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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance of Natural History, Second
+Series, by Philip Henry Gosse
+
+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: The Romance of Natural History, Second Series
+
+Author: Philip Henry Gosse
+
+Release Date: June 13, 2010 [EBook #32800]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURAL HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Barbara Tozier, Odessa Paige Turner, Bill
+Tozier and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes: Obvious printer error's have been corrected.
+Inconsistencies in Hyphenation and use of accents have been
+maintained. Italic text has been surrounded by _, the only superscript
+character is marked by ^. The ligature of [oe] had to be represented
+as {oe}.
+
+
+
+
+THE ROMANCE
+
+OF
+
+NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+EDINBURGH:
+PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY,
+PAUL'S WORK.
+
+
+[Illustration: FASCINATION.
+
+_Front._]
+
+
+
+
+  THE ROMANCE
+
+  OF
+
+  NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+  by
+  Philip Henry Gosse, F.R.S.
+
+  Second Series.
+
+  LONDON:
+  JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
+
+  M.DCCC.LXI.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+I. THE EXTINCT.
+
+PAGE
+
+  Death of Species -- Some Died in Early Historic Ages -- Some Dying Now
+  -- Changes of Land and Water -- Tertiary State of Europe -- Dinothere of
+  Germany -- Sivathere of India -- Gigantic Tortoise -- Pachyderms of
+  Siberia -- Rhinoceros -- Mammoth -- Mastodon of America -- Great
+  Quadrupeds of South America -- Sloths -- Habits of Mylodon -- Macrauchen
+  -- Toxodon -- Ancient Australia and its Colossal Birds -- Ancient
+  Britain -- Its Flora and Fauna -- Irish Elk -- Carnivores -- Chronology
+  of the Tertiary Era -- Contemporaneous Existence of Man with the Fossil
+  Fauna -- Gigantic Tortoise -- Condition of Siberian Pachyderms --
+  Discovery of the Remains -- Contemporary Fauna of Britain -- Chinese and
+  Siberian Traditions -- Indian Traditions of the Mastodon -- State of its
+  Remains -- Its Food -- Comparative Lateness of Geologic Processes in
+  America -- Possibility that the Mastodon was a Beast of Burden -- Darwin
+  on the South American Sloths -- Freshness of their Remains --
+  Synchronism with Existing Creatures -- Birds of New Zealand -- Maori
+  Tales -- Evidence of Recent Existence -- Story of an English Seaman --
+  Examination of its Truth -- Fossil Eggs -- Comparison of Dimensions --
+  Larger Eggs in Madagascar -- Æpyornis -- Its Present Existence Possible
+  -- Discovery of the Notornis -- Tertiary Britain -- Fossil Man -- Worked
+  Flints -- Associated with Fossil Bones -- Species -- Age of Man --
+  Alluvium of the Nile -- Conclusions from it Delusive -- Rates of
+  Geologic Changes Variable -- Examples -- Evidence of Contemporaneity of
+  Man with the Tertiary Fauna -- Irish Elk -- State of its Remains --
+  Traditionary and Documentary Evidence of its Recent Existence --
+  Slaughtered by Man -- Proof of this Fact -- Great Accumulation of Skulls
+  at Lough Gûr -- Weapons found with Elk Relics -- Proofs of its having
+  been Cooked -- Manner of Hunting the Elk -- Ancient Irish Poem on
+  Animals -- No Allusion to the Elk in it -- This Explained -- Notices of
+  Early Oxen -- Their Fossil Relics -- Cæsar's Account of the Urus -- Wild
+  Oxen in Ancient Greece and Western Asia -- Guy of Warwick and the Dun
+  Cow -- The Turnbulls -- The Urus Fossil in Britain -- Vast Size of
+  Fossil Oxen -- Scanian Fossil Ox bearing a Spear-wound -- Other Ancient
+  Oxen -- European Bison -- British Bears -- Period of their Extinction --
+  Extinction of the Wolf -- Beaver Extinct in Britain -- Almost Extinct in
+  Europe -- Dodo -- Accounts of Voyagers -- Seen in London -- Museum
+  Relics -- Paintings -- Stelleria -- Cheiromys -- Moho -- Kaureke --
+  Manu-mea -- Nestor of Norfolk Island -- Great Auk -- Its Recent
+  Abundance -- Catalogue of Specimens and Eggs in Cabinets -- Falkland Fox
+  -- Musk Ox -- Hand-tree of Mexico -- Attempt to Estimate the Rate of
+  Species-extinction -- Perhaps One a Year -- Question of Continuous
+  Creation of Species -- Causes of Extinction -- Thoughts of Owen and
+  Darwin -- Geographic Distribution an Important Element -- Fauna Peculiar
+  to Islands -- Red Grouse -- Precariousness of its Existence,      1
+
+II. THE MARVELLOUS.
+
+  Vulgar Love of Marvels -- False Causes -- Counter Tendency of Science --
+  Blood-Showers -- Traced to Butterfly-discharges -- Worms in Horse Pond
+  -- Crimson Snow -- Discharges of Birds -- Real Red Rain -- Waters turned
+  to Blood -- Oscillatoria -- Infusoria -- "Raining Cats and Dogs" --
+  Snail-showers -- Frog-showers -- At Portobello -- At Leeds -- On the
+  Continent -- Fish-showers -- The Aberdare Shower -- Explanations and
+  Criticisms -- Veritable Fish-showers in South America -- In India -- In
+  Ceylon -- Torpidity of Fishes in Mud -- Lepidosiren -- Its Structure --
+  Amphibious Fishes -- Climbing Perch -- Salarias of Ceylon -- Provisional
+  Structure,      96
+
+III. MERMAIDS.
+
+  The Oannes of Berosus -- Assyrian Representations of Mermen -- Dagon and
+  Atergatis -- Universal Belief in Mermaids -- Opinion of Swainson --
+  Sirens in Dongola -- Museum Specimens -- Japanese Ingenuity -- Accounts
+  of Living Specimens -- Assumed to be Cow-whales -- Indian Accounts --
+  Scandinavian Myths -- Mermaids in Shetland -- A Love Story -- Cavern in
+  Skye -- Veritable Narratives -- Hudson's Report -- Steller's Sea-ape --
+  Rencontre of Weddell's Seaman -- Merman seen at Landscrone -- Mermaid
+  Captured by Six Shetlandmen -- Comments on the Story -- Critical
+  Examination of it,      125
+
+IV. THE SELF-IMMURED.
+
+  Toads Found in Wood and Stone -- Difficulties -- Bell's Caution --
+  Current Explanations -- Mr Bartlett's Toad in Fir-tree -- His Letter in
+  Reply -- Mr Bree's Toad in Sandstone -- Mr Peacock's Toad in Lias --
+  Toad in Tamarind-wood in India -- Comments on the Report -- Toad in
+  Flint at Blois -- Toad in Iron Ore -- _Audi alteram partem_ -- Mr
+  Plant's Disappointment -- Seven Frogs in Nodules of Limestone -- Toad
+  Immured in Old Wall -- Frog in Freestone -- Toads deep in Stiff Clay --
+  Experiments -- Dr Buckland Immures Toads in Oolitic Limestone and
+  Sandstone -- Results -- Dr Buckland's Conclusions -- Toads Inclosed in
+  Plaster of Paris -- Critical Examination of the Experiments --
+  Objections to the Conclusions -- Evidence rather in Favour of Common
+  Belief -- Toad Sixteen Years in Closed-in Wall -- Toad in Mortar under a
+  Horse-block -- Indefinite Torpidity of Wasps -- Mr Bartlett Finds a Bat
+  in a Vault Closed for Twenty Years -- Mr Smith Finds a Bat in a Vault
+  Closed for One Hundred and Six Years,      146
+
+V. HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWS.
+
+  The Question -- Popular Belief -- Scientific Statements of Swallows'
+  Torpidity and Submersion -- Achard's Statement -- White's Account --
+  Cases given by Bishop Stanley -- Supposed Torpidity of American Swift --
+  Hybernating Corn-crakes -- Barrington's Reports of Torpid Swallows --
+  Curator Wall's Story -- Fitton's Story -- Swallows in Britain during
+  Winter -- Cases recorded by White -- Montagu -- Yarrell -- C. Bree --
+  Bell -- Hewitson -- Harcourt -- Rodd -- Hadfield -- W. Bree -- Johnston
+  -- Gurney -- Examination of the Evidence -- Conclusion in Favour of
+  Torpidity,      191
+
+VI. THE CRESTED AND WATTLED SNAKE.
+
+  Seba's Museum -- His "Thesaurus" -- Figures of Curious Serpents -- What
+  could they have been? -- Proofs that they were Ophidian, not Piscine --
+  Reports of Wonderful Serpent in Jamaica -- Singular Character of its
+  Habitat -- Geological and Botanical Features -- Locale of Three-fingered
+  Jack -- Crested Snake Killed here -- Negro Stories of its Voice -- Heard
+  of in Hayti -- Author's Efforts to obtain a Specimen -- Occurrence of
+  Two Specimens,      211
+
+VII. THE DOUBTFUL.
+
+  Viper Swallowing her Young -- Conflicting Statements -- Physiologically
+  not Impossible -- Reports of Witnesses -- Mr Percival's Account -- Mr
+  Wolley's Corroboration -- Mr Bond's Testimony -- Case of the Rattlesnake
+  -- Seen by Palisot de Beauvois -- Case of the Common Lizard -- Comments
+  on the Evidence.
+
+  Madame Merian -- Her Truth Impeached -- Her Story of the Lantern-fly --
+  Denials of its Luminosity by Entomologists -- Confirmation of it by
+  Lacordaire -- By Spinola -- By Wesmael -- English Insects only
+  Occasionally Luminous -- Mole-cricket -- The Cause of _ignis fatuus_ --
+  Crane-fly -- Luminous Caterpillars -- Perhaps a Disease.
+
+  Madame Merian again Arraigned -- Her Account of Spiders Preying on
+  Humming-birds -- Mr MacLeay's Denial and Proof of the Negative --
+  Comment on his Evidence -- Langsdorff's Evidence -- Ceylon Spiders --
+  Sir E. Tennent's Criticisms -- Collateral Evidence for the Affirmative
+  -- Strong Webs of _Nephila_ -- The Solfuga of India -- Account of its
+  Habits -- Attacks and Overcomes Small Birds -- Captain Sherwill Saw a
+  Spider Eating a Bird in India -- Moreau de Jonnès' Direct Confirmation
+  of Merian -- Mr H. Bates's Conclusive Testimony,      220
+
+VIII. FASCINATION.
+
+  Power Attributed to Serpents of Paralysing their Prey -- Dr Bird's Story
+  of Black Snake -- Rattlesnake and Squirrel -- Cobra and Lizard --
+  African Snake and Mouse -- Snake and Frog -- Habits of the Boomslange --
+  Snake and Shrike -- Snake and Mouse -- Dr Evans's Observations on
+  Serpents at the Zoological Gardens -- Ringed Snake and Hedge Sparrow --
+  Snake and Robin -- Indian Serpent and Eel -- Attempted Explanations --
+  Mr Martin's Observations -- Barton Attributes the Phenomena to Maternal
+  Love -- Explanation Inadequate -- The Power Exercised by Other Animals
+  -- Lizard and Butterfly -- Scorpion and Fly -- Stoats and Hares -- Foxes
+  and Pullets -- Eagle and Rabbit -- Attractive Power of Fire --
+  Entomologist's Bull's-eye Lamp -- Yard-fire in Alabama -- Insects come
+  to the Fire -- Titmouse around a Gas-lamp -- Bell Rock Lighthouse
+  visited by Herring-gull -- Fire Fascinates Toads in Africa,      242
+
+IX. SERPENT-CHARMING.
+
+  Revulsion Inspired by the Serpent -- Persons Professing Immunity against
+  Venomous Serpents -- Scriptural Allusions -- The Ancient Psylli and
+  Marsi -- Babylonian Magician -- Atyr -- Immunity Distinct from
+  Serpent-charming -- Hexagon the Ambassador -- Posterity of Psylli in
+  Sennaar -- Bruce's Curious Account -- Various Plants Antidotic to
+  Serpent-venom -- Experiments on _Simaba Cedron_ -- Peruvian Serpents and
+  Remedies -- Various South American Antidotes -- Vejuco of Venezuela --
+  Grass of Dahomey -- Immunity of Mangouste -- Anecdotes -- Of Hedgehog --
+  Bruce's Account of the Cerastes -- Hasselquist's Observations -- Psyllic
+  Woman -- Power of Spittle -- Influence of Music on Serpents --
+  Proceedings of Egyptian Charmers -- Rattlesnake Charmed by a Flute --
+  Cobra of India Attracted by Music -- Occasional Failures and Fatalities
+  -- Anecdotes -- Comments -- Psylli in London -- Are the Poison-fangs
+  Extracted? -- Power of Snake-stones -- Napier's and Tennent's Accounts
+  -- Faraday's Analysis -- Plant-remedies,      263
+
+X. BEAUTY.
+
+  Delight in Beauty -- Divine Appreciation of it -- Magnificent Flower in
+  a Thicket -- Beauty of Deer -- Pet Fawn -- Eye of Gazelle -- Spotted Fur
+  -- Zebra-stripes -- Birds -- Spoonbills on the Amazon -- Carolina
+  Parakeet -- Cock of the Rock -- Soft blending in the Goatsuckers --
+  Resplendent Trogon -- Metallic Colours -- Rifle-bird -- Plume-birds --
+  Iridescent Hues -- Sun-birds -- Humming-birds -- Mexican Names --
+  Jamaican Humming-birds -- Mango -- Long-tail -- Cause of changeable
+  Lustre -- Angle of Light -- Other Examples -- Region of the Amazon and
+  Rio Negro -- Birds -- Fiery Topaz Humming-bird -- Cerro of Potosi --
+  Night-blowing Cactus -- Bar-tail Comet -- Pheasant tribe -- Chinese
+  Pheasants -- Fire-back of Java -- Argus of Malacca -- Impeyan of India
+  -- Polyprectons -- Peacock -- Wild Peacock-shooting -- Paradise-birds --
+  Emerald -- His Vanity in Dress -- Splendour of Insects -- Metallic
+  Beetles -- Soft Refulgence -- Gem-scales -- Butterflies -- Changes of
+  Hue -- Opalescence -- Ray on the "_Cui bono?_" -- Smith on South
+  American Butterflies -- Splendour of Spiders -- in Jamaica -- in Borneo
+  -- Tortoise-beetles -- Beauty of Plants -- Mosses -- Ferns -- Palms --
+  Grasses -- Bamboo -- in Jamaica -- in Madagascar -- Plantains -- Scene
+  in Tahiti -- Beauty exceeds our Power of Imbibing it -- Flowers --
+  Orchideæ -- Sobralia -- Cypripedium -- Anæctochilus -- Dendrobium --
+  Huntleya -- Scene in Guiana -- Death of Reiss -- Rhododendrons of
+  Himalayas -- of Borneo -- Lightning-tree of Madagascar -- Flamboyant --
+  Barbadoes Pride -- Burmese tree -- Le Bois Immortel -- Scene in Tartary
+  -- Microscopic Beauties of London Pride,      302
+
+XI. PARASITES.
+
+  Fleas on fleas _ad infinitum_ -- Intestinal Worms -- Economy of
+  Creation -- Epiphyte Vegetation -- Life in a Sea-weed -- Orchids in the
+  Tropics -- Parasitic Fig-trees -- Lianes -- in Ceylon -- Parasitism in
+  Insects -- Ichneumons -- Kirby's Discovery of Stylops -- Economy --
+  Oil-beetle -- Medusa and Shrimp -- Medusa parasitic on Medusa -- Fish in
+  Stomach of Star-fish -- Crab and Sponge -- Hermit Crab and Polype --
+  Parasites in Corals -- Ostrich parasitic on Ostrich -- Cuckoo and Cowpen
+  birds -- Veneration of Small Birds for Cuckoo -- Slavery among Ants --
+  Nigger-hunting,      359
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+  Sea-serpent -- Additional Testimonies to its Existence -- Statement of
+  Consul Grattan -- Communication from Mr Stephen Cave,      387
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+  PLATE                              PAGE
+
+  I. FASCINATION (_Frontispiece_).
+
+  II. ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA,           36
+
+  III. SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK,      56
+
+  IV. THE CLIMBING PERCH,            122
+
+  V. TOAD IN A HOLE,                 158
+
+  VI. BIRD-EATING SPIDER,            240
+
+  VII. SNAKE-CHARMING,               278
+
+  VIII. ANTELOPES,                   304
+
+  IX. PLUME-BIRD,                    310
+
+  X. PEACOCK-SHOOTING,               326
+
+
+
+
+THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+THE EXTINCT.
+
+
+If it is a scene of painful interest, as surely it is to a
+well-constituted mind, to stand by and watch the death-struggles of one
+of the nobler brutes,--a dog or an elephant, for example,--to mark the
+failing strength, the convulsive throes, the appealing looks, the sobs
+and sighs, the rattling breath, the glazing eye, the stiffening
+limbs--how much more exciting is the interest with which we watch the
+passing away of a dying species. For species have their appointed
+periods as well as individuals: viewed in the infinite mind of GOD, the
+Creator, from the standpoint of eternity, each form, each race, had its
+proper duration assigned to it--a duration which, doubtless, varied in
+the different species as greatly as that assigned to the life of one
+individual animal differs from that assigned to the life of another. As
+the elephant or the eagle may survive for centuries, while the horse and
+the dog scarcely reach to twenty years, and multitudes of insects are
+born and die within a few weeks, so one species may have assigned to
+its life, for aught I know, a hundred thousand years as its normal
+period, and another not more than a thousand. If creation was, with
+respect to the species, what I have elsewhere proved it was with respect
+to the individual,[1]--a violent irruption into the cycle of life--then
+we may well conceive this to have taken place at very varying relative
+periods in the life-history of the different species;--that is to say,
+that at a given date, (viz., that of creation) one species might be just
+completing, _ideally_, its allotted course, another just commencing, and
+a third attaining its meridian.
+
+Certain it is, that not a few species of animals have died during the
+present constitution of things. Races, which we know on indubitable
+evidence to have existed during the dominion of man, have died out, have
+become extinct, so that not a single individual survives. The entire
+totality of individuals which constituted the species, have, in these
+cases, ceased to be. Some of these seem to have died at a very early era
+of human history; but others at a comparatively recent period, and some
+even within our own times. Even within the last twenty years several
+animals have been taken, of which it is highly probable that not a
+single representative remains on the earth; while there are others yet
+again, which we know to be reduced to a paucity so extreme, that their
+extinction can scarcely be delayed more than a few years at most. Thus
+we may consider ourselves as standing by the dying-beds of these
+creatures, with the consciousness that we shall soon see them no more;
+that the sentence is gone forth against them; that their sands are
+running to the last grains, and that no effort of ours can materially
+prolong their existence. The facts from which these conclusions are
+drawn are highly curious, and I shall endeavour to lay them, with as
+much brevity as they will allow, before my readers.
+
+On that prochronic hypothesis, by which alone, as I conceive, the facts
+revealed by geological investigation can be reconciled with the unerring
+statements of Scripture,--every word of which is truth, the truth of a
+"God that cannot lie,"--we may assume the actual creation of this earth
+to have taken place at that period which is geologically known as the
+later Tertiary Era, or thereabout. When, on the third day, "the waters
+under the heaven were gathered together into one place, and the dry land
+appeared," it is not necessary to suppose that the form assumed by the
+emerging land was immediately that which it now has; we may, on the
+other hand, I think, assume as likely, that successive or continuous
+changes of elevation followed, which have been protracted, perhaps
+constantly decreasing in extent and force, to the present hour.[2]
+
+Perhaps between the six days' work of Creation and the Noachic Flood,
+Europe became much altered in outline, and in elevation. It may have
+been, at first, a great archipelago, agreeing with the epithet by which
+it is designated in early Scripture, "the Isles,"[3] and by which it
+was subsequently known for ages. The Pyrenees, the Alps, and the
+Apennines, already emerged, were slowly uniting, and the Carpathians,
+the Balkan, the Taurus, and the Caucasus, were uprearing, while the vast
+regions to the north were still an expanse of open sea. England was
+probably united with the newly-formed European continent, and embraced
+Ireland in one great mass of unbroken land, which stretched far away
+into the Atlantic. Volcanoes were active in the north of Ireland, and in
+the west of Scotland, pouring forth those floods of fiery lava which
+have cooled into the columnar forms seen at the Giant's Causeway and the
+Cave of Fingal. Slowly the north of Europe emerged, and the great
+south-west expanse of Britain sank beneath the sea, leaving, it may be,
+the large island of Atlantis in mid-ocean, to be submerged by a later
+catastrophe.
+
+Probably changes very similar were coevally taking place in Asia and
+North America, while the vast flat alluvial regions of South America
+were, perhaps, even still more recently formed, and a great Pacific
+continent was in course of subsidence, of which Australasia and
+Polynesia are the existing remains.
+
+Such changes of elevation, and of the continuity of land, must effect
+considerable alterations of climate; and, therefore, it is not
+surprising to know that, in earliest ages, animals and plants flourished
+in regions to which they would now be altogether unfitted, and that
+many races existed then which have since died out; for geological and
+climatal modifications are among the most easily conceivable causes of
+the decease of species.
+
+In the great swamps of emerging Germany, and in the, as yet, only
+half-drained valleys of Switzerland, lurked then the heavy Dinothere.
+Huger than the hugest elephant, he carried an enormous body of twenty
+feet in length, vast and barrel-like, which even his columnar limbs of
+ten feet long scarcely sufficed to raise from the ground. His uncouth
+head, elephantine in shape, was furnished with a short proboscis; and
+two tusks, short and strong, projected from the lower jaw, not curving
+upward, as in the elephant, but downward, as in the walrus. In the
+teeming marshes lurked this ungainly beast, half immersed, digging out
+with his mighty pickaxe-tusks the succulent roots that permeated the
+soft soil, which his sensitive trunk picked up, and conveyed to his
+mouth.
+
+On the southern slopes of the slowly-rising Himalayas, already clothed
+with forests of teak, and palm, and bamboo, revelled the Sivathere,
+another heavy creature, of the bulk of a rhinoceros, and therefore not
+more than half equalling the German colossus. He too was a strange
+subject. With a proportionally enormous head, in form somewhat between
+that of the elephant and of the rhinoceros, minute sunken piggish eyes,
+and a short proboscis like that of the tapir, he carried two pairs of
+dissimilar horns. On the forehead were placed one pair, seated upon bony
+cores, not unlike those of our short-horn oxen. Behind these there rose
+another pair, large and massive, which were palmated and branching,
+like those of the fallow-deer, but on a gigantic scale. What sort of a
+body, and what kind of limbs, furnished the complement of this
+curiously-compound head, we do not exactly know; but surely it must have
+been a very remarkable form, as it browsed quietly and blamelessly,
+among the luxuriant shrubs of those sun-facing slopes.
+
+In the same regions a land Tortoise of enormous bulk, far vaster than
+the vastest of now existing species, to which that ponderous one which
+will march merrily away with a ton weight on its back, is a mere pigmy,
+shook the earth with its waddle, and the forests with its hoarse
+bellowing. Broad roads, like our highways, were beaten by it through the
+jungle, along which it periodically travelled to the cool springs,
+leisurely sauntering, and tarrying to munch the fleshy gourds and
+cactuses that bordered its self-made track.
+
+The plains of Siberia, stretching away towards the Arctic Ocean,
+sheltered countless hosts of huge pachydermatous quadrupeds. A species
+of Rhinoceros, not less bulky than those of the present age, roamed to
+the very verge of the Icy Sea; its hide, tough and leathery, was
+destitute of folds, but was clothed with tufts of rigid gray hair,--an
+ornament which is denied to our existing degenerates. Two horns, the
+front one of unusual massiveness and length, were seated, as in several
+of the African kinds, one behind the other, and were wielded by a head
+of great strength and development.
+
+More remarkable still was that great hairy Elephant, called the
+Mammoth, which appears to have swarmed in those cold plains by myriads.
+Of equal dimensions to the Indian species of the present age, this
+denizen of the north had far more enormous curving tusks, and instead of
+the naked hide of those we are familiar with, his body was encased in
+black hair, with a thick under stratum of red curled wool, and bore a
+long mane on the ridge of the neck.
+
+There was, at the same time, a quadruped, nearly allied to the
+elephants, but differing from them in some technical characters. With a
+body equally bulky, but considerably longer, it had shorter limbs, a
+broader head, small tusks in the lower, as well as large curving ones in
+the upper jaw, and probably a trunk intermediate between the elephant's
+and the tapir's. Truly cosmopolite as this great Mastodon was, for we
+dig up his bones from all parts of the world, he had his head-quarters
+in North America, where, from his dimensions and his numbers, he must
+have formed a very characteristic feature of the primeval swamps and
+forests. There, with his tusks, he grubbed up the young trees, whose
+juicy roots he ground down with his great mammillary molar teeth, or
+chewed up to a pulp the sapwood of the recent branches and spicy twigs.
+And ever and anon he would resort to the broad saline marshes,--the
+"Licks," as they are now called,--to lick up the crystallised salt on
+their margins, so grateful to all herbivorous quadrupeds. Here, in his
+eagerness to gratify his palate with the pungent condiment, he would
+press farther and farther into the treacherous quagmire, till he began
+to sink, and then, in his terror, he would plunge and flounder, getting
+more and more deeply bemired, till at length he could struggle no more,
+and the bog would close over him, and he would be no more seen till some
+spectacled geologist of this nineteenth century, note-book in hand,
+would go and dig up his remains, marvelling at the freshness with which
+they had been preserved in the antiseptic peat.
+
+But let us look at South America, where, as the great back-bone chain of
+the Andes is being elevated out of the sea, the torrents and cataracts
+are pouring down from its sides immense quantities of crumbled rock and
+pasty mud, which, deposited upon the vast tabular field, brought by the
+upheaving just to the level of the sea, forms that grand alluvial plain
+unequalled on the face of the globe for extent, which is clothed with
+the mighty forests of Guiana and Brazil, or with the tall grass and
+thistles of the Pampas. The torrents still fall; and, meandering through
+this glorious plain, unite and form the most majestic of rivers, ever
+depositing the rich alluvium, and thus sensibly augmenting, to this day,
+the breadth of their noble continent, and their own length.
+
+Strange creatures riot here in these primal ages. The young land, hot
+and moist,--moist with the unevaporated water of the depositing rivers,
+and hot with the influence of the submarine volcano which is lifting it,
+as well as with the beams of the tropical sun,--brings forth from its
+steaming bosom, the most gigantic trees in the most profuse luxuriance.
+And animal life teems too, in this riant vegetation. Millions of
+insects,--ants, and termites, and beetles,--are busy at work upon the
+trunks of the great trees, eating them down, and swarming in their
+immense populous nests, beyond all imaginings. Surely they will soon eat
+up the entire forest, dense and rapid as it grows, and there will be
+nothing left but cities of insects. No fear! See those great waddling
+beasts[4] with stout short legs, and enormous hoof-like claws so bent
+inward that the creatures are obliged to walk on the edge of their
+paws,--they are equally busy with the insects, tearing apart with their
+powerful claws the earthy nests as fast as they are built, and devouring
+the makers themselves by wholesale. Here is a wonderful creature, a vast
+armadillo, with a body as big as a rhinoceros, covered with a convex
+oval shield, formed of hexagonal plates accurately fitted to each other.
+See how he approaches a fallen tree, which his unerring instinct tells
+him is perforated through and through, and filled with the swarming
+millions of ants; with his powerful jaws he munches up the entire mass;
+the thin and papery partitions of the dusty wood are ground to powder,
+and the ants are licked in and chewed into a black pulp between those
+curious cylinders of teeth.
+
+But lo! here are mightier creatures yet! See the vast Mylodon, the
+Scelidothere, and the still more colossal Megathere. Ponderous giants
+these! The very forests seem to tremble under their stately stride.
+Their immense bulk preponderates behind, terminating in a tail of
+wonderful thickness and solidity: the head is mean and awakens no
+terror; the eye lacks lustre and threatens no violence, though the whole
+form betokens vast power, and the stout limbs are terminated by the same
+stout, inbent, sharp hoof-claws. One of them approaches that
+wide-spreading locust-tree; he gazes up at the huge mud-brown structures
+that resemble hogsheads affixed to the forks of the branches, and he
+knows that the luscious termites are filling them to overflowing. His
+lips water at the tempting sight; have them he must. But how? that heavy
+sternpost of his was never made for climbing; yet see! he rears himself
+up against the tree; is he about to essay the scaling? Not he: he knows
+his powers better. He gives it one embrace; one strong hug; as if to
+test its thickness and hold upon the earth. Now he is digging away
+below, scooping out the soft soil from between the roots,--and it is
+marvellous to note how rapidly he lays them bare with those great
+shovel-like claws of his. Now he rears himself again; straddles wide on
+his hind feet, fixing the mighty claws deep in the ground; plants
+himself firmly on his huge tail, as on the third foot of a tripod, and
+once more grasps the tree. The enormous hind quarters, the limbs and the
+loins, the broad pelvis, the thick spinal cord supplying abundant
+nervous energy to the swelling muscles, inserted in the ridged and
+keeled bones, all come into play, as a _point d'appui_ for the Herculean
+effort. "And now conceive the massive frame of the Megathere convulsed
+with the mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony
+attachment with the force of a hundred giants: extraordinary must be the
+strength and proportions of the tree, if, when rocked to and fro, to
+right and left, in such an embrace, it can long withstand the efforts of
+its assailant."[5] It yields; the roots fly up; the earth is scattered
+wide upon the surrounding foliage; the tree comes down with a thundering
+crash, cracking and snapping the great boughs like glass; the frightened
+insects swarm out at every orifice; but the huge beast is in upon them;
+with his sharp hoofs he tears apart the crusty walls of the earth-nests,
+and licks out their living contents, fat pupæ, eggs and all, rolling
+down the sweet morsels, half sucking, half chewing, with a delighted
+gusto that repays him for all his mighty toil.
+
+While the heavy giant is absorbed in his juicy breakfast, see, there
+lounges along his neighbour, the Macrauchen. Equally massive, equally
+heavy, equally vast, equally peaceful, the stranger resembles a huge
+rhinoceros elevated on much loftier limbs; but his most remarkable
+feature is an enormously long neck, like that of the camel, but carried
+to the altitude of that of the giraffe. Thus he thrusts his great muzzle
+into the very centre of the leafy trees, and gathering with his
+prehensile and flexible lip the succulent twigs and foliage, he too
+finds abundance of food for his immense body, in the teeming vegetation,
+without intruding upon the supply of his fellows.
+
+And what enormous mass is suddenly thrust up out of the quiet water of
+yonder igaripé? A hoarse, hollow grunt, as it comes up, tells us that
+it is alive, and now we discern that it is the head of an animal--the
+Toxodon. Half hidden as it is under the shadow of the fan-palms, and the
+broad, arrowy leaves of the great arums that grow out of the lake, we
+see the little piggish eyes, set far up in the great head, and wide
+apart, peeping with a curious union of stupidity and shrewdness; the
+immense muzzle and lips; the broad cheeks armed with stiff projecting
+bristles; and, as the creature opens its cavernous mouth to seize a
+floating gourd, an extraordinary array of incurving teeth, strangely
+bowed so as to make a series of arches of immense power. Now, with his
+strong front teeth, he tears up the great fleshy arum-roots from the
+clay of the bank, and grinds them to pulp; and now, with another grunt,
+the vast bristly head sinks beneath the water, and we see it no more.
+Hundreds of other creatures are straying around,--sloths, bats, and
+monkeys, and birds of gay plumage, on the trees; ant-eaters and cavies,
+lizards and snakes, on the ground; butterflies and humming-birds
+hovering in the air; tapirs and turtles and crocodiles in the
+waters;--but these are matters of course:--we are only thinking of such
+as have passed away and left no descendants to perpetuate their forms to
+our own times.
+
+Away to the great Austral land--in our day minished to the insular
+Australia and New Zealand and a few satellite isles--but then, in the
+morning of creation, possibly stretching far to the north and on either
+hand, so as to include the scattered groups of Polynesia in one great
+continent, and even to reach so far as Madagascar on the west. This was
+the region of gigantic fowls, and of marsupial quadrupeds. Kangaroos of
+eight or nine feet in stature leaped over the primeval bush, and wombats
+and dasyures of elephantine bulk burrowed in the hill sides, and great
+lion-like beasts prowled about the plains. But surely the most
+characteristic feature of the scene was impressed by the birds! Vast
+struthious birds, which would have looked down with supreme contempt on
+the loftiest African ostrich, whose limb-bones greatly exceeded in bulk
+those of our dray horses, whose three-toed feet made a print in the clay
+some eighteen inches long, and whose proud heads commanded the horizon
+from an elevation of twelve feet above the ground,--terrible birds,
+whose main development of might was in the legs and feet, being utterly
+destitute of the least trace of wings--these strode swiftly about the
+rank ferny brakes, possessing a conscious power of defence in the back
+stroke of their muscular feet, and fearless of man or beast, mainly
+nocturnal in their activity, concealing themselves by day in the
+recesses of the dense forests, where the majestic trees were interwoven
+with cable-like climbers, or couching in the midst of tall reeds and
+aroideous plants that margined the great swampy lakes of these regions.
+
+But what of our own land? What of these distant isles of the Gentiles in
+that early day, when the enterprising sons of Cain, migrating from the
+already straitened land of Nod, were pushing their advancing columns,
+with arts and arms, in all directions over the young earth? Did any of
+them reach to the as yet insular Europe, settling themselves along the
+margins of its deep gulfs and draining basins? Perhaps they did, and
+even explored the utmost limits of the great Atlantic island, on the
+remains of which we live. What did they find here? A land of mountain
+and valley, of plain and down, of lake and river, of bog and fell, of
+forest and field, in some features much as now: where the oak, and elm,
+and ash covered great tracts, and the birch and fir clothed the hills;
+but where the yew and the laurel grew side by side with the
+custard-apple and the fan-palm, and the ground was overrun with trailers
+of the gourd and melon kind, but where grasses were few and scarce, the
+exquisite order _Rosaceæ_, with its beautiful flowers and grateful
+fruit, was rarely seen, and the aromatic _Labiatæ_--the thyme, and mint,
+and sage--were as yet unknown.
+
+And the beasts that already tenanted this fair land were for bulk and
+power worthy of the domain. The Dinothere and the Mastodon wallowed and
+browsed where great London now crowds its princely palaces. Through the
+greenwood shades of the forests of oak wandered hippopotamuses and
+rhinoceroses of several kinds, the long-tusked mammoth, and two or three
+species of horses. Two gigantic oxen--a bison and a urus--roamed over
+the fir-clad hills of Scotland, and a curious flat-headed ox, of small
+size and minute horns, made Ireland its peculiar home. That island, too,
+was the metropolis of a colossal fallow-deer, whose remains, ticketed as
+those of the Irish Elk, astonish us in our museums. It stood seven feet
+in height at the withers, and waved its branching antlers, eleven feet
+wide, twelve feet and upwards above the ground;[6] yet its magnificent
+stature could not preserve it from a not infrequent fate, that of
+becoming intombed in the deep bogs of its native isle. Britain had,
+moreover, a stag of scarcely less gigantic proportions, with the
+reindeer of the north, and the smaller kinds with which we are now
+familiar.
+
+All these herbivores, and numberless smaller genera, some now extinct,
+some surviving, were kept in check by powerful predatory tyrants, for
+whose representatives we must now look to the jungles of India or the
+burning karroos of Southern Africa. The Lion and the Tiger stalked over
+these isles, and a terrible tiger-like creature, the Machairode, of even
+superior size and power to the scourge of the Bengal jungle, with curved
+and saw-edged canine-teeth, hung upon the flanks of the cervine and
+bovine herds, and sprang upon the fattest of them. Then, too, there was
+a vast Bear, huger and mightier than the fearful grizzly bear of
+America, which haunted caves, and prowling around forced down with its
+horrid paws the shaggy bull, and broke his stout neck by main force, and
+dragged the body home to devour at leisure. And many of these caves, the
+holes and chasms of the limestone districts, were inhabited by a
+gigantic species of Hyena, which seems to have existed in great numbers,
+so that the caverns are strewn all over, from end to end, with thousands
+of teeth and disjointed bones, both of the hyenas themselves and of the
+other carnivores; shewing that there they lived and died in successive
+generations; and, mainly, of other creatures, of very varied species,
+great and small, most of them cracked, and crushed, and gnawed, shewing
+the plain marks of the powerful conical teeth of those obscene nocturnal
+animals.
+
+Thus I have endeavoured to draw a picture, vague and imperfect, I know,
+of some of the more remarkable and prominent features of the primeval
+earth, limiting the sketch to those forms which we know only by their
+fossil remains. In endeavouring to paint their contour and general
+appearance, and still more their habits and instincts, conjecture must
+be largely at work--a conjecture, however, which takes for its basis the
+anatomical exigencies of the osseous structure, and the analogy of
+existing creatures the most nearly related to the fossil.
+
+These forms, many of them so huge and uncouth, are well known as having
+tenanted various regions of the earth during what is known as the
+Tertiary Era, in its later periods. They certainly do not exist in those
+regions now. When did their life--their species-life--terminate? I have
+been assuming that they were upon the earth, as living sentient beings,
+in the earliest age of what we call the historic period--that is,
+according to the chronology of the Word of God, which must be true,
+within the last six thousand years. This assumption is so heterodox,
+that unsupported by evidence, it would be generally rejected; let us
+then inquire what evidence there is that man was an inhabitant of the
+globe contemporaneously with these huge giants of the bestial creation.
+
+I do not pretend to offer positive evidence concerning the synchronism
+of _all_ the animals I have been describing with man; but, as there is
+no doubt that they were all contemporaneous, _inter se_, if we can
+attain to good grounds for concluding his co-existence with _some_ of
+them, it may be no unfair presumption that the case was so with the
+others.
+
+And first, with respect to the _Colossochelys Atlas_, that vast fossil
+land tortoise of the Sewalik hills, in the north of India, whose
+carapace may have covered an area of twelve or fifteen feet in diameter,
+and whose entire length, as in walking, when head and tail were
+protruded, could not have been much less than thirty feet. The
+discoverers of this interesting relic, Dr Falconer and Major Cauntley,
+have discussed the question of its probable cessation of existence with
+some care; and they have come to the conclusion "that there are fair
+grounds for entertaining the belief, as probable, that the
+_Colossochelys Atlas_ may have lived down to an early period of the
+human epoch, and become extinct since." This they infer on two grounds:
+first, from the fact that, in the same strata, which are not limited to
+the Sewalik hills, but extend, with the remains of this immense
+tortoise, all over the great Indian area, from Ava to the Gulf of
+Cambay, other tortoises, crocodiles, &c., which were contemporary with
+the _Colossochelys_, have survived to the present time; and, secondly,
+from mythologic and cosmogonic traditions of many eastern nations,
+having reference to a tortoise of such gigantic size as to be associated
+in the current fables with an elephant.[7]
+
+Elian, the Greek naturalist, quoting Megasthenes, a still older
+authority, who resided several years in India, and who collected a good
+deal of interesting information concerning the country, reports that in
+the sea around Ceylon there were found tortoises of such enormous
+dimensions that huts were made of their shells, each shell being fifteen
+cubits (or twenty-two feet) long; so that several people were able to
+find comfortable shelter under it from the rain and sun.[8] And both
+Strabo and Pliny[9] assert that the Chelonophagi, who inhabited the
+shores of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, converted the enormous
+shells of the turtles which they caught into roofs for their houses and
+boats for their little voyages. It has been suggested that the
+_Colossochelys_ may have given origin to these statements; but I rather
+think the great sea-turtles of the genus _Chelone_ are referred to, the
+convex shells of which are known in our own day to reach to a length of
+eight feet or upwards.
+
+The circumstances attending the discovery of the rhinoceros and elephant
+of Siberia are very curious and interesting; since of them we have not
+the fossilised skeletons, but the carcases preserved in a fresh state,
+as if just dead, with (in one case) the flesh upon the bones in an
+eatable state, and actually forming the food of dogs and wolves, the
+skin entire, and covered with fur, and even the eyes so perfectly
+preserved that the pupils could be distinctly seen.
+
+In 1771, in the frozen gravelly soil of Wilhuji, in the northern part of
+Siberia, an animal was found partially exposed. It was twelve feet in
+length; its body was enveloped in a skin which had the thickness and
+firmness of sole-leather, but was destitute of folds. Short hair,
+strongly planted in the pores of the skin, grew on the face in tufts; it
+was rigid in texture, and of a grey hue, with here and there a black
+bristle, larger and stiffer than the rest. Short ash-grey hair was
+observed to clothe the legs, in moderate profusion. The eyelids and
+eyelashes were still visible; the remains of the brain were still in the
+cavity of the skull, and the flesh of the body, in a putrefying
+condition, was still beneath the skin. On the nose there were
+indications of a horn having been seated, around which the integument
+had formed a sort of fold.
+
+Thus the creature was known to be a Rhinoceros, and the head and feet
+were lifted, and conveyed to St Petersburg, where they are still
+preserved in the Imperial Museum. Men of science soon remarked that in
+very many points this specimen differed from any species now known; and,
+indeed, a hairy rhinoceros was, in itself, an anomaly. Subsequent
+investigations have revealed that the same species, known as _Rhinoceros
+tichorhinus_, inhabited Siberia in great numbers, and is now extinct.
+
+Nearly thirty years afterwards a still more interesting revelation
+occurred. The shores of the Icy Ocean had yielded a vast number of
+tusks, not distinguishable from those of the known elephants, and
+capable of being worked up by ivory-manufacturers, so that they occupied
+a well-recognised place in the commercial markets, and they constitute
+to this day the principal supply of the Russian ivory-turners. A
+fisherman living at the mouth of the Lena, being one day engaged in
+collecting tusks, saw among some ice-blocks an uncouth object. The next
+year he observed it still further exposed, and in the following season,
+1801, he saw that it was an enormous animal, having great tusks, one of
+which, with the entire side of the carcase, projected from the frozen
+mass. He knew it to be a _Mammoth_, for so the fossil elephants were
+called, and observed it with interest. The next season was so cold that
+no change took place; but in 1803, the melting of the ice proceeded so
+far that the gigantic animal fell down from the cliff entire, and was
+deposited on the sand beneath. The following season the fisherman,
+Schumachoff, cut out the tusks, which he sold for fifty rubles, and two
+years after this the scene was visited by Mr Adams, in the service of
+the Imperial Court, who has given an interesting account of his
+observations, made, it must be remembered, in the seventh year after the
+first discovery:--
+
+"I found the Mammoth," observes this gentleman, "still in the same
+place, but altogether mutilated ... the Jakutski of the neighbourhood
+having cut off the flesh, with which they fed their dogs during the
+scarcity. Wild beasts, such as white bears, wolves, wolverines, and
+foxes, also fed upon it, and the traces of their footsteps were seen
+around. The skeleton, almost entirely devoid of its flesh, remained
+whole, with the exception of one fore-leg. The head was covered with a
+dry skin; one of the ears, well preserved, was furnished with a tuft of
+hairs. All these parts have necessarily been injured in transporting
+them a distance of 7330 miles (to St Petersburg); but the eyes have been
+preserved, and the pupil of one can still be distinguished.
+
+"The Mammoth was a male, with a long mane on the neck. The tail and
+proboscis were not preserved. The skin, of which I possess
+three-fourths, is of a dark-grey colour, covered with reddish wool and
+black hairs; but the dampness of the spot, where it had lain so long,
+had in some degree destroyed the hair. The entire carcase, of which I
+collected the bones on the spot, was nine feet four inches high, and
+sixteen feet four inches long, without including the tusks, which
+measured nine feet six inches along the curve. The distance from the
+base or root of the tusk to the point is three feet seven inches. The
+two tusks together weighed three hundred and sixty pounds, English
+weight, and the head alone four hundred and fourteen pounds.
+
+"I next detached the skin of the side on which the animal had lain,
+which was well preserved. This skin was of such extraordinary weight
+that ten persons found difficulty in transporting it to the shore. After
+this I dug the ground in different places, to ascertain whether any of
+its bones were buried, but principally to collect all the hairs which
+the white bears had trod into the ground while devouring the flesh.
