel?
+
+_Shepherd._ Do you mean in at the death o' ae fox, or the death o' a
+hundred thousand men and sixty thousand horses?--the takin' o' a Brush,
+or a Borodino?
+
+_North._ My dear James, thank ye for your argument. As one Chalmers is
+worth a thousand Martins, so is one Hogg worth a thousand Chalmerses.
+
+_Shepherd._ Ane may weel lose patience, to think o' fules being sorry
+for the death o' a fox. When the jowlers tear him to pieces, he shows
+fecht, and gangs aff in a snarl. Hoo could he dee mair easier?--and for
+a' the gude he has ever dune, or was likely to do, he surely had leeved
+lang eneuch.
+
+
+ARCTIC FOX (_Vulpes lagopus_).
+
+This inoffensive and pretty little creature is found in all parts of the
+Arctic lands. Its fur is peculiarly fine and thick; and as in winter
+this is closer and more mixed with wool than it is in summer, the
+intense cold of these regions is easily resisted. When sleeping rolled
+up into a ball, with the black muzzle buried in the long hairs of the
+tail, there is not a portion of the body but what is protected from the
+cold, the shaggy hairs of the brush acting as a respirator or boa for
+the mouth and a muff for the paws. Our Arctic travellers have remarked,
+that it is a peculiarly cleanly animal, and its vigilance is extreme. It
+is almost impossible to come on it unawares, for even when appearing to
+be soundly asleep, it opens its eyes on the slightest noise being made.
+During the day it appears to be listless, but no sooner has the night
+set in than it is in motion, and it continues very active until morning.
+The young migrate to the southward in the autumn, and sometimes collect
+in great numbers on the shores of Hudson's Bay. Mr Graham noticed that
+they came there in November and left in April.
+
+[Illustration: Arctic Fox. (Canis Lagopus.)]
+
+Sir James Ross found a fox's burrow on the sandy margin of a lake in the
+month of July. It had several passages, each opening into a common cell,
+beyond which was an inner nest, in which the young, six in number, were
+found. These had the dusky, lead-coloured livery worn by the parents in
+summer; and though four of them were kept alive till the following
+winter, they never acquired the pure white coats of the old fox, but
+retained the dusky colour on the face and sides of the body. The parents
+had kept a good larder for their progeny, as the outer cell and the
+several passages leading to it contained many lemmings and ermines, and
+the bones of fish, ducks, and hares, in great quantities. Sir John
+Richardson[115] observed them to live in villages, twenty or thirty
+burrows being constructed close to each other. A pair were kept by Sir
+James Ross for the express purpose of watching the changes which take
+place in the colour of their fur. He noticed that they threw off their
+winter dress during the first week in June, and that this change took
+place a few days earlier in the female than in the male. About the end
+of September the brown fur of the summer gradually became of an ash
+colour, and by the middle of October it was perfectly white. It
+continued to increase in thickness until the end of November.[116] A
+variety of a blackish-brown colour is occasionally met with, but this is
+rare: such specimens, Ross remarks, must have extreme difficulty in
+surprising their prey in a country whose surface is of an unvaried
+white, and must also be much more exposed to the persecutions of their
+enemies. The food of this fox is various, but seems to consist
+principally of lemmings and of birds and their eggs. He eats, too, the
+berries of the _Empetrum nigrum_, a plant common on our own hills, and
+goes to the shore for mussels and other shell-fish. Otho Fabricius[117]
+says he catches the Arctic salmon as that fish approaches the shore to
+spawn, and that he seizes too the haddock, having enticed it near by
+beating the water. Crantz, in his "History of Greenland," evidently
+alludes to this cunning habit when he observes, "They plash with their
+feet in the water, to excite the curiosity of some kinds of fishes to
+come and see what is going forward, and then they snap them up; and _the
+Greenland women have learnt this piece of art from them_." Captain Lyon
+noticed a fox prowling on a hill-side, and heard him for some hours
+afterwards in the neighbourhood imitating the cry of the brent-goose. In
+another part of his Journal he mentions that the bark is so modulated as
+to give an idea that it proceeds from a distance, though at the time the
+fox lies at your feet. It struck him that the creature was gifted "with
+this kind of ventriloquism in order to deceive its prey as to the
+distance it is from them." It sometimes catches the ptarmigan; and
+though it cannot swim, it manages occasionally to get hold of oceanic
+birds; in fact, nothing alive which it can master seems to come amiss,
+and failing to make a meal from something it has caught and killed, the
+Arctic fox is glad, like foxes in more favoured lands, to feed on
+carrion.
+
+Captain M'Clintock, who commanded the yacht _Fox_ on the Franklin Arctic
+search in 1857 and 1858, wintered in the ice pack of Baffin's Bay. One
+of the party shot an Arctic fox when they were 140 miles from the land.
+He records in a letter to his brother,[118] that this wanderer from the
+shore "was very fat, living upon such few dovekies as were silly enough
+to spend their winter in the pack."
+
+Martens, in his "Spitzbergen," says, that some of the ship's crew
+informed him, that the fox when he is hungry "lies down as if he was
+dead, until the birds fly to him to eat him, which by that trick he
+catches and eats." Our author believed it a fable, but it may
+nevertheless be one of the many expedients used by a species of a group
+whose name is proverbial for craftiness and cunning.
+
+The flesh of the fox is occasionally eaten by the Esquimaux: Captain
+Lyon, in his "Private Journal," says that at first all of his party were
+horrified at the idea of eating foxes--"But very many soon got the
+better of their fastidiousness and found them good eating; not being
+myself very nice, I soon made the experiment, and found the flesh much
+resembling that of kid, and afterwards frequently had a supper of it."
+
+Sir James Clarke Ross, during his five years' imprisonment in Boothia
+Felix and the adjoining seas, had ample means of judging of its flavour;
+he tells us that some of his party, who were the first to taste them,
+named them "lambs," from their resemblance in flavour to very young
+lamb. He adds, that the flesh of the old fox is by no means so
+palatable. During that disastrous expedition the flesh of this fox
+formed one of the principal luxuries of their table, and it was always
+"reserved for holidays and great occasions. We ate them boiled, or, more
+frequently after being parboiled, _roasted_, in a pitch kettle."
+
+When the Arctic Expedition in search of Franklin wintered in Leopold
+Harbour in 1848-49, the commander, Sir J. C. Ross, made use of the
+Arctic fox as a messenger. Having caught some of these animals in traps,
+a collar with information for the missing parties was put round the neck
+of each before liberation, as the fox is known to travel great distances
+in search of food. On Captain Austin's subsequent expedition in 1850-51
+the same plan was carried out, but it was found to be equally without
+result. Commander Osborn thus facetiously describes the
+circumstance.[119] "Several animals thus intrusted with despatches or
+records were liberated by different ships; but, as the truth must be
+told, I fear in many cases the next night saw the poor 'postman,' as
+Jack termed him, in another trap, out of which he would be taken,
+killed, the skin taken off, and packed away to ornament at some future
+day the neck of some fair Dulcinea. As a 'sub,' I was admitted into this
+secret mystery, or, otherwise, I with others might have accounted for
+the disappearance of the collared foxes by believing them busy on their
+honourable mission. In order that the crime of killing 'the postmen' may
+be recognised in its true light, it is but fair that I should say, that
+the brutes, having partaken once of the good cheer on board or around
+the ships, seldom seemed satisfied with the mere empty honours of a
+copper collar, and returned to be caught over and over again. Strict
+laws were laid down for their safety, such as that no fox taken alive in
+a trap was to be killed: of course no fox was after this taken alive;
+they were all unaccountably dead, unless it was some fortunate wight
+whose brush and coat were worthless; in such case he lived either to
+drag about a quantity of information in a copper collar for the rest of
+his days, or else to die a slow death, as being intended for Lord
+Derby's menagerie. The departure of 'a postman' was a scene of no small
+merriment; all hands, from the captain to the cook, were out to chase
+the fox, who, half frightened out of its wits, seemed to doubt which way
+to run, whilst loud shouts and roars of laughter, breaking the cold,
+frosty air, were heard from ship to ship, as the foxhunters, swelled in
+numbers from all sides, and those that could not run mounted some
+neighbouring hummock of ice and gave a loud halloo, which said far more
+for robust health than for tuneful melody."
+
+The Arctic fox as a captive has often amused our Arctic voyagers, and
+accounts of it are to be met with in most of their narratives. Captain
+Lyon made a pet of one he captured, and confined it on deck in a small
+kennel with a piece of chain. The little creature astonished the party
+very much by his extraordinary sagacity, for, on the very first day,
+having been repeatedly drawn out by his chain, he at length drew his
+chain in after him whenever he retreated to his hut, and took it in with
+his mouth so completely, that no one who valued his fingers would
+venture afterwards to take hold of the end attached to the staple.
+
+Sir J. C. Ross observed in Boothia Felix a good deal of difference in
+the disposition of specimens, some being easily tamed, whilst others
+would remain savage and untractable even with the kindest treatment. He
+found the females much more vicious than the males. A dog-fox which his
+party captured lived several months with them, and became so tame in a
+short time that he regularly attended the dinner-table like a dog, and
+was always allowed to go at large about the cabin. When newly caught
+their rage is quite ungovernable, and yet when two are put together they
+very seldom quarrel. They soon get reconciled to confinement. Captain
+Lyon[120] notices that their first impulse on getting food is to hide it
+as soon as possible, and this, he observed, they did, even when hungry
+and by themselves; when there was snow on the ground they piled it over
+their stores, and pressed it down forcibly with their nose. When no
+snow was to be obtained, he noticed his pet fox gather the chain into
+his mouth, and then carefully coil it so as to cover the meat. Having
+gone through this process, and drawn away his chain after him on moving
+away, he has sometimes repeated his useless labours five or six times,
+until disgusted, apparently, at the inability of making the morsel a
+greater luxury by previous concealment, he has been forced to eat it.
+These creatures use snow as a substitute for water, and it is pleasing
+to see them break a large lump with their feet, and roll on the pieces
+with evident delight. When the snow lay lightly scattered on the decks,
+they did not lick it up as dogs do, but by pressing it repeatedly with
+their nose, collected a small lump which they drew into their mouth.
+
+It may be added that the specific name _lagopus_, or "hare-foot," was
+given to this fox from the soles of its feet being densely covered with
+woolly hair, which gives them some resemblance to the feet of a hare.
+Cuvier remarks that other foxes acquire this hair on the soles when
+taken to northern lands.
+
+The specimens, figured so admirably by Mr Wolf, were drawn from some
+brought alive to the Zoological Gardens by one of the late Arctic
+expeditions.--_A. White, in "Excelsior" (with additions)._
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[113] _Edinburgh Review_, 1841, vol. lxxiv. p. 77.
+
+[114] "Noctes Ambrosianae." Works of Professor Wilson, vol. i. pp.
+136-138.
+
+[115] "Fauna Boreali-Americana." Mammalia, p. 87.
+
+[116] Appendix to "Second Voyage," p. xii.
+
+[117] "Fauna Groenlandica," p. 20.
+
+[118] _Dublin Nat. Hist. Review, 1858_, p. 166.
+
+[119] "Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal," p. 176.
+
+[120] "Private Journal," p. 105.
+
+
+
+
+JACKAL.
+
+
+The boy who used to read, long ago, "The Three Hundred Animals," was
+ever familiar with "_the Lion's Provider_," as the menagerie showmen,
+even now, somewhat pompously style this hungry howler of the desert.
+
+The jackal is a social kind of dog, and a pack of hungry or excited
+jackals can howl in notes fit to pierce the ears of the deafest. He is a
+mean, starved-looking creature in ordinary circumstances, seeming as if
+his social life prevented his getting what is called _a lion's_ share on
+any occasion.
+
+
+JACKAL AND TIGER.
+
+As Burke was declaiming with great animation against Hastings, he was
+interrupted by little Major Scott. "Am I," said he, indignantly, "to be
+teased by the barking of this _jackal_, while I am attacking the royal
+_tiger_ of Bengal?"[121]
+
+
+
+
+CATS.
+
+
+Another fertile subject for anecdote. Who has not some faithful black
+Topsy, Tortoise-shell, or Tabby, or rather succession of them, whose
+biographies would afford many a curious story? Professor Bell[122] has
+well defended the general character of poor pussy from the oft-repeated
+calumnies spread about it. Cats certainly get much attached to
+individuals, as well as to houses and articles in them. They want the
+lovableness and demonstrativeness of dogs; but their habits are very
+different, and they are strictly organised to adapt them to watch and to
+pounce on their prey.
+
+As we have elsewhere remarked, and the remark was founded on observation
+of our eldest daughter when a very young child, "Your little baby loves
+the pussy, and pussy sheathes her claws most carefully, but should baby
+draw back her arm suddenly, and pussy accidentally scratch that tender
+skin, how the little girl cries! It is, perhaps, her first lesson that
+sweets and bitters, pleasures and pains, meekness and ferocity, are
+mingled in this world."[123]
+
+
+JEREMY BENTHAM AND HIS PET CAT "SIR JOHN LANGBORN."
+
+Dr, afterwards Sir John, Bowring, in the life of that diligent eccentric
+"codificator," Jeremy Bentham,[124] thus alludes to some of his
+pets:--"Bentham was very fond of animals, particularly '_pussies_,' as
+he called them, 'when they had domestic virtues;' but he had no
+particular affection for the common race of _cats_. He had one, however,
+of which he used to boast that he had 'made a man of him,' and whom he
+was wont to invite to eat maccaroni at his own table. This puss got
+knighted, and rejoiced in the name of Sir John Langborn. In his early
+days, he was a frisky, inconsiderate, and, to say the truth, somewhat
+profligate gentleman; and had, according to the report of his patron,
+the habit of seducing light and giddy young ladies of his own race into
+the garden of Queen's Square Place; but tired at last, like Solomon, of
+pleasures and vanities, he became sedate and thoughtful--took to the
+church, laid down his knightly title, and was installed as the Reverend
+John Langborn. He gradually obtained a great reputation for sanctity and
+learning, and a doctor's degree was conferred upon him. When I knew him,
+in his declining days, he bore no other name than the Reverend Doctor
+John Langborn; and he was alike conspicuous for his gravity and
+philosophy. Great respect was invariably shown his reverence; and it was
+supposed he was not far off from a mitre, when old age interfered with
+his hopes and honours. He departed amidst the regrets of his many
+friends, and was gathered to his fathers, and to eternal rest, in a
+cemetery in Milton's Garden.[125]
+
+"'I had a cat,' he said, 'at Hendon, which used to follow me about even
+in the street. George Wilson was very fond of animals too. I remember a
+cat following him as far as Staines. There was a beautiful pig at
+Hendon, which I used to rub with my stick. He loved to come and lie down
+to be rubbed, and took to following me like a dog. I had a remarkably
+intellectual cat, who never failed to attend one of us when we went
+round the garden. He grew quite a tyrant, insisting on being fed and on
+being noticed. He interrupted my labours. Once he came with a most
+hideous yell, insisting on the door being opened. He tormented Jack
+(Colls) so much, that Jack threw him out of the window. He was so
+clamorous that it could not be borne, and means were found to send him
+to another world. His moral qualities were most despotic--his
+intellectual extraordinary; but he was a universal nuisance."
+
+"'From my youth I was fond of cats, as I am still. I was once playing
+with one in my grandmother's room. I had heard the story of cats having
+nine lives, and being sure of falling on their legs; and I threw the cat
+out of the window on the grass-plot. When it fell it turned towards me,
+looked in my face and mewed. "Poor thing!" I said, "thou art reproaching
+me with my unkindness." I have a distinct recollection of all these
+things. Cowper's story of his hares had the highest interest for me when
+young; for I always enjoyed the society of tame animals. Wilson had the
+same taste--so had Romilly, who kept a noble puss, before he came into
+great business. I never failed to pay it my respects. I remember
+accusing Romilly of violating the commandment in the matter of cats. My
+fondness for animals exposed me to many jokes.'"
+
+
+BISSET AND HIS MUSICAL CATS.
+
+S. Bisset, to whom we referred before, was a Scotchman, born at Perth.
+He went to London as a shoemaker; but afterwards turned a broker. About
+1739 he turned his attention to the teaching of animals. He was very
+successful, and among the subjects of his experiments were three young
+cats. Wilson, in his "Eccentric Mirror,"[126] has recorded that "he
+taught these domestic tigers to strike their paws in such directions on
+the dulcimer, as to produce several tunes, having music-books before
+them, and squalling at the same time in different keys or tones, first,
+second, and third, by way of concert. In such a city as London these
+feats could not fail of making some noise. His house was every day
+crowded, and great interruption given to his business. Among the rest,
+he was visited by an exhibitor of wonders. Pinchbeck advised him to a
+public exhibition of his animals at the Haymarket, and even promised, on
+receiving a moiety, to be concerned in the exhibition. Bisset agreed,
+but the day before the performance, Pinchbeck declined, and the other
+was left to act for himself. The well-known _Cats' Opera_ was advertised
+in the Haymarket; the horse, the dog, the monkeys, and the cats went
+through their several parts with uncommon applause, to crowded houses,
+and in a few days Bisset found himself possessed of nearly a thousand
+pounds to reward his ingenuity."
+
+
+CONSTANT, CHATEAUBRIAND, AND THE CAT.
+
+"Benjamin Constant was accustomed to write in a closet on the third
+story. Beside him sat his estimable wife, and on his knee his favourite
+cat; this feline affection he entertained in common with Count de
+Chateaubriand."[127]
+
+
+LISTON THE SURGEON AND HIS CAT.
+
+Robert Liston, the great surgeon, was, it seems, very fond of a cat. Dr
+Forbes Winslow asks, "Who has not seen Liston's favourite cat Tom? This
+animal is considered to be a unique specimen of the feline tribe; and so
+one would think, to see the passionate fondness which he manifests for
+it. This cat is always perched on Liston's shoulder, at breakfast,
+dinner, and tea, in his carriage, and out of his carriage. It is quite
+ludicrous to witness the devotion which the great operator exhibits
+towards his favourite."[128]
+
+Liston was a curious man. He often called on his friends as early as six
+o'clock in the morning. In most cases, such calls must have been visits
+of formality or quiet jokes at the lazy manners of most men of the
+present age. We know one person whom he called on usually at this early
+hour. It would be more healthy for the young, if they would imitate this
+talented surgeon. We may here say that he used to allow one particular
+nail to grow long. It was a nail he used to guide his knife when
+operating. When at college in 1833 or 1834, we heard a student, who knew
+this clever operator well, happily apply the _double-entendre_, "_homo
+ad unguem factus_," a phrase, Dr Carson, our noble rector at the High
+School, taught us to translate "_an accomplished man_."
+
+
+THE BANKER MITCHELL'S ANTIPATHY TO KITTENS.
+
+Mr J. T. Smith, once Keeper of the Prints in the British Museum, author
+of the "Life and Times of Nollekens, the Royal Academician,"[129] tells
+a story of Mr Matthew Mitchell, a banker, who collected prints.
+
+"Mr Mitchell had a most serious antipathy to a kitten. He could sit in a
+room without experiencing the least emotion from a cat; but directly he
+perceived a kitten, his flesh shook on his bones, like a snail in
+vinegar. I once relieved him from one of these paroxysms by taking a
+kitten out of the room; on my return he thanked me, and declared his
+feelings to be insupportable upon such an occasion. Long subsequently, I
+asked him whether he could in any way account for this agitation. He
+said he could not, adding that he experienced no such sensations upon
+seeing a full-grown cat; but that a kitten, after he had looked at it
+for a minute or two, in his imagination grew to the size of an
+overpowering elephant."
+
+
+JAMES MONTGOMERY AND HIS CATS.[130]
+
+The poet Montgomery was very fond of cats. His biographers say--"We
+never recollect the time when some familiar 'Tabby' or audacious 'Tom'
+did not claim to share the poet's attention during our familiar
+interviews with him in his own parlour. We well recollect one fine
+brindled fellow, called 'Nero,' who, during his kittenhood, 'purred' the
+following epistle to a little girl who had been his playmate:--
+
+
+                                "HARTSHEAD, NEAR THE HOLE-IN-THE-WALL,
+                                                     "_July 23, 1825_.
+   "_Harrrrrrr_,
+
+    "_Mew, wew, auw, mauw, hee, wee, miaw, waw, wurr, whirr, ghurr, wew,
+    mew, whew, isssss, tz, tz, tz, purrurrurrur._"
+
+
+DONE INTO ENGLISH.
+
+"HARRIET,
+
+"This comes to tell you that I am very well, and I hope you are so too.
+I am growing a great cat; pray how do you come on? I wish you were here
+to carry me about as you used to do, and I would scratch you to some
+purpose, for I can do this much better than I could while you were here.
+I have not run away yet, but I believe I shall soon, for I find my feet
+are too many for my head, and often carry me into mischief. Love to
+Sheffelina, though I was always fit to pull her cap when I saw you
+petting her. My cross old mother sends her love to you--she shows me
+very little now-a-days, I assure you, so I do not care what she does
+with the rest. She has brought me a mouse or two, and I caught one
+myself last night; but it was in my dream, and I awoke as hungry as a
+hunter, and fell to biting at my tail, which I believe I should have
+eaten up; but it would not let me catch it. So no more at present from
+
+                                                                 TINY.
+
+"_P.S._--They call me Tiny yet, you see; but I intend to take the name
+of Nero, after the lion fight at Warwick next week, if the lion
+conquers, not else.
+
+"_2d P.S._--I forgot to tell you that I can beg, but I like better to
+steal,--it's more natural, you know.
+
+"HARRIET, at Ockbrook."
+
+
+SIR WALTER SCOTT'S VISIT TO THE BLACK DWARF.--DAVID RITCHIE'S CAT.
+
+David Ritchie, the prototype of the "Black Dwarf," inhabited a small
+cottage on the farm of Woodhouse, parish of Manor, Peeblesshire. In the
+year 1797, Walter Scott, then a young advocate, was taken by the
+Fergusons to see "Bowed Davie," as the poor misanthropic man was
+generally called.
+
+Mr William Chambers,[131] the historian of his native county, describes
+the visit at greater length than Scott has done in the introduction to
+his novel. He says--"At the first sight of Scott, the misanthrope seemed
+oppressed with a sentiment of extraordinary interest, which was either
+owing to the lameness of the stranger--a circumstance throwing a
+narrower gulf between this person and himself than what existed between
+him and most other men--or to some perception of an extraordinary mental
+character in this limping youth, which was then hid from other eyes.
+After grinning upon him for a moment with a smile less bitter than his
+wont, the dwarf passed to the door, double-locked it, and then coming up
+to the stranger, seized him by the wrist with one of his iron hands, and
+said, 'Man, hae ye ony poo'er?' By this he meant magical power, to which
+he had himself some vague pretensions, or which, at least, he had
+studied and reflected upon till it had become with him a kind of
+monomania. Scott disavowed the possession of any gifts of that kind,
+evidently to the great disappointment of the inquirer, who then turned
+round and gave a signal to a huge black cat, hitherto unobserved, which
+immediately jumped up to a shelf, where it perched itself, and seemed to
+the excited senses of the visitors as if it had really been the familiar
+spirit of the mansion. 'He has poo'er,' said the dwarf in a voice which
+made the flesh of the hearers thrill, and Scott, in particular, looked
+as if he conceived himself to have actually got into the den of one of
+those magicians with whom his studies had rendered him familiar. 'Ay,
+_he_ has poo'er,' repeated the recluse; and then, going to his usual
+seat, he sat for some minutes grinning horribly, as if enjoying the
+impression he had made, while not a word escaped from any of the party.
+Mr Ferguson at length plucked up his spirits, and called to David to
+open the door, as they must now be going. The dwarf slowly obeyed, and
+when they had got out, Mr Ferguson observed that his friend was as pale
+as ashes, while his person was agitated in every limb. Under such
+striking circumstances was this extraordinary being first presented to
+the _real_ magician, who was afterwards to give him such a deathless
+celebrity."
+
+Mr Chambers doubtless received the particulars of this visit from Sir
+Adam Ferguson, Scott's friend and companion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Robert Southey, like Jeremy Bentham, with whom the Quarterly Reviewer
+would have grudged to have been classified, loved cats. His son, in his
+"Life and Correspondence," vol. vi. p. 210, says--"My father's fondness
+for cats has been occasionally shown by allusion in his letters,[132]
+and in 'The Doctor' is inserted an amusing memorial of the various cats
+which at different times were inmates of Greta Hall. He rejoiced in
+bestowing upon them the strangest appellations, and it was not a little
+amusing to see a kitten answer to the name of some Italian singer or
+Indian chief, or hero of a German fairy tale, and often names and titles
+were heaped one upon another, till the possessor, unconscious of the
+honour conveyed, used to 'set up his eyes and look' in wonderment. Mr
+Bedford had an equal liking for the feline race, and occasional notices
+of their favourites therefore passed between them, of which the
+following records the death of one of the greatest:--
+
+                                     "'_To Grosvenor C. Bedford, Esq._
+                                            "'KESWICK, _May 18, 1833_.
+
+"'My Dear G---- ... --Alas! Grosvenor, this day poor old Rumpel was found
+dead, after as long and happy a life as cat could wish for, if cats form
+wishes on that subject. His full titles were:--"The Most Noble the
+Archduke Rumpelstiltzchen, Marquis M'Bum, Earl Tomlemagne, Baron
+Raticide, Waowhler, and Skaratch." There should be a court mourning in
+Catland, and if the Dragon[133] wear a black ribbon round his neck, or a
+band of crape _a la militaire_ round one of the fore paws, it will be
+but a becoming mark of respect.
+
+"'As we have no catacombs here, he is to be decently interred in the
+orchard, and cat-mint planted on his grave. Poor creature, it is well
+that he has thus come to his end after he had become an object of pity,
+I believe we are, each and all, servants included, more sorry for his
+loss, or rather more affected by it, than any one of us would like to
+confess.
+
+"'I should not have written to you at present, had it not been to notify
+this event.
+
+                                                               R. S.'"
+
+In a letter from Leyden to his son Cuthbert, then in his seventh year,
+he says--"I hope Rumpelstiltzchen has recovered his health, and that
+Miss Cat is well; and I should like to know whether Miss Fitzrumpel has
+been given away, and if there is another kitten. The Dutch cats do not
+speak exactly the same language as the English ones. I will tell you how
+they talk when I come home."[134]
+
+
+ARCHBISHOP WHATELY'S ANECDOTE OF THE CAT THAT USED TO RING THE BELL.
+
+Archbishop Whately[135] records a case of an act done by a cat, which,
+if done by a man, would be called reason. He says--"This cat lived many
+years in my mother's family, and its feats of sagacity were witnessed by
+her, my sisters, and myself. It was known, not merely once or twice, but
+habitually, to ring the parlour bell whenever it wished the door to be
+opened. Some alarm was excited on the first occasion that it turned
+bell-ringer. The family had retired to rest, and in the middle of the
+night the parlour-bell was rung violently; the sleepers were startled
+from their repose, and proceeded down-stairs, with pokers and tongs, to
+interrupt, as they thought, the predatory movement of some burglar; but
+they were agreeably surprised to discover that the bell had been rung by
+pussy; who frequently repeated the act whenever she wanted to get out of
+the parlour."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A friend (D. D., Esq., Edinburgh) tells me of a cat his family had in
+the country, that used regularly to "_tirl at the pin_" of the back door
+when it wished to get in to the house.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[121] Mark Lemon, "Jest-Book," p. 280.
+
+[122] "British Quadrupeds." The professor has long retired to his
+favourite Selborne. He occupies the house of Gilbert White; and a new
+illustrated edition of the "Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne"
+has been long looked for from him.
+
+[123] "The Instructive Picture Book; or, A Few Attractive Lessons from
+the Natural History of Animals," by Adam White, p. 15 (fifth edition,
+1862).
+
+[124] "The Works of Jeremy Bentham," now first collected under the
+superintendence of his executor, John Bowring, vol. xi. pp. 80, 81.
+
+[125] Jeremy Bentham's house in Queen's Square was that which had been
+occupied by the great poet.
+
+[126] Vol. i. No. 3. p. 27.
+
+[127] _Times_, 18 Dec. 1830, quoted by Southey, "Common-Place Book," iv.
+p. 489.
+
+[128] "Physic and Physicians," a medical sketch-book, vol. ii. p. 363
+(1839).
+
+[129] "A Book for a Rainy Day," p. 103. Old Smith was a regular hunter
+after legacies, and like all such was often disappointed. His
+"Nollekens" is a fine example.
+
+[130] "Memoirs of James Montgomery," by Holland and Everett, iv. pp.
+114, 115.
+
+[131] "A History of Peeblesshire," by William Chambers of Glenormiston,
+p. 403 (1864).
+
+[132] See vol. v. p. 145.
+
+[133] A cat of Mr Bedford's.
+
+[134] "Life and Correspondence," v. p. 223.
+
+[135] On Instinct, a Lecture delivered before the Dublin Natural History
+Society, 11th November 1842. Dublin, 1847. P. 10.
+
+
+
+
+TIGER AND LION.
+
+
+These most ferocious of the Carnivora have afforded interesting subjects
+to many a traveller. An extensive volume of truly sensational adventure
+might be compiled about them, adding a chapter for the jaguar and the
+leopard, two extremely dangerous spotted cats, that can do what neither
+tigers nor lions are able to do--namely, climb trees. Having once asked
+a friend, who was at the death of many a wild beast, which was the most
+savage animal he had ever seen, he replied, "A wounded leopard." It was
+to such an animal that Jacob referred when he saw Joseph's clothes, and
+said--"Some evil beast hath devoured him." Colonel Campbell's work, from
+which the first paragraph is derived, contains much about the pursuit of
+the tiger. Dr Livingstone's travels and Gordon Cumming's books on South
+Africa, neither of which we have quoted, have thrilling pages about the
+lordly presence of "the king of beasts." Mr Joseph Wolf and Mr Lewis are
+perhaps the best draughtsmen of the lion among recent artists. The
+public admire much Sir Edwin Landseer's striking bronze lions on the
+pedestal of the Nelson Monument. That artist excels in his pictures of
+the lion. On the Assyrian monuments in the British Museum are many
+wonderfully executed lion hunts, as perfectly preserved as if they had
+been chiselled in our day. Parts of these bas-reliefs were certainly
+designed from actual sketches made from the lions and dogs, which took
+the chief part in the amusements of some "Nimrod, a mighty hunter before
+the Lord." Even our Scottish kings kept a lion or lions as ornaments of
+their court. At Stirling Castle and Palace, a room which we saw in 1865,
+still bears the name of the "Lion's Den." The British lion is an old
+emblem of both Scotland and England, and it is not twenty-five years ago
+since we, in common with every visitor to the Tower, were glad to see
+"the Royal Lion." Dr Livingstone's experience, we have not the slightest
+wish to prove its accuracy, shows that the lion has a soothing, or
+rather paralysing power over his prey, when he has knocked it down or
+bitten it.
+
+
+BUSSAPA, THE TIGER-SLAYER, AND THE TIGER.
+
+The following striking anecdote recounts the extraordinary presence of
+mind and determined courage of a celebrated Mahratta hunter named
+Bussapa. This man acquired the name of the "Tiger-slayer," and wore on
+his breast several silver medals granted by the Indian Government for
+feats of courage in destroying tigers. Colonel Campbell met him, and in
+"My Indian Journal" (pp. 142, 143), published in 1864, has recorded from
+his brother's diary the following anecdote:--"Bussapa, a hunter of
+'Lingyat' caste, with whom I am well acquainted, was sent for by the
+headman of a village, to destroy a tiger which had carried off a number
+of cattle. He came, and having ascertained the brute's usual haunts,
+fastened a bullock near the edge of a ravine which he frequented, and
+quietly seated himself beside it, protected only by a small bush. Soon
+after sunset the tiger appeared, killed the bullock, and was glutting
+himself with blood, when Bussapa, thrusting his long matchlock through
+the bush, fired, and wounded him severely. The tiger half rose, but
+being unable to see his assailant on account of the intervening bush,
+dropped again on his prey with a sudden growl. Bussapa was kneeling
+within three paces of him, completely defenceless; he did not even dare
+to reload, for he well knew that the slightest movement on his part
+would be the signal for his immediate destruction; his bare knees were
+pressed upon gravel, but he dared not venture to shift his uneasy
+position. Ever and anon, the tiger, as he lay with his glaring eyes
+fixed upon the bush, uttered his hoarse growl of anger; his hot breath
+absolutely blew upon the cheek of the wretched man, yet still he moved
+not. The pain of his cramped position increased every moment--suspense
+became almost intolerable; but the motion of a limb, the rustling of a
+leaf, would have been death. Thus they remained, the man and the tiger,
+watching each other's motions; but even in this fearful situation, his
+presence of mind never for a moment forsook the noble fellow. He heard
+the gong of the village strike each hour of that fearful night, that
+seemed to him 'eternity,' and yet he lived; the tormenting mosquitoes
+swarmed round his face, but he dared not brush them off. That fiend-like
+eye met his whenever he ventured a glance towards the horrid spell that
+bound him; and a hoarse growl grated on the stillness of the night, as a
+passing breeze stirred the leaves that sheltered him. Hours rolled on,
+and his powers of endurance were well-nigh exhausted, when, at length,
+the welcome streaks of light shot up from the eastern horizon. On the
+approach of day, the tiger rose, and stalked away with a sulky pace, to
+a thicket at some distance, and then the stiff and wearied Bussapa felt
+that he was safe.
+
+"One would have thought that, after such a night of suffering, he would
+have been too thankful for his escape, to venture on any further risk.
+But the valiant Bussapa was not so easily diverted from his purpose; as
+soon as he had stretched his cramped limbs, and restored the checked
+circulation, he reloaded his matchlock, and coolly proceeded to finish
+his work. With his match lighted, he advanced close to the tiger, lying
+ready to receive him, and shot him dead by a ball in the forehead, while
+in the act of charging."
+
+Colonel Campbell relates, that most of Bussapa's family have fallen
+victims to tigers. But the firm belief of the "tiger-slayer" in
+predestination, makes him blind to all danger.
+
+
+JOHN HUNTER AND THE DEAD TIGER.
+
+The greatest comparative anatomist our country has produced, John
+Hunter, obtained the refusal of all animals which happened to die in the
+Tower or in the travelling menageries. In this way he often obtained
+rare subjects for his researches. Dr Forbes Winslow[136] alludes to a
+well-known fact, that all the money Hunter could spare, was devoted to
+procuring curiosities of this sort, and Sir Everard Home used to state,
+that as soon as he had accumulated fees to the amount of ten guineas, he
+always purchased some addition to his collection. Indeed, he was not
+unfrequently obliged to borrow of his friends, when his own funds were
+at a low ebb, and the temptation was strong. "Pray, George," said he one
+day to Mr G. Nicol, the bookseller to the king, with whom he was very
+intimate, "have you got any money in your pocket?" Mr N. replied in the
+affirmative. "Have you got five guineas? Because, if you have, and will
+lend it me, you shall go halves."--"Halves in what?" inquired his
+friend.--"Why, halves in a magnificent tiger, which is now dying in
+Castle Street." Mr Nicol lent the money, and Hunter purchased the tiger.
+
+
+TIGERS.