+Although this was difficult from the want of instruments, I succeeded in
+collecting more than a pood (thirty-six pounds) of hair. In a few days
+the work was completed, and I found myself in possession of a treasure
+which amply recompensed me for the fatigues and dangers of the journey,
+and the considerable expenses of the enterprise.... The escarpment of
+ice was thirty-five to forty toises high; and, according to the report
+of the Tungusians, the animal was, when they first saw it, seven toises
+below the surface of the ice, &c. On arriving with the Mammoth at
+Borchaya, our first care was to separate the remaining flesh and
+ligaments from the bones, which were then packed up. When I arrived at
+the Jakutsk, I had the good fortune to repurchase the tusks, and from
+thence expedited the whole to St Petersburg. The skeleton is now in the
+Museum of the Academy, and the skin still remains attached to the head
+and feet. A part of the skin, and some of the hair of this animal were
+sent by Mr Adams to Sir Joseph Banks, who presented them to the Museum
+of the Royal College of Surgeons. The hair is entirely separated from
+the skin, excepting in one very small part, where it still remains
+attached. It consists of two sorts, common hair and bristles, and of
+each there are several varieties, differing in length and thickness.
+That remaining fixed on the skin is of the colour of the camel, an inch
+and a-half long, very thick-set, and curled in locks. It is interspersed
+with a few bristles about three inches long, of a dark-reddish colour.
+Among the separate parcels of hair are some rather redder than the short
+hair just mentioned, about four inches; and some bristles nearly black,
+much thicker than horse hair, and from twelve to eighteen inches long.
+The skin, when first brought to the Museum, was offensive; it is now
+quite dry and hard, and where most compact, is half-an-inch thick. Its
+colour is the dull black of the living elephants."[10]
+
+To me this narrative possesses an intense interest, and I have gazed
+with great curiosity on the bit of dried and blackened leather that is
+preserved in the Museum in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, knowing it to have
+presented the primal freshness of life within the present century. I
+cannot help thinking that both the rhinoceros and this elephant roamed
+over the plains of Siberia, not only since the creation of man, but even
+since the Deluge. The freshness of their state shews that the freezing
+up of their carcases must have been sudden, and immediate upon death.
+What supposition so natural as that, perhaps in a blinding snowstorm,
+they slipped into a crevice in the ice-cliff, were snowed up instantly,
+and thus preserved by the antiseptic power of frost to this age? The
+glaciers of the north may hold multitudes more of these and kindred
+creatures, some of which may yet be disinterred, or thawed out, and may
+lift yet more the curtain which so tantalisingly covers the conditions
+of their life-history. These two huge Pachyderms are certainly extinct
+now; yet their remains, scattered over so vast an area, are everywhere
+associated with those of other animals which were indubitably
+contemporary with them, and whose species-life is continued to our own
+times. Some of these, as the great bear and the musk-ox of the sub-polar
+regions, we know to be in the habit of migrating northward in spring,
+and southward in autumn. That no lack of suitable food would be found,
+even in such high latitudes, for browsing quadrupeds, appears from the
+fact that, even beyond the parallel of 75° north, large birch-trees are
+found embedded in the cliffs, in abundance sufficient to be largely used
+as common fuel, and still retaining their woody fibre, their bark,
+branches, and roots. The climate then was not _greatly_ different from
+what it is now, when the birch, as a tree, reaches to about 70°.
+
+It is interesting to observe that both this elephant and this rhinoceros
+were inhabitants of England also; and that at the same period as the
+cavern bear, the hyena, the lion, and the machairode, the baboon, the
+bison, and the urus, the Irish elk, and the extinct horse; at the same
+time too, as the reindeer, the stag, the black bear, the wolf and fox,
+the beaver, the wild cat, the hare, and rabbit, the otter and badger,
+the wild hog, the rat and mouse, all our present shrews, the mole, the
+stoat and polecat, the noctule and the horse-shoe bats. And curious it
+is to note, as we go over this list, how some of the creatures
+enumerated are long extinct everywhere, some have been long extinct in
+England, but are still found elsewhere, some have more recently become
+extinct here, but at different eras, some are nearly extinguished, and
+some are yet abundant in different degrees.
+
+I do not attach much importance to the traditions of the Siberians, that
+the tusks and skeletons which they find belonged to a large
+subterraneous animal, which could not bear the light; nor to those of
+the Chinese, respecting a similar burrowing quadruped of prodigious
+bulk, which they call, by a sort of irony, _tyn-schu_, or the mouse that
+hides himself. The fables may have easily been formed from the
+observation of the fossil bones, and do not necessarily imply any memory
+of the living original.
+
+The two examples of the exhumation of _Pachydermata_ in a fresh state,
+which I have given in detail, are by no means the only cases that have
+occurred. It is the universally-received belief throughout Siberia, that
+Mammoths have been found with the flesh quite fresh and filled with
+blood; probably meaning that the animal juices flowed when thawed.
+Isbrand Ides mentions a head on which the flesh, in a decaying state,
+was present; and a frozen leg, as large as the body of a man; and Jean
+Bernhard Müller speaks of a tusk, the cavity of which was filled with a
+substance which resembled coagulated blood.
+
+Again, in the voyage of Sarytschew, particulars are given of the
+discovery of a Mammoth on the banks of the Alaseia, a river which flows
+into the Arctic Ocean, beyond the Indigirska. It had been dislodged by a
+flood, and somewhat injured; but the carcase was still almost entire,
+and was covered with the skin, to which in some places long hair
+remained attached.
+
+These statements might reasonably have been esteemed either fables or
+gross exaggerations, but for the subsequent discovery of the rhinoceros
+and elephant whose remains have been brought to Europe. Read in the
+light of these accounts, the earlier stories take the dignity of
+authentic history; and it is interesting to note how well these details
+agree with those observed by the accurate Adams;--the long hair, for
+example, with which the Alaseia carcase was clothed being the very
+counterpart of that upon the Lena elephant; though _à priori_ we should
+have looked for a very different condition in the integument of these
+huge Pachyderms.
+
+If we look now at the great Mastodon, that elephantine beast, which with
+a stature equal to that of the tallest African elephant combined a much
+greater length of body and bulk of limb, we shall see some reason for
+concluding that the period of its decease is not indefinitely removed
+from our own era. Its remains occur in greatest abundance in North
+America; and it is interesting to observe that among several of the
+aboriginal tribes of Red men there were extant traditions of the
+Mastodon as a living creature. Dim, vague, and distorted these
+traditions are; but so far from our rejecting them _in toto_ on that
+account, we ought rather to consider these characters as evidence of
+their antiquity. When semi-savage nations present us with
+orally-preserved accounts of very remote objects or actions, we look, as
+a matter of course, for a considerable element of the wild, and
+extravagant, and absurd in them. If we found nothing but what was
+reasonable, and consistent, and intelligible, we should say in a moment,
+this account cannot have been transmitted very far. The question, in the
+case before us, is not, we must remember, the precise habits and
+instincts of the Mastodon, but whether the Indians knew anything at all
+of the Mastodon having ever been a living animal. Now, as I have
+observed, they had. M. Fabri, a French officer who had served in Canada,
+informed Buffon that the Red men spoke of the great bones which lay
+scattered in various parts of that region as having belonged to an
+animal which, after their oriental style, they named _Le Père aux
+B{oe}ufs_. The Shawnee Indians believed that with these enormous animals
+there existed men of proportionate development, and that the Great Being
+destroyed both with thunderbolts. Those of Virginia stated that, as a
+troop of these terrible quadrupeds were destroying the deer, the bisons,
+and the other animals created for the use of the Indians, the Great Man
+slew them all with His thunder, except the big bull, who, nothing
+daunted, presented his enormous forehead to the bolts, and shook them
+off as they fell, till, being at last wounded in the side, he fled
+towards the great lakes, where he is to this day.
+
+Evidence of the comparatively-recent entombment of these remains exists,
+however, of another character. They do not in general appear to have
+been rolled, but to have lived where they are now found; in some
+instances, as along the Great Osage River, being imbedded in a vertical
+position, as if the animals had been suddenly bogged in the swampy soil.
+Nor is there any great accumulation of earth upon them generally. All
+along the edges of that great saline morass called, from the abundance
+of these animal relics, Big Bone Lick, and on the borders, the skeletons
+are found sunk in the soft earth, many of them not more than a yard or
+two below the surface, and some even scarcely covered. With them are
+found in large numbers the bones of the existing bison, the wapiti-stag,
+and other herbivores, which still throng to the same place, for the same
+reasons, and meet the same fate.
+
+Comparative anatomy determines, from the structure of the bones of the
+head in the Mastodon, that it must have carried a proboscis like that of
+the elephant. This, though wholly fleshy, has left traces of its
+existence. Barton reports that, in 1762, out of five skeletons which
+were seen by the natives, one skull still possessed what they described
+as a "long nose" with the mouth under it. And Kalm, in speaking of a
+skeleton, discovered by the Indians in what is now the State of
+Illinois, says that the form of the trunk was still apparent, though
+half decomposed. The preservation of these perishable tissues in this
+case must doubtless be attributed to the salt with which the bog-earth
+is saturated. Still more recently a skeleton was found in Virginia,
+which contained a very interesting proof of the food of the animal: a
+mass of twigs, grass, and leaves, in a half-bruised state, enclosed in a
+sort of sac, lay within the cavity of the body, doubtless the contents
+of the stomach. Some of the twigs could be identified as those of
+existing species of trees and shrubs, among them a species of _rose_,
+still common in the region.
+
+All this is very strong evidence that the deposition of these remains
+cannot have taken place in a _very_ remote era,--that, in fact, it must
+have been since the general deluge recorded in the Word of God.
+
+Hugh Miller has an interesting observation concerning the actual date of
+geologic phenomena in North America, compared with that of their
+counterparts in the Old World. He says, "The much greater remoteness of
+the mastodontic period in Europe than in America is a circumstance
+worthy of notice, as it is one of many facts that seem to indicate a
+general transposition of at least the later geologic ages on the
+opposite sides of the Atlantic. Groups of corresponding character on the
+eastern and western shores of this great ocean were not contemporaneous
+in time. It has been repeatedly remarked that the existing plants and
+trees of the United States, with not a few of its fishes and reptiles,
+bear in their forms and constructions the marks of a much greater
+antiquity than those of Europe. The geologist who set himself to
+discover similar types on the eastern side of the Atlantic, would have
+to seek for them among the deposits of the later tertiaries. North
+America seems to be still passing through its later tertiary ages; and
+it appears to be a consequence of this curious transposition, that while
+in Europe the mastodontic period is removed by two great geologic eras,
+from the present time, it is removed from it in America by only
+one."[11]
+
+Professor Agassiz has expressed opinions of the same character, adducing
+the present existence in America of several forms of animals, which are
+known in this hemisphere only in a fossil state.[12]
+
+I cannot refrain from adding the following combination of fact and
+speculation, from the pen of an accomplished traveller in Mexico. It
+opens up a new train of ideas:--
+
+"Some time before our visit, a number of workmen were employed on the
+neighbouring estate of Chapingo, to excavate a canal over that part of
+the plain from which the waters have gradually retired during the last
+three centuries. At four feet below the surface, they reached an ancient
+causeway, of the existence of which there was of course not the most
+remote suspicion. The cedar piles, by which the sides were supported,
+were still sound at heart. Three feet below the edge of this ancient
+work, in what may have been the very ditch, they struck upon the entire
+skeleton of a Mastodon, embedded in the blue clay. Many of the most
+valuable bones were lost by the careless manner in which they were
+extricated; others were ground to powder on their conveyance to the
+capital, but sufficient remained to prove that the animal had been of
+great size. My informant measured the diameter [_qu._ circumference?]
+of the tusk, and found it to be eighteen inches.
+
+"Though I should be very glad to take shelter under the convenient
+_Quien sabe_? the use of which I have suggested to you, I could not
+avoid, at the time I was in Mexico, putting my isolated facts together,
+and feeling inclined to believe that this country had not only been
+inhabited in extremely remote times, when the valley bore a very
+different aspect from that which it now exhibits, or which tradition
+gives it, but that the extinct race of enormous animals, whose remains
+would seem, in the instance I have cited, to be coeval with the undated
+works of man, may have been subjected to his will, and made
+instrumental, by the application of their gigantic force, to the
+transport of those vast masses of sculptured and chiselled rock which we
+marvel to see lying in positions so far removed from their natural site.
+
+"The existence of these ancient paved causeways also, not only from
+their solid construction over the flat and low plains of the valley, but
+as they may be traced running for miles over the dry table-land and the
+mountains, appears to me to lend plausibility to the supposition; as one
+might inquire, to what end the labour of such works, in a country where
+beasts of burden were unknown?
+
+"But I leave this subject to wiser heads and bolder theorists. Had the
+Mammoth of Chapingo been discovered with a ring in his nose, or a bit in
+his mouth, a yoke on his head, or a crupper under his tail, the
+question would have been set at rest. As it is, there is plenty of room
+for conjecture and dispute."[13]
+
+With respect to the great extinct Mammalia of South America, we find Mr
+Darwin, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of so many of them,
+continually expressing his wonder at the comparatively modern era of
+their existence. After having enumerated nine vast beasts, which he
+found imbedded in the beach at Bahia Blanca, within the space of 200
+yards square, and remarked how numerous in kinds the ancient inhabitants
+of the country must have been, he observes that "this enumeration
+belongs to a very late tertiary period. From the bones of the
+_Scelidotherium_, including even the kneecap, being entombed in their
+proper relative positions, and from the osseous armour of the great
+armadillo-like animal being so well preserved, together with the bones
+of one of its legs, we may feel assured that these remains were fresh
+and united by their ligaments when deposited in the gravel with the
+shells. Hence we have good evidence that the above-enumerated gigantic
+quadrupeds, more different from those of the present day than the oldest
+of the tertiary quadrupeds of Europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled
+with most of its present inhabitants."[14]
+
+Of the remains of the Mylodon, and of that strange semi-aquatic creature
+the Toxodon, he says, they appeared so fresh that it was difficult to
+believe they had lain buried for ages under ground. The bones were so
+fresh, that they yielded, on careful analysis, seven per cent. of
+animal matter, and when heated in the flame of a spirit-lamp, they not
+only exhaled a very strong animal odour, but actually burned with a
+small flame.
+
+Mr Darwin's interest was excited by the evidences everywhere present of
+the immensity of this extinct population. "The number of the remains
+imbedded in the great estuary-deposit which forms the Pampas, and covers
+the gigantic rocks of Banda Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I
+believe a straight line drawn in any direction through the Pampas would
+cut through some skeleton or bones.... We may suppose that the whole
+area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct gigantic
+quadrupeds."[15]
+
+The whole plain of South America from the Rio Plata to the Straits of
+Magellan has been raised from the sea within the species-life of the
+existing sea-shells, the old and weathered specimens of which, left on
+the surface of the plain, still partially retain their colours! Darwin
+infers, as certain, from data which he has adduced, that the Macrauchen,
+that strange giraffe-necked pachyderm, lived _long after_ the sea was
+inhabited by its present shells, and when the vegetation of the land
+could not have been other than it is now. And if the Macrauchen, then
+the Toxodon, the Scelidothere, the Megathere, the Mylodon, the
+Glyptodon, the Glossothere, and all the rest of the quaint but mighty
+host of gone giants, that once thronged these austral plains.
+
+Evidence for the recent existence of the colossal ostrich-like birds of
+New Zealand is stronger still. It is about twenty-one years since the
+first intimation was given to scientific Europe of the remains of such
+animals, through some bones sent by the Rev. W. Williams to Dr Buckland.
+From these, and a collection soon afterwards sent home, Professor Owen
+established the genus _Dinornis_, identifying five species, the largest
+of which, _D. giganteus_, he concluded to have stood about ten feet in
+height. The remains have since been obtained in great profusion, and the
+result of further investigations by the Professor has been the
+establishment of three other genera, viz., _Palapteryx_, _Nestor_, and
+_Notornis_,--the latter a large bird allied to the Rails and Coots.
+
+A very interesting communication from Mr Williams accompanied one of the
+consignments, extracts of which I will quote. It bears date "Poverty
+Bay, New Zealand, 17th May 1842." "It is about three years ago, on
+paying a visit to this coast, south of the East Cape, that the natives
+told me of some extraordinary monster, which they said was in existence
+in an inaccessible cavern on the side of a hill near the river Wairoa;
+and they shewed me at the same time some fragments of bone taken out of
+the beds of rivers, which they said belonged to this creature, to which
+they gave the name of _Moa_. When I came to reside in this neighbourhood
+I heard the same story a little enlarged; for it was said that this
+creature _was still existing_ at the said hill, of which the name is
+Wakapunake, and that it is guarded by a reptile of the Lizard species,
+but I could not learn that any of the present generation had seen it. I
+still considered the whole as an idle fable, but offered a large reward
+to any who would catch me either the bird or its protector." These
+offers procured the collection of a considerable number of fossil bones,
+on which Mr Williams makes the following observations:--
+
+"1. None of these bones have been found on the dry land, but are all of
+them from the banks and beds of fresh-water rivers, buried only a little
+distance in the mud.... All the streams are in immediate connexion with
+hills of some altitude.
+
+"2. This bird was in existence here at no very distant time, though not
+in the memory of any of the inhabitants: for the bones are found in the
+beds of the present streams, and do not appear to have been brought into
+their present situation by the action of any violent rush of waters.
+
+"3. They existed in considerable numbers,--(an observation which has
+since been abundantly confirmed.)
+
+"4. It may be inferred that this bird was long-lived, and that it was
+many years before it attained its full size. (The writer grounds this
+inference on the disparity in dimensions of the corresponding bones,
+supposing that they all belonged to one and the same species; which,
+however, was an erroneous assumption.)
+
+"5. The greatest height of the bird was probably not less than fourteen
+or sixteen feet. The leg-bones now sent give the height of six feet to
+the root of the tail.
+
+"Within the last few days I have obtained a piece of information worthy
+of notice. Happening to speak to an American about these bones, he told
+me that the bird is still in existence in the neighbourhood of Cloudy
+Bay, in Cook's Straits. He said that the natives there had mentioned to
+an Englishman belonging to a whaling party, that there was a bird of
+extraordinary size to be seen only at night, on the side of a hill near
+the place, and that he, with a native and a second Englishman, went to
+the spot; that, after waiting some time, they saw the creature at a
+little distance, which they describe as being about fourteen or sixteen
+feet high. One of the men proposed to go nearer and shoot, but his
+companion was so exceedingly terrified, or perhaps both of them, that
+they were satisfied with looking at the bird, when, after a little time,
+it took the alarm, and strode off up the side of the mountain.
+
+"This incident might not have been worth mentioning, had it not been for
+the extraordinary agreement in point of the size of the bird [with my
+deductions from the bones]. _Here_ are the bones which will satisfy you
+that such a bird _has been_ in existence; and _there_ is said to be the
+_living bird_, the supposed size of which, given by an independent
+witness, precisely agrees."
+
+[Illustration: ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA.]
+
+The story told of the whaler appears to me to bear marks of truth. The
+bold essay to explore, the terror inspired by the gigantic figure,
+especially in the solemnity of night, the description of the manners of
+the bird running and striding, so like those of the Apteryx, with which
+its bones shew the Moa to have been closely allied, and the inglorious
+return of the party without achieving any exploit, are all too
+natural to permit the thought that no more than inventive power has been
+at work.
+
+And well may the colossus have inspired fear. The bones sent to London
+greatly exceed in bulk those of the largest horse. The leg-bone of a
+tall man is about one foot four inches in length, and the thigh of
+O'Brien, the Irish giant, whose skeleton, eight feet high, is mounted in
+the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, is not quite two feet. But
+the leg-bone (_tibia_) of the _Dinornis_ we know measured as much as two
+feet ten inches, and we have no reason to suppose, considering the
+disparity that exists in the specimens examined, that we have seen by
+any means the largest.
+
+Additional reason for supposing these magnificent birds to have existed
+not long ago, is found in the fact that specimens of their eggs have
+been preserved. The circumstances attendant on the discovery and
+identification of these possess a remarkable interest. In the volcanic
+sand of New Zealand Mr Walter Mantell found a gigantic egg, which we may
+reasonably infer to be that of either _Dinornis_ or _Palapteryx_, of the
+magnitude of which he gives us a familiar idea by saying that his hat
+would have been but just large enough to have served as an egg-cup for
+it. This is the statement of a man of science, and therefore we may
+assume an approximate degree of precision in the comparison.
+
+I do not know the size of Mr Mantell's hat, but I find that the
+transverse diameter of my own is six inches or a little more. If we may
+take this as the shorter diameter of the ovoid, the longer would
+probably be about eight and a half inches; dimensions considerably
+greater than those of the Ostrich's egg (which are about six and a
+quarter in length), but not what we should have expected from a bird
+from twelve to fourteen feet in height. And this the rather when we
+consider that the egg of the New Zealand _Apteryx_, to which these birds
+manifest a very close affinity, is one of dimensions that are quite
+surprising in proportion to the bulk of the bird. The Apteryx is about
+as big as a turkey, standing two feet in height, but its egg measures
+four inches ten lines by three inches two lines in the respective
+diameters. The egg of the _Dinornis giganteus_, to bear the same ratio
+to the bird as this, would be of the incredible length of two feet and a
+half, by a breadth of one and three quarters! Possibly this specimen,
+though indubitably the egg of one of this great family of extinct birds,
+may after all be that of one of the subordinate species.
+
+But about the same time as Mr Mantell's discovery, one of equal interest
+was made in Madagascar. The master of a French ship obtained, in 1850,
+from natives of the island, three eggs, of far greater size, and
+fragments of the leg-bones of an immense bird. These, on their arrival
+at Paris, formed the subjects of valuable investigations by M. Isidore
+Geoffroy St Hilaire[16] and Professor Owen.[17]
+
+The native statement was, that one of the eggs had been found entire in
+the bed of a torrent, among the debris of a land-slip; that a second
+egg, with some fragments of bone, was subsequently found in a formation
+_which is stated to be alluvial_; a third egg, which the natives had
+perforated at one end, and used as a vessel, was also found. This last
+egg was broken in the carriage, the other two arrived in Europe entire.
+
+These two, though nearly alike in size, differed considerably in their
+relative proportions and shape, the one being shorter and thicker, with
+more equal ends than the other. The following table shews the dimensions
+of both compared with those of an ostrich's egg:--
+
+                           Ovoid egg.   Ellipsoid egg.   Ostrich egg.
+                          ft. in. li.    ft. in. li.      ft. in. li.
+Longer circumference       2  10   9      2   9   6        1   6   0
+Shorter circumference      2   4   3      2   5   6        1   4   6
+Extreme length             1   0   8      1   0   5        0   6   4
+
+M. Geoffroy St Hilaire estimates the larger of the two to contain 10-1/8
+quarts, or the contents of nearly six eggs of the Ostrich, or sixteen of
+the Cassowary, or a hundred and forty-eight of the Hen, or fifty
+thousand of the Humming bird.[18]
+
+The fragments of bone indicated a bird of the same natural affinities as
+the New Zealand colossi, and of dimensions not widely remote from
+theirs. Professor Owen thinks that it did not exceed in height or size
+_Dinornis giganteus_, and that there is a probability that it was
+slightly smaller. The Madagascar bird has been named _Æpyornis
+maximus_.
+
+The fragments of the egg of the New Zealand bird (still uncertain as to
+the species to which it is to be referred) shew that the shell was
+absolutely thinner, and therefore relatively _much_ thinner than that of
+the Ostrich's egg; the air-pores, too, have a different form, being
+linear, instead of round, and the surface is smoother. In these
+qualities, the New Zealand egg resembles that of the _Apteryx_; in the
+thickness and roughness of the egg of _Æpyornis_ there is more
+similarity to those of the Ostrich and Cassowary. The colour of the
+Madagascar egg is a dull greyish yellow; but it is possible that this
+may be derived from the soil in which it has long been imbedded. The
+fragments of the New Zealand egg are white, like the eggs of the
+_Apteryx_ and Ostrich: those of the Emu and Cassowary are light green.
+
+The willing fancy suggests the possibility that, in an island of such
+immensity as Madagascar, possessing lofty mountain-ranges, covered with
+the most magnificent forests, where civilised man has only yet touched
+one or two spots on the seaward borders, but where these slight
+explorations have educed so many wondrous animals, so many strange forms
+of vegetable life, the noble _Æpyornis_ may yet be stalking with giant
+stride along the fern-fringed hill-sides, or through the steaming
+thickets; though in the more contracted area of New Zealand its equally
+ponderous cousins, the _Dinornis_ and the _Palapteryx_, may have sunk
+beneath the persevering persecutions of man.
+
+Yet another item of evidence bearing on the recent if not present
+existence of these great fowls has recently come to light:--the most
+interesting discovery that one of the genera whose fossil remains had
+been found associated with theirs is really extant in New Zealand. I
+refer to the _Notornis_.
+
+At a meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held on the 13th
+November 1850, Dr Mantell made the following communication relative to
+this discovery:--
+
+"It was in the course of last year, on the occasion of my son's second
+visit to the south of the middle island, that he had the good fortune to
+secure the recent _Notornis_, which I now submit, having previously
+placed it in the hands of the eminent ornithologist Mr Gould, to figure
+and describe. This bird was taken by some sealers who were pursuing
+their avocations in Dusky Bay. Perceiving the trail of a large and
+unknown bird on the snow, with which the ground was then covered, they
+followed the footprints till they obtained a sight of the _Notornis_,
+which their dogs instantly pursued, and, after a long chase, caught
+alive in the gully of a sound behind Resolution Island. It ran with
+great speed, and on being captured uttered loud screams, and fought and
+struggled violently. It was kept alive three or four days on board the
+schooner, and then killed, and the body roasted and eaten by the crew,
+each partaking of the dainty, which was declared to be delicious. The
+beak and legs were of a bright red colour. My son secured the skin,
+together with very fine specimens of the Kapapo or ground parrot
+(_Strigops_), a pair of Huias (_Neomorpha_), and two species of
+Kiwikiwi, namely _Apteryx Australis_, and _A. Oweni_. The latter very
+rare bird is now added to the collection of the British Museum."
+
+"Mr Walter Mantell states, that, according to the native traditions, a
+large Rail was contemporary with the Moa, and formed a principal article
+of food among their ancestors. It was known to the North Islanders by
+the name 'Moho,' and to the South Islanders by that of 'Takahe;' but the
+bird was considered by both natives and Europeans to have been long
+since exterminated by the wild cats and dogs; not an individual having
+been seen or heard of since the arrival of the English colonists. On
+comparing the head of the bird with the fossil cranium, and mandibles,
+and the figures and descriptions in the 'Zoological Transactions' (Plate
+lvi.), my son was at once convinced of their identity. It may not be
+irrelevant to add, that in the course of Mr Walter Mantell's journey
+from Banks's Peninsula along the coast to Otago, he learned from the
+natives that they believed there still existed in that country the only
+indigenous terrestrial quadruped, except a species of rat, which there
+are any reasonable grounds for concluding New Zealand ever possessed.
+While encamping at Arowenua, in the district of Timaru, the Maoris
+assured them that about ten miles inland there was a quadruped which
+they called Káureke, and that it was formerly abundant, and often kept
+by their ancestors in a domestic state as a pet animal. It was described
+as about two feet in length, with coarse grizzly hair; and must have
+more nearly resembled the otter or badger than the beaver or the
+Ornithorhynchus, which the first accounts seem to suggest as the
+probable type. The offer of a liberal reward induced some of the Maoris
+to start for the interior of the country where the Káureke was supposed
+to be located; but they returned without having obtained the slightest
+trace of the existence of such an animal. My son, however, expresses his
+belief in the native accounts, and that, if the creature no longer
+exists, its extermination is of very recent date. In concluding this
+brief narrative of the discovery of a genus of birds once contemporary
+with the colossal Moa, and hitherto only known by its fossil remains, I
+beg to remark that this highly interesting fact tends to confirm the
+conclusions expressed in my communication to the Geological Society,
+namely, that the _Dinornis_, _Palapteryx_, and related forms, were
+coeval with some of the existing species of birds peculiar to New
+Zealand, and that their final extinction took place at no very distant
+period, and long after the advent of the aboriginal Maoris."
+
+Mr Gould then read a paper pointing out the zoological characters of the
+bird discovered by Mr Mantell, which he had no hesitation in identifying
+as the species formerly characterised, from its osseous remains, by
+Professor Owen, under the name of _Notornis Mantelli_. Mr Gould, in
+adverting to the extreme interest with which the present existence of a
+species which was certainly contemporary with the Moa must be regarded,
+pointed out, from the preserved skin, which was on the table, how
+accurate a prevision of its character had been made by Professor Owen,
+when investigating the fragments from which our first knowledge of it
+had been derived.[19]
+
+At length I come home to Great Britain and Ireland--the "nice little,
+tight little islands" where so many of our sympathies properly centre,
+where natural-history facts and all other facts interest us so much more
+than parallel facts elsewhere, and where, above all, there are so many
+more lights streaming into the darkness, and bringing out truth. Let us
+again look back to the period of the Bison, and Reindeer, and Elk, of
+the Elephant, and Hippopotamus, and Rhinoceros, of the Lion and the
+Hyena, and the great Cave Bear, and search among the vanishing traces of
+the far past for glimpses of evidence when their age ceased to be.
+
+Some dim light falls on the obscurity from the discovery of the fossil
+remains of man himself--the human bones found by Dr Schmerling in a
+cavern near Liege, the remains mentioned by M. Marcel de Serres and
+others in several caverns in France, associated with fossil relics of
+this period. But more from the occurrence of flints, apparently
+fashioned by human art, in superficial deposits, together with the same
+extinct fossils of the tertiary. Even at the very moment that I write
+this sheet, my eye falls on the report[20] of an important meeting of
+the Ethnological Society, for the purpose of discussing this very
+subject of "The flint implements found associated with the bones of
+extinct animals in the Drift." Many of the leading geologists and
+archæologists were present, for the matter has become one of absorbing
+interest, conflicting, as the facts seem to do, with some assumptions
+received as unquestioned verities in Geology.
+
+These flints, which seem indubitably to have been chipped into the forms
+of arrow-heads, lance-heads, and the like, have been found in France in
+large numbers, as also in other parts of the continent, and in England.
+They resemble those still used by some savage tribes. In this very
+neighbourhood, as in the cavern called Kent's Hole near Torquay, and in
+one more recently examined at Brixham, they are found mixed up with the
+bones of the Rhinoceros, of the Cave Bear, and the Hyena, At
+Menchecourt, near Abbeville, they occur in a deposit of sand, sandy
+clay, and marl, with bones of the same animals, and others, their
+contemporaries. Concerning this bed, Mr Prestwich, in a paper read
+before the Royal Society, May 26, 1859, says that it must be referred to
+those usually designated as post pliocene, but that the period of its
+deposit was anterior to that of the surface assuming its present
+outline, so far as some of its minor features are concerned. "He does
+not, however, consider that the facts of necessity carry man back in
+past time more than they _bring forward the great extinct mammals
+towards our own time_, the evidence having reference only to relative,
+and not to absolute time; and he is of opinion that many of the later
+geological changes may have been sudden, or of shorter duration than
+generally considered. In fact, from the evidence here exhibited, and
+from all that he knows regarding the drift phenomena generally, the
+author sees no reason against the conclusion that this period of man and
+the extinct mammals--supposing their contemporaneity to be proved--was
+brought to a sudden end by a temporary inundation of the land; on the
+contrary, he sees much to support such a view on purely geological
+considerations."[21]
+
+At the meeting of the Ethnological Society just held, there seems to
+have been an increasing tendency to admit the hypothesis of the
+continuance of the Mammalia of the Tertiary into the human era. Mr
+Evans, who exhibited specimens taken at a depth of twenty to thirty
+feet, from a stratum of coarse fresh-water gravel, lying on chalk, and
+containing an entire skeleton of an extinct Rhinoceros, and overlaid by
+sandy marl containing existing shells, shewed that the deposit had
+certainly not been disturbed till the present time, so that the gravel,
+the bones, and the flints had been deposited coetaneously. He suggested
+"that the animals supposed to have become extinct before man was created
+might have continued to exist to more recent periods than had been
+admitted." And this opinion found support from other leading geologists.
+
+That this conclusion would throw the existence of man to an era far
+higher than that assigned to him by the inspired Word, is, I know,
+generally held; and certain investigations, made in the alluvial deposit
+of the Nile,[22] are considered to prove that man has been living in a
+state of comparative civilisation in the Nile Valley for the last
+13,500 years. But that conclusion absolutely rests on the supposition
+that the rate of increase formed by the annual deposit of the Nile mud
+has been always exactly the same as now,--a supposition, not only
+without the least shadow of proof, but also directly contrary to the
+highest probability, nay, certainty, in the estimation of those who
+believe in the Noachian deluge. For surely the drainage of the entire
+plain of North Africa after that inundation must have produced an
+alluvium of vast thickness in a very brief time; while beneath that
+deposit the works of the antediluvian world might well be buried. Yet
+the possibility of there ever having been any greater rate of deposit
+than within the last 3000 years, the recorder of those investigations,
+in his unseemly haste to prove the Bible false, strangely leaves wholly
+out of his consideration.
+
+So, doubtless, concerning other deposits containing fossil remains,
+whose extreme antiquity is assumed from the known rate of
+surface-increase now, we ought to remember that we have not a tittle of
+proof that the rate of increase has not at certain remote periods been
+suddenly and immensely augmented. There are many facts on record which
+tend to shew that the rate at which geologic changes take place in
+certain localities affords no reliable data whatever to infer that at
+which phenomena apparently quite parallel have occurred in other
+localities. An upheaval or a subsidence of one part of a country may
+rapidly effect a great change in the amount of soil or gravel
+precipitated by streams, without destroying or changing their channels,
+and yet the deposit may be made sufficiently gradually to allow the
+burial of shells or of bones of creatures which lived and died on the
+spot.
+
+The degradation of a cliff, either suddenly or gradually, might throw a
+vast quantity of fragments into a rapid stream, and cause a deposit of
+gravel of considerable breadth and thickness in a comparatively short
+period of time,--say a century or two.
+
+Sir Charles Lyell has adduced examples of very rapid formation of
+certain stony deposits, which should make us cautious how we assert that
+such and such a thickness _must_ have required a vast number of years.
+In one of them there is a thickness of 200 or 300 feet of travertine of
+recent deposit, while in another, a solid mass _thirty feet thick was
+deposited in about twenty years_. There are countless places in Italy
+where the formation of limestone may be seen, as also in Auvergne and
+other volcanic districts.[23]
+
+From these and similar considerations it seems to me by no means
+unreasonable that the four thousand years which elapsed between the
+Creation and the commencement of Western European history should have
+been amply sufficient for many of those geological operations whose
+results are seen in what are known as the later Tertiary deposits,--the
+crag, the drift, the cavern-accumulations, and the like. And, as a
+corollary to this, that the great extinct Mammalia may have extended
+into this period, and thus have been contemporary with man, for a
+greater or less duration, according to the species; some, probably,
+having been extinguished at a very early period of the era, while others
+lived on to the time I have named, or even later.
+
+But have we nothing better for this conclusion than an assumption of the
+possibility, and a more or less probable conjecture? Yes; we have some
+facts of interest to warrant it, or I should not have ventured to
+introduce the subject in this work. There are facts,--besides the
+admixture of human workmanship with the animal remains in undisturbed
+deposits--direct evidence, not altogether shadowy, of the co-existence
+of the extinct animals with living men.
+
+And first, I would mention some circumstances bearing analogy to the
+exhumation of the fresh Pachyderms of Siberia. Some years ago, a portion
+of the leg of an Irish Elk, so-called, (_Megaceros hibernicus_,) with a
+part of the tendons, skin, and hair upon it, was dug up with other
+remains from a deposit on the estate of H. Grogan Morgan, Esq., of
+Johnstown Castle, Wexford, and is now in that gentleman's possession.
+This leg was exhibited, and formed the subject of a lecture at the time
+by Mr Peile, veterinary surgeon, Dublin.
+
+It has been ascertained that the marrow in some of the bones blazes like
+a candle; that the cartilage and gelatine, so far from having been
+destroyed, were not apparently altered by time.[24] Archdeacon Maunsell
+actually made soup of the bones, and presented a portion thereof to the
+Royal Dublin Society (whether they enjoyed it I have not heard; it must
+have been "a little high," I fear). They are frequently used by the
+peasantry for fuel. On the occasion of the rejoicings for the victory at
+Waterloo, a bonfire was made of these bones, and it was observed that
+they gave out as good a blaze as those of horses, often used for similar
+purposes.[25]
+
+Pepper, in his "History of Ireland," states that the ancient Irish used
+to hunt a very large black deer, the milk of which they used as we do
+that of the cow, and the flesh of which served them for food, and the
+skin for clothing. This is a very remarkable record; and is confirmed by
+some bronze tablets found by Sir William Betham, the inscriptions on
+which attested that the ancient Irish fed upon the milk and flesh of a
+great black deer.
+
+According to the "Annals of the Four Masters," Niel Sedamin, a king of
+Ireland before the Christian era, was so called because "the cows and
+the female deer were alike milked in his reign." The art of taming the
+wild deer and converting them into domestic cattle is said to have been
+introduced by Flidisia, this monarch's mother. Deer are said to have
+been used to carry stones and wood for Codocus when his monastery was
+built, as also to carry timber to build the castle of a king of
+Connaught. These may have been red deer, but as there is good proof
+that the giant deer was really domesticated, it seems more likely that
+such offices should have been performed by the latter than by the
+former.
+
+An interesting letter from the Countess of Moira, published in the
+"Archæologia Britannica," gives an account of a human body found in
+gravel under eleven feet of peat, soaked in the bog-water; it was in
+good preservation, and completely clothed in antique garments of
+deer-hair, conjectured to be that of the Giant Elk.
+
+A skull of the same animal has been discovered in Germany in an ancient
+drain, together with several urns and stone-hatchets. And in the museum
+of the Royal Dublin Society there exists a fossil rib bearing evident
+token of having been wounded by some sharp instrument which remained
+long infixed in the wound, but had not penetrated so deep as to destroy
+the creature's life. It was such a wound as the head of an arrow,
+whether of flint or of metal, would produce.
+
+In the year 1846, a very interesting corroboration of the opinion long
+held by some that the great broad-horned Deer was domesticated by the
+ancient Irish, was given by the discovery of a vast collection of bones
+at Lough Gûr, near Limerick. The word Gûr is said to mean "an
+assemblage," so that the locality is "the Lake of the Assemblage,"
+commemorating perhaps the gathering of an army or some other host at the
+spot. In the midst of the lake is an island, which is described as being
+so completely surrounded with bones and skulls of animals "that one
+would think the cattle of an entire nation must have been slaughtered to
+procure so vast an assemblage."
+
+The skulls are described as belonging to the following animals:--The
+giant deer (females); a deer of inferior size; the stag; another species
+of stag; the fallow deer; the broad-faced ox; the hollow-faced ox; the
+long-faced ox; another species of ox; the common short-horned ox; the
+goat; and the hog.
+
+The principal points of interest centred in the Giant Deer or so-called
+Irish Elk. The skulls of these, as of all the larger animals, "were
+broken in by some sharp and heavy instrument, and in the same manner as
+butchers of the present day slaughter cattle for our markets, and in
+many cases the marrow-bones were broken across, as if to get at the
+marrow."
+
+Of course, if this was indubitable, the conclusion was inevitable, that
+the Giant Deer was not only contemporary with man, but was domesticated
+by him with other quadrupeds, and used for food. Professor Owen,
+however, contended that the skulls of the Giant Deer were not females
+but males, from which the horns had been forcibly removed, and that the
+holes in the foreheads were made by the violent wrenching off of the
+horns tearing away a portion of the frontal bone from which they grew.
+
+In reply to this opinion, Mr H. D. Richardson of Dublin, whose personal
+acquaintance with the relics of this noble species is peculiarly
+extensive, shewed that certain variations of proportion on which the
+learned Professor relied to prove the skulls to be male, were of no
+such value, individual animals presenting great discrepancies in these
+respects: that the total absence of cornuous peduncles from the sides of
+the forehead, and of the elevated bony ridge, conclusively proved the
+sex to be female, which was permanently destitute of horns; and that in
+no case could it be said that the ridge was forced away, since the
+violence was confined to a _small hole_ in the centre of the forehead.
+
+To put the matter to test, Mr Richardson experimented on two perfect
+male skulls. In the one instance the force was applied to the beam of
+the horns, and the result was their fracture where they are united to
+the peduncles. In the other case the force was applied to the peduncles
+themselves, to ascertain whether it was possible to wrench them and the
+ridge away from the face, when the consequence was, that the skull was
+completely riven asunder. Indeed to any one who looks at the position of
+the horns in this animal, and their implantation, it must be
+self-evident that their violent removal must tear away the entire
+forehead, and not leave a central hole. Mr Edward Newman who
+subsequently examined the specimens speaks decidedly on this point:--"I
+have not the least hesitation in expressing my firm conviction that the
+fractures were the result of human hands, and were the cause of the
+death of the animals. These two fractured skulls correspond too exactly
+with each other, and with that of a bullock with which I compared them,
+to have resulted from accident: the edges of the fractures wore the
+appearance of having been coeval with the interment or submergence of
+the skulls, and presented a very strikingly different appearance from a
+fracture recently made, and which I had the opportunity of examining.
+There were several skulls of the male of the same species, one bearing
+enormous antlers, but none exhibiting the slightest trace of frontal
+fracture."[26]
+
+A circumstance of much importance is that these skulls were found in
+company with those of many well-known domestic animals, as the ox, the
+goat, and the hog. _These skulls were similarly fractured._ As it is
+evident that _their_ demolition was produced by the butcher's pole-axe,
+why not that of the elk-skulls?
+
+"At the first cursory glance, it may appear somewhat strange that the
+skulls of the males should invariably have been found entire, and that
+even the recent discovery at Lough Gûr should form no exception.
+
+"I do not, however, find any difficulty here. In the first place, we may
+fairly suppose that males, like our bulls, were not equally prized as
+food. In the second place, the size, as well as the position of the
+antlers, would render it next to an impossibility to give the desired
+blow with the pole-axe. In the third place, the greater strength and
+thickness of the skull would almost to a certainty render the blow
+unavailing; and in the fourth place, supposing the females domesticated,
+and the occasional tenants of sheds and other buildings, we may well
+imagine that the males were excluded from such buildings by the enormous
+size of their antlers. Perhaps a few only of the males, as in our
+cattle, were suffered to become adult, one male sufficing for many
+females. Perhaps the males were allowed free range, the females only
+being permitted at stated seasons to accompany them. In fine, the more
+we investigate probabilities, the more we reason from present experience
+and knowledge, the less difficulty shall we find in the way of believing
+the gigantic deer of Ireland an animal coeval with man and subservient
+to his uses."[27]
+
+In a communication subsequently made to the _Zoologist_ by Mr
+Richardson, he gives the following additional evidence:--"In the
+collection of the late Mr Johnston, of Down, which had been left by his
+uncle, an attorney, and in which everything was labelled with the
+accuracy and precision of that profession, is a small brass spear, with
+a piece of wood still in the socket, with a label, stating it to have
+been found in a marl-pit, among the bones of a deer. An excise-officer
+told me that he saw, found in a marl-pit, at Mentrim in Meath, the
+skeleton of a deer, and a man, and a long knife: the latter, I believe,
+is rather a short sword, now, I think, in the collection of Mr Petrie,
+of Dublin, who told me that some such tradition had accompanied it into
+his possession.... Dr Martin informs me that on the banks of the river
+Suir, near Portland, Waterford, and on nearly every farm, are found,
+near springs, spaces of frequently seventy feet in diameter, consisting
+of stones, broken up as if for roads, and lying together in a mass.
+These stones were evidently purposely broken, and all much of one size,
+and are charred. These spaces are many feet in depth. The tradition
+respecting them is current among the peasantry, that here in olden time,
+a great deer was killed and baked in these stone-pits, the stones having
+been previously heated like a kiln, and they also distinguish the animal
+as the 'Irish Elk.' These places are called in Irish by a name
+signifying the 'Buck's Den.'"