+
+Mrs Colin Mackenzie[137] records the death of a man from the wounds of a
+tiger. "The tiger," she says, "was brought in on the second day. He died
+from the wound he had received. I gave the body to the Dhers in our
+service, who ate it. The claws and whiskers are greatly prized by the
+natives as charms. The latter are supposed to give the possessor a
+certain malignant power over his enemies, for which reason I always
+take possession of them to prevent our people getting them. The tiger is
+very commonly worshipped all over India. The women often prostrate
+themselves before a dead tiger, when sportsmen are bringing it home in
+triumph; and in a village, near Nagpur, Mr Hislop found a number of rude
+images, almost like four-legged stools, which, on inquiry, proved to be
+meant for tigers, who were worshipped as the tutelary deities of the
+place. I believe a fresh image is added for every tiger that is slain."
+
+
+LION AND TIGER.
+
+
+A jolly jack-tar, having strayed into Atkin's show at Bartholomew Fair,
+to have a look at the wild beasts, was much struck with the sight of a
+lion and a tiger in the same den. "Why, Jack," said he to a messmate,
+who was chewing a quid in silent amazement, "I shouldn't wonder if next
+year they were to carry about _a sailor and a marine living peaceably
+together_!"--"Ay," said his married companion, "_or a man and
+wife_."[138]
+
+We may add that we have long regarded it as a vile calumny to two
+animals to say of a man and wife who quarrel, that they live "a cat and
+dog life." No two animals are better agreed when kept together. Each
+knows his own place and keeps it. Hence they live at peace--speaking
+"generally," as "Mr Artemus Ward" would say of "such an observation."
+
+
+ANDROCLES AND THE LION.
+
+Addison,[139] in the 139th _Guardian_, has given us the story of
+Androcles and the Lion. He prefaces it by saying that he has no regard
+"to what AEsop has said upon the subject, whom," says he, "I look upon to
+have been a republican, by the unworthy treatment which he often gives
+to the king of beasts, and whom, if I had time, I could convict of
+falsehood and forgery in almost every matter of fact which he has
+related of this generous animal."
+
+Better observation of it, however, from the time of Burchell to that of
+Livingstone, shows that AEsop's account is on the whole to be relied on,
+and that the lion is a thorough cat, treacherous, cruel, and, for the
+most part, with a good deal of the coward in him.
+
+The story of Androcles was related by Aulus Gellius, who extracted it
+from Dion Cassius. Although likely to be embellished, there is every
+likelihood of the foundation of the story being true. Addison relates
+this, "for the sake of my learned reader, who needs go no further in it,
+if he has read it already:--Androcles was the slave of a noble Roman who
+was proconsul of Afric. He had been guilty of a fault, for which his
+master would have put him to death, had not he found an opportunity to
+escape out of his hands, and fled into the deserts of Numidia. As he was
+wandering among the barren sands, and almost dead with heat and hunger,
+he saw a cave in the side of a rock. He went into it, and finding at the
+farther end of it a place to sit down upon, rested there for some time.
+At length, to his great surprise, a huge overgrown lion entered at the
+mouth of the cave, and seeing a man at the upper end of it, immediately
+made towards him. Androcles gave himself up for gone;[140] but the lion,
+instead of treating him as he expected, laid his paw upon his lap, and
+with a complaining kind of voice, fell a licking his hand. Androcles,
+after having recovered himself a little from the fright he was in,
+observed the lion's paw to be exceedingly swelled by a large thorn that
+stuck in it. He immediately pulled it out, and by squeezing the paw very
+gently made a great deal of corrupt matter run out of it, which,
+probably freed the lion from the great anguish he had felt some time
+before. The lion left him upon receiving this good office from him, and
+soon after returned with a fawn which he had just killed. This he laid
+down at the feet of his benefactor, and went off again in pursuit of his
+prey. Androcles, after having sodden the flesh of it by the sun,
+subsisted upon it until the lion had supplied him with another. He lived
+many days in this frightful solitude, the lion catering for him with
+great assiduity. Being tired at length with this savage society, he was
+resolved to deliver himself up into his master's hands, and suffer the
+worst effects of his displeasure, rather than be thus driven out from
+mankind. His master, as was customary for the proconsuls of Africa, was
+at that time getting together a present of all the largest lions that
+could be found in the country, in order to send them to Rome, that they
+might furnish out a show to the Roman people. Upon his poor slave
+surrendering himself into his hands, he ordered him to be carried away
+to Rome as soon as the lions were in readiness to be sent, and that for
+his crime he should be exposed to fight with one of the lions in the
+amphitheatre, as usual, for the diversion of the people. This was all
+performed accordingly. Androcles, after such a strange run of fortune,
+was now in the area of the theatre, amidst thousands of spectators,
+expecting every moment when his antagonist would come out upon him. At
+length a huge monstrous lion leaped out from the place where he had been
+kept hungry for the show. He advanced with great rage towards the man,
+but on a sudden, after having regarded him a little wistfully, fell to
+the ground, and crept towards his feet with all the signs of
+blandishment and caress. Androcles, after a short pause, discovered that
+it was his old Numidian friend, and immediately renewed his acquaintance
+with him. Their mutual congratulations were very surprising to the
+beholders, who, upon hearing an account of the whole matter from
+Androcles, ordered him to be pardoned, and the lion to be given up into
+his possession. Androcles returned at Rome the civilities which he had
+received from him in the deserts of Afric. Dion Cassius says, that he
+himself saw the man leading the lion about the streets of Rome, the
+people everywhere gathering about them, and repeating to one another,
+'_Hic est leo hospes hominis; hic est homo medicus leonis_.' 'This is
+the lion who was the man's host; this is the man who was the lion's
+physician.'"
+
+We are glad to repeat this anecdote, although some may call it "stale
+and old." The last time we were at the Zoological Gardens, in the
+Regents Park, London, we saw a lion very kindly come and rub itself
+against the rails of its den, on seeing a turbaned visitor come up, who
+addressed it. The man had been kind to it on its passage home. It was
+by no means a tame lion, nor one that its keeper would have ventured to
+touch.
+
+
+SIR GEORGE DAVIS AND THE LION
+
+Steele, in the 146th _Guardian_,[141] has followed up a paper by
+Addison, on the subject of lions, and gives an anecdote sent him, he
+says, by "a worthy merchant and a friend of mine," who had it in the
+year 1700 from the gentleman to whom it happened.
+
+"About sixty years ago, when the plague raged at Naples, Sir George
+Davis, consul there for the English nation, retired to Florence. It
+happened one day he went out of curiosity to see the great duke's lions.
+At the farther end, in one of the dens, lay a lion, which the keepers in
+three years' time could not tame, with all the art and gentle usage
+imaginable. Sir George no sooner appeared at the grates of the den, but
+the lion ran to him with all the marks of joy and transport he was
+capable of expressing. He reared himself up, and licked his hand, which
+this gentleman put in through the grates. The keeper affrighted, took
+him by the arm and pulled him away, begging him not to hazard his life
+by going so near the fiercest creature of that kind that ever entered
+those dens. However, nothing would satisfy Sir George, notwithstanding
+all that could be said to dissuade him, but he must go into the den to
+him. The very instant he entered, the lion threw his paws upon his
+shoulders, and licked his face, and ran to and fro in the den, fawning
+and full of joy, like a dog at the sight of his master. After several
+embraces and salutations exchanged on both sides, they parted very good
+friends. The rumour of this interview between the lion and the stranger
+rung immediately through the whole city, and Sir George was very near
+passing for a saint among the people. The great duke, when he heard of
+it, sent for Sir George, who waited upon his highness, to the den, and
+to satisfy his curiosity, gave him the following account of what seemed
+so strange to the duke and his followers:--
+
+"'A captain of a ship from Barbary gave me this lion when he was a young
+whelp. I brought him up tame, but when I thought him too large to be
+suffered to run about the house, I built a den for him in my courtyard;
+from that time he was never permitted to go loose, except when I brought
+him within doors to show him to my friends. When he was five years old,
+in his gamesome tricks, he did some mischief by pawing and playing with
+people. Having griped a man one day a little too hard, I ordered him to
+be shot, for fear of incurring the guilt of what might happen; upon this
+a friend who was then at dinner with me begged him: how he came here I
+know not.'
+
+Here Sir George Davis ended, and thereupon the Duke of Tuscany assured
+him that he had the lion from that very friend of his."
+
+
+CANOVA'S LIONS AND THE CHILD.
+
+The mausoleum of Pope Clement XII., whose name was Rezzonico, is one of
+the greatest works of Antonio Canova, the celebrated Italian sculptor.
+It is in St Peter's, at Rome, and was erected in 1792. It is only
+mentioned here on account of two lions, which were faithfully studied
+from nature.
+
+His biographer, Mr Memes,[142] tells us that these lions were formed
+"after long and repeated observation on the habits and forms of the
+living animals. Wherever they were to be seen Canova constantly visited
+them, at all hours, and under every variety of circumstances, that he
+might mark their natural expression in different states of action and of
+repose, of ferocity or gentleness. One of the keepers was even paid to
+bring information, lest any favourable opportunity should pass
+unimproved."
+
+One of these lions is sleeping, while the other, which is under the
+figure of the personification of religion, couches--but is awake, in
+attitude of guarding inviolate the approach to the sepulchre, and ready
+with a tremendous roar to spring upon the intruder.
+
+Canova himself was much pleased with these lions. Mr Memes illustrates
+their wonderful force and truth by a little anecdote.
+
+"One day, while the author (a frequent employment) stood at some
+distance admiring from different points of view the tomb of Rezzonico, a
+woman with a child in her arms advanced to the lion, which appears to be
+watching. The terrified infant began to scream violently, clinging to
+the nurse's bosom, and exclaiming, '_Mordera, mamma, mordera!_' (It will
+bite, mamma; it will bite.) The mother turned to the opposite one, which
+seems asleep; her charge was instantly pacified; and smiling through
+tears, extended its little arm to stroke the shaggy head, whispering in
+subdued accents, as if afraid to awake the monster, '_O come placido!
+non mordero quello, mamma._' (How gentle! this one will not bite,
+mother.")
+
+
+ADMIRAL NAPIER AND THE LION IN THE TOWER.
+
+Admiral Sir Charles Napier, K.C.B., when a boy in his fourteenth year,
+visited London on his way to join his first ship at Spithead, the
+_Renown_. His biographer tells us he was staying at the house of a
+relative, who, "after showing the youngster all the London sights, took
+him to see the lions at the Tower. Amongst them was one which the keeper
+represented as being so very tame that, said he, 'you might put your
+hand into his mouth.' Taking him at his word, the young middy, to the
+horror of the spectators, thrust his hand into the jaws of the animal,
+who, no doubt, was taken as much by surprise as the lookers-on. It was a
+daring feat; but providentially he did not suffer for his
+temerity."[143] This reminds the biographer of Nelson's feat with the
+polar bear, and of Charles Napier's (the soldier) bold adventure with an
+eagle in his boyhood, as related by Sir William Napier in the history of
+his gallant brother's life.
+
+
+OLD LADY AND THE BEASTS ON THE MOUND.
+
+When the houses were cleared from the head of the Mound in Edinburgh, a
+travelling menagerie had set up its caravans on that great earthen
+bridge, just at the time when George Ferguson, the celebrated Scotch
+advocate, better known by his justiciary title of Lord Hermand, came up,
+full of Pittite triumph that the ministry of "all the talents" had
+fallen. "They are out! they are all out! every mother's son of them!" he
+shouted. A lady, who heard the words, and perceived his excited
+condition, imagined that he referred to the wild beasts; and seizing the
+judge by his arm, exclaimed, "Gude heaven! we shall a' be
+devoored!"[144]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[136] "Physics and Physicians: a Medical Sketch-Book," vol. i. p. 174.
+It was published anonymously in 1839.
+
+[137] "Life in the Mission, the Camp, and the Zenana; or, Six Years in
+India," vol. ii. p. 382.
+
+[138] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 237.
+
+[139] August 20, 1713. Chalmers's edition of "British Essayists," vol.
+xviii. p. 85.
+
+[140] Up for lost.
+
+[141] August 28, 1713. Chalmers's edition of "British Essayists," vol.
+xviii p. 116.
+
+[142] "Memoirs of Antonio Canova," by J. S. Memes, A.M. 1825. Pp. 332,
+334, 346.
+
+[143] "The Life of Admiral Sir Charles Napier, K.C.B," by Major-General
+Elers Napier, vol. i. p. 8.
+
+
+
+
+SEALS.
+
+
+A most intelligent group of creatures, some of which the compiler has
+watched in Yell Sound, close to Mossbank. He has even seen them once or
+twice in the Forth, close to the end of the pier. In the Zoological
+Gardens a specimen of the common seal proved for months a great source
+of attraction by its mild nature, and its singular form and activity. It
+soon died, and, had a coroner's jury returned a verdict, it would have
+been "Death from the hooks swallowed with the fish" daily provided. We
+have heard seal-fishers describe the great rapidity of the growth of
+seals in the Arctic seas. They seem in about a fortnight after their
+birth to attain nearly the size of their mothers. The same has been
+recorded of the whale order. Both seals and whales have powers of
+assimilating food and making fat that are unparalleled even by pigs. The
+intelligence of seals is marvellous. Many who visited the Zoological
+Gardens in the Regent's Park in May and June 1866 witnessed instances of
+this in a seal from the South Seas, recently exhibited in London.
+Persons on the sea-side might readily domesticate these interesting and
+truly affectionate creatures. Hooker's sea-bear, the species exhibited
+in London, was at first, so the kind Frenchman told us, very fierce, but
+soon got reconciled to him, and, when I saw it, great was the mutual
+attachment. It was a strangely interesting sight to see the great
+creature walk on its fin-like legs, and clamber up and kiss the
+genial-bearded French sailor.
+
+
+DR ADAM CLARKE ON SHETLAND SEALS.
+
+In Shetland, Dr Adam Clarke tells us the popular belief is that the
+seals, or, as they call them, _selkies_, are fallen spirits, and that it
+is dangerous to kill any of them, as evil will assuredly happen to him
+who does. They think that when the blood of a seal touches the water,
+the sea begins to rise and swell. Those who shoot them notice that gulls
+appear to watch carefully over them; and Mr Edmonston assured him that
+he has known a gull scratch, a seal to warn it of his approach. Dr
+Clarke, in the second of his voyages to Shetland, had a seal on board,
+which was caught on the Island of Papa. He says:--"It refuses all
+nourishment; it is very young, and about three feet long; it roars
+nearly like a calf, but not so loud, and continually crawls about the
+deck, seeking to get again to sea. As I cannot bear its cries, I intend
+to return it to the giver. Several of them have been tamed by the
+Shetlanders, and these will attend their owners to the place where the
+cows are milked, in order to get a drink. This was the case with one Mr
+Henry of Burrastow brought up. When it thought proper it would go to sea
+and forage there, but was sure to return to land, and to its owner. They
+tell me that it is a creature of considerable sagacity. The young seal
+mentioned above made his escape over the gangway, and got to sea. I am
+glad of it; for its plaintive lowing was painful to me. We saw it
+afterwards making its way to the ocean."[145]
+
+
+DR EDMONSTON ON SHETLAND SEALS.
+
+Every one familiar with seals is struck with their plaintive,
+intelligent faces, and any one who has seen the seals from time to time
+living in the Zoological Gardens must have been pleased with the marks
+of attention paid by them to their keepers. Dr Edmonston of Balta Sound
+has published in the "Memoirs of the Wernerian Society"[146] a graphic
+and valuable paper on the distinctions, history, and hunting of seals in
+the Shetland Isles. As that gentleman is a native of Unst, and had, when
+he wrote the Memoir, been for more than twenty years actively engaged in
+their pursuit, both as an amusement and as a study, we may extract two
+or three interesting passages.
+
+He remarks (p. 29) on the singular circumstance that so few additions
+have been made to the list of domestic animals bequeathed to us from
+remote antiquity, and mentions the practicability of an attempt being
+made to tame seals; and also says that it is yet to be learned whether
+they would breed in captivity and remain reclaimed from the wild state.
+The few instances recorded in books of natural history of tame seals
+refer to the species called _Phoca vitulina_, but of the processes of
+rearing and education we have no details. "The trials," continues Dr
+Edmonston, "I have made on these points have been equally numerous on
+the great as on the common seal. By far the most interesting one I ever
+had was a young male of the _barbata_ species: he was taken by myself
+from a cave when only a few hours old, and in a day or two became as
+attached as a dog to me. The varied movements and sounds by which he
+expressed delight at my presence and regret at my absence were most
+affecting; these sounds were as like as possible to the inarticulate
+tones of the human voice. I know no animal capable of displaying more
+affection than he did, and his temper was the gentlest imaginable. I
+kept him for four or five weeks, feeding him entirely on warm milk from
+the cow; in my temporary absence butter-milk was given to him, and he
+died soon after.
+
+"Another was a female, also of the great seal species, which we captured
+in a cave when about six weeks old, in October 1830. This individual
+would never allow herself to be handled but by the person who chiefly
+had the charge of her, yet even she soon became comparatively familiar.
+
+"It was amusing to see how readily she ascended the stairs, which she
+often did, intent, as it seemed, on examining every room in the house;
+on showing towards her signs of displeasure and correction, she
+descended more rapidly and safely than her awkwardness seemed to
+promise.
+
+"She was fed from the first on fresh fish alone, and grew and fattened
+considerably. We had her carried down daily in a hand-barrow to the
+sea-side, where an old excavation admitting the salt water was
+abundantly roomy and deep for her recreation and our observation. After
+sporting and diving for some time she would come ashore, and seemed
+perfectly to understand the use of the barrow. Often she tried to waddle
+from the house to the water, or from the latter to her apartment, but
+finding this fatiguing, and seeing preparations by her chairman, she
+would of her own accord mount her palanquin, and thus be carried as
+composedly as any Hindoo princess. By degrees we ventured to let her go
+fairly into the sea, and she regularly returned after a short interval;
+but one day during a thick fall of snow she was imprudently let off as
+usual, and, being decoyed some distance out of sight of the shore by
+some wild ones which happened to be in the bay at the time, she either
+could not find her way back or voluntarily decamped.
+
+"She was, we understood, killed very shortly after in a neighbouring
+inlet. We had kept her about six months, and every moment she was
+becoming more familiar; we had dubbed her Finna, and she seemed to know
+her name. Every one that saw her was struck with her appearance.
+
+"The smooth face without external ears--the nose slightly aquiline--the
+large, dark, and beautiful eye which stood the sternest human gaze, gave
+to the expression of her countenance such dignity and variety that we
+all agreed that it really was _super_-animal. The Scandinavian Scald,
+with such a mermaid before him, would find in her eye a metaphor so
+emphatic that he would have no reason to borrow the favourite oriental
+image of the gazelles from his Caucasian ancestors.
+
+"This remarkable expressiveness and dignity of aspect of the
+_Haff-fish_, so superior to all other animals with which the fishermen
+of Shetland were acquainted, and the human character of his voice, may
+have procured for him that peculiar respect with which he was regarded
+by those who lived nearest his domains, and were admitted to most
+frequent intercourse with him. He was the favourite animal of
+superstition, and a few tales of him are still current. These, however,
+are not of much interest or variety, the leading ideas in them being
+these: That the great seal is a human soul, or a fallen angel in
+metempsychosis, and that to him who is remarkable for hostility to the
+phocal race some fatal retribution will ensue. I can easily conceive the
+feeling of awe with which a fisherman would be impressed when, in the
+sombre magnificence of some rocky solitude, a great seal suddenly
+presented himself, for an interview of this kind once occurred to
+myself.
+
+"I was lying one calm summer day on a rock a little elevated above the
+water, watching the approach of seals, in a small creek formed by
+frowning precipices several hundred feet high, near the north point of
+the Shetland Islands.
+
+"I had patiently waited for two hours, and the scene and the sunshine
+had thrown me into a kind of reverie, when my companion, who was more
+awake, arrested my attention. A full-sized female haff-fish was swimming
+slowly past, within eight yards of my feet, her head askance, and her
+eyes fixed upon me; the gun, charged with two balls, was immediately
+pointed. I followed her with the aim for some distance, when she dived
+without my firing.
+
+"I resolved that this omission should not recur, if she afforded me
+another opportunity of a shot, which I hardly hoped for, but which
+actually in a few moments took place. Still I did not fire, until, when
+at a considerable distance, she was on the eve of diving, and she eluded
+the shot by springing to a side. Here was really a species of
+fascination. The wild scene, the near presence and commanding aspect of
+the splendid animal before me, produced a spellbound impression which,
+in my sporting experience, I never felt before.
+
+"On reflection, I was delighted that she escaped.
+
+"The younger seals are the more easy to tame, but the more difficult to
+rear; under a month old they must be fed, and, especially the _barbata_,
+almost entirely on milk, and that of the cow seems hardly to agree with
+them.
+
+"Perhaps their being suckled by a cow fed chiefly on fish, the giving
+them occasionally a little salt water, and then by degrees inducing them
+to eat fish, might be the best mode until they attained the age of being
+sustained on fish alone. In the _barbata_, to insure rapid taming, it
+appears to be necessary to capture them before the period of casting the
+foetal hair, analogous to what I have observed in the case of the
+young of water-birds before getting up their first feathers, and when
+they are entirely covered with the egg down.
+
+"These changes seem connected with a great development of the wild
+habits, and attachment to, and knowledge of, the localities where they
+have first seen the light. As the _barbata_ is until this period in
+reality a land animal, the chief difficulty we have to surmount with it
+is in the quality of the milk to be given it. The _vitulina_ is
+essentially an inhabitant of the water from its birth, yet the care of
+the mother is perhaps for weeks necessary to judge how long and how
+often it should be on land, and this we can hardly expect to imitate. In
+the young of this species a few days old, which we have tried to rear, a
+want of knowledge of this kind of management may have led to failure. I
+have not attempted to rear them at a greater age.
+
+"The Greenland seal is, I have been informed, occasionally kept for a
+month or two on board the whalers, and thrives sufficiently well on the
+flesh of sea-birds. This species appears to bring forth in January, and
+therefore it is subjected to captivity.
+
+"I know but comparatively little of its capability of being easily
+tamed; but this quality, of itself, is no evidence of superior
+intelligence.
+
+"Might it not be easy to induce Greenland shipmasters to bring some of
+these animals to England, where they would be accessible to the
+observation of zoologists.
+
+"One mode of attempting to tame them might be to take half-grown animals
+in a net, or surprise them on land, and then keep them in salt-water
+ponds in a semi-domestic state: if any of them were pregnant when
+caught, or could be got to breed, the main difficulty would be
+overcome."
+
+Long as these extracts are, they possess great interest as being derived
+from observations on living animals made by one who was a friend of the
+Duke of Wellington, and was always welcomed by him. His northern Island
+of Unst is a fine field for studying marine animals. The sweeping
+currents of the Arctic oceans bring creatures to the quiet voes and
+sounds. Shetland in spring, summer, and autumn is a favoured locality
+for the naturalist and painter.
+
+
+THE WALRUS.
+
+There was some likelihood, a few years ago, that a most attractive
+animal would be added to the collection of the Zoological Society. But,
+unfortunately for the public gratification, as well as the remuneration
+of the spirited captain who brought the creature, it reached the gardens
+in a dying state, and only survived a few days. But it is not the first
+of its family which has travelled so far to the southward. Nearly 250
+years ago a specimen was brought alive by some of the Arctic
+adventurers, and excited no little surprise, as old Purchas tells us. It
+was in the year 1608, when "the king and many honourable personages
+beheld it with admiration, for the strangeness of the same, the like
+whereof had never before beene seene alive in England. Not long after it
+fell sicke and died. As the beast in shape is very strange, so is it of
+strange docilitie, and apt to be taught, as by good experience we often
+proved."
+
+The figure which accompanies this paper was drawn from our late lamented
+visitor by Mr Wolf, who sketched it before its removal to the Zoological
+Gardens. Captain Henry caught it during a whaling expedition, and sent
+it to London. Though quite young, it was nearly four feet in length; and
+when the person who used to feed it came into the room, it would give
+him an affectionate greeting, in a voice somewhat resembling the cry of
+a calf, but considerably louder. It walked about, but, owing to its
+weakness, soon grew tired, and lay down. Unlike the seals, to which it
+is closely allied, the walrus has considerable power with its limbs when
+out of the water, and can support its bulky body quite clear of the
+ground. Its mode of progression, however, is awkward when compared with
+ordinary quadrupeds; its hind-limbs shuffling along, as if inclosed in a
+sack. In some future season, when a lively specimen reaches the Gardens,
+and is accommodated with an extensive tank of water, there is no reason
+why the walrus should not thrive as well as the seal, or his close,
+though not kind, neighbour of the North, the Polar bear.
+
+[Illustration: The Walrus.]
+
+The walrus, _morse_, or _sea-horse_ (_Trichechus rosmarus_, Linn.[147]),
+is one of the most characteristic inhabitants of the Arctic regions.
+There it is widely distributed, and thence it seldom wanders. One or two
+specimens were killed on the shores of the northern Scottish islands in
+1817 and 1825; but these instances seem hardly to admit of its
+introduction into our _fauna_, any more than West Indian beans, brought
+by the currents, are admissible into our _flora_. It is mentioned by
+some old Scottish writers[148] among our native animals, and at one time
+may have been carried to our coasts on some of the bergs, which are
+occasionally seen in the German Ocean after the periodical disruptions
+of the Arctic ice. Like the Polar bear, however, the walrus has
+evidently been formed by its Creator for a life among icy seas, and
+there it is now found often in large herds. Captain Beechey and other
+voyagers to the seas around Spitzbergen, describe them as being
+particularly abundant on the western coast of that inclement island. The
+captain says that in fine weather they resort to large pieces of ice at
+the edge of the main body, where herds of them may be seen of sometimes
+more than a hundred individuals each. "In these situations they appear
+greatly to enjoy themselves, rolling and sporting about, and frequently
+making the air resound with their bellowing, which bears some
+resemblance to that of a bull. These diversions generally end in sleep,
+during which these wary animals appear always to take the precaution of
+having a sentinel to warn them of any danger." The only warning,
+however, which the sentinel gives, is by seeking his own safety; in
+effecting which, as the herd lie huddled on one another like swine, the
+motion of one is speedily communicated to the whole, and they instantly
+tumble, one over the other, into the sea, head-foremost, if possible;
+but failing that, anyhow.
+
+Scoresby remarks that the front part of the head of the young walrus,
+without tusks, when seen at a distance, is not unlike the human face. It
+has the habit of raising its head above the water to look at ships and
+other passing objects; and when seen in such a position, it may have
+given rise to some of the stories of mermaids.
+
+There is still a considerable uncertainty as to the food of the walrus.
+Cook found no traces of aliment in the stomachs of those shot by his
+party. Crantz says that in Greenland shell-fish and sea-weeds seem to be
+its only subsistence. Scoresby found shrimps, a kind of craw-fish, and
+the remains of young seals, in the stomachs of those which he examined.
+Becchey mentions, that in the inside of several specimens he found
+numerous granite pebbles larger than walnuts. These may be taken for the
+same purpose that some birds, especially of the gallinaceous order,
+swallow bits of gravel. Dr Von Baer concludes, from an analysis of all
+the published accounts, that the walrus is omnivorous.[149] A specimen
+that died at St Petersburg was fed on oatmeal mixed with turnips or
+other vegetables; and the little fellow, who lately died in the Regent's
+Park, seems to have been fed by the sailors on oatmeal porridge.
+
+One of the chief characteristics of the walrus is the presence of two
+elongated tusks (the canine teeth) in the upper jaw. According to
+Crantz, it uses these to scrape mussels and other shell-fish from the
+rocks and out of the sand, and also to grapple and get along with, for
+they enable it to raise itself on the ice. They are also powerful
+weapons of defence against the Polar bear and its other enemies.
+
+The walrus attains a great size. Twelve feet is the length of a fine
+specimen in the British Museum. Beechey's party found some of them
+fourteen feet in length and nine feet in girth, and of such prodigious
+weight that they could scarcely turn them over.
+
+Gratifying accounts are given of the attachment of the female to its
+young, and the male occasionally assists in their defence when exposed
+to danger, or at least in revenging the attack. Lord Nelson, when a lad,
+was coxwain to one of the ships of Phipps's expedition to the Arctic
+seas, and commanded a boat, which was the means of saving a party
+belonging to the other ship from imminent danger. "Some of the officers
+had fired at and wounded a walrus. As no other animal," says Southey,
+"has so human-like an expression in its countenance, so also is there
+none that seems to possess more of the passions of humanity. The wounded
+animal dived immediately, and brought up a number of its companions; and
+they all joined in an attack upon the boat. They wrested an oar from one
+of the men; and it was with the utmost difficulty that the crew could
+prevent them from staving or upsetting her, till the _Carcass's_ boat
+(commanded by young Horatio Nelson) came up: and the walruses, finding
+their enemies thus reinforced, dispersed." And Captain Beechey gives the
+following pleasing picture of maternal affection which he witnessed in
+the seas around Spitzbergen: "We were greatly amused by the singular and
+affectionate conduct of a walrus towards its young. In the vast sheet of
+ice which surrounded the ships, there were occasionally many pools; and
+when the weather was clear and warm, animals of various kinds would
+frequently rise and sport about in them, or crawl from thence upon the
+ice to bask in the warmth of the sun. A walrus rose in one of these
+pools close to the ship, and, finding everything quiet, dived down and
+brought up its young, which it held to its breast by pressing it with
+its flipper. In this manner it moved about the pool, keeping in an erect
+posture, and always directing the face of the young towards the vessel.
+On the slightest movement on board, the mother released her flipper, and
+pushed the young one under water; but, when everything was again quiet,
+brought it up as before, and for a length of time continued to play
+about in the pool, to the great amusement of the seamen, who gave her
+credit for abilities in tuition, which, though possessed of considerable
+sagacity, she hardly merited."
+
+The walrus has two great enemies in its icy home--the Polar bear and the
+Esquimaux. Captain Beechey thus graphically describes the manoeuvres
+of that king of the Bruin race, which must often be attended with
+success. The bears, when hungry, are always on the watch for animals
+sleeping upon the ice, and try to come on them unawares, as their prey
+darts through holes in the ice. "One sunshiny day a walrus, of nine or
+ten feet length, rose in a pool of water not very far from us; and after
+looking around, drew his greasy carcase upon the ice, where he rolled
+about for a time, and at length laid himself down to sleep. A bear,
+which had probably been observing his movements, crawled carefully upon
+the ice on the opposite side of the pool, and began to roll about also,
+but apparently more with design than amusement, as he progressively
+lessened the distance that intervened between him and his prey. The
+walrus, suspicious of his advances, drew himself up preparatory to a
+precipitate retreat into the water in case of a nearer acquaintance with
+his playful but treacherous visitor; on which the bear was instantly
+motionless, as if in the act of sleep; but after a time began to lick
+his paws, and clean himself, occasionally encroaching a little more upon
+his intended prey. But even this artifice did not succeed; the wary
+walrus was far too cunning to allow himself to be entrapped, and
+suddenly plunged into the pool; which the bear no sooner observed than
+he threw off all disguise, rushed towards the spot, and followed him in
+an instant into the water, where, I fear, he was as much disappointed in
+his meal, as we were of the pleasure of witnessing a very interesting
+encounter."
+
+The meat of the walrus is not despised by Europeans, and its heart is
+reckoned a delicacy. To the Esquimaux there is no greater treat than a
+kettle well filled with walrus-blubber; and to the natives along
+Behring's Straits this quadruped is as valuable as is the palm to the
+sons of the desert. Their canoes are covered with its skin; their
+weapons and sledge-runners, and many useful articles, are formed from
+its tusks; their lamps are filled with its oil; and they themselves are
+fed with its fat and its fibre. So thick is the skin, that a bayonet is
+almost the only weapon which can pierce it. Cut into shreds, it makes
+excellent cordage, being especially adapted for wheel-ropes. The tusks
+bear a high commercial value, and are extensively employed by dentists
+in the manufacture of artificial teeth. The fat of a good-sized specimen
+yields thirty gallons of oil.--_A. White, from "Excelsior."_
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[144] "A Tour in Tartan-Land," by Cuthbert Bede.
+
+[145] "Life," vol. iii. p. 188.
+
+[146] Vol. viii. pp. 1-16.
+
+[147] _Trichechus_, from the Greek [Greek: trichas echon], "having
+hairs:" _walrus_, the German _wallross_, "whale-horse."
+
+[148] See Fleming's "British Animals," p. 19.
+
+[149] Mem. Acad. Imp. Sc. St. Petersb., 1838, p. 232. Professor Owen has
+communicated to the Zoological Society the anatomy of the young walrus;
+and much valuable information will be found in Dr Gray's "Catalogue of
+Mammalia in the British Museum."
+
+
+
+
+KANGAROOS.
+
+
+What dissertation on the strange outward form, or stranger mode of
+reproduction to which this famed member of the _Marsupialia_ belongs,
+could contain as much in little space as Charles Lamb's happy
+description in his letter to Baron Field, his "distant correspondent" in
+New South Wales? When that was written, and for long after, it may be
+necessary to tell some, Australia was chiefly known as the land of the
+convict.
+
+"Tell me," writes Elia, "what your Sidneyites do? Are they th-v-ng all
+day long? Merciful heaven! what property can stand against such a
+depredation? The kangaroos--your aborigines--do they keep their
+primitive simplicity un-Europe-tainted, with those little short
+forepuds, looking like a lesson framed by nature to the pickpocket!
+Marry, for diving into fobs they are rather lamely provided _a priori_;
+but if the hue and cry were once up, they would show as fair a pair of
+hind-shifters as the expertest locomotor in the colony."[150]
+
+In one of his letters to another of his favoured correspondents he
+alludes to his friend Field having gone to a country where there are so
+many thieves that even the kangaroos have to wear their pockets in
+front, lest they be picked!
+
+
+KANGAROO COOKE.
+
+Major-General Henry Frederick Cooke, C.B. and K.C.H., commonly called
+Kang-Cooke, was a captain in the Coldstream Guards, and aide-de-camp to
+the Duke of York. He was called the kangaroo by his intimate associates.
+It is said that this arose from his once having let loose a cageful of
+these animals at Pidcock's Menagerie, or from his answer to the Duke of
+York, who, inquiring how he fared in the Peninsula, replied that he
+"could get nothing to eat but kangaroo."[151] Moore, in his Diary,[152]
+December 13, 1820, records that he dined with him and others at Lord
+Granard's. Cooke told of Admiral Cotton once (at Lisbon, I think) saying
+during dinner, "Make signals for the _Kangaroo_ to get under way;" and
+Cooke, who had just been expressing his anxiety to leave Lisbon, thought
+the speech alluded to his nickname, and considered it an extraordinary
+liberty for one who knew so little of him as Admiral Cotton to take. He
+found out afterwards, however, that his namesake was a sloop-of-war.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[150] "Distant Correspondents," in the Essays of Elia, first series ed.
+1841, p. 67.
+
+[151] Jesse's "Life of Beau Brummell," vol. i. p. 288.
+
+[152] "Memoirs, Correspondence," &c., edited by Lord John Russell, vol.
+iii. p. 179.
+
+
+
+
+THE TIGER-WOLF.
+
+(_Thylacinus cynocephalus._)
+
+
+The great order, or rather division, of mammalia, the
+_Marsupialia_,[153] is furnished with a pouch, into which the young are
+received and nourished at a very early period of their existence. The
+first species of the group, known to voyagers and naturalists, was the
+celebrated opossum of North America, whose instinctive care to defend
+itself from danger causes it to feign the appearance of death. As the
+great continent of Australia became known, it was found that the great
+mass of its mammalia, from the gigantic kangaroo to the pigmy,
+mouse-like potoroo, belonged to this singular order. The order contains
+a most anomalous set of animals, some being exclusively carnivorous,
+some chiefly subsisting on insects, while others browse on grass; and
+many live on fruits and leaves, which they climb trees to procure; a
+smaller portion subsisting on roots, for which they burrow in the
+ground. The gentle and deer-faced kangaroo belongs to this order; the
+curious bandicoots, the tree-frequenting phalangers and petauri, the
+savage "native devil,"[154] and the voracious subject of this notice.
+
+The "tiger-wolf" is a native of Van Diemen's Land, and is strictly
+confined to that island. It was first described in the ninth volume of
+the "Linnean Transactions," under the name of _Didelphis cynocephalus_,
+or "dog-headed opossum," the English name being an exact translation of
+its Latin one. Its non-prehensile tail, peculiar feet, and different
+arrangement of teeth, pointed out to naturalists that it entered into a
+genus distinct from the American opossums; and to this genus the name of
+_Thylacinus_[155] has been applied; its specific name _cynocephalus_
+being still retained in conformity with zoological nomenclature,
+although M. Temminck, the founder of the genus, honoured the species
+with the name of its first describer, and called it _Thylacinus
+Harrisii_.
+
+Mr Gould has given a short account of this quadruped in his great work,
+"The Mammals of Australia," accompanied with two plates, one showing the
+head of the male, of the natural size, in such a point of view as to
+exhibit the applicability of one of the names applied to it by the
+colonists, that of "zebra-wolf." He justly remarks that it must be
+regarded as by far the most formidable of all the marsupial animals, as
+it certainly is the most savage indigenous quadruped belonging to the
+Australian continent. Although it is too feeble to make a successful
+attack on man, it commits great havoc among the smaller quadrupeds of
+the country; and to the settler it is a great object of dread, as his
+poultry and other domestic animals are never safe from its attacks. His
+sheep are, especially, an object of the colonist's anxious care, as he
+can house his poultry, and thus secure them from the prowler; but his
+flocks, wandering about over the country, are liable to be attacked at
+night by the tiger-wolf, whose habits are strictly nocturnal. Mr Gunn
+has seen some so large and powerful that a number of dogs would not face
+one of them. It has become an object with the settler to destroy every
+specimen he can fall in with, so that it is much rarer than it was at
+the time Mr Harris, its first describer, wrote its history, at least in
+the cultivated districts. Much, however, of Van Diemen's Land is still
+in a state of nature, and as large tracts of forest-land remain yet
+uncleared, there is abundance of covert for it still in the more remote
+parts of the colony, and it is even now often seen at Woolnoth and among
+the Hampshire hills. In such places it feeds on the smaller species of
+kangaroos and other marsupials,--bandicoots, and kangaroo-rats, while
+even the prickle-covered echidna--a much more formidable mouthful than
+any hedgehog--supplies the tiger-wolf with a portion of its sustenance.
+The specimen described by Mr Harris was caught in a trap baited with the
+flesh of the kangaroo. When opened, the remains of a half-digested
+echidna[156] were found in its stomach.
+
+The tiger-wolf has a certain amount of daintiness in its appetite when
+in a state of nature. From the observations of Mr Gunn it would seem
+that nothing will induce it to prey on the wombat,[157] a fat, sluggish,
+marsupial quadruped, abundant in the districts which it frequents, and
+whose flesh would seem to be very edible, seeing that it lives on fruits
+and roots. No sooner, however, was the sheep introduced than the
+tiger-wolf began to attack the flocks, and has ever since shown a most
+unmistakable appetite for mutton, preferring the flesh of that most
+useful and easily-mastered quadruped to that of any kangaroo however
+venison-like, or bandicoot however savoury. The colonists of Van
+Diemen's land have applied various names to this animal, according as
+its resemblance to other ferocious quadrupeds of different climates
+struck their fancy. The names of "tiger," "hyena," and "zebra-wolf," are
+partly acquired from its ferocity, somewhat corresponding with that of
+these well-known carnivorous denizens of other lands, and partly from
+the black bands which commence behind the shoulders, and which extend in
+length on the haunches, and resemble in some faint measure those on the
+barred tyrant of the Indian jungles, and the other somewhat similarly
+ornamented mammalia implied in the names. These bars are well relieved
+by the general grayish-brown colour of the fur, which is somewhat woolly
+in its texture, from each of the hairs of which it is composed being
+waved.
+
+The specimens in the Zoological Gardens are very shy and restless; when
+alarmed they dash and leap about their dens and utter a short guttural
+cry somewhat resembling a bark. This shyness is partly to be attributed
+to their imperfect vision by day, and partly to their resemblance in
+character to the wolf, whose treachery and suspicious manners in
+confinement must have struck every one who has gazed on this "gaunt
+savage" in his den in the Regent's Park. The specimens exhibited are the
+first living members of the species first brought to Europe. The male
+was taken in November 1849, and the female at an earlier period in the
+same year, on the upper part of St Patrick's River, about thirty miles
+north-east of Launceston. After being gradually accustomed to
+confinement by Mr Gunn, they were shipped for this country, and reached
+the Gardens in the spring of 1850. It is very seldom, indeed, that they
+are caught alive; and when so caught they are generally at once killed,
+so that it was with some difficulty and by offering a considerable
+pecuniary inducement to the shepherds, that they were at last secured
+for the Zoological Society.[158] In their den they show great activity,
+and can bound upwards nearly to the roof of the place where they are
+confined.--_A. White, from "Excelsior."_
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[153] So called from the Latin word _marsupium_, a pouch.
+
+[154] _Diabolus ursinus_, the ursine opossum of Van Diemen's Land, a
+great destroyer of young lambs.
+
+[155] From the Greek words for a pouch and a dog, [Greek: thylakos] and
+[Greek: kuon]. Dr Gray had previously named it _Peracyon_, from [Greek:
+pera], a bag, and [Greek: kuon], a dog.
+
+[156] _Echidna aculeata_, or _E. hystrix_, the porcupine ant-eater, a
+curious edentate, spine-covered quadruped, closely allied to the still
+stranger _Ornithorhynchus_, the duck-bill.
+
+[157] _Phascolomys Vombatus,_ a curious, broad-backed, and large-headed
+marsupial, two specimens of which are in the Zoological Gardens. It is a
+burrower, and in the teeth it resembles the rodent animals; hence its
+name, from [Greek: phaskolon], a pouch, and [Greek: mus], a mouse.
+
+
+
+
+SQUIRREL: ARCTIC LEMMING.
+
+
+The one with its long plume-like tail, organised for a life among trees,
+the other with its home in the arctic regions, belong to an order not
+generally distinguished for intelligence, although, the beaver, once
+reputed a miracle of mind, belongs to it. The glirine or rodent animals
+are generally of small or moderate size, though some, like the
+water-loving capybara, are of considerable dimensions.
+
+The squirrel is a fine subject for a painter. There is a picture by Sir
+Edwin Landseer, of a squirrel and bullfinch. On an engraving of it,
+published in 1865, is inscribed "a pair of nut-crackers,"--a happy
+title, and very apposite.
+
+Jekyll saw in Colman's chambers a squirrel in the usual round cage. "Ah!
+poor devil," said Jekyll, "he's going the _home circuit_."[159]
+
+If you come upon a squirrel on the ground, he is not long in getting to
+the topmost branch of the highest tree, so perfectly is he adapted for
+"rising" at a "bar"!
+
+
+PETS OF SOME OF THE REVOLUTIONARY BUTCHERS. A SQUIRREL.
+
+Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., in his novel, "Zanoni,"[160] pictures
+Citizen Couthon fondling a little spaniel "that he invariably carried in
+his bosom, even to the Convention, as a vent for the exuberant
+sensibilities which overflowed his affectionate heart."
+
+In a note the novelist remarks--
+
+"This tenderness for some pet animal was by no means peculiar to
+Couthon; it seems rather a common fashion with the gentle butchers of
+the Revolution. M. George Duval informs us ('Souvenirs de la Terreur,'
+iii. p. 183), that Chaumette had an aviary, to which he devoted his
+harmless leisure; the murderous Fournier carried, on his shoulders, a
+pretty little squirrel attached by a silver chain; Panis bestowed the
+superfluity of his affections upon two gold pheasants; and Marat, who
+would not abate one of the three hundred thousand heads he demanded,
+_reared doves_! Apropos of the spaniel of Couthon, Duval gives us a
+characteristic anecdote of Sergent, not one of the least relentless
+agents of the massacre of September. A lady came to implore his
+protection for one of her relations confined in the Abbaye. He scarcely
+deigned to speak to her. As she retired in despair, she trod by accident
+on the paw of his favourite spaniel. Sergent, turning round, enraged and
+furious, exclaimed, '_Madam, have you no humanity?_'"
+
+
+ARCTIC VOYAGER AND THE LEMMING.
+
+Captain Back, on his arctic land expedition, when returning in September
+1835, encountered a severe gale, which forced them to land their boat,
+and as the water rose they had three times to haul it higher on the
+bank. He introduces an affecting little incident: "So completely cold
+and drenched was everything outside, that a poor little lemming, unable
+to contend with the floods, which had driven it successively from all
+its retreats, crept silently under the tent, and snuggled away in
+precarious security within a few paces of a sleeping terrier.
+Unconscious of its danger, it licked its fur coat, and darted its bright
+eyes from object to object, as if pleased and surprised with its new
+quarters; but soon the pricked ears of the awakened dog announced its
+fate, and in another instant the poor little stranger was quivering in
+his jaws!"[161]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mr McDougall?][162] records several amusing anecdotes of the little
+arctic lemming, named _Arctomys Spermophilus Parryi_, after the great
+arctic voyager. He says,--"My own experience of those industrious little
+warriors tended to prove that they possessed a strange combination of
+sociality and combativeness. Industrious they most certainly are, as is
+shown by the complicated excavation of their subterranean cities;
+besides which, every feather and hair of bird and animal found in the
+vicinity of their dwellings, is made to contribute its iota of warmth
+and comfort to the interior of their winter quarters.
+
+"I had," continues the master of the _Resolute_, "many opportunities of
+watching their movements during my detention at Winter Harbour. My tent
+happened to be pitched immediately over one of their large towns,
+causing its inhabitants to issue forth from its thousand gates to catch
+a view of the strangers. Frequently on waking we have found the little
+animals, rolled up in a ball, snugly ensconced within the folds of our
+blanket-bags; nor would they be expelled from such a warm and desirable
+position without showing fight. On several occasions I observed Naps,
+the dog, fast asleep with one or two lemmings huddled away between its
+legs, like so many pups."
+
+He says that Lieutenant Mecham noticed an Esquimaux dog, named Buffer,
+trudging along, nose to the ground, quite unconscious of danger, when a
+lemming, suddenly starting from its cavern, seized poor Buffer by the
+nose, inflicting a severe wound. The dog, astounded at such an
+unsuspected assault, gave a dismal howl, and at length shook the enemy
+off, after which he became the attacking party, and in less than a
+minute the presumptuous assailant disappeared between the jaws of the
+Tartar he had attempted to catch.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[158] Mitchell's "Popular Guide to the Zoological Gardens," p. 9.
+(1852.)
+
+[159] Mark Lemon's "Jest Book," p. 180.
+
+[160] Ed. 1845, p. 339.
+
+[161] P. 441. Sir John Richardson told me that the species was
+_Spermophilus Parryi_.
+
+[162] The Eventful Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ship _Resolute_ to the
+Arctic Regions, in Search of Sir John Franklin, in 1852-3-4, pp. 314,
+315.
+
+
+
+
+RATS AND MICE.
+
+
+Why should we not, like Grainger, begin this section as the writer of
+"The Sugar-Cane" does one of his paragraphs--
+
+   "Come muse! let's sing of rats."
+
+The "restless rottens" and mice need little introduction. They are a
+most fertile race, and some species of them seem only to be in human
+habitations. They are terrible nuisances, and yet rat-skins are said to
+be manufactured in Paris into gloves.
+
+Sydney Smith's comparison of some one dying like a poisoned rat in a
+ditch is a powerful one. The same writer, in hunting down an unworthy
+man, with his cutting criticism, says, that he did it not on account of
+his power, but to put down what might prove noisome if not settled, much
+as a Dutch burgomaster might hunt a rat, not for its value, but because
+by its boring it might cause the water to break through his dikes, and
+thus flood his native land.
+
+Robert Browning, in one of his poems, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," has
+powerfully described an incursion of rats. A few lines may be quoted:--
+
+   "Almost five hundred years ago,
+   To see the townsfolk suffer so
+     From vermin, was a pity.
+     "Rats!
+   They fought the dogs and killed the cats,
+     And bit the babies in their cradles,
+   And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
+     And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles,
+   Split open the kegs of salted sprats,
+   Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,
+   And even spoiled the women's chats,
+       By drowning their speaking
+       With shrieking and squeaking
+   In fifty different sharps and flats.
+
+          *       *       *       *       *
+
+   "And ere three shrill notes the pipes had uttered,
+   You heard as if an army muttered;
+   And the muttering grew to a grumbling;
+   And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;
+   And out of the houses the rats came tumbling--
+   Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,
+   Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats;
+   Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,
+       Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
+   Cocking tails, and pricking whiskers,
+       Families by tens and dozens,
+   Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives--
+   Followed the Piper for their lives.
+   From street to street he piped, advancing,
+   And step for step they followed dancing,
+   Until they came to the river Weser
+   Wherein all plunged and perished,
+   Save one."
+
+
+THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND THE MUSK-RAT.
+
+Mr Taylor, in his notes to the artist Haydon's Autobiography, tells us
+that a favourite expression of the Duke of Wellington, when people tried
+to coax him to do what he had resolved not to do, was, "The rat has got
+into the bottle." This not very intelligible expression may refer to an
+anecdote I have heard of the Duke's once telling, in his later days, how
+the musk-rats in India got into bottles, which ever after retained the
+odour of musk. "Either the rats must be very small," said a lady who
+heard him, "or the bottles very large." "On the contrary, madam," was
+the Duke's reply, "very small bottles and very large rats." "That is the
+style of logic we have to deal with at the Horse Guards," whispered Lord
+----.
+
+
+LADY EGLINTOUN AND THE RATS.
+
+Mr Robert Chambers, in his "Traditions of Edinburgh" (p. 191), gives an
+interesting account of the elegant Susanna, Countess of Eglintoun, who
+was in her eighty-fifth year when Johnson and Boswell visited her. She
+died in 1780, at the age of ninety-one, having preserved to the last her
+stately mien and fine complexion. She is said to have washed her face
+periodically with sow's milk.
+
+"This venerable woman amused herself latterly in taming and patronising
+rats. She kept a vast number of these animals in her pay at Auchans, and
+they succeeded in her affections the poets and artists she had loved in
+early life. It does not reflect much credit upon the latter, that her
+ladyship used to complain of never having met with true gratitude
+except from four-footed animals. She had a panel in the oak wainscot of
+her dining-room, which she tapped upon and opened at meal times, when
+ten or twelve jolly rats came tripping forth, and joined her at table.
+At the word of command or a signal from her ladyship, they retired again
+to their native obscurity--a trait of good sense in the character and
+habits of the animals which, it is hardly necessary to remark, patrons
+do not always find in two-legged _proteges_."
+
+
+GENERAL DOUGLAS AND THE RATS.
+
+The biographer of this highly-distinguished military engineer-officer
+relates an anecdote of him when a lieutenant at Tynemouth. The future
+author of well-known works on Gunnery and Military Bridges, early began
+to show ability in mechanics. "Lieutenant Douglas occupied a room barely
+habitable, and had to contest the tenancy with rats, which asserted
+their claim with such tenacity, that he went to sleep at the risk of
+being devoured. Their incursions compelled him to furnish himself with
+loaded pistols and a tinder-box, and he kept watch one night, remaining
+quiet till there was an irruption, when he started up and struck a
+light. But his vigilance proved of no avail, for the clink of the flint
+and steel caused a stampede, and not a rat remained by the time he had
+kindled the tinder. Their flight suggested to him another device. He
+looked out all the holes, and covered them with slides, connected with
+each other by wires, and these he fastened to a string, which enabled
+him to draw them all with one pull, and thus close the outlets. The
+contrivance claims to be mentioned as his first success in mechanics,
+foreshadowing his future expertness. It came into use the same night: he
+pulled the string without rising from bed, then struck a light, while
+the rats flew off to the holes to find them blocked, and he shot them at
+leisure. Two or three such massacres cleared off the intruders, and left
+him undisturbed in his quarters."[163]
+
+
+HANOVER RATS.
+
+How amusingly does Mr Waterton show his attachment to the extinct
+Stuarts in his essays. Go where he may, "a Hanover rat" pops up before
+him. In his charming autobiography appended to the three series of his
+graphic essays, whether he be in Rome or Cologne, in York or London, at
+a farm-house, or on board a steamer on the Rhine, "a Hanover rat" is
+sure to be encountered. We could cite many amusing illustrations.
+
+Earl Stanhope[164] speaks of the Jacobites after the death of Anne
+reviling all adherents of the court as "a parcel of Roundheads and
+Hanover rats." This is the phrase used by Squire Western in Fielding's
+novel of "Tom Jones." He tells us that the former of these titles was
+the by-word first applied to the Calvinistic preachers in the civil
+wars, from the close cropped hair which they affected as distinguished
+from the flowing curls of the cavaliers. The second phrase was of far
+more recent origin. It so chanced that not long after the accession of
+the House of Hanover, some of the brown, that is, the German or Norway
+rats, were first brought over to this country in some timber, as is
+said; and being much stronger than the black, or till then, the common
+rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter. The word, both
+the noun and the verb "to rat," was first levelled at the converts to
+the government of George the First, but has by degrees obtained a wider
+meaning, and come to be applied to any sudden and mercenary change in
+politics. The ravages of rats might form the subject of a curious
+volume. They are not at all literary in their tastes, though they are
+known to eat through bales of books, should they be placed in the way of
+their runs. The booksellers in the Row always leave room between the
+wall and the books in their cellars, to allow room for this predacious
+vermin.
+
+Mr Cole, when examined before the Committee of the House on the
+condition of the depositories of the Records some time ago, stated that
+"six or seven perfect skeletons of rats were found imbedded (in the
+Rolls); bones of these vermin were generally distributed throughout the
+mass, and a dog was employed in hunting the live ones."
+
+
+IRISHMAN EMPLOYED SHOOTING RATS.
+
+Luttrell visited Sydney Smith at his parsonage in Somersetshire. The
+London wit told some amusing Irish stories, and his manner of telling
+them was so good. "One: 'Is your master at home, Paddy?' '_No_, your
+honour.' 'Why, I saw him go in five minutes ago.' 'Faith, your honour,
+he's not exactly at home; he's only there in the back yard a-shooting
+rats with cannon, your honour, for his _devarsion_.'"[165]
+
+
+JAMES WATT AND THE RAT'S WHISKERS.
+
+Mrs Schimmelpenninck in her youth lived at Birmingham, where she often
+met James Watt. In her autobiography (p. 34), she says, "Everybody
+practically knew the infinite variety of his talents and stores of
+knowledge. When Mr Watt entered a room, men of letters, men of science,
+nay, military men, artists, ladies, even little children thronged round
+him. I remember a celebrated Swedish artist having been instructed by
+him that rats' whiskers made the most pliant and elastic painting-brush;
+ladies would appeal to him on the best means of devising grates, curing
+smoky chimneys, warming their houses, and obtaining fast colours. I can
+speak from experience of his teaching me how to make a dulcimer, and
+improve a Jew's harp."
+
+
+THE POET GRAY COMPARES THE POET-LAUREATE TO A RAT-CATCHER.
+
+The poet Gray very much despised such offices as that of the
+poet-laureate, or that held by Elkanah Settle, the last of the city
+poets whose name is held up to ridicule by Pope in the "Dunciad." In a
+letter to the Rev. Wm. Mason,[166] he puts this very strikingly:--
+
+"Though I very well know the bland emolient saponaceous qualities both
+of sack and silver, yet if any great man would say to me, 'I make you
+rat-catcher to his Majesty, with a salary of L300 a year, and two butts
+of the best Malaga; and though it has been usual to catch a mouse or
+two, for form's sake, in public once a year, yet to you, sir, we shall
+not stand upon these things,' I cannot say I should jump at it; nay, if
+they would drop the very name of the office, and call me Sinecure to the
+King's Majesty, I should still feel a little awkward, and think
+everybody I saw smelt a rat about me: but I do not pretend to blame any
+one else that has not the same sensations. For my part, I would rather
+be serjeant-trumpeter or pinmaker to the palace."
+
+
+JEREMY BENTHAM AND THE MICE.
+
+The biographer of Jeremy Bentham[167] tells us that among the animals he
+was fond of were mice. They were encouraged "to play" about in his
+workshop. I remember, when one got among his papers, that he exclaimed,
+"Ho! ho! here's a mouse at work; why won't he come into my lap?--but
+then I ought to be writing legislation, and that would not do."
+
+One day, while we were at dinner, mice had got, as they frequently did,
+into the drawers of the dinner-table, and were making no small noise. "O
+you rascals," exclaimed Bentham, "there's an uproar among you. I'll tell
+puss of you;" and then added, "I became once very intimate with a
+colony of mice. They used to run up my legs, and eat crumbs from my lap.
+I love everything that has four legs; so did George Wilson. We were fond
+of mice, and fond of cats; but it was difficult to reconcile the two
+affections."
+
+Jeremy Bentham records: "George Wilson had a disorder which kept him two
+months to his couch. The _mouses_ used to run up his back and eat the
+powder and pomatum from his hair. They used also to run up my knees when
+I went to see him. I remember they did so to Lord Glenbervie, who
+thought it odd."[168]
+
+
+BURNS AND THE FIELD MOUSE.
+
+The history of the origin of this well-known piece of the Scottish poet
+is thus given by Mr Chambers in that edition of the Life and Works of
+Robert Burns,[169] which will ever be regarded, by Scotchmen at least,
+as the most complete and carefully-edited of the numerous editions of
+that most popular poet.
+
+"We have the testimony of Gilbert Burns that this beautiful poem was
+composed while the author was following the plough. Burns ploughed with
+four horses, being twice the amount of power now required on most of the
+soils of Scotland. He required an assistant, called a _gaudsman_, to
+drive the horses, his own duty being to hold and guide the plough. John
+Blane, who had acted as gaudsman to Burns, and who lived sixty years
+afterwards, had a distinct recollection of the turning-up of the mouse.
+Like a thoughtless youth as he was, he ran after the creature to kill
+it, but was checked and recalled by his master, who, he observed, became
+thereafter thoughtful and abstracted. Burns, who treated his servants
+with the familiarity of fellow-labourers, soon after read the poem to
+Blane.
+
+
+TO A MOUSE, ON TURNING UP HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH, NOVEMBER 1785.
+
+   "Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
+   Oh, what a panic's in thy breastie!
+   Thou needna start awa sae hasty
+             Wi' bickering brattle!
+   I wad be laith to rin and chase thee
+             Wi' murd'ring pattle.[170]
+
+   "I'm truly sorry man's dominion
+   Has broken nature's social union,
+   And justifies that ill opinion,
+             Which makes thee startle
+   At me, thy poor earth-born companion,
+             And fellow-mortal!
+
+   "I doubt na whyles, but thou may thieve;
+   What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
+   A daimen icker in a thrave[171]
+             'S a sma' request:
+   I'll get a blessin' wi' the laive,
+             And never miss't.
+
+   "Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
+   Its silly wa's the win's are strewin"!
+   And naething now to big a new ane
+             O, foggage green,
+   And bleak December's winds ensuin'
+             Baith snell and keen!
+
+   "Thou saw the fields laid bare and waste,
+   And weary winter coming fast,
+   And cozie here, beneath the blast,
+             Thou thought to dwell,
+   Till crash! the cruel coulter passed
+             Out through thy cell.
+
+   "That wee bit heap o' leaves and stibble,
+   Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
+   Now thou's turned out for a' thy trouble,
+             But house or hald,
+   To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
+             And cranreuch cauld!
+
+   "But, mousie, thou art no thy lane;
+   Improving foresight may be vain;
+   The best-laid schemes o' mice and men
+             Gang aft a-gley,
+   And lea'e us nought but grief and pain
+             For promised joy.
+
+   "Still thou art blest, compared wi' me!
+   The present only toucheth thee;
+   But, och! I backward cast my e'e,
+             On prospects drear!
+   And forward, though I canna see,
+             I guess and fear."
+
+It was on the farm of Mossgiel, in the parish of Mauchline, where he
+resided nearly nine years, that the occurrence took place so
+pathetically recorded and gloriously commented on in this piece.
+
+
+DESTRUCTIVE FIELD MICE.
+
+Thomas Fuller, in "The Farewell" to his description of the "Worthies of
+Essex," says, "I wish the sad casualties may never return which lately
+have happened in this county; the one, 1581, in the Hundred of Dengy,
+the other, 1648, in the Hundred of Rochford and Isle of Foulness (rented
+in part by two of my credible parishioners, who attested it, having paid
+dear for the truth thereof); when an army of mice, nesting in ant-hills,
+as conies in burrows, shaved off the grass at the bare roots, which,
+withering to dung, was infectious to cattle. The March following,
+numberless flocks of owls from all parts flew thither, and destroyed
+them, which otherwise had ruined the country, if continuing another
+year. Thus, though great the distance betwixt a man and a mouse, the
+meanest may become formidable to the mightiest creature by their
+multitudes; and this may render the punishment of the Philistines more
+clearly to our apprehensions, at the same time pestered with mice in
+their barns and pained with emerods in their bodies."[172]
+
+
+THE BARON VON TRENCK AND THE TAME MOUSE IN PRISON.
+
+The unfortunate Baron Von Trenck was a Prussian officer, whose
+adventures, imprisonments, and escape form the subject of memoirs which
+he wrote in Hungary. He at last settled in France, and there, in 1794,
+perished by the guillotine.
+
+Before he obtained his liberty, he lost a companion which had for two
+years helped to beguile the solitude of his captivity. This was a mouse,
+which he had tamed so perfectly, that the little creature was
+continually playing with him, and would eat out of his mouth. "One night
+it skipped about so much that the sentinels heard a noise and reported
+it to the officer of the guard. As the garrison had been changed at the
+peace (between Austria and Prussia), and as Trenck had not been able to
+form at once so close a connexion with the officers of the regular
+troops as he had done with those of the militia, one of the former,
+after ascertaining the truth of the report with his own ears, sent to
+inform the commandant that something extraordinary was going on in the
+prison. The town-major arrived in consequence early in the morning,
+accompanied by locksmiths and masons. The floor, the walls, the baron's
+chains, his body, everything in short, were strictly examined. Finding
+all in order, they asked the cause of the last evening's bustle. Trenck
+had heard the mouse, and told them frankly by what it had been
+occasioned. They desired him to call his little favourite; he whistled,
+and the mouse immediately leaped upon his shoulder. He solicited that
+its life might be spared; but the officer of the guard took it into his
+possession, promising, however, on his word of honour, to give it to a
+lady who would take great care of it. Turning it afterwards loose in his
+chamber, the mouse, who knew nobody but Trenck, soon disappeared, and
+hid himself in a hole. At the usual hour of visiting his prison, when
+the officers were just going away, the poor little animal darted in,
+climbed up his legs, seated itself on his shoulder, and played a
+thousand tricks to express the joy it felt on seeing him again. Every
+one was astonished, and wished to have it. The major, to terminate the
+dispute, carried it away, gave it to his wife, who had a light cage made
+for it; but the mouse refused to eat, and a few days after was found
+dead."[173]
+
+
+ALEXANDER WILSON AND THE MOUSE.
+
+About the time when Alexander Wilson formed the design of drawing the
+American birds, and writing those descriptions which, when published,
+gave him that name which has clung to him, "_the American
+Ornithologist_" he had a school within a few miles of Philadelphia. He
+was then a keen student of the animal life around him. In 1802 he wrote
+to his friend Bertram, and tells him of his having had "live crows,
+hawks, and owls; opossums, squirrels, snakes, lizards," &c. He tells him
+that his room sometimes reminded him of Noah's ark, and comically adds,
+"but Noah had a wife in one corner of it, and in this particular our
+parallel does not altogether tally. I receive every subject of natural
+history that is brought to me; and, though they do not march into my ark
+from all quarters, as they did into that of our great ancestor, yet I
+find means, by the distribution of a few fivepenny _bits_, to make them
+find the way fast enough. A boy, not long ago, brought me a large
+basketful of crows. I expect his next load will be bull-frogs, if I
+don't soon issue orders to the contrary. One of my boys caught a mouse
+in school a few days ago, and directly marched up to me with his
+prisoner. I set about drawing it the same evening, and all the while the
+pantings of its little heart showed it to be in the most extreme agonies
+of fear. I had intended to kill it, in order to fix it in the claws of a
+stuffed owl; but, happening to spill a few drops of water near where it
+was tied, it lapped it up with such eagerness, and looked in my face
+with such an eye of supplicating terror, as perfectly overcame me. I
+immediately restored it to life and liberty. The agonies of a prisoner
+at the stake, while the fire and instruments of torture are preparing,
+could not be more severe than the sufferings of that poor mouse; and,
+insignificant as the object was, I felt at that moment the sweet
+sensation that mercy leaves in the mind when she triumphs over
+cruelty."[174]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[163] "The Life of General Sir Howard Douglas, Bart., G.C.B., F.R.S.,
+D.C.L., from his Notes, Conversations, and Correspondence," by S. W.
+Fullom. 1863. P. 28.
+
+[164] "History of England, from the Peace of Utrecht," by Lord Mahon,
+vol. vii. p. 465.
+
+[165] Life of Sydney Smith, by his daughter, Lady Holland, vol. i. 374.
+
+[166] "Correspondence of Thomas Gray and Mason, edited from the
+originals," by the Rev. John Mitford, p. 112.
+
+[167] Dr Bowring's "Life of Jeremy Bentham," Works, vol. xi. p. 80, 81.
+
+[168] "Bowring's Life," vol. x., Works, p. 186.
+
+[169] By Robert Chambers, Edinburgh, 1851, 4 vols., vol. i., p. 146.
+
+[170] The stick used for clearing away the clods from the plough.
+
+[171] An occasional ear of corn in a thrave,--that is, twenty-four
+sheaves.
+
+[172] "Worthies of England," vol. i. p. 545.
+
+[173] "Wilson's Life," p. 28.
+
+
+
+
+HARES, RABBITS, GUINEA-PIG.
+
+
+All gnawing creatures, belonging to the Glirine or Rodentia order.
+Charles Lamb has written on the hare, in one view of that
+finely-flavoured beast, as only Elia could write. But the poet Cowper
+has made the hare's history peculiarly pleasing and familiar. How often
+in his letters he alludes to his hares! Mrs E. B. Browning, in her
+exquisitely delicate and pathetic poem, "Cowper's Grave," thus alludes
+to Cowper's pets--
+
+   "Wild, timid hares were drawn from woods to share his home caresses,
+   Uplooking to his human eyes with sylvan tendernesses;
+   The very world, by God's constraint, from falsehood's ways removing,
+   Its women and its men became, beside him, true and loving."
+
+Not many years ago the compiler saw traces of the holes the poet had cut
+in the skirting-boards of the room for their ingress and egress, that
+they might have ampler room for wandering. His epitaphs on two of them
+are often quoted. Rabbits are peculiarly the pets of boys, and though,
+when wild, often great vermin, from their destructive habits and their
+mining operations, are yet said to contribute much to the revenue of one
+European monarch.
+
+How Mr Malthus ought to have hated guinea-pigs, those fertile little
+lumps of blotched fur! Few creatures can be more productive.
+
+
+WILLIAM COWPER ON HIS HARES.
+
+What a model description of the habits of an animal we have in the
+gentle Cowper's account of his hares! Would that he had made pets of
+other animals, and written descriptions of them, like that which
+follows, and which is here copied from the original place to which he
+contributed it.[175]
+
+                                                            "_May_ 28.
+
+"MR URBAN,--Convinced that you despise no communications that may
+gratify curiosity, amuse rationally, or add, though but a little, to the
+stock of public knowledge, I send you a circumstantial account of an
+animal, which, though its general properties are pretty well known, is
+for the most part such a stranger to man, that we are but little aware
+of its peculiarities. We know indeed that the hare is good to hunt and
+good to eat; but in all other respects poor Puss is a neglected subject.
+In the year 1774, being much indisposed, both in mind and body,
+incapable of diverting myself either with company or books, and yet in
+a condition that made some diversion necessary, I was glad of anything
+that would engage my attention without fatiguing it. The children of a
+neighbour of mine had a leveret given them for a plaything; it was at
+that time about three months old. Understanding better how to tease the
+poor creature than to feed it, and soon becoming weary of their charge,
+they readily consented that their father, who saw it pining and growing
+leaner every day, should offer it to my acceptance. I was willing enough
+to take the prisoner under my protection, perceiving that in the
+management of such an animal, and in the attempt to tame it, I should
+find just that sort of employment which my case required. It was soon
+known among the neighbours that I was pleased with the present; and the
+consequence was, that in a short time, I had as many leverets offered to
+me as would have stocked a paddock. I undertook the care of three, which
+it is necessary that I should here distinguish by the names I gave
+them--Puss, Tiney, and Bess. Notwithstanding the two feminine
+appellatives, I must inform you that they were all males. Immediately
+commencing carpenter, I built them houses to sleep in. Each had a
+separate apartment, so contrived that their ordure would pass through
+the bottom of it; an earthen pan placed under each received whatsoever
+fell, which being duly emptied and washed, they were thus kept perfectly
+sweet and clean. In the daytime they had the range of a hall, and at
+night retired each to his own bed, never intruding into that of another.
+
+"Puss grew presently familiar, would leap into my lap, raise himself
+upon his hinder feet, and bite the hair from my temples. He would suffer
+me to take him up, and to carry him about in my arms, and has more than
+once fallen fast asleep upon my knee. He was ill three days, during
+which time I nursed him, kept him apart from his fellows that they might
+not molest him (for, like many other wild animals, they persecute one of
+their own species that is sick), and by constant care, and trying him
+with a variety of herbs, restored him to perfect health. No creature
+could be more grateful than my patient after his recovery,--a sentiment
+which he most significantly expressed by licking my hand, first the back
+of it, then the palm, then every finger separately; then between all the
+fingers, as if anxious to leave no part of it unsaluted,--a ceremony
+which he never performed but once again upon a similar occasion. Finding
+him extremely tractable, I made it my custom to carry him always after
+breakfast into the garden, where he hid himself generally under the
+leaves of a cucumber vine, sleeping or chewing the cud till evening; in
+the leaves also of that vine he found a favourite repast. I had not long
+habituated him to this taste of liberty, before he began to be impatient
+for the return of the time when he might enjoy it. He would invite me to
+the garden by drumming upon my knee, and by a look of such expression as
+it was not possible to misinterpret. If this rhetoric did not
+immediately succeed, he would take the skirt of my coat between his
+teeth, and pull at it with all his force. Thus Puss might be said to be
+perfectly tamed; the shyness of his nature was done away, and on the
+whole it was visible, by many symptoms which I have not room to
+enumerate, that he was happier in human society than when shut up with
+his natural companions.