+
+[Illustration: SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK.]
+
+From all these testimonies combined, can we hesitate a moment in
+believing that the Giant Deer was an inhabitant of Ireland since its
+colonisation by man? It seems to me that its extinction cannot have
+taken place more than a thousand years ago. Perhaps at the very time
+that Cæsar invaded Britain the Celts in the sister isle were milking and
+slaughtering their female elks, domesticated in their cattlepens of
+granite, and hunting the proud-antlered male with their flint arrows and
+lances. It would appear, that the mode of hunting him was to chase and
+terrify him into pools and swamps, such as the marl-pits then were;
+that, having thus disabled him in the yielding bogs, and slain him, the
+head was cut off, as of too little value to be worth the trouble of
+dragging home; that the under jaws and tongue were cut off; and that
+frequently the entire carcase was disjointed on the spot, the best parts
+only being removed. This would account for the so frequent occurrence of
+separate portions of the skeleton, and especially of skulls, in the
+bog-earth. No doubt so large an animal would not long survive in a state
+of freedom, after an island so limited in extent as Ireland became
+peopled throughout; and supposing the females to have been
+domesticated, it is quite conceivable that the difficulty or even danger
+of capturing or domesticating the males, may have caused the species
+soon to become extinct in captivity, when it no longer continued to
+exist in a wild state. Thus we may perhaps account for the certainly
+remarkable fact that no native Irish name has been recognised as
+belonging to it;--remarkable, because the Irish tongue is particularly
+rich in distinctive names for natural objects. There exists a very
+curious ancient poem in that language which professes to enumerate the
+whole fauna of the island. It is founded on the legend that Fian
+MacCumhaill was made prisoner by Cormac MacArt, king of Erinn; that the
+victor promised to give him freedom on condition that, as a ransom, a
+pair of each wild animal found in Ireland were brought before him on the
+green of Tara. Cailte MacRonain, the foster-brother of the captive
+general undertook the task, and succeeded in bringing the collection
+before the king within a twelvemonth; and in the poem, he is supposed to
+narrate to St Patrick the detail and result of his enterprise. Of this
+poem, which is considered to be as early as the ninth century, the
+reader may like to see the following translation by Mr Eugene Curry,
+containing the zoological portion:--
+
+      "I then went forth to search the lands,
+        To see if I could redeem my chief,
+      And soon returned to noble Tara,
+        With the ransom that Cormac required.
+
+      "I brought with me the fierce _Geilt_,[28]
+        And the tall _Grib_[29] with talons,
+      And the two Ravens of Fid-dá-Beann,
+        And the two Ducks of Loch Saileann.
+
+      "Two Foxes from Sliabh Cuilinn,
+        Two Wild Oxen[30] from Burren,
+      Two Swans from the dark wood of Gabhran,
+        And two Cuckoos from the wood of Fordrum.
+
+      "Two _Toghmalls_[31] from Fidh-Gaibhle,
+        Which is by the side of the two roads,
+      And two Otters after them,
+        From the brown-white rock of Dobhar.
+
+      "Two Gulls from Tralee hither,
+        Two _Ruilechs_[32] from Port Lairge (Waterford),
+      Four _Snags_[33] from the River Brosna,
+        Two Plovers from the rock of Dunán.
+
+      "Two _Echtachs_[34] from the lofty Echtghe,
+        Two Thrushes from Letter Longarie,
+      Two _Drenns_[35] from Dun Aife,
+        The two _Cainches_[36] of Corraivte.
+
+      "Two Herons from the hilly Corann,
+        The two _Errfiachs_[37] of Magh Fobhair,
+      The two Eagles of Carrick-na-Cloch,
+        Two Hawks from the wood of Caenach.
+
+      "Two Pheasants from Loch Meilge,
+        Two Water-hens from Loch Eirne,
+      Two Heath-hens from the Bog of Mafa,
+        Two Swift Divers from Dubh Loch.
+
+      "Two _Cricharans_[38] from Cualann,
+        Two Titmice from Magh Tualang,
+      Two Choughs from Gleann Gaibhle,
+        Two Sparrows from the Shannon.
+
+      "Two Cormorants from Ath Cliath,
+        Two _Onchus_[39] from Crotta Cliach,
+      Two Jackdaws from Druim Damh,
+        Two _Riabhogs_[40] from Leathan Mhaigh.
+
+      "Two Rabbits from Dumho Duinn,
+        Two wild Hogs from circular Cnoghbha,
+      Two _Peatáns_[41] from Creat Roe,
+        Two wild Boars[42] from green-sided Tara.
+
+      "Two Pigeons out of Ceis Corann,
+        Two Blackbirds out of Leitir Finnchoill,
+      Two black Birds (?) from the strand of Dabhan,
+        Two Roebucks from Luachair Deaghaidh.
+
+      "Two _Fereidhins_[43] from Ath Loich,
+        Two Fawns from Moin mor,
+      Two Bats out of the Cave of Cnoghbha,
+        Two Pigs[44] from the lands of Ollarbha.
+
+      "Two Swallows out of Sidh Buidhe,
+        Two _Iaronns_[45] from the wood of Luadraidh,
+      Two _Geisechtachs_[46] from Magh Mall,
+        Two charming Robins from Cnamh Choill.
+
+      "Two Woodcocks from Coillruadh,
+        Two Crows from Lenn Uar,
+      Two _Bruacharans_[47] from Sliabh-da-Ean,
+        Two Barnacle-Geese from Turloch Bruigheoil.
+
+      "Two _Naescans_[48] from Dun Daighre,
+        Two Yellow-ammers from the brink of Bairne,
+      Two _Spireogs_[49] from Sliabh Cleath,
+        Two Grey Mice from Limerick.
+
+      "Two Corncrakes from the Banks of Shannon,
+        Two Wagtails from the brinks of Birra,
+      Two Curlews from the Harbour of Galway,
+        Two _Sgreachógs_[50] from Muirtheimhne.
+
+      "Two _Geilt Glinnes_[51] from Glenn-a-Smoil,
+        Two Jackdaws from great Ath Mogha,
+      Two fleet _Onchus_[52] from Loch Con,
+        Two Cats out of the Cave of Cruachain.
+
+      "Two Goats from Sith Gabhran,
+        Two Pigs[53] of the Pigs of Mac Lir,
+      A Ram and Ewe both round and red,
+        I brought with me from Aengus.
+
+      "I brought with me a Stallion and a Mare,
+        From the beautiful stud of Manannan,
+      A Bull and a white Cow from Druim Cain,
+        Which were given me by Muirn Munchain."
+
+No _known_ allusion occurs in this poem to the Giant Deer.[54] First,
+however, we must remember that no small number of the animals mentioned
+are quite unrecognisable; and that of those names to which an
+explanation is given, many are probably incorrectly rendered. Secondly,
+if it could be absolutely shewn that no allusion exists to that fine
+beast, it would not at all disprove its existence a thousand years
+before. Supposing that the _Megaceros_ became extinct soon after the
+colonisation of Ireland, and that this was several centuries before the
+Christian era, the distinctive name by which it had been known might
+well have died out and become extinct also, among a people unacquainted
+with letters. Or if a dim tradition of the animal and of its name still
+lingered here and there, it might well be omitted from a catalogue which
+professed to give the creatures actually collected in a living state at
+a given period. It would have been interesting to have been able to
+identify the Great Elk, but its introduction would have been a glaring
+anachronism.
+
+The enumeration of nearly a hundred and sixty quadrupeds and birds
+either indigenous to or naturalised in Ireland at so early a period,
+possesses, I say, a peculiar interest.
+
+If the editor's suggestion is correct, that the _Echtach_ was a bovine
+animal, then we have three distinct mentions of this family in the
+poem,--the Wild Oxen, the Echtachs, and the Bull and White Cow. The
+second and third of these were probably domesticated animals; the first
+one expressly "Wild." Now at least five distinct species of Oxen are
+known to have inhabited Europe and the British Isles during the later
+periods of the Tertiary era, which have been named respectively, _Bison
+priscus_, _Bos primigenius_, _frontosus_ and _longifrons_, and _Ovibos
+moschatus_. Of these, skulls of _Bos frontosus_ and _B. longifrons_ have
+been dug up in some numbers in Ireland. Some of these bear, in the
+perforation of the forehead, evident proof of having been slaughtered
+_secundum artem_, and therefore of having been domesticated. But one
+large skull of the _longifrons_ type, now in the Museum of the Royal
+Irish Academy, has a cut in the forehead, into which can be accurately
+fitted several of the narrow bronze "celts," or arrow-heads so
+frequently dug up in Ireland; a pretty fair proof that this animal was
+killed by the hunter's arrow, and was therefore wild.
+
+No bovine animals of the true taurine race are now known to exist in an
+aboriginally wild state; but at the epoch of our earliest historical
+knowledge of central and western Europe it was far otherwise. Cæsar,
+describing, under the name of _Urus_, certain wild oxen of the great
+Hercynian forest, says, "These Uri are little inferior to elephants in
+size, but are bulls in their nature, colour, and figure. Great is their
+strength, and great their swiftness, nor do they spare man or beast when
+once they have caught sight of him. These, when trapped in pitfalls, the
+hunters unsparingly kill. The youths, exercising themselves by this sort
+of hunting, are hardened by the toil, and those among them who have
+killed most, bringing with them the horns, as testimonials, acquire
+great praise. But these Uri cannot be habituated to man, nor made
+tractable, not even when taken young. The great size of the horns, as
+well as the form and quality of them, differs much from those of our
+oxen."
+
+It is probable that this race extended widely over Europe, and even into
+Asia. Herodotus mentions Macedonian wild oxen, with exceedingly large
+([Greek: hypermegathia]) horns; and Philip of Macedon killed a wild bull
+in Mount Orbela, which had made great havoc, and produced much terror
+among the inhabitants; its spoils he hung up in the Temple of Hercules.
+The Assyrian artists delighted to sculpture on the royal bas-reliefs of
+Nineveh the conquest of the wild bull by the prowess of their Nimrod
+monarchs, and the figures, in their minute anatomical characters, well
+agree with the descriptions and remains of the European _Urus_. The
+large forest that surrounded ancient London was infested with _boves
+sylvestres_ among other wild beasts, and it is probable that these were
+_Uri_. The legendary exploit of Guy, Earl of Warwick, in freeing the
+neighbourhood from a terrible dun cow, whether historically true or not,
+shews the existence of formidable wild bovines in the heart of England,
+and the terror they inspired among the people. The family of Turnbull,
+in Scotland, are traditionally said to owe their patronymic to a hero
+who turned a wild bull from Robert the Bruce, when it had attacked him
+while hunting.
+
+What has become of the terrible Uri which lived in Europe at the
+commencement of the Christian era? Advancing civilisation has rooted
+them out, so that no living trace of them remains, unless the
+cream-white breed which is preserved in a semi-wild state in some of our
+northern parks be their representatives; or, as is not improbable, their
+blood may still circulate in our domestic oxen.
+
+Yet there is no doubt of the identity of a species found abundantly in
+Britain in the Tertiary deposits, and named by Owen _Bos primigenius_,
+with the Urus of Cæsar. This fossil bull was as certainly contemporary
+in this island with the elephant, and the hyena, and the baboon, and,
+strange to say, with the reindeer, and the musk-ox, too--thus combining
+a tropical, a temperate, and an arctic fauna in our limited island at
+the same period! What a strange climate it must have been to suit them
+all!
+
+Professor Nilsson, who has paid great attention to fossil oxen, mentions
+a skull of this species which must have belonged to an animal more than
+twelve feet in length from the nape to the root of the tail, and six
+feet and a half in height. Again, the skull of a cow in the British
+Museum, figured by Professor Owen, measures thirty inches from the crown
+to the tips of the jaws! What a beast must this have been! Would not the
+slaughter of such a "Dun Cow" as this in single combat have been an
+exploit worthy of a doughty earl?
+
+That this ancient fossil bull was really contemporary with man in
+Scandinavia is proved by evidence which is irrespective of the question
+of its identity with Cæsar's Urus. For one of Professor Nilsson's
+specimens "bears on its back a palpable mark of a wound from a javelin.
+Several celebrated anatomists and physiologists, among whom," he says,
+"I need only mention the names of John Müller, of Berlin, and Andreas
+Retzius, of Stockholm, have inspected this skeleton, and are unanimous
+in the opinion that the hole in question upon the backbone is the
+consequence of a wound, which, during the life of the animal, was made
+by the hand of man. The animal must have been very young, probably only
+a calf, when it was wounded. The huntsman who cast the javelin must have
+stood before it. It was yet young when it died, probably not more than
+three or four years old."
+
+We may, then, assume as certain that the vast _Bos primigenius_ of
+Western Europe lived as a wild animal contemporaneously with man; and as
+almost certain (assuming its identity with the _Urus_) that it continued
+to be abundant as late as the Christian era.
+
+The _Bos frontosus_ is a middling-sized bovine. "Its remains," says
+Professor Nilsson, "are found in turf-bogs in Southern Scandinavia, and
+in such a state as plainly shews that they belonged to a more ancient
+period than that in which tame cattle existed in Sweden. This species
+lived in Scandinavia contemporaneously with the _Bos primigenius_, and
+the _Bison Europæus_.... If ever it was tamed, and thereby in the course
+of time contributed to form some of the tame races of cattle, it must
+have been the small-horned, often hornless, breed, which is to be found
+in the mountains of Norway, and which has a high protuberance between
+the setting-on of the horns above the nape."
+
+This species occurs in a fossil state in some numbers in Ireland; it has
+also been found in England. It is by some supposed to be the origin of,
+or, at least, to have contributed blood to, the middling Highland races
+with high occiput, and small horns.
+
+There is more certainty of the co-existence of the small _B. longifrons_
+with man. Some of the evidence I have already adduced. "Within a few
+years," says a trustworthy authority, "we have read in one of the
+scientific periodicals,--but have just now sought in vain for the
+notice,--of a quantity of bones that were dug up in some part of
+England, together with other remains of what seemed to be the relics of
+a grand feast, held probably during the Roman domination of Britain,
+for, if we mistake not, some Roman coins were found associated with
+them. _There were skulls_ and other remains of _Bos longifrons_ quite
+undistinguishable in form from the antique fossil, whether wild or
+domesticated, which, of course, remains a question."[55]
+
+Professor Owen conjectures that this species may have contributed to
+form the present small shaggy Highland and Welsh cattle,--the kyloes and
+runts; and a similar breed in the northern parts of Scania may have had
+a similar origin.
+
+In the _Bison priscus_, the fossil remains of which occur in many parts
+of Europe, and more sparsely in Great Britain,[56] we have an example of
+a noble animal, which, contemporary with all those which have been
+engaging our attention, survives to the present hour, but is dying out,
+and would have long ago been extinguished, probably, but for the
+fostering influence of human conservation. For the species is considered
+as absolutely identical with the _Bison Europæus_ of modern zoology, the
+Bison or Wisent of the Germans, the Aurochs of the Prussians, the Zubr
+of the Poles, that formidable creature, which is maintained by the Czar
+in an ever-diminishing herd in the vast forests of Lithuania,[57] and
+which, perhaps, still lingers in the fastnesses of the Caucasus. This,
+the largest, or at least the most massive of all existing quadrupeds,
+after the great Pachyderms, roamed over Germany in some numbers as late
+as the era of Charlemagne. Considerably later than this it is reckoned
+among the German beasts of chase, for in the _Niebelungen Lied_, a poem
+of the twelfth century, it is said,
+
+      "Dar nach schlouch er schiere, einen wisent und einen elch,
+      Starcher ure viere, und einen grimmen schelch."
+
+      "After this he straightway slew a bison and an elk,
+      Of the strong uri four, and a single fierce schelch."[58]
+
+It is a formidable beast, standing six feet high at the shoulders, where
+it is protected by a thick and profuse mane. Specimens have been known
+to reach a ton in weight. It manifests an invincible repugnance to the
+ox.
+
+There are several other animals of note which, like the Bison, were once
+common inhabitants of these islands, but have long been extinct here,
+though more genial circumstances have preserved their existence on the
+continent of Europe. Of the great Cave Bear, no evidence of its period
+exists, that I know of, except that which may be deduced from the
+commixture of its remains with those of other animals of whose recent
+date we have proof. But there is another kind of Bear, whose relics in a
+fossil state are not uncommon in the Tertiary deposits, viz., the common
+Black Bear (_Ursus arctos_) of Europe.
+
+This savage animal must have early succumbed to man. The "Triads"[59]
+mention bears as living here before the Kymri came. The Roman poets knew
+of their existence here: Martial speaks of the robber Laureolus being
+exposed on the cross to the fangs of the _Caledonian_ Bear; and Claudian
+alludes to British bears. The Emperor Claudius, on his return to Rome
+after the conquest of this island, exhibited, as trophies, combats of
+British bears in the arena. In the Penitential of Archbishop Egbert,
+said to have been compiled about A.D. 750, bears are mentioned as
+inhabiting the English forests, but they must have gradually become
+rare, for the chase-laws of Canute, at the beginning of the eleventh
+century, are silent about them. In Doomsday Book, we find incidental
+notice of this animal, for the city of Norwich is said to have been
+required to furnish a bear annually to Edward the Confessor, together
+with "six dogs for the bear,"--no doubt for baiting him. This seems to
+have been the latest trace on record of the bear in Britain; unless the
+tradition may compete with it, which states that one of the Gordon
+family was empowered by the king of Scotland to carry three bears' heads
+on his banner, as a reward for his prowess in slaying a fierce bear.
+
+In Ireland it seems to have become extinct even yet earlier. Bede
+says the only ravenous animals in his day were the wolf and the fox;
+Donatus, who died in A.D. 840, distinctly says it was not a native
+of the island in his time; and Geraldus Cambrensis does not enumerate
+it as known in the twelfth century. Neither is it included in the
+ransom-beasts of Cailte's collection. Yet a native Irish name for the
+bear--Mathghambain--occurs in an old glossary[60] in the Library of
+Trinity College, Dublin; and the late Wm. Thomson says that a tradition
+is current of its having once been an Irish animal; and it is associated
+with the wolf as a native beast in the stories handed down from
+generation to generation to the present time.
+
+The wolf, however, survived in both islands to a much later era. In the
+days of the Heptarchy it was a terrible pest; King Edgar commuted the
+punishment of certain offences into a requisition for a fixed number of
+wolves' tongues; and he converted a heavy tax on one of the Welsh
+princes into an annual tribute of three hundred wolves' heads. These
+laws continued to the time of Edward I., when the increasing scarcity of
+the animal doubtless caused them to fall into disuse. Mr Topham, in his
+Notes to Somerville's "Chase," says, that it was in the wolds of
+Yorkshire that a price was last set on a wolf's head. The last record of
+their occurring in formidable numbers in England is in 1281; but for
+three centuries after this, the mountains and forests of Scotland
+harboured them; for Hollinshed reports that in 1577 the wolves were very
+troublesome to the flocks of that country. Nor were they entirely
+destroyed out of this island till about a century afterwards, when the
+last wolf fell in Lochaber, by the hand of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel.
+In Ireland the last wolf was slain in 1710.
+
+Thus here we are able to lay our finger on the exact dates when a large
+and rapacious species of animal actually became extinct so far as the
+British Isles are concerned. And if the species had been confined in its
+geographical limits, as many other species of animals are, to one group
+of islands, we should know the precise date of its absolute extinction.
+
+The Beaver was once an inhabitant of British rivers. Its remains are
+found in Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, and elsewhere, associated
+with the other Mammalia of the fresh-water deposits and caves, but not
+in any abundance. No record of its actual existence, however, in these
+counties exists, nor anywhere else but in Wales and Scotland, whose
+mountain streams and rugged ravines afforded it shelter till after the
+Norman Conquest. It was very rare even then, and for a hundred years
+before; for the laws of Howel Dda, the Welsh king, who died in 948, in
+determining the value of peltry, fix the price of the beaver's skin at a
+hundred and twenty pence, when the skins of the stag, the wolf, the fox,
+and the otter, were worth only eightpence each, that of the white weasel
+or ermine at twelvepence, and that of the marten, at twenty-four pence.
+The appropriate epithet of Broad-tail (Llostllyddan) was given it by the
+Welsh. Giraldus Cambrensis, who travelled through Wales in 1188, gives,
+in his Itinerary, a short account of the beaver, but states that the
+river Teivy in Cardiganshire, and one other river in Scotland, were the
+only places in Great Britain, where it was then found. In all
+probability it did not long survive that century, for no subsequent
+notice of it as a British animal is extant. Tradition, however, still
+preserves the remembrance of its presence in those indelible records,
+names of places. "Two or three waters in the Principality," says
+Pennant, "still bear the name of _Llyn yr afangc_,--the Beaver Lake....
+I have seen two of their supposed haunts: one in the stream that runs
+through Nant Francon; the other in the river Conwy, a few miles above
+Llanrwst; and both places, in all probability, had formerly been crossed
+by beaver-dams."
+
+If, as naturalists of the highest eminence believe, there is specific
+difference between the beaver of Europe and that of America, then we may
+say that our species is fast passing away from the earth. A few colonies
+yet linger along the banks of the Danube, the Weser, the Rhone and the
+Euphrates, but they consist of few individuals, ever growing fewer; and
+the value of their fur exciting cupidity, they cannot probably resist
+much longer the exterminating violence of man.
+
+The causes which led to the extinction of these animals in our islands
+are then obvious, and are thus playfully touched by the late James
+Wilson:--"The beaver might have carried on business well enough, in his
+own quiet way, although frequently incommoded by the love of peltry on
+the part of a hat-wearing people; but it is clear that no man with a
+small family and a few respectable farm servants, could either permit a
+large and hungry wolf to be continually peeping at midnight through the
+keyhole of the nursery, or allow a brawny bruin to snuff too frequently
+under the kitchen door (after having hugged the watch-dog to death) when
+the servant-maids were at supper. The extirpation then of at least two
+of these quondam British species became 'a work of necessity and mercy,'
+and might have been tolerated even on a Sunday, (between sermons,)
+especially as naturalists have it still in their power to study the
+habits of similar wild beasts, by no means yet extinct, in the
+neighbouring countries of France and Germany."[61]
+
+Perhaps the example of recent extinction most popularly known is that of
+the Dodo, a very remarkable bird, which about two centuries ago existed
+in considerable abundance, in the isles of Mauritius, Bourbon, and
+Rodriguez. It was a rather large fowl, incapable of rising from the
+ground, by reason of the imperfect development of its wings, of massive,
+uncouth figure, predisposed to fatness, and noted for the sapidity of
+its flesh. Two skulls and two unmatched feet of this strange bird are
+preserved in European museums; and these shew that its nearest
+affinities were with the pigeon-tribe, of which we know some species of
+terrestrial habits, but none approaching this bird in its absolute
+confinement to the earth.
+
+In the reports of numerous voyagers who visited these islands from the
+end of the fifteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, we have
+many accounts of the appearance and habits of this bird, evidently
+sketched from the life. Some of the descriptions, as also the figures by
+which they are illustrated, are quaint enough; as, for example, that
+graphic sketch hit off by old Sir Thomas Herbert, who saw the bird in
+his travels in 1634:--
+
+     "The Dodo," he says, "comes first to our description. Here and in
+     Dygarrois (and nowhere else that I c^d ever see or heare of) is
+     generated the Dodo. (A Portuguize name it is, and has reference to
+     her simplenes) a bird which for shape and rareness might be call'd
+     a Ph{oe}nix (wer't in Arabia); her body is round and extreame fat,
+     her slow pace begets that corpulencie; few of them weigh lesse than
+     fifty pound: better to the eye than the stomack: greasie appetites
+     may perhaps commend them, but, to the indifferently curious,
+     nourishment, but prove offensive. Let's take her picture: her
+     visage darts forth melancholy, as sensible of nature's injurie in
+     framing so great and massive a body to be directed by such small
+     and complementall wings, as are unable to hoise her from the
+     ground, serving only to prove her a bird; which otherwise might be
+     doubted of: her head is variously drest, the one halfe hooded with
+     downy blackish feathers; the other perfectly naked; of a whitish
+     hue, as if a transparent lawne had covered it; her bill is very
+     howked and bends downwards, the thrill or breathing place is in the
+     midst of it; from which part to the end, the colour is a light
+     greene mixt with a pale yellow; her eyes be round and small, and
+     bright as diamonds; her cloathing is of finest downe, such as ye
+     see in goslins; her trayne is (like a China beard) of three or
+     foure short feythers; her legs thick, and black, and strong; her
+     tallons or pounces sharp; her stomack fiery hot, so as stones and
+     yron are easilie digested in it; in that and shape, not a little
+     resembling the Africk oestriches: but so much, as for their more
+     certain dyfference I dare to give thee (with two others) her
+     representation."[62]
+
+It is pretty certain that a living specimen was about the same time
+exhibited in England. Sir Hamon L'Estrange tells us distinctly that he
+_saw_ it. His original MS. is preserved in the British Museum, and with
+some blanks caused by the injury of time, of no great consequence, reads
+as follows:--
+
+     "About 1638, as I walked London streets, I saw the picture
+             of a strange fowl hong out upon a cloth.
+             vas and myselfe with one or two more Gen. in
+     company went in to see it. It was kept in a chamber, and was a
+     greate fowle somewhat bigger than the largest Turky Cock and so
+     legged and footed but stouter and thicker and of a more erect
+     shape, coloured before like the breast of a yong Cock Fesan and on
+     the back of dunn or deare coulour. The keeper called it a Dodo and
+     in the ende of a chimney in the chamber there lay an heap of large
+     pebble stones whereof hee gave it many in our sight, some as bigg
+     as nutmegs and the keeper told us shee eats them conducing to
+     digestion and though I remember not how farre the keeper was
+     questioned therein yet I am confident that afterwards shee cast
+     them all agayne."[63]
+
+It is probable that this very specimen passed into the museum of
+Tradescant, who, in the Catalogue of "The Collection of Rarities
+preserved at Lambeth," dated 1656, mentions the following: "Dodar from
+the Island Mauritius: it is not able to flie being so bigg." Willoughby
+the ornithologist, a most unexceptionable testimony, says that he saw
+this specimen in Tradescant's museum: it is mentioned also by
+others;--as by Llhwyd in 1684, and by Hyde in 1700. It passed, with the
+rest of the Tradescant Collection, to Oxford, and thus became part of
+the Ashmolean Museum,--and being in a decayed condition, was ordered to
+be destroyed by the authorities, who had no apprehension of its value,
+in 1755. The skull and one foot, however, were preserved, and are still
+in the Museum at Oxford. Remains of the Dodo have been dug up in the
+Mauritius, and are in the Paris Museum, and in that of the Zoological
+Society of London. The bird certainly does not exist there now, nor in
+either of the neighbouring islands.
+
+In the British Museum there is a fine original painting, once the
+property of George Edwards, the celebrated bird painter, representing
+the Dodo surrounded by other minor birds and reptiles. Edwards states
+that "it was drawn in Holland, from a living bird brought from St
+Maurice's Island, in the East Indies. It was the property of Sir Hans
+Sloane at the time of his death, and afterwards becoming my property, I
+deposited it in the British Museum as a great curiosity."
+
+Professor Owen has discovered another original figure of this
+interesting form in Savary's painting of "Orpheus and the Beasts," at
+the Hague. The figure, though small, displays all the characteristic
+peculiarities, and agrees well with Edwards' painting, while evincing
+that it was copied from the living bird.
+
+It is possible that there were two species of Dodo; which would explain
+certain discrepancies in the descriptions of observers. At all events we
+have here one, if not more, conspicuous animal absolutely extinguished
+within the last two hundred years.
+
+Just about a century ago a great animal disappeared from the ocean,
+which, according to Owen, was contemporary with the fossil elephant and
+rhinoceros of Siberia and England. Steller, a Russian voyager and
+naturalist, discovered the creature, afterward called _Stelleria_ by
+Cuvier, in Behring's Straits; a huge, unwieldy whale-like animal, one of
+the marine pachyderms, allied to the Manatee, but much larger, being
+twenty-five feet long, and twenty in circumference. Its flesh was good
+for food, and from its inertness and incapacity for defence, the race
+was extirpated in a few years. Steller first discovered the species in
+1741, and the last known specimen was killed in 1768. It is believed to
+be quite extinct, as it has never been met with since.
+
+Nearly a century ago, Sonnerat found in Madagascar, a curious animal,
+(_Cheiromys_,) which in structure seems to connect the monkeys with the
+squirrels. So rare was it there that even the natives viewed it with
+curiosity as an animal altogether unknown to them; and, from their
+exclamations of astonishment rather than from its cry, the French
+naturalist is said to have conferred upon it the name of Aye-aye, by
+which it is now known. _Not a specimen, as I believe, has been seen
+since Sonnerat's day_, so that, if not actually obliterated, the species
+must be on the verge of extinction.
+
+Species are dying out in our own day. I have already cited the
+interesting case of the Moho, that fine Gallinule of New Zealand, of
+which a specimen--probably the last of its race,--was obtained by Mr
+Walter Mantell; and that of the Káureke, the badger-like quadruped of
+the same islands, which was formerly domesticated by the Maoris, but
+which now cannot be found.
+
+The Samoa Isles in the Pacific recently possessed a large and handsome
+kind of pigeon, of richly-coloured plumage, which the natives called
+_Manu-mea_, but to which modern naturalists have given the name of
+_Didunculus strigirostris_. It was, both by structure and habit,
+essentially a ground pigeon, but not so exclusively but that it fed, and
+roosted too, according to Lieut. Walpole, among the branches of tall
+trees. Mr T. Peale, the naturalist of the U. S. Exploring Expedition,
+who first described it, informs us that according to the tradition of
+the natives, it once abounded; but some years ago these persons, like
+more civilised folks, had a strong desire to make pets of cats, and
+found, by means of whale-ships, opportunities of procuring a supply; but
+the consequence of the introduction of "pussy,"--for under this familiar
+old-country title were the exotic tabbies introduced--was the rapid
+diminution of the handsome _Manu-mea_. Pussy did not fancy yams and
+taro--the vegetable diet on which the natives regaled--and took to the
+woods and mountains to search for something better. There she met with
+the feeble-winged _Didunculus_ scratching the soft earth for seeds, and
+with a purr and a mew soon scraped acquaintance with the stranger. Pussy
+declared she loved him well, and so she did--too well, in fact; she felt
+"as if she could eat him up,"--_and did_. The news soon spread among the
+tabbies that there were sweet birds in the woods, and the result is the
+almost total disappearance of poor _Manu-mea_. Like the Dodo, it has
+ceased to be, but at the hand of a more ignominious foe. The Samoan may
+truly say to his former pet, "_Cecidisti, O Manu-mea, non manu meâ, sed
+ungue felino_." So rare had the bird become, that during the stay of the
+Expedition only three specimens could be procured, and of these two were
+lost by shipwreck. I do not know whether another has been met with
+since. Probably they are all gone; for that was twenty years ago.
+
+When Norfolk Island,--that tiny spot in the Southern Ocean since so
+stained with human crime and misery--was first discovered, its tall and
+teeming forests were tenanted by a remarkable Parrot with a very long
+and slender hooked beak, which lived upon the honey of flowers. It was
+named _Nestor productus_. When Mr Gould visited Australia in his
+researches into the ornithology of those antipodeal regions, he found
+the Nestor Parrot absolutely limited to Philip Island, a tiny satellite
+of Norfolk Island, whose whole circumference is not more than five
+miles in extent. The war of extermination had been so successful in the
+larger island that, with the exception of a few specimens preserved in
+cages, not one was believed to survive. Since then its last retreat has
+been harried, and Mr J. H. Gurney thus writes the dirge of the last of
+the Nestors:--
+
+"I have seen the man who exterminated the _Nestor productus_ from Philip
+Island, he having shot the last of that species left on the island; he
+informs me that they rarely made use of their wings, except when closely
+pressed; their mode of progression was by the upper mandible; and
+whenever he used to go to the island to shoot, he would invariably find
+them on the ground, except one, which used to be sentry on one of the
+lower branches of the _Araucaria excelsa_, and the instant any person
+landed, they would run to those trees and haul themselves up by the
+bill, and, as a matter of course, they would there remain till they were
+shot, or the intruder had left the island. He likewise informed me that
+there was a large species of hawk that used to commit great havoc
+amongst them, but what species it was he could not tell me."[64]
+
+I have before mentioned that Professor Owen had recognised the species
+in fossil skulls from New Zealand, associated with remains of
+_Dinornis_, _Palapteryx_, and _Notornis_. Thus it appears that the
+long-billed Parrot is an ancient race, whose extreme decrepitude has
+just survived to our time;--that it first became extinct from New
+Zealand, then from Norfolk Island, and lastly from Philip Island. Peace
+to its ashes!
+
+Mr Yarrell, in his "History of British Birds,"[65] commences his account
+of one of them in these words:--"The Great Auk is a very rare British
+Bird, and but few instances are recorded of its capture. The natives in
+the Orkneys informed Mr Bullock, on his tour through these islands
+several years ago, that only one male had made its appearance for a long
+time, which had regularly visited Papa Westra for several seasons. The
+female, which the natives call the queen of the Auks, was killed just
+before Mr Bullock's arrival. The king or male, Mr Bullock had the
+pleasure of chasing for several hours in a six-oared boat, but without
+being able to kill him, for though he frequently got near him, so expert
+was the bird in its natural element that it appeared impossible to shoot
+him. The rapidity with which he pursued his course under water was
+almost incredible. About a fortnight after Mr Bullock had left Papa
+Westra, this male bird was obtained and sent him, and at the sale of his
+collection, was purchased for the British Museum, where it is still
+carefully preserved."
+
+This fine bird, which was larger than a goose, is believed to be
+extinct. Mr Bullock's specimen was taken in 1812; another was captured
+at St Kilda in 1822, another was picked up dead near Lundy Island in
+1829, and yet another was taken in 1834, off the coast of Waterford.
+
+On the north coast of Europe the bird is equally rare; not more than
+two or three, at the utmost, having been procured during the present
+century. During that period, however, it has haunted one or two
+breeding-rocks on the south coast of Iceland, in some abundance. In the
+years 1830 and 1831, as many as twenty-seven were obtained there, and
+from that time till 1840, about ten more. The last birds obtained on the
+Iceland coast were a pair, which were shot on their nest in 1844. The
+last taken in any locality, so far as is known, was one shot in 1848, by
+a peasant, on the Island of Wardoe, within the Arctic Circle.
+
+Two centuries ago, the Great Auk was not uncommon on the shores of New
+England; and, off the great fishing-banks of Newfoundland, it appears to
+have been very abundant. "Its appearance was always hailed by the
+mariner approaching that desolate coast as the first indication of his
+having reached soundings on the fishing-banks. During the sixteenth and
+seventeenth centuries these waters, as well as the Iceland and Faroe
+coasts, were annually visited by hundreds of ships from England, France,
+Spain, Holland, and Portugal; and these ships actually were accustomed
+to provision themselves with the bodies and eggs of these birds, which
+they found breeding in myriads on the low islands off the coast of
+Newfoundland. Besides the fresh birds consumed by the ship's crew, many
+tons were salted down for further use. In the space of an hour, these
+old voyagers tell us, they could fill thirty boats with the birds. It
+was only necessary to go on shore, armed with sticks to kill as many as
+they chose. The birds were so stupid that they allowed themselves to be
+taken up, on their own proper element, by boats under sail; and it is
+even said that on putting out a plank it was possible to drive the Great
+Auks up and out of the sea into boats. On land the sailors formed low
+enclosures of stones, into which they drove the Penguins [or Auks], and,
+as they were unable to fly, kept them there enclosed till they were
+wanted for the table."
+
+"In 1841, a distinguished Norwegian naturalist, (too early, alas! lost
+to science,) Peter Stuwitz, visited Tunk Island, or Penguin Island,
+lying to the east of Newfoundland. Here, on the north-west shore of the
+island, he found enormous heaps of bones and skeletons of the Great Auk,
+lying either in exposed masses or slightly covered by the earth. On this
+side of the island the rocks slope gradually down to the shore; and here
+were still standing the stone fences and enclosures into which the birds
+were driven for slaughter."[66]
+
+It is just possible that the bird may yet haunt the inaccessible coast
+of East Greenland, but ships sailing between that country and Iceland
+never meet with it at sea. Nor did Graah observe it during his toilsome
+researches east of Cape Farewell. The numerous fishing craft that every
+season crowd the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador forbid the notion
+that it yet lingers there; for the great market-value set upon the bird
+and its eggs for collections would prevent its existence there from
+being overlooked. The numerous Polar voyages of discovery, and the
+annual fleets of whalers, would certainly have discovered it, if it
+still haunted the more northern regions. It is possible that a few
+isolated individuals may still survive; but it is the habit of the bird,
+as of most sea-fowl, to breed in society in bare seaward rocks, and the
+circumstance that no breeding station is known to be now frequented by
+the Great Auk renders it but too probable that it also must be classed
+among the species that were.
+
+The interest attached to this now extinct bird has induced some
+correspondents of the _Zoologist_ to attempt an enumeration of the
+specimens, both of the bird and of its eggs, (which from their great
+size, as well as from their rarity, have always had a value with
+collectors,) known to be preserved in cabinets. The result is that
+English collections contain 14 birds and 23 eggs; those of continental
+Europe, 11 birds and 20 eggs; the United States, 1 bird and 2 eggs:--the
+total being 26 birds and 45 eggs.
+
+It would appear that the rock off the south of Iceland which was the
+chief breeding resort of the Great Auk, and which from that circumstance
+bore the name or "Geir-fulga Sker," sank to the level of the sea during
+a volcanic disturbance in or about the year 1830. "Such disappearance of
+the fit and favourable breeding-places of the _Alca impennis_," observes
+Professor Owen, "must form an important element in its decline towards
+extinction." One might think that there would be rocks enough left for
+the birds to choose a fresh station; but really we do not know what are
+the elements of choice in such a case: some peculiarities exist which
+make one particular rock to be selected by sea-fowl, when others
+apparently to us as suitable are quite neglected; but we do not know
+what they are. Possibly when Geir-fulga Sker sank, there was no other
+islet fit to supply the blank. Possibly, too, the submersion took place
+during the breeding season, drowning the eggs or young. If this was the
+case, it would indeed be "a heavy blow and great discouragement" to the
+dwindling Alcine nation.
+
+Mr Darwin speaks of a large wolf-like Fox (_Canis antarcticus_) which at
+the time of his voyage was common to both the Falkland Islands, but
+absolutely confined to them. He says, "As far as I am aware, there is no
+other instance in any part of the world, of so small a mass of broken
+land, distant from a continent, possessing so large an aboriginal
+quadruped peculiar to itself. Their numbers have rapidly decreased; they
+are already banished from that half of the island which lies to the
+eastward of the neck of land between St Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound.
+Within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly
+settled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the Dodo, as
+an animal which has perished from the face of the earth."[67]
+
+The Musk Ox (_Ovibos moschatus_), a long-haired ruminant, resembling
+what you would suppose a cross between a bull and a sheep might
+be,--formerly an inhabitant of Britain with the Elephant and the Hyena,
+but now found only on the polar margins of North America,--is becoming
+very scarce; and it is probable that before long its last representative
+will leave its bones with those of the lamented Franklin and his
+companions.
+
+From the more perishable character of vegetable tissues we have far less
+data for determining the extinction of plant species; but analogy
+renders it highly probable that these also have died out, and are dying
+in a corresponding ratio with animals. I am not aware that a single
+example can be adduced of a plant that has certainly ceased to exist
+during the historic era. But Humboldt mentions a very remarkable tree in
+Mexico, of which it is believed only a single specimen remains in a
+state of nature. It is the Hand-tree (_Cheirostemon platanoides_), a
+sterculaceous plant with large plane-like leaves, and with the anthers
+connected together in such a manner as to resemble a hand or claw rising
+from the beautiful purplish-red blossoms. "There is in all the Mexican
+free States only one individual remaining, one single primeval stem of
+this wonderful genus. It is supposed not to be indigenous, but to have
+been planted by a king of Toluca about five hundred years ago. I found
+that the spot where the Arbol de las Manitas stands is 8825 feet above
+the level of the sea. Why is there only one tree of the kind? Whence did
+the kings of Toluca obtain the young tree, or the seed? It is equally
+enigmatical that Montezuma should not have possessed one of these trees
+in his botanical gardens of Huaxtepec, Chapoltepec, and Iztapalapan,
+which were used as late as by Philip the Second's physician, Hernandez,
+and of which gardens traces still remain; and it appears no less
+striking that the Hand-tree should not have found a place among the
+drawings of subjects connected with Natural History, which Nezahual
+Coyotl, king of Tezcuco, caused to be made half a century before the
+arrival of the Spaniards."
+
+There is an example of this interesting plant growing in one of the
+conservatories at Kew, but I do not know whence it was obtained. It has
+been asserted that it grows wild in the forests of Guatemala.
+
+Leaving plants out of consideration from lack of adequate data, we find
+that a considerable number of species of animals have certainly ceased
+to exist since man inhabited the globe. There have been, doubtless, many
+others that have shared the same fate, which we know nothing about. It
+is only within the last hundred years that we have had anything
+approaching to an acquaintance with the living fauna of the earth; yet,
+during that time some seven or eight creatures we know have been
+extinguished. Fully half of these,--the Auk, the Didunculus, the
+Notornis, and the Nestor,--within the last ten years! It would really
+seem as if the more complete and comprehensive an acquaintance with the
+animals of the world became, the more frequently this strange phenomenon
+of expiring species was presented to us. Perhaps it is not extravagant
+to suppose that--including all the invertebrate animals, the countless
+hosts of insects, and all the recondite forms that dwell in the recesses
+of the ocean--a species fades from existence every year. All the
+examples that have been given were either Mammalia or Birds, (_the
+Colossochelys_ only excepted:) now these, though the most conspicuous
+and best known, are almost the least populous classes of living beings.
+There is no reason whatever for concluding that the law of mortality of
+species does not extend to all the other classes, vertebrate and
+invertebrate, in an equal ratio, so that my estimate will appear, I
+think, a very moderate one. Yet it is a startling thought, and one which
+the mind does not entertain without a measure of revulsion, that the
+passing of every century in the world's history has left its fauna
+_minus_ a hundred species of animals that were denizens of the earth
+when it began. I was going to say "left the fauna so much _poorer_;" but
+that I am not sure of. The term would imply that the blanks are not
+filled up; and that, I repeat, I am not sure of. Probability would
+suggest that new forms are continually created to supply the lack of
+deceased ones; and it may be that _some_, at least, of the creatures
+ever and anon described as new to science, especially in old and
+well-searched regions, may be newly called into being, as well as newly
+discovered. It may be so, I say; I have no evidence that it is so,
+except the probability of analogy; we know that the rate of mortality
+among _individuals_ of a species, speaking generally, is equalled by the
+rate of birth, and we may suppose this balance of life to be paralleled
+when the unit is a species, and not an individual. If the Word of God
+contained anything either in statement or principle contrary to such a
+supposition, I would not entertain it for a moment, but I do not know
+that it does. I do not know that it is anywhere implied that God created
+no more after the six days' work was done. His Sabbath-rest having been
+broken by the incoming of sin, we know from John v. 17, that He
+continued to work without interruption; and we may fairly conclude that
+progressive creation was included as a part of that unceasing work.
+
+I know not whether my readers will take the same concern as I do in this
+subject of the dying-out of species, but to me it possesses a very
+peculiar interest. Death is a mysterious event, come when and how it
+will; and surely the departure from existence of a species, of a type of
+being, that has subsisted in contemporary thousands of individuals, for
+thousands of years, is not less imposingly mysterious than that of the
+individual exemplar.
+
+We do not know with any precision what are the immediate causes of death
+in a species. Is there a definite limit to life imposed at first? or is
+this limit left, so to speak, to be determined by accidental
+circumstances? Perhaps both: but if the latter, what are those
+circumstances?