+
+"Not so Tiney. Upon him the kindest treatment had not the least effect.
+He, too, was sick, and in his sickness, had an equal share of my
+attention; but if, after his recovery, I took the liberty to stroke him,
+he would grunt, strike with his fore-feet, spring forward, and bite. He
+was, however, very entertaining in his way, even his surliness was
+matter of mirth, and in his play he preserved such an air of gravity,
+and performed his feats with such a solemnity of manner, that in him,
+too, I had an agreeable companion.
+
+"Bess, who died soon after he was full grown, and whose death was
+occasioned by his being turned into his box, which had been washed,
+while it was yet damp, was a hare of great humour and drollery. Puss was
+tamed by gentle usage; Tiney was not to be tamed at all; and Bess had a
+courage and confidence that made him tame from the beginning. I always
+admitted them into the parlour after supper, where the carpet affording
+their feet a firm hold, they would frisk, and bound, and play a thousand
+gambols, in which Bess, being remarkably strong and fearless, was always
+superior to the rest, and proved himself the Vestris of the party. One
+evening, the cat, being in the room, had the hardiness to pat Bess upon
+the cheek, an indignity which he resented by drumming upon her back with
+such violence, that the cat was happy to escape from under his paws and
+hide herself.
+
+"You observe, sir, that I describe these animals as having each a
+character of his own. Such they were in fact, and their countenances
+were so expressive of that character, that, when I looked only on the
+face of either, I immediately knew which it was. It is said that a
+shepherd, however numerous his flock, soon becomes so familiar with
+their features, that he can by that indication only distinguish each
+from all the rest, and yet to a common observer the difference is hardly
+perceptible. I doubt not that the same discrimination in the cast of
+countenances would be discoverable in hares, and am persuaded that among
+a thousand of them no two could be found exactly similar; a circumstance
+little suspected by those who have not had opportunity to observe it.
+These creatures have a singular sagacity in discovering the minutest
+alteration that is made in the place to which they are accustomed, and
+instantly apply their nose to the examination of a new object. A small
+hole being burnt in the carpet, it was mended with a patch, and that
+patch in a moment underwent the strictest scrutiny. They seem, too, to
+be very much directed by the smell in the choice of their favourites; to
+some persons, though they saw them daily, they could never be
+reconciled, and would even scream when they attempted to touch them; but
+a miller coming in, engaged their affections at once--his powdered coat
+had charms that were irresistible. You will not wonder, sir, that my
+intimate acquaintance with these specimens of the kind has taught me to
+hold the sportsman's amusement in abhorrence. He little knows what
+amiable creatures he persecutes, of what gratitude they are capable, how
+cheerful they are in their spirits, what enjoyment they have of life,
+and that, impressed as they seem with a peculiar dread of man, it is
+only because man gives them peculiar cause for it.
+
+"That I may not be tedious, I will just give you a short summary of
+those articles of diet that suit them best, and then retire to make
+room for some more important correspondent.
+
+"I take it to be a general opinion that they graze, but it is an
+erroneous one, at least grass is not their staple; they seem rather to
+use it medicinally, soon quitting it for leaves of almost any kind.
+Sowthistle, dent-de-lion, and lettuce are their favourite vegetables,
+especially the last. I discovered, by accident, that fine white sand is
+in great estimation with them, I suppose as a digestive. It happened
+that I was cleaning a bird cage while the hares were with me; I placed a
+pot filled with such sand upon the floor, to which being at once
+directed by a strong instinct, they devoured it voraciously; since that
+time I have generally taken care to see them well supplied with it. They
+account green corn a delicacy, both blade and stalk, but the ear they
+seldom eat; straw of any kind, especially wheat-straw, is another of
+their dainties; they will feed greedily upon oats, but if furnished with
+clean straw, never want them; it serves them also for a bed, and, if
+shaken up daily, will be kept sweet and dry for a considerable time.
+They do not indeed require aromatic herbs, but will eat a small quantity
+of them with great relish, and are particularly fond of the plant called
+musk; they seem to resemble sheep in this, that if their pastures be too
+succulent, they are very subject to the rot; to prevent which, I always
+made bread their principal nourishment; and, filling a pan with it cut
+into small squares, placed it every evening in their chambers, for they
+feed only at evening and in the night; during the winter, when
+vegetables are not to be got, I mingled this mess of bread with shreds
+of carrot, adding to it the rind of apples cut extremely thin; for,
+though they are fond of the paring, the apple itself disgusts them.
+These, however, not being a sufficient substitute for the juice of
+summer herbs, they must at this time be supplied with water; but so
+placed that they cannot overset it into their beds. I must not omit,
+that occasionally they are much pleased with twigs of hawthorn and of
+the common briar, eating even the very wood when it is of considerable
+thickness.
+
+"Bess, I have said, died young; Tiney lived to be nine years old, and
+died at last, I have reason to think, of some hurt in his loins by a
+fall. Puss is still living, and has just completed his tenth year,
+discovering no signs of decay nor even of age, except that he is grown
+more discreet and less frolicsome than he was. I cannot conclude, sir,
+without informing you that I have lately introduced a dog to his
+acquaintance, a spaniel that had never seen a hare, to a hare that had
+never seen a spaniel. I did it with great caution, but there was no real
+need of it. Puss discovered no token of fear, nor Marquis the least
+symptom of hostility. There is, therefore, it should seem, no natural
+antipathy between dog and hare, but the pursuit of the one occasions the
+flight of the other, and the dog pursues because he is trained to it;
+they eat bread at the same time out of the same hand, and are in all
+respects sociable and friendly.--Yours &c.,
+
+                                                                 W. C.
+
+"_P.S._--I should not do complete justice to my subject, did I not add,
+that they have no ill scent belonging to them, that they are
+indefatigably nice in keeping themselves clean, for which purpose nature
+has furnished them with a brush under each foot; and that they are never
+infested by any vermin."
+
+Our readers know his fine verses or epitaphs on his hares. We may quote
+from the biographer to whom Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington
+left all their papers and memoirs, a sentence or two on Cowper's hares,
+and on the other pets of that lovable man. Earl Stanhope[176] says of
+this poet and "best letter-writer in the English language--"Such,
+indeed, were his powers of description and felicity of language, that
+even the most trivial objects drew life and colour from his touch. In
+his pages, the training of three tame hares, or the building of a frame
+for cucumbers, excite a warmer interest than many accounts compiled by
+other writers, of great battles deciding the fate of empires. In his
+pages, the sluggish waters of the Ouse,--the floating lilies which he
+stooped to gather from them,--the poplars, in whose shade he sat, and
+over whose fall he mourned, rise before us as though we had known and
+loved them too. As Cowper himself declares, 'My descriptions are all
+from nature, not one of them second-handed; my delineations of the heart
+are from my own experience, not one of them borrowed from books.'"
+
+
+HAIRS OR HARES!
+
+A gentleman on circuit, narrating to Lord Norbury some extravagant feat
+in sporting, mentioned that he had lately shot thirty-three hares before
+breakfast. "Thirty-three _hairs_!" exclaimed Lord Norbury; "zounds, sir!
+then you must have been firing at a _wig_."[177]
+
+Sportsmen are very apt to exaggerate. They did so at least in Horace's
+days. We have heard of a man of rank, who actually made a gamekeeper,
+who was a first-rate marksman, fire whenever he discharged his piece.
+The story goes, that _that_ man was regarded as having shot everything
+that fell.
+
+The Duke of L.'s reply, when it was observed to him that the gentlemen
+bordering on his estates were continually hunting upon them, and that he
+ought not to suffer it, is worthy of imitation. "I had much rather,"
+said he, "have _friends_ than hares."[178]
+
+The time must be coming, when every farmer or peasant will be allowed to
+shoot hares. It is surely cruel to imprison or fine a man for shooting
+and shouldering a hare. Having lately traversed a goodly part of the
+Perthshire Highlands, we were struck with the numbers of Arctic hares
+that scudded away out of our path. What a fine help one of them would be
+to a poor family.
+
+
+S. BISSET AND HIS TRAINED HARE AND TURTLE.
+
+S. Bisset, whose training of other animals is elsewhere recorded, like
+the poet Cowper, procured a leveret, and reared it to beat several
+marches on the drum with its hind legs, until it became a good stout
+hare. This creature, which is always set down as the most timid, he
+declared to be as mischievous and bold an animal, to the extent of its
+power, as any with which he was acquainted. He taught canary-birds,
+linnets, and sparrows, to spell the name of any person in company, to
+distinguish the hour and minute of time, and play many other surprising
+tricks. He trained six turkey-cocks to go through a regular country
+dance; but in doing this he confessed he adopted the eastern method, by
+which camels are made to dance, by heating the floor. In the course of
+six months' teaching, he made a turtle fetch and carry like a dog; and
+having chalked the floor, and blackened its claws, could direct it to
+trace out any given name of the company.[179]
+
+
+A FAMILY OF RABBITS ALL BLIND OF ONE EYE.
+
+Lady Anne Barnard, in her Cape Journal,[180] referring to Dessin or
+Rabbit Island at the Cape of Good Hope, says that it is "dreadfully
+exposed to the south-east winds. A gentleman told me of a natural
+phenomenon he had met with when shooting there; his dog pointed at a
+rabbit's hole, where the company within were placed so near the opening
+that he could see Mynheer, Madame, and the whole rabbit family. Pompey,
+encouraged, brought out the old coney, his wife, and seven young
+ones,--all, like the callenders in the 'Arabian Nights' Entertainments,'
+blind of one eye, and that the same eye. The question was, on which side
+of the island was the rabbit's hole? With a very little reasoning and
+comparing, it was found that from its position, the keen blast must have
+produced this effect. The oddest part of this story is, that it is true,
+but I do not expect you to believe it."
+
+
+THOMAS FULLER ON NORFOLK RABBITS.
+
+"These are an army of natural pioneers whence men have learned
+_cuniculos agere_, the art of undermining. They thrive best on barren
+ground, and grow fattest in the hardest frosts. Their flesh is fine and
+wholesome. If Scottish men tax our language as improper, and smile at
+our wing of a rabbit, let us laugh at their shoulder of a capon.
+
+Their skins were formerly much used, when furs were in fashion; till of
+late our citizens, of Romans are turned Grecians, have laid down their
+grave gowns and taken up their light cloaks; men generally disliking all
+habits, though emblems of honour, if also badges of age.
+
+Their rich or silver-hair skins, formerly so dear, are now levelled in
+prices with other colours; yea, are lower than black in estimation,
+because their wool is most used in making of hats, commonly (for the
+more credit) called half-beavers, though many of them hardly amount to
+the proportion of semi-demi castors."[181]
+
+
+DR CHALMERS AND THE GUINEA-PIG.
+
+Mr Aitken alludes in a pleasing manner to an instance of Dr Chalmers's
+fondness for animals. He had just been appointed the head-master of one
+of the Glasgow parish schools (St John's). "Early in the week following
+my appointment, I received my first private call. One circumstance
+occurred during the visit which I still remember most vividly. One of my
+children had been presented with a pair of guinea-pigs. These had found
+their way into the apartment where we were sitting, and ran about in all
+directions. I could have wished to turn them out, but had not the power
+to rise from my chair. He soon observed them, followed them with his eye
+as they now retreated under his chair and again ventured out into his
+presence--he even changed the position of his feet to give them scope.
+That same kindly eye, one glance of which we all loved so much to catch
+in after-life, beamed only the more warmly as the creatures frisked in
+greater confidence around him. It was to me an omen for good. He who
+could enjoy thus the innocent gamble of these guinea-pigs could not fail
+to be accessible for good when occasion required. It was the first flush
+of that largeness of heart which afterwards appeared in all I ever heard
+him say or saw him do."[182]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[174] "Memoir of Wilson," p. 27, prefixed to his poetical works.
+Belfast, 1844.
+
+[175] _Gentleman's Magazine_, for June 1784, being the sixth number of
+vol. liv., pp. 412-414, "Unnoticed Properties of that little animal the
+Hare."
+
+[176] "History of England," vol. vi. p. 486.
+
+[177] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 59.
+
+[178] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 182.
+
+[179] Biography of S. Bisset in G. H. Wilson's "Eccentric Mirror," vol.
+i., No. 3, p. 29.
+
+[180] Published by Lord Lindsay in vol. iii. of his "Lives of the
+Lindsays," p. 387.
+
+[181] "Worthies of England," vol. ii. p. 445 (ed. 1840).
+
+
+
+
+SLOTH.
+
+
+REVEREND SYDNEY SMITH ON THE SLOTH.
+
+Few anecdotes can be published of this curious creature, though Waterton
+and Burchell, or Dr Buckland, for him and his friend Bates, have
+recorded much that is interesting of its habits. The following bit is
+peculiarly happy: "The sloth, in its wild state, spends its life in
+trees, and never leaves them but from force or accident. The eagle to
+the sky, the mole to the ground, the sloth to the tree; but what is most
+extraordinary, he lives not _upon_ the branches, but _under_ them. He
+moves suspended, rests suspended, sleeps suspended, and passes his
+life in suspense--like a young clergyman distantly related to a
+bishop."[183]
+
+[Illustration: The Great Ant-Eater. (Myrmecophaga jabata).]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[182] Dr Hannah's "Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Chalmers,
+D.D., L.L.D.," vol. ii. p. 237.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT ANT-EATER.
+
+(_Myrmecophaga jubata_, L.[184])
+
+
+A few months ago a handbill was distributed in the neighbourhood of
+Seven Dials, inviting the public to visit a "wonderful animal fed with
+ants, and possessing strength to kill the lion, tiger, or any other
+animal under its claws." We entered the miserable apartment where it was
+exhibited, and any spectator must at once have been struck with the
+creature's want of resemblance to any other he had ever seen. Its head
+so small, so long and slender; the straight, wiry, dry hair with which
+it was covered, and its singularly large and bushy tail, first attracted
+notice. A second glance showed its enormously thick fore-legs, and the
+claws of its feet turned in, so that it walked on the sides of its
+soles. Oken and St Hilaire would have said that it was "all extremity."
+A cup, with the contents of one or two eggs, was brought, and it sucked
+them with great avidity, every now and then darting from its small mouth
+a very long tongue, which looked like a great, black worm, whisking
+about in the custard. One of its showmen told us that it had attacked
+the woman of the house the preceding day, and had scratched her arm.
+Whether this was true or grossly exaggerated, we know not; but if so, we
+suspect that the woman herself must have been in fault, and not the
+inoffensive stranger.
+
+On the payment of a handsome consideration to her owners, the poor
+captive was transferred from her unwholesome lodging in St Giles's, to
+the Gardens of the Zoological Society in the Regent's Park. And within
+the last few weeks her solitude has been cheered by the arrival of a
+companion from her native forests. The new-comer is in beautiful
+condition, though not nearly so large. He has a head decidedly shorter
+and stronger, and is probably not yet fully grown.
+
+The great ant-eater seems to be scattered over a wide extent of South
+America--Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay, being its places of abode. It is
+a stout animal, measuring from the end of the snout to the tip of the
+long tail six or seven feet, of which the tail takes nearly the half; so
+that the actual size of its body is much reduced. In Paraguay it is
+named _Nurumi_ or _Yogui_. The former name is altered from the native
+word for _small mouth_, and indicates a striking peculiarity in its
+structure. The Portuguese call it _Tamandua_; the Spaniards, _Osa
+hormiguero_ (_i.e._, ant-hill bear). In Paraguay it prefers sides of
+lakes where ants, at least termites or white ants, are abundant; but it
+also frequents woods. In Guiana, Mr Waterton found it chiefly "in the
+inmost recesses of the forest," where it "seems partial to the low and
+swampy parts near creeks, where the troely tree grows."[185] It sleeps a
+great deal, reclining on its side, as the visitor to the Gardens may
+frequently see it do, with its head between its fore-legs, joining its
+fore and hindfeet, and spreading the tail so as to cover the whole
+body. Huddled up under this thatch, it might almost be taken for a
+bundle of coarse and badly dried hay. The tail is thickly covered with
+long hairs, placed vertically, the hairs draggling on the ground. When
+the creature is irritated, the tail is shaken straight and elevated. The
+natives of Paraguay, like other persecutors of harmlessness, kill every
+specimen they meet, so that the ant-eater gets rare, and so rare is it
+on the Amazon that Mr Wallace, who travelled there from 1848 to 1852,
+honestly tells us he never saw one. He heard, however, that during rain
+it turns its bushy tail over its head and stands still. The Indians,
+knowing this habit, when they meet an ant-eater, make a rustling noise
+among the leaves. The creature instantly turns up its tail, and is
+easily killed by the stroke of a stick on its little head.[186]
+
+The ant-eater is slow in its movements--never attempting to escape. When
+hard pressed it stops, and, seated on its hind-legs, waits for the
+aggressor. Its object is to receive him between its fore-legs; and one
+has only to look at its arms and claws in order to fancy what a
+frightful squeeze it would give. Nothing but death, they say, will make
+the creature relax its grasp. It is asserted that the jaguar--the tiger
+of South America, and the most formidable beast of the New World--dares
+not attack it. This Azara, with good reason, doubts. A single bite from
+a jaguar, or the stroke of his paw, would fracture an ant-eater's skull
+before it had time to turn round; for the movements of this edentate
+quadruped are as sluggish as those of the toothed carnivorous tyrant are
+rapid.
+
+As seen in its handsome and roomy cage, the ant-eater gives us an
+impression of dulness and stupidity; and always smelling and listening
+and looking at the door where its keeper introduces its food, its mind,
+when awake, appears to be constantly occupied about "creature comforts."
+In the course of the day it laps up with its darting tongue, and sucks
+in through its long taper snout a dozen eggs, and almost the whole of a
+rabbit, chopped into a fine mince-meat. With such dainty fare, and with
+the anxious attention which it receives from its sagacious curators, it
+is scarcely surprising that it thrives; and when the warm weather comes,
+it will be a fine sight to see these animals enjoying the range of a
+paddock, which will doubtless be provided for their use, and exercising
+their brawny forelimbs and powerful claws in pulling down conical
+mounds, which may remind them of departed joys and balmier climes. Nor
+will it be the least charm of the spectacle that it will enable us to
+compare this living species with other _Edentata_ of South America--such
+as the Megatherium, now only found in the fossil state, but so admirably
+restored by Mr Hawkins for the Crystal Palace.
+
+We need not dwell on the admirable adaptation of the ant-eater to its
+position and to its few and simple wants. To those who have not studied
+"the works of the Lord," it may appear uncouth and unattractive.
+Compared with a dog, it is stupid; and alongside of a lion, it is slow.
+It has not the symmetry of the horse, nor the beautiful markings of the
+zebra and leopard. But its Creator has given it the instincts, the form,
+the muscular powers, and the colours which best answer its purpose. And
+no one can say that it is plain and ugly, who looks at its legs so
+prettily variegated with white and black, and its noble black collar.
+
+Those of our readers who wish further information will find it in the
+_Literary Gazette_ for October 8, 1853. In that article it is easy to
+recognise the Roman hand of the _facile princeps_ among living
+comparative anatomists. Long may it be before either of our new
+acquaintances in the Garden afford him a subject for dissection; but
+when that day arrives, we hope that he will not delay to publish the
+memoir.[187]--_A. White, in "Excelsior" (with additions)._
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[183] Sydney Smith, "Review of Waterton's Wanderings." _Edinburgh
+Review_, 1826. Works, vol. ii. p. 145.
+
+[184] From [Greek: myrmex], ant; [Greek: phago], I eat; _jubata_, maned.
+
+[185] "Wanderings in South America" (Third Journey), p. 159, (ed. 1839).
+
+[186] "A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro," by Alfred R.
+Wallace, 1853, p. 452.
+
+
+
+
+RHINOCEROS AND ELEPHANT.
+
+
+Two genera of the bulkiest among terrestrial beasts. Just imagine the
+great rhinoceros at the Zoological Gardens taking it into its head, with
+that little eye, target hide, and bulky bones, and other items about it,
+to fondle its keeper!--he was nearly crushed to death. How the great
+thick-skinned creature enjoys a bath!
+
+As for the elephant, he is a mountain of matter as well as of animal
+intelligence. Sir Emerson Tennant in his "Ceylon," but especially in his
+"Natural History," volumes, has given some truly readable chapters on
+the Asiatic elephant. We could have extracted many an anecdote, even
+from recent works, of the intelligent sagacity of the Indian as well as
+the African elephants. The account of the shooting of Mr Cross's
+well-known elephant _Chunie_, at Exeter Change, has been very curiously
+and fully detailed by Hone in his "Every-Day Book." A skull of an
+elephant in the British Museum, shows how wonderfully an elephant is at
+times able to defend itself from attack. Many a shot that "rogue
+elephant" had received, years before the three or four Indian sportsmen,
+who presented its skull as a trophy, succeeded in planting a shot in its
+brain, or in its heart. Think of the feelings of Lord Clive's relations,
+at the prospect of his sending home an elephant for a pet. The good
+folks, not without some motive, as the great Indian ruler conceived,
+other than mere love for him, had been sending him presents. Samuel
+Rogers, who wrote the neatest of hands, records that Clive wrote the
+worst and certainly the most illegible of scrawls. Instead of
+"elephant," as they read it, their liberal relative had written
+"equivalent!"
+
+
+THE LORD KEEPER GUILFORD AND HIS VISIT TO THE RHINOCEROS IN THE CITY OF
+LONDON.[188]
+
+It is strange to read in the life of the Lord Keeper Guilford, that his
+lordship's court enemies, "hard put to it to find, or invent, something
+tending to the diminution of his character," took advantage of his going
+to see a rhinoceros, to circulate a foolish story of him, which much
+annoyed him. It was in the reign of James II. his biographer thus
+records it. The rhinoceros, referred to, was the first ever brought to
+England. Evelyn, in his "Memoirs," says, that it was sold for L2000, a
+most enormous sum in those days (1685).
+
+Roger North relates the story:--"It fell out thus--a merchant of Sir
+Dudley North's acquaintance had brought over an enormous rhinoceros, to
+be sold to showmen for profit. It is a noble beast, wonderfully armed by
+nature for offence, but more for defence, being covered with
+impenetrable shields, which no weapon would make any impression upon,
+and a rarity so great that few men, in our country, have in their whole
+lives the opportunity of seeing so singular an animal. This merchant
+told Sir Dudley North that if he, with a friend or two, had a mind to
+see it, they might take the opportunity at his house before it was sold.
+Hereupon Sir Dudley North proposed to his brother, the Lord Keeper, to
+go with him upon this exhibition, which he did, and came away
+exceedingly satisfied with the curiosity he had seen. But whether he was
+dogged to find out where he and his brother housed in the city, or
+flying fame carried an account of the voyage to court, I know not; but
+it is certain that the very next morning a bruit went from thence all
+over the town, and (as factious reports used to run) in a very short
+time, viz., that his lordship rode upon the rhinoceros, than which a
+more infantine exploit could not have been fastened upon him. And most
+people were struck with amazement at it, and divers ran here and there
+to find out whether it was true or no. And soon after dinner some lords
+and others came to his lordship to know the truth from himself, for the
+setters of the lie affirmed it positively as of their own knowledge.
+That did not give his lordship much disturbance, for he expected no
+better from his adversaries. But that his friends, intelligent persons,
+who must know him to be far from guilty of any childish levity, should
+believe it, was what roiled him extremely, and much more when they had
+the face to come to him to know if it were true. I never saw him in such
+a rage, and to lay about him with affronts (which he keenly bestowed
+upon the minor courtiers that came on that errand) as then; for he sent
+them away with fleas in their ear. And he was seriously angry with his
+own brother, Sir Dudley North, because he did not contradict the lie in
+sudden and direct terms, but laughed as taking the question put to him
+for a banter, till, by iteration, he was brought to it. For some lords
+came, and because they seemed to attribute somewhat to the avowed
+positiveness of the reporters, he rather chose to send for his brother
+to attest than to impose his bare denial, and so it passed; and the
+noble earl (of Sunderland), with Jeffries, and others of that crew, made
+merry, and never blushed at the lie of their own making, but valued
+themselves upon it as a very good jest."
+
+And so it passed. What a sensation would have been caused by the sudden
+apparition in that age of a few numbers of _Punch_. What a subject for a
+cartoon, some John Leech of 1685 would have made of the stately Lord
+Keeper on the back of a rhinoceros, and the infamous Judge Jeffries
+leering at him from a window.
+
+
+THE ELEPHANT AND HIS TRUNK.
+
+Canning and another gentleman were looking at a picture of the deluge;
+the ark was seen in the middle distance, while in the fore-sea an
+elephant was struggling with his fate. "I wonder," said the gentleman,
+"that the elephant did not secure _an inside_ place!"--"He was too late,
+my friend," replied Canning; "he was detained _packing up his
+trunk_."[189]
+
+
+SIR RICHARD PHILLIPS AND JELLY MADE OF IVORY DUST.--A VEGETARIAN TAKEN
+IN.
+
+The biographers of James Montgomery[190] relate an amusing anecdote of
+Sir Richard Phillips, the eccentric London bookseller and author. He
+visited Sheffield in October 1828. "He had lived too long amidst the
+bustle and business of the great world, and was too little conscious of
+any feeling at all like diffidence, to allow him to hesitate about
+calling upon any person, whether of rank, genius, or eccentricity, when
+the success of his project was likely to be thereby promoted. The time
+selected by the free and easy knight for his unannounced visitation of
+Montgomery was _Sunday at dinner time_. He was at once asked to sit down
+and partake of the chickens and bacon which had just been placed on the
+table, but here was a dilemma; Sir Richard, although neither a Brahmin
+nor a Jew, avowed himself a staunch Pythagorean--he could eat no flesh!
+Luckily there was a plentiful supply of carrots and turnips, and--jelly.
+But was the latter made from calves' feet? Montgomery assured his guest
+that it was _not_; but, added he, with a conscientious regard for his
+visitor's scruples, from _ivory dust_. We believe the poet fancied the
+hypothesis of an animal origin of this viand could not be very obscure;
+it was, however, swallowed; the clever bibliopole perhaps believing,
+with some of the Sheffield ivory-cutters, that elephants, instead of
+being hunted and killed for their tusks, _shed them_ when fully grown,
+as bucks do their antlers!"
+
+
+J. T. SMITH AND THE ELEPHANT.
+
+That gossiping man, J. T. Smith, once Keeper of the Prints in the
+British Museum, and author of "Nollekens and his Times," relates, that
+when he and a friend were returning late from a club, and were
+approaching Temple Bar, "about one o'clock, a most unaccountable
+appearance claimed our attention,--it was no less than an elephant,
+whose keepers were coaxing it to pass through the gateway. He had been
+accompanied with several persons from the Tower wharf with tall poles,
+but was principally guided by two men with ropes, each walking on either
+side of the street, to keep him as much as possible in the middle, on
+his way to the menagerie, Exeter Change, to which destination, after
+passing St Clement's Church, he steadily trudged on, with strict
+obedience to the command of his keepers.[191]
+
+"I had the honour afterwards of partaking of a pot of Barclay's entire
+with this same elephant, which high mark of his condescension was
+bestowed when I accompanied my friend, the late Sir James Wintel Lake,
+Bart., to view the rare animals in Exeter Change,--that gentleman being
+assured by the elephant's keeper that, if he would offer the beast a
+shilling, he would see the noble animal nod his head and drink a pot of
+porter. The elephant had no sooner taken the shilling, which he did in
+the mildest manner from the palm of Sir James's hand, than he gave it to
+the keeper, and eagerly watched his return with the beer. The elephant
+then, after placing his proboscis to the top of the tankard, drew up
+nearly the whole of the beverage. The keeper observed, 'You will hardly
+believe, gentlemen, but the little he has left is quite warm;' upon this
+we were tempted to taste it, and it really was so. This animal was
+afterwards disposed of for the sum of one thousand guineas."
+
+
+THE ELEPHANT AND THE TAILOR.
+
+This old story has been often told, but never so well as by Sydney Smith
+in one of his lectures at the Royal Institution. "Every one knows the
+old story of the tailor and the elephant, which, if it be not true, at
+least shows the opinion the Orientals, who know the animal well,
+entertain of his sagacity. An eastern tailor to the Court was making a
+magnificent doublet for a bashaw of nine tails, and covering it, after
+the manner of eastern doublets, with gold, silver, and every species of
+metallic magnificence. As he was busying himself on this momentous
+occasion, there passed by, to the pools of water, one of the royal
+elephants, about the size of a broad-wheeled waggon, rich in ivory
+teeth, and shaking, with its ponderous tread, the tailor's shop to its
+remotest thimble. As he passed near the window, the elephant happened to
+look in; the tailor lifted up his eyes, perceived the proboscis of the
+elephant near him, and, being seized with a fit of facetiousness,
+pricked the animal with his needle; the mass of matter immediately
+retired, stalked away to the pool, filled his trunk full of muddy water,
+and, returning to the shop, overwhelmed the artisan and his doublet with
+the dirty effects of his vengeance."
+
+
+DR JOHNSON ALLUDED TO AS "AN ELEPHANT."
+
+"If an elephant could write a book, perhaps one that had read a great
+deal would say, that an Arabian horse is a very clumsy, ungraceful
+animal." This was written by Horace Walpole to Miss Berry, in 1791, in
+allusion to Dr Johnson's depreciation of Thomas Gray the poet.[192] It
+is an acute observation, well worth being wrought out. There is a
+grandeur and even a grace about this bulky beast and its motions well
+deserving the study of any one who has the opportunity. Elephants in our
+streets are not now so rare as they used to be. We saw three in one
+procession in the streets of Edinburgh in 1865.
+
+
+ELEPHANT'S SKIN.
+
+"Did any of you ever see an elephant's skin?" asked the master of an
+infant school in a fast neighbourhood. "I have!" shouted a six-year-old
+at the foot of the class. "Where?" inquired the master, amused by his
+earnestness. "_On the elephant!_" was the reply.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[187] This memoir has been published, and the subject of it was this
+very ant-eater. Professor Owen has introduced many striking facts from
+the history of its structure, in his lecture delivered at Exeter Hall,
+1863, and published by the Messrs Nisbet.
+
+[188] "The Life of the Right Hon. Francis North, Baron Guilford, Lord
+Keeper of the Great Seal, under King Charles II. and King James II.,
+&c." By the Hon. Roger North. A New Edition, in three vols., 1826, vol.
+ii. p. 167.
+
+[189] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 329.
+
+[190] "John Holland and James Everett," vol. iv. p. 283.
+
+[191] "A Book for a Rainy Day," p. 92.
+
+
+
+
+FOSSIL PACHYDERMATA.
+
+
+CUVIER AND THE FOSSIL.
+
+George Cuvier was perhaps the first man who, by his admirable works and
+researches, gave zoology its true place among the sciences.
+
+His discoveries of the structure of molluscous and other animals of the
+obscurer orders are perhaps eclipsed by his researches in osteology. He
+has enabled the comparative anatomist to tell from a small portion of
+bone not only the class, but the order, genus, and even the species to
+which animal that bone belonged.
+
+Mrs Lee,[193] in her Life of the Baron, gives an example of his
+enthusiasm in his researches.
+
+M. Laurillard was afterwards his secretary and the draftsman who
+executed nearly all the drawings in his "Ossemens fossiles." At the time
+of this story he had not particularly attracted Cuvier's notice.
+
+"One day Cuvier came to his brother Frederic to ask him to disengage a
+fossil from its surrounding mass, an office he had frequently performed.
+M. Laurillard was applied to in the absence of F. Cuvier. Little aware
+of the value of the specimen confided to his care, he cheerfully set to
+work, and succeeded in getting the bone entire from its position. M.
+Cuvier, after a short time, returned for his treasure, and when he saw
+how perfect it was, his ecstasies became incontrollable; he danced, he
+shook his hands, he uttered expressions of delight, till M. Laurillard,
+in his ignorance both of the importance of what he had done, and of the
+ardent character of M. Cuvier, thought he was mad. Taking, however, his
+fossil foot in one hand, and dragging Laurillard's arm with the other,
+he led him up-stairs to present him to his wife and sister-in-law,
+saying, 'I have got my foot, and M. Laurillard found it for me.' It
+seems that this skilful operation confirmed all M. Cuvier's previous
+conjecture concerning a foot, the existence and form of which he had
+already guessed, but for which he had long and vainly sought. So
+occupied had he been by it, that, when he appeared to be particularly
+absent, his family were wont to accuse him of seeking his fore-foot. The
+next morning the able operator and draftsman was engaged as secretary."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[192] "Letters of Horace Walpole," edited by Peter Cunningham, ix., 319.
+
+[193] "Memoirs of Baron Cuvier," by Mrs R. Lee (formerly Mrs T Ed.
+Bowdich), 1833, p. 93.
+
+
+
+
+SOW.
+
+
+A very gross but useful animal, which can, by feeding, be stuffed into
+such a state of fatness as only one who has seen a Christmas cattle show
+in England could believe it possible for beast to acquire. Dean Ramsay,
+in a happy anecdote, refers to a good quality of the sow as food. He
+tells, that a Scottish minister had been persuaded to keep a pig, and
+that the good wife had been duly instructed in the mysteries of
+black-puddings, pork-chops, pig's-head, and other modes of turning poor
+piggy to account. The minister remarked to a friend, "Nae doubt there's
+a hantle o' miscellaneous eating aboot a pig." The author of "A Ramble,"
+published by Edmonstone and Douglas in 1865, has devoted some most
+amusing pages of his work to an account of "Pig-sticking in Chicago," as
+witnessed by him during the late American war. The wholesale and
+scientific off-hand way in which living pigs enter into one part of a
+machine, and come out prepared pork, could only have been devised by a
+Yankee.
+
+[Illustration: The Wild Boar of Syria and Egypt. (Sus Scrofa.)]
+
+The essay of Charles Lamb on Roast Pig, and his history of how the
+Chinaman discovered it, is a most characteristic bit of the productions
+of Elia. We have cut from a recent paper, what seems an authentic story,
+of one of this race having obtained a kind of mausoleum. We hope it is
+not a hoax, but that it is as genuine as all that is in one of "Murray's
+Handbooks:"--
+
+MONUMENT TO A PIG.--"Up to the present time," says the _Europe_ of
+Frankfort, "no monument that we are aware of had ever been erected to
+the memory of a _pig_. The town of Luneburg, in Hanover, has wished to
+fill up that blank; and at the Hotel de Ville, in that town, there is to
+be seen a kind of mausoleum to the memory of a member of the swinish
+race. In the interior of that commemorative structure is to be seen a
+glass case, inclosing a ham still in good preservation. A slab of black
+marble attracts the eye of visitors, who find thereon the following
+inscription in Latin, engraved in letters of gold--'Passer-by,
+contemplate here the mortal remains of the pig which acquired for itself
+imperishable glory by the discovery of the salt springs of Luneburg.'"
+
+
+THE WILD BOAR (_Sus scrofa_).
+
+We have a specimen of the family of swine in that well-known and useful
+animal, with whose portrait Sir Charles Bell furnishes the reader, as an
+example of a head as remote as possible from the head of him who
+designed and executed the Elgin marbles. Although the learned anatomist
+brought forward the profile of this animal as the type of a
+"non-intellectual" being, yet there are instances enough on record to
+show that pigs are not devoid of intelligence, and are even, when
+trained, capable of considerable docility. "Learned pigs," however, such
+as are exhibited at country fairs, are a rare occurrence, and the family
+to which they belong is essentially one "gross" in character, and far
+from gainly in appearance. The most handsome of the race is one from
+West Africa, recently added to the Zoological Gardens, and described by
+Dr Gray under the name of _Potamochaerus penicillatus_. The wild swine of
+Africa are, with this bright exception, anything but handsome, either in
+shape or colour; and the large excrescences on their cheeks and face
+give the "warthogs" a ferocious look, which corresponds with their
+habits. In the East there are several species of wild swine. One of the
+most celebrated is the _Babyrusa_ of the Malay peninsula, distinguished
+by its long recurved teeth, with which it was once fancied that they
+suspended themselves from trees, or rather supported themselves when
+asleep. Mrs M'Dougall[194] refers to the wild hogs of Borneo, which seem
+to be dainty in their diet, as they think nothing of a swim of four
+miles from their jungle home to places on the river where they know
+there are trees laden with ripe fruit. These Borneo swine are active
+creatures too, as they can leap fences nearly six feet high. In South
+America the sow family is represented by the Peccaries (_Dicotyles_), of
+which there are two species, one of which is very abundant in the woods,
+and forms a most important article in the diet of the poor Indians.
+They, too, can swim across rivers, and although their legs are short,
+they can run very fast.
+
+It is chiefly in the warmer parts of the world that the species of this
+family are found. They are all distinguished by the middle toes of each
+foot being larger than the others, and armed with hoofs,[195] the side
+toe or toes being shorter, and scarcely reaching the ground. The nose
+terminates in a truncated, tough, grissly disk, which is singularly well
+adapted for the purpose of the animals, which all grub in the ground for
+their food. In some parts of France it is said that they are trained to
+search for truffles.
+
+Having briefly alluded to different species "_de grege porci_," we now
+limit ourselves to our immediate subject.
+
+The wild boar, at no very remote period, was found in the extensive
+woods which covered great portions of this island. The family of Baird
+derives its heraldic crest of a wild boar's head from a grant of David
+I., King of Scotland. This monarch was hunting in Aberdeenshire, and
+when separated from his attendants, the infuriated pig turned upon him;
+one of his people came up and killed it, and in memory of his feat
+received from the grateful king the device still borne by the family.
+The name of a Scottish parish, and of one of the oldest baronial
+families in Scotland--Swinton of Swinton, in Berwickshire--is derived
+also from this animal, the first of the Swintons having cleared that
+part of the country from the wild swine which then infested it. It is
+curious to know that some large fields in the neighbourhood of Swinton
+still carry in their names traces of these early occupants. Dr Baird
+informed the writer that there are four of these fields so
+distinguished:--"Sow-causeway," and "Pikerigg," where the wild swine
+used to feed ("pick their food"); "Stab's Cross," where Sir Alan Swinton
+with his spear pierced some monarch of the race; and "Alan's Cairn,"
+where a heap of stones was raised as a monument of his hardihood. In the
+southern part of our island only the nobility and gentry were allowed to
+hunt this animal; and in the reign of William the Conqueror any one
+convicted of killing a wild boar in any of the royal demesnes was
+punished with the loss of his eyes.
+
+In many parts of the Continent the wild boar is still far from rare, and
+affords, to those who are fond of excitement, that peculiar kind of
+"pleasure" which involves a certain amount of danger. Scenes somewhat
+similar to those depicted by Snyders may still be witnessed in some
+parts of Germany; and in the sketches of Mr Wolf, the able artist whose
+designs illustrate these papers, we have seen animated studies of this
+truly hazardous sport.
+
+The nose of the wild boar is very acute in the sense of smell. A zealous
+sportsman tells us, "I have often been surprised, when stealing upon one
+in the woods, to observe how soon he has become aware of my
+neighbourhood. Lifting his head, he would sniff the air inquiringly,
+then, uttering a short grunt, make off as fast as he could."[196] The
+same writer has also sometimes noticed in a family of wild boars one,
+generally a weakling, who was buffeted and ill-treated by the rest. "Do
+what he would, nothing was right; sometimes the mother, uttering a
+disapproving grunt, would give him a nudge to make him move more
+quickly, and that would be a sign for all the rest of his relations to
+begin showing their contempt for him too. One would push him, and then
+another; for, go where he might, he was sure to be in the way." In the
+extensive woods frequented by this animal in Europe, abundant supplies
+of food are met with in the roots of various plants which it grubs up,
+in the beech-mast, acorns, and other tree productions, which, during two
+or three months of the year, it finds on the ground. Although well able
+to defend itself, it is a harmless animal, and being shy, retires to
+those parts of the forests most remote from the presence of man. A site
+in the neighbourhood of water is preferred to any other.
+
+Travellers in the East frequently refer to this animal and to its
+ravages when it gets into a rice-field or a vineyard; for although its
+natural food be wild roots and wild fruits, if cultivated grounds be in
+the neighbourhood, its ravages are very annoying to the husbandmen, who
+can fully and feelingly understand the words of the Psalmist, "The boar
+out of the wood doth waste it" (Ps. lxxx. 13).
+
+Messrs Irby and Mangles,[197] as they approached the Jordan, saw a herd
+of nine wild pigs, and they found the trees on the banks of a stream
+near that river all marked with mud, left by the wild swine in rubbing
+themselves. A valley which they passed was grubbed up in all directions
+with furrows made by these animals, so that the soil had all the
+appearance of having been ploughed up.
+
+Burckhardt mentions the occurrence of the wild boar and panther
+together, or the _ounce_, as he calls it, on the mountain of Rieha, and
+also in the wooded part of Tabor. He mentions "a common saying and
+belief among the Turks, that all the animal kingdom was converted by
+their prophet to the true faith, except the wild boar and buffalo, which
+remained unbelievers; it is on this account that both these animals are
+often called Christians. We are not surprised that the boar should be so
+denominated; but as the flesh of the buffalo, as well as its Leben or
+sour milk, is much esteemed by the Turks, it is difficult to account for
+the disgrace into which that animal has fallen among them; the only
+reason I could learn for it is, that the buffalo, like the hog, has a
+habit of rolling in the mud, and of plunging into the muddy ponds in the
+summer time up to the very nose, which alone remains visible above the
+surface."[198] Wild boars were frequently fallen in with by this
+traveller during his Syrian travels in the neighbourhood of rush-covered
+springs, where they could easily return to their "wallowing in the
+mire;" he also met with them on all the mountains he visited in his
+tour. In the Ghor they are very abundant, and so injurious to the Arabs
+of that valley that they are unable to cultivate the common barley on
+account of the eagerness with which the wild swine feed on it, and are
+obliged to grow a less esteemed kind, with six rows of grains which the
+swine will not touch.
+
+Messrs Hemprich and Ehrenberg tell us that the wild boar is far
+from scarce in the marshy districts around Rosetta and Damietta, and
+that it does not seem to differ from the European species. The head of a
+wild boar which these travellers saw at Bischerre, a village of Lebanon,
+closely resembled the European variety, except in being a little longer.
+The Maronites there, who ate its flesh in their company, called it
+_chansir_,[199] a name evidently identical with the Hebrew word
+_chasir_, which occurs in the Bible. The Turks, according to Ehrenberg,
+keep swine in their stables, from a persuasion that all devils who may
+enter will be more likely to go into the pigs than the horses, from
+their alliance to the former unclean animals.--_A. White, in
+"Excelsior."_
+
+[Illustration: The River Pig.]
+
+
+THE RIVER PIG, OR PAINTED PIG OF THE CAMAROON.[200]
+
+The other day we revisited the Zoological Gardens, and found that two
+old friends had got--the one, a companion, the other, a neighbour. The
+latter was the bulky hippopotamus, now most bearish, and more and more
+unmistakably showing the minute accuracy of those master lines in the
+Book of Job, in which Behemoth's portrait, pose, and character are
+depicted. The former was the subject of this article--evidently, as far
+as colour goes, "the chieftain of the _porcine_ race."
+
+The poet tells us, however, "Nimium ne crede colori;" and observation,
+as well as the Scripture, shows us daily that "fair havens" in summer
+are but foul places to "winter in;" that fair speeches, and a flattering
+tongue, and the kisses of an enemy, "are deceitful;" and that beneath a
+fine spotted or barred coat, the jaguar and the tiger, the cobra and the
+hornet, conceal both the power and the propensity for mischief. So with
+our old friend Potamochoerus. The pretty creature,--beauty is
+relative--the Cameroon pig is the prettiest, the gaudiest of the
+race,--the pretty creature, we repeat, is of a fine bay red, made to
+look more bright from the circumstance of the face, ears, and front of
+the legs being black, while the red is relieved, and the black is
+defined, by the pencilled lines of white which edge the ears, streak
+over and under the eye, and ornament the long whiskers, another long
+white line traversing the middle of the back; a very attractive
+combination of colour--the painting of "Him who made the world"--and one
+which must make the _Potamochoerus penicellatus_ most conspicuous
+among the bright green shrubs and dark marshes of the rivers of
+equinoctial Africa, on whose banks the race has been planted. The
+present largest specimen was taken, when a "piggie," by a trading
+captain, as it was swimming across the Cameroon River. He brought it to
+Liverpool; Dr Gray, of the British Museum, gave an account of it in the
+"Illustrated Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for
+1852"--an excellent work--where its figure, drawn and coloured by the
+hand of Wolf, shows the condition of the African sow four years ago. It
+was then a round, comfortable, kind-looking creature, which one might
+almost have fondled as a pet. The pig now looks rather a dangerous
+beast, and its beauty is not increased by its face having grown longer,
+and by the bump and hollow on each cheek being larger and deeper; nor is
+its mouth so attractive or innocent, now that its tusks--those ivory
+daggers and knives of the family of Swine--have grown longer. The
+creature, partly it may be from familiarity, jumps up against the iron
+palisade which separates the visitor from its walk, but a poor pannage
+as a substitute for its African home. We would advise him to read the
+notice: "Visitors are requested not to tease the animals;" "not to
+touch" would be a good reprint--for few, we fancy, would try to tease.
+
+One, however, especially a lady, likes to know and to feel _texture_;
+and sadly used the fine, mild Edward Cross, of Exeter Change and the
+Surrey Zoological Gardens, once the Nestor as well as the King among
+keepers of wild beasts--a gentle, gentlemanly, white-haired, venerable
+man,--sadly, we say, used Mr Cross to lament that there _were_ parasols,
+and that he could not keep them _out_ of his garden. Mr C. told the
+writer that he lost many a beast and bird from the pokes of that
+insinuating weapon. We dissuade any lady from touching or going near a
+zebra's mouth, or the horns of an ibex or an algazel, or the pointed
+bill of a heron or stork, or from putting her hand near this fine
+painted pig.
+
+Up jumps Potamochoerus--eye rather vindictive, however--and mark, as
+that big specimen is foreshortened before you, the profile of the little
+companion pig of the same species, standing within a few feet, but safe
+from the poke of any umbrella or parasol; look how innocent and
+inviting--how quiet, and sleek, and polished, and painted, and mild it
+looks, all but that little suspicious eye, with its wink oblique, and
+its malicious twinkle.
+
+Of the habits of this pig we can find no written record, though in the
+journals of the Scottish or Wesleyan Missionaries there may be some
+notices of it. We do not know whence the Society procured the second
+specimen, but it shows that Africa's wild animals, like its chain of
+internal Caspian seas, and its mountain-ranges and rivers, are becoming
+gradually known. Old Bosman, who was chief factor for the Dutch on the
+Gold Coast 150 years ago, refers to the swine near Fort St George
+d'Elmina being not nearly so wild as those of Europe, and adds, "I have
+several times eaten of them here, and found them very delicious and very
+tender meat, the fat being extraordinarily fine."[201] He evidently
+refers to some other species.
+
+Travellers in South Africa have made us familiar with the habits, and
+specimens in the Zoological Gardens, in a pannage close to that of the
+"painted pig," show us the form and ugliness, of the bush pig and flat
+pig (_Choiropotamus Africanus_) of that southern land, with their long
+heads, long legs, upturned tails, and horrid tusks. They have a strange
+habit of kneeling on their fore-legs. In South Africa they abound; and
+the natives--our excellent friend, the Rev. Henry Methuen, tells
+us--often bring their jaws for barter. They are of a dingy, dirty gray;
+the boar is two feet and a half high, and his tusks sometimes measure
+"eleven inches and a half each from the jawbone," are five inches and a
+half in circumference at the base, and are thirteen inches apart at
+their extremities.
+
+No animal is more formidably armed; and his rapidity and lightness of
+movement make him a very marked object to the African Nimrod, who, midst
+"clumps of bush"--be they Proteacae, heaths, or Diosmeae--not unfrequently
+comes on a herd of wild pigs "headed by a noble boar," with tail erect.
+We could enter largely on the history of this active species, and quote
+many a stirring anecdote of travellers' rencontres with this fearless
+animal. The lion skulks away from him, but the rhinoceros--at least one
+species--the buffalo, with his formidable front of horn and bone, and
+the bush pig, with his dreaded tusks, show but little fear; and it is
+well for the huntsman that he has a sure eye, a steady hand, and a
+double-barrelled gun, and not a few Caffir followers to help him, should
+his eye be dim, his hand waver, or his gun "flash in the pan." Dogs
+avail but little; a deadly gash lays open their ribs, and a side-thrust
+of a wild boar will cut into the most muscular leg, and for ever destroy
+its tendons. We have done with pigs, and would only recommend a visit--a
+frequent visit--to that paradise of animals, the Zoological Gardens,
+where, a fortnight ago, we saw wild boars from Hesse Darmstadt; wild
+boars from Egypt; bush pigs from Africa; peccaries from South America;
+and two painted pigs from West Africa; all "_de grege porci_," and in
+excellent health: to say nothing of two hippopotamuses; four "seraphic"
+giraffes; antelopes (we did not number them); brush turkeys from
+Australia; an apteryx from New Zealand; the curious white sheathbills
+from the South Seas; the refulgent metallic green and purple-tinted
+monaul, or Impeyan pheasant, strutting with outspread, light-coloured
+tail, just as he courts his plain hen-mate on the Indian mountains; a
+family of the funny pelicans--cleanliness, ugliness, and contentment in
+one happy combination; a band of flamingoes; eagles and vultures; the
+harpy--that Picton of the birds--looking defiance as he stands, with
+upraised crest, flashing eye, and clenched talons, over his food; the
+wily otter; the amiable seal, which carries us to the seas and rocks of
+much-loved Shetland, with their long, winding voes, their
+bird-frequented cliffs, and outlying skerries; the Indian thrush, which
+reminds one of a "mavis" at home; the parrot-house, with its fine
+contrasts of colour and its discordant noises; Penny's Esquimaux
+dog--poor fellow, a prisoner, unlike to what he was when, with our dear
+friends Dr Sutherland and Captain Stewart, this very dog breasted the
+blast before a sledge in the Wellington Channel.[202] Look at that
+wondrous sloth, organised for a life in a Brazilian forest--those two
+restless Polar bears; and though last, not least, those wonders of the
+great deep, "the sea-anemones," the exquisite red and white "feathery"
+tentacles of the long cylindrical-twisted serpulae, and
+marvellously-transparent streaked shrimps, all leg, and feeler, and eye,
+and "nose"--in the salt-water tanks in the Vivarium.--_A. White, in
+"Excelsior."_
+
+
+S. BISSET AND HIS LEARNED PIG.
+
+S. Bisset, formerly referred to, when at Belfast bought a black sucking
+pig, and after several experiments succeeded in training a creature, so
+obstinate and perverse by nature, to become most tractable and docile.
+In August 1783, he took his learned pig to Dublin for exhibition. "It
+was not only under full command, but appeared as pliant and good-natured
+as a spaniel. He had taught it to spell the names of any one in the
+company, to tell the hour, minute, and second, to make his obeisance to
+the company, and he occasioned many a laugh by his pointing out the
+married and the unmarried. Some one in authority forced him to leave
+Dublin, and he died broken-hearted shortly after at Chester, on his way
+to London, where forty and more years before he had first been induced
+to train animals."[203]
+
+
+QUIXOTE BOWLES FOND OF PIGS.
+
+Southey records of Quixote Bowles that he "had a great love for pigs; he
+thought them the happiest of all God's creatures, and would walk twenty
+miles to see one that was remarkably fat. This love extended to bacon;
+he was an epicure in it; and whenever he went out to dinner, took a
+piece of his own curing in his pocket, and requested the cook to dress
+it."[204]
+
+
+ON JEKYLL NEARLY THROWN DOWN BY A VERY SMALL PIG.
+
+   "As Jekyll walk'd out in his gown and his wig,
+   He happen'd to tread on a very small pig;
+   'Pig of science,' he said, 'or else I'm mistaken,
+   For surely thou art an _abridgment of Bacon_.'"[205]
+
+
+GOOD ENOUGH FOR A PIG.
+
+An Irish peasant being asked why he permitted his pig to take up its
+quarters with his family, made an answer abounding with satirical
+_naivete_. "Why not? Doesn't the place afford every convenience that _a
+pig can require_?"[206]
+
+Mrs Fry, in 1827, visited Ireland on one of her Christian and
+philanthropic tours. In a letter to her children from Armagh she
+says--"Pigs abound; I think they have rather a more elegant appearance
+than ours, their hair often rather curled. Perhaps naturalists may
+attribute this to their intimate association with their betters!"[207]
+
+
+THE COUNTRYMAN'S CRITICISM ON THE PIGS IN GAINSBOROUGH'S PICTURE OF THE
+GIRL AND PIGS.
+
+Thomas Gainsborough, the great English painter, exhibited, in 1782,
+among pictures of noblemen, gentlemen, and ladies, his well-known "Girl
+and Pigs."[208]
+
+Wolcot, better known as "Peter Pindar," in his first "Ode to the Royal
+Academicians," refers to this picture.
+
+   "And now, O Muse, with song so big,
+   Turn round to Gainsborough's Girl and Pig,
+   Or Pig and Girl, I rather should have said;
+     The pig in white, I must allow,
+     Is really a well painted sow,
+   I wish to say the same thing of the maid."
+
+"The expression and truth of nature in the Girl and Pigs," remarks
+Northcote, "were never surpassed. Sir Joshua Reynolds was struck with
+it, though he thought Gainsborough ought to have made her a beauty."
+Reynolds, indeed, became the purchaser of the painting at one hundred
+guineas, Gainsborough asking but sixty. During its exhibition, it is
+said to have attracted the attention of a countryman, who
+remarked--"They be deadly like pigs, but nobody ever saw pigs feeding
+together but what one on 'em had a foot in the trough."
+
+
+HOOK AND THE LITTER OF PIGS.
+
+Once a gentleman, who had the marvellous gift of shaping a great many
+things out of orange-peel, was displaying his abilities at a
+dinner-party before Theodore Hook and Mr Thomas Hill, and succeeded in
+counterfeiting a pig. Mr Hill tried the same feat; and after destroying
+and strewing the table with the peel of a dozen oranges, gave it up,
+with the exclamation, "Hang the pig! I _can't_ make him." "Nay, Hill,"
+exclaimed Hook, glancing at the mess on the table, "you have done more;
+instead of one pig, you have made a _litter_."[209]
+
+Hook, we may add, was an original wit. He did not, like most professed
+wits, study his sayings before, and arrange with his seeming opponent
+for an imaginary war of words. He was an _impromptu_ wit.
+
+
+JESTS ABOUT SWINE.
+
+Lord Chancellor Hardwicke's bailiff, having been ordered by his lady to
+procure a sow of a particular description, came one day into the
+dining-room when full of company, proclaiming with a burst of joy he
+could not suppress--"I have been at Royston Fair, my lady, and I have
+got a sow exactly of _your ladyship's_ size."[210]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+John was thought to be very stupid. He was sent to a mill one day, and
+the miller said--"John, some people say you are a fool! Now, tell me,
+what you do know, and what you don't know."--"Well," replied John, "I
+know millers' hogs are fat!"--"Yes, that's well, John; now, what don't
+you know?"--"I don't know _whose corn_ fats 'em."[211]
+
+
+PIGS AND SILVER SPOON.
+
+The Earl of P---- kept a number of swine at his seat in Wiltshire, and
+crossing the yard one day, he was surprised to see the pigs gathered
+round one trough, and making a great noise. Curiosity prompted him to
+see what was the cause, and on looking into the trough he perceived a
+large silver spoon. A servant-maid came out, and began to abuse the pigs
+for crying so. "Well they may," said his lordship, "when they have got
+but one _silver spoon_ among them all."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We have heard of one nobleman in Strathearn, who, when a young man, used
+to be thus addressed by his mother--"William! how are the children _and
+your pigs_?"[212]
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH ON BEAUTIFUL PIGS.
+
+DEFINITION OF BEAUTY BY A UTILITARIAN.
+
+"Go to the Duke of Bedford's piggery at Woburn, and you will see a breed
+of pigs with legs so short, that their stomachs trail upon the ground;
+a breed of animals entombed in their own fat, overwhelmed with
+prosperity, success, and farina. No animal could possibly be so
+disgusting, if it were not useful; but a breeder who has accurately
+attended to the small quantity of food it requires to swell this pig out
+to such extraordinary dimensions,--the extraordinary genius it displays
+for obesity,--and the laudable propensity of the flesh to desert the
+cheap regions of the body, and to agglomerate on those parts which are
+worth ninepence a pound,--such an observer of its utility does not
+scruple to call these otherwise hideous quadrupeds a beautiful race of
+pigs!"[213]
+
+
+JOSEPH STURGE, WHEN A BOY, AND THE PIGS.
+
+When Joseph Sturge, that good Quaker, was in his sixth year, his
+biographer, Henry Richard,[214] records that he was on a visit to a
+friend of his mother's at Frenchay, near Bristol. Sauntering about one
+day, he came near the house of an eccentric man, a Quaker, who was much
+annoyed by the depredations of his neighbour's pigs. Half in jest, and
+half in earnest, he told the lad to drive the pigs into a pond close by.
+Joseph, nothing loath, set to work with a will, delighted with the fun.
+The woman, to whom the pigs belonged, came out presently, broom in hand,
+flourishing it over the young sinner's head. The tempter was standing
+by, and sought to cover his share of the transaction by shaking his head
+and saying--"Ah,
+
+   'Satan finds some mischief still
+       For idle hands to do.'
+
+The child looked up at him indignantly, and said, 'Thee bee'st Satan
+then, for thee told'st me to do it.'"
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[194] "Letters from Sarawak," p. 104. 1854.
+
+[195] "Divides the hoof, and is cloven-footed, yet cheweth not the cud"
+(Lev. ii. 7).
+
+[196] Boner's "Chamois Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria," p. 97.
+
+[197] "Travels" (Home and Colonial Library), p. 147.
+
+[198] "Travels in Syria and the Holy Land," p. 9.
+
+[199] Symbolae Physicae.
+
+[200] _Potamochoerus penicellatus._ [Greek: Potamos], a river; [Greek:
+choiros], a pig; _penicellatus_, pencilled. It is said to be the _Sus
+porcus_ of Linnaeus.
+
+[201] "A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea, written
+originally in Dutch." London, 1705, p. 247.
+
+[202] See Dr Sutherland's interesting account in his "Journal of a
+Voyage in Baffin Bay and Barrow's Straits in the years 1850, 1851;" a
+truly excellent work on the Arctic regions, by one who is now Surveyor
+of Natal.
+
+[203] See Biography in G. H. Wilson's _Eccentric Mirror_, i., No. 3, p.
+30.
+
+[204] "Common-Place Book," iv. p. 514.
+
+[205] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 107.
+
+[206] _Ibid._, p. 337.
+
+[207] "Memoir of the Life of Elizabeth Fry," vol. ii. p. 30. 1847.
+
+[208] "Life of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.," by the late George William
+Fulcher, edited by his Son, p. 122. 1856.
+
+[209] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 328.
+
+[210] _Ibid._, p. 2.
+
+[211] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 31. The latter of these jests is
+attributed by Dean Ramsay to a half-witted Ayrshire man, who said he
+"kenned a miller had aye a gey fat sow."--_Reminiscences_, p. 197.
+
+[212] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 269. This worthy nobleman was and is
+much attached to his home-farm. He is well known in Perthshire.
+
+[213] "Wit and Wisdom of Rev. Sydney Smith," third edition, p. 253. From
+a lecture at Royal Institution.
+
+[214] "Memoirs of Joseph Sturge," by Henry Richard.
+
+
+
+
+HORSE.
+
+
+The noblest animal employed by man, and consequently the subject of many
+volumes of anecdote,--a study for the painter and sculptor, from the
+days of the Greek and Assyrian artists to the present day. Charles
+Darwin and Sir Francis Head have given graphic descriptions of the
+catching of the wild horse, which swarms on the Pampas of South America.
+
+How pathetic to see the led horse following the bier of a soldier! It
+was, perhaps, the most affecting incident in the long array of the
+funeral of the great Duke.
+
+In the Museum at Brussels, Dr Patrick Neill observed, in 1817, "the
+stuffed skin of the horse belonging to one of the Alberts, who governed
+the Low Countries in the time of the Spaniards. It was shot under him in
+the field, and the holes made in the thorax by the musket bullets are
+still very evident."[215]
+
+Poor Copenhagen, the Duke's charger at Waterloo, was buried. Many would
+have liked his skin or skeleton. The Duke resisted all attempts to give
+his old friend up for such a purpose. We hope no resurrectionist
+succeeded in getting up his bones, years after his burial at
+Strathfieldsaye.
+
+
+BELL-ROCK HORSE.
+
+The Bell-Rock Lighthouse, built on a dangerous range of rocks twelve
+miles south by east from Arbroath, was begun by Robert Stevenson on the
+17th August 1807, and finished in October 1810. Mr Jervise[216] records
+that "one horse, the property of James Craw, a labourer in Arbroath, is
+believed to have drawn the entire materials of the building. The animal
+latterly became a _pensioner_ of the Lighthouse Commissioners, and was
+sent by them to graze on the Island of Inchkeith, where it died of old
+age in 1813. Dr John Barclay, the celebrated anatomist, had its bones
+collected and arranged in his museum, which he bequeathed at his death
+to the Royal College of Surgeons, and in their museum at Edinburgh the
+skeleton of the _Bell-Rock horse_ may yet be seen."
+
+
+BURKE AND THE HORSE.
+
+An anecdote of the humanity of the great Edmund Burke in the year 1762
+has been preserved.[217] "An Irishman, of the name of Johnson, was
+astonishing the town by his horsemanship. All London crowded to see his
+feats of agility and his highly-trained steeds. Dr Johnson and Boswell
+talked of this man's wonderful ability, and the Doctor thought that he
+fully deserved encouragement on philosophical grounds. He proved what
+human perseverance could do. One who saw him riding on three horses at
+once, or dancing upon a wire, might hope, that with the same application
+in the profession of his choice, he should attain the same success.
+Burke, always ready to encourage his countrymen, and curious in all the
+ramifications of ingenuity, went frequently to the circus. The favourite
+performance of the evening was that of a handsome black horse, which, at
+the sound of Johnson's whip, would leave the stable, stand with much
+docility at his side, then gallop about the ring, and on hearing the
+crack of the lash again return obediently to its master. On one
+unfortunate occasion, the signal was disregarded. The horse-rider flew
+into a rage, and by a blow between the ears, struck the noble animal to
+the earth. The spectators thought the horse was dying, but they had
+little time to reflect on the sight before they were surprised at seeing
+a gentleman jump into the ring, rush up to Johnson, and with his eyes
+flashing, and every muscle in the face quivering with emotion, shout
+out, 'You scoundrel! I have a mind to knock you down.' And Johnson would
+certainly have been laid sprawling in the sawdust beside his panting
+steed, had not the friends of the gentleman interposed, and prevented
+him inflicting such summary chastisement. This incident was long
+remembered. When the relater of it, many years afterwards, heard Burke
+declaiming, on the floor of the House of Commons, against injustice and
+oppression, his mind naturally reverted to the time when he saw the same
+hatred of all cruelty displayed by the same individual as he stood over
+the prostrate body of the poor black horse, prepared to punish the
+miscreant who had felled it to the ground."
+
+
+DAVID GARRICK AND HIS HORSE.
+
+In 1778 Sir Joshua Reynolds visited Dr Warton at Winchester College.
+Here he was particularly noticed by George III. and his queen, who were
+then making a tour through the summer encampments. The father of Lord
+Palmerston, and David Garrick, the great actor, with others, visited
+Warton at the same time.
+
+Mr Northcote[218] relates that a whimsical accident occurred to Garrick
+at one of the reviews, which Sir Joshua afterwards recounted with great
+humour.
+
+"At one of those field-days in the vicinity, Garrick found it necessary
+to dismount, when his horse escaped from his hold and ran off; throwing
+himself immediately into his professional attitude, he cried out, as if
+on Bosworth field, 'A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!'"
+
+This exclamation, and the accompanying attitude, excited great amazement
+amongst the surrounding spectators, who knew him not; but it could not
+escape his majesty's quick apprehension, for, it being within his
+hearing, he immediately said, "Those must be the tones of Garrick! see
+if he is not on the ground." The theatrical and dismounted monarch was
+immediately brought to his majesty, who not only condoled with him most
+good humouredly on his misfortune, but flatteringly added, that his
+delivery of Shakspeare could never pass undiscovered.
+
+This anecdote of Garrick at Winchester is told in the Rev. John Wool's
+"Life of Warton." Mr Taylor says--"One can't help suspecting Roscius
+took care to make his speech when he knew the king was within earshot--a
+little bit of that 'artifice' of his which has left such an impression
+in the theatre, that the phrase, 'As deep as Garrick,' is still current
+stage slang."[219]
+
+
+BERNARD GILPIN'S HORSES STOLEN AND RECOVERED.[220]
+
+The biographer of the saintly Bernard Gilpin, the apostle of the
+northern counties of England in the days of Edward VI., and Queens Mary
+and Elizabeth, relates that, by the carelessness of his servant, his
+horses were one day stolen. The news was quickly propagated, and every
+one expressed the highest indignation. The thief was rejoicing over his
+prize, when, by the report of the country, he found whose horses he had
+taken. Terrified at what he had done, he instantly came trembling back,
+confessed the fact, returned the horses, and declared he believed the
+devil would have seized him directly had he carried them off, knowing
+them to have been Mr Gilpin's. The biographer gives an instance of his
+benevolent temper. "One day returning home, he saw in a field several
+people crowding together; and judging that something more than ordinary
+had happened, he rode up to them, and found that one of the horses in a
+team had suddenly dropped down, which they were endeavouring to raise;
+but in vain, for the horse was dead. The owner of it seeming much
+dejected with his misfortune, and declaring how grievous a loss it was
+to him, Mr Gilpin bade him not be disheartened; "I'll let you have,
+honest man, that horse of mine," and pointed to his servant's. "Ah!
+master," replied the countryman, "my pocket will not reach such a beast
+as that." "Come, come," says Mr Gilpin, "take him, take him; and when I
+demand my money, then thou shalt pay me."[221]
+
+No wonder that the horses of the apostolic rector of Houghton-le-Spring
+were safe, even in those horse-stealing times, and in that Border
+county.
+
+
+THE HERALD AND GEORGE III.'S HORSE.
+
+One day, when Sir Isaac Heard was in company with George III., it was
+announced that his majesty's horse was ready for hunting. "Sir Isaac,"
+said the king, "are you a judge of horses?"--"In my younger days, please
+your majesty, I was a great deal among them," was the reply.--"What do
+you think of this, then?" said the king, who was by this time preparing
+to mount his favourite; and, without waiting for an answer, added, "We
+call him _Perfection_."--"A most appropriate name," replied the courtly
+herald, bowing as his majesty reached the saddle, "for he _bears_ the
+best of characters."[222]
+
+
+ROWLAND HILL AND HIS HORSE AT DUNBAR.
+
+Many stories of the excellent but eccentric Rowland Hill are told, but
+often with considerable exaggeration. The following may be depended on
+for its accuracy, as it was told by Robert Haldane.[223] It occurred at
+Dunbar, in September 1797, during an evangelistic tour Hill and Haldane
+were making in Scotland. They were sleeping at Mr Cunningham's, when,
+in the morning, intending to proceed southward, on Mr Hill's carriage
+being brought to the door, his horse was found to be dead lame. A
+farrier was sent for, who, after careful examination, reported that the
+seat of the mischief was in the shoulder, that the disease was
+incurable, and that they might shoot the poor animal as soon as they
+pleased. To this proposal Mr Hill was by no means prepared to accede.
+Indeed, it seemed to Mr Haldane as precipitate as the conduct of an
+Irish sailor on board the _Monarch_, who, on seeing another knocked down
+senseless by a splinter, and supposing his companion to be dead, went up
+to Captain Duncan, on the quarter-deck, in the midst of the action with
+Languara, off St Vincent, and exclaimed, "Shall we jerk him overboard,
+sir?" On that occasion the sailor revived in a short time, and was even
+able to work at his gun. In the present instance the horse, too,
+recovered, and was able to carry his master on many a future errand of
+mercy. Meanwhile, however, the travellers availed themselves of Mr
+Cunningham's hospitality, and remained for two days more at his place,
+near Dunbar. In the evening Mr Hill conducted family worship, and after
+the supplications for the family, domestics, and friends, added a
+fervent prayer for the restoration of the valuable animal which had
+carried him so many thousands of miles, preaching the everlasting gospel
+to his fellow-sinners. Mr Cunningham, who was remarkable for the staid
+and orderly, if not stiff, demeanour, which characterised the
+anti-burghers, was not only surprised but grieved, and even scandalised,
+at what he deemed so great an impropriety. He remonstrated with his
+guest. But Mr Hill stoutly defended his conduct by an appeal to
+Scripture, and the superintending watchfulness of Him without whom a
+sparrow falls not to the ground. He persisted in his prayer during the
+two days he continued at Dunbar, and, although he left the horse, in a
+hopeless state, to follow in charge of his servant by easy stages, he
+continued his prayer, night and morning, till one day, at an inn in
+Yorkshire, while the two travellers were sitting at breakfast, they
+heard a horse and chaise trot briskly into the yard, and, looking out,
+saw that Mr Hill's servant had arrived, bringing up the horse perfectly
+restored. Mr Hill did not fail to return thanks, and begged his
+fellow-traveller to consider whether the minuteness of his prayers had
+deserved the censure which had been directed against them.
+
+
+A SAYING OF ROWLAND HILL'S.
+
+Rowland Hill rode a great deal, and exercise preserved him in vigorous
+health. On one occasion, when asked by a medical friend, who was
+commenting on his invariably good health, what physician and apothecary
+he employed, he replied, "My physician has always been a _horse_, and my
+apothecary an _ass_!"[224]
+
+
+HOLCROFT ON THE HORSE.
+
+Thomas Holcroft, the novelist and play-writer, when a lad, was a stable
+boy to a trainer of running horses. In his memoirs he has written a good
+deal about the habits of the race-horse. He says of them:--"I soon
+learned that the safehold for sitting steady was to keep the knee and
+the calf of the leg strongly pressed against the sides of the animal
+that endeavours to unhorse you; and as little accidents afford frequent
+occasions to remind the boys of this rule, it becomes so rooted in the
+memory of the intelligent, that their danger is comparatively trifling.
+Of the temperaments and habits of blood-horses there are great
+varieties, and those very strongly contrasted. The majority of them are
+playful, but their gambols are dangerous to the timid or unskilful. They
+are all easily and suddenly alarmed, when anything they do not
+understand forcibly catches their attention, and they are then to be
+feared by the bad horseman, and carefully guarded against by the good.