+
+Professor Owen says:--"There are characters in land animals rendering
+them more obnoxious to extirpating influences, which may explain why so
+many of the larger species of particular groups have become extinct,
+whilst smaller species of equal antiquity have survived. In proportion
+to its bulk is the difficulty of the contest which the animal has to
+maintain against the surrounding agencies that are ever tending to
+dissolve the vital bond, and subjugate the living matter to the
+ordinary chemical and physical forces. Any changes, therefore, in such
+external agencies as a species may have been originally adapted to exist
+in, will militate against that existence in a degree proportionate to
+the size which may characterise the species. If a dry season be
+gradually prolonged, the large mammal will suffer from the drought
+sooner than the small one; if such alteration of climate affect the
+quantity of vegetable food, the bulky herbivore will first feel the
+effects of stinted nourishment; if new enemies be introduced, the large
+and conspicuous animal will fall a prey while the smaller kinds conceal
+themselves and escape. Small quadrupeds, moreover, are more prolific
+than large ones. Those of the bulk of the mastodons, megatheria,
+glyptodons, and diprotodons, are uniparous. The actual presence,
+therefore, of small species of animals in countries where larger species
+of the same natural families formerly existed, is not the consequence of
+degeneration--of any gradual diminution of the size--of such species,
+but is the result of circumstances which may be illustrated by the fable
+of 'the Oak and the Reed;' the smaller and feebler animals have bent and
+accommodated themselves to changes to which the larger species have
+succumbed."[68]
+
+"We do not steadily bear in mind," remarks Mr Darwin, "how profoundly
+ignorant we are of the condition of existence of every animal; nor do we
+always remember that some check is constantly preventing the too rapid
+increase of every organised being left in a state of nature. The supply
+of food, on an average, remains constant; yet the tendency in every
+animal to increase by propagation is geometrical; and its surprising
+effects have nowhere been more astonishingly shewn, than in the case of
+the European animals run wild during the last few centuries in America.
+Every animal in a state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species
+long established, any _great_ increase in numbers is obviously
+impossible, and must be checked by some means. We are nevertheless
+seldom able with certainty to tell in any given species, at what period
+of life, or at what period of the year, or whether only at long
+intervals, the check falls; or again, what is the precise nature of the
+check. Hence probably it is, that we feel so little surprise at one, of
+two species closely allied in habits, being rare and the other abundant
+in the same district; or again, that one should be abundant in one
+district, and another, filling the same place in the economy of nature,
+should be abundant in a neighbouring district, differing very little in
+its conditions. If asked how this is, one immediately replies that it is
+determined by some slight difference in climate, food, or the number of
+enemies: yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and
+manner of action of the check! We are, therefore, driven to the
+conclusion that causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine
+whether a given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers.
+
+"In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through
+man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it becomes
+rarer and rarer, and is then lost; it would be difficult to point out
+any just distinction between a species destroyed by man or by the
+increase of its natural enemies. The evidence of rarity preceding
+extinction, is more striking in the successive tertiary strata, as
+remarked by several able observers; it has often been found that a shell
+very common in a tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even long
+been thought to be extinct. If, then, as appears probable, species first
+become rare and then extinct--if the too rapid increase of every
+species, even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit,
+though how and when it is hard to say--and if we see, without the
+smallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one
+species abundant, and another closely-allied species rare in the same
+district--why should we feel such great astonishment at the rarity being
+carried a step further to extinction? An action going on, on every side
+of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely be carried a little
+further, without exciting our observation. Who could feel any great
+surprise at hearing that the Megalonyx was formerly rare compared with
+the Megatherium, or that one of the fossil Monkeys was few in number
+compared with one of the now living Monkeys? and yet, in this
+comparative rarity, we should have the plainest evidence of less
+favourable conditions for their existence. To admit that species
+generally become rare before they become extinct--to feel no surprise at
+the comparative rarity of one species with another, and yet to call in
+some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to
+exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that sickness in the
+individual is the prelude of death--to feel no surprise at sickness--but
+when the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through
+violence."[69]
+
+Geographical distribution is an important element in this question of
+extinction. A species that is spread over a wide region is far more
+likely to survive than one which is confined to a limited district; and
+extraneous influences acting prejudicially will exterminate a species
+which is confined to an island much sooner than if it had a continent to
+retire upon. We have seen how the _Nestor_ Parrot became extinct in New
+Zealand, while it survived in Norfolk Island, because the former was
+colonised by the Maori race, while the latter remained in its virginity.
+But how quickly did the poor Parrot succumb as soon as man set his foot
+on Norfolk and Philip Islands! And how brief was the lease of life
+accorded to the _Didunculus_, when once the "Pussies" found their way to
+the little Samoa isles!
+
+Very many islands have a fauna that is to a great extent peculiar to
+themselves. I know that, in Jamaica, the Humming-birds, some of the
+Parrots, some of the Cuckoos, most of the Pigeons, many of the smaller
+birds, and, I think, all of the Reptiles, are found nowhere else. Nay,
+more, that even the smaller islands of the Antilles have each a fauna of
+its own, unshared with any other land;--its own Humming-birds, its own
+Lizards and Snakes; its own Butterflies and Beetles, its own Spiders,
+its own Snails, its own Worms. How likely are some of these very limited
+species to become extinguished! By the increasing aggressions of
+clearing and cultivating man; by slight changes of level; even by
+electric and meteoric phenomena acting very locally. I find that, in
+Jamaica, many of the animals peculiar to the island are not spread over
+the whole surface, limited as that is, but are confined to a single
+small district. In some cases, the individuals are but few, even in that
+favoured locality; how easily we may conceive of a season drier than
+ordinary, or wetter than ordinary, or a flood, or a hurricane of unusual
+violence, or a volcanic eruption, either killing outright these few
+individuals, or destroying their means of living, and so indirectly
+destroying them by starvation. And then the species has disappeared!
+
+The common Red Grouse, so abundantly seen during the season hanging at
+every poulterer's and game-dealer's shop in London, is absolutely
+unknown out of the British Isles. It could not live except in wide,
+unenclosed, uncultivated districts; so that when the period arrives that
+the whole of British land is enclosed and brought under cultivation, the
+Grouse's lease of life will expire. We owe it to our hard-worked members
+of Parliament to hope that this condition of things may be distant.
+
+[1] See my _Omphalos_,--_passim_.
+
+[2] The gradual but constant elevation of the bed of the Baltic, and the
+subsidence of that of the Pacific Ocean, are examples on a large scale.
+
+[3] Gen. x. 5.
+
+[4] _Chlamydotherium_, _Euryodon_, _Glossotherium_, _&c._
+
+[5] Owen _On the Mylodon_.
+
+[6] Perhaps the most complete and the most magnificent skeleton of this
+animal ever discovered, was exhumed in 1849 at Killowen, in Co. Wexford.
+It was buried _only four feet below the surface_, between the vegetable
+mould and plastic clay. The roots of the black willow and German rush
+had entwined themselves round the bones, and some seeds, ascertained to
+be those of the wild cabbage, were found in the same bed. The dimensions
+of the skeleton were as follows:--Height, 12-1/2 feet to the tips of the
+horns, 7 feet to the top of the pelvis; expanse of horns 11 feet in a
+chord, or 13 feet 6 inches along the curve; palm of the antlers 2 feet 7
+inches long by 1 foot 5 inches broad, some of the snags 2 feet 6 inches
+long; the face 1 foot 10-1/2 inches in length.
+
+[7] _Annals of Nat. Hist._ xv.
+
+[8] _Hist. Animals_, xvi. 17.
+
+[9] _Nat. Hist._ ix. 10.
+
+[10] _On the Mammoth or Fossil Elephant, &c._ London, 1819.
+
+[11] _Testimony of the Rocks_, p. 97.
+
+[12] See vol. i. p. 361, _supra_.
+
+[13] Latrobe's _Mexico_, p. 192.
+
+[14] _Nat. Voyage_, ch. v.
+
+[15] _Nat. Voy._ ch. viii.
+
+[16] _Compts Rendus_, Jan. 27, 1851.
+
+[17] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, Jan. 27, 1852.
+
+[18] "_The_ Humming-bird." Rather a vague mode of speaking, by a
+zoologist, of a genus which numbers more than three hundred species,
+varying in size from that of a swallow to that of a humble-bee. But
+probably he means one of the minuter species.
+
+[19] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, Nov. 7, 1850.
+
+[20] In the _Times_ of Feb. 21, 1861.
+
+[21] _Proc. Roy. Soc._, X. xxxv. 50.
+
+[22] _Ibid._ IX. xxix. 133.
+
+[23] Because comparatively few readers, and especially the critics, will
+take the trouble to ascertain what an author really means if he attempt
+argumentation, generally supposing him to be proving something else than
+he propounds to himself, it may be needful to say, that I am not
+touching the question of the time required for the formation of the
+stratified rocks in general, but solely for that of the later Tertiary
+deposits.
+
+[24] _Reports of Analysis_, by Apjohn.
+
+[25] Hart _On the Fossil Deer_.
+
+[26] _Zoologist_, for 1846: Preface, p. 10.
+
+[27] Mr Newman, _op. cit._ x.
+
+[28] _Geilt._--According to O'Reilly, this word means "a wild man or
+woman,--one living in woods,"--a maniac. It may, however, have been
+figuratively applied to some very fierce or untameable creature, either
+quadruped or bird, which inhabited the woods. But that the _Simiæ_, or
+monkey tribe, were not likely to have at any time inhabited so cold a
+country, one would have seen in the term an exceedingly apt expression
+for "the wild man of the woods." (Note by Translator.)
+
+But, I venture to remind the reader, there was a veritable ape found in
+Britain during the very era of the Giant Deer, and of many of the now
+extant animals. I refer to the _Macacus pliocænus_ (Owen) of the
+fresh-water deposits. Is it not just possible that the _Geilt_ of
+Ireland, the first-named animal in the poem, may have been this species?
+A _Macacus_ still lingers in Europe, though the elephants and
+hippopotamuses have long deserted us.
+
+[29] _Grib._--Probably the Osprey.
+
+[30] These Wild Oxen are worthy of notice.
+
+[31] The _Toghmall_ was a bird kept as a pet. "When Cuchulain slung a
+stone at Queen Meave he killed the Toghmall that was sitting on her
+shoulder."
+
+[32] _Ruilech._--Unknown.
+
+[33] _Snag._--Probably the Crane, or one of the Heron tribe.
+
+[34] _Echtach._--From a legend attached to the locality, there is a
+possibility that these were a peculiar breed of horned cattle.
+
+[35] _Drenn._--Probably the Wren.
+
+[36] _Cainche_--Unknown.
+
+[37] _Errfiach._--Unknown.
+
+[38] _Cricharan._--Possibly the Squirrel, or the Marten.
+
+[39] Mr Curry says, "In the dictionaries _Ormchre_ is the term for a
+leopard, but that animal did not exist in Ireland." But the caves of
+Britain shew that very formidable _Felidæ_ roamed here in the Later
+Tertiary Era.
+
+[40] _Riabhog._--The "cuckoo's waiting-maid," a little bird, is still so
+called in the west of Ireland. In England the wryneck (_Yunx torquilla_)
+bears this office, and also in Wales, where Pennant says it is called
+_Gwás y gog_, which means the same thing.
+
+[41] _Peatans._--Conjectured to be Leverets.
+
+[42] What is the difference between wild Boars and wild Hogs? The
+ransom, too, was to consist of a male and a _female_ of each kind of
+_wild_ animals.
+
+[43] _Fereidhin._--Unknown.
+
+[44] See note [42] _supra_.
+
+[45] _Iaronn._--Unknown.
+
+[46] _Geisechtachs._--"Screamers;"--perhaps Peacocks. But is it likely
+that the Peacock and the Pheasant (_vide supra_) were imported from the
+East so early?
+
+[47] _Bruacharan._--Unknown.
+
+[48] _Naescan._--The Snipe may be meant.
+
+[49] The term _Spireog_ is still used in the locality referred to, and
+signifies the Sparrowhawk. It has, however, somewhat of a Saxon sound.
+
+[50] _Sgreachóg._--Conjecturally, Screech-owl; or Jay.
+
+[51] _Geilt Glinne._--See note [28] on p. 58.
+
+[52] The _Onchu_ has been mentioned before. See note [39] on p. 59.
+There were several kindred _Felidæ_ in the Pliocene period. May the word
+refer to two of these bearing the same name, but the one distinguished
+by the term _fleet_?
+
+[53] "_Pigs_" again! This is the fourth time. "Wild Hogs, wild Boars,
+Pigs, and yet Pigs." From the prominence thus given to the grunting race
+in the ransom, one is tempted to conclude that "'Twas the Pig that paid
+the rint," then, as now!
+
+[54] Mr Wilde, in an interesting paper "On the Unmanufactured Animal
+Remains belonging to the Royal Irish Academy," read before the Academy
+on the 9th and 25th of May, 1859, to which I am indebted for the
+foregoing poem, cites the following legend, which we might have referred
+to the _Megaceros_, but that he appears to consider the animal in
+question the Red Deer or Stag:--"On another occasion St Patrick and his
+retinue, with Cailte MacRonain, came to the house of a rich landholder
+who lived in the southern part of the present County of Kildare, near
+the river Slaney. The farmer complained to Cailte that although he sowed
+a great quantity of corn every year, it yielded him no profit, on
+account of _a huge wild Deer_ which every year came across the Slaney
+from the west when the corn was ripe for cutting, and, rushing through
+it in all directions, trampled it down under his feet. Cailte undertook
+to relieve him, and he sent into Munster for his seven deer-nets, which
+arrived in due time. He then went out and placed his men and his hounds
+in the paths through which the great deer was accustomed to pass, and he
+set his deer-nets upon the cliffs, passes, and rivers around, and when
+he saw the animal coming to the Ford of the Red Deer on the river
+Slaney, he took his spear and cast a fortunate throw at him, driving it
+the length of a man's arm out through the opposite side; and 'The Red
+Ford of the Great Deer' is the name of that pass on the Slaney ever
+since; and they brought him back to Drom Lethan, or 'The Broad Hill,'
+which is called 'The Broad Hill of the Great Wild Deer.'"
+
+[55] The Editor of "The Indian Field;" in the _Zoologist_, p. 6427.
+
+[56] The Welsh "Triads," supposed to have been compiled in the seventh
+century, say that "the Kymri, a Celtic tribe, first inhabited Britain;
+before them were no men here, but only bears, wolves, beavers, and oxen
+with high prominences." Were these Bisons?
+
+[57] See Vol. i, 203, _supra_.
+
+[58] This is the more interesting because it includes the _Urus_ as well
+as the "_Schelch_," which latter, though the meaning of the word is not
+certain, some are disposed to identify with the Giant Deer of Ireland.
+
+[59] See note [56] on p. 68.
+
+[60] M.S. H. ii. 13.
+
+[61] _Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1849.
+
+[62] "Travels," 4th ed., 1677.
+
+[63] Sloane MSS., No. 1839.
+
+[64] _Zoologist_, p. 4298.
+
+[65] _British Birds_, iii. 477, (Ed. 2.)
+
+[66] Dr Charlton, in the _Trans. Tyneside Nat. Hist. Soc._
+
+[67] _Nat. Voy._, ch. ix.
+
+[68] Lecture; reported in the _Athenæum_ for May 21, 1859.
+
+[69] _Nat. Voyage_, ch. viii.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+THE MARVELLOUS.
+
+
+The vulgar mind is very prone to love the marvellous, and to count for a
+prodigy every unusual phenomenon, every occurrence not perfectly
+accountable on any hypothesis which is familiar to them. The poetical
+period of history in every country is full of prodigies; for in the dawn
+of civilisation the physical laws of nature are little understood, and
+multitudes of natural phenomena are either referred to false causes, or,
+being unreferrible to any recognised cause, are set down as mere
+wonders. It is the province of science to dispel these delusions, to
+expose the undiscovered, but by no means undiscoverable, origins of
+unusual events, and thus to be continually narrowing the limits of the
+unknown. These limits, however, have not even yet quite reached the
+minuteness of a mathematical point; and there are a few marvels left for
+the indefatigable rummagings of modern science to explain.
+
+Perhaps the predominant tendency of uneducated minds in the present day
+is rather to attribute effects to _false_ causes, than to leave them
+without any assignable cause. It is much easier for an unreasoning
+person to say that Tenterden steeple is the cause of Goodwin Sands, than
+to leave Goodwin Sands quite unaccounted for; or to say, the plant-lice
+suddenly appear crowding the rose-twigs, "the east wind has cast a
+blight," or "it is something in the air," than "I do not know how to
+account for their appearance." To a reflecting person, indeed, who
+weighs forces, the east wind appears as incompetent to the production of
+living animals as the tall tower to the origination of a sand-bank; and
+this, though he might be able to suggest nothing a whit more competent.
+What should he do in such a case? Manifestly this--test the actual
+existence and conditions of the phenomenon; see that it really has
+occurred; and, if the fact cannot be denied, admit it as a fact, and
+wait further light as to its causation.
+
+I do not by any means presume to declare the universal "why and because"
+of every familiar or unfamiliar occurrence: I leave that to more
+pretentious philosophers; smiling occasionally in my sleeve at the
+egotism which cannot see its own _non-sequiturs_. But still less can I
+consent to set aside every phenomenon which I cannot explain, with the
+common resource,--"Pooh! pooh! there must be some mistake!" Rather would
+I say, "There must still be some ignorance in me: near as I have reached
+to the summit of the ladder of knowledge, there must be still one or two
+rongs to be mounted before I can proclaim my mastery of all, absolutely
+_all_, the occult causes of things. Therefore, till then I must be
+content with the lowlier task of patiently accumulating evidence."
+
+At various times and in various places popular superstition has been
+excited by the occurrence of what have been called showers of blood. The
+destruction of cities and of kingdoms has been, according to historians,
+preceded by this awful omen. Yet this has been explained by a very
+natural and accountable phenomenon. In the year 1553, the hedges and
+trees, the stones of the pathway, and the clothes of many persons, were
+sprinkled copiously with drops of red fluid, which was supposed to be
+blood, till some observant person noticed the coincident appearance of
+unusual swarms of butterflies, and marked that the coloured drops
+proceeded from them. Again, at Aix la Chapelle in 1608, the same awful
+appearance occurred, especially on the walls of a particular churchyard.
+M. Peiresc, an able naturalist, residing at Aix, traced the phenomenon
+here to the same cause. Just before, he had found a large chrysalis,
+which he had enclosed in a box, in order to identify the species to
+which it belonged. A few days after, hearing a rustling, he opened the
+box, and discovered a beautiful butterfly evolved from the pupa, which
+had left upon the floor of its prison a large red stain. He saw that the
+character of this deposit agreed exactly with that of the ominous drops
+abroad, and remarking an unusual abundance of the same kind of
+butterfly, he conceived that he had revealed the cause of the terrific
+phenomenon. He was confirmed in this belief by the circumstance that the
+supposed blood-drops were not found in the streets of the town, nor upon
+the roofs of the houses, where they must have occurred had they fallen
+from the sky; and, moreover, that it was rare to see any on the exposed
+parts of stones, walls, &c.; but rather under the protection of angles,
+and in slight cavities--which agrees well with the habits of the insects
+in question. No doubt this was the true explanation of the phenomenon,
+but it does not say much for the powers of observation which could have
+attributed it to blood, for the colour is by no means that of blood,
+especially _dried_ blood, but much more crimson; and the earthy deposit,
+resembling chalk, which copiously remains after the fluid part has
+evaporated, would in a moment convince any one who was in the habit of
+comparing things which differ, that, whatever the substance was, blood
+it certainly was not.
+
+I myself not long ago met with an appearance which bore a much closer
+resemblance to drops of blood than this, and which yet was referrible to
+a widely different origin. In the neighbourhood of Ashburton, in Devon,
+a quarter of a mile or so from the town, there is a shallow horse-pond,
+the bottom of which consists of an impalpable whitish mud, much indented
+with hoof-holes and other irregularities. In these, the water being
+dimly clear from settlement, I observed what looked exactly like blood,
+in numerous patches, the appearance being as if two or three drops of
+blood had fallen in one spot, half-a-dozen in another, and so on. The
+colour was true, and even when I alighted, and looked carefully on the
+spots, they had just that curdled appearance that drops of blood assume
+when they fall into still water. But there appeared on minute
+examination a constant intestine motion in each spot, which caused me to
+bring my eye closer, when I discovered that I had been egregiously
+deceived. Each apparent drop of blood was formed of a number of slender
+worms, about as thick as a hog's bristle, and an inch and a half long,
+of a red hue, which protruded the greater part of their length from the
+mud, in a radiating form, each maintaining a constant undulatory
+movement. There were more or fewer centres of radiation, the circles
+frequently interrupted by, and merging into, others, just as drops of
+blood crowded together would do. On the slightest disturbance the little
+actors shrank out of sight into the soft mud; but by scooping up a
+little of this I contrived to get a number of them into a phial, which,
+as the sediment settled, were seen at the bottom playing as if in their
+pond. On examination of the specimens with a microscope I found them to
+be minute Annelids, such as I have described, apparently of the genus
+_Lumbriculus_ of Grube, with two rows of bristle-pencils, and two
+bristles in a pencil. The body was transparent and colourless, and the
+red hue was given by the great and conspicuous longitudinal
+blood-vessels, and by the lateral connecting vessels, which viewed
+sidewise took the form of loops. The animals soon died in captivity, but
+I kept some for three or four days alive.
+
+I have elsewhere referred to the curious phenomenon of crimson snow, and
+to the uncertainty which still hangs over its cause. I have lately met
+with another explanation, which seems sufficiently guaranteed to be
+depended on, though, as the red snow occurs in places where this cause
+cannot operate, it only shews that similar results may be produced by
+diverse agencies. A certain resemblance between the facts and those
+adduced by M. Peiresc will warrant my quoting them. Mr Thomas Nicholson,
+in a visit to Sowallik Point, in Prince Regent's Inlet, thus describes
+what he saw:--"The summit of the hill forming the point is covered with
+huge masses of granite, while the side, which forms a gentle declivity
+towards the bay, was covered with crimson snow. It was evident, at first
+view, that this colour was imparted to the snow by a substance lying on
+the surface. This substance lay scattered here and there in small masses
+bearing some resemblance to powdered cochineal, surrounded by a lighter
+shade, which was produced by the colouring matter being partly dissolved
+and diffused by the deliquescent snow. During this examination our hats
+and upper garments were observed to be daubed with a substance of a
+similar red colour; and a moment's reflection convinced us that this was
+the excrement of the little Auk, myriads of which bird were continually
+flying over our heads, having their nests among the loose masses of
+granite. A ready explanation of the origin of the red snow was now
+presented to us, and not a doubt remained in the mind of any of us that
+this was the correct one. The snow on the mountains of higher elevation
+than the nests of these birds was perfectly white; and a ravine at a
+short distance, which was filled with snow from top to bottom, but which
+afforded no hiding-place for these birds to form their nests, presented
+an appearance uniformly white."[70]
+
+After all, however, real _bonâ fide_ rain does sometimes descend, which,
+if not blood-red, is at least red. "M. Giovanni Campani, Professor of
+Chemistry at the University of Siena, has just published a letter,
+addressed to Professor Matteucci, on a most singular phenomenon which
+occurred at Siena in December last. On the 28th of that month, about
+seven A.M., the inhabitants of the northwestern part of the city
+witnessed with surprise the curious phenomenon of a copious fall of rain
+of a reddish hue, which lasted two hours; a second shower of the same
+colour occurred at eleven A.M., and a third at two P.M., but that of the
+deepest red fell the first time. But what adds to the strangeness of the
+occurrence is that it was entirely confined to that particular quarter
+of the town, and so nicely was the line drawn that the cessation of the
+red colour was ascertained in one direction to be at about two hundred
+mètres from the meteorological observatory, the pluviometer of which
+received colourless rain at exactly the same time. The temperature
+during the same interval varied between 8 deg. and 10 deg. Centigrade
+(46 and 50 Fahrenheit). The wind blew from the S.W. at the beginning of
+the phenomenon, and afterwards changed to W.S.W. None of the rural
+population in the immediate vicinity of Siena remarked the occurrence,
+so that most probably the rain that fell round the town was colourless.
+The same phenomenon, strange to say, recurred in exactly the same
+quarter of the town on the 31st of December, and again on the 1st of
+January, the wind being W.N.W., and the temperature respectively 35 and
+39·42 deg., Fahrenheit. Each time, however, the red colour diminished
+in depth, its greatest strength having at no time exceeded that of weak
+wine and water. A similar occurrence is recorded as having taken place
+in 1819 at Blankenburg, when MM. Meyer and Stopp found the water to
+contain a solution of chloride of cobalt. Professor Campani, who is now
+engaged, in conjunction with his colleague, Professor Gabrielli, in
+analyzing the red water collected, has ascertained that in this instance
+it contains no chloride of cobalt, and, moreover, that the colour must
+be owing to some solution, since the water has deposited no
+sediment."[71]
+
+The occasional occurrence of large masses of water stained of a vivid
+red hue, and for the most part suddenly, and without any ostensible
+cause, has not unreasonably been recorded as a prodigy, rivalling one of
+the plagues of Egypt--the turning of the waters into blood.
+
+"I remember," says Mr Latrobe, "the report reaching Neufchatel, through
+the medium of the market-people passing from the one lake to the other,
+(some time during the winter,) that the waters of the lake of Morat had
+suddenly become the colour of blood, though I could meet with no one
+whose testimony was sufficiently clear and unequivocal to establish the
+fact. This, joined to my not having the leisure then to go and see for
+myself, caused the matter to slip from my memory entirely, till I found
+myself in the neighbourhood. Here the circumstance was fully confirmed
+to me in a manner not to be questioned; and having since met with a
+paper, written by M. de Candolle, of Geneva, on the subject, I shall
+take what is there stated as my best guide in mentioning the facts as
+they occurred:--
+
+"It appears that this singular phenomenon began to excite the attention
+of the inhabitants of Morat as early as November last year, and that it
+continued more or less observable during the whole of the winter.
+
+"Mr Trechsel, a gentleman resident at Morat, to whom M. de Candolle
+applied, on hearing the report, for information and specimens of the
+colouring matter, stated--That during the early hours of the day no
+extraordinary appearance was observable in the lake; but that a little
+later, long parallel lines of reddish matter were seen to extend along
+the surface of the water, at some short distance from the banks. This,
+being blown by the wind towards the more sheltered parts of the shore,
+collected itself about the reeds and rushes, covering the surface of the
+lake with a light foam; forming as it were different strata of various
+colours, from greenish black, grey, yellow, and brown, to the most
+delicious red. He adds, that this matter exhaled a pestiferous odour
+during the day, but disappeared at the approach of night. It was further
+observed, that during tempestuous weather it vanished altogether. Many
+small fishes were seen to become intoxicated while swimming amongst it,
+and after a few convulsive leaps, to lie motionless on the surface.
+
+"The naturalists of Geneva decided, from the specimens sent, that it
+was an animal substance, which, if not the _Oscillatoria subfusca_,[72]
+was nearly allied to it.
+
+"Soon after the beginning of May it disappeared entirely. It is not
+known that this phenomenon has appeared before in the lake of Morat
+within the memory of man. Tradition states the same to have happened the
+year preceding the great battle."[73]
+
+A few years ago, in one of my tanks of sea-water, there occurred a
+phenomenon much like this. Patches of a rich crimson-purple colour
+formed here and there on the surface, which rapidly grew on all sides
+till they coalesced. If allowed to be a few days undisturbed, the entire
+surface of the water became covered with a pellicle of the substance,
+which spread also over the stones and shells of the bottom, and the
+sides of the vessel. It could be lifted in impalpable laminæ on sheets
+of paper. I found it difficult to keep it within bounds, and impossible
+to get quite rid of it, till, after some months, I lost it by the
+accidental breaking of the vessel. Under the microscope, this proved an
+_Oscillatoria_, which I could not identify with any of the described
+species in Harvey's _Phytologia_: the filaments creeping and twining
+with the peculiar vermicular movements of the genus.
+
+Blood-like waters are sometimes produced by a rapid evolution of
+infusorial animalcules. Of these the most effective are _Astasia
+hæmatodes_, and _Euglena sanguinea_; both of them minute spindle-shaped
+creatures of a pulpy substance, and sanguine hue. They are produced
+occasionally in incalculable numbers, increasing with vast rapidity by
+means of spontaneous division. Ehrenberg suggests that the miracle of
+blood-change performed on the Nile and on all other collections of water
+in Egypt by Moses (Exod. vii. 17-25) may have been effected by the
+agency of these animalcules. Of course it would require Divine power as
+much to educe uncounted millions of animalcules at the word of command,
+as to form real blood, so that no escape from the presence of Deity
+would be gained by admitting the supposition; but the words of the
+inspired narrative seem to render it untenable.
+
+To return to showers. "If it should rain cats and dogs,"--is a phrase
+which is in many mouths; but probably no one has heard it transferred
+from the subjunctive to the indicative mood. Why not, however, if it
+rains snails, frogs, fishes, and feathers? That these animals and animal
+products are really poured down from the atmosphere, I can adduce some
+evidence; the value of which my readers may weigh when they have heard
+the pleadings.
+
+In that venerable newspaper, _Felix Farley's Journal_, for July 1821,
+there was "an account of a wonderful quantity of snail-shells found in a
+piece of land of several acres near Bristol, that common report says
+fell in a shower." This shell-storm attracting much attention at the
+time, Mr Wm. Baker, of Bridgewater, asked information from the Curator
+of the Bristol Institution, who thus cleared up the mystery:--"The
+periwinkles are indeed wonderful. They descended, forsooth, in a heavy
+rain-like shower on the field of Mr Peach, as a due punishment for his
+disrespect to the virtues of our late queen. The shower was so intense,
+that the umbrella of an old lady passing by was broken to pieces, and
+the fragments lifted in the air by the whirlwind, which picked up all
+the periwinkles on the neighbouring hills, and dropped them three inches
+thick on Mr Peach's field! But you know the story of 'The Three Black
+Crows;' and thus the whole is reduced to no periwinkle rain, no
+whirlwind; but turns out to be our old friend _Helix virgata_, making
+its annual pilgrimage in search of a mate, and occurring one in almost
+every square inch in the field in question."
+
+Provincial newspapers seem to have a special power of reporting such
+natural history facts, which rarely survive investigation. The _Stroud
+Free Press_, for May 23, 1851, tells us that "an extraordinary scene was
+witnessed at Bradford, about twelve miles from Bristol, on Saturday
+week, when that village was visited by a heavy shower of snails. They
+might have been gathered by bushels." Mr J. W. Douglas, the eminent
+entomologist, immediately asked some pertinent questions anent the
+shower; but whether it was that the witnesses were grieved at his
+profanely comparing such prodigies to Professors Morison and Holloway's
+cures, or whether they had no more definite intelligence to communicate,
+_certes_ echo answered not.
+
+We fear we must give up snails. But frogs! everybody knows that toads
+and frogs fall from the sky. According to travellers in tropical
+America, the inhabitants of Portobello assert that every drop of rain is
+changed into a toad; the more instructed, however, believe that the
+spawn of these animals is raised with the vapour from the adjoining
+swamps, and being driven in the clouds over the city, the ova are
+hatched as they descend in rain. 'Tis certain that the streets after a
+night of heavy rain are almost covered with the ill-favoured reptiles,
+and it is impossible to walk without crushing them.[74] But heretic
+philosophers point to the mature growth of the vermin, many of them
+being six inches in length, and maintain that the clever hypothesis just
+mentioned will scarcely account for the appearance of these.
+
+In the _Leeds Mercury_ for June 1844, there occurred the following
+statement:--"In the course of the afternoon of Monday last, during the
+prevalence of rather heavy rain, the good people of Selby were
+astonished at a remarkable phenomenon. It was rendered forcibly
+apparent, that, with the descent of the rain, there was a shower of
+another description, viz. a shower of frogs. The truth of this was
+rendered more manifest by the circumstance that several of the frogs
+were caught in their descent by holding out hats for that purpose. They
+were about the size of a horse-bean, and remarkably lively after their
+aerial but wingless flight. The same phenomenon was observed in the
+immediate neighbourhood."
+
+The editor of the _Zoologist_ immediately asked for confirmation of the
+stated facts, from resident persons of science; but notwithstanding the
+circumstantiality of the account, and especially the reported actual
+capture of the little sprawlers in hats, no one replied to the demand,
+and we are compelled to conclude that the report would not bear critical
+investigation.
+
+Yet incredulity may be pushed too far even here. For, in the continental
+journals many more such statements occur than in those of this country,
+and some of them vouched by apparently indisputable authority. If my
+readers will refer to _L'Institut._ tom. ii. (1834) pp. 337, 346, 347,
+353, 354, 386, 409; tom. iv. (1836) pp. 221, 314, 325; tom. vi. (1838)
+p. 212, they will find mention made of this phenomenon,--showers of
+toads. In two or three of these cases, the toads were not only observed
+in countless numbers on the ground, during, and after, heavy storms of
+rain, but were seen to strike upon the roofs of houses, bounding thence
+into the streets; they even fell upon the hats, umbrellas, and clothes
+of the observers, who were out in the storm, and, in one instance, were
+actually received into the outstretched hand.[75]
+
+Much more recently, namely, early in 1859, the newspapers of South Wales
+recorded a shower of fish in the Valley of Aberdare. The repeated
+statements attracted more notice than usual, and the Rev. John Griffith,
+the vicar of the parish, communicated the following results of his
+inquiries to the _Evening Mail_:--
+
+"Many of your readers might, perhaps, like to see the facts connected
+with this phenomenon. They will be better understood in the words of the
+principal witness, as taken down by me on the spot where it happened.
+This man's name is John Lewis, a sawyer in Messrs Nixon and Co.'s yard.
+His evidence is as follows:--'On Wednesday, February 9, I was getting
+out a piece of timber for the purpose of setting it for the saw, when I
+was startled by something falling all over me--down my neck, on my head,
+and on my back. On putting my hand down my neck I was surprised to find
+they were little fish. By this time I saw the whole ground covered with
+them. I took off my hat, the brim of which was full of them. They were
+jumping all about. They covered the ground in a long strip of about
+eighty yards by twelve, as we measured afterwards. That shed (pointing
+to a very large workshop) was covered with them, and the shoots were
+quite full of them. My mates and I might have gathered bucketfuls of
+them, scraping with our hands. We did gather a great many, about a
+bucketful, and threw them into the rain-pool, where some of them now
+are. There were two showers, with an interval of about ten minutes, and
+each shower lasted about two minutes or thereabouts. The time was eleven
+A.M. The morning up-train to Aberdare was just then passing. It was not
+blowing very hard, but uncommon wet, just about the same wind as there
+is to-day (blowing rather stiff), and it came from this quarter
+(pointing to the S. of W.). They came down with the rain in "a body,
+like."' Such is the evidence. I have taken it for the purpose of being
+laid before Professor Owen, to whom, also, I shall send to-morrow, at
+the request of a friend of his, eighteen or twenty of the little fish.
+Three of them are large and very stout, measuring about four inches. The
+rest are small. There were some--but they are since dead--fully five
+inches long. They are very lively.--Your obedient servant,
+
+                                        "JOHN GRIFFITH,
+                              "Vicar of Aberdare and Rural Dean.
+          "VICARAGE, ABERDARE, _March 8_."
+
+The specimens which were forwarded to Professor Owen were exhibited in a
+tank at the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park: they consisted of
+minnows (_Leuciscus phoxinus_) and Smooth-tailed sticklebacks
+(_Gasterosteus leiurus_.) A _savant_ thus endeavoured to "enlighten" the
+uninitiated on the matter:--"On reading the evidence it appears to me
+most probably only a practical joke of the mates of John Lewis, who seem
+to have thrown a pailful of water with the fish in it over him, and he
+appears to have returned them to the pool from which they were
+originally taken. The fish forwarded are very unlike those taken up in
+whirlwinds in tropical countries, and we must make allowance for
+unintentional exaggerations of quantity, &c., in an account given a
+month after the event had occurred."
+
+This "appears to me" a beautiful example of critical acumen. My readers
+will do well to look at it for a moment; as they may thus learn how to
+sift the grain of truth out of the bushel of chaff. _Reverentèr
+procedamus!_
+
+The main (is it not the only?) objection to the honest sawyer's
+statement is that "the fish are very unlike those taken up in whirlwinds
+in tropical countries." That is, that, seeing the phenomenon occurs in
+Great Britain, it is most unfortunate that the fishes are British
+species. Now, in India, when such things occur, it is always _Indian_
+species that are taken up; _ergo_, it ought to be Indian species _here_.
+But these are "very unlike" the Indian fishes; _ergo_, it is manifestly
+a humbug.
+
+Then, does it not strike one as palpably probable, when once one's dull
+intellect has been "enlightened" by the brilliant suggestion,--that the
+worthy sawyer who had a pail of water soused upon him, thought it was a
+heavy shower of rain? _Very_ heavy, no doubt; indeed he says it was
+"uncommon wet." To be sure, he thought there were _two_ showers, each
+lasting about two minutes, with an interval of ten minutes between them;
+but this little error might be easily made, for doubtless a bucket of
+water poured on one's head might well be equivalent to two showers of
+rain, or even ten, for that matter. To be sure, moreover, there was a
+considerable quantity of fish:--"The whole ground was covered with them:
+they were jumping all about: they covered the ground in a long strip of
+about eighty yards by twelve, _as we measured_ afterwards: the shed was
+covered with them, and the shoots were quite full of them.... My mates
+and I might have gathered bucketfuls of them: we did gather about a
+bucketful." Yes, yes: but all were originally in the pail of water
+thrown over you, John. How stupid you were, not to perceive _that_! How
+there was room for any water at all in the pail, seeing there were so
+many fish, you say you don't know; but that is your stupidity, John!
+There _must_ have been room for water, for it was "uncommon wet;" and
+the water was in the pail, for the Doctor says so. Uncommon fishy, too,
+I should think; but let that pass. Where the mates collected the pail of
+live fishes for their pleasant and profitable hoax, and how, and
+when,--the sceptic might wonderingly ask; but a hoax it was. _Ipse
+dixit._
+
+However, the verdict did not obtain universal assent; and an excellent
+and well-known naturalist, Mr Robert Drave, residing in the vicinity,
+ventured modestly to indicate a dissent. "I think actual fact will
+excuse the otherwise apparently unbecoming assumption in me, of opposing
+such high authority by a contrary opinion, for from information
+_obtained from many sources, and very careful and minute_ inquiry, I am
+quite convinced that a great number of fish did actually descend with
+rain _over a considerable tract of country_. The specimens I obtained
+_from three individuals_, resident some distance from each other, were
+of two species, the common minnow and the three-spined stickleback; the
+former most abundant, and mostly very small, though some had attained
+their full size."[76]
+
+If now we look to other lands, we shall find that the descent of fishes
+from the atmosphere, under conditions little understood, is a phenomenon
+which rests on indubitable evidence. Humboldt has published interesting
+details of the ejection of fish in large quantities from volcanoes in
+South America. On the night between the 19th and 20th of June, 1698, the
+summit of Carguairazo, a volcano more than 19,000 feet in height, fell
+in, and all the surrounding country for nearly thirty-two square miles
+was covered with mud and fishes. A similar eruption of fish from the
+volcano of Imbaburu was supposed to have been the cause of a putrid
+fever which raged in the town of Ibarra seven years before that period.
+
+These facts are not inexplicable. Subterraneous lakes, communicating
+with surface-waters, form in deep cavities in the declivities, or at the
+base of a volcano. In certain active stages of ignition, these internal
+cavities are burst open, and their contents discharged through the
+crater. Humboldt ascertained that the fishes in question belonged to a
+curious and ill-favoured species of the _Siluridæ_,--the _Pimelodes
+Cyclopum_.
+
+Showers of fishes, however, do occur, which cannot be connected with
+volcanic agency. Dr Buist, in an interesting paper published in the
+_Bombay Times_ in 1856, has collected a number of authentic examples of
+this phenomenon. The author, after enumerating the cases just cited, and
+others of similar character, in which fishes were said to have been
+thrown out from volcanoes in South America, and precipitated from clouds
+in various parts of the world, adduces the following instances of
+similar occurrences in India:--"In 1824," he says, "fishes fell at
+Meerut, on the men of her Majesty's 14th Regiment, then out at drill,
+and were caught in numbers. In July 1826, live fish were seen to fall on
+the grass at Moradabad during a storm. They were the common _Cyprinus_,
+so prevalent in our Indian waters. On the 19th of February 1830, at
+noon, a heavy fall of fish occurred at the Nokulhatty factory, in the
+Daccah Zillah; depositions on the subject were obtained from nine
+different parties. The fish were all dead; most of them were large; some
+were fresh, others were rotten and mutilated. They were seen at first in
+the sky, like a flock of birds, descending rapidly to the ground; there
+was rain drizzling, but no storm. On the 16th and 17th of May, 1833, a
+fall of fish occurred in the Zillah of Futtehpoor, about three miles
+north of the Jumna, after a violent storm of wind and rain. The fish
+were from a pound and a-half to three pounds in weight, and of the same
+species as those found in the tanks in the neighbourhood. They were all
+dead and dry. A fall of fish occurred at Allahabad, during a storm in
+May 1835; they were of the chowla species, and were found dead and dry
+after the storm had passed over the district. On the 20th of September
+1839 after a smart shower of rain, a quantity of live fish, about three
+inches in length, and all of the same kind, fell at the Sunderbunds,
+about twenty miles south of Calcutta. On this occasion it was remarked
+that the fish did not fall here and there irregularly over the ground,
+but in a continuous straight line, not more than a span in breadth. The
+vast multitudes of fish, with which the low grounds round Bombay are
+covered, about a week or ten days after the first burst of the monsoon,
+appear to be derived from the adjoining pools or rivulets, and not to
+descend from the sky. They are not, as far as I know, found in the
+higher parts of the island. I have never seen them, though I have
+watched carefully, in casks collecting water from the roofs of
+buildings, or heard of them on the decks or awnings of vessels in the
+harbour, where they must have appeared had they descended from the sky.
+One of the most remarkable phenomena of this kind occurred during a
+tremendous deluge of rain at Kattywar, on the 25th of July 1850, when
+the ground around Rajkote was found literally covered with fish; some of
+them were found on the top of haystacks, where probably they had been
+drifted by the storm. In the course of twenty-four successive hours
+twenty-seven inches of rain fell, thirty-five fell in twenty-six hours,
+seven inches in one hour and a-half, being the heaviest fall on record.
+At Poonah, on the 3d of August 1852, after a very heavy fall of rain,
+multitudes of fish were caught on the ground in the cantonments, full
+half a mile from the nearest stream. If showers of fish are to be
+explained on the assumption that they are carried up by squalls or
+violent winds, from rivers or spaces of water not far away from, where
+they fall, it would be nothing wonderful were they seen to descend from
+the air during the furious squalls which occasionally occur in June."
+
+Sir E. Tennent adds the following examples:--"I had an opportunity, on
+one occasion only, of witnessing the phenomenon which gives rise to this
+popular belief. I was driving in the cinnamon gardens near the fort of
+Colombo, and saw a violent but partial shower descend at no great
+distance before me. On coming to the spot, I found a multitude of small
+silvery fish from one and a half to two inches in length, leaping on the
+gravel of the high road, numbers of which I collected and brought away
+in my palankin. The spot was about half a mile from the sea, and
+entirely unconnected with any watercourse or pool.
+
+"Mr Whiting, who was many years resident at Trincomalee, writes me that
+he 'had been often told by the natives on that side of the island that
+it sometimes rained fishes; and on one occasion (he adds) I was taken by
+them, in 1849, to a field at the village of Karrancotta-tivo, near
+Batticaloa, which was dry when I passed over it in the morning, but had
+been covered in two hours by sudden rain to the depth of three inches,
+in which there was then a quantity of small fish. The water had no
+connexion with any pond or stream whatsoever.' Mr Cripps, in like
+manner, in speaking of Galle, says: 'I have seen in the vicinity of the
+fort, fish taken from rain-water that had accumulated in the hollow
+parts of the land that in the hot season are perfectly dry and parched.
+The place is accessible to no running stream or tank; and either the
+fish, or the spawn from which they were produced, must of necessity have
+fallen with the rain.'"[77]
+
+Mr J. Prinsep, the eminent secretary to the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
+found a fish in the pluviometer at Calcutta, in 1838.[78]
+
+It is a highly curious fact that the pools, reservoirs, and tanks in
+India and Ceylon are well provided with fish of various species, though
+the water twice every year becomes perfectly evaporated, and the mud of
+the bottom becomes converted into dust, or takes the condition of baked
+clay, gaping with wide and deep clefts, in which not the slightest sign
+of moisture can be detected. This is the case with temporary hollows in
+the soil, which have no connexion with running streams or permanent
+waters, from which they might be supposed to receive a fresh stock of
+fish.