+Very serious accidents have happened to the best. But, besides their
+general disposition to playfulness, there is a great propensity in them
+to become what the jockeys call vicious. High bred, hot in blood,
+exercised, fed and dressed so as to bring that heat to perfection, their
+tender skins at all times subject to a sharp curry-comb, hard brushing,
+and when they take sweats, to scraping with wooden instruments, it
+cannot be but that they are frequently and exceedingly irritated.
+Intending to make themselves felt and feared, they will watch their
+opportunity to bite, stamp, or kick; I mean those among them that are
+vicious. Tom, the brother of Jack Clarke, after sweating a gray horse
+that belonged to Lord March, with whom he lived, while he was either
+scraping or dressing him, was seized by the animal by the shoulder,
+lifted from the ground, and carried two or three hundred yards before
+the horse loosened his hold. Old Forrester, a horse that belonged to
+Captain Vernon, all the while that I remained at Newmarket, was obliged
+to be kept apart, and being foundered, to live at grass, where he was
+confined to a close paddock. Except Tom Watson, he would suffer no lad
+to come near him; if in his paddock, he would run furiously at the
+first person that approached, and if in the stable, would kick and
+assault every one within his reach. Horses of this kind seem always to
+select their favourite boy. Tom Watson, indeed, had attained to man's
+estate, and in his brother's absence, which was rare, acted as
+superintendent. Horses, commonly speaking, are of a friendly and
+generous nature; but there are anecdotes of the malignant and savage
+ferocity of some, that are scarcely to be credited; at least many such
+are traditional at Newmarket.
+
+Of their friendly disposition towards their keepers, there is a trait
+known to every boy that has the care of any one of them, which ought not
+to be omitted. The custom is to rise very early, even between two and
+three in the morning, when the days lengthen. In the course of the day,
+horses and boys have much to do. About half after eight, perhaps, in the
+evening, the horse has his last feed of oats, which he generally stands
+to enjoy in the centre of his smooth, carefully made bed of clean long
+straw, and by the side of him the weary boy will often lie down; it
+being held as a maxim, a rule without exception, that were he to lie
+even till morning, the horse would never lie down himself, but stand
+still, careful to do his keeper no harm.[225]
+
+In one of Thomas Holcroft's novels, "Alwyn; or, The Gentleman Comedian,"
+founded on his own adventures when a travelling actor, he gives the
+character of an enthusiast who had conceived the idea of establishing a
+humane asylum for animals, the consequences of which he describes. "I am
+pestered, plagued, teased, tormented to death. I believe all the cats
+in Christendom are assembled in Oxfordshire. I am obliged to hire a
+clerk to pay the people; and the village where I live is become a
+constant fair. A fellow has set up the sign of the Three Blind Kittens,
+and has the impudence to tell the neighbours, that if my whims and my
+money only hold out for one twelvemonth, he shall not care a fig for the
+king. I thought to prevent this inundation, by buying up all the old
+cats and secluding them in convents and monasteries of my own, but the
+value of the breeders is increased to such a degree, that I do not
+believe my whole fortune is capable of the purchase. Besides I am made
+an ass of. A rascal, who is a known sharper in these parts, hearing of
+the aversion I had to cruelty, bought an old one-eyed horse, that was
+going to the dogs, for five shillings; then taking a hammer in his hand,
+watched an opportunity of finding me alone, and addressed me in the
+following manner: 'Look you, master, I know that you don't love to see
+any dumb creature abused, and so, if you don't give me ten pounds, why,
+I shall scoop out this old rip's odd eye with the sharp end of this here
+hammer, now, before your face.' Ay, and the villain would have done it
+too, if I had not instantly complied; but what was worse, the abominable
+scoundrel had the audacity to tell me, when I wanted him to deliver the
+horse first, for fear he should extort a further sum from me, that he
+had more honour than to break his word. A whelp of a boy had yesterday
+caught a young hedgehog, and perceiving me, threw it into the water to
+make it extend its legs; then with the rough side of a knotty stick
+sawed upon them till the creature cried like a child; and when I ordered
+him to desist, told me he would not, till I had given him sixpence.
+There is something worse than all this. The avaricious rascals, when
+they can find nothing that they think will excite my pity, disable the
+first animal which is not dignified with the title of Christian, and
+then bring it to me as an object worthy of commiseration; so that, in
+fact, instead of protecting, I destroy. The women have entertained a
+notion that I hate two-legged animals; and one of them called after me
+the other day, to tell me I was an old rogue, and that I had better give
+my money to the poor, than keep a parcel of dogs and cats that eat up
+the village. I perceive it is in vain to attempt carrying on the scheme
+much longer, and then my poor invalids will be worse off than they were
+before."[226]
+
+
+A JOKE OF LORD MANSFIELD'S ABOUT A HORSE.
+
+Lord Campbell[227] tells an anecdote of George Wood, a celebrated
+special pleader at the time when Lord Mansfield was Chief-Justice.
+Though a subtle pleader, George was very ignorant of _horse-flesh_, and
+had been cruelly cheated in the purchase of a horse on which he had
+intended to ride the circuit. He brought an action on the warranty that
+the horse was "a good roadster, and free from vice." At the trial before
+Lord Mansfield, it appeared that when the plaintiff mounted at the
+stables in London, with the intention of proceeding to Barnet, nothing
+could induce the animal to move forward a single step. On hearing this
+evidence, the Chief-Justice with much gravity exclaimed, "Who would have
+supposed that Mr Wood's horse would have _demurred_ when he ought to
+have _gone to the country_." Any attempt, adds Lord Campbell, to explain
+this excellent joke to _lay gents_ would be vain, and to _lawyers_ would
+be superfluous.
+
+
+GENERAL SIR JOHN MOORE AND HIS HORSE AT THE BATTLE OF CORUNNA.
+
+Charles Napier served in Lord William Bentinck's brigade during the
+retreat of the truly great and ill-used Moore at the battle of Corunna;
+he was covered with wounds, and was carried off a prisoner. In his
+"Biography" General Sir William Napier[228] has published a most
+interesting description of the part his brother took in that battle, and
+written in his own words. I extract a few vivid lines in which Moore and
+his horse are brought before you. A heavy French column was descending
+rapidly on the British line at the part where Napier was. "Suddenly I
+heard the gallop of horses, and turning saw Moore. He came at speed, and
+pulled up so sharp and close he seemed to have alighted from the air;
+man and horse looking at the approaching foe with an intenseness that
+seemed to concentrate all feeling in their eyes. The sudden stop of the
+animal, a cream-coloured one, with black tail and mane, had cast the
+latter streaming forward, its ears were pushed out like horns, while its
+eyes flashed fire, and it snorted loudly with expanded nostrils,
+expressing terror, astonishment, and muscular exertion. My first thought
+was, it will be away like the wind; but then I looked at the rider, and
+the horse was forgotten. Thrown on its haunches the animal came, sliding
+and dashing the dirt up with its fore-feet, thus bending the general
+forward almost to its neck; but his head was thrown back, and his look
+more keenly piercing than I ever before saw it. He glanced to the right
+and left, and then fixed his eyes intently on the enemy's advancing
+column, at the same time grasping the reins with both his hands, and
+pressing the horse firmly with his knees; his body thus seemed to deal
+with the animal, while his mind was intent on the enemy, and his aspect
+was one of searching intenseness, beyond the power of words to describe;
+for a while he looked, and then galloped to the left, without uttering a
+word."
+
+
+NEITHER HORSES NOR CHILDREN CAN EXPLAIN THEIR COMPLAINTS.
+
+Dr Mounsey, the Chelsea doctor, an eccentric physician, who was a great
+friend of David Garrick, related to Taylor that he was once in company
+with another physician and an eminent farrier. The physician stated that
+among the difficulties of his profession, was that of discovering the
+maladies of children, because they could not explain the symptoms of
+their disorder. "Well," said the farrier, "your difficulties are not
+greater than mine, for my patients, the horses, are equally unable to
+explain their complaints."--"Ah!" rejoined the physician, "my brother
+doctor must conquer me, as he has brought his cavalry against my
+infantry!"[229]
+
+
+HORSES WITH NAMES.
+
+In this country most horses have a name, but in Germany this custom must
+be unusual. Perthes, when on his way from Hamburg to Frankfort, remarked
+at Boehmte--"It is a pleasing custom they have here of giving proper
+names to horses. The horse is a noble and intelligent animal, and quite
+as deserving of such a distinction as the dog; and when it has a name,
+it has made some advance towards personality."[230]
+
+
+"OLD JACK" OF WATERLOO BRIDGE.
+
+In building Waterloo Bridge, the finest of Rennie's bridges, the whole
+of the stone required was hewn in some fields on the Surrey side. Nearly
+the whole of this material was drawn by one horse called "Old Jack," a
+most sensible animal. Mr Smiles, in his "Life of John Rennie,"[231] thus
+speaks of this favourite old horse--"His driver was, generally speaking,
+a steady and trustworthy man; though rather too fond of his dram before
+breakfast. As the railway along which the stone was drawn passed in
+front of the public-house door, the horse and truck were usually pulled
+up, while Tom entered for his 'morning.' On one occasion the driver
+stayed so long that 'Old Jack,' becoming impatient, poked his head into
+the open door, and taking his master's coat collar between his teeth,
+though in a gentle sort of manner, pulled him out from the midst of his
+companions, and thus forced him to resume the day's work."
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH AND HIS HORSES.
+
+Sydney Smith, when rector of Foston-le-Clay, in Yorkshire, a living
+which he got from Lord Chancellor Erskine in 1806, was in the habit of
+riding a good deal. His daughter says that, "either from the badness of
+his horses, or the badness of his riding, or perhaps from both (in spite
+of his various ingenious contrivances to keep himself in the saddle), he
+had several falls, and kept us in continual anxiety."[232] He writes in
+a letter--"I used to think a fall from a horse dangerous, but much
+experience has convinced me to the contrary. I have had six falls in two
+years, and just behaved like the three per cents. when they fall. I got
+up again, and am not a bit the worse for it any more than the stock in
+question." In speaking of this he says, "I left off riding for the good
+of my parish and the peace of my family; for, somehow or other, my horse
+and I had a habit of parting company. On one occasion I found myself
+suddenly prostrate in the streets of York, much to the delight of the
+Dissenters. Another time my horse Calamity flung me over his head into a
+neighbouring parish, as if I had been a shuttlecock, and I felt grateful
+it was not into a neighbouring planet; but as no harm came of it, I
+might have persevered perhaps, if, on a certain day, a Quaker tailor
+from a neighbouring village to which I had said I was going to ride, had
+not taken it into his head to call, soon after my departure, and request
+to see Mrs Sydney. She instantly, conceiving I was thrown, if not
+killed, rushed down to the man, exclaiming, 'Where is he?--where is
+your master?--is he hurt?' The astonished and quaking snip stood silent
+from surprise. Still more agitated by his silence, she exclaimed, 'Is he
+hurt? I insist upon knowing the worst!'--'Why, please, ma'am, it is only
+thy little bill, a very small account, I wanted thee to settle,' replied
+he, in much surprise.
+
+"After this, you may suppose, I sold my horse; however, it is some
+comfort to know that my friend, Sir George, is one fall ahead of me, and
+is certainly a worse rider. It is a great proof, too, of the liberality
+of this county, where everybody can ride as soon as they are born, that
+they tolerate me at all.
+
+"The horse 'Calamity,' whose name has been thus introduced, was the
+first-born of several young horses bred on the farm, who turned out very
+fine creatures, and gained him great glory, even amongst the knowing
+farmers of Yorkshire; but this first production was certainly not
+encouraging. To his dismay a huge, lank, large-boned foal appeared, of
+chestnut colour, and with four white legs. It grew apace, but its bones
+became more and more conspicuous; its appetite was unbounded--grass,
+hay, corn, beans, food moist and dry, were all supplied in vain, and
+vanished down his throat with incredible rapidity. He stood, a large
+living skeleton, with famine written in his face, and my father
+christened him 'Calamity.' As Calamity grew to maturity, he was found to
+be as sluggish in disposition as his master was impetuous; so my father
+was driven to invent his patent Tantalus, which consisted of a small
+sieve of corn, suspended on a semicircular bar of iron, from the ends of
+the shafts, just beyond the horse's nose. The corn, rattling as the
+vehicle proceeded, stimulated Calamity to unwonted exertions; and under
+the hope of overtaking this imaginary feed, he did more work than all
+the previous provender which had been poured down his throat had been
+able to obtain from him."
+
+He was very fond of his young horses, and they all came running to meet
+him when he entered the field. He began their education from their
+birth; he taught them to wear a girth, a bridle, a saddle; to meet
+flags, music; to bear the firing of a pistol at their heads from their
+earliest years; and he maintained that no horses were so well broken as
+his! At p. 388 she records, "At ten we always went down-stairs to
+prayers in the library. Immediately after, if we were alone, appeared
+the 'farmer' at the door, lantern in hand. 'David, bring me my coat and
+stick,' and off he set with him, summer and winter, to visit his horses,
+and see that they were all well fed, and comfortable in their regions
+for the night. He kept up this custom all his life!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sydney Smith, when at Foston, used to exercise his skill in medicine on
+the poor, and often did much good; his daughter gives some instances of
+his practice as a farrier.
+
+"On one occasion, wishing to administer a ball to Peter the Cruel,[233]
+the groom, by mistake, gave him two boxes of opium pills in his bran
+mash, which Peter composedly munched, boxes and all. My father, in
+dismay, when he heard what had happened, went to look, as he thought,
+for the last time on his beloved Peter; but soon found, to his great
+relief, that neither boxes nor pills had produced any visible effects on
+him. Another time he found all his pigs intoxicated; and, as he
+declared, 'grunting "God save the King" about the stye,' from having
+eaten some fermented grains which he had ordered for them. Once he
+administered castor-oil to the red cow, in quantities sufficient to have
+killed a regiment of Christians; but the red cow laughed alike at his
+skill and his oil, and went on her way rejoicing."[234]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sydney Smith tells a story, or made one, of a clergyman who was rather
+absent. "I heard of a clergyman who went jogging along the road till he
+came to a turnpike. 'What is to pay?'--'Pay, sir, for what?' asked the
+turnpike man.--'Why, for my horse, to be sure.'--'Your horse, sir? what
+horse? here is no horse, sir.'--'No horse? God bless me!' said he,
+suddenly, looking down between his legs, 'I thought I was on
+horseback.'"[235]
+
+
+JUDGE STORY AND THE NAMES HE GAVE HIS HORSES.
+
+The son and biographer of the eminent American judge, Joseph Story,
+relates of him[236]--"To dumb creatures he was kind and considerate, and
+indignant at any ill usage of them. His sportive nature showed itself in
+the nicknames which, in parody of the American fondness of titles, he
+gave to his horses and dogs, as, 'The Right Honourable Mr Mouse,' or
+'Colonel Roy.'"
+
+
+WORDSWORTH ON CRUELTY TO HORSES IN IRELAND.
+
+The Rev. Caesar Otway,[237] in a lecture full of interesting anecdotes,
+records:--"I remember an observation made to me by one of the most
+gifted of the human race--one of the stars of this generation--the poet
+of nature and of feeling--the good and the great Mr Wordsworth. Having
+the honour of a conversation with him, after he had made a tour through
+Ireland, I, in the course of it, asked what was the thing that most
+struck his observation here, as making us differ from the English; and
+he, without hesitation, said it was the ill treatment of our horses;
+that his soul was often, too often, sick within him at the way in which
+he saw these creatures of God abused."
+
+
+USE OF TAIL.--SHORT-TAILED AND LONG-TAILED HORSES.
+
+In an Irish paper was an advertisement for horses to stand at livery on
+the following terms:--"Long-tailed horses at 3s. 6d. per week;
+short-tailed horses at 3s. per week." On inquiry into the cause of the
+difference, it was answered, that the horses with long tails could brush
+the flies off their backs while eating, whereas the short-tailed horses
+were obliged to take their heads _from the manger_, and so ate
+less.[238]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[215] "Journal of Horticultural Tour," p. 306.
+
+[216] "Memorials of Angus and the Mearns," by Andrew Jervise (1861), p.
+175.
+
+[217] "History of the Life and Times of Edmund Burke," by Thomas
+Macknight, vol. i. p. 160.
+
+[218] "Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds," &c., by James Northcote, Esq., R.A.
+(2d edition), vol. ii. p. 80.
+
+[219] "Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds," by C. R. Leslie and Tom
+Taylor, M.A., vol. ii. p. 219.
+
+[220] "Lives of Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, and of Bernard
+Gilpin," by William Gilpin, M.A. (3d edition), 1780, p. 275.
+
+[221] _Loc. cit._, p. 284.
+
+[222] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 39.
+
+[223] "The Lives of Robert Haldane of Airthrey, and of his Brother,
+James Alexander Haldane," by Alex. Haldane, Esq., of the Inner Temple
+(1852), p. 223.
+
+[224] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 318.
+
+[225] "Memoirs of Thomas Holcroft" (ed. 1852), pp. 40, 41.
+
+[226] "Memoirs of the late Thomas Holcroft," written by himself (ed.
+London, 1852), p. 112.
+
+[227] "Lives of the Chief-Justices of England" (Lord Ellenborough), vol.
+iii. p. 100.
+
+[228] Vol i. pp. 94-115.
+
+[229] "Physic and Physicians: a Medical Sketch-Book," vol. i. p. 59.
+
+[230] "Memoirs of Frederick Perthes," vol. i. p. 309.
+
+[231] "Lives of the Engineers," vol. ii. p. 185.
+
+[232] "Memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith," by his daughter, Lady Holland,
+vol. i. pp. 172-174.
+
+[233] A horse which he called so.
+
+[234] "Memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith," by his daughter, Lady Holland,
+vol. i. p. 117.
+
+[235] Mrs Marcet, in Lady Holland's Memoirs of her Father, the Rev.
+Sydney Smith, vol. i. p. 364.
+
+[236] "Life and Letters of Joseph Story, Associate Justice of the
+Supreme Court of the United States, and Dane Professor of Law at Harvard
+University," edited by his son, Wm. W. Story, vol. ii. p. 611.
+
+[237] "The Intellectuality of Domestic Animals: a Lecture Delivered
+before the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland," p. 25. Dublin, 1847.
+
+[238] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 263.
+
+
+
+
+ASS AND ZEBRA.
+
+
+It is strange that one of the most sagacious of animals should have
+supplied us with a by-word for "a fool." Coleridge was conscious of this
+when, in writing his address to a young ass's foal,[239] he exclaimed--
+
+   "I hail thee, brother, spite of the fool's scorn."
+
+How well has he expressed his love for "the languid patience" of its
+face.
+
+In warmer climes the ass attains a size and condition not seen here,
+though when cared for in this rougher climate, the donkey assumes
+somewhat of the size and elegance he has in the East. But who can bear
+his voice? Surely Coleridge was very fanciful when, in any condition of
+asshood, he could write--
+
+   "Yea, and more musically sweet to me
+   Thy dissonant, harsh bray of joy would be,
+   Than warbled melodies that soothe to rest
+   The aching of pale Fashion's vacant breast."
+
+The wild ass, as it roams over the plains of Asia, or is seen in the
+Zoological gardens along with the gracefully-shaped and prettily-striped
+zebra, must be admired by every one.
+
+
+COLLINS AND THE OLD DONKEY OF ODELL, COWPER'S MESSENGER AT OLNEY.
+
+In July 1823, William Collins, R.A., visited Turvey, in Bedfordshire.
+His son remarks--"Besides the attractions presented to the pencil by the
+natural beauties of this neighbourhood, its vicinity to Olney, the
+favourite residence of the poet Cowper, gave it, to all lovers of
+poetry, a local and peculiar charm. Conspicuous among its inhabitants at
+the time when my father visited it was 'old Odell,' frequently mentioned
+by Cowper as the favourite messenger who carried his letters and
+parcels. The extreme picturesqueness and genuine rustic dignity of the
+old man's appearance made him an admirable subject for pictorial study.
+Portraits of him, in water-colours and oils, were accordingly made by my
+father, who introduced him into three of his pictures. The donkey on
+which he had for years ridden to and fro with letters, was as carefully
+depicted by the painter as his rider. On visiting 'old Odell' a year or
+two afterwards, Mr Collins observed a strange-looking object hanging
+against his kitchen wall, and inquired what it was. 'Oh, sir,' replied
+the old man, sorrowfully, 'that is the skin of my poor donkey. He died
+of old age, and I did not like to part with him altogether, so I had his
+skin dried, and hung up there.' Tears came into his eyes as he spoke of
+the old companion of all his village pilgrimages. The incident might
+have formed a continuation of Sterne's exquisite episode in the
+'Sentimental Journey.'"[240]
+
+In his picture of "The Cherry-Seller," painted for Mr Higgins of Turvey
+House, old Odell and his donkey are chief figures.
+
+
+GAINSBOROUGH KEPT AN ASS.
+
+The Rev. William Gilpin, in his "Forest Scenery," refers to the
+picturesque beauty of the ass in a landscape Berghem often introduced
+it; "and a late excellent landscape-painter (Mr Gainsborough), I have
+heard, generally kept this animal by him, that he might have it always
+at hand to introduce in various attitudes into his pictures. I have
+heard also that a plaster cast of an ass, modelled by him, is sold in
+the shops in London."[241]
+
+
+IRISHMAN ON THE RAMSGATE DONKEYS.
+
+In former times, when excise officers were not so sharp, there was a
+good deal of smuggling carried on at Ramsgate. Sir Thomas Dick
+Lauder[242] tells an anecdote of an Irishman there, who being asked to
+name the hardest wrought creature in existence, replied, "Och! a
+Ramsgate donkey, to be sure; for, faith, afthur carrying angels all day,
+be the powers he is forced to carry speerits all night."
+
+
+ASS'S FOAL.
+
+Douglas Jerrold and a company of literary friends were out in the
+country. In the course of their walk they stopped to notice the gambols
+of an ass's foal. A very sentimental poet present vowed that he should
+like to send the little thing as a present to his mother. "Do," replied
+Jerrold, "and tie a piece of paper round its neck, bearing this motto,
+'When this you see, remember me.'"[243]
+
+
+ASS.
+
+A judge, joking a young barrister, said--"If you and I were turned into
+a horse and an ass, which would you prefer to be?"--"The ass, to be
+sure," replied the barrister. "I've heard of an ass being made a judge,
+but a horse never."[244]
+
+Ammonianus, the grammarian, had an ass which, as it is said, when he
+attended the lectures upon poetry, often neglected his food when laid
+before him, though at the same time he was hungry, so much was the ass
+taken with the love of poetry.[245]
+
+
+WARREN HASTINGS AND THE REFRACTORY DONKEY.
+
+The fondness of the first Governor-General of India for horse exercise,
+and indeed for the horse itself, was quite oriental, as his biographer
+relates.[246] He was a fine rider, and piqued himself on his abilities
+in this way.
+
+"Nothing pleased him," continues Mr Gleig, "more than to undertake some
+animal which nobody else could control, and to reduce it, as he
+invariably did, to a state of perfect docility. The following anecdote,
+which I have from my friend Mr Impey, himself an actor in the little
+drama, may suffice to show the extent to which this passion was carried.
+It happened once upon a time, when Mr Impey was, with some other boys,
+on a visit at Daylesford, that Mr Hastings, returning from a ride, saw
+his young friends striving in vain to manage an ass which they had found
+grazing in the paddock, and which one after another they chose to mount.
+The ass, it appears, had no objection to receive the candidates for
+equestrian renown successively on his back, but budge a foot he would
+not; and there being neither saddle nor bridle, wherewith to restrain
+his natural movements, he never failed, so soon as a difference of
+opinion arose, to get the better of his rider. Each in his turn, the
+boys were repeatedly thrown, till at last Mr Hastings, who watched the
+proceedings with great interest, approached.
+
+"Why, boys," said he, "how is it that none of you can ride?"
+
+"Not ride!" cried the little aspirants; "we could ride well enough, if
+we had a saddle and a bridle; but he's such an obstinate brute, that we
+don't think even you, sir, could sit him bare-backed."
+
+"Let's try," exclaimed the Governor-General.
+
+Whereupon he dismounted, and gave his horse to one of the children to
+hold, and mounted the donkey. The beast began to kick up his heels, and
+lower his head as heretofore; but this time the trick would not answer.
+The Governor-General sat firm, and finally prevailed, whether by fair
+means or foul, I am not instructed, in getting the quadruped to move
+wheresoever he chose. He himself laughed heartily as he resigned the
+conquered thistle-eater to his first friends; and the story when told,
+as told it was, with consummate humour, at the dinner-table, afforded
+great amusement to a large circle of guests.
+
+
+NORTHCOTE, THE ROYAL ACADEMICIAN, AN ANGEL AT AN ASS.
+
+Fuseli, the artist, was a most outspoken man. His biographer[247] says
+that he never concealed his sentiments with regard to men, even to their
+faces.
+
+"Every one knows," writes Mr Knowles, "who is acquainted with art, the
+powers which Northcote displays when he paints animals of the brute
+creation. When his picture of 'Balaam and the Ass' was exhibited at the
+Macklin Gallery, Northcote asked Fuseli's opinion of its merits, who
+instantly said, 'My friend, you are an angel at an ass, but an ass at an
+angel.'"
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH'S ACCOMPLISHED DONKEY, WITH FRANCIS JEFFREY ON HIS BACK.
+
+Lady Holland[248] gives the following picture of her father's pet
+donkey:--
+
+"Amongst our rural delights at Heslington was the possession of a young
+donkey which had been given up to our tender mercies from the time of
+its birth, and in whose education we employed a large portion of our
+spare time; and a most accomplished donkey it became under our tuition.
+It would walk up-stairs, pick pockets, follow us in our walks like a
+huge Newfoundland dog, and at the most distant sight of us in the field,
+with ears down and tail erect, it set off in full bray to meet us.
+These demonstrations on Bitty's part were met with not less affection on
+ours, and Bitty was almost considered a member of the family.
+
+"One day, when my elder brother and myself were training our beloved
+Bitty with a pocket-handkerchief for a bridle, and his head crowned with
+flowers, to run round our garden, who should arrive in the midst of our
+sport but Mr Jeffrey. Finding my father out, he, with his usual kindness
+towards young people, immediately joined in our sport, and to our
+infinite delight, mounted our donkey. He was proceeding in triumph,
+amidst our shouts of laughter, when my father and mother, in company, I
+believe, with Mr Horner and Mr Murray, returned from their walk, and
+beheld this scene from the garden-door. Though years and years have
+passed away since, I still remember the joy-inspiring laughter that
+burst from my father at this unexpected sight, as, advancing towards his
+old friend, with a face beaming with delight, and with extended hands,
+he broke forth in the following impromptu:
+
+   'Witty as Horatius Flaccus,
+   As great a Jacobin as Gracchus;
+   Short, though not as fat as Bacchus,
+   Riding on a little jackass.'
+
+"These lines were afterwards repeated by some one to Mr ---- at Holland
+House, just before he was introduced for the first time to Mr Jeffrey,
+and they caught his fancy to such a degree that he could not get them
+out of his head, but kept repeating them in a low voice all the time Mr
+Jeffrey was conversing with him.
+
+"I must end Bitty's history, as he has been introduced, by saying that
+he followed us to Foston; and after serving us faithfully for thirteen
+years, on our leaving Yorkshire, was permitted by our kind friend, Lord
+Carlisle, to spend the rest of his days in idleness and plenty, in his
+beautiful park, with an unbounded command of thistles."
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH ON THE SAGACITY OF THE ASS; A LADY SCARCELY SO WISE AS ONE.
+
+The Rev. Sydney Smith[249] writes to Colonel Fox in October 1836:--
+
+"MY DEAR CHARLES,--If you have ever paid any attention to the habits of
+animals, you will know that donkeys are remarkably cunning in opening
+gates. The way to stop them is to have two latches instead of one. A
+human being has two hands, and lifts up both latches at once; a donkey
+has only one nose, and latch _a_ drops, as he quits it to lift up latch
+_b_. Bobus and I had the grand luck to see little Aunty engaged
+intensely with this problem. She was taking a walk, and was arrested by
+a gate with this formidable difficulty: the donkeys were looking on to
+await the issue. Aunty lifted up the first latch with the most perfect
+success, but found herself opposed by a second; flushed with victory,
+she quitted the first latch, and rushed at the second; her success was
+equal, till in the meantime the first dropped. She tried this two or
+three times, and, to her utter astonishment, with the same results; the
+donkeys brayed, and Aunty was walking away in great dejection, till
+Bobus and I recalled her with loud laughter, showed her that she had
+two hands, and roused her to vindicate her superiority over the donkeys.
+I mention this to you to request that you will make no allusion to this
+animal, as she is remarkably touchy on this subject, and also that you
+will not mention it to Lady Mary!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Lady Holland relates a practical joke of her father's, which the witty
+canon carried out at his rectory of Combe Florey. "Opposite was a
+beautiful bank, with a hanging wood of fine old beech and oak, on the
+summit of which presented themselves, to our astonished eyes, two
+donkeys with deers' antlers fastened on their heads, which ever and anon
+they shook, much wondering at their horned honours; whilst the attendant
+donkey boy, in Sunday garb, stood grinning and blushing at their side.
+'There, Lady ----! you said the only thing this place wanted to make it
+perfect was deer; what do you say now? I have, you see, ordered my game
+gamekeeper to drive my deer into the most picturesque point of view.
+Excuse their long ears, a little peculiarity belonging to parsonic deer.
+Their voices, too, are singular; but we do our best for you, and you are
+too true a friend of the Church to mention our defects.' All this, of
+course, amidst shouts of laughter, whilst his own merry laugh might be
+heard above us all, ringing through the valley, and making the very
+echoes laugh in chorus."
+
+
+ASSES' DUTY FREE!
+
+During the debate on Sir Robert Peel's tariff, the admission of asses'
+duty free caused much merriment. Lord T., who had just read "Vestiges of
+the Natural History of Creation," remarked that the House had, he
+supposed, passed the donkey clause out of respect to its
+ancestors.--"It is a wise measure," said a popular novelist, "especially
+as it affects the importation of food; for, should a scarcity come, we
+should otherwise have to fall back on the food of our
+forefathers."--"And, pray, what is that?" asked an
+archaeologist.--"Thistles," replied Lord T.[250]
+
+
+THACKERAY AND THE EGYPTIAN DONKEY.
+
+When the English author landed at Alexandria, there were many scenes and
+sounds to dispel all romantic notions; among these "a yelling chorus of
+donkey boys shrieking, 'Ride, sir!--donkey, sir!--I say, sir!' in
+excellent English. The placid sphinxes, brooding o'er the Nile,
+disappeared with that wild shriek of the donkey boys. You might be as
+well impressed with Wapping as with your first step on Egyptian soil.
+
+"The riding of a donkey is, after all, not a dignified occupation. A man
+resists the offer first, somehow as an indignity. How is that poor
+little, red-saddled, long-eared creature to carry you? Is there to be
+one for you and another for your legs? Natives and Europeans, of all
+sizes, passed by, it is true, mounted upon the same contrivance. I
+waited until I got into a very private spot, where nobody could see me,
+and then ascended--why not say descended at once?--on the poor little
+animal. Instead of being crushed at once, as perhaps the writer
+expected, it darted forward, quite briskly and cheerfully, at six or
+seven miles an hour; requiring no spur or admonitive to haste, except
+the shrieking of the little Egyptian _gamin_, who ran along by asinus's
+side."[251]
+
+
+BEST TO LET MULES HAVE THEIR OWN WAY.
+
+Dr John Moore, in crossing the Alps, found they had nothing but the
+sagacity of their mules to trust to. "For my own part," he says, "I was
+very soon convinced that it was much safer on all dubious occasions to
+depend on theirs than on my own. For as often as I was presented with a
+choice of difficulties, and the mule and I were of different opinions,
+if, becoming more obstinate than he, I insisted on his taking my track,
+I never failed to repent it, and often was obliged to return to the
+place where the controversy had begun, and follow the path to which he
+had pointed at first.
+
+"It is entertaining to observe the prudence of these animals in making
+their way down such dangerous rocks. They sometimes put their heads over
+the edge of the precipice, and examine with anxious circumspection every
+possible way by which they can descend, and at length are sure to fix on
+that which, upon the whole, is the best. Having observed this in several
+instances, I laid the bridle on the neck of my mule, and allowed him to
+take his own way, without presuming to control him in the smallest
+degree. This is doubtless the best method, and what I recommend to all
+my friends in their journey through life, when they have mules for their
+companions."[252]
+
+
+ZEBRA.--"_Un ane rayee._"
+
+A FRENCHMAN'S "DOUBLE-ENTENDRE."
+
+When, in 1805, Patrick Lattin, an officer of the Irish Brigade, was
+residing in Paris, a M. de Montmorency, whose Christian name was Anne,
+made his appearance, announcing that he was enabled to return to France,
+in consequence of the First Consul having scratched his name on the list
+of _emigres_. "_A present donc_," observed Lattin, "_mon cher Anne, tu
+es un Zebre--un ane rayee._"[253]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[239] "The Poems of S. T. Coleridge," pp. 26, 27 (1844).
+
+[240] "Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, R.A.," by his son, W.
+Wilkie Collins, vol. i. p. 232.
+
+[241] Edition of Sir T. D. Lauder, Bart., vol. ii. p. 273.
+
+[242] "Gilpin's Forest Scenery," vol. ii. p. 275. Edited by Sir T. D.
+Lauder.
+
+[243] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 129.
+
+[244] Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 307.
+
+[245] Photius, quoted by Southey in his "Common-Place Book," first
+series, p. 588.
+
+[246] "Memoirs of the Life of the Right Hon. Warren Hastings, compiled
+from original papers," by the Rev. G. R. Gleig, M.A., vol. iii. p. 367.
+
+[247] "The Life and Writings of Henry Fuseli, Esq., M.A., R.A.," the
+former written and the latter edited by John Knowles, Esq., F.R.S., vol.
+i. p. 364.
+
+[248] "A Memoir of the Rev. Sydney Smith," by his daughter, Lady
+Holland, &c., vol. i. p. 152.
+
+[249] "Memoirs and Letters of Rev. Sydney Smith," vol. ii. p. 393.
+
+[250] "A Century of Anecdote from 1760 to 1860," by John Timbs, F.S.A.,
+vol. i. p. 252 (1864).
+
+[251] "Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo," by Mr M. A.
+Titmarsh, p. 177 (1846).
+
+[252] "View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland, and Germany,"
+vol. i. pp. 191, 192 (9th edition).
+
+
+
+
+CAMEL.
+
+
+Truly the Ship of the Desert, and one that by Lewis and Henry Warren has
+afforded the subject of many a pleasing picture. The camel has a most
+patriarchal look about him.
+
+
+CAPTAIN WILLIAM PEEL, R.N. REMARKS ON CAMELS.
+
+Captain William Peel, in his "Ride through the Nubian Desert" (p. 89),
+writes--"We met once at a hollow, where some water still remained from
+the rains, 2000 camels, all together admirably organised into troops,
+and attended by only a few Arabs. On another occasion, we passed some
+camels grazing at such a distance from the Nile, that I asked the Arab
+attending where they went to drink? He said, he marches them all down
+together to the Nile, and they drink every eleventh day. It is now the
+cool season, and the heat is tempered by fresh northerly breezes. The
+Arab, of course, brings water skins for his own supply. All these camels
+were breeding stock. They live on thorns and the top shoots of the
+gum-arabic tree, although it is armed with the most frightful spikes.
+But very little comes amiss to the camel; he will eat dry wood to keep
+up digestion, if in want of a substitute. Instinct or experience has
+taught him to avoid the only two tempting-looking plants that grow in
+the desert,--the green eusha bush, which is full of milk-coloured juice,
+and a creeper, that grows in the sand where nothing else will grow, and
+which has a bitter fruit like a melon. I was surprised to learn that the
+leopard does not dare to attack the camel, whose tall and narrow flanks
+would seem to be fatally exposed to such a supple enemy. Nature,
+however, has given him a means of defence in his iron jaw and long
+powerful neck, which are a full equivalent for his want of agility. He
+can also strike heavily with his feet, and his roar would intimidate
+many foes. I never felt tired of admiring this noble creature, and
+through the monotony of the desert would watch for hours his ceaseless
+tread and unerring path. Carrying his head low, forward, and surveying
+everything with his black brilliant eye, he marches resolutely forward,
+and quickens his pace at the slightest cheer of the rider. He is too
+intelligent and docile for a bridle; besides, he lives on the march, and
+with a sudden sweep of the neck will seize, without stopping, the
+smallest straw. When the day's march is over, he passes the night in
+looking for food, with scarcely an hour to repose his limbs, and less
+than that for sleep. He closes the eye fitfully, the smallest noise will
+awake him. When lying down for rest, every part of the body is
+supported; his neck and head lie lightly along the sand, a broad plate
+of bone under the breast takes the weight off his deep chest, and his
+long legs lay folded under him, supporting his sides like a ship in a
+cradle."
+
+
+A CAPTAIN IN THE ROYAL NAVY MEASURES THE PROGRESS OF "THE SHIP OF THE
+DESERT."
+
+The dromedary has long and deservedly been called "the Ship of the
+Desert." A very gallant captain in the Royal Navy, the late Captain
+William Peel, son of the Prime Minister, calculated its rate of motion
+much after the manner in which he might have measured the path of his
+ship. He writes[254]--"In crossing the Nubian Desert I paid constant
+attention to the march of the camels, hoping it may be of some service
+hereafter in determining our position. The number of strides in a minute
+with the same foot varied very little, only from 37 to 39, and 38 was
+the average; but the length of the stride was more uncertain, varying
+from 6 feet 6 to 7 feet 6. As we were always urging the camels, who
+seemed, like ourselves, to know the necessity of pushing on across that
+fearful tract, I took 7 feet as the average. These figures give a speed
+of 2.62 geographical miles per hour, or exactly three English miles,
+which may be considered as the highest speed that camels lightly loaded
+can keep up on a journey. In general, it will not be more than two and a
+half English miles. My dromedary was one of the tallest, and the seat of
+the saddle was 6 feet 6 above the ground."
+
+
+LORD METCALFE ON A CAMEL WHEN A BOY.
+
+Charles Metcalfe, "first and last Lord Metcalfe," to whose care were
+successively intrusted the three greatest dependencies of the British
+crown, India, Jamaica, and Canada, and who died in 1846, was sent to
+Eton when eleven years old. His biographer relates,[255] that "it is on
+record, and on very sufficient authority, that he was once seen riding
+on a camel. 'I heard the boys shouting,' said Dr Goodall, many years
+afterwards, 'and went out and saw young Metcalfe riding on a camel; so
+you see he was always orientally inclined.'" This anecdote will serve as
+a comrade to that told by Mr Foss, in his "Lives of the Justices of
+England," of Chief-Baron Pollock. When a lad, one of his schoolmasters,
+fretted by the boyish energy and exuberant spirits of his scholar, said
+petulantly, "You will live to be _hanged_." The old gentleman lived to
+see his pupil Lord Chief-Baron, and, not a little proud of his great
+scholar, said, "I always said he would occupy an _elevated_ position."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[253] Quoted in Timbs' "Century of Anecdote," vol. i. p. 223 (1864).
+
+[254] "A Ride through the Nubian Desert," by Captain W. Peel, R.N., p.
+49.
+
+
+
+
+STAGS AND GIRAFFE.
+
+
+The deer family is rather numerous, and found in many different parts of
+the world. Reindeers abound in some parts even of Spitzbergen, and with
+musk oxen can find their food even under the winter snows of the Parry
+Islands. The wapiti and heavy large-headed elk or moose, retreat before
+the advancing civilisation of North America. The Indian mountains and
+plains have noble races of deer. No species, however, is more celebrated
+than our red deer. The giraffe is closely allied to the stag family. The
+Arabs name it the seraph, and indeed, that is the origin of its now
+best-known English name. Visitors should beware of going too near the
+male, for we have seen the dent made by one of the giraffe's bony knobs
+on a pannel close to its stall. We have heard of a young lady, who
+entered the garden one of those summer days when straw bonnets had great
+bunches of ripe barley mingled with artificial poppies as an ornament,
+and, going too near the lofty pallisade, found to her confusion and
+terror that the long lithe tongue of the giraffe had whisked off her
+Leghorn, flowers and all, and had begun leisurely to munch it with
+somewhat of the same gusto with which it would have eaten the branch of
+a graceful mimosa.
+
+
+EARL OF DALHOUSIE AND THE FEROCIOUS STAG.
+
+Mr Scrope relates an instance of unprovoked ferocity in a red deer at
+Taymouth, in which the present Earl of Dalhousie might have been
+seriously injured.
+
+"In October 1836, the Hon. Mr and Mrs Fox Maule had left Taymouth with
+the intention of proceeding towards Dalguise; and in driving through
+that part of the grounds where the red deer were kept, they suddenly at
+a turn of the road came upon the lord of the demesne standing in the
+centre of the passage, as if prepared to dispute it against all comers.
+Mr Maule being aware that it might be dangerous to trifle with him, or
+to endeavour to drive him away (for it was the rutting season),
+cautioned the postilion to go slowly, and give the animal an opportunity
+of moving off. This was done, and the stag retired to a small hollow by
+the side of the road. On the carriage passing, however, he took offence
+at its too near approach, and emerged at a slow and stately pace, till
+he arrived nearly parallel with it. Mr Maule then desired the lad to
+increase his pace, being apprehensive of a charge in the broadside.
+
+"The deer, however, had other intentions; for as soon as the carriage
+moved quicker, he increased his pace also, and came on the road about
+twelve yards ahead of it, for the purpose of crossing, as it was
+thought, to a lower range of the parks; but to the astonishment and no
+little alarm of the occupants of the carriage, he charged the offside
+horse, plunging his long brow antler into his chest, and otherwise
+cutting him.
+
+"The horse that was wounded made two violent kicks, and is supposed to
+have struck the stag, and then the pair instantly ran off the road; and
+it was owing solely to the admirable presence of mind and sense of the
+postilion, that the carriage was not precipitated over the neighbouring
+bank. The horses were not allowed to stop till they reached the gate,
+although the blood was pouring from the wounded animal in a stream as
+thick as a man's finger. He was then taken out of the carriage, and only
+survived two or three hours. The stag was shortly afterwards
+killed."[256]
+
+
+THE FRENCH COUNT AND THE STAG.
+
+Mr Scrope, in his "Deer-Stalking," describes a grand deer-drive to
+Glen-Tilt, headed by the Duke of Athole. Many an incident of this and
+subsequent drives was watched by "Lightfoot," who was present, and whose
+pictures, under his name of Sir Edwin Landseer, have rendered the life
+of the red deer familiar to us, in mist, amid snow, swimming in the
+rapid of a Highland current, pursued and at rest, fighting and feeding,
+alive and dead, in every attitude, and at every age.
+
+In this encounter, the Duke killed three first-rate harts, Lightfoot
+two, and other rifles were all more or less successful. A French count,
+whose tongue it was difficult to restrain,--and silence is essential to
+success in the pursuit,--at last fired into a dense herd of deer.
+
+Mr Scrope adds,[257] "Everything was propitious--circumstance,
+situation, and effect; for he was descending the mountain in full view
+of our whole assemblage of sportsmen. A fine stag in the midst of the
+herd fell to the crack of his rifle. 'Hallo, hallo!' forward ran the
+count, and sat upon the prostrate deer triumphing. '_He bien, mon ami,
+vous etes mort, donc! Moi, je fais toujours des coups surs. Ah! pauvre
+enfant!_' He then patted the sides of the animal in pure wantonness, and
+looked east, west, north, and south, for applause, the happiest of the
+happy; finally he extracted a mosaic snuff-box from his pocket, and with
+an air which nature has denied to all save the French nation, he held a
+pinch to the deer's nose--'_Prends, mon ami, prends donc!_' This
+operation had scarcely been performed when the hart, who had only been
+stunned, or perhaps shot through the loins, sprang up suddenly,
+overturned the count, ran fairly away, and was never seen again.
+'_Arretes, toi traitre! Arretes, mon enfant! Ah! c'est un enfant, perdu!
+Allez donc a tous les diables!_'"
+
+
+VENISON FAT.--REYNOLDS AND THE GOURMAND.
+
+Northcote[258] says--"I have heard Sir Joshua Reynolds relate an
+anecdote of a venison feast, at which were assembled many who much
+enjoyed the repast.
+
+"On this occasion, Reynolds addressed his conversation to one of the
+company who sat next to him, but to his great surprise could not get a
+single word in answer, until at length his silent neighbour, turning to
+him, said, 'Mr Reynolds, whenever you are at a venison feast, I advise
+you not to speak during dinner-time, as in endeavouring to answer your
+questions, I have just swallowed a fine piece of the fat, entire,
+without tasting its flavour.'"
+
+
+STAG-TRENCH AT FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAINE.
+
+Goethe was born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, August 28th, 1749. In his
+autobiography[259] he says--"The street in which our house was situated
+passed by the name of the Stag-trench; but as neither stags nor trenches
+were to be seen, we naturally wished to have the expression explained.
+They told us that our house stood on a spot that was once outside the
+town, and that where the street now ran had formerly been a trench in
+which a number of stags were kept. The stags were preserved and fatted
+here, because the Senate every year, according to an ancient custom,
+feasted publicly on a stag which was always at hand in the trench for
+such a festival, in case princes or knights interfered with the city's
+right of chase outside, or the walls were encompassed and besieged by an
+enemy. This pleased us, and we wished that such a lair for tame wild
+animals could have been seen in our times. Where is there a boy or girl
+who could not join in the wish of this man, who has been called the
+first European poet and literary man of the nineteenth century?"
+
+
+GIRAFFE.
+
+"Fancy," said Sydney Smith to some ladies, when he was told that one of
+the giraffes at the Zoological Gardens had caught a cold,--"fancy a
+giraffe with two yards of sore throat."
+
+In one of the numbers of _Punch_, published in 1864, the quiz of an
+artist has made the giraffes twist their necks into a loose knot by way
+of a comforter to keep them from catching a cold, or having a sore
+throat. He has very audaciously caused to be printed under his cut, "A
+FACT."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[255] "Life and Correspondence of Charles Lord Metcalfe," by John
+William Kaye, vol. i., p. 8.
+
+[256] "The Art of Deer-Stalking," p. 33.
+
+[257] "Deer-Stalking," p. 229.
+
+[258] "Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds," vol. i., p. 124.
+
+[259] "Truth and Poetry from my own Life; the Autobiography of Goethe,"
+edited by Parke Godwin, part i., p. 3.
+
+
+
+
+SHEEP AND GOATS.
+
+
+These are animals, at least the former, which seem to have been created
+in a domestic state. They are represented on the most ancient
+monuments. A head of a Lybian ram of very large size, in the British
+Museum, has great resemblance to nature, and there is one slab at least
+among the Assyrian monuments where sheep and goats, as part of the spoil
+of a city, are rendered with great skill. In the writings of the Ettrick
+Shepherd, many curious anecdotes of Scottish sheep are given.
+
+
+HOW MANY LEGS HAS A SHEEP?
+
+When the Earl of Bradford was brought before the Lord Chancellor to be
+examined upon application for a statute of lunacy against him, the
+Chancellor asked him, "How many legs has a sheep?"--"Does your lordship
+mean," answered Lord Bradford, "a live sheep or a dead sheep?"--"Is it
+not the same thing?" said the Chancellor.--"No, my lord," said Lord
+Bradford, "there is much difference: a live sheep may have four legs, a
+dead sheep has only two; the two fore-legs are shoulders; there are only
+_two legs of mutton_."[260]
+
+
+GOETHE ON ROOS'S ETCHINGS OF SHEEP.
+
+In the "Conversations of Goethe with Eckerman and Soret"[261] in 1824,
+he handed me some etchings by Roos, the famous painter of animals; they
+were all of sheep, in every posture and position. The simplicity of
+their countenances, the ugliness and shagginess of the fleece--all was
+represented with the utmost fidelity, as if it were nature itself.
+
+"I always feel uneasy," said Goethe, "when I look at these beasts. Their
+state--so limited, dull, gaping, and dreaming--excites in me such
+sympathy, that I fear I shall become a sheep, and almost think the
+artist must have been one. At all events, it is most wonderful how Roos
+has been able to think and feel himself into the very soul of these
+creatures, so as to make the internal character peer with such force
+through the outward covering. Here you see what a great talent can do
+when it keeps steady to subjects which are congenial with its nature."
+
+"Has not, then," said I, "this artist also painted dogs, cats, and
+beasts of prey with similar truth; nay, with this great gift of assuming
+a mental state foreign to himself, has he not been able to delineate
+human character with equal fidelity?"
+
+"No," said Goethe; "all that lay out of his sphere, but the gentle,
+grass-eating animals--sheep, goats, cows, and the like--he was never
+weary of repeating; this was the peculiar province of his talent, which
+he did not quit during the whole course of his life. And in this he did
+well. A sympathy with these animals was born with him, a knowledge of
+their psychological condition was given him, and thus he had so fine an
+eye for their bodily structure. Other creatures were perhaps not so
+transparent to him, and therefore he felt neither calling nor impulse to
+paint them."[262]
+
+
+LORD COCKBURN AND THE SHEEP.
+
+Lord Cockburn, the proprietor of Bonaly, that pretty place on the slopes
+of the Pentlands, was sitting on the hill-side with the shepherd, and,
+observing the sheep reposing in the coldest situation, he observed to
+him, "John, if I were a sheep, I would lie on the other side of the
+hill." The shepherd answered, "Ay, my lord, but if ye had been a
+_sheep_, ye would hae had mair sense."[263]
+
+
+WOOLSACK.
+
+Colman and Banister, dining one day with Lord Erskine, the
+ex-chancellor, amongst other things, observed that he had then about
+three thousand head of sheep. "I perceive," interrupted Colman, "your
+lordship has still an eye to the woolsack."[264]
+
+
+SANDY WOOD AND HIS PETS, A SHEEP AND A RAVEN.
+
+Alexander Wood, a kind-hearted surgeon, who died in his native town of
+Edinburgh in May 1807, aged eighty-two, is alluded to by Sir Walter
+Scott in a prophecy put into the mouth of Meg Merrilees in "Guy
+Mannering"--"They shall beset his goat; they shall profane his raven,"
+&c.
+
+The editor of "Kaye's Edinburgh Portraits"[265] says that, besides his
+kindness of disposition to his fellow-creatures, "he was almost equally
+remarkable for his love of animals. His pets were numerous, and of all
+kinds. Not to mention dogs and cats, there were two others that
+_individually_ were better known to the citizens of Edinburgh--a sheep
+and a raven, the latter of which is alluded to by Scott in 'Guy
+Mannering.' Willy, the sheep, pastured in the ground adjoining to the
+Excise Office, now the Royal Bank, and might be daily seen standing at
+the railings, watching Mr Wood's passing to or from his house in York
+Place, when Willy used to poke his head into his coat-pocket, which was
+always filled with supplies for his favourite, and would then trot along
+after him through the town, and sometimes might be found in the houses
+of the doctor's patients. The raven was domesticated at an ale and
+porter shop in North Castle Street, which is still, or very lately was,
+marked by a tree growing from the area against the wall. It also kept
+upon the watch for Mr Wood, and would recognise him even as he passed at
+some distance along George Street, and, taking a low flight towards him,
+was frequently his companion during some part of his forenoon walks; for
+Mr Wood never entered his carriage when he could possibly avoid it,
+declaring that unless a vehicle could be found that would carry him down
+the closes and up the turnpike stairs, they produced nothing but trouble
+and inconvenience."
+
+
+GENERAL CARNAC AND HIS SHE-GOAT.
+
+It is pleasant to see, and not rare to find in men of warlike habits, a
+love for animals. The goat or deer that used often to march before a
+regiment with the band as they proceeded to a review in Bruntsfield
+Links, when the writer and his friends were boys, about 1826 to 1832, he
+well remembers. Nor is Edinburgh garrison singular.
+
+General Carnac, in 1770, communicated to Dr William Hunter some
+observations on the keenness of smell and its exquisite sensibility. He
+says--"I have frequently observed of tame deer, to whom bread is often
+given, and which they are in general fond of, that if you present them a
+piece that has been bitten, they will not touch it. I have made the same
+observation of a remarkably fine she-goat, which accompanied me in most
+of my campaigns in India, and supplied me with milk, and which, in
+gratitude for her services, I brought from abroad with me."[266]
+
+
+JOHN HUNTER AND THE SHAWL-GOAT.
+
+HUNTER'S METHOD OF INTRODUCING STRANGE ANIMALS PEACEFULLY TO OTHERS IN
+HIS MENAGERIE.
+
+It is pleasant to meet with a notice of the pursuits of the great
+anatomist, John Hunter, in a rather out-of-the-way book.[267] The
+ingenious way in which he introduced strange animals into his menagerie
+is worthy of notice.
+
+"The variety of birds and beasts to be met with at Earl's Court (the
+villa of the celebrated and much-lamented Mr John Hunter) is matter of
+great entertainment. In the same ground you are surprised to find so
+many living animals in one herd, from the most opposite parts of the
+habitable globe. Buffaloes, rams, and sheep from Turkey, and a
+shawl-goat from the East Indies, are among the most remarkable of those
+that meet the eye; and as they feed together in the greatest harmony, it
+is natural to inquire, what means are taken to make them so familiar,
+and well acquainted with each other. Mr Hunter told me, that when he has
+a stranger to introduce, he does it by ordering the whole herd to be
+taken to a strange place, either a field, an empty stable, or any other
+large out-house, with which they are all alike unaccustomed. The
+strangeness of the place so totally engages their attention, as to
+prevent them from running at, and fighting with, the new-comer, as they
+most probably would do in their own fields (in regard to which they
+entertain very high notions of their exclusive right of property), and
+here they are confined for some hours, till they appear reconciled to
+the stranger, who is then turned out with his new friends, and is
+generally afterwards well-treated. The shawl-goat was not, however, so
+easily reconciled to his future companions; he attacked them, instead of
+waiting to be attacked; fought several battles, and at present appears
+master of the field.
+
+"It is from the _down_ that grows under the coarse hair of this species
+of goat, that the fine India shawls are manufactured.[268] This
+beautiful as well as useful animal was brought over only last June from
+Bombay, in the _Duke of Montrose_ Indiaman, Captain Dorin. The female,
+unfortunately, died. It was very obligingly presented by the directors
+to Sir John Sinclair, the President of the British Wool Society. It is
+proposed, under Mr Hunter's care, to try some experiment with it in
+England, by crossing it with other breeds of the goat species, before it
+is sent to the north."
+
+As anything that met with Mr Hunter's approval must have been a
+judicious arrangement, I may quote from the same source the passage
+about the buildings for his cattle at Earl's Court.
+
+"Mr Hunter has built his stables half under ground; also vaults, in
+which he keeps his cows, buffaloes, and hogs. Such buildings, more
+especially the arched byres, or cow-houses, retain a more equal
+temperature at all times, in regard both to heat and cold, and
+consequently are cooler in summer and warmer in winter; and in
+situations where ground is so valuable as in the neighbourhood of
+London, are an excellent contrivance. Mr Hunter has his hay-yard over
+his buffaloes' stables. The expense of vaulting does not exceed that of
+building and roofing common cow-houses; and the vaults have this
+essential advantage or preference, that they require no repairs." He
+then gives an account of some buffaloes which Mr Hunter had trained to
+work in a cart, and which became so steady and tractable, that they were
+often driven through London streets in the loaded cart, much, no doubt,
+to the astonishment of passers-by. With a glimpse of a very beautiful
+little cow at Earl's Court, from a buffalo and an Alderney, which was
+always plump and fat, and gave very good milk, we must take leave of
+John Hunter's menagerie.
+
+
+COMMODORE KEPPEL "BEARDS" THE DEY OF ALGIERS.--A GOAT.
+
+Sir Joshua Reynolds, when twenty-five, sailed to the Mediterranean in
+1749 with the Hon. Augustus Keppel, then a captain in the navy, and
+afterwards Viscount Keppel. In 1750, Commodore Keppel returned to
+Algiers to remonstrate with the dey on the renewed depredations of the
+Corsairs. The dey, surprised at his boldness, for he anchored close to
+the palace, and attended by his captain and a barge's crew, went boldly
+into the presence of the Algerine monarch to demand satisfaction,
+exclaimed, that he wondered at the insolence of the King of Great
+Britain sending him a beardless boy.
+
+Keppel was only twenty-four, but he is said to have answered, "that had
+his Majesty, the King of Great Britain, estimated the degree of wisdom
+by the length of the beard, he would have sent him _a goat_ as an
+ambassador." Northcote is in doubt of the truth of this speech having
+been made, but says, that it is certain Keppel answered with great
+boldness.[269] The tyrant is said to have actually ordered his mutes to
+advance with the bow-string, telling the commodore that his life should
+answer for his audacity. Keppel quietly pointed out to the dey the
+squadron at anchor, and told him, that if it was his pleasure to put him
+to death, there were Englishmen enough on board to make a funeral pile
+of his capital. The dey cooled a little, allowed the commodore to
+depart, and made satisfaction for the damage done, and promised to
+abstain from violence in future.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[260] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 18.
+
+[261] Translated from the German by John Oxenford, vol. i., p. 138.
+
+[262] Roos must have been limited in his powers, unlike our Landseer,
+who paints dogs, sheep, horses, cows, stags, and fowls with equal power.
+
+[263] Dean Ramsay's "Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character," 10th
+edition, p. 19.
+
+[264] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 214.
+
+[265] There are two copperplates devoted to the figure and portrait of
+"lang Sandy Wood," as he was called.
+
+[266] "Philosophical Transactions," LXI. p. 176 (1771). Paper on
+Nyl-ghau, with plate, by George Stubbs, engraved by Basire.
+
+[267] Baird, "Report on the County of Middlesex," quoted in view of the
+agriculture of Middlesex, &c., pp. 341, 342, by John Middleton, Esq.
+London: 1798.
+
+[268] The wool which grows on different parts of their bodies, under
+very long hair, is obtained by gently combing them.
+
+[269] "Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds," vol. i., p. 32.
+
+
+
+
+CALVES AND KINE.
+
+
+The little anecdote of Gilpin and the three cows illustrates one elegant
+use of the subjects of the following paragraphs. What home landscape
+like that painted by Alfred Tennyson would be perfect without its cows?
+Many anecdotes of them could be collected. The Irish are celebrated for
+their "bulls," one of them is not the worse for having "Bulls" for its
+subject. Patrick was telling, so the story goes, that there were four
+"Bull Inns" in a certain English town. "There are but three," said a
+native of the place, who knew them well; "the Black Bull, the White
+Bull, and the Red Bull,--where is the fourth?"--"Sure and do you not
+know, the Dun Cow--the best of them all?" replied the unconscious
+Milesian.
+
+
+A GREAT CALF.
+
+Sir William B----, being at a parish meeting, made some proposals, which
+were objected to by a farmer. Highly enraged, "Sir," says he to the
+farmer, "do you know, sir, that I have been at the two universities, and
+at two colleges in each university?"--"Well, sir," said the farmer,
+"what of that? I had a calf that sucked two cows, and the observation I
+made was, the more he sucked, the greater _calf_ he grew."[270]
+
+
+RATHER TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING.--VEAL _ad nauseam_.
+
+At the table of Lord Polkemmet, when the covers were removed, the
+dinner was seen to consist of veal broth, a roast fillet of veal, veal
+cutlets, a florentine (an excellent Scotch dish, composed of veal), a
+calf's head, calf's foot jelly. The worthy judge observing an expression
+of surprise among his guests, who, even in Shetland in early spring
+would have had the veal varied with fish, broke out in explanation, "Ou,
+ay, it's a cauf! when we kill a beast, we just eat up one side, and down
+the tither."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Boswell, the friend and biographer of Johnson, when a young man, went to
+the pit of Covent Garden Theatre, in company with Dr Blair, and in a
+frolic imitated the lowing of a cow; and the universal cry in the
+gallery was, "Encore the cow! encore the cow!" This was complied with,
+and in the pride of success, Boswell attempted to imitate some other
+animals, but with less success. Dr Blair, anxious for the fame of his
+friend, addressed him thus, "My dear sir, I would confine myself to _the
+cow_."[271]
+
+
+ADAM CLARKE AND HIS BULLOCK PAT.
+
+The Rev. Adam Clarke, LL.D., after one of his evangelical visits to
+Ireland, returned to his home at Millbrook. In writing to his sons he
+says--"Not only your mother, sisters, and brother, were glad to see me,
+but also my poor animals in the field, for I lost no time in going to
+visit them. I found the donkey lame, and her son looking much like a
+philosopher; it was strange that even the _bullock_, whom we call _Pat_,
+came to me in the field, and held out his most honest face for me to
+stroke it. The next time I went to him he came running up, and actually
+placed his two fore-feet upon my shoulders, with all the affection of a
+spaniel; but it was a load of kindness I could ill bear, for the animal
+is nearly three years old; I soon got his feet displaced; strange and
+uncouth as this manifestation of affectionate gratitude was, yet with it
+the master and his _steer Pat_ were equally well pleased; so here is a
+literal comment on 'The ox knoweth his owner;' and you see I am in
+league with even the beasts of the field."[272]
+
+
+SAMUEL FOOTE AND THE COWS PULLING THE BELL OF WORCESTER COLLEGE CHAPEL.
+
+Samuel Foote was a student at Worcester College, Oxford, and when there
+he practised many tricks, and soon found out what was ridiculous in any
+man's character.
+
+His biographer[273] records one of these tricks which he played off on
+Dr Gower, the provost of the college. "The church belonging to the
+college fronted the side of a lane where cattle were sometimes turned
+out to graze during the night, and from the steeple hung the bell rope,
+very low in the middle of the outside porch. Foote saw in this an object
+likely to produce some fun, and immediately set about to accomplish his
+purpose. He accordingly one night slyly tied a wisp of hay to the rope,
+as a bait for the cows in their peregrination to the grazing ground.
+The scheme succeeded to his wish. One of the cows soon after smelling
+the hay as she passed by the church door, instantly seized on it, and,
+by tugging at the rope, made the bell ring, to the astonishment of the
+sexton and the whole parish.
+
+"This happened several nights successively, and the incident gave rise
+to various reports, such as not only that the church was haunted by evil
+spirits, but that several spectres were seen walking about the
+churchyard in all those hideous and frightful shapes which fear,
+ignorance, and fancy usually suggest on such occasions.
+
+"An event of this kind, however, was to be explored, for the honour of
+philosophy, as well as for the quiet of the parish. Accordingly the
+doctor and the sexton agreed to sit up one night, and on the first alarm
+to run out and drag the culprit to condign punishment. Their plan being
+arranged, they waited with the utmost impatience for the appointed
+signal; at last the bell began to sound its usual alarm, and they both
+sallied out in the dark, determined on making a discovery. The sexton
+was the first in the attack. He seized the cow by the tail, and cried
+out, 'It was a gentleman commoner, as he had him by the tail of his
+gown;' while the doctor, who had caught the cow by the horns at the same
+time, immediately replied, 'No, no, you blockhead, 'tis the postman, and
+here I have hold of the rascal by his blowing-horn.' Lights, however,
+were immediately brought, when the character of the real offender was
+discovered, and the laugh of the whole town was turned upon the
+doctor."
+
+
+THE GENERAL'S COW.
+
+At Plymouth there is, or was, a small green opposite the Government
+House, over which no one was permitted to pass. Not a creature was
+allowed to approach save the general's cow. One day old Lady D----
+having called at the general's, in order to make a short cut, bent her
+steps across the lawn, when she was arrested by the sentry calling out
+and desiring her to return. "But," said Lady D----, with a stately air,
+"do you know who I am?"--"I don't know who you be, ma'am," replied the
+immovable sentry, "but I knows you b'aint--you b'aint the _general's
+cow_." So Lady D---- wisely gave up the argument and went the other
+way.[274]
+
+
+GILPIN'S LOVE OF THE PICTURESQUE CARRIED OUT.--A REASON FOR KEEPING
+THREE COWS.
+
+Lord Sidmouth told the Rev. C. Smith Bird that he was partly educated at
+Cheam, by Mr Gilpin, the author of many volumes on "Picturesque
+Scenery." He was but a poor scholar, but seems to have been loved by his
+pupils. He _carried out_ his regard for the picturesque, as would appear
+by the following anecdote[275]--
+
+"In visiting the Rev. Mr Gilpin at his house in the New Forest on one
+occasion, his lordship observed three cows feeding in a small paddock,
+which he knew to be all that Mr Gilpin had to feed them in. He asked Mr
+Gilpin how he came to have so many cows when he had so little land? 'The
+truth is,' said he, 'I found one cow would not do--she went
+dry.'--'Well,' said Lord Sidmouth, 'but why not be content with another?
+Two, by good management, might be made to supply you constantly with
+milk.'--'Oh, yes,' said the old gentleman, '_but two would not group_.'"
+
+
+KING JAMES ON A COW GETTING OVER THE BORDER.
+
+In the "Life of Bernard Gilpin," his biographer refers to the
+inhabitants of the Borders being such great adepts in the art of
+thieving, that they could twist a cow's horn, or mark a horse, so as its
+owners could not know it, and so subtle that no vigilance could watch
+against them. A person telling King James a surprising story of a cow
+that had been driven from the north of Scotland into the south of
+England, and escaping from the herd had found her way home; "The most
+surprising part of the story," the king replied, "you lay least stress
+on--that she passed unstolen through the debateable land."[276]
+
+
+DUKE OF MONTAGUE AND HIS HOSPITAL FOR OLD COWS AND HORSES.
+
+The Rev. Joseph Spence[277] records that "the Duke of Montague has an
+hospital for old cows and horses; none of his tenants near Boughton
+dare kill a broken-winded horse; they must bring them all to the
+_reservoir_. The duke keeps a lap-dog, the ugliest creature he could
+meet with; he is always fond of the most hideous, and says he was at
+first kind to them, because nobody else would be."
+
+
+PHILIP IV. OF SPAIN IN THE BULL-RING.
+
+This king, whose form and features are so well known from the pictures
+of Velasquez, was entertained magnificently by his great favourite
+Olivares, in 1631. At this festival, which was in honour of the birthday
+of the heir apparent, the sports of ancient Rome were renewed in the
+bull-ring of Spain. In his life by Mr Stirling,[278] it is recorded that
+"a lion, a tiger, a bear, a camel--in fact, a specimen of every
+procurable wild animal, or, as Quevedo expressed it in a poetical
+account of the spectacle, 'the whole ark of Noah, and all the fables of
+AEsop,' were turned loose into the spacious Plaza del Parque, to fight
+for the mastery of the arena. To the great delight of his Castilian
+countrymen, a bull of Xarama vanquished all his antagonists. The 'bull
+of Marathon, which ravaged the country of Tetrapolis,' says the
+historian of the day, 'was not more valiant; nor did Theseus, who slew
+and sacrificed him, gain greater glory than did our most potent
+sovereign. Unwilling that a beast which had behaved so bravely should go
+unrewarded, his majesty determined to do him the greatest favour that
+the animal himself could have possibly desired, had he been gifted with
+reason--to wit, to slay him with his own royal hand! Calling for his
+fowling-piece, he brought it instantly to his shoulder, and the flash
+and report were scarcely seen and heard ere the mighty monster lay a
+bleeding corpse before the transported lieges. Yet not a moment,'
+continues the chronicler, 'did his majesty lose his wonted serenity, his
+composure of countenance, and becoming gravity of aspect; and but for
+the presence of so great a concourse of witnesses, it was difficult to
+believe that he had really fired the noble and successful shot.'"
+
+
+SYDNEY SMITH AND HIS CATTLE.--HIS "UNIVERSAL SCRATCHER."
+
+The Rev. Sydney Smith, when at Foston, used to call for his hat and
+stick immediately after dinner, and sallied forth for his evening
+stroll. His daughter,[279] who often accompanied him, remarks--"Each cow
+and calf, and horse and pig, were in turn visited, and fed, and patted,
+and all seemed to welcome him; he cared for their comforts as he cared
+for the comforts of every living being around him. He used to say, 'I am
+all for cheap luxuries, even for animals; now all animals have a passion
+for scratching their back bones. They break down your gates and palings
+to effect this. Look! there is my universal scratcher, a sharp-edged
+pole, resting on a high and a low post, adapted to every height, from a
+horse to a lamb. Even the Edinburgh Reviewer can take his turn. You have
+no idea how popular it is. I have not had a gate broken since I put it
+up. I have it in all my fields.'"
+
+
+REV. AUGUSTUS TOPLADY ON THE FUTURE STATE OF ANIMALS.
+
+The Rev. Josiah Bull, in the "Memorials of the Rev. William Bull of
+Newport, Pagnel,"[280] the friend of Cowper, the poet, and the Rev. John
+Newton, tells the following anecdote, in which a favourite theory of the
+author of that exquisite hymn, "Rock of Ages Cleft for Me," is alluded
+to, and somewhat comically illustrated by the author of the "Olney
+Hymns:"--
+
+"Mr Newton had been dining with Mr Bull, and they were quietly sitting
+together, following after 'the things whereby they might edify one
+another,' and that search aided by 'interposing puffs' of the fragrant
+weed. It was in that old study I so well remember, ere it was renovated
+to meet the demands of modern taste. A room some eighteen feet square,
+with an arched roof, entirely surrounded with many a precious volume,
+with large, old casement windows, and immense square chairs of fine
+Spanish mahogany. There these good men were quietly enjoying their
+_tete-a-tete_, when they were startled by a thundering knock at the
+door; and in came Mr Ryland of Northampton, abruptly exclaiming, 'If you
+wish to see Mr Toplady, you must go immediately with me to the "Swan."
+He is on his way to London, and will not live long.' They all proceeded
+to the inn, and there found the good man, emaciated with disease, and
+evidently fast hastening to the grave. As they were talking together,
+they were attracted by a great noise in the street, occasioned, as they
+found on looking out, by a bull-baiting which was going on before the
+house. Mr Toplady was touched by the cruelty of the scene, and
+exclaimed, 'Who could bear to see that sight, if there were not to be
+some compensation for these poor suffering animals in a future
+state?'--'I certainly hope,' said my grandfather, 'that all the bulls
+will go to heaven; but do you think this will be the case with all the
+animal creation?'--'Yes, certainly,' replied Mr Toplady, with great
+emphasis, 'all, all!'--'What!' rejoined Mr Newton, with some sarcasm in
+his tone, 'do you suppose, sir, there will be fleas in heaven? for I
+have a special aversion to them.' Mr Toplady said nothing, but was
+evidently hurt; and as they separated, Mr Newton said, 'How happy he
+should be to see him at Olney, if God spared his life, and he were to
+come that way again.' The reply Mr Toplady made was not very courteous;
+but the good man was perhaps suffering from the irritation of disease,
+and possibly annoyed by the ridicule cast upon a favourite theory."