+
+Two modes of accounting for this strange phenomenon have obtained
+currency. The one is that received by those Europeans who are content
+with any solution of a difficulty, without too closely testing it; viz.,
+that the fishes fall with the rains from the air. The actual occurrence
+of such showers rests, as we have just seen, on good evidence; but,
+admitting the fact, it must be a rare phenomenon, whereas the presence
+of fish in the new-made pools is universal. Again, if the rains brought
+them in such abundance as to stock all the pools, an equal number would
+fall on the dry ground, which is not pretended to be the case. The other
+accepted solution is that which has received the sanction of Mr Yarrell,
+who observes--"The impregnated ova of the fish of one rainy season are
+left unhatched in the mud through the dry season, and from their low
+state of organisation _as ova_, the vitality is preserved till the
+occurrence and contact of the rain and the oxygen of the next wet
+season, when vivification takes place from their joint influence."[79]
+
+This may be fully allowed, yet it does not meet the exigences of the
+case. Sir E. Tennent and others have shewn that it is not young fishes
+just escaped from the egg which appear in the new-formed pools, but
+full-grown fishes, fit for the market; a fact well known to the
+Singalese fishermen, who resort to the hollows as soon as the monsoon
+has brought rain; and they invariably take in these pools, which a day
+or two before were as dry as dust, plenty of fishes fully grown, a foot
+or eighteen inches long, or longer.
+
+Neither of these hypotheses, then, will account for the fact: and we
+must admit that the fishes of these regions have the instinct to burrow
+down in the solid mud of the bottom, at the approach of the dry season,
+and the power of retaining life, doubtless in a torpid condition, until
+the return of the periodic rains, as Theophrastus long ago observed.[80]
+
+The _Lepidosiren_, a very remarkable genus of animals from Africa and
+South America, affords a curious illustration of this power. It is
+altogether a highly singular creature, and has attracted a great deal of
+notice because its organisation belongs to two types: it is, so to
+speak, placed midway between the great classes of Reptiles and Fishes,
+the characters which identify it with either being almost equally
+balanced. Professor Owen and other eminent physiologists regard it as a
+fish, while Professor Bischoff, with others equally learned, consider it
+an Amphibian reptile.
+
+It is the habits of this strange creature, however, which induce me to
+notice it here. An inhabitant of rivers and ponds, which are swollen by
+periodic rains, and subject to entire or partial desiccation by long
+droughts, it is liable to be left by the retreating waters, exposed to
+the burning sun, under which it would presently die, but for a special
+provision.
+
+The animal has the instinct to bury itself in the mud of the bottom, on
+the approach of the droughts, penetrating to a depth of several feet.
+There it coils itself into a ball, with the tail folded over the nose,
+but so as to leave the nasal apertures uncovered; and, probably by its
+wrigglings, it forms a cavity or chamber in the clay, which becomes
+lined with a membranous slough thrown off from its body. Meanwhile the
+water evaporates, the mud dries, bakes, and cracks under the torrid heat
+of the dry season, thus allowing air to penetrate down to the retreat of
+the torpid mud-fish, in sufficient quantity for its very sluggish
+respiration. Here it lies inactive for five or six months, until the wet
+season again sets in, and the returning floods cover the old beds,
+soften the baked clay, revivify the imprisoned animal, and restore it to
+liberty and aquatic locomotion.
+
+To meet these strange conditions of life, the _Lepidosiren_ is furnished
+with a twofold apparatus for respiration; the one aquatic, consisting
+of gills, ordinarily contained in a branchial chamber, (but in one
+species, at least, external,) suited for the separation of oxygen from
+the water, and the other aerial, consisting of true lungs, closely
+resembling those of serpents, though manifestly only a modification of
+the well-known swim-bladder of many fishes,--by means of which the
+animal breathes atmospheric air, during its periodic captivity.
+
+The same emergency is met by other species in another way. It does not
+appear that the _Lepidosiren_ has the power of voluntarily forsaking the
+water, or of travelling on land, notwithstanding its twofold
+respiration; but some of the fishes of the tropics certainly resort to
+this mode of evading the fatal contingency of being baked out by the
+evaporating power of the periodical dry season.
+
+Theophrastus, the contemporary of Aristotle, mentions fishes found in
+the Euphrates which in the dry seasons leave the vacant channels and
+crawl over the ground in search of water, moving along by fins and
+tail.[81] Pallegoix gives three kinds of fish in Siam, which leave the
+tanks and channels and travel through the grass;[82] and Sir John
+Bowring states that in ascending the river Meinam to Bangkok, he was
+amused with the sight of fish leaving the stream, gliding over the wet
+banks, till they disappeared among the trees of the jungle.[83] The
+_Hydragyræ_ of Carolina in like manner leave the drying pools, and seek
+the nearest water in a straight line, though at a considerable distance.
+And Sir R. Schomburgk tells us that certain species of _Dora_ in Guiana
+have the same habit, and are occasionally met with in such numbers in
+their terrestrial travels that the negroes fill baskets with them.[84]
+
+These fishes, provincially called Hassars, project themselves on their
+bony pectoral fins, aiding their advance by the elastic spring of the
+tail exerted sidewise, proceeding in this manner nearly as fast as a man
+can walk. The strong scaly bands which envelop the body facilitate the
+march, in the same way as the transverse plates (_scuta_) on the belly
+of serpents, which take hold of the ground, as the ribs perform the
+office of feet. The Indians know that these fishes have the power of
+carrying a supply of water in a reservoir, for the keeping of the gills
+in a moist condition. If they fail in finding water, they are said to
+burrow in the still soft mud, and pass the dry season in torpidity like
+the _Lepidosiren_.
+
+The common eel is well known to have this habit of travelling with us; I
+well remember my surprise, when a boy, at finding an eel in a grassy
+meadow one dewy summer evening, at a considerable distance from water.
+Since then I have seen a small species of _Antennarius_, running quickly
+to and fro on the surface of the great beds of floating sea-weed in the
+Gulf stream, progressing by means of its pectorals and ventrals quite
+out of water, with the utmost facility.
+
+[Illustration: THE CLIMBING PERCH.]
+
+The most celebrated example of this faculty, however, is the climbing
+perch (_Anabas scandens_) of India. The vagaries of this little fish
+have been recorded from the earliest times, and numerous modern
+witnesses have borne record to its powers. Mr E. Layard once encountered
+several travelling along a hot dusty gravel-road in the mid-day sun.[85]
+Daldorf, a Danish zoologist of reputation, asserts that he has seen this
+species in the act of climbing palm-trees, effecting its ascent by means
+of fins and tail, with the aid of its spinous gill-covers. There is,
+however, some doubt whether he was not under mistake in this, though the
+fact of its crawling up the banks and living out of water is abundantly
+known.
+
+On the coasts of Ceylon, according to its accomplished historian,--on
+the rocks which are washed by the surf, there are multitudes of a
+curious little fish, (_Salarias alticus_,) which possesses the faculty
+of darting along the surface of the water, and running up the wet
+stones, with the utmost ease and rapidity. By aid of its pectoral and
+ventral fins and gill-cases, it moves across the damp sand, ascends the
+roots of the mangroves, and climbs up the smooth face of the rocks in
+search of flies; adhering so securely as not to be detached by repeated
+assaults of the waves. These little creatures are so nimble, that it is
+almost impossible to lay hold of them, as they scramble to the edge, and
+plunge into the sea on the slightest attempt to molest them. They are
+from three to four inches in length, and of a dark-brown colour, almost
+indistinguishable from the rocks they frequent.[86]
+
+In all these cases probably, the power of sustaining a protracted
+privation of water depends on a peculiar structure of the pharynx, which
+is divided by membranous plates into cells which the fish can fill at
+pleasure with water, and by ejecting small portions at a time can
+moisten its gills, and thus preserve the filaments of these organs in a
+fit condition to maintain the circulation and oxygenation of the blood.
+These labyrinthal water-chambers are particularly numerous and
+complicated in the _Anabas_ just mentioned. This, however, has no
+analogy with the lung of the _Lepidosiren_.
+
+[70] _Mag. Nat. Hist._, ii. 322.
+
+[71] From the _Times_ of Jan. 24, 1861.
+
+[72] The _Oscillatoria_ is a genus of _plants_; it is a microscopic
+_Alga_ of wire-like form belonging to the great Confervoid family,
+having the remarkable peculiarity of spontaneous and apparently
+voluntary motion.
+
+[73] Latrobe's _Alpenstock_, p. 12.
+
+[74] Seemann's _Isthmus of Panama_.
+
+[75] I am indebted for this note to the Rev. Leonard Jenyns. See his
+edition of White's _Selborne_, (1843) p. 66.
+
+[76] _Zoologist_, pp. 6541, 6564.
+
+[77] _Ceylon_, i. 211.
+
+[78] _Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal_, vi. 465.
+
+[79] _Brit. Fishes_, i. xxvii. Aristotle had long before given the same
+explanation.
+
+[80] _De Pisc. in siceo degent._
+
+[81] _De Piscibus._
+
+[82] _Siam_, i. 144.
+
+[83] _Emb. to Siam_, i. 10.
+
+[84] _Fishes of Guiana_, i. 113.
+
+[85] _Annals N. H._, _May 1853_.
+
+[86] Tennent's _Ceylon_, ii. 498.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+MERMAIDS.
+
+
+According to Berosus there came up from the Red Sea, on the shore
+contiguous to Babylonia, a brute creature named Oannes, which had the
+body of a fish, above whose front parts rose the head of a man; it had
+two human feet, which projected from each side of the tail; it had also
+a human voice and human language. This strange monster sojourned among
+the rude people during the day, taking no food, but retiring to the sea
+again at night; and continued for some time, teaching them the arts of
+civilised life. Other ancient authors, as Polyhistor and Apollodorus,
+allude to the same tradition; and we gather that the portrait of the
+learned stranger (not painted _from the life_, we may presume,
+considering the condition of the people when he appeared, unless we may
+suppose it to have been the effort of one of his pupils in the pictorial
+art under his instruction) was preserved at Babylon to the historic
+period.
+
+In an elaborate sculpture of the later Assyrian period, discovered by M.
+Botta at Khorsabad, a maritime expedition is portrayed, and the sea
+around the ships is filled with various marine animals, and among them
+the compound mythic forms of winged bulls and bull-lions, in which the
+Assyrians delighted, together with a figure composed of the body and
+tail of a fish extended horizontally, and the perpendicular trunk and
+foreparts of a man, crowned with the sacred cap, possibly representing
+the traditional Oannes.
+
+The god Dagon of the Philistines, and the goddess Atergatis of the
+Syrians were worshipped under the same combination of the human and
+piscine forms, and the Tritons of classical mythology perpetuated the
+idea.
+
+It is curious that in almost all ages and in almost all countries there
+should have prevailed a belief in the actual living existence of
+creatures like this. Was the mythological symbol the origin of the
+persuasion? Or is there any marine animal uniting so much of the general
+form of the fish with that of man as to have given the conception of the
+idol? A naturalist of deserved eminence has maintained, on purely
+scientific grounds, that such an animal must exist,--that the laws of
+nature absolutely require such a being; and though the amount of force
+which his reasoning, possesses will be estimated differently according
+as we reject or accept the hypothesis of the circularity of the great
+plan of nature, we may as well see what he has to say for a marine
+primate,--be he man or ape, mermaid or mermonkey.
+
+"There is yet," says Mr Swainson, "another primary type necessary to
+complete the circle of the quadrumanous animals, and it is that which we
+have elsewhere distinguished as the natatorial; but of such an animal we
+have only vague and indefinite accounts. It will be seen that,
+throughout the whole class of quadrupeds, the aquatic types are
+remarkably few, and in general scarce; and that they contain fewer forms
+or examples than any other, and are often, in the smaller groups,
+entirely wanting. To account for this is altogether impossible; we can
+only call attention to the fact, as exemplified in the aquatic order of
+_Cetacea_, in that of the _Feræ_, in the _Pachydermata_, in the circle
+of the _Glires_, and in all the remaining natatorial types of the
+different circles of quadrupeds. We do not implicitly believe in the
+existence of mermaids as described and depicted by the old writers--with
+a comb in the one hand and a mirror in the other; but it is difficult to
+imagine that the numerous records of singular marine animals, unlike any
+of those well known, have their origin in fraud or gross ignorance. Many
+of these narratives are given by eye-witnesses of the facts they vouch
+for--men of honesty and probity, having no object to gain by deception,
+and whose accounts have been confirmed by other witnesses equally
+trustworthy. Can it be supposed that the unfathomable depths of ocean
+are without their _peculiar_ inhabitants, whose habits and economy
+rarely, if ever, bring them to the surface of the watery element? As
+reasonably might a Swiss mountaineer disbelieve in the existence of an
+ostrich, because it cannot inhabit his Alpine precipices, as that we
+should doubt that the rocks and caverns of the ocean are without animals
+destined to live in such situations, and such only. The natatorial type
+of the _Quadrumana_, however, is most assuredly wanting. Whatever its
+precise construction may or might have been, it would represent and
+correspond to the seals in the circle of the _Feræ_, or rapacious
+quadrupeds; while a resemblance to the _Simiadæ_, or monkeys, must be
+considered an essential character of any marine animal which is to
+connect and complete the circular series of types in the _Quadrumana_."
+
+Mr Swainson absolutely excludes Man from the zoological circle, on
+grounds which few naturalists are disposed to think sufficient; else we
+might suggest that man himself is the natatorial type of the _Primates_.
+Taking this author's own selection[87] of the characters which mark the
+natatorial types of animals, for our guide, we find that the largest
+size, the smallest fore-limbs, the most obtuse muzzle, the most
+carnivorous appetite, and the most natatory habits (for I do not know
+that the Apes, or the Sapajous, or the Lemurs, or the Bats, ever take to
+the water voluntarily, whereas savage Man is always a great swimmer),
+belong to Man, and so, _Swainsonio ipso judice_, constitute _him_ the
+true aquatic primate. But if so, we do not want a merman or mermonkey;
+nay, we should not know where to insert him in the zoological circle if
+we found him; he would be awkwardly _de trop_.
+
+But yet nature _has_ an awkward way of mocking at our impossibilities;
+and it _may be_ that green-haired maidens with oary tails lurk in the
+ocean caves, and keep mirrors and combs upon their rocky shelves.
+Certainly the belief in them is very widely spread, and occasionally
+comes to us from quarters where we should hardly have looked for it. A
+negro from Dongola assured Prince Puckler Muskau that in the country of
+Sennaar there was no doubt that Sirens (mermaids) still existed, for
+that he himself had seen more than one.[88]
+
+In my boyhood I well recollect being highly excited by the arrival in
+our town, at fair-time, of a "show," which professed to exhibit a
+mermaid, whose portrait, on canvas hung outside, was radiant in feminine
+loveliness and piscine scaliness. I fondly expected to see the very
+counterpart within, how disposed I did not venture to imagine, but alive
+and fascinating, of course. Had I not seen her picture? I joyfully paid
+my coppers, but oh! woful disappointment! I dimly saw, within a dusty
+glass case, in a dark corner, a shrivelled and blackened little thing
+which might have been moulded in mud for aught I could see, but which
+was labelled, "MERMAID!" So great was my disgust, so bitter my feelings
+of shame and anger at having been so grossly taken in, that I did not
+care to observe what might have been noteworthy in it. I read afterwards
+that it was a very ingenious cheat; the trunk and head of a monkey had
+been grafted on to the body and tail of a large salmon-like fish, and
+the junction had been so cleverly effected, that only a very close
+examination detected the artifice. It professed to have been brought
+from China, but possibly was an importation even thither, if Steinmetz
+is correct. According to this writer, "A Japanese fisherman contrived to
+unite the upper half of a monkey to the lower half of a fish, so neatly
+as to defy ordinary inspection. He then gave out that he had caught the
+creature alive in his net, but that it had died shortly after being
+taken out of the water; and he derived considerable pecuniary profit
+from his cunning in more ways than one. The exhibition of the
+sea-monster to Japanese curiosity paid well; but yet more productive was
+the assertion that the half-human fish, having spoken the few minutes it
+existed out of its native element, had predicted a certain number of
+years of wonderful fertility, and a fatal epidemic, the only remedy for
+which would be possession of the marine prophet's likeness. The sale of
+these pictured mermaids was immense. Either this composite animal, or
+another, the offspring of the success of the first, was sold at the
+Dutch factory, and transmitted to Batavia, where it fell into the hands
+of a speculating American, who brought it to Europe, and here, in the
+years 1822-3, exhibited his purchase as a real mermaid at every capital,
+to the admiration of the ignorant, the perplexity of the learned, and
+the filling of his own purse. Indeed, the mermaids exhibited in Europe
+and America, to the great profit of the enterprising showmen, have all
+been of Japanese manufacture."[89]
+
+This, however, will not account for the frequent reports of the living
+creatures having been seen, and unbelievers have to form some other
+hypothesis. In the tropical seas the cow-whales, uncouth marine
+_pachydermata_, have been assumed to be the originals of these stories.
+Megasthenes reported that the sea which washed Taprobane, the modern
+Ceylon, was inhabited by a creature having the appearance of a woman;
+and Ælian improves the account by stating that there are whales having
+the form of satyrs. 'Tis true the Manatee and the Dugong are rather
+mer-swine than mer-maids; but there is something in the bluff round head
+which may remind a startled observer of the human form divine. Sir
+Emerson Tennent considers that this rude approach to the human outline,
+and the attitude of the mother while suckling her young, pressing it to
+her breast with one paw, while swimming with the other, the head of both
+being held perpendicularly above water, and then, when disturbed,
+suddenly diving and displaying her broad fin-like tail,--these, together
+with her habitual demonstrations of strong maternal affection, may
+probably have been the original from which the pictures of the mermaid
+were portrayed, and thus that earliest invention of mythical physiology
+may be traced to the Arab seamen and to the Greeks, who had watched the
+movements of the Dugong in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
+
+The early Portuguese settlers in India had no doubt that true mermen
+were found in those seas; and the annalist of the exploits of the
+Jesuits narrates that seven of these monsters, male and female, were
+captured at Manaar in 1560, and carried to Goa, where they were
+dissected by Demas Bosquez, physician to the Viceroy, and "their
+internal structure found to be in all respects conformable to the
+human." Making allowance for the very limited acquaintance which the
+worthy physician was likely to have made with human anatomy by actual
+autopsy, this statement goes for little:--the real resemblance, assuming
+them to have been Dugongs, was about the same as that presented by the
+hog, whose inwards are popularly believed by our own country people to
+be in very close accordance with those of "Christians."
+
+Sir E. Tennent has embellished his book with a very taking portrait of
+the mermaid on the Dugong hypothesis; shewing two females, each holding
+a baby [is it right to say _merbaby_?], emerging from the sea-wave; they
+do look, to be sure, sufficiently human, but the well-known monogram of
+our clever friend Wolf in the corner of the cut suggests shrewd doubts
+that the portraits were not "_ad viv_."
+
+It is, perhaps, among the Scandinavian races that the belief in the
+merman has reached its culminating point. So many particulars are
+inculcated concerning the mode and conditions of life of these submarine
+beings, that the most intimate relations appear to have subsisted
+between the terrestrial and the aquatic peoples. According to the creed
+of the Norsemen, there exists, far beneath the depths of the ocean, an
+atmosphere adapted to the breathing organs of beings resembling in form
+the human race, endowed with surpassing beauty, with limited
+supernatural powers, but liable to suffering, and even to death. Their
+dwelling is in a vast region, situate far below the bottom of the sea,
+which forms a canopy over them, like the sky over us, and there they
+inhabit houses constructed of the pearly and coralline productions of
+the ocean. Having lungs not adapted to a watery medium, but formed for
+breathing atmospheric air, it would be impossible for them to pass
+through the volume of waters that separates our world from theirs, if it
+were not that they possess the power of entering the skin of some marine
+animal, whose faculties they thus temporarily acquire, or of changing
+their own form and structure so as to suit the altered condition through
+which they are to travel. The most ordinary shape they assume is, as
+everybody knows, that of man (that is, their own proper form) from the
+waist upward, but below that of a fish. Whether they now breathe by
+gills or lungs, the anatomists, it seems, have not yet determined; we
+must presume the former alternative, since else it is not apparent what
+they have gained by their piscine metamorphosis of tail; though where
+the branchiæ are situate we are a little at a loss to imagine. These,
+however, are matters which doubtless the scientific world will one day
+determine: it seems certain that they do thus acquire an amphibious
+nature, so as not only to exist submerged in the waters, but to land on
+the shores of our sunny world, where they frequently doff their fishy
+half, resume their proper human form, and pass muster while they pursue
+their investigations here.[90]
+
+Unfortunately, but one of these resources can ever be availed of by any
+individual mer-man or -maid, nor can any "son or daughter of the ocean
+borrow more than one sea-dress of this kind for his own particular use;
+therefore if the garb should be mislaid on the shores he never can
+return to his submarine country and friends. A Shetlander, having once
+found an empty seal-skin on the shore, took it home and kept it in his
+possession. Soon after, he met the most lovely being who ever stepped on
+the earth, wringing her hands with distress, and loudly lamenting, that,
+having lost her sea-dress, she must remain for ever on the earth. The
+Shetlander, having fallen in love at first sight, said not a syllable
+about finding this precious treasure, but made his proposals, and
+offered to take her for better or for worse, as his future wife! The
+merlady, though not, as we know, much a woman of the world, very
+prudently accepted the offer! I never heard what the settlements were,
+but they lived very happily for some years, till one day, when the
+green-haired bride unexpectedly discovered her long-lost seal-skin, and
+instantly putting it on, she took a hasty farewell of everybody, and ran
+towards the shore. Her husband flew out in pursuit of her, but in vain!
+She sprang from point to point, and from rock to rock, till at length,
+hastening into the ocean, she disappeared for ever, leaving the worthy
+man, her husband, perfectly planet-struck and inconsolable on the
+shore!"[91]
+
+Nor are there lacking in the rocky cliffs of our own northern islands
+fit lodgings for these sea kings and queens. The gifted pen of Sir
+Walter Scott has sketched one of these from his own observation:
+"Imagination can hardly conceive anything more beautiful than the
+extraordinary grotto discovered not many years since upon the estate of
+Alexander MacAllister, Esq. of Strathaird [in Skye]. The first entrance
+to this celebrated cave is rude and unpromising: but the light of the
+torches with which we were provided, was soon reflected from the roof,
+floor, and walls, which seemed as if they were sheeted with marble,
+partly smooth, partly rough with frostwork and rustic ornaments, and
+partly seeming to be wrought into statuary. The floor forms a steep and
+difficult ascent, and might be fancifully compared to a sheet of water,
+which, while it rushed whitening and foaming down a declivity, had been
+suddenly arrested and consolidated by the spell of an enchanter. Upon
+attaining the summit of this ascent, the cave opens into a splendid
+gallery, adorned with the most dazzling crystallizations, and finally
+descends with rapidity to the brink of a pool, of the most limpid water,
+about four or five yards broad. There opens beyond this pool a portal
+arch, formed by two columns of white spar, with beautiful chasing upon
+the sides, which promises a continuation of the cave. One of our sailors
+swam across, for there is no other mode of passing, and informed us (as
+indeed we partly saw by the light he carried) that the enchantment of
+MacAllister's cave terminates with this portal, a little beyond which
+there was only a rude cavern, speedily choked with stones and earth. But
+the pool on the brink of which we stood, surrounded by the most fanciful
+mouldings, in a substance resembling white marble, and distinguished by
+the depth and purity of its waters, might have been the bathing grotto
+of a naiad. The groups of combined figures projecting or embossed, by
+which the pool is surrounded, are exquisitely elegant and fanciful. A
+statuary might catch beautiful hints from the singular and romantic
+disposition of those stalactites. There is scarce a form or group on
+which active fancy may not trace figures or grotesque ornaments, which
+have been gradually moulded in this cavern by the dropping of the
+calcareous water hardening into petrifactions. Many of these fine groups
+have been injured by the senseless rage for appropriation of recent
+tourists; and the grotto has lost, (I am informed,) through the smoke of
+torches, something of that vivid silver tint which was originally one of
+its chief distinctions. But enough of beauty remains to compensate for
+all that may be lost."[92]
+
+But these tales are the _nugæ canoræ_ of the naturalist. Once more,--Is
+there any substratum of truth underlying these fancies? or must they be
+unhesitatingly dismissed to the region of fable? Certainly, if there
+were not two or three narratives which have an air of veracity and
+dependableness, bearing out the belief to some slight extent, I should
+not have noticed it here.
+
+How simple and circumstantial is this story told by old Hudson, the
+renowned navigator! a man whose narrative is more than usually dry and
+destitute of everything like, not only imagination, but even an
+imaginative aspect of ordinary circumstances. On the 15th of June, when
+in lat. 75°, trying to force a passage to the pole near Nova Zembla, he
+records the following incident: "This morning one of our company
+looking overboard saw a mermaid; and calling up some of the company to
+see her, one more came up, and by that time she was come close to the
+ship's side, looking earnestly on the men. A little after, a sea came
+and overturned her. From the navel upward, her back and breasts were
+like a woman's, as they say that saw her; her body as big as one of us;
+her skin very white; and long hair hanging down behind, of colour black.
+In her going down they saw her tail, which was like the tail of a
+porpoise, and speckled like a mackerel. Their names that saw her were
+Thomas Hilles and Robert Rayner."[93]
+
+Whatever explanation be attempted of this apparition, the ordinary
+resource of seal or walrus will not avail here. Seals and walruses must
+have been as familiar to these Polar mariners as cows to a dairy-maid.
+Unless the whole story was a concerted lie between the two men,
+reasonless and objectless,--and the worthy old navigator doubtless knew
+the character of his men,--they must have seen, in the black-haired,
+white-skinned creature, some form of being as yet unrecognised.
+
+Steller, a zoologist of some repute, who examined the natural history of
+the Siberian seas, reports having seen, near Behring's Straits, a
+strange animal, which he calls a Sea-ape. "It was about five feet long,
+with a head like a dog's; the ears sharp and erect, and the eyes large;
+on both lips it had a kind of beard; the form of the body was thick and
+round, but tapering to the tail, which was bifurcated, with the upper
+lobe longest; the body was covered with thick hair, grey on the back,
+and red on the belly. Steller could not discover any feet or paws. It
+was full of frolic, and sported in the manner of a monkey, swimming
+sometimes on one side of the ship and sometimes on the other, and
+looking at it with seeming surprise. It would come so near the ship that
+it might be touched with a pole; but if any one stirred, it would
+immediately retire. It often raised one third of its body above the
+water, and stood upright for a considerable time; then suddenly darted
+under the ship, and appeared in the same attitude on the other side;
+this it would repeat for thirty times together. It would frequently
+bring up a sea plant, not unlike a bottle-gourd, which it would toss
+about and catch again in its mouth, playing numberless fantastic tricks
+with it."
+
+There is nothing in this description which would exclude it from
+well-recognised zoological classification. It is highly probable that it
+was one of the seal tribe, but of a species, perhaps a genus, not yet
+identified. All analogy would suggest that fore-paws must have been
+present in an animal with a dog-like head, and clothed with hair; but
+they were perhaps small,--smaller even than in other _Phocadæ_, and may
+have been so concealed in the long hair, or held so closely pressed to
+the body, as not to be visible. The only other difficulty is in the
+posterior extremity. This is described by Steller in terms that imply a
+true piscine tail, expanded in a direction vertical to the plane of the
+body, and of that peculiar form called _heterocercal_, which
+distinguishes the cartilaginous families of Fishes, the Sharks and Rays.
+But the animal was indubitably a Mammal; and therefore we may almost
+with certainty assume that, if the body terminated in a natatory
+expansion, it would be, as in the whales, and manatees, a horizontal
+expansion, and not a vertical one. But if the strange creature was
+indeed, as I conclude, of the Phocine type, we have only to suppose the
+tail, which is usually very small in this family, to have been so
+greatly developed, as to exceed the united hind feet, which may have
+been small, and the appearance, seen momentarily, and in the wash of the
+waves, might well seem that of a heterocercal tail.
+
+Captain Weddell, well known for his geographical discoveries in the
+extreme south of the globe, relates the following story: "A boat's crew
+were employed on Hall's Island, when one of the crew, left to take care
+of some produce, saw an animal whose voice was even musical. The sailor
+had lain down, and about ten o'clock he heard a noise resembling human
+cries; and as daylight in these latitudes never disappears at this
+season, he rose and looked around; but, on seeing no person, returned to
+bed; presently he heard the noise again; rose a second time, but still
+saw nothing. Conceiving, however, the possibility of a boat being upset,
+and that some of the crew might be clinging to some detached rocks, he
+walked along the beach a few steps, and heard the noise more distinctly,
+but in a musical strain. Upon searching round he saw an object lying on
+a rock a dozen yards from the shore, at which he was somewhat
+frightened. The face and shoulders appeared of human form, and of a
+reddish colour; over the shoulders hung long green hair; the tail
+resembled that of the seal, but the extremities of the arms he could not
+see distinctly. The creature continued to make a musical noise while he
+gazed about two minutes, and on perceiving him it disappeared in an
+instant. Immediately when the man saw his officer, he told this wild
+tale, and to add weight to his testimony, (being a Romanist,) he made a
+cross on the sand which he kissed, as making oath to the truth of his
+statement. When I saw him, he told the story in so clear and positive a
+manner, making oath to its truth, that I concluded he must really have
+seen the animal he described, or that it must have been the effects of a
+disturbed imagination."[94]
+
+The _green_ hair in this description is the most suspicious element; it
+is so exactly that attributed to the poetical mermaids, and so entirely
+without precedent in the whole range of known zoology,--that, if taken
+literally, I fear it would condemn the narrative. But among the
+Antarctic seals, both golden yellow fur, and black fur, are found; and
+if hairs of these two colours were about equally intermingled, the
+result would be an olive-green, as we see in some of the monkeys; and
+then some allowance must doubtless be made for imagination, in one
+little accustomed to precise observation, and "somewhat frightened"
+withal. I should say, with little hesitation, that this creature was of
+the seal family, only that the seaman's daily habits brought him into
+the most familiar contact with various kinds of seals; and, unless the
+animal in question had differed notably from such as he was acquainted
+with, he would not have been so affected by the phenomenon. In such
+stories, the sorts of creatures familiar to the observation of the
+narrator, and the amount of surprise produced in his mind by the
+stranger,--must always be carefully estimated, as important elements in
+the formation of our judgment.
+
+To come nearer home, Pontoppidan records the appearance of a merman,
+which was deposed to on oath by the observers: "About a mile from the
+coast of Denmark, near Landscrona, three sailors, observing something
+like a dead body floating in the water, rowed towards it. When they came
+within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared as at first, for it had
+not stirred; but at that instant it sunk, and came up almost immediately
+in the same place. Upon this, out of fear, they lay still, and then let
+the boat float, that they might the better examine the monster, which,
+by the help of the current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned
+his face and stared at them, which gave them a good opportunity of
+examining him narrowly. He stood in the same place for seven or eight
+minutes, and was seen above the water breast high. At last they grew
+apprehensive of some danger, and began to retire; upon which the monster
+blew up his cheeks, and made a kind of lowing noise, and then dived from
+their view. In regard to his form, they declare in their affidavits,
+which were regularly taken and recorded, that he appeared like an old
+man, strong-limbed, with broad shoulders, but his arms they could not
+see. His head was small in proportion to his body, and had short curled
+black hair, which did not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his
+head, and he had a meagre face, with a black beard; about the body
+downwards this merman was quite pointed like a fish."[95]
+
+But the most remarkable story that I know of in recent times, is that
+adduced by Dr Robert Hamilton, in his able History of the Whales and
+Seals, in the _Naturalist's Library_, he himself vouching for its
+general truth, from personal knowledge of some of the parties: "It was
+reported that a fishing-boat, off the island of Yell, one of the
+Shetland group, had captured a mermaid by its getting entangled in the
+lines!! The statement is, that the animal was about three feet long, the
+upper part of the body resembling the human, with protuberant mammæ like
+a woman; the face, the forehead, and neck, were short and resembling
+those of a monkey; the arms, which were small, were kept folded across
+the breast; the fingers were distinct, not webbed; a few stiff long
+bristles were on the top of the head, extending down to the shoulders,
+and these it could erect and depress at pleasure, something like a
+crest. The inferior part of the body was like a fish. The skin was
+smooth, and of a grey colour. It offered no resistance, nor attempted to
+bite, but uttered a low plaintive sound. The crew, six in number, took
+it within their boat, but superstition getting the better of curiosity,
+they carefully disentangled it from the lines, and a hook which had
+accidentally fastened in its body, and returned it to its native
+element. It instantly dived, descending in a perpendicular direction.
+
+"After writing the above, (we are informed) the narrator had an
+interview with the skipper of the boat and one of the crew, from whom he
+learned the following additional particulars. They had the animal for
+three hours within the boat; the body was without scales or hair; was of
+a silvery grey colour above, and white below, like the human skin; no
+gills were observed; nor fins on the back or belly. The tail was like
+that of the dog-fish: the mammæ were about as large as those of a woman;
+the mouth and lips were very distinct, and resembled the human.
+
+"This communication was from Mr Edmonston, a well-known and intelligent
+observer, to the distinguished Professor of Natural History in the
+Edinburgh University, and Mr E. adds a few reflections, which are so
+pertinent, that we shall avail ourselves of them. That a very peculiar
+animal has been taken, no one can doubt. It was seen and handled by six
+men, on one occasion, and for some time, not one of whom dreams of a
+doubt of its being a mermaid. If it were supposed that their fears
+magnified its supposed resemblance to the human form, it must at all
+events be admitted that there was some ground for exciting these fears.
+But no such fears were likely to be entertained; for the mermaid is not
+an object of terror to the fisherman; it is rather a welcome guest, and
+danger is to be apprehended only from its experiencing bad treatment.
+The usual resources of scepticism, that the seals and other sea-animals,
+appearing under certain circumstances, operating on an excited
+imagination, and so producing ocular illusion, cannot avail here. It is
+quite impossible that, under the circumstances, six Shetland fishermen
+could commit such a mistake."[96]
+
+There is, no doubt, much in this account which signally distinguishes it
+from all other statements with which it can be compared, except that of
+Hudson's sailors, with which it well coincides. The protuberant mammæ,
+resembling those of a woman; the human, or at least simian face,
+forehead, and neck, and especially the mouth and lips; the distinct
+unwebbed fingers; the erectile crest of bristles; the nature of the
+surface,--without scales or hair; the colour; and the tail,--like that
+of a fish;--are all very remarkable points; and unless we conclude the
+entire story to be a lie, a mere barefaced hoax,--must necessarily
+indicate a creature of which scientific zoology knows absolutely
+nothing.
+
+It is observable that, here again, the tail is said to have been piscine
+and heterocercal, "like that of the dog-fish:" while the naked skin, and
+the colour--silvery grey above and white below,--will well agree with
+the characteristics common to the smaller _Squalidæ_.
+
+It is a pity that an account like this, avouched by six witnesses, was
+not thoroughly sifted. I have no doubt that, if a person tolerably
+conversant with zoology, and accustomed to the habit of
+cross-examination, had examined these six eye-witnesses _separately_,
+making full notes of what each could remember to have observed, and had
+then checked each deposition by all the others, a mass of testimony
+would have been accumulated that would in an instant have convinced any
+candid inquirer what measure of truth lay in the story. Points in which
+the whole six, or even three or four, agreed, might unhesitatingly have
+been set down as correct: suggestive questions, (not, however,
+suggesting the sort of answer,) as, "Had the creature so and so, or so
+and so?" could not have received the same reply from all the deponents,
+without being worthy of credence: even the points on which they would
+have differed might themselves have been instructive to an intelligent
+inquirer. I do not know that any such precautionary measures were
+resorted to in this case, and the tale must remain as we get it; but I
+make these observations for the purpose of suggesting, in the event of
+any similar occurrence, the advantage of _separate_ examination in
+getting at the truth. On a review of the whole evidence, I do not judge
+that this single story is a sufficient foundation for believing in the
+existence of mermaids; but, taken into combination with other
+statements, it induces a strong suspicion that the northern seas may
+hold forms of life as yet uncatalogued by science.
+
+[87] _Geog. and Classif. of Animals_, 249.
+
+[88] _Egypt and Mehemet Ali_, ii. p. 322.
+
+[89] _Japan and her People_, p. 193.
+
+[90] See Hibbert's _Shetland Islands_, p. 566.
+
+[91] Miss Sinclair's _Shetland_.
+
+[92] Notes to _The Lord of the Isles_.
+
+[93] _Hudson the Navigator_, by Asher, Voy. ii.
+
+[94] _Voyage towards the South Pole_, p. 143.
+
+[95] Pontoppidan's _Nat. Hist. of Norway_, p. 154.
+
+[96] _Edinburgh Magazine_, vol. xiii.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+THE SELF-IMMURED.
+
+
+Turning from reputed beings of which the very existence is the subject
+of doubt, let us consider one or two well-known and homely creatures,
+about which a certain degree of romantic interest hovers, because
+conditions of life are attributed to them by popular faith, which the
+general verdict of science denies.
+
+One of the most remarkable examples in this category of _dubitanda_, is
+the oft-repeated case of Toads and similar animals found inclosed within
+the solid wood of living trees, or even within blocks of stone, with no
+discernible communication with the external air, or at least no aperture
+by which they could have entered their prison, yet, in every instance,
+alive. That insuperable difficulties stand _a priori_ in the way of our
+believing in such conditions, no one familiar with animal physiology can
+deny; for, as Mr Bell observes, to believe that a Toad inclosed within a
+mass of clay, or other similar substance, shall exist wholly without air
+or food, for hundreds of years, and at length be liberated alive and
+capable of crawling, on the breaking up of the matrix,--now become a
+solid rock,--is certainly a demand upon our credulity which few will be
+ready to answer.
+
+Yet, after all, it is a question that must not be decided _a priori_: it
+must rest upon evidence. It may be that here, too, fact is stranger than
+fiction; and we must not shut our eyes and ears to concurrent credible
+testimony, if it happen to bear witness to facts which we cannot account
+for. Truth will certainly be upon us, even though, ostrich-like, we
+thrust our head into a bush, and maintain that we cannot see it.
+
+The learned historian of British Reptiles speaks with his characteristic
+candour upon the point. He admits that the many concurrent assertions of
+credible persons, who declare themselves to have been witnesses of the
+emancipation of imprisoned Toads, forbid us hastily to refuse our
+assent, or at least to deny the possibility of such a circumstance;
+while he demands better and more cautious evidence to authorise our
+implicit faith in these asserted facts.[97]
+
+The ordinary mode of accounting for the phenomena, supposing them to be
+narrated in good faith, is that the animal "fell into the hollow where
+the men were at work, and was taken up by them in ignorance of the mode
+in which it had come there," or that "it may have hidden in the hollow
+of a tree during the autumn and winter, and on the return of spring
+found itself so far inclosed within its hiding-place as to be unable to
+escape." This latter suggestion would be more worthy of attention were
+the winter season the period in which, in our climate, periodical
+additions are made to the living wood, so as to narrow the entrance, or
+in which augmentations of bulk occurred to Toads, so as to prevent them
+from getting out where they got in;--but unfortunately the reverse of
+both suppositions is true. As to the former suggestion, while it may
+possibly serve to dismiss a few of the published statements, there are
+others which it would be absurd to explain thereby.
+
+True to its principles of never shutting the door to the investigation
+of any natural history subject, the _Zoologist_ has, during the eighteen
+years of its existence, been a medium for collecting and preserving
+facts bearing on this question. The pages of this periodical form an
+invaluable storehouse to the philosophic naturalist, who wishes to
+pursue his science undeterred by the ridicule of sciolism or the frown
+of authority. Let us search its treasures, then, expecting to find
+stories of diverse grades of credibility, of which the editor wisely
+leaves his readers to judge for themselves.
+
+In May 1844, the Rev. J. Pemberton Bartlett of Kingston, in Kent, an
+experienced naturalist, mentions the following fact as having just come
+under his own notice:--"Only a few weeks since, in cutting down a
+fir-tree here, the workman discovered, completely imbedded in the
+centre, a Toad, which had doubtless been there some years, as the tree
+had completely grown over it; it must have been kept alive by absorbing
+the moisture of the tree. It was not in a completely torpid state, and
+after being exposed to the air a few hours, it crawled in true toad-like
+style. The age of the tree in which it was found was, as far as I could
+judge from the number of circles, about twenty-five years."[98]
+
+In reply to an inquiry whether he himself saw the Toad, and counted the
+timber-rings, Mr Bartlett favours me with the following note:--
+
+                              "EXBURY PARSONAGE, NEAR SOUTHAMPTON,
+                                    _February 22, 1861_.
+
+"DEAR SIR,-- ... _I_ quite believe that Toads _do_ live in stone, but I
+have found it very difficult to get the facts from eye-witnesses. The
+imbedded Toad in the fir-tree, mentioned by me in the _Zoologist_, I
+saw, and, as stated there, I counted the rings of the tree. I believe it
+to have been the common Toad; but it looked rather more flabby, and not
+quite so round in its proportions, as toads generally do; in fact,
+instead of being 'puffed up' as they commonly are, it was considerably
+_down in the mouth_, from its close imprisonment! The cavity in which it
+was fixed appeared to have been originally a crack or fissure in the
+side of the tree; whether caused by decay, or made by a nuthatch or some
+other bird, I cannot say. The wound appeared to have healed, as the bark
+had apparently closed over it. The question now arises, Was the Toad
+_young_ when it got into the hollow? and did it grow after it became a
+prisoner? Or had it come to years of discretion, when it took that
+unfortunate step, or rather crawl, into the cavity where it was so long
+to be imprisoned? And _why did_ it remain there so quietly, while the
+bark gradually grew over its prison-house? The answer that I should
+give to the first of these questions would be, that probably it had
+arrived at a state of _toadhood_ when it took refuge in the tree, and
+_did not_ grow afterwards. My theory why it remained ensconced there so
+quietly is this, that probably it might have been accustomed for some
+time to take refuge by day in this hole, from whence it would set out on
+its nocturnal rambles, and probably 'not go home till morning;' that on
+some occasion, 'when daylight did appear,' it returned to its accustomed
+haunt, and there squatted, winking and puffing, after its night's
+exploits, as toads are wont to do; that, on that luckless day, some
+felled tree or trees were laid up against the fir-tree that contained
+its abode, and that the tree or trees remained there till the bark
+closed so as to prevent its escape. What makes this idea the more
+probable is that the place where the fir-tree grew had, for probably
+years, been used as a place to store felled timber, as it was used for
+that purpose at the time I saw the Toad.
+
+"After the discovery of this Toad in the fir-tree, I tried several
+experiments on Toads, by burying them in closely-sealed flower-pots, at
+a depth of nearly three feet. I much regret that I cannot find my notes
+on the subject; but I remember perfectly the main facts of one. The Toad
+was placed in a flower-pot, with another turned over it, and well
+cemented together--the two holes in both pots being also closely
+cemented up. It was buried between two and three feet deep in the
+garden. At the end of three months I took it up, and weighed the Toad,
+and found it had lost a very little in weight. This I did again at the
+end of three months more; it was then quite lively, and had lost again
+but little in weight. I replaced it as before, and on taking it up the
+third time, I found the pots had, probably the cement not having been
+dry when buried, slipped on one side, and the moisture had got in, and
+consequently the poor Toad was dead, as well as buried! Now, surely if a
+Toad could live _six months_ hermetically _sealed_ in a flower-pot,
+without air or food--why not a much longer time?...--Believe me, yours
+faithfully,
+
+                                        "J. PEMBERTON BARTLETT."
+
+The Rev. W. J. Bree of Allesley, also an excellent zoologist, alluding
+to some queries by Mr E. Newman, communicated the following facts:--"I
+quite agree with you that the statements about Toads found in solid
+stone are mostly very unsatisfactory. One instance of the kind I have
+seen, as briefly stated, _Mag. Nat. Hist._, ix. 316. The Toad appeared
+to me neither more nor less than our common species, although I
+certainly did not examine it scientifically. The stone was the new red
+sandstone of geologists; and was brought up, as I was told, some yards
+from below the surface. I understood the Toad, and the two portions of
+stone in which it was found inclosed, were deposited in some medical
+museum at Birmingham. The animal would not have been discovered but for
+an accident: the workmen were carting the stone away, and the block
+containing the Toad happened to be placed on the top of a great load,
+and accidentally fell from the cart to the ground, and, breaking by the
+fall, brought to light the incarcerated reptile, which, I conclude, was
+somewhat injured by the fall, as there was a fresh wound on one side of
+the head, and it appeared to be blind of one eye. The Toad died, I was
+informed, the second day after it was discovered, partly, in all
+probability, in consequence of the injury. When I say the block of stone
+was _solid_, this statement requires some qualification: the two parts
+of the stone fitted together exactly, and quite close, except where the
+cavity was in which the Toad lay; but from this cavity there was
+evidently a flaw on one side towards the extremity, and a discolouring
+of the substance of the sandstone, so that although the two portions
+fitted together, they might not have been (on one side of the cavity)
+very firmly united. This circumstance, perhaps, may detract from the
+value of the example; nevertheless, it is unaccountable how the animal
+could have got into the position in which it was found: it is not
+conceivable, I think, that it should have been there ever since the
+first formation of the rock, and there certainly appeared to be no means
+by which it could have entered the rock in its present state, even
+admitting (what we know to be the fact) that Toads have the power of
+getting in and out of a very small orifice."
+
+The author of the next account, signed "E. Peacock," is unknown to me;
+and it does not appear whether he speaks from personal observation or
+not. He says, "A few days ago, two labourers, employed at a stone quarry
+at Frodingham, near Brigg, Lincolnshire, found, at a depth of five feet
+below the surface of the ground, and between two blocks of stone (lias),
+a living Toad: the interstice between the stones was filled with yellow
+clay, and there did not appear the least possible aperture by which
+anything could have passed."[99]
+
+Even from remote India we have reports of the same phenomenon. A
+correspondent from Serampore sends the _Zoologist_ the following:--"Last
+Wednesday, Feb. 7, 1849, on severing the branch of a tree, apparently of
+the tamarind species, I found a Toad in the centre of the wood, entirely
+excluded from light and air. The appearance of the animal was rather
+extraordinary. The body seemed full of air, and the skin soft and puffy,
+and of a light yellowish colour, with the exception of the extremities
+of the feet, which were hard and dark. The creature when exposed to the
+air seemed rather uncomfortable, and drew in its head just like a turtle
+when alarmed. It was thrown into a tank, when the water around, to the
+space of about a foot on either side, became perfectly white, like milk.
+It jumped out of the water immediately, apparently not liking the
+coldness. I did not have opportunity of observing it further, which I
+regret, as the animal got concealed in the long grass on the side of the
+tank, and was thus lost. The general supposition as to the mode by which
+animals get inclosed within trees, is their taking shelter in the cavity
+of a tree when very young, and the growth of the tree filling up the
+cavity, and thus imprisoning the animal. But this supposition, if true
+in the present case, makes the circumstance now related the more
+extraordinary. The tree is an old one, upwards of fifty feet high, and
+having a trunk more than three feet in diameter; and the height from the
+ground at which the Toad was found was about twelve feet. We must
+suppose the Toad to have got into the tree when within a foot from the
+ground: how many years old then must the animal be?"
+
+The mention of the whitening of the water in which the Toad was immersed
+is to my mind a strong corroboration of the veracity of the preceding
+narrative. It is not a circumstance at all likely to occur to a mere
+inventor, as it does not in the least bear on the question of
+incarceration, and there is no attempt to explain it. I have
+occasionally seen fluids rendered partially opaque by the outflow of a
+milky secretion from animals immersed in them, as in the case of the
+curious _Peripatus_ of Jamaica, which, when put alive into spirits,
+discharges a considerable quantity of white fluid, which diffuses in the
+alcohol. The Toad was probably distinct from our common English species,
+but we know that the latter secretes a yellow acrid fluid in some
+abundance in the follicles of its skin, and this might be poured out
+under the excitement of alarm or anger.
+
+In the summer of 1851, the Académie des Sciences was interested
+(according to the public papers) with this question. In digging a well
+at Blois, in June of that year, "some workmen drew up from about a yard
+beneath the surface a large flint, weighing about fourteen pounds, and
+on striking it a blow with a pickaxe, it split in two, and discovered,
+snugly ensconced in the very centre, a large Toad. The Toad seemed for a
+moment greatly astonished, but jumped out, and rather rapidly crawled
+away. He was seized and replaced in the hole, when he settled himself
+down very quietly. The stone and Toad, just as they were, were sent to
+the Society of Sciences at Blois, and became immediately the subject of
+curious attention. First of all, the flint, fitted together, with the
+Toad in the hole, was placed in a cellar, and imbedded in moss. There it
+was left for some time. It is not known if the Toad ate, but it is
+certain that he made no discharge of any kind. It was found that if the
+top of the stone were cautiously removed in a dark place he did not
+stir, but that if the removal were effected in the light, he immediately
+got out and ran away. If he were placed on the edge of the flint, he
+would crawl into his hole, and fix himself comfortably in. He gathered
+his legs beneath his body; and it was observed that he took especial
+care of one of his feet, which had been slightly hurt in one of his
+removals. The hole is not one bit larger than the body, except a little
+where the back is. There is a sort of ledge on which his mouth reposes,
+and the bones of the jaws are slightly indented, as if from long resting
+on a hard substance. Not the slightest appearance of any communication
+whatsoever between the centre and the outside of the stone can be
+discovered, so that there is no reason to suppose that he could have
+drawn any nourishment from the outside. The committee, consisting of
+three eminent naturalists, one of whom has made Toads his peculiar
+study for years, made no secret of their belief that the Toad had been
+in that stone for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years; but how he could
+have lived without air, or food, or water, or movement, they made no
+attempt to explain. They accordingly contented themselves with proposing
+that the present should be considered another authentic case, to be
+added to the few hundreds already existing, of Toads being found alive
+imbedded in stone, leaving it to some future savant to explain what now
+appears the wonderful miracle by which Nature keeps them alive so long
+in such places. But the distinguished M. Majendie suggested that it was
+just possible that an attempt was being made to hoax the Academy, by
+making it believe that the Toad had been found in the hole, whereas it
+might only have been put in by the mischievous workmen after the stone
+was broken. Terrified at the idea of becoming the laughing-stock of the
+public, the Academy declined to take any formal resolution about the
+Toad, but thanked the committee for its very interesting communication;
+and so the subject dropped."
+
+This statement does not, to be sure, bear about it that character of
+precision which should mark the report of a scientific body, nor is it
+verified by authority; but the terror ascribed to L'Académie at the idea
+of being hoaxed, and the instant quashing of the inquiry, are so true to
+nature, so accurately characteristic of our august associations of
+savans, that I cannot help believing the story.
+
+Here is another, which has the air of a _bonâ fide_ account, though I
+have no knowledge of the writer, nor does he himself seem to pretend to
+personal autopsy of the discovery.
+
+On Monday last, September 20, while some workmen were engaged in getting
+iron ore at a place called Paswick, in the north of this county,
+[Derby,] they came upon a solid lump of ore, which, being heavier than
+two men could lift, they set to work to break with their picks, when, to
+their surprise, in a cavity near the centre of the stone, they found a
+Toad alive. The cavity was much larger than the Toad, being nearly six
+inches in diameter, and was lined with crystals of what I suppose to be
+carbonate of lime. The stone was about four yards from the surface of
+the ground; it is now in the possession of Mr Haywood of Derby, by whose
+men it was found; but unfortunately the Toad was not preserved after its
+death, which took place almost immediately on its exposure to the
+atmosphere.[100]
+
+_Audi alteram partem._ Mr Plant of the Salford Museum tells us, both in
+sorrow and in anger, a story, doubtless more amusing to us who read it
+than to him, of his adventures among the toad-finders. When geologising
+in the neighbourhood of Chesterfield, a quarryman, whom he had invited
+to share a bottle of porter, informed him in confidence that Toads
+inclosed in stone were plentiful thereabout. "He said he had often found
+them, and that he knew a stone before it was broken that would contain a
+Toad; giving me long and circumstantial accounts of the whole
+phenomenon: and, to convince me of the truth of his statement, he took
+me to the quarry (a carboniferous sandstone) that I might see the stones
+out of which he said the Toads had been released. I examined the stones
+and the whole quarry very attentively, and listened to the emphatic
+testimony of other miners present. After complying in an agreeable
+manner to their remark that the day was warm, and the water of the
+quarry not much in favour, I made a simple proposal of this nature:--I
+promised to pay to any one of them the sum of twenty shillings for the
+next stone in which they found a Frog or Toad when the stone was broken
+in two. They should catch the Frog if he bolted out of the hole, replace
+him, and fit the stones together again, afterwards despatching it to me
+in that condition. I further promised to pay the sum of forty shillings
+to any one of them who should procure me a stone, unbroken, in which he
+considered a Toad or Frog was imprisoned, if, on breaking it myself,
+such turned out to be the case. These conditions were to remain in force
+for twelve months; and as the means of conveyance to my address, which I
+gave them, would occasion little or no trouble, the offer was readily
+accepted by the miners; who also, to express their confidence in soon
+being able to supply the order, proposed that it would be all safe if I
+advanced a little cash on account; which however I resolutely declined
+doing. And now what will the credulous believers in these 'Toads in
+stone' who read the _Zoologist_ say, when they learn that I visited the
+quarry twice during the twelve months, in order to fetch the Toads
+which never came by rail? I always found the men there blasting tons of
+new rock, splitting stones for every building purpose, yet dry-throated
+and sullen; for, alas! most unaccountably during that long twelve months
+they found plenty of holes--not Toad holes--in the sandstone, but the
+reptiles had been banished as effectually as ever they were from the
+Emerald Isle."[101]
+
+[Illustration: TOAD IN A HOLE.]
+
+This was disheartening, certainly: and we do not wonder that Mr Plant
+became "a total disbeliever in these 'simple tales.'" Still, it is just
+possible, that immured Toads may exist, though Mikey of the Chesterfield
+quarry, in hope of the advance, did brag a little too confidently of the
+commonness of the occurrence. That, within one twelvemonth, within the
+limits of one quarry, no such Toad turned up, even under the stimulus of
+the proffered forty shillings, can scarcely be admitted to be absolutely
+conclusive proof of the negative, at least not to us who were not placed
+in the painful position of _gullees_. Mr Arthur Hussey of Rottingdean
+justly remarks, when presenting some evidence _per contra_, that we
+should not think the innocence of a culprit was established by his
+asserting, when sundry witnesses affirmed they saw him commit the
+offence he was accused of,--that he could produce ten times the number
+who would swear they _did not_ see him.
+
+"During the summer of 1846," writes Mr Hussey, "in the formation of a
+railroad, about half a mile from Pontefract, in Yorkshire, the works
+were carried a 'depth of four feet through a rock betwixt lime and
+sandstone, about the junction of the two formations:' the rock being so
+firm as to require blasting. 'It is entirely free from beds of any kind,
+or what the workmen term "backs," running up it,' but therein are 'an
+infinite number of small nodules of a harder quality, entirely
+crystallised in the interior.' After blasting, the labourers were much
+surprised to find among the fragments several of these nodules, each one
+containing a Frog, as many as seven having been counted after one
+'shot.'
+
+"These were not casually seen when exposed, and then disregarded, but
+were examined in their stone prisons through very minute holes, some
+even preserved in that state for a long period. For example, the relator
+states of one specimen, 'I kept this Toad in a cellar for about five
+months, during which time it ate nothing, and was without light, the
+hole in the stone being covered with a piece of clay, and the whole kept
+moist and cool with water.' Of another he says, 'The Frog lived only
+about a week, as I kept it in a place which I think was too warm for it,
+and also not sufficiently dark and quiet. When the Frogs were disturbed
+by the shots, their first desire seemed to be to get under shelter of
+some stone, or into their old holes again, shewing thereby that sight
+was not wanting, and bodily activity was perfect as far as could be
+seen. One thing struck me as singular with regard to the Frog I
+kept--its fresh, plump, and healthy appearance, its skin being soft and
+transparent. One day, when I was holding my finger over the hole in the
+stone, it pushed its head between my finger and the sides of the hole,
+and drew its whole body after it on to the table, where it appeared more
+like a skeleton than any living animal I have ever seen, but by degrees
+it extended itself to its former dimensions.'
+
+"Of the above curious occurrence my only knowledge is derived from the
+account written to a distant friend, of which the substance has now been
+extracted. The writer is an utter stranger, but he was officially
+employed in the operations which resulted in the discoveries; and my
+information leads me to believe his report deserving of confidence, for
+which reason I have not hesitated to offer this abstract for publication
+in the _Zoologist_."[102]
+
+The Rev. Alfred Charles Smith, an excellent and genial naturalist,
+favours us with another case, introducing it incidentally in
+illustration of the general habit he is denouncing of wantonly
+destroying animal life:--"As an instance of this thoughtless cruelty, I
+must give an account that has just come to my notice. Some labourers
+were pulling down an old wall, in the thickness of which they found one
+of those phenomena--so frequently heard of and so unsatisfactorily
+accounted for--a Toad completely imbedded in stone and mortar. 'There
+was no doubt,' said the labourer who described it, 'that he had been
+there for a great number of years, for there was no hole or chink by
+which he could have entered or left the place of his long sojourn.'
+'Well,' said the listener to his account, 'but are you sure that the
+Toad was alive when you found it?' 'No doubt of that, sir,' said the
+man, 'for he crawled out of his round hole and was moving away, when I
+knocked him on the head with my pickaxe.'
+
+"So here was this poor harmless creature, whose long incarceration in
+his gloomy dungeon might have excited compassion in his favour, suddenly
+released from his prison, only to be slain by his liberator!"[103]
+
+The next is from the _Caledonian Mercury_. Newspaper zoology is
+proverbially untrustworthy, and the editor of the _Zoologist_, who
+reprints the paragraph, kindly adds a caveat for the benefit of his
+readers,--"_Nimium ne crede Mercurio!_" But, nevertheless, let us look
+at it: alone it would stand for little, but, remember, in such questions
+as this the evidence is cumulative. "There is at present to be seen at
+Messrs Sanderson and Sons, George Street, Edinburgh, an extraordinary
+specimen of natural history--a Frog which had been discovered alive in
+freestone rock. A few months ago, while some colliers in the employ of
+Mr James Nasmyth (lessee of Dundonald Colliery, in Fife, the property of
+R. B. Wardlaw Ramsay, Esq. of Whitehill), were engaged in taking out the
+pavement of the seam coal, which was freestone, they discovered a cavity
+in which a Frog was lying. On touching it the Frog jumped about for some
+time, and a bucket of water being procured, it was put into it, and
+taken to the surface. On reaching it, the animal was found to be dead.
+It was at the depth of forty-five fathoms, or ninety yards from the
+surface, in a perpendicular line of strata, consisting of alternate
+layers of coal and freestone, with ironstone, and about four hundred
+yards from the outcrop surface. The Frog seems to have much of the same
+character as the present species. It is very attenuated, which cannot be
+wondered at, considering its domicile for so many ages, its original
+existence being of course considered contemporaneous with the formation
+of the freestone rock in which it was contained."[104]
+
+Now, again, we get the statement of a careful working naturalist, Mr
+Thomas Clark of Halesleigh. He cannot, indeed, give personal authority
+for what he records; but the confidence of such a man in his informant
+is an element not without its value. "March 25, 1859. In the early part
+of this month, two live Toads were dug out from the bottom of a bed of
+stiff brick clay, in the neighbourhood of Bridgewater, at the depth of
+fourteen feet from the surface of the ground; a third was killed by the
+spade before they were observed. This bed of clay rests on peat, and the
+Toads were found at the junction of the two beds, in a small domed
+cavity, about the size of the crown of a man's hat. On being exposed to
+the air, they uttered a squeaking cry, resembling that of a rat, but in
+about a minute they seemed reconciled to their new destiny, and moved
+freely about. They were kept in a jar for a few days, and then placed at
+liberty in a garden, where I suppose they are still living. The living
+ones were about two inches in length, but narrow in proportion, and of
+a rather lighter colour than Toads usually are; the one which was killed
+was very much larger. The clay under which they were buried had been
+gradually dug out from the surface since about the beginning of the
+year, but the last five feet of depth was not dug till the day on which
+they were discovered. After about two feet of the surface, the clay is
+very close and adhesive, and far too moist to admit of cracks being
+formed in it, even in the driest summers."[105]
+
+To this communication inserted in the _Zoologist_, Mr Newman added a
+note asking the name of any scientific man who was present at the
+exhumation. Mr Clark replies:--"I am unable to give such a name, further
+than as the intelligent foreman of the brickyard, Thomas Duddridge, (who
+witnessed the exhumation by one of the labourers of the yard,) may be
+entitled to the appellation; but no one, however high his scientific
+attainments, could be more careful than he was to give me correct
+information, or more exact in his statements; and if, after minute
+inquiry, I had not been fully satisfied of the correctness of his
+account, I should not have sought to occupy the pages of the _Zoologist_
+with its recital. On shewing him the notice in the _Zoologist_, he said
+it was impossible for anything to be more correct; and he added, that
+the little cavity which the Toads occupied was quite smooth in every
+part, apparently by their long-continued movements,--as smooth, to use
+his own illustration, as the inside of a China bowl."[106]
+
+Numerous experiments have been made with a view to test the possibility
+of these reputed facts. If Toads do so commonly become voluntarily or
+accidentally immured, and remain without light, food, or even air, for
+many years, and yet survive, let us put some Toads into similar
+circumstances, keep them shut up, and, after the lapse of a sufficient
+interval, examine them, and see whether they are alive or dead.
+"_Experimentum faciemus in corpore vili_," as the village doctor said to
+his assistant over the sick traveller.
+
+_Probatum est!_ Besides the case mentioned in Mr Bartlett's letter
+(_ante_, p. 149), the late Dr Buckland, in November 1825, instituted a
+series of careful experiments, which are thus narrated by himself:--"In
+one large block of coarse oolitic limestone, twelve circular cells were
+prepared, each about one foot deep and five inches in diameter, and
+having a groove or shoulder at its upper margin fitted to receive a
+circular plate of glass, and a circular slate to protect the glass: the
+margin of this double cover was closed round and rendered impenetrable
+to air and water by a luting of soft clay. Twelve smaller cells, each
+six inches deep and five inches in diameter, were made in another block
+of compact siliceous sandstone, viz., the Pennant Grit of the coal
+formation near Bristol; these cells also were covered with similar
+plates of glass and slate, cemented at the edge by clay. The object of
+the glass covers was to allow the animals to be inspected, without
+disturbing the clay so as to admit external air or insects into the
+cell. The limestone is so porous that it is easily permeable by water,
+and probably also by air; the sandstone is very compact.
+
+"On the 26th of November 1825, one live Toad was placed in each of the
+above-mentioned twenty-four cells, and the double cover of glass and
+slate placed over each of them, and cemented down by the luting of clay.
+The weight of each Toad in grains was ascertained and noted by Dr
+Daubeny and Mr Dillwyn at the time of their being placed in the cells;
+that of the smallest was 115 grains, and of the largest 1185 grains. The
+large and small animals were distributed in equal proportion between the
+limestone and sandstone cells.
+
+"These blocks of stone were buried together in my garden beneath three
+feet of earth, and remained unopened until the 10th of December 1826, on
+which day they were examined. Every Toad in the smaller cells of the
+compact sandstone was dead, and the bodies of most of them so much
+decayed that they must have been dead some months. The greater number of
+those in the larger cells of porous limestone were alive. No. 1, whose
+weight when immured was 924 grains, now weighed only 698 grains. No. 5,
+whose weight when immured was 1185 grains, now weighed 1265 grains. The
+glass cover over this cell was slightly cracked, so that minute insects
+might have entered: none, however, were discovered in this cell; but in
+another cell whose glass was broken, and the animal within it dead,
+there was a large assemblage of minute insects; and a similar assemblage
+also on the outside of the glass of a third cell. In cell No. 9, a Toad
+which when put in weighed 988 grains, had increased to 1116 grains, and
+the glass cover over it was entire; but as the luting of the cell within
+which this Toad had increased in weight was not particularly examined,
+it is probable there was some aperture in it by which small insects
+found admission. No. 11 had decreased from 936 grains to 652 grains.
+
+"When they were first examined in December 1826, not only were all the
+small Toads dead, but the larger ones appeared much emaciated, with the
+two exceptions above mentioned; we have already stated that these
+probably owed their increased weight to the insects which had found
+access to the cells, and become their food.
+
+"The death of every individual of every size in the smaller cells of
+compact sandstone, appears to have resulted from a deficiency in the
+supply of air, in consequence of the smallness of the cells, and the
+impermeable nature of the stone; the larger volume of air originally
+inclosed in the cells of the limestone, and the porous nature of the
+stone itself, (permeable as it is slowly by water, and probably by air,)
+seem to have favoured the duration of life to the animals inclosed in
+them without food.
+
+"It should be noticed that there is a defect in these experiments,
+arising from the treatment of the twenty-four Toads before they were
+inclosed in the blocks of stone. They were shut up and buried on the
+26th of November, but the greater number of them had been caught more
+than two months before that time, and had been imprisoned all together
+in a cucumber frame placed on common garden earth, where the supply of
+food to so many individuals was probably scanty, and their confinement
+unnatural, so that they were in an unhealthy and somewhat meagre state
+at the time of their imprisonment. We can therefore scarcely argue with
+certainty from the death of all these individuals within two years, as
+to the duration of life which might have been maintained had they
+retired spontaneously, and fallen into the torpor of their natural
+hibernation in good bodily condition.
+
+"The results of our experiments amount to this: all the Toads, both
+large and small, inclosed in sandstone, and the small Toads in the
+limestone also, were dead at the end of thirteen months. Before the
+expiration of the second year all the large ones also were dead; these
+were examined several times during the second year through the glass
+covers of the cells, but without removing them to admit air; they
+appeared always awake, with their eyes open, and never in a state of
+torpor, their meagreness increasing at each interval in which they were
+examined, until at length they were found dead; those two also which had
+gained an accession of weight at the end of the first year, and were
+then carefully closed up again, were emaciated and dead before the
+expiration of the second year.
+
+"At the same time that these Toads were inclosed in stone, four other
+Toads of middling size were inclosed in three holes, cut for this
+purpose on the north side of the trunk of an apple-tree; two being
+placed in the largest cell, and each of the others in a single cell.
+The cells were nearly circular, about five inches deep and three inches
+in diameter; they were carefully closed up with a plug of wood, so as to
+exclude access of insects, and apparently were air-tight; when examined
+at the end of a year, every one of the Toads was dead, and their bodies
+were decayed.
+
+"From the fatal result of the experiments made in the small cells cut in
+the apple-tree and the block of compact sandstone, it seems to follow
+that Toads cannot live a year excluded totally from atmospheric air;
+and, from the experiments in the larger cells within the block of
+oolitic limestone, it seems also probable that they cannot survive two
+years entirely excluded from food; we may therefore conclude that there
+is a want of sufficiently minute and accurate observation in those so
+frequently recorded cases, where Toads are said to be found alive within
+blocks of stone and wood, in cavities that had no communication whatever
+with the external air. The fact of my two Toads having increased in
+weight at the end of the year, notwithstanding the care that was taken
+to inclose them perfectly by a luting of clay, shews how very small an
+aperture will admit of insects sufficient to maintain life. In the cell
+No. 5, where the glass was slightly cracked, the communication though
+small was obvious, but in the cell No. 9, where the glass cover remained
+entire, and where it appears certain, from the increased weight of the
+inclosed animal, that insects must have found admission, we have an
+example of these minute animals finding their way into a cell to which
+great care had been taken to prevent any possibility of access.
+
+"Admitting, then, that Toads are occasionally found in cavities of wood
+and stone with which there is no communication sufficiently large to
+allow the ingress and egress of the animal inclosed in them, we may, I
+think, find a solution of such phenomena in the habits of these
+reptiles, and of the insects which form their food. The first effort of
+the young Toad, as soon as it has left its tadpole state and emerged
+from the water, is to seek shelter in holes and crevices of rocks and
+trees. An individual which, when young, may have thus entered a cavity
+by some very narrow aperture, would find abundance of food by catching
+insects, which, like itself, seek shelter within such cavities; and may
+soon have increased so much in bulk as to render it impossible to get
+out again through the narrow aperture at which it entered. A small hole
+of this kind is very likely to be overlooked by common workmen, who are
+the only people whose operations on stone and wood disclose cavities in
+the interior of such substances.
+
+"In the case of Toads, Snakes, and Lizards, that occasionally issue from
+stones that are broken in a quarry, or in sinking wells, and sometimes
+even from strata of coal at the bottom of a coal-mine, the evidence is
+never perfect to shew that the reptiles were entirely inclosed in solid
+rock. No examination is ever made until the reptile is first discovered
+by the breaking of the mass in which it was contained, and then it is
+too late to ascertain, without carefully replacing every fragment, (and
+in no case that I have seen reported has this ever been done,) whether
+or not there was any hole or crevice by which the animal may have
+entered the cavity from which it was extracted. Without previous
+examination it is almost impossible to prove that there was no such
+communication. In the case of rocks near the surface of the earth, and
+in stone quarries, reptiles find ready admission to holes and fissures.
+We have a notorious example of this kind in the Lizard found in a
+chalk-pit, and brought alive to the late Dr Clark. In the case also of
+wells and coal-pits, a reptile that had fallen down the well or shaft,
+and survived its fall, would seek its natural retreat in the first hole
+or crevice it could find, and the miner dislodging it from this cavity,
+to which his previous attention had not been called, might in ignorance
+conclude that the animal was coeval with the stone from which he had
+extracted it.
+
+"It remains only to consider the case (of which I know not any
+authenticated example) of Toads that have been said to be found in
+cavities within blocks of limestone, to which, on careful examination,
+no access whatever could be discovered, and where the animal was
+absolutely and entirely closed up with stone. Should any such case ever
+have existed, it is probable that the communication between this cavity
+and the external surface had been closed up by stalactitic incrustation,
+after the animal had become too large to make its escape. A similar
+explanation may be offered of the much more probable case of a live Toad
+being entirely surrounded with solid wood. In each case, the animal
+would have continued to increase in bulk so long as the smallest
+aperture remained by which air and insects could find admission; it
+would probably become torpid as soon as this aperture was entirely
+closed by the accumulation of stalactite or the growth of wood. But it
+still remains to be ascertained how long this state of torpor may
+continue under total exclusion from food and from external air: and,
+although the experiments above recorded shew that life did not extend
+two years in the case of any one of the individuals which formed the
+subjects of them, yet, for reasons which have been specified, they are
+not decisive to shew that a state of torpor, or suspended animation, may
+not be endured for a much longer time by Toads that are healthy and well
+fed up to the moment when they are finally cut off from food, and from
+all direct access of atmospheric air.
+
+"The common experiment of burying a Toad in a flower-pot covered with a
+tile, is of no value unless the cover be carefully luted to the pot, and
+the hole at the bottom of the pot also closed, so as to exclude all
+possible access of air, earthworms, and insects. I have heard of two or
+three experiments of this kind, in which these precautions have not been
+taken, and in which at the end of a year the Toads have been found alive
+and well.
+
+"Besides the Toads inclosed in wood and stone, four others were placed
+each in a small basin of plaster of Paris, four inches deep and five
+inches in diameter, having a cover of the same material carefully luted
+round with clay; these were buried at the same time and in the same
+place with the blocks of stone, and on being examined at the same time
+with them in December 1826, two of the Toads were dead, the other two
+alive, but much emaciated. We can only collect from this experiment,
+that a thin plate of plaster of Paris is permeable to air in a
+sufficient degree to maintain the life of a Toad for thirteen months.
+
+"In the 19th Vol., No. I, p. 167, of _Sillimans American Journal of
+Science and Arts_, David Thomas, Esq. has published some observations on
+Frogs and Toads in stone and solid earth, enumerating several authentic
+and well-attested cases. These, however, amount to no more than a
+repetition of the facts so often stated and admitted to be true, viz.,
+that torpid reptiles occur in cavities of stone, and at the depth of
+many feet in soil and earth; but they state not anything to disprove the
+possibility of a small aperture, by which these cavities may have had
+communication with the external surface, and insects have been admitted.
+
+"The attention of the discoverer is always directed more to the Toad
+than to the minutiæ of the state of the cavity in which it was
+contained."
+
+The importance of these experiments, the care with which they were
+instituted, the deserved reputation of the experimenter, and the
+philosophic character of his inferences, will, I trust, apologise for
+the extent of this quotation. I do not think, however, that the question
+is settled by them; and I will venture to make one or two comments on
+the facts and on the observations.
+
+Dr Buckland allows that the circumstances of the incarceration of his
+Toads were not natural. This seems to me an element of more importance
+than he attributes to it. They were shut up while in active life, after
+having been confined for two months on scanty food;--"So that they were
+in an _unhealthy and somewhat meagre_ state at the time of their
+imprisonment." We do not know what conditions, what natural provisions
+precede torpidity and are essential to it; but possibly there are some,
+which in these cases were compulsorily precluded by human interference.
+It is stated that the animals that survived to the second year were
+always found awake when examined,--"_never in a state of torpor_." But
+Toads that had hid themselves would have been torpid during the winter
+months; and thus we have a sufficient proof that a natural condition of
+body had been by some means prevented. The experiment would be much more
+fair to the Toad, and much more conclusive to me, if the animal were
+inclosed during the depth of its winter-sleep, care being taken to
+handle it as little as possible.
+
+As it was, however, _most of the Toads_ inclosed in the limestone
+_survived upwards of thirteen months_. This surely is a very remarkable
+fact. Take the case of No. 9. Here was a Toad, nearly full grown, which
+had been shut up in a stone cell, covered with a plate of glass
+carefully luted down all round, so as to exclude air, buried under three
+feet of earth, so as to exclude the smallest gleam of light; yet, at the
+expiration of thirteen months, the cell being examined in winter, when
+normally all Toads ought to be sound asleep, this Toad was wide awake,
+not in the least emaciated, but so thriving in its strange dungeon as
+actually to have made 128 grains of flesh! to have actually increased in
+weight at the rate of 12-1/2 per cent.!
+
+Dr Buckland says, "It is probable there was some aperture in the luting
+by which small insects found admission." But this is altogether a
+_petitio principii_: it absolutely begs the question at issue. Are not
+these insects entirely gratuitous? The luting was, of course, carefully
+laid on: there could be no drying to cause contraction, buried as it was
+in the earth; the glass was uninjured; no orifice was detected; and yet,
+forsooth, it must be assumed that "small insects found admission." Then,
+too, consider the problem. It is not the possibility that a
+microscopically minute insect or two may have managed in some
+inscrutable way to insinuate themselves, but insects sufficient to
+support this large Toad for thirteen months, and to make it at the end
+of that time 128 grains heavier than it was when first inclosed! There
+is the fact, as stated by this careful observer; and I am sure his
+hypothesis of intrusive insects will not account for it.
+
+I might make similar remarks on No. 5. The glass was "_slightly_
+cracked." No insects were discovered in it; nor is any perceptible
+orifice alluded to; yet this Toad had increased from 1185 grains to 1265
+grains. The "_slight_ crack" in the glass makes this example less
+remarkable at first sight than the other; but in reality it is equally
+inscrutable. Insects, however minute, do not pass through glass merely
+cracked; but the requirement is the admission of insects enough to make
+an increase of flesh of 80 grains' weight, besides maintaining the waste
+of the Toad during thirteen months. Where, in each case, was the
+excrement corresponding to such an augmentation? An insect-diet, as
+every naturalist knows, leaves a very considerable residuum of
+indigestible, incorruptible, chitinous matter: the f{oe}cal remains of
+an insect-diet sufficient to keep an adult Toad in condition for
+thirteen months, and leave him 128 grains heavier than at first, would
+form no inconsiderable or inconspicuous mass. Yet the silence of the
+observer on so conclusive an evidence proves that it was utterly
+wanting.
+
+The Toads which survived longest were the largest specimens. Perhaps it
+requires a condition of peculiar vigour to bear the incarceration. Even
+these were all dead before two years had elapsed. But then it must be
+remembered that they had been disturbed: they had been taken out,
+handled, and weighed, and replaced; and during the second year they had
+been examined "several times." Air, it is true, was not admitted in
+these later examinations; but _light was_; and it may be that the
+absence of all external stimulus (and light is a potent one) is
+indispensable to the prolongation of vitality under conditions so
+abnormal.
+
+No one supposes that incarceration in solid rock is an ordinary event in
+the life of even a Toad. However it occur,--granting that it may
+occur,--it must surely be a rare accident happening to an individual
+here and there, from which millions of Toads are exempt. We may
+reasonably suppose, too, that not one in a hundred so accidentally
+incarcerated would survive, the accident in the majority of cases
+proving fatal. If we bear in mind these not unreasonable presumptions,
+we shall not hastily decide that all the recorded discoveries of Toads
+immured are proved false and impossible, because we have not succeeded
+in finding a case of longevity out of four-and-twenty Toads, many of
+them little ones, which we took and violently immured at our pleasure.
+
+To my own mind these interesting experiments are far more corroborative
+than contradictory of the popular belief. The amazing fact remains, that
+an adult vertebrate air-breathing animal can certainly live, and
+increase in size, shut up in a stone cell, debarred from light and air
+and food, for a period between one and two years! What have we parallel
+to this in the whole range of natural history? _C'est le premier pas qui
+coûte._ After the first year has passed so auspiciously, why may not a
+second? a third? and so indefinitely--under circumstances peculiarly
+favouring? It is by no means certain that there are not such favouring
+circumstances, because we cannot precisely predicate what they are. And
+if we admit the reported cases to be--only a few of them--true, we
+cannot evade the conclusion, that the longevity of these imprisoned
+Toads must be immense, incalculable. For a Toad that emerges when a
+block of stone is split up, from a matrix that fits (say somewhat
+roughly, if you please) its form and size, must have been there ever
+since the stone was in a soft state, how long soever that may have
+been. Nor does it in the least affect the question, that there may have
+been some minute crack in the matrix through which insects, sufficient
+to support life, entered. This circumstance, I say, if satisfactorily
+proved, would not touch the question of time. And surely it is a marvel
+of colossal magnitude that a vertebrate animal should have maintained
+its life shut up in a mass of stone ever since the deposition of the
+matter in a solid form, even though we be able to eliminate from it the
+element of total abstinence during the entire period.
+
+But facts are upon record which prove the possibility of Toads surviving
+a protracted incarceration, effected by man, and therefore without their
+will. In 1809, on opening a gap in a wall at Bamborough, in
+Northumberland, for the passage of carts, a Toad, which had been
+incarcerated in the centre of a wall, was found alive, and set at
+liberty. A mason, named George Wilson, when building this wall, sixteen
+years before, had wantonly immured the animal, in a close cavity formed
+of lime and stone, just sufficient to contain it, and which he plastered
+so closely as seemingly to prevent the admission of air. When
+discovered, it seemed at first, as must naturally be supposed, in a very
+torpid state; but it soon recovered animation and activity, and, as if
+sensible of the blessings of freedom, made its way to a collection of
+stones, and disappeared.[107]
+
+Mr F. W. L. Ross of Broadway House, near Topsham, an acute and
+experienced naturalist, narrates the following circumstances:--"In the
+year 1821, I was residing in the country, and in my court-yard was a set
+of stone steps for mounting on horseback. These being useless to me, I
+desired they might be removed. On taking them down, the lowest step, a
+coarse red conglomerate, measuring about three feet in length, ten
+inches in depth, and about fourteen in width, was raised by a heavy bar.
+It had been well bedded in mortar, in which, while soft, a Toad had been
+evidently placed, as there was no appearance of any way by which it
+could have found ingress or egress, the mould or cast being as perfect
+as if taken in plaster. On the removal of the stone, the Toad remained
+torpid for a few minutes, when it seemed to revive, and then crept out.
+From the owners of the property I ascertained that the steps had been
+placed there forty-five years before, and, to the best of their
+knowledge, had never been moved.
+
+"The second account is from a clergyman, and originated in my informing
+him of the above. He caused a pit to be dug in his garden, six feet
+deep; at the bottom was laid a slate, on which a full-sized Toad was
+placed, with an inverted flower-pot over it. The hole and edges were
+well luted with clay; the pit was then filled in, and on that day twelve
+months reopened, when the Toad was found alive, and as well as when
+inclosed in its living tomb. If, therefore, it could exist in such a
+state for twelve months, it is not impossible that it might do so for a
+much longer period."[108]
+
+These curious facts derive confirmation and augmented interest from
+some apparently parallel conditions observed of other animals, widely
+removed in the organic scale from the Reptilia, and that on both sides.
+Some glimpses of an indefinitely protracted torpidity in Wasps are given
+to us in a communication from an eminent entomologist, Mr G. Wailes of
+Newcastle, to the Entomological Society of London, and published in
+their "Proceedings" of March 5, 1860. These Rip Van Winkles of the
+insect race choose, it seems, the tops of loftiest mountains for going
+to their long sleep. Who knows what might be found if a clever
+insect-hunter were to go stone-turning on the peaks of Ararat? Read the
+following, young enterprising entomologists! and set out.
+
+"It is very evident that we have a great deal yet to learn about the
+Social Wasps, and therefore the following remarks as to _Vespa vulgaris_
+may be interesting. Ever since 1829 I have, at intervals, searched the
+summit of Skiddaw (3022 feet) for specimens of _Leistus montanus_, and
+on every occasion have taken out from underneath the loose fragments of
+the slate perfectly torpid females of this Wasp, with the wings, legs,
+antennæ, &c., precisely in the state in which we find them during winter
+in the lower lands. Not unfrequently I have met with dead specimens
+which seemed to have perished in the same dormant state, and been there
+for a year or two at least. Mr Smith, in his catalogue of the British
+Vespadæ, under this species, states that Mr Wollaston found the female
+abundant under stones on the extreme summit of Gribon Oernant, near
+Llangollen, in September 1854, adding, 'probably hybernating for the
+winter,' but had evidently forgotten my writing to him on the subject.
+My visits to the mountain have extended from the latter end of June to
+the latter end of August, and therefore it necessarily follows that
+either these specimens of the female Wasp were those of the previous
+year, or that this sex appears much earlier in the season than has
+hitherto been supposed. But in either case the question arises, why are
+they torpid during these the hottest months of the year? It is quite
+true that the temperature of the altitude is below that of the plains,
+especially during the night, and I have myself been enveloped in falling
+sleet and snow more than once, both in June and August, though, as a
+rule, the Cumberland mountains seldom have a thick covering of snow, and
+often only a few inches once or twice in the winter. Still, the
+temperature of ordinary mountains always approaches that of the plains
+in summer, and, one would have expected, was in Britain at least
+sufficiently high to rouse these Wasps in their winter quarters, when
+every other insect under the same stones was active and stirring, and
+the air so warm and bright that _Larentia salicata_ and _Crambus
+furcatillus_ were sporting in the mid-day sun above them. Such, however,
+was not the case, and when turned out of their snug, dry quarters, they
+allowed themselves to be handled and put into pill-boxes just as they do
+in winter. We may therefore ask, when are these sleepers to awake? for
+as the ground temperature reaches its maximum during the months in which
+I have met with them, and Mr Wollaston has found them in a similar
+state in September, when a declining temperature has set in, we must
+conclude that for that year all prospect of their subsequent issue from
+their retreats through the influence of heat is barred. Can this be
+called hybernation, as it is usually understood? Or is there some other
+cause of torpidity besides mere cold? Or are we to conclude that when
+once put to sleep in these lofty regions, they wake no more unless
+kindly removed into a milder clime by a stray entomologist, when, as I
+have always noticed, they become as active as those of the warm
+lowlands?"[109]
+
+Mr Westwood, in the conversation that ensued on this communication,
+suggested that these female Wasps had been the founders of colonies in
+the preceding spring, and, after performing their maternal duties, had
+retired to die in the situations in which they were found by Mr Wailes.
+But with all due deference to so great an authority, is not this another
+example of those "explanations" which are thrown off without a due
+consideration of the exigencies of the case in hand--explanations which
+really explain nothing? For though this hypothesis might account for
+Wasps found under such conditions in June, it will not do for the
+September findings. Insects that had performed the end of their
+existence and had retired to die in June, would not live through July
+and August, and be found alive in September. Besides, Mr Wailes
+distinctly affirms, that _they always become active_ when removed to a
+milder clime, which is proof positive that they had not retired to die.
+Mr Smith's hypothesis, that they are "probably hybernating for the
+winter," will not account for their torpidity in June and July. Mr
+Westwood's hypothesis, that they are moribund individuals after their
+spring work, will not explain their vitality till September, and their
+revivification when removed.
+
+But these are insects; and the difference between vertebrate and
+invertebrate life is so vast that, after all, the possibilities of the
+latter may not have much bearing on those of the former. What, then,
+shall we say to an indefinite prolongation of life under like dreary
+conditions in--_Bats_? _Bats_, which are true vertebrata; and no
+amphibia grovelling at the bottom of the vertebrate ladder, where the
+dim flame of spinal life is just glimmering in the socket, but
+_Mammalia_, and those of nearly the highest type;--_Bats_, which Linnæus
+associated with _Homo sapiens_ himself in his first Order _Primates_!
+Can _these_ live for years shut up from light and food and air? these
+great-chested, well-lunged, warm-blooded, aerial quadrupeds?
+"Impossible! I would not believe it, if----" Stay! make no rash vows;
+but read, weigh, and judge. Remember,--both the following statements are
+by clergymen, each of whom is a well-known, careful, experienced
+naturalist.
+
+"A very curious instance," says Mr Pemberton Bartlett, "of the great
+length of time that a Bat can remain in a state of torpidity, came under
+my notice about three weeks since; and as I believe instances of the
+kind are but rarely observed, perhaps an account of the facts of the
+case may not prove uninteresting. Upon opening a vault in Bishopsbourne
+church, the bricklayer observed a large Bat clinging to the wall.
+Thinking it a curious thing to find a Bat in a vault which he knew had
+not been opened for twenty years, in the evening he sent it to me by his
+boy, who, when he arrived at the door, was tempted to open the basket to
+look at the inmate, when most unfortunately it made its escape, and
+flitted into a leaden spout which was placed against the house, from
+whence I was unable to recover it. Upon learning the particulars of its
+discovery, I made a careful search about the vault, but was unable to
+trace any hole or crack through which the smallest Bat could have crept.
+The bricklayer also informed me that there was no place where a Bat
+could have entered, in the part where he opened the vault, as the
+entrance was bricked up, and over the steps was a slab which fitted
+close. If, indeed, it had been possible for a Bat to have got between
+this, the brickwork at the entrance would most effectually have
+prevented it from finding an asylum in the vault. The natural inference
+therefore is, that the Bat must have got into the vault when it was last
+opened, and consequently had been entombed since the year 1823! It was
+most unfortunate that I was unable to decide what species it was; but,
+from the bricklayer's description, I think it must have been
+_Vespertilio Pipistrellus_. When first taken out of the vault it was in
+a torpid state, but the effects of the air may be imagined from its
+taking the first opportunity to escape in the evening; it flew,
+however, far more 'leaden winged' than ever bats are wont to fly, which
+was by no means marvellous, when we consider it had been out of practice
+for twenty-one years."[110]
+
+The next account, by the Rev. A. C. Smith, of Yatesbury Rectory, Calne,
+is one of peculiar interest. The narrator actually witnessed the
+discovery. His investigation was pursued with the cautious care, and his
+statement is made with the precision, which belong to science; and the
+details are so full, and his remarks so appropriate, that though the
+story is somewhat long, I cannot bring myself to abridge it. It bears
+date, Feb. 18, 1854. Of course, the reader will note how these two
+narratives yield each other mutual corroboration.