+
+
+RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM WINDHAM, M.P., ON THE FEELINGS OF A BAITED
+BULL.
+
+That great parliamentary orator, the Right Honourable William Windham,
+lived before the days when humanity to animals was deemed a fit subject
+for legislation.
+
+In his speech against "the bill for preventing the practice of
+bull-baiting" (April 18, 1800),[281] he refers to the introduction of
+such a measure as follows--"In turning from the great interests of this
+country, and of Europe, to discuss with equal solemnity such measures as
+that which is now before us, the House appears to me to resemble Mr
+Smirk, the auctioneer, in the play, who could hold forth just as
+eloquently upon a ribbon as upon a Raphael." He speaks of bull-baiting
+as being, "it must be confessed, at the expense of an animal which is
+not by any means a party to the amusement; but then," he adds, "it
+serves to cultivate the qualities of a certain species of dogs, which
+affords as much pleasure to their owners as greyhounds do to others. It
+is no small recommendation to bull-dogs that they are so much in repute
+with the populace." In a second speech, May 24, 1802, he said that he
+believed "the bull felt a satisfaction in the contest, not less so than
+the hound did when he heard the sound of the horn that summoned him to
+the chase. True it was that young bulls, or those which were never
+baited before, showed reluctance to be tied to the stake; but those
+bulls which, according to the language of the sport, were called _game
+bulls_, who were used to baiting, approached the stake, and stood there
+while preparing for the contest, with the utmost composure. If the bull
+felt no pleasure, and was cruelly dealt with, surely the dogs had also
+some claim to compassion; but the fact was that both seemed equally
+arduous in the conflict; and the bull, like every other animal, while it
+had the better side, did not dislike his situation--it would be
+ridiculous to say he felt no pain--yet, when on such occasions he
+exhibited no signs of terror, it was a demonstrable proof that he felt
+some pleasure."
+
+The "sober loyal men" of Stamford, it would seem, had petitioned for the
+continuance of their annual sport, which had been continued for a
+period of five or six hundred years, and who were displeased with their
+landlord, the Marquis of Exeter, for his endeavours to put down their
+cruel sport. Windham refers to "the antiquity of the thing being
+deserving of respect, for respect for antiquity was the best
+preservation of the Church and State!!"
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[270] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 36.
+
+[271] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 111.
+
+[272] "An Account of the Religious and Literary Life of Adam Clarke,
+LL.D., F.A.S.," by a Member of his Family, vol ii., p. 346.
+
+[273] "Memoirs of Samuel Foote, Esq.," by Wm. Cooke, Esq., vol. i., p.
+13.
+
+[274] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book", p. 246.
+
+[275] Lord Sidmouth lived near Burghfield, where Mr Bird kept pupils,
+and was curate. See "Sketches from the Life of the Rev. Charles Smith
+Bird."
+
+[276] "Lives of Hugh Latimer and Bernard Gilpin," by the Rev. William
+Gilpin, p. 271.
+
+[277] Anecdotes. Supplement, p. 249 (Singer's edition). Spence died in
+1768, aged 70.
+
+[278] "Velasquez and his Works," by William Stirling, p. 62.
+
+[279] Lady Holland's "Memoirs of her Father, the Rev. Sydney Smith,"
+vol. i., p. 118.
+
+[280] "Memorials of the Rev. William Bull of Newport, Pagnel," &c., by
+his grandson, the Rev. Josiah Bull, M.A. 1864.
+
+[281] "Speeches in Parliament of the Right Honourable William Windham,
+to which is prefixed some account of his Life," by Thomas Amyot, Esq.,
+vol. i. pp. 332, 353 (1812).
+
+
+
+
+WHALES.
+
+
+Last and greatest of the mammalia are the whales. The adventures of
+hardy seamen, like Scoresby, in the pursuit of the Greenland whale, or
+Beale in the more dangerous chase of the spermaceti, in southern waters,
+form the subjects of more than one readable volume. But here we give no
+such extracts, but content ourselves with four short skits, having the
+cetacea for their subject.
+
+In these days of zoological gardens, they have succeeded in bringing one
+of the smallest of the order, a porpoise, to the Zoological Gardens. His
+speedy dissolution showed that even the bath of a hippopotamus or an
+elephant was too limited for the dwelling of this pre-eminently marine
+creature. But he had begun to show an intelligence, they say, which,
+independently of all zoological and anatomical considerations, showed
+that he had nothing in common with a fish, but a somewhat similar form,
+and an equal necessity for abundance of the pure liquid element.
+
+
+WHALEBONE.
+
+A thin old man, with a rag-bag in his hand, was picking up a number of
+small pieces of whalebone, which lay on the street. The deposit was of
+such a singular nature, that we asked the quaint-looking gatherer how he
+supposed they came there? "Don't know," he replied, in a squeaking
+voice; "but I s'pect some unfortunate female was _wrecked_ hereabout
+somewhere."[282]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A Scotch lady, who was discomposed by the introduction of gas, asked
+with much earnestness, "What's to become o' the _puir whales_?' deeming
+their interests materially affected by this superseding of their
+oil."[283]
+
+
+VERY LIKE A WHALE.
+
+   The first of all the royal infant males
+   Should take the title of the Prince of _Wales_:
+   Because, 'tis clear to seamen and to lubber,
+   Babies and _whales_ are both inclined to _blubber_.[284]
+
+
+CHRISTOPHER NORTH ON THE WHALE.
+
+_Tickler._ What fish, James, would you incline to be, if put into
+scales?
+
+_Shepherd._ A dolphin: for they hae the speed o' lichtnin. They'll dart
+past and roun' about a ship in full sail before the wind, just as if she
+was at anchor. Then the dolphin is a fish o' peace,--he saved the life
+o' a poet of auld, Arion, wi' his harp,--and oh! they say the cretur's
+beautifu' in death. Byron, ye ken, comparin' his hues to those o' the
+sun settin' ahint the Grecian isles. I sud like to be a dolphin.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Shepherd._ Let me see--I sud hae nae great objections to be a whale in
+the Polar Seas. Gran' fun to fling a boatfu' o' harpooners into the
+air--or, wi' ae thud o' your tail, to drive in the stern posts o' a
+Greenlandman.
+
+_Tickler._ Grander fun still, James, to feel the inextricable harpoon in
+your blubber, and to go snoving away beneath an ice-floe with four miles
+of line connecting you with your distant enemies.
+
+_Shepherd._ But, then, whales marry but ae wife, and are passionately
+attached to their offspring. There they and I are congenial speerits.
+Nae fish that swims enjoys so large a share of domestic happiness.
+
+_Tickler._ A whale, James, is not a fish.
+
+_Shepherd._ Isna he? Let him alane for that. He's ca'd a fish in the
+Bible, and that's better authority than Buffon. Oh that I were a
+whale![285]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With these sentences, we conclude this book, as well as our selections
+on the whale. In the Museum at Edinburgh may be seen one of the finest,
+if not the most perfect, skeleton of a whale exhibited in this kingdom.
+Our young readers there can soon see, by examining it from the gallery,
+that the whale is no "fish."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[282] Mark Lemon, "Jest Book," p. 122.
+
+[283] _Ibid._, p. 201.
+
+[284] _Ibid._, p. 142.
+
+[285] "Noctes Ambrosianae," Works of Professor Wilson, vol. ii., p. 4.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+   Addison and Steele on the peculiarities of the natural history collectors, 5-8
+
+   Albert's horse at Brussels, 256.
+
+   Ammonianus and his ass, 279.
+
+   Androcles and the lion, 167-169.
+
+   Ant-eater, the great, 225-229.
+
+   Arctic fox, 142-148.
+
+   Ass, Sydney Smith on sagacity of, 283.
+
+   Ass and zebra, 276.
+
+   Ass's foal, 278.
+
+   Asses with deers' antlers fastened on heads, 284;
+     duty free, 284.
+
+   Asylum for animals, 265, 266.
+
+   Austrian general and a bear, 58, 59.
+
+   Aye-aye, its singular structure and habits, 36-38.
+
+
+   Baboons, Lady Anne Barnard on, 24, 25.
+
+   Babylon, bas-relief of dog found at, 86, 87.
+
+   Babyrusa, 240.
+
+   Back, Sir George, anecdote of Arctic lemming, 196.
+
+   Badger, 71;
+     anecdotes of, 72-75.
+
+   Baird, origin of name, 241.
+
+   Barrentz on white or Polar bear, 64.
+
+   Barnard, Lady Anne, pleads for the baboons, 24, 25;
+     on some rabbits, 222.
+
+   Bats, fantastic faces of, 38, 39.
+
+   Bearable pun, 61.
+
+   Bears, 56, 57;
+     anecdotes of, 58-70.
+
+   Beechey, Captain, on Polar bear, 63;
+     on the walrus, 184-186, 187.
+
+   Bell, Professor, on cats, 149.
+
+   Bell, Sir Charles, on the head of a pig, 239.
+
+   Bell-Rock horse, 257.
+
+   Bentham, Jeremy, and his pet cat, 150-152;
+     and the mice, 205, 206.
+
+   Berwickshire, names of places in, derived from swine, 241.
+
+   Bess, a pet hare of the poet Cowper's, 216.
+
+   Bisset and his trained monkeys, 25, 26;
+     musical cats, 152, 153;
+     trained hares and turtle, 221, 222;
+     learned pig, 250.
+
+   Black Dwarf's cat, 157.
+
+   Blomfield, Bishop, bitten by a dog, 88.
+
+   Boar, wild, 239-245.
+
+   Border, cow getting across, 309.
+
+   Borneo, the home of the orang, 11.
+
+   Boswell imitates the lowing of a cow, 305.
+
+   Bradford, Earl of, on the number of legs of a sheep, 296.
+
+   Bristol, Bishop of, comparing Cambridge freshmen to puppies, 89.
+
+   Brock, or badger, 72.
+
+   Brown, Dr John, "Rab" and "Our Dogs," 78.
+
+   Browning, Mrs Elizabeth Barrett, lines on her dog Flush, 89-93.
+
+   Browning's, Robert, description of rats, 199.
+
+   Bull, an Irish, 304.
+
+   Bull, Rev. Wm., Newton, and Toplady, anecdote of, 312.
+
+   Bull-baiting at Olney, 313;
+     Windham on, 314.
+
+   Bull-ring, Philip IV. in, 310.
+
+   Bullock and Dr Adam Clarke, 305, 306.
+
+   Burke, Edmund, question when interrupted, 149;
+     anecdote of his humanity, 257, 258.
+
+   Burns' "Twa Dogs," 81, 82;
+     the field-mouse, 206-208.
+
+   Bush-pig, 148.
+
+   Bussapa, the tiger-slayer, 162-164.
+
+   Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, Bart., and his dog Speaker, 93, 94.
+
+   Byron on his dog, 79;
+     on Boatswain, a Newfoundland dog, 94, 95;
+     pets, 26, 27;
+     bear at Cambridge, 59.
+
+
+   "Calamity," a horse of Sydney Smith's, 272.
+
+   Calf, a great, 304.
+
+   Calves and kine, 304.
+
+   Camel, Captain Wm. Peel on, 287-289.
+
+   Campbell, Colonel, account of Bussapa and the tiger, 162-164.
+
+   Canova's sculptured lions and the child, 171-173.
+
+   Carnac and the she-goat, 299.
+
+   Cats, 149-161.
+
+   Cat's letter, by Montgomery, 156.
+
+   Cattle of Sydney Smith, and their universal scratcher, 311.
+
+   Chalmers, Dr, and the guinea-pig, 223, 224.
+
+   _Cheiroptera_, the order which contains the bats, 38, 39.
+
+   Children and horses cannot explain their complaints, 269.
+
+   Chimpanzee, Mr Mitchell on the habits of a young one, 22-42.
+
+   China, roasted pups eaten in, 78.
+
+   _Chiromys Madagascariensis_, its habits, 36-38.
+
+   _Choiropotamus Africanus_, 140.
+
+   Choiseul, Madame de, and her pet monkey and parrot, 33, 34.
+
+   Chunie, the elephant, 230.
+
+   Clare's dog and Curran, 98.
+
+   Clarke, Dr Adam, on Shetland seals, 175, 176;
+     his bullock Pat, 305.
+
+   Clive's, Lord, handwriting misunderstood, 230.
+
+   Cockburn, Lord, and the sheep at Bonaly, 298.
+
+   Collie at Cultershaw, 82.
+
+   Collins, Wm., R.A., and Sir David Wilkie, 3;
+     the rat-catcher with the ferret, 76;
+     his dog Prinny, 96, 97;
+     paints Odell's old donkey, 277.
+
+   Collins, W. Wilkie, Sir David Wilkie's first remark on him, 3, 4.
+
+   Constant and his cat, 153.
+
+   Cook's sailor, who took a fox-bat for the devil, 40.
+
+   Cooke, Major-General, 189.
+
+   Coon, a gone, 71.
+
+   Couthon and the spaniel, 195.
+
+   Cowper's narrative of his pet hares, 213-219;
+     dog Beau and the water-lily, 79-81.
+
+   Cows, anecdotes of, 306-311.
+
+   Cross, Edward, of Exeter Change and Walworth, 33.
+
+   Cruelty to horses in Ireland, 275.
+
+   Cunningham, Major, on Ladak dog, 86.
+
+   Curran on Lord Clare's dog, 98.
+
+   Cuvier and the fossil, 236.
+
+   _Cynocephali_, or African baboons, 9, 24, 25.
+
+
+   Dalhousie, Earl of, and the ferocious red-deer, 291.
+
+   Dandie Dinmont educates his terriers, 122.
+
+   Davis, Sir George, and the lion, 170, 171.
+
+   Deer family, 290, 291;
+     their sensibility of smell, 300.
+
+   Dessin Island, rabbits on, blind of one eye, 222.
+
+   Dickens on sellers of bears' grease, 59, 60.
+
+   Dog and the French murderers, 104, 105.
+
+   Dog-cheap, 100.
+
+   Dog-matic, 113.
+
+   Dog-rose, 133.
+
+   Dogs, 77-87.
+
+   Douglas, General, and the rats, 201.
+
+   Dragon-fly exhibited at a show, 61.
+
+   Dresden, Battle of, General Moreau killed at, 113.
+
+   Drew on the instinct of dogs, 98-100.
+
+   Dromedary, Capt. Peel on its rate of motion, 289.
+
+   Dunbar, Rev. Rowland Hill at, 261.
+
+   Durian, an eastern fruit, 14.
+
+
+   Earl's Court, Hunter's menagerie at, 300-302.
+
+   Eastern dogs, 84, 85.
+
+   _Echidna aculeata_, 192.
+
+   _Edentata_, 228.
+
+   Edmonstone, Dr, on Shetland seals, 176-182.
+
+   Eglintoun, Countess of, her fondness for rats, 200, 201.
+
+   Elephant and his trunk, 232;
+     anecdotes of, 234-236.
+
+   _Epomophorus_, a genus of tropical bats alluded to by the poet-laureate, 39.
+
+   Erskine's sheep and the woolsack, 298.
+
+   Esquimaux dogs, 78, 86.
+
+   Ettrick Shepherd's monkey, 27, 28;
+     on fox-hunting, 139-141;
+     on whales, 316.
+
+
+   Fabricius on Arctic fox, 143.
+
+   Ferret, 75, 76.
+
+   Field mouse turned up by Robert Burns, 206-208.
+
+   Findhorn fisherman and monkey, 29, 30.
+
+   Flush, lines to her dog, by Mrs Browning, 89-93.
+
+   Foote, Samuel, makes cows pull bell at Oxford, 306.
+
+   Forster, Dr, on the fox-bats of the Friendly Islands, 42, 43.
+
+   Fournier on the squirrel, 196.
+
+   Fowler the tailor and Gainsborough the artist, 2, 3.
+
+   Fox, Charles James, on the poll-cat, 77.
+
+   Fox, 138.
+
+   Fox-hunting, from the "Noctes," 139-141.
+
+   Fox-bats, particulars of their history, 41-47.
+
+   Frederick the Great and his Italian greyhounds, 104.
+
+   French count at deer-stalking, 293, 294;
+     dogs, time of Louis XI., 110;
+     marquis and his monkey, 30, 31.
+
+   Fry, Mrs, on Irish pigs, 252.
+
+   Fuller, Thomas, on destructive fieldmice, 208, 209.
+
+   Fuller on Norfolk rabbits, 223.
+
+   Fuseli on Northcote's picture of Balaam and the Ass, 281.
+
+   Future state of animals, Toplady on, 312.
+
+
+   Gainsborough and Fowler the tailor, 2, 3;
+     his wife and their dogs, 100, 101;
+     pigs, countryman on, 252;
+     kept an ass, 277.
+
+   Garrick and the horse, 259.
+
+   Gell, Sir William, his dog, 101.
+
+   General's cow at Plymouth, 308.
+
+   George III. at Winchester, meets Garrick, 259.
+
+   George IV. visited at Windsor by "Happy Jerry," 32.
+
+   Gilpin's, Bernard, horses stolen and recovered, 260.
+
+   Gilpin's, Rev. Mr, love of the picturesque, 308.
+
+   Gilray's caricature of Fox and Burke as dogs, 724.
+
+   Gimcrack, the widow, her letter to Mr Bickerstaff on her husband's peculiarities, 6-8.
+
+   Giraffe, anecdotes of, 291-295.
+
+   _Glirine_ animals, 195, 212.
+
+   Goats, anecdotes of, 299, 300.
+
+   Goethe on stag-trench at Frankfort, 294;
+     on Roos's etchings of sheep, 296.
+
+   Good enough for a pig, 251.
+
+   Gordon, Duchess of, and the wolf-dog, 102, 103.
+
+   Gorilla and its story, 9-22.
+
+   Graham, Rev. W., on dogs in the East, 85.
+
+   Grange, the, near Edinburgh, 30.
+
+   Gray compares poet-laureate to a rat-catcher, 204, 205.
+
+   Gray. Dr, gets large specimen of gorilla, 17.
+
+   Greenland seal, 181.
+
+   Grotta del Cane, the poor dog at, 111, 112.
+
+   Guilford, Lord Keeper, and the rhinoceros, 230.
+
+   Guinea pig, Dr Chalmers, 223, 224.
+
+   Gunn, Mr, on tiger-wolf, 192, 193.
+
+
+   Haff-fish, the Shetland name for seal, 179.
+
+   Hairs or hares, 220.
+
+   Hall, Robert, and the dog, 106.
+
+   Hamilton, Sir Wm., his definition of man, 1, 2.
+
+   Hanover rats, 202, 203.
+
+   Happy Jerry, the rib-nosed mandrill, 31, 32.
+
+   Hardwicke's lady, sow, 253.
+
+   Hares, Mrs Browning on Cowper's, 212;
+     petted by Cowper the poet, 213-219.
+
+   Hastings and the refractory donkey, 279.
+
+   Heard, the herald, on the horse of George III., 261
+
+   Hedgehogs, 48.
+
+   Hill, Rev. Rowland, prayed for his horse, 261, 262.
+
+   Holcroft on race-horses, 263-265.
+
+   Hood's dog Dash, 110.
+
+   Hook and the litter of pigs, 253.
+
+   Hooker's sea-bear in Regent's Park, 175.
+
+   Hospital for old cows and horses, 309.
+
+   Horse, 256;
+     that carried stones to build Bell-Rock lighthouse, 257.
+
+   Horse exercises, a saying of Rowland Hill's, 263.
+
+   Horsemanship of Johnson the Irishman, 257, 258.
+
+   Horsfield, Dr, on the Javanese fox-bat, 45, 46.
+
+   Hunter, John, and the dead tiger, 165;
+     his menagerie at Earl's Court, 300, 302.
+
+   Hunters of Polmood, dog that belonged to, 107.
+
+
+   Impey, Warren Hastings, and the ass, 279, 280.
+
+   India shawls, 301.
+
+   Inglefield, Capt., on the affection of a Polar bear and her two cubs, 65.
+
+   Irish clergyman and the dogs, 108.
+
+   Irishman on rat-shooting, 203.
+
+   Irving, Washington, and the dog, 108, 109.
+
+   Ivory dust, 233.
+
+
+   Jackal, 148, 149.
+
+   Jeffrey on a donkey; Sydney Smith's lines on 281, 282.
+
+   Jekyll treading on a small pig, 251;
+     on a squirrel, 195.
+
+   Jerrold, Douglas, and his dog, 109.
+
+
+   Kangaroo Cooke, 189.
+
+   Kangaroos, Charles Lamb on, 188, 189.
+
+   Keppel, Commodore, and the Dey of Algiers, 303.
+
+   King James, on a cow getting over the Border, 309.
+
+
+   Laird of Balnamoon and the brock, 75.
+
+   Lamb, Charles, and the dog, 110;
+     on Kangaroos, 188, 189;
+     on the hare, 212.
+
+   Landseer's "Monkeyana," 10;
+     stags, 293.
+
+   Lap-dogs before the House of Commons, 124.
+
+   Lauder, Sir Thomas Dick, adventures of a monkey in Morayshire, 29, 30.
+
+   Laurillard, Cuvier's assistant, 237.
+
+   Lawyer's horse, 268.
+
+   Lemming, and Arctic voyager, 196;
+     habits of the Arctic, 197, 198.
+
+   Leifchild, Dr, at Hoxton, 127.
+
+   Leopard, its ferocity when wounded, 161.
+
+   Letter from the gorilla, now in British Museum, 13-17.
+
+   Lightfoot, name for Sir Edwin Landseer, 293.
+
+   Lion and tiger, 166.
+
+   Lion, hunts on Assyrian monuments, 162.
+
+   Lions on monument of Clement XII., 171-173.
+
+   Liston the surgeon and his cat, 153, 154.
+
+   Livingston, Dr, on paralysing effect of lion's bite, 162.
+
+   Luther observes a dog at Lintz, 111.
+
+   Lyon, Capt., on Arctic fox, 144, 145.
+
+   Lytton, Sir Edward Bulwer, on the pets of some of the Revolutionary butchers, 195, 196.
+
+
+   Macaulay, Lord, on the last days of King William III., 50-56.
+
+   M'Clintock on Arctic fox, 144.
+
+   M'Dougall on habits of Arctic lemming, 197.
+
+   Macgillivray, John, on a fox-bat from Fitzroy Island, 45.
+
+   Mackenzie, Mrs Colin, on the habits of the apes at Simla, 35, 36;
+     on the tiger being worshipped, 166.
+
+   Man, Professor Owen on his position, 1;
+     definition of, by Linnaeus, 12;
+     defined in the Linnaean manner, 4.
+
+   Mandrill and George IV., 31, 32.
+
+   Mansfield's, Lord, joke about a horse, 267.
+
+   Marat, the citizen, and his doves, 196.
+
+   Markham, Mr Clement, on the Polar bear, 69.
+
+   _Marsupialia_, 188-191.
+
+   Mastiff and the soldier, 97.
+
+   Matthews, Henry, on the Grotta del Cane, 112.
+
+   Mayerne, Dr, and his balsam of bats, 47.
+
+   Metcalfe, when a boy, on camel, 290.
+
+   Miller, Hugh, on badger-baiting in the Canongate, 72-74.
+
+   Miscellaneous eating about a pig, 238.
+
+   Mitchell, D. W., on the habits of a young chimpanzee, 22-24.
+
+   Mitchell's antipathy to cats, 155.
+
+   Model dog of the artist Collins, 96, 97.
+
+   Mole, its habits, 49.
+
+   Monkey revered by Hindoos, 35.
+
+   Monkeys, 9;
+     liable to lung disease in British islands, 22;
+     Rev. Sydney Smith on, 34, 35;
+     poor relations, 34.
+
+   Montagu, Duke of, and his hospital for old cows, &c., 309.
+
+   Montgomery, James, his translation of a definition of man, 4;
+     and his cats, 155, 156.
+
+   Moore, General, and his horse at Corunna, 268.
+
+   Moore on Gilpin and Boatswain, two dogs, 95, 96.
+
+   Moore, Dr John, sketch of a French marquis and his monkey, 30, 31.
+
+   More, Hannah, on dog of Garrick's, 105.
+
+   Moreau and his greyhound, 113.
+
+   Moses, a dog of Mrs Schimmelpenninck's, 122.
+
+   Moth larvae eating at night, 37.
+
+   Mounsey, anecdote of, 269.
+
+   Mouse that amused Baron von Trenck, 209, 210.
+
+   Mules should have their own way, 286.
+
+   Museum of John Hunter, 164, 165.
+
+   Musical cats, 152, 153.
+
+   Musk rat, 200.
+
+   _Myrmecophaga jubata_, 225-229.
+
+
+   Names given to horses, 270-274.
+
+   Napier, Charles, and the lion in the Tower, 173.
+
+   Natural history collectors of the days of Addison and Steele, 5, 8.
+
+   Neill, Dr Patrick, 5.
+
+   Nelson and the Polar bear, 67-69;
+     in Arctic seas, 186.
+
+   Newfoundland dog, 126.
+
+   N'Geena, or gorilla, 18.
+
+   Nicol, George, the bookseller and hunter, 165.
+
+   Norfolk, Duke of, and his spaniels, 114.
+
+   North, Sir Dudley, visits the rhinoceros, 231.
+
+   North, Lord, and the dog, 115.
+
+   Northcote's Balaam and the Ass, 281.
+
+   Norton, Hon. Mrs, address to a dog, 83.
+
+
+   Odell and his old donkey, 277.
+
+   Old Jack, a horse that drew stones for building Waterloo Bridge, 270.
+
+   Old lady and the beasts on the mound, 173.
+
+   Ommaney, Capt., and the Polar bear, 70.
+
+   Opossum, 190.
+
+   _Ornithorhynchus_, the duck-bill, 192.
+
+   Owen, Professor, on the gorilla, 18;
+     on the aye-aye, 36.
+
+
+   Parasols, how ladies used them at Cross's menagerie, 33.
+
+   Parrot and monkey, anecdote of two pets, 33, 34.
+
+   Parry, Capt., on flesh of Polar bear, 66.
+
+   Paton, Sir J. Noel, has studied physiognomies of bats, &c., 38.
+
+   Peale, Titian, on a tame fox-bat, 44.
+
+   Peccaries of South America, 240.
+
+   Peel, Capt. Wm., on camel, 287-289.
+
+   _Peracyon_, 19.
+
+   Perchance, a lap-dog, 96.
+
+   Perthes derives hints from his dog, 115.
+
+   Peter the Great and his dog Lisette, 161, 117.
+
+   _Phascolomys vombatus_, 193.
+
+   Philip IV. in bull-ring, 310.
+
+   Phillips, Sir Richard, eats jelly of ivory dust, 233.
+
+   _Phoca barbata_, 180;
+     _vitulena_, 177.
+
+   Pied Piper of Hamelin, extract from, 199.
+
+   Pig, monument to, 239.
+
+   Pigs and silver spoons, 254.
+
+   Plants liked by hares, 218.
+
+   Polar bear, its history, 61-70.
+
+   Poll-cat, Fox and the, 77.
+
+   Polkemmet, Lord, a dinner on veal, 305.
+
+   Polson and the last Scottish wolf, 135-137.
+
+   Ponsonby and the poodle, 118.
+
+   Porpoise in Zoological Gardens, 315.
+
+   Pope on dogs, 95.
+
+   Porcupine ant-eater, 192.
+
+   Postman and carrier dog at Moffat, 113.
+
+   Postmen, Capt. Osborn, on Arctic foxes as, 146.
+
+   _Potamochoerus_, 240, 245.
+
+   Prinny, a pet dog of Collins the artist, 96, 97.
+
+   Prison mouse, 209, 210.
+
+   _Pteropus conspicillatus_, 44;
+     _medius_, 45.
+
+   Puss, a pet hare of the poet Cowper's 214, 215.
+
+
+   _Quadrumana_, 9-38.
+
+   Queen of Charles I. and the lap-dog 107.
+
+   Quixote Bowles fond of pigs, 251.
+
+
+   Rabbits, a family all blind of one eye, 222.
+
+   Raccoon, 71.
+
+   Race-horses, Holcroft's anecdotes of, 263-265.
+
+   Ramsgate donkeys, Irishman on, 278.
+
+   Rats and mice, 198.
+
+   Rats' whiskers good for artists' brushes, 204.
+
+   Ravages of rats, 203.
+
+   Raven, pet of Wood the surgeon, 299.
+
+   Red-deer at Taymouth, 291, 292.
+
+   "Relais," a dog belonging to Louis XII., 111.
+
+   Revolutionary butchers and their pets, 195, 196.
+
+   Rhinoceros and elephant, 229.
+
+   Richardson, Sir J., on Arctic fox, 143.
+
+   River pig, 245.
+
+   Rodent animals, 195, 212.
+
+   Rodney, Lord, and his dog Loup, 119.
+
+   Rogue elephant, skull of one, 230.
+
+   Roos's etchings of sheep, Goethe on, 296, 297.
+
+   Ross, Sir James, on Arctic fox, 142, 145.
+
+   Rowan berries, dog that fetched, 128.
+
+   Ruddiman and his dog Rascal, 119.
+
+
+   Sand liked by hares, 218.
+
+   Schimmelpenninck, Mrs, her fondness for dogs, 121.
+
+   Scott, Sir Walter, when a boy, saw Burns, 84;
+     his fondness for his dogs, 122;
+     on a fox, 138;
+     visit to the Black Dwarf, 157.
+
+   "Scratcher" of Sydney Smith, 311.
+
+   Scriptures, dogs mentioned in the, 84, 103, 106.
+
+   Seals, their intelligence, 174-182.
+
+   _Semnopithecus Entellus_, an Indian monkey, 35.
+
+   Sergent and his spaniel, 196.
+
+   Shaved bear at Bristol, 61.
+
+   Shawl-goat at John Hunter's menagerie, 301.
+
+   Sheep, anecdotes of, 295-298;
+     and goats, 295;
+     pet, of Alex. Wood the surgeon, 299.
+
+   Shepherd dogs, 82.
+
+   Sheridan and the dog, 109;
+     on the dog-tax, 123.
+
+   Shetland seals, 174-182.
+
+   Sidmouth, Lord, educated by the Rev. Mr Gilpin, 308.
+
+   Skins of rabbits, 223.
+
+   Sloth, Sydney Smith on, 224.
+
+   Smith, Rev. Sydney, on the differences between man and monkeys, 34, 35;
+     his answer to Landseer, 78;
+     remark on a dog, 88;
+     his dislike of dogs, 124, 125;
+     on pigs, 254;
+     and his horses, 271-274.
+
+   Smith and the elephant, 234.
+
+   Sorrel, the horse of William III., 51.
+
+   Southey and his critics, 48;
+     on dogs, 126;
+     loved cats, 158-160.
+
+   Sow and swine, 238-255.
+
+   Spencer, Lord, and Rev. Sydney Smith, 124, 125.
+
+   _Spermophilus Parryi_, 197.
+
+   Sportsmen, exaggeration of some, 221.
+
+   Squirrel, 195.
+
+   Stags, anecdotes of, 291-293.
+
+   Stag-trench at Frankfort, 294.
+
+   Stanhope, Earl, on Jacobites calling adherents of Court "Hanover rats," 202, 203;
+     on the poet Cowper's tastes, 220.
+
+   Stapelia, a plant at the Cape, 25.
+
+   Stirling Castle, "Lion's den" at, 162.
+
+   Stokes, Capt. Lort, on the red-necked fox-bat, 43.
+
+   Story, Judge, names he gave his horses, 274.
+
+   Sturge and the pigs, 255.
+
+   Surgeon, an enthusiastic fox-hunting, 138.
+
+   Swinton, origin of name, 241.
+
+   Sykes, Colonel, on the flesh of a fox-bat, 45.
+
+   Syria, wild boar in, 244.
+
+
+   Tail, short-tailed and long-tailed horses, 275.
+
+   Tailor and the elephant, 235.
+
+   _Tamandua_, or ant-eater, 226.
+
+   Tennyson, lines on man, and modern systems, 10;
+     lines describing tropical bats, 39.
+
+   Thackeray on the Egyptian donkey, 285.
+
+   _Thalassarctos maritimus_--the polar bear, 61-70.
+
+   _Thylacinus Harrisii_, 191.
+
+   Tibetan mastiff, 86, 87.
+
+   Tiger and lion, 161.
+
+   Tigers' claws and whiskers regarded as charms, 165.
+
+   Tiger-wolf of Tasmania, 190-194.
+
+   Tiney, a pet hare of Cowper's, 216.
+
+   Toplady on future state of animals, 312.
+
+   Tonton, Walpole's pet dog, 129, 130.
+
+   Trained monkeys, 26.
+
+   Trenck and the tame mouse in prison, 209.
+
+   _Trichechus rosmarus_, 183.
+
+   True, on dog being a good judge of eloquence, 127.
+
+
+   Ulysses and his dog, 133.
+
+   _Ursus lotor_, why raccoon was so called, 71.
+
+
+   Veal _ad nauseam_, 304
+
+   Venison fat, 294.
+
+   _Vulpes lagopus_, 142.
+
+
+   Walker, Dr David, on Polar bear, 62.
+
+   Wallace, Alfred, on orang-utan, 11;
+     on great ant-eater, 227.
+
+   Walpole, Horace, the young lady's pet monkey and her parrot, 33, 34;
+     pet dog Rosette, lines on, 129.
+
+   Walrus, history of, 182-188.
+
+   Waterton, Charles, letter from, on young gorilla, 18-20;
+     letter to Mrs Wombwell on her young gorilla, 21;
+     "Hanover rats," 202.
+
+   Watt, James, on rats' whiskers, 204.
+
+   Wellington's story of musk rat, 200.
+
+   Whalebone, 315.
+
+   Whales, 315, 317.
+
+   Whateley, Archbishop, and his dogs, 131, 132;
+     on a cat that rung the bell, 160.
+
+   Wild boar, 239-245.
+
+   Wilkie, Sir David, and the baby, 3, 4;
+     and the puppy, 133.
+
+   William III., his death, as related by Lord Macaulay, 49-56.
+
+   Wilson, the American ornithologist, and the mouse, 211.
+
+   Windham, Right Hon. William, on Capt. Phipps's Arctic expedition, 67, 68;
+     on the feelings of a baited bull, 313.
+
+   Wolf, 135.
+
+   Wolf-dog, Hungarian, anecdote of, 102, 103.
+
+   Wombat, 193.
+
+   Wood, Sandy, and his pets, 298, 299.
+
+   Wordsworth on cruelty to horses in Ireland, 275.
+
+
+   Zebra, Lattin's joke, 287.
+
+   Zoological Gardens, 249.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
+
+EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+
++------------------------------------------------------------------+
+|Transcriber's note:                                               |
+|                                                                  |
+|"The Aye-Aye, or Cheiromys of Madagascar (_with a Plate_)"        |
+|                                                                  |
+|Unfortunately no plate could be found for this particular section.|
+|Reference to it was removed from the Table of Contents.           |
++------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Heads and Tales, by Various
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