+
+"While effecting some repairs in the pavement of the aisle of my church,
+a short time since, the masons found it necessary to remove some bricks
+from the solid wall of an adjacent vault, in order the better to adjust
+an iron bar intended to support the superincumbent flagstone. It seems
+that one or two bricks being removed, and several large and handsome
+coffins being exposed to view, curiosity tempted one of the workmen to
+reach his hand in with a lighted candle, in order to see the names and
+dates on the coffins; the result of which investigation shewed that the
+last coffin was placed there in 1748. During this search I entered the
+church, just in time to witness the extreme surprise, and the no little
+consternation, of the man, whose hand had suddenly come in contact with
+a Bat, suspended from the roof of the vault. The Bat was soon brought
+to light; and, in its half-torpid state, placed in my hand. We then
+proceeded to make a very minute examination of this vault with a lighted
+candle, in order to discover, if possible, by what means the Bat could
+have penetrated to its resting-place: but, although our search was very
+careful and long continued, we failed to discover the smallest crack or
+crevice in which a pin could be thrust. The roof was an arch of brick,
+surmounted by flagstones; the sides were solid masonry, bearing no
+appearance internally of decay; and the position of the vault was very
+near the centre of the church: so that I was much puzzled to account for
+the occurrence of the Bat in a place apparently hermetically sealed for
+above a hundred years; and knew not how to combat the opinion of the
+workmen, that it must have been entombed there alive since the year
+1748.
+
+"I now proceeded to institute inquiries regarding the vault in which the
+Bat was found. The marble monument above, recorded the names of an old
+Wiltshire family long since extinct in these parts, and the dates of the
+three coffins below, corroborating the statement of the brass plate,
+that the individual last buried died A.D. 1748. Several old men in the
+parish remembered an adjacent vault being opened, when they were boys,
+nearly sixty years since: but all positively denied that the vault in
+question had ever been opened in their lives: and one, a very old man,
+formerly clerk, and whose then residence abutted on the churchyard, was
+very emphatic on this point. So that I am constrained to believe that
+the vault has remained untouched since it received its last occupant, a
+hundred and six years ago: and I am the more convinced of this from the
+excessive freshness of the last coffin, the brass plate and nails of
+which are as bright, and its whole appearance as new, as if it had been
+placed there but yesterday, which would not have been the case had the
+external air been admitted at any time since the vault was closed.
+
+"During the time of the examination of the vault, the Bat was held in my
+hand, and above an hour must have elapsed since its capture before I was
+enabled to take it to the Rectory, and place it under an inverted glass:
+by this time the warmth of my hand had considerably revived it, and it
+wandered round its prison, snuffing about with its curious nose, and
+standing up, and trying to hook itself on to the smooth glass, which
+baffled all its attempts. As it obstinately refused to eat small pieces
+of chopped meat, with which I tempted it to break its fast, which may
+have continued a hundred and six years, and after which I should have
+imagined it to be ravenous; and as it lay on its side, apparently in a
+dying state, humanity urged me to give it a chance of life, by restoring
+it to liberty, and I accordingly carried it to the garden, where I
+placed it upon the turf, and watched its movements. At first it clung to
+the blades of grass, and shivered a good deal; presently it fluttered
+along the ground; soon it rose upon the wing, though in an awkward
+manner, and although it sank several times, as if about to fall to the
+ground, and as if it had not found the use of its wings, (which might
+have been a little stiff for want of exercise, if they had been closed
+above a hundred years), it passed behind a clump of trees and I saw it
+no more; and then I began to regret, when too late, that I had not made
+more efforts to keep it alive and watch its recovery. I know little of
+the different species of Bats, but, from its diminutive size, and
+extremely long ears, I should imagine it to be the _Vespertilio auritus_
+of Gilbert White.
+
+"Now, if the hypothesis be deemed absurd that the Bat had been immured
+in the vault since 1748, how then are we to account for its presence
+there? For although I am aware that a Bat, and especially one of the
+smallest species, would creep through a very small crack or crevice, yet
+the evidence of my own senses, after a very close examination, convinces
+me that not even the smallest crack existed between the bricks of the
+vault; and I think the evidence no less conclusive that the vault has
+remained untouched for a great number of years. Again, notwithstanding
+the disbelief of some, it is very generally acknowledged that Toads do
+occasionally exist in blocks of stone and in timber; and the material in
+which they are inclosed having gradually formed around them, they must
+necessarily have been entombed, in some well-authenticated cases, for a
+very long period of time. Why then, I ask, should we deny that to be
+possible with the Bat, which we so readily concede to be an occurrence
+by no means unusual with the Toad? I own, that, taking all these things
+into account, and finding no other possible solution for the mystery, I
+came to the conclusion, after mature deliberation, that the Bat had
+been entombed in the vault since it last was opened in the year 1748.
+That impression has increased upon longer reflection, and has been
+further strengthened almost into certainty, from the perusal of a very
+interesting and very similar case, recorded by the Rev. J. P. Bartlett
+in an early volume of the _Zoologist_ (_Zool._, 613.)[111] That
+gentleman states, that on opening a vault which had been closed for
+twenty-one years, a Bat was discovered in a torpid state; that he
+himself made a very careful search about the vault, and was unable to
+discover any crack through which the smallest Bat could have crept; that
+the vault was surrounded with brickwork; the entrance was bricked up,
+and over the steps was placed a close-fitting slab; and that he could
+come to no other conclusion than that the Bat had been inclosed there
+for twenty-one years. I confess that I quite agree in opinion with Mr
+Bartlett, and believe that the Bat discovered in the vault in
+Bishopsbourne church crept in on the occasion of its last opening: and
+so in the like manner with the one found in my own church; for although
+there is unquestionably a vast difference between twenty-one and a
+hundred and six years, yet, if we can establish the fact of a Bat
+remaining torpid for the shorter period, I find no difficulty in
+understanding that a sleep which would endure so long as that did, might
+be protracted to a far longer period. It is most probable that many will
+differ from me in opinion, and perhaps some will ridicule the idea: if
+they can discover any other probable or even possible means of
+accounting for the presence of the Bat in the vault, exclusive of a
+crack or chink in it, or of its having been opened within the memory of
+living man, both of which views I firmly oppose, I shall feel greatly
+obliged by their stating their opinions in the _Zoologist_: meanwhile I
+hold to my belief, that the Bat had been there for not less than _one
+hundred and six years_!"[112]
+
+[97] Bell's _Brit. Rept._ (1839), 112.
+
+[98] _Zoologist_, 614.
+
+[99] _Zool._, 1879.
+
+[100] _Zool._, 3632.
+
+[101] _Zool._, 3808.
+
+[102] _Zool._, 3848.
+
+[103] _Zool._, 3904.
+
+[104] _Zool._, 5959.
+
+[105] _Zool._, 6537.
+
+[106] _Ibid._, 6565.
+
+[107] Richardson's _Borderer's Table Book_, iii. 92.
+
+[108] _Zool._, 3266.
+
+[109] _Zool._, 6941.
+
+[110] _Zool._, 613.
+
+[111] See page 183, _ante_.
+
+[112] _Zool._, 4245.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWS.
+
+
+What becomes of our swallows in the winter? They migrate, you reply,
+to a warmer parallel. That is true, no doubt; though there have not
+been wanting naturalists of respectable name who have maintained that
+none of them ever leave the country. No doubt, however, they do migrate;
+but is this true of the entire body, or only of a portion? That the
+whole hirundinal population--swifts, swallows, martins, and
+bank-martins--disappear from view, every one knows; for who ever saw any
+of the tribe wheeling and traversing through the sky in the frosts of
+January or February? But so do the Bats and the Butterflies. Now, the
+Bats hybernate with us, concealing themselves in crevices, caves, hollow
+trees, unused buildings, and similar places; so do the house-flies; so
+do the butterflies, some species at least, and many other insects. Do
+the Swallows hybernate? That they do is a very old opinion; and those
+homely but wide-spread rhymes that record so many accepted facts in
+popular natural history, record _this_ as a fact. Our rustic children
+sing--
+
+      "The bat, the bee, the butterfly,
+        The cuckoo and the swallow,
+      The corn-crake and the wheat-ear,
+        They all sleep in the hollow."
+
+Local variations--what we may call _lectiones variæ_--exist; for
+example, in the south-east of our island, the third line runs,
+
+      "The corn-crake and the _nightingale_."
+
+In the north of Europe an opinion has long prevailed that the Swallows
+not only hybernate in a state of torpidity, but, like the frogs and
+toads, retire to the bottoms of pools to spend that dreary season. In
+Berger's "Calendar of Flora," published in the _Am{oe}nitates
+Academicæ_, vol. iv., he puts down as the phenomenon proper to the 22d
+of September, "_Hirundo submergitur_," talking, as Gilbert White
+remarks, as familiarly of the Swallows going under water, as he would of
+his poultry going to roost at sunset. Klein, and even Linnæus himself,
+adopted this strange opinion, which was considered to rest upon good
+testimony, and that not only of the illiterate and unobservant.
+Etmuller, who was Professor of Anatomy and Botany at Leipsig in the
+middle of the seventeenth century, says, "I remember to have found more
+than a bushel would hold of Swallows closely clustered among the reeds
+of a fish-pond under the ice, all of them to appearance dead, but with
+the heart still pulsating." And Derham, the acute author of
+"Physico-theology," citing this statement, adds, "We had at a meeting of
+the Royal Society, February 12, 1713, a further confirmation of Swallows
+retiring under water in the winter from Dr Colas, a person very curious
+in these matters, who, speaking of their way of fishing in the northern
+parts by breaking holes and drawing their nets under the ice, saith,
+that he saw sixteen Swallows so drawn out of the Lake of Lamrodt, and
+about thirty out of the king's great pond in Rosneilen; and that at
+Schlehitten, near a house of the Earl of Dohna, he saw two Swallows just
+come out of the waters, that could, scarcely stand, being very wet and
+weak, with their wings hanging on the ground; and that he observed the
+Swallows to be often weak for some days after their appearance."[113]
+
+The Academy of Upsal received the winter submersion of the Swallows as
+an undoubted fact, and even Cuvier admits as "well authenticated, that
+they fall into a lethargic state during winter, and even that they pass
+that season at the bottom of marshy waters."[114] One would think that a
+zoological statement which Linnæus and Cuvier accepted, must be fact;
+yet it remains utterly improbable. In Germany, a reward of an equal
+weight in silver was publicly offered to any one who should produce
+Swallows found under water, but we are assured that no one was found to
+claim the money.
+
+We may safely dismiss the notion of submersion till better
+authenticated; but that of torpidity is still open to examination.
+Statements to the effect that quantities of Swallows in a death-like
+condition have been found in hollow trees, holes in cliffs, banks, &c.,
+are even more common than those of their submersion; and they seem to
+obtain credence in all the temperate or cold regions where the Swallows
+are found. It is hard to think that a persuasion so widely diffused can
+be wholly groundless.
+
+Peter Collinson, the friend and correspondent of Linnæus, communicated
+to the Royal Society the following statement by M. Achard:--"In the
+latter end of March I took my passage down the Rhine to Rotterdam. A
+little below Basel, the south bank of the river was very high and steep,
+of a sandy soil, sixty or eighty feet above the water.
+
+"I was surprised at seeing, near the top of the cliff, some boys tied to
+ropes, hanging down doing something. The singularity of these
+adventurous boys, and the business they so daringly attempted, made us
+stop our navigation, to inquire into the meaning of it. The waterman
+told us they were reaching the holes in the cliffs for Swallows or
+Martins, which took refuge in them, and remained there all the winter,
+until warm weather, and then they came abroad.
+
+"The boys being let down by their comrades to the holes, put in a long
+rammer, with a screw at the end, such as is used to unload guns, and,
+twisting it about, drew out the birds. For a trifle I procured some of
+them. When I first had them, they seemed stiff and lifeless; I put one
+of them in my bosom, between my skin and shirt, and laid another on a
+board, the sun shining full and warm upon it; and one or two of my
+companions did the like. That in my bosom revived in about a quarter of
+an hour; feeling it move, I took it out to look at it; but perceiving it
+not sufficiently come to itself, I put it in again; in about another
+quarter, feeling it flutter pretty briskly, I took it out, and admired
+it. Being now perfectly recovered, before I was aware, it took its
+flight; the covering of the boat prevented me from seeing where it went.
+The bird on the board, though exposed to a full sun, yet, I presume from
+a chilliness of the air, did not revive so as to be able to fly."[115]
+
+On this account I may observe that Collinson would hardly have been the
+medium of this communication, unless he had been satisfied of the
+probity of his correspondent. The time was "the latter end of March," a
+fortnight at least before the arrival of the Sand Martin--the earliest
+of our migrants; and the whole enterprise of the boys, and the
+familiarity of the waterman with the circumstance, as well as their
+assertions, shew that they, at least, had no doubt about this being a
+case of hybernation. Yet the repeated exploration of the Sand Martin's
+burrows in this country, in winter, has produced no birds.
+
+White of Selborne, who was very much interested in the solution of this
+question, mentions two instances--both, however, on hearsay evidence. A
+clergyman assured him that, when he was a boy, some workmen, in pulling
+down the battlements of a tower, early in spring, found two or three
+Swifts _among the rubbish_, which appeared dead, but revived in the
+warmth. The other account was that of the fall of a portion of the cliff
+near Brighton in winter, when many persons found Swallows among the
+rubbish; but here even White's informant did not see the birds, but was
+merely told of them.[116]
+
+Bishop Stanley, in his "Familiar History of Birds," has collected some
+stories which appear circumstantial enough, if we could be quite sure
+they were authentic; on which point the good bishop seems to give the
+weight of his own character, since he observes that they are "cases
+which have come to our knowledge, on the most respectable authority."
+
+"On the 16th of November 1826, a gentleman residing near Loch Awe, in
+Scotland, having occasion to examine an out-house, used as a cart-shed,
+saw an unusual appearance upon one of the rafters which crossed and
+supported the thatched roof. Upon mounting a ladder, he found to his
+astonishment that this was a group of Chimney-swallows (_Hirundo
+rustica_) which had taken up their winter quarters in this exposed
+situation. The group consisted of five, completely torpid: and none of
+the tribe to which they belonged had been seen for five or six weeks
+previously: he took them in his hand, as they lay closely and coldly
+huddled together, and conveyed them to his house, in order to exhibit
+them as objects of curiosity to the other members of his family. For
+some time they remained to all appearance lifeless; but the temperature
+of the apartment into which they were carried being considerably raised
+by a good turf fire, they gradually evinced symptoms of reanimation; and
+in less than a quarter of an hour, finding that they were rather rudely
+handled, all of them recovered, so as to fly impatiently round the room,
+in search of some opening by which they might escape. The window was
+thrown up, and they soon found their way into the fields, and were never
+seen again. A similar circumstance, though, from the place of its
+discovery it must refer probably to Sand Martins, was related by a
+gentleman who found two Swallows in a sand-bank at Newton, near
+Stirling, quite dormant.
+
+"Again, about half-a-dozen Swallows were found a few years ago, in a
+torpid state, in the trunk of a hollow tree, by a countryman, who
+brought them to a respectable person, by whom they were deposited in a
+desk, where they remained forgotten till the following spring, when, one
+morning, on hearing a noise, he opened the desk, and found one of them
+fluttering about: the others also began to shew signs of life, and upon
+being placed out of doors in the sun, speedily arranged their plumage,
+took wing, and disappeared.
+
+"On the 2d of November 1829, at Loch Ransa, in the island of Arran, a
+man, while digging in a place where a pond had been lately drained off,
+discovered two Swallows in a state of torpor; on placing them near the
+fire, they recovered. One unfortunately escaped, but the other was kept
+by the man, for the purpose of shewing it to some scientific persons."
+
+In North America there is a curious species of Swift, (_Acanthylis
+pelasgia_,) which associates in immense flocks to roost in chimneys and
+hollow trees. It is the popular belief that these birds spend the winter
+in a torpid condition in their roosting trees. Williams, in his "History
+of Vermont," speaks of a large hollow elm which had been for many years
+appropriated to this purpose. A farmer resident close to the tree was
+persuaded that it was the winter dwelling-place of the Swifts, and
+avoided felling it on that account. About the 1st of May, he always saw
+them come out of it in large numbers, about the middle of the day, and
+in a short time return. Then, as the weather grew warmer, they came
+forth in increased multitudes in the morning, and did not return till
+night. A similar account was given of another tree: the first appearance
+of the Swifts in spring was always their emergence from its hollow
+trunk, and their last, in September, was their ingress. Yet Wilson, the
+great ornithologist of America, argues, not without some heat, yet with
+considerable force, that such a belief is erroneous. Erroneous,
+certainly, the supposition that the whole body of the Chimney-swifts so
+hybernate; but whether a few do or do not, his arguments do not quite
+conclude.
+
+The rustic quatrain, quoted in the outset of this disquisition, mentions
+the Corncrake, as associated with the Swallow in this winter-sleep,--"in
+the hollow." It is curious that two modern instances are on record of
+hybernating Corncrakes, though this is certainly as migratory a species
+with us as the _Hirundinidæ_. A farmer at Aikerness in Orkney, about
+midwinter, in demolishing a mud-wall, found a Corncrake in the midst of
+it. It was apparently lifeless; but being fresh to the feel and smell,
+it was placed in the warmth. In a short time it began to move, and in a
+few hours was able to walk about, and lived for two days in the kitchen;
+when refusing all food, or rather, none that suited it being then
+obtainable, it died.[117]
+
+"The second case occurred at Monaghan, in Ireland, where a gentleman,
+having directed his labourers, in winter, to remove a large heap of
+manure, that had remained undisturbed for a great length of time,
+perceived a hole, which was supposed to have been made by rats; it
+penetrated to a great depth, but at its termination, instead of rats,
+three Corncrakes were discovered, as if placed there with the greatest
+care, not a feather being out of its place, and apparently lifeless. The
+birds on examination were, however, considered to be in a torpid state,
+and were placed near a fire in a warm room. In the course of a short
+time a tremulous motion was observed in one of their legs, and soon
+after a similar motion was noticed in the legs and wings of the whole,
+which at length extended itself to their whole bodies, and finally the
+birds were enabled to run and fly about the room."[118]
+
+Daines Barrington, the correspondent of Gilbert White and of Pennant,
+was a firm believer in the winter sleep of Swallows with us. He
+mentions, on the authority of Lord Belhaven, that numbers of Swallows
+had been found in old dry walls and in sandhills near his lordship's
+seat in East-Lothian; not once only, _but from year to year_, and that
+when they were exposed to the warmth, they revived. He says, however, he
+cannot determine the particular species.[119]
+
+The same naturalist mentions many other instances in which they have
+been reported to be found, but he cannot give his personal voucher for
+the truth of the statements.
+
+"As first in a decayed hollow tree, that was cut down near Dolgelly, in
+Merionethshire; secondly, in a cliff near Whitby, in Yorkshire, where,
+in digging out a fox, whole bushels of Swallows were found in a torpid
+condition; thirdly, the Rev. Mr Conway, of Lychton, Flintshire, a few
+years ago, between All Saints' and Christmas, on looking down an old
+lead mine in that county, observed numbers of Swallows clinging to the
+timbers of the shaft, seemingly asleep, and on flinging some gravel on
+them they just moved, but never attempted to fly or to change their
+place."[120]
+
+In some communications to the _Zoologist_ for 1845, by the late Mr F.
+Holme, of Oxford, I find the following statement:--"On the hybernation
+of this species (the House-swallow) I was told many years since, by old
+Wall, then keeper of the Kildare Street Museum, in Dublin, ... that
+after a heavy snow, in the winter of 1825-26, on going into the
+_mansarde_ to see whether the snow had melted through, he found four
+Chimney-swallows perched close together on a cross-beam, with their
+heads under their wings; but on approaching his hand to them they flew
+off, and escaped into the open air."[121]
+
+Again, Mr J. B. Ellman of Battel, says, "There is a farmer named Waters,
+residing at Catsfield, (adjoining parish,) who informs me he has
+frequently (some years ago) dug Swallows out of banks in winter, while
+widening the ditches in the brooks," &c.[122]
+
+It is unfortunate that most of these and similar discoveries were "some
+years ago;" and that, instead of increasing in frequency with the
+increase of scientific research and communication, they strangely become
+more rare. The same remark applies to the following statement: it is
+minute enough, and circumstantially precise; but, unfortunately, it was
+"fifteen years ago." The communicator is Edward Brown Fitton, Hastings,
+under date September 8, 1849:--
+
+"A labourer named William Joyce, who is now employed in excavating part
+of the East Hill for the foundation of a house, told me yesterday, that,
+in the month of December, about fifteen years ago, while he was working
+for Mr William Ranger, who had the contract for cutting away the 'White
+Rock,' which used to stand between this place and St Leonard's, the men
+found an immense quantity of Swallows in a cleft of the rock. The birds
+were clinging together in large 'clots,' and appeared to be dead, but
+were not frozen together, the weather being rather warm for the season,
+nor were they at all putrid or decayed. The men carried out at least
+_three railway-barrows_ full of birds, which were buried with the mould
+and rubbish from the cliff as it was wheeled away. Some people from the
+town carried away a few of the birds to 'make experiments with,' but
+Joyce never heard any more of them. He mentioned the names of four
+persons now in Hastings, who were then his fellow-labourers, and says,
+that forty or fifty of Mr Ranger's men were on the spot when the birds
+were found, and can confirm what he says, both as to the finding and the
+very great quantity of the birds. There are many crevices in the seaward
+surface of the cliffs about here, which apparently penetrate the cliff
+for several yards. The birds were found about ten feet from the surface
+of the rock facing the sea, and not very high up."[123]
+
+There is yet another class of facts to be adduced, which has an
+important bearing on the subject. At first sight, these facts appear
+less conclusive than the asserted discoveries of the birds, because less
+direct; but I am inclined to attach more value to them, because they are
+attested by so many and so unexceptionable witnesses. I mean the sight
+of Swallows at large in these islands during the winter months. Let us
+see some examples.
+
+White of Selborne records several cases: thus, in 1773, twenty or thirty
+House-martins were playing in the air all day on the 3d of
+November,[124] after having disappeared from the 22d of October. In
+1772, he saw three House-swallows gliding by on the sea-shore at
+Newhaven, on the 4th of November.[125] On another occasion, (the year
+not being recorded,) he saw, on a sunny morning, a House-martin flying,
+at Oxford, on the 20th of November.[126] On the 26th of November 1768,
+one of his neighbours saw a Martin hawking briskly after flies.[127] And
+a very respectable gentleman assured him that on a remarkably hot day,
+either in the last week in December or the first week in January, he
+espied three or four Swallows in the moulding of a window of Merton
+College, Oxford.[128]
+
+Colonel Montagu remarks that "there are a variety of instances of the
+Swallow and Martin having been seen flying in the months of November and
+December, roused probably from a state of torpidity by an unusual warmth
+of the air;"[129] and Captain H. W. Hadfield, commenting on this,
+affirms that he has "more than once had ocular proof of their presence
+during the winter months."[130] Yarrell gives examples of the late
+appearance of the Swift. One was seen by Mr Blackwall on the 20th of
+October 1815; a second in Perthshire on the 8th of November 1834; and a
+third in Devonshire, by the Rev. Mr Cornish, on the 27th November
+1835.[131] In considering these cases, it is needful to bear in mind
+that the Swift migrates from this country annually from the 1st to the
+15th of August.
+
+Mr C. R. Bree mentions the following case, which I record, not because
+it was particularly late, but because the state of the season, and some
+other circumstances which he remarks on are interesting:--"On the 25th
+of October 1848, some workmen being engaged on the roof of my house, I
+was surprised by the appearance of three Swallows flying about the men.
+I had not seen one since the beginning of the month. By the side of the
+edge of the gable-end of the house the plaster was broken away, forming
+a hole, which led under the roof. While watching the birds, which came
+occasionally quite close to my face, I saw first one, then another,
+alight upon the ledge of the gable-end, near the hole. Now, I thought, I
+am to settle the question of hybernation: but I was disappointed. Though
+I watched them for several hours--though I sent the workmen to another
+part of the house, yet, although they frequently settled about the hole,
+they never entered it. They were evidently young birds, and had been
+disturbed. One of them rested upon the chimney, and appeared weak and
+dull. I lost sight of them during the day; but the following morning,
+the weather being warm, I saw several flying about high up in the air.
+There is some mystery about these things. Why have these late
+appearances been more remarked this year than other years? How did the
+birds obtain food during the three weeks of bitter cold weather when
+they were not seen in October?"[132]
+
+On the 10th of December 1843, a specimen of the Swallow, _an adult bird,
+not a young of the season_, (an important circumstance,) in full plumage
+and good condition, was shot at Goole, in the West Riding, and was sent
+to Mr R. J. Bell, of Derby, a good ornithologist,[133] who records the
+fact. In 1852, that excellent naturalist, Mr Hewitson, of Oatlands, saw
+two Chimney-swallows at Eshar on the 18th of November, and on the 21st
+had four martins about his house.[134] In 1855, Mr E. Vernon Harcourt
+reports the occurrence of several Martins skimming about at Uckfield on
+the 23d of November; and on the 6th of December several Chimney-swallows
+about the house at Hastings.[135] In the same season flocks of Martins
+were hawking vigorously, in the vicinity of Penzance, to the 28th of
+November, as witnessed by Mr E. H. Rodd.[136] Captain Hadfield again,
+writing in 1856, gives extracts from his journals, whereby he records
+having seen Swallows and Martins as late as November 3, 1841, December
+2, 1842, November 13, 1852, November 22, 1853, November (about the
+middle) 1854, and November 24 (Swallows) and December 2 (Martins) 1855.
+Of the last-mentioned occurrence he gives the following interesting
+note:--"Dec. 2, 4 P.M. Observed eight Martins flying round the garden,
+and occasionally alighting on the perpendicular face of the wall of a
+house near my garden gate, to which they would cling for a few seconds,
+and then, dropping off, whirl round, returning to the same spot,
+seemingly quite unconscious of my presence and that of several others:
+they seemed bent on effecting an entrance under the eaves of the house,
+by a small opening they had discovered near a water-pipe that had been
+carried through the wall: they were, I believe, all young birds of the
+season, as they appeared small, their tails being also shorter than in
+the adults; they were weak on the wing, but that may have arisen from
+their being benumbed by the cold, the thermometer standing at 44° only
+at the above hour. There had been a bright sun during the greater part
+of the day, but I had observed a white frost in the morning. I conclude
+that these late birds were merely seeking a roosting-place for the
+night, and not a place of concealment for the winter, although I might
+have been excused, according to Cuvier, White, &c., had I thought they
+were taking up their winter quarters; but I have not sufficient faith in
+the theory to induce me to unslate a part of the roof to seek for them,
+which might be done, however, at a trifling cost, provided permission
+were obtained."[137]
+
+It is rather a pity that the observer had not confidence enough to
+induce him to make the investigation which he suggests.
+
+Mr William Bree mentions as many as fifteen or twenty Martins and
+Swallows sporting in the air near Temple Balsall on the 18th November
+1846, adding that he has frequently seen individuals much later, but
+never recollects to have seen so great a number together at that late
+period. And, finally, Mr J. Johnston, jun., reports that he saw, in the
+afternoon of 18th January 1837, three Swallows dipping and hawking as in
+summer, near Wakefield.[138]
+
+There is less evidence of the appearance of these birds before the
+ordinary time of arrival of the migrants. But White, when a boy,
+observed a Swallow for a whole day together on a sunny warm Shrove
+Tuesday, which day could not fall out later than the middle of March,
+and often happened early in February.[139] And Mr Samuel Gurney, jun.,
+together with several other persons, saw either a Martin or Swallow, on
+the 27th of March 1844.[140]
+
+If this last occurrence had stood alone, it would have been of slight
+importance; for Yarrell mentions a single Swallow as having been seen by
+a fisherman near the Eddystone as early as the 4th of April; and
+Sand-martins, even as far north as Carlisle, before the end of March. It
+is just possible that these may have been stragglers of the great army
+of migrants, arriving some ten or fifteen days before their time; but
+considering the whole great array of evidence, I rather believe that
+these too were hybernants, who had been prematurely awakened from
+torpidity by unusually warm days.
+
+The accounts of _Hirundines_ having been found in a somnolent state in
+winter may or may not be true; though the great number of such
+statements in various and distant countries makes the indiscriminate
+rejection of them even more difficult than the acceptance. But still
+there remains the undeniable fact that it is quite an ordinary thing for
+birds of this family, including all our four common species, to be seen
+with us through November and December, and occasionally in
+January;--that is, for two or three months after the great body of
+migrants have left the country. No one, I suppose, pretends that
+migration of Swallows takes place in December or January; therefore it
+is manifest that a certain number--more or fewer--remain. What becomes
+of them? We certainly see them only occasionally: where are they on the
+days on which they do not appear,--days extending to several consecutive
+weeks? If they had not been torpid during those weeks, if the more
+active functions of life had not been suspended, would they not
+certainly have been starved? But the specimen shot on the 10th December,
+and examined by Mr Bell, was in good condition, which is consistent with
+but one alternative; either it had been well fed throughout the
+preceding six weeks, or it had been hybernating. But the former
+supposition implies that it had been habitually on the wing during that
+period, as Swallows feed only on the wing; which could not have been the
+case without its being noticed and recorded.
+
+It is common to say that these occasional winter Swallows are the later
+broods of young, which, being too infantile to migrate, are compelled to
+linger in the country of their nativity, and becoming lethargic from the
+advancing cold, at length die before the spring. But when this
+hypothesis is looked at, it seems hardly tenable. In many of the
+instances recorded, the specimens seen even late into the winter, are
+represented as gaily and vigorously hawking for flies, or sweeping over
+the water as in summer. This does not look like poor deserted orphans
+starved with the cold, retiring to die; but birds in health, temporarily
+awakened from normal slumber by an unusual temperature, and instantly
+ready for a full use of their faculties. However, to settle the point by
+fact, Mr Bell distinctly states that his specimen of December 10th was
+"an adult bird, _not_ a young bird of the season."
+
+If it should be asked why they do not appear in January or February, as
+well as November and December, the answer is obvious. The winter's
+lethargy of hybernating warm-blooded vertebrates is much more readily
+interrupted in the earlier part of the season than in the middle and
+latter part. And this is natural; for the more intense cold of January
+benumbs and suspends the vital functions far more completely, and the
+_coma_ so superinduced is sufficiently deep to resist the counteracting
+influence of a few warm days, even though the temperature should be as
+high as on those earlier days that awakened them, or even higher.
+
+The aggregate evidence, then, seems to leave no room for reasonable
+doubt, that a certain number of our _Hirundinidæ_,--few, indeed, as
+compared with the vast migrant population, but still considerable,
+looked at _per se_,--for some reason or other, evade the task of a
+southward flight, and remain, becoming torpid, occasionally betrayed
+into a temporary activity, and resuming their active life, about the
+same time, or occasionally a little _before_ the time, of the arrival of
+their congeners from abroad. It is, however, desirable for the absolute
+settlement of the question, that specimens, actually discovered in a
+lethargic condition, should come under the observation of competent
+scientific naturalists, _open to conviction_, who would leave them _in
+situ_, keeping an eye on them from time to time till the return of warm
+weather in spring. It is not enough to take them into a warm room, and
+to shew that they revive in such circumstances: we want to know
+positively whether they will be resuscitated normally and naturally by
+the vernal warmth, and come forth spontaneously to sport, and wheel, and
+skim, and soar, and stoop, and hawk, and twitter,--among their travelled
+fellows. Who will undertake to decide the point in this manner? He will
+have achieved a name in science.
+
+[113] _Phys. Theol._, vii., Note _d_.
+
+[114] _Règne Anim._, (Griffith's Ed.,) vii. 61.
+
+[115] _Phil. Trans._, 1763.
+
+[116] _Letter_ x.
+
+[117] Stanley's _Fam. Hist. of Birds_, p. 263.
+
+[118] _Edin. Journ._, viii.
+
+[119] In Pennant's _Brit. Zool._
+
+[120] _Brit. Zool._, App.
+
+[121] _Zool._, 1136.
+
+[122] Ibid., 2302.
+
+[123] _Zool._, 2590.
+
+[124] _Letter_ xxxviii.
+
+[125] Ibid. xii.
+
+[126] Ibid. xi.
+
+[127] Ibid. xxxi.
+
+[128] _Letter_ xxiii.
+
+[129] _Orn. Dict._, Introd., xxvii.
+
+[130] _Zool._, 5364.
+
+[131] _Brit. Birds_, ii. 264.
+
+[132] _Zool._, 2455.
+
+[133] Ibid., 565.
+
+[134] Ibid., 3753.
+
+[135] _Zool._, 4945.
+
+[136] Ibid., 4945.
+
+[137] _Zool._, 4995.
+
+[138] Ibid. 1639.
+
+[139] _Letter_ xviii., 2d ser.
+
+[140] _Zool._, 565.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE CRESTED AND WATTLED SNAKE.
+
+
+About the middle of the last century there existed in Amsterdam a Museum
+of natural history, which, though accumulated by the zeal and industry
+of a private individual, far exceeded in extent and magnificence any
+collection then in the world. It had been gathered by Albert Seba, a
+wealthy apothecary in the Dutch East India Company's service, who
+fortunately published an elaborate description of its contents. This
+great work, "_Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri accurata
+Descriptio_,"--in four volumes folio, published from 1734 to 1765,--is
+even now remarkable for the accuracy and beauty of its copious
+engravings, which still are referred to as authorities, though the
+descriptions are devoid of scientific value. Many of these figures and
+descriptions, about whose reality no shadow of doubt exists, are those
+of creatures which are altogether unknown to modern science, and some of
+them are highly curious.
+
+Serpents seem to have been a special hobby of Seba's; and he has
+delineated a vast number of species. Among them are two[141] about which
+a singular interest hangs. They are of rather small size; the one pale
+yellow, marked with oval reddish spots, the other reddish, with five
+green transverse bands. The head in each case has a horny-pointed
+muzzle, and the cheeks are furnished with depending wattles of a
+coral-red hue.
+
+From the expressions of wonder with which Seba introduces his
+descriptions of these animals, it is evident that they were no ordinary
+forms. He does not know whether to call them Eels or Serpents, the
+critical characters, which in our day would instantly determine this
+point, being then scarcely heeded. He calls them "marine," but whether
+on any other evidence than the pendent processes of the cheeks, which he
+calls "fins," does not appear. But no fish known to naturalists will
+answer to these representations. The pointed head, indeed, resembles in
+some respects that of _Mur{oe}na_, but this genus of fishes is altogether
+destitute of pectoral fins, while the vertically-flattened tail, and the
+long dorsal and anal fins confluent around the extremity of the body in
+_Mur{oe}na_, are totally unlike these figures. These and all similar fishes
+are, moreover, destitute of visible scales; but in these the scaling is
+decidedly serpentine, and the second, in particular, has large
+symmetrical plates across the belly, while the head in both is shielded
+with broad plates like a Colubrine Snake. The tail is drawn out to a
+long conical point, without the slightest appearance of compression or
+of bordering fins. In one figure there is seen a little projecting point
+at the edge of the lower belly, which at first sight suggests the idea
+of the anal hook of a _Boa_, but which, by comparison with other
+figures, we discover to be intended to represent the projection of the
+pre-anal scale. The very minuteness of this character makes it valuable:
+its value was doubtless unheeded by the artist, who merely drew what he
+saw; it is, however, a very decisive mark of distinction between a
+serpent and a fish.
+
+Seba records that he had received these Serpents from the Island of St
+Domingo. This was at that time a flourishing French colony, and its
+natural productions were far better known to Europe than they now are.
+When I visited the neighbouring island of Jamaica in 1845-46, I heard
+accounts of a wonderful animal occasionally seen in the eastern
+districts of the island, which was reported as a Snake with a cock's
+comb and wattles, and which crowed like a cock. A good deal of mystery
+attached to this strange Serpent.
+
+It was appropriated to a very remarkable and peculiar character of
+scenery:--A wild mountain-region, formed of white limestone, abounding
+in narrow glens, bounded by abrupt precipices, and permeated by
+whispering streams that frequently pour in slender cascades over the
+rocks. The limestone rock rises in abrupt terraces, wall above wall, and
+its entire surface is most singularly honeycombed, "as if wrought by a
+graving tool into rough diamond-points," alternating with smooth and
+rounded holes of various sizes, from that of a hazel-nut upward. In many
+of these hollows lie the small land-shells of the country, bleached
+perfectly white, like the stone itself, of the genera _Helix_,
+_Cyclostoma_, _Helicina_, _Cylindrella_, _Achatina_, &c., many of them
+perfect, but many more in fragments. They exactly resemble fossil shells
+_in situ_, but the species are absolutely identical with those that
+crawl over the shrubs and trees in the same region. In very many cases
+the dead shells accurately fit the hollows in the rock, whose interior
+is impressed with the form and sculpturing of the shell in
+_intaglio_:--a most curious and interesting fact, as it points to the
+very recent formation of the region, the stone bearing evident tokens of
+having been in a plastic condition when the shells were enveloped in it.
+Out of the hollows of the rock, their roots fast grasping the
+sharp-edged projections and tooth-like points of stone, and twining
+through the tortuous cavities, and insinuating their fibrils into every
+minute hollow where water may lodge, grow many tall trees of various
+kinds, interlaced with climbers, and hung with festoons of _lianes_,
+that resemble long and twisted cords, thrown from one to another, or
+depending from the branches towards the ground. The noble Agave, or what
+we in England call the American Aloe, here throws out its broad, fleshy,
+spine-edged leaves, and lifts its tall flower-stalk loaded with the
+candelabra-like branches of bloom; and numerous thick _Cacti_, some
+erect and massive, others whip-like, long and trailing, give a peculiar
+aspect to the vegetation. Great tufts of _Orchide{oe}_,--the lovely
+_Broughtonia_, with its thick ovate leaves, and racemes of elegant
+crimson flowers, the _Brasavola_, with long leaves resembling
+porcupine-quills in form, and blossoms of virgin white, the _Oncidium_,
+with its yellow and red flowers, like a score of painted butterflies
+dancing in every breath, and many others,--crowd the forks or droop from
+the twisted boughs of the trees.
+
+This formation of honeycombed limestone is full of caverns, many of
+which lead into one another in chains, and which have invested the
+region with a sort of superstitious mystery. Runaway slaves and outlaws
+have availed themselves of the facilities which its ravines and
+inaccessible fastnesses afford, to defy capture; and during the
+rebellion of the Maroons, it attained a considerable notoriety. There is
+one estate about eight miles from Kingston, in the immediate vicinity of
+which the famous hero, Three-fingered Jack, made his head-quarters. It
+is a district of wild torrents and waterfalls of the most romantic
+character; "the imagination of no painter of theatrical spectacles can
+surpass the wild wonders of the mountain-hold of the _real_
+Three-fingered Jack. Part of the road by which you ascend the falls is a
+subterranean passage; and caverns are entered by simple crevices which
+seem mere chinks in the irregular surface of the rock, all which natural
+peculiarities account for the mysterious disappearances which the
+mountain hero was enabled to enact from his pursuers."
+
+It was at this spot I first heard reliable tidings of the strange
+Crested Snake. A medical gentleman of reputation informed me that he had
+seen, in 1829, a serpent of about four feet in length, but of unwonted
+thickness, dull ochry in colour with well-defined dark spots, having on
+its head a sort of pyramidal helmet, somewhat lobed at the summit, of a
+pale red hue. The animal, however, was dead, and decomposition was
+already setting in. He informed me that the negroes of the district were
+well acquainted with it; and that they represented it as making a noise,
+not unlike the crowing of a cock, and as being addicted to preying on
+poultry.
+
+Nor is it in Jamaica alone that the Crested Snake is known. In the
+island of St Domingo, whence Seba received his curious specimens, my
+friend Mr Hill heard reports of it. A Spanish gentleman whom he was
+visiting in Hayti, told him that he had seen it, and begged him to note
+it among the remarkable things of the country. It was in that far east
+of the island, known as the ancient Caciquedom of Higuey, where the
+Indians were of a more warlike disposition than their meek brethren of
+the centre and west, and where the cruelties perpetrated upon them by
+their Spanish invaders reached such a superhuman pitch of diabolism,
+that even Las Casas says he almost feared to repeat them. The limestone
+mountains are here of exactly the same description as those in Jamaica,
+and the scenery assumes exactly the same romantic character. My friend's
+Spanish informant had seen the serpent with mandibles like a bird, with
+a cock's crest, with scarlet lobes or wattles; and he described its
+habits,--perhaps rather from common fame than from personal
+observation,--as a frequenter of hen-roosts, into which it would thrust
+its head, and deceive the young chickens by its imitative physiognomy,
+and by its attempts to crow, like their own Chanticleer. "Il canta como
+un Gallo;" was the report in Hayti, just as in Jamaica.
+
+I was much interested in this mysterious reptile, and mentioned in the
+public papers my wish to possess a specimen. A gentleman of the
+vicinity, Mr Jasper Cargill, was so desirous to oblige me that he
+offered a sovereign for one; but though several persons were prompt to
+promise the capture, no example was forthcoming.
+
+After my return from Jamaica, the occurrence of two specimens found came
+under the notice of my friend, but neither of them was preserved. Mr
+Cargill had informed him that some years before, when visiting Skibo, in
+St George's, an estate of his father's, in descending the mountain-road,
+his attention was drawn to a snake of a dark hue, that erected itself
+from amid some fragments of limestone-rock that lay about. It was about
+_four feet long_, and unusually _thick-bodied_. His surprise was greatly
+increased on perceiving that it was _crested_, and that from the side of
+the cheeks depended some _red-coloured flaps_, like gills or wattles.
+After gazing at him intently some time, with its head well erect, it
+drew itself in, and disappeared among the fragmentary rocks.
+
+The son of this gentleman met with another specimen under the following
+circumstances, as detailed to me by my friend:--"It was, I think, on
+Easter Eve, the 30th of March last, [1850,] that some youngsters of the
+town came running to tell me of a curious snake, unlike any snake they
+had ever seen before, which young Cargill had shot, when out for a day's
+sport among the woodlands of a neighbouring penn. They described it as
+in all respects a serpent, but with a very curious shaped head, and with
+wattles on each side of its jaws. After taking it in hand and looking at
+it, they placed it in a hollow tree, intending to return for it when
+they should be coming home, but they had strolled from the place so far
+that it was inconvenient to retrace their steps when wearied with
+rambling; but they had lost no time in relating the adventure to me,
+knowing it would interest me much, particularly as young Cargill's
+father had thought it a snake similar to the one he had seen at Skibo,
+in St George's, or to the crested serpent for a specimen of which, when
+in St Thomas's in the East, he had offered the sum of twenty shillings.
+The youth that shot the snake fell ill on the following morning with
+fever, and could not go back to the woodlands to seek it, but he sent
+his younger brother who had been with him; but although he thought he
+rediscovered the tree in which his brother had placed it, he could not
+find the snake. He conjectured that the rats had devoured it in the
+night. When this adventure was related to me, another youth, Ulick
+Ramsay, a godson of mine, who came with the young Cargills to tell me of
+their discovery, informed me that not long previously, he had seen in
+the hand of the barrack-master-serjeant at the barracks in Spanish Town,
+a curious snake, which he, too, had shot among the rocks of a little
+line of eminences near the railway, about two miles out, called
+Craigallechie. It was a serpent with a curious shaped head, and
+projections on each side, which he likened to the fins of an eel, but
+said they were close up to the jaws. Here are, unquestionably, two of
+the same snakes with those of Seba's Thesaurus, taken near Spanish Town,
+and both about the honeycombed rocks that protrude through the plain of
+St Catherine's in detached ridges and cones and hummocks, being points
+of the greater lines of limestone, which have been covered by the
+detritus of the plains, leaving masses of the under-rocks here and there
+uncovered. These are the spots frequented, too, by the _Cyclura_; and
+are continuations of our Red Hills--a country that so much resembles the
+terraced cliffs and red-soil glens of Higuey.
+
+It is remarkable that I have heard nothing more of this serpent of
+renown, this true Basilisk, from that time till now; though I have no
+doubt my Jamaica friends, who had become much interested in the matter,
+would have communicated the specimen to me if any one had been obtained.
+There is, however, sufficient evidence to assume the existence of such a
+form in the greater Antilles, whether Seba's figures be identical with
+it or not.
+
+[141] _Op. cit._; vol. ii. pl. 40.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE DOUBTFUL.
+
+
+A very curious and unaccountable habit is attributed to some Reptiles,
+which, though asserted by many witnesses, at different times and in
+distant countries, has not yet received the general assent of men of
+science. White of Selborne, in one of his charming letters to Pennant,
+has the following note:--"Several intelligent folks assure me that they
+have seen the Viper open her mouth and admit her helpless young down her
+throat on sudden surprises, just as the female Opossum does her brood
+into the pouch under her belly, upon the like emergencies. Yet the
+London viper-catchers insist on it, to Mr Barrington, that no such thing
+ever happens."[142]
+
+The evidence of the London viper-catchers goes for no more than it is
+worth; those whom Mr Barrington applied to,--how many and of what
+experience I know not,--had not met with such a case. But negative
+evidence is of little weight against positive. At the same time, others
+of the same fraternity affirm the fact. There is, as Mr Martin observes,
+no physiological reason against the possibility of the young maintaining
+life for a brief period within the stomach of the parent. A swallowed
+frog has been heard, by Mr Bell, to cry several minutes after it had
+been swallowed by a snake; and the same excellent authority has seen
+another frog leap out of the mouth of a snake which had swallowed it,
+taking advantage of the fact that the latter gaped, as they frequently
+do, immediately after taking food.
+
+Mr Martin says he has conversed with several who had been assured by
+gamekeepers and gardeners that the swallowing of the young by vipers had
+been witnessed by them.[143] And Mr Blyth, a zoologist of established
+reputation, observes,--"I have been informed of this by so many credible
+eye-witnesses, that I cannot hesitate in yielding implicit credence to
+the fact. One man particularly, on whose word I fully rely, tells me
+that he has himself seen as many as thirteen young vipers thus enter the
+mouth of the parent, which he afterwards killed and opened for the
+purpose of counting them."[144]
+
+Mr E. Percival, writing to the _Zoologist_, under date "64
+Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, Oct. 17, 1848," narrates the following
+facts:--"When in Scotland, last autumn, I saw what at the time satisfied
+me that vipers really possessed this faculty, though the evidence was
+scarcely as conclusive as might have been wished. Walking along a sunny
+road, I saw a viper lying on the parapet. She had apparently just been
+killed by a blow from a stick. Five or six young ones, about four inches
+long, were wriggling about their murdered parent, and one was making its
+way out of her mouth, at the time when I approached. Whether this was
+the first time the young ones had seen the light, or whether they were
+only leaving a place of temporary refuge, I leave to more experienced
+observers than myself to determine."[145]
+
+This communication brought out the following from the late Mr John
+Wolley:--"Mr Percival's interesting note (_Zool._, 2305) on this subject
+reminds me of a very similar anecdote, told me several years ago by a
+gentleman who is an accurate observer, and who has had long experience
+in all kinds of sports. He one day shot a viper, and almost immediately
+afterwards it was surrounded by young ones, in what appeared to him the
+most mysterious manner. But here the grand link was wanting which Mr
+Percival has supplied,--the young ones were not seen to come out of
+their mother's mouth. I may be allowed to mention an anecdote, told me
+in 1842, by an illiterate shepherd of Hougham, near Dover: he met me
+catching vipers, and, on my entering into conversation with him, he
+volunteered--without any allusion of mine--to tell this curious story.
+One day his father came suddenly upon a viper surrounded by her young,
+she opened her mouth and they all ran down her throat; he killed her,
+and leaving her on the ground, propped her mouth open between two pieces
+of stick; presently the young ones crawled out: on the slightest alarm
+they retreated back again,--and this they did repeatedly for several
+days, during which time many people came to see it.[146] The young which
+White of Selborne cut out of the old female, and which immediately
+threw themselves into attitudes of defiance, had probably not then seen
+the daylight for the first time. Mr Bell, in a note in Bennett's edition
+of White's 'Selborne,' mentions the wide-spread belief in this alleged
+habit of the viper; but appears to consider the fact not proved.
+Accounts of similar habits in foreign viviparous snakes, common report,
+and, above all, Mr Percival's observation, leave no doubt on my mind
+about the matter."
+
+The most recent case on record that I have met with, is the following,
+communicated to the _Zoologist_[147] for last December, by the Rev.
+Henry Bond, of South Petherton:--
+
+"Walking in an orchard near Tyneham House, in Dorsetshire, I came upon
+an old adder basking in the sun, with her young around her; she was
+lying on some grass that had been long cut, and had become smooth and
+bleached by exposure to the weather. Alarmed by my approach, I
+distinctly saw the young ones run down their mother's throat. At that
+time I had never heard of the controversy respecting the fact, otherwise
+I should have been more anxious to have killed the adder, to prove the
+case. As it was, she escaped while I was more interested in the
+circumstance I witnessed than in her destruction."
+
+Exactly the same thing is told of the North American Rattlesnake. Hunter
+says, that when alarmed, the young ones, which are eight or ten in
+number, retreat into the mouth of the parent, and reappear on its
+giving a contractile muscular token that the danger is past.[148]
+
+M. Palisot de Beauvois asserts that he saw a large rattlesnake which he
+had disturbed in his walks immediately coil itself up and open its jaws,
+when in an instant five small ones that were lying by it rushed into its
+open mouth. He concealed himself, and watched the snake, and in a
+quarter of an hour saw her discharge them. He then approached a second
+time, when the young ones rushed into the parent's mouth more quickly
+than before, and the animal immediately moved off, and escaped. The
+phenomenon is said to have been observed in regard to some of the
+venomous snakes of India, but I cannot now refer to details.
+
+Confirmation of a reported fact is sometimes derived from collateral
+evidence, and such is not wanting in the present case. The phenomenon is
+not confined to serpents; it has been observed in their near relatives,
+the lizards. Mr Edward Newman, while guarding the subject with a
+philosophical caveat, furnishes his readers with the following highly
+interesting and germane statement:--"1st, My late lamented friend,
+William Christy, jun., found a fine specimen of the common scaly lizard
+with two young ones. Taking an interest in everything relating to
+Natural History, he put them into a small pocket vasculum to bring home;
+but when he next opened the vasculum the young ones had disappeared, and
+the belly of the parent was greatly distended; he concluded she had
+devoured her own offspring; at night the vasculum was laid on a table,
+and the lizard was therefore at rest: in the morning the young ones had
+reappeared, and the mother was as lean as at first. 2d, Mr Henry
+Doubleday, of Epping, supplies the following information:--A person
+whose name is English, a good observer, and one, as it were, brought up
+in Natural History, under Mr Doubleday's tuition, once happened to set
+his foot on a lizard in the forest, and while the lizard was thus held
+down by his foot, he distinctly saw three young ones run out of her
+mouth. Struck by such a phenomenon, he killed and opened the old one,
+and found two other young ones in her stomach, which had been injured
+when he trod upon her. In both these instances the narrators are of that
+class who do know what to observe, and how to observe it; and the facts,
+whatever explanation they may admit, are not to be dismissed as the
+result of imagination or mistaken observation."[149]
+
+It is remarkable that all the serpents to which the phenomenon is
+attributed are ovo-viviparous. Our common lizard, to which the facts
+just narrated doubtless belong (_Zootoca vivipara_), has the same
+property, which, however, appears to be by no means common among the
+Saurian races. This coincidence, while it would afford a handle to the
+deniers of the stated facts, in the assumption that the emergence of the
+living young from the abdomen, or their presence within it, has given
+rise to the notion--may have an essential significance and connexion
+with the phenomenon itself, on the hypothesis of its truth. That
+endowment, whatever it be, which enables the young to live and breathe
+in the abdominal cavity of the mother before birth, may render it easier
+for them than for others not so endowed to survive a temporary
+incarceration within the stomach after birth. Mr Newman does not know
+how to believe that a young and tender animal can remain in the strongly
+digestive stomach of a viper and receive no injury; but he has forgotten
+to take into the account the well-ascertained power that living tissues
+have the power of resisting the action of chemical re-agents that would
+instantly take effect upon them when dead. The walls of the stomach
+itself are not corroded by the gastric-juice which is rapidly dissolving
+the piece of meat within it. If the young animals can do without air for
+a while in their snug retreat, I do not think they would need fear the
+digestive operation. Air, I should suppose, _must_ be excluded from the
+stomach, unless the parent have the power of swallowing air voluntarily,
+for the emergency; but perhaps a cold-blooded animal like a reptile,
+with a sluggish circulation and respiration, might do with very much
+less fresh air than a mammal under similar conditions.
+
+The proposed _rationale_ of those who reject these statements,--that
+female vipers in the last stage of pregnancy have been opened, and have
+given freedom to living and active young, and that careless and
+unscientific observers have leaped to the conclusion that their young
+must have entered by the mouth,--will not stand before the testimony
+distinctly given by witnesses, who have actually seen the young retreat
+into the mouth, and have then found them within the body. No doubt the
+subject needs further investigation by careful and unprejudiced
+naturalists; but the positive evidence already adduced on the testimony
+of so many deponents, warrants our accepting the phenomenon as a normal
+habit of certain species of Saurians and Ophidians, though it may be
+somewhat rarely resorted to, and that whatever physical difficulties may
+seem to stand in the way of its _à priori_ probability--difficulties
+which perhaps depend on our ignorance, and which will disappear before
+the light of advancing knowledge.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The entomologists have fallen most ungallantly foul of Madame Merian, a
+lady who resided in Surinam nearly two hundred years ago, and devoted
+her attention to the native entomology, painting insects in a very
+admirable manner. She is set down as a thorough heretic, not at all to
+be believed, a manufacturer of unsound natural history, an inventor of
+false facts in science.
+
+Among other things, she speaks of a large hemipterous fly, which has in
+consequence of her reports been named _Fulgora lanternaria_. This insect
+has the head produced into a large inflated proboscis more than an inch
+in length, which is said to carry an intense luminosity within its
+transparent walls, as a candle is carried within a lantern. The fair
+observer says that the first discovery which she made of this property
+caused her no small alarm. The Indians had brought her several of these
+insects, which by daylight exhibited no extraordinary appearance, and
+she enclosed them in a box until she should have an opportunity of
+drawing them, placing it upon a table in her lodging-room. In the middle
+of the night the confined insects made such a noise as to awake her, and
+she opened the box, the inside of which, to her great astonishment,
+appeared all in a blaze; and in her fright letting it fall, she was not
+less surprised to see each of the insects apparently on fire. She soon,
+however, divined the cause of this unexpected phenomenon, and
+re-enclosed her brilliant guests in their place of confinement. She adds
+that the light of one of these Fulgoræ is sufficiently bright to read a
+newspaper by: and though the tale of her having drawn one of these
+insects by its own light is without foundation, she doubtless might have
+done so if she had chosen.
+
+This circumstantial and apparently truthful statement has brought no
+small odium on the fair narrator. Other naturalists who have had
+opportunities of seeing the insect in its native regions strongly deny
+its luminosity. The inhabitants of Cayenne, according to the French
+Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, aver that it does not shine at all;
+and this is confirmed by M. Richard, a naturalist, who reared the
+species. The learned and accurate Count Hoffmansegg states that his
+insect collector Herr Sieber, a practised entomologist of thirty years'
+experience, who during a sojourn of several years in Brazil took many
+specimens of the _Fulgora lanternaria_, never saw a single one which was
+in the slightest degree luminous. There is a kindred species in China,
+_F. candelaria_, very common in those glazed boxes of insects which the
+Chinese sell to mariners; this also has been supposed to emit light, but
+Dr Cantor assures us that he has never observed the least luminosity in
+this species.
+
+Thus it would seem that the obloquy which has fallen upon the ingenious
+lady is not altogether undeserved, and that for the sake of a telling
+story, she has been indeed "telling a story." But we may imagine her
+offended ghost looking round and saying, "All these gentlemen merely say
+they have _not_ seen the light; now I say I have: is there no one who
+will verify my statement?"
+
+M. Lacordaire,--an authority on South American insects second to none,
+says that he himself indeed never saw a luminous _Fulgora_ all the time
+he was collecting in Brazil and Cayenne, and that most of the
+inhabitants of the latter country, when questioned on the subject,
+denied the fact, yet _that others of the natives as distinctly affirmed
+that it is luminous_. He asks whether it is not possible that the light
+may be confined to one sex, and thus the conflicting testimony be
+reconciled; and gives it as his opinion that the point is rather one
+which requires more careful observation, than one which we can consider
+absolutely decided.[150]
+
+Again, the Marquis Spinola, in an elaborate paper on this tribe,
+published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of France,[151]
+strenuously contends that the remarkable development of the frontal
+portion of the head in the whole race is luminous. And finally, a friend
+of Mr Wesmael assured him that he had himself seen the American
+_Fulgora_ luminous while alive.[152]
+
+It may help to sustain our faith in the veracity of Madame Merian, to
+know that there is some reason for attributing occasional luminosity to
+well-known English insects, of which hundreds, and even thousands, have
+been taken without manifesting a trace of the phenomenon. Mr Spence, in
+his interesting Letter on Luminous Insects,[153] adduces the following
+evidence:--Insects "may be luminous which have not hitherto been
+suspected of being so. This seems proved by the following fact: A
+learned friend has informed me, that when he was curate of Ickleton,
+Cambridgeshire, in 1780, a farmer of that place, of the name of
+Simpringham, brought to him a mole-cricket (_Gryllotalpa vulgaris_,
+Latr.), and told him that one of his people seeing a _Jack-o'-lantern_,
+pursued it, and knocked it down, when it proved to be this insect, and
+the identical specimen shewn to him.
+
+"This singular fact, while it renders it probable that some insects are
+luminous which no one has imagined to be so, seems to afford a clue to
+the, at least, partial explanation of the very obscure subject of _ignes
+fatui_, and to shew that there is considerable ground for the opinion
+long ago maintained by Ray and Willughby, that the majority of these
+supposed meteors are no other than luminous insects. That the large
+varying lambent flames mentioned by Beccaria to be very common in some
+parts of Italy, and the luminous globes seen by Dr Shaw cannot be thus
+explained, is obvious. These were probably electrical phenomena;
+certainly not explosions of phosphuretted hydrogen, as has been
+suggested by some, which must necessarily have been momentary. But that
+the _ignis fatuus_ mentioned by Derham as having been seen by himself,
+and which he describes as flitting about a thistle, was, though he seems
+of a different opinion, no other than some luminous insect, I have
+little doubt. Mr Sheppard informs me that, travelling one night between
+Stamford and Grantham on the top of the stage, he observed for more than
+ten minutes a very large _ignis fatuus_ in the low marshy grounds, which
+had every appearance of being an insect. The wind was very high:
+consequently, had it been a vapour it must have been carried forward in
+a direct line; but this was not the case. It had the same motion as a
+_Tipula_, flying upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards,
+sometimes appearing as settled, and sometimes as hovering in the air.
+Whatever be the true nature of these meteors, of which so much is said
+and so little known, it is singular how few modern instances of their
+having been observed are on record. Dr Darwin declares, that though in
+the course of a long life he had been out in the night, and in the
+places where they are said to appear, times without number, he had never
+seen anything of the kind; and from the silence of other philosophers of
+our own times, it should seem that their experience is similar."
+
+A paper by Mr R Chambers on the subject adduces the additional
+testimony of facts observed by good naturalists, as Dickson and
+Curtis the eminent botanists, and Stothard the painter and entomologist,
+by his own father Mr A. Chambers, and by Joseph Simpson, a fisherman
+living near Boston, all of which strongly corroborate the probability
+that some, at least, of the _ignes fatui_ are produced by luminous
+insects.[154] Mr Main narrates the case of a farmer who stated
+that he had pursued a Will-o'-the-wisp, and coming up with it had
+knocked it down, when it proved to be an insect "exactly like a
+Maggy-long-legs"--that is, the common Crane-fly (_Tipula oleracea_), the
+very insect with which Mr Sheppard had compared the motions of the
+luminous flame observed by him.[155] Mr Spence argues that while gaseous
+emanations may be a cause of stationary _ignes fatui_, the same cause
+will not explain those which flit along from place to place; and that
+these are probably luminous insects, however rarely they may have come
+under the notice of entomologists. "A very strong argument for the
+possibility of some flying insects being occasionally luminous (in
+England) is afforded by the facts ... of luminous caterpillars having
+been within these few years observed for the first time since entomology
+has been attended to, and that by observers every way competent. If
+caterpillars so very common as those of _Mamestra oleracea_ may
+sometimes, though so rarely, be luminous, and if, as Dr Boisduval
+suggests, and is very probable, this appearance was caused by disease,
+it is obvious that flying insects may be also occasionally (though
+seldom) luminous from disease--a supposition which will at once explain
+the rarity of the occurrence, and the circumstance that insects of such
+different genera, and even orders, are said to have exhibited this
+phenomenon."[156]
+
+These highly curious facts should make observers cautious in strongly
+denying statements made by others of phenomena, when they themselves
+have not been so fortunate as to witness them, even though they may
+think their opportunities to have been as favourable as those of the
+_soi-disant_ observer.[157]
+
+But we have not yet dismissed Madame Merian. If acquitted of falsehood
+here, she stands arraigned on a second charge of similar character.
+
+In most tropical countries there are found hideous hairy spiders of
+monstrous size and most repulsive appearance; short-legged, sombre-hued,
+ferocious marauders of the night, that by day lurk in obscure retreats
+under stones, or in burrows in the earth.
+
+Guiana produces a formidable species of this sort (_Mygale avicularia_),
+which measures three inches in length, and whose feet--though the genus
+is, as I have said, comparatively short-limbed--cover an area some
+eight or ten inches in diameter. Madame Merian has exquisitely figured
+the tragical end of a tiny humming-bird, surprised by one of these
+monsters on her eggs; the petite bird overthrown under the fangs of the
+sprawling spider, one of whose feet is in the nest. It was on the
+authority of this lady that Linnæus gave the name of _avicularia_ to the
+species. Later naturalists have scouted the whole story. Mr MacLeay, who
+resided in Cuba, says that there are indeed there huge spiders, allied
+to our garden spider, which make a geometric net, strong enough to
+embarrass small birds; but that these do not attempt to catch such prey,
+and never molest birds at all. On the other hand, he avers that the
+Cuban _Mygale_, an allied species to that of Guiana, makes no web, and
+has no power of injuring birds. He put this to the test of experiment;
+for having maimed a humming-bird, he thrust it into the _Mygale's_ hole,
+which, instead of seizing the victim, retreated as in fear out of his
+den. This Mr MacLeay supposes to be conclusive; but a moment's
+reflection will shew how equivocal is the evidence. The spider may not
+have been hungry; or he may have been taken aback by the sudden
+intrusion; or he might not choose to take prey that he had not stolen
+upon and slaughtered _suo more_; or he may have muttered in the
+Arachnidan language,--
+
+      "Timeo Danaos, et dona ferentes."
+
+Because a wolf will cower down in the corner of his lair (even a tiger
+has been known to do so)--when a man suddenly enters his presence, and
+will manifest the most abject fear, would it be philosophical to
+ridicule the tales told of wolves pursuing and devouring men by night?
+
+M. Langsdorff asked the people of Brazil if the Caranquexeira, or the
+great _Mygale_ of that country, fed upon humming-birds, when they
+answered him, with bursts of laughter, that it only gratified its maw
+with large flies, ants, bees, wasps, beetles, &c.; an answer which the
+traveller verified by his own personal experience.[158] If M. Langsdorff
+means, which of course he does, that he learned by personal observation
+that the spider _ordinarily_ feeds on insects, that fact is indubitable,
+and never has been doubted; but if he means that he had experience that
+it eats _only_ such prey, which is the question at issue, it is plain
+that this experience proves no more than that he never witnessed such a
+fact.
+
+Percival, in his account of Ceylon, observes:--"There is an immense
+spider here, with legs not less than four inches long, and having the
+body covered with thick black hair." This was doubtless the _Mygale_ of
+the island. "The webs which it makes are strong enough to entangle and
+hold even small birds, which form its usual prey." Alluding to this
+statement, Sir Emerson Tennent says:--
+
+"As to the stories told of the _Mygale_ catching and killing birds, I am
+satisfied, both from inquiry and observation, that, at least in Ceylon,
+they are destitute of truth, and that (unless in the possible case of
+acute suffering from hunger) this creature shuns all description of food
+except soft insects and annelides." And yet he immediately adds:--"A
+lady at Marandan, near Colombo, told me that she had, on one occasion,
+seen a little house-lizard (_gecko_) seized and devoured by one of these
+ugly spiders."[159] Does he not, then, credit his informant? Or are
+lizards included in the category of "soft insects and annelides?"
+
+Against this incredulity, resting on no better than negative evidence,
+one might adduce collateral proof from analogy. There _are_ spiders
+which feed on vertebrate animals, and there _are_ spiders whose webs
+catch birds. The large and beautiful _Nephila claripes_ of tropical
+America weaves strong threads of yellow silk in the paths of the woods,
+converging to a web quite strong enough to arrest a bird of weak flight.
+It must have been a species allied to this, but certainly, I think, not
+the same, of which Dr Walsh speaks in his "Travels in Brazil." "Among
+the insects is an enormous spider, which I did not observe elsewhere. In
+passing through an opening between some trees, I felt my head entangled
+in some obstructions, and on withdrawing it, my straw hat remained
+behind. When I looked up I saw it suspended in the air, entangled in the
+meshes of an immense cobweb, which was drawn like a veil of thick gauze
+across the opening, and was expanded from branch to branch of the
+opposite trees as large as a sheet ten or twelve feet in diameter. The
+whole of this space was covered with spiders of the same species but
+different sizes; some of them, when their legs were expanded, forming a
+circle of six or seven inches in circumference.[160] They were
+particularly distinguished by bright spots. The cords composing the web
+were of a glossy yellow, like the fibres of silkworms, and equally
+strong."
+
+There is a creature found in the tropical parts of both hemispheres,
+called _Solpuga_, which though not exactly a spider, is yet so closely
+allied to that family as to be in some measure responsible for its
+misdoings. It is about as large as the _Mygale_, and, with sufficient
+general resemblance to it to warrant its being popularly considered a
+spider, it has much the same habits and appetites. Captain Hutton, in a
+most interesting memoir, describes the details of an Indian species
+under the name of _Galeodes vorax_. Among many other details, he
+says--"This species is extremely voracious, feeding at night upon
+beetles, flies, and even large lizards; and sometimes gorging itself to
+such a degree as to render it almost unable to move. A lizard, three
+inches long, _exclusive of tail_, was entirely devoured; the spider
+sprung at it, and made a seizure immediately behind the shoulder, never
+quitting its hold until the whole was consumed. The poor lizard
+struggled violently at first, rolling over and over in its agony, but
+the spider kept firm hold, and gradually sawed away with its double jaws
+into the very entrails of the victim. The only parts uneaten were the
+jaws and part of the skin, although the lizard was at least five inches
+long from nose to extremity of tail. After this meal, the spider
+remained gorged and motionless for about a fortnight, being much
+swollen and distended.
+
+"A young sparrow, about half grown, was placed under a bell-glass with a
+_Galeodes_; the moment the luckless bird moved, the spider seized him by
+the thigh, which he speedily sawed off, in spite of the sparrow's
+fluttering; and then as the poor bird continued to struggle in pain, the
+savage seized him by the throat, and soon put an end to his sufferings
+by cutting off the head. It did not, however, devour the bird, nor any
+part of it, but seemed satisfied with having killed it.
+
+"On another occasion, I gave it a large garden-lizard, which was
+instantly seized by the middle of the body; the lizard, finding that it
+could not shake off its adversary, turned its head, and bit the
+_Galeodes_ on the leg, which obliged it immediately to quit its hold and
+retreat.
+
+"On another occasion my friend, Dr Baddeley, confined one of these
+spiders in a wall-shade with two young musk rats (_Sorex Indicus_), both
+of which were killed by it."[161]
+
+In an expedition to the Kurruckpoor Hills, south of Monghyr, Captain
+Sherwill found upon the summit of Maruk, a table-topped hill of 1100
+feet elevation, several of the gigantic webs of the Epeira spider, some
+of which measured (including the guy-ropes) from ten to twelve feet in
+diameter, the reticulated portion being about five feet, in the centre
+of which the spider, of a formidable size and very active, sits waiting
+for prey. "The webs," he says, "from their great strength, offered a
+sensible resistance when forcing our way through them. In the web of
+one of the spiders we found a bird entangled, and the young spiders,
+about eight in number, feeding upon the carcase. The bird was, with the
+exception of its legs and beak, entirely enveloped in the web, and was
+much decomposed; the entwined web had completely pinioned the wings of
+the bird, so as to render its escape impossible. The bird was about the
+size of a field-lark, and was near the centre of the web; the old spider
+was about a foot above the bird: we secured, measured, and bottled him.
+Its dimensions were six inches across the legs, and it was armed with a
+formidable pair of mandibles."[162]
+
+It is clear, then, that there is nothing absurd or contrary to
+probability in the statement that spiders attack, overcome, and devour
+birds. But Madame Merian is here again favoured with direct witnesses to
+sustain her good faith. M. Moreau de Jonnès expressly mentions, on his
+own authority, that the South American Mygale climbs the branches of
+trees to devour the young of humming-birds. But the most satisfactory
+statement is made by Mr H. W. Bates, who has recently returned from the
+interior of Brazil after many years spent in studying the entomology of
+that vast region. No one will deny his competency as a witness. "Now I
+will relate to you," he says, "what I saw in the month of June 1849, in
+the neighbourhood of Cameta. I was attracted by a curious movement of
+the large gray-brown Mygale on the trunk of a vast tree: it was close
+beneath a deep crevice or chink in the tree, across which this species
+weaves a dense web, open for its exit and entrance at one end. In the
+present instance the lower part of the web was broken, and two pretty
+small finches were entangled in its folds; the finch was about the size
+of the common siskin of Europe, and I judged the two to be male and
+female; one of them was quite dead, but secured in the broken web; the
+other was under the body of the spider, not quite dead, and was covered
+in parts with the filthy liquor or saliva exuded by the monster. I was
+on my return from a day's excursion by land at the time, with my boxes
+full of valuable and delicate insects, and six miles from my house, and
+therefore could not have brought the specimens home, even if I had
+wished, which I did not, as the spider was a very common species, easily
+to be procured nearer home. The species I cannot name; I sent several
+fine specimens, stuffed, to London, in 1851; it is wholly of a
+gray-brown colour, and clothed with coarse pile. Doubtless you will
+immediately know the exact species to which I refer.
+
+"If the Mygales did not prey upon vertebrated animals, I do not see how
+they could find sufficient subsistence.
+
+[Illustration: BIRD-EATING SPIDER.]
+
+"On the extensive sandy campos of Santarem, so bare in vegetation, there
+are hundreds of the broad slanting burrows of the large stout species,
+(that fine one, dark brown with paler lines down the legs, of which I
+sent specimens in 1851.) The campos, I know, from close research, to be
+almost destitute of insects, but at the same time to swarm with small
+lizards, and some curious ground finches of the Emberiza group (one of
+which has a song wonderfully resembling our yellow bunting of
+England), besides which, vast numbers of the _Caprimulgidæ_ and ground
+doves lay their eggs on the bare ground.
+
+"I believe this species of Mygale feeds on these animals and their eggs
+at night. Just at the close of day, when I have been hurrying home, not
+liking to be benighted on the pathless waste, I have surprised these
+monsters, who retreated within the mouths of their burrows on my
+approach."[163]
+
+[142] _Brit. Rept._, 51.
+
+[143] _Penny Cyclop._, xxvi. 348.
+
+[144] Loudon's _Mag. Nat. Hist._ for 1837, p. 441.
+
+[145] _Zool._, 2305.
+
+[146] Ibid., 2355.
+
+[147] _Zool._, 7278.
+
+[148] _Captivity among the Indians._
+
+[149] _Zool._, 2269.
+
+[150] _Introd. à l'Entom._, ii. 143.
+
+[151] _Op. cit._, viii. 163.
+
+[152] _Westwood's Mod. Classif. Ins._, ii. 430.
+
+[153] _Introd. to Entom._ Lett. xxv.
+
+[154] _Mag. Nat. Hist._, New Ser., i. 353.
+
+[155] Ibid., i. 553.
+
+[156] Dr Boisduval, one hot evening in June, found caterpillars on grass
+which diffused a phosphorescent light; he thought them to be those of
+_Mamestra oleracca_--one of the most abundant of our moths--but they
+seemed larger than common; and whether owing to want of care in the
+rearing or to a condition of disease--which may, indeed, have been the
+cause of their luminosity--none of them attained the chrysalis state,
+and so the species was not absolutely decided.
+
+[157] _Introd. to Entom._, _loc. cit._
+
+[158] _Exped. into Int. of Brazil._
+
+[159] Tennent, _Ceylon_, ii. 226.
+
+[160] Probably we should read "diameter" for "circumference." A spider
+whose legs cover an area of six inches _in circumference_ is by no means
+rare even in England.
+
+[161] _Journ. Asiat. Soc._
+
+[162] _Proc. Entom. Soc._, November 1, 1852.
+
+[163] _Proc. Entomol. Soc._, July 2, 1855.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+FASCINATION.
+
+
+It is a notion of long standing and widely diffused, that certain
+predaceous animals have a power, which, however, they only occasionally
+exert, of paralysing the creatures on which they prey, so as utterly to
+take away the faculty of flight, and even, in some circumstances, of
+drawing them, as if by an irresistible influence, to their known and
+dreaded destruction. This fascinating power has been most generally
+attributed to serpents, and is supposed to reside in a peculiar glare
+and fixity of the eyes, which appear to mesmerise the victims. If the
+gaze be interrupted, _on either part_, though but for a moment, it is
+supposed that the spell is broken. Is there any such power? or is it
+merely one of the many myths with which popular natural history is still
+burdened, and which it is the province of real science to explode? Let
+us gather together a few of the facts on which the opinion rests.
+
+I am not sure whether I ought to reckon as such the following statement,
+for I do not know the value of the authority on which it rests. It is,
+however, sufficiently curious.
+
+Dr Bird, a somewhat appropriate authority in this case, mentions an
+incident which happened in America. "Two boys lighted by chance upon a
+large black snake; upon which one of them resolved to ascertain whether
+the snake, so celebrated for its powers, could fascinate him. He
+advanced a few steps nearer the snake, and made a stand, steadily
+looking on him. When the snake observed him in that situation, he raised
+his head with a quick motion, and the lad says, that at that instant
+there appeared something to flash in his eyes, which he could compare to
+nothing more similar than the rays of light thrown from a glass or
+mirror when turned in the sun-shine; he said it dazzled his eyes; at the
+same time the colours appeared very beautiful ... he felt as if he was
+in a whirlpool, and that every turn brought him nearer to the centre.
+His comrade seeing him approach nearer to the snake, immediately ran and
+killed it."[164]
+
+There is, however, better authority than this for the belief in
+serpent-mesmerism. Professor Kalm states of the Rattlesnake of North
+America, that it will frequently lie at the bottom of a tree on which a
+squirrel is seated. The snake fixes his eyes upon the little animal, and
+from that moment it cannot escape: it begins a doleful outcry, runs up
+the tree a little way, comes down again, then goes up, and afterwards
+comes still lower. The snake continues at the bottom of the tree, with
+its eyes fixed on the squirrel; and its attention is so entirely taken
+up, that a person accidentally approaching may make a considerable
+noise, without so much as the snake's turning about. The squirrel comes
+lower, and at last leaps down to the snake, whose mouth is already wide
+open for its reception. The little animal then, with a piteous cry, runs
+into its jaws and is swallowed.
+
+Catesby, though he says he never saw the phenomenon himself, reports the
+same thing on the testimony of many witnesses, who all agreed that the
+animals, particularly birds and squirrels, no sooner spy the snake than
+they skip from spray to spray, hovering and approaching gradually nearer
+their enemy, regardless of any other danger; but with distracted
+gestures and outcries descend, though from the top of the loftiest
+trees, to the mouth of the snake, who, opening his jaws, takes them in
+and in an instant swallows them.[165]
+
+More recently Acrell tells the same story, as unquestionable. He
+declares that as the snake, who is the most indolent of all serpents,
+lies under the shade of a tree, opening his jaws a little, he fixes his
+brightly-glittering eyes on any bird or squirrel which is in it. The
+squirrel, uttering a mournful and feeble cry, leaps from bough to bough,
+as if seeking to escape, but presently, as if struck with the
+fascination, he comes down the tree, and flings himself, with a spring,
+into the very jaws of his enemy. A mouse, shut up with a rattlesnake in
+an iron box, at first sat in one corner, the snake opposite to it. The
+reptile fixed its terrible eye on the little trembler, which at length
+threw itself into the mouth of the serpent.[166]
+
+Lawson affirms that _he has seen_ the phenomenon actually take place
+with a squirrel and a rattlesnake.[167]
+
+I said that the belief is widely spread. We have seen it in North
+America; we will now look at it in Africa.
+
+Captain Forbes incidentally mentions a case analogous to these. Passing
+through some high grass at Ahomey, he observed, within an inch of his
+leg, a small lizard, with its eyes fixed. It did not move at his
+approach. At the same moment a cobra darted at it, and before he could
+raise his stick, bore the victim away. The captain naturally enough was
+occupied with his own narrow escape, and simply narrates the facts
+without comment; but the fixity of the gaze, and the motionlessness of
+the lizard, were not a little remarkable.[168]
+
+Mr Ellis, in his charming volume on Madagascar and the Cape, makes the
+following observations:--[169]
+
+"In a country abounding, as Africa does, with serpents, I expected to
+hear many anecdotes respecting them; and, conversing on one occasion
+with Mr Pullen, a farmer who has lived many years in the country, and
+seemed to have paid rather more than usual attention to this species of
+reptile, he said he once saw a mouse running in a field, and that,
+coming in sight of a snake, though at a considerable distance, it
+instantly stopped. The snake fixed its eye on the mouse, which then
+crept slowly towards the snake, and, as it approached nearer, trembled
+and shrieked most piteously, but still kept approaching until quite
+close, when it seemed to become prostrate, and the snake then devoured
+it. On another occasion he had watched a snake capture a mouse in the
+same manner; but, as it was retreating, he followed, and struck it on
+the back with a stick, when it opened its mouth, and the mouse escaping,
+ran for some distance, then fell down; but after a minute recovered and
+ran away. Another time he said he watched a snake in the water, which
+had fixed its eye on a frog sitting amongst the grass on the bank. The
+frog, though greatly alarmed, seemed unable to stir, until Mr Pullen
+gradually pushed a rush growing near so that it intervened between the
+eye of the snake and its intended victim, when the frog, as if suddenly
+liberated, darted away. Mr Pullen's ideas were in accordance with the
+popular notion, that the snake has the power of exercising some mesmeric
+or other influence through the steady fixing of its eye, and that
+whatever intercepts this gaze breaks, as it were, the charm, and sets
+the prisoner free."
+
+A most important witness on this matter is Dr Andrew Smith, the learned
+zoologist of South Africa, who thus soberly throws the weight of his own
+thoroughly competent and most conclusive personal observations into the
+affirmative scale. In his interesting account of the Boomslange, a
+serpent of considerable size found in that region, he says:--
+
+"As this snake, _Bucephalus capensis_, in our opinion, is not provided
+with a poisonous fluid to instil into wounds which these fangs may
+inflict, they must consequently be intended for a purpose different to
+those which exist in poisonous reptiles. Their use seems to be to offer
+obstacles to the retrogression of animals, such as birds, &c., while
+they are only partially within the mouth; and, from the circumstance of
+these fangs being directed backwards, and not admitting of being raised
+so as to form an angle with the edge of the jaw, they are well fitted to
+act as powerful holders when once they penetrate the skin and soft parts
+of the prey which their possessors may be in the act of swallowing.
+Without such fangs escapes would be common; with such, they are rare.
+
+"The natives of South Africa regard the _Bucephalus capensis_ as
+poisonous; but in their opinion we cannot concur, as we have not been
+able to discover the existence of any glands manifestly organised for
+the secretion of poison. The fangs are enclosed in a soft, pulpy sheath,
+the inner surface of which is commonly coated with a thin glairy
+secretion. This secretion possibly may have something acrid and
+irritating in its qualities, which may, when it enters a wound, occasion
+pain and even swelling, but nothing of greater importance.
+
+"The _Bucephalus capensis_ is generally found upon trees, to which it
+resorts for the purpose of catching birds, upon which it delights to
+feed. The presence of a specimen in a tree is generally soon discovered
+by the birds of the neighbourhood, who collect around it, and fly to and
+fro, uttering the most piercing cries, until some one, more
+terror-struck than the rest, actually scans its lips, and, almost
+without resistance, becomes a meal for its enemy. During such a
+proceeding the snake is generally observed with its head raised about
+ten or twelve inches above the branch round which its body and tail are
+entwined, with its mouth open and its neck inflated, as if anxiously
+endeavouring to increase the terror which it would almost appear it was
+aware would sooner or later bring within its grasp some one of the
+feathered group.
+
+"Whatever may be said in ridicule of fascination, it is nevertheless
+true that birds, and even quadrupeds, are, under such circumstances,
+unable to retire from the presence of certain of their enemies; and,
+what is even more extraordinary, unable to resist the propensity to
+advance from a situation of actual safety into one of the most imminent
+danger. This I have often seen exemplified in the case of birds and
+snakes; and I have heard of instances equally curious, in which
+antelopes and other quadrupeds have been so bewildered by the sudden
+appearance of crocodiles, and by the grimaces and contortions they
+practised, as to be unable to fly or even to move from the spot towards
+which they were approaching to seize them."[170]
+
+It may have been the Boomslange to which Le Vaillant alludes, who says
+that he saw, on the branch of a tree, a species of shrike, trembling as
+if in convulsions; and at the distance of nearly four feet, on another
+branch, he beheld a large species of snake, that was lying with
+outstretched neck, and fiery eyes, gazing steadily at the poor animal.
+The agony of the bird was so great, that it was deprived of the power of
+moving away; and when one of the party killed the snake, the shrike was
+found dead upon the spot, and that entirely from fear; for on
+examination it appeared not to have received the slightest wound. The
+same traveller informs us, that a short time afterwards he observed a
+small mouse, in similar agonising convulsions, about two yards distant
+from a snake, whose eyes were intently fixed upon it; and on frightening
+away the reptile, and taking up the mouse, it expired in his hand.[171]
+
+In a record, by Mr D. T. Evans, of some experiments with Venomous
+Serpents, made at the Zoological Gardens, mainly with a view to test the
+efficacy of a reputed remedy for their bite,--_Simaba cedron_--and which
+were pursued with the utmost philosophic care, we find the following
+interesting particulars:--"The attitudes and movements of the serpent
+intending to bite were very striking and beautiful. In the first place,
+he made, with the posterior half of his body, a bold curve, having a
+strong prehensile 'purchase' on the floor of the cage, so as to secure a
+steady fulcrum for the rapid dart made at the time of the bite. The
+upper half of the body was raised some ten inches or a foot, the neck
+strongly arched, and the head, bent at nearly right angles with the
+neck, was poised directly opposite the prey. In such position the
+serpent remained a greater or lesser time (sometimes as long as twenty
+minutes) according to circumstances. During this interval, the slightest
+motion of the animal before him was followed by an instantaneous and
+correspondent movement of the head and neck of the serpent. The purpose
+seemed to be that of aim-taking, for the eyes were intently fixed upon
+the prey; but I am by no means sure that the snake, knowing that the
+latter cannot escape him, does not derive pleasure from this prolonged
+and intent gaze. At all events, in one experiment, where the head of a
+rattlesnake so engaged was sideways to the glass of the cage, and near
+it, I observed, and called attention to the fact, a remarkable
+vermicular motion along the course of the poison-gland to the opening of
+the angle of the mouth, which we thought might afford him pleasure, and
+this continued until the snake struck his prey.
+
+"So far the Serpents. I now proceed to describe the peculiarities shewn
+by the animals on which we experimented. Some philosophers have denied
+innate ideas to man; these and some others have furthermore denied an
+instinctive apprehension of danger in animals. They say that of itself,
+as born, the hare has no dread of the hound: that its fear is acquired
+of experience. I concur in neither of these opinions, and think the
+latter altogether refuted by the conduct of the animals exposed to
+serpents in these experiments. Not one of the guinea-pigs or rabbits
+(which were all something under their full growth) had ever seen a
+serpent; yet when introduced to the cage they shewed unequivocal
+symptoms of distress and fear. In some instances they actually screamed
+before they were struck. They generally shewed restlessness at first,
+but when the serpent, intending to strike, poised himself in front, they
+became for a time, if not altogether, motionless. Is there such a thing
+as 'fascination?' If by this is meant a pleasurable paralysis of the
+animal's powers, I think it more than doubtful; but a deprivation of
+the power of motion from terror may, perhaps, take place. All, however,
+that I speak to is a perfectly motionless condition of snake and prey,
+lasting several minutes."[172]
+
+Nor are there wanting examples of the same power exercised by the common
+Snake of our own country. I content myself with the following two, both
+of very recent record:--
+
+"Up the hill above Tyneham," writes the Rev. Henry Bond, last August,
+"towards the sea, I was struck by the shrill cry and fluttering
+agitation of a common hedge-sparrow, in a whitethorn bush. Regardless of
+my presence, its remarkable motions were continued, getting, at every
+hop from bough to bough, lower and lower down in the bush. Drawing
+nearer, I saw a common snake coiled up, but having its head erect,
+watching the sparrow; the moment the snake saw me it glided away, and
+the sparrow flew off with its usual mode of flight."[173]
+
+This anecdote brings out another by Mr John Henry Belfrage, of Muswell
+Hill:--"When proceeding down the avenue here one morning, at a turn in
+the path I saw a robin, which appeared to me spell-bound, so much so as
+to allow a much closer approach than is usual even with that boldest of
+the feathered tribe. On going nearer I perceived what I took to be the
+cause, in a large common snake, which was lying coiled up on one side of
+the path, with its head a little raised. My appearance broke the spell,
+and the robin flew away; at the same time, the snake dropped its head
+and assumed a perfectly inert appearance."[174]
+
+A writer in the _Journal of the Indian Archipelago_ thus reports the
+mesmeric faculty exercised upon a certainly somewhat unlikely
+subject:--"On approaching an almost dry drain, I saw a snake slowly
+extending his coils, raising his head, and steadfastly gazing on what I
+saw to be an eel of about a foot in length. The eel was directly
+opposite to the snake, and glance seemed to meet glance, when the snake,
+having the requisite proximity, darted on the eel and caught it about an
+inch behind the head, and carried it off; but the captor was soon
+himself a captive, for with a blow on his head I secured both."[175]
+
+The mystery is, as usual in such cases, attempted to be explained away.
+Man does not like mystery; scientific man least of all: it is humbling
+to the pride of science to be obliged to confess that there exists
+anything unaccountable to the initiated. Mr W. C. L. Martin thus
+"explains" the statements of Dr A. Smith, and all such accounts:--"There
+is nothing mysterious in all this; the snake does not _mesmerise_ its
+prey, but merely so terrifies it as to stupify it; besides, the victim
+may feel an impulse similar to that which urges many nervous persons on
+the edge of a precipice, or top of a lofty tower, to throw themselves
+down headlong, and which we have heard such describe as resisted with
+difficulty; so may the panic-struck bird feel an impulse to rush into
+danger which it might escape by flight."[176]
+
+And again:--"Fear, amounting to panic, solicitude for its young, and
+efforts to drive away the dreaded intruder, leading the bird to venture
+too closely to the snake for its own safety, produce the results
+erroneously attributed to the Reptile's fancied power of fascination by
+its glance, or by some mystic property."[177]
+
+Dr Barton, of Philadelphia, who, at the close of the last century,
+published a memoir on the fascinating powers attributed to certain
+serpents, advocated the same views. He considered that in almost every
+instance the supposed power was exerted on birds at the particular
+season of nidification, and that the whole hypothesis originated in the
+[Greek: storgê] which prompts them to protect their eggs or young. No
+doubt _some_ of the instances which have been reported as examples of
+fascination are capable of such an explanation, but surely not all; and
+the fallacy, here again, as in so many parallel cases, lies in the
+advocating of some theory which will cover a certain number of the
+facts, and the ignoring of all such as will not be so accounted for. Is
+it to be supposed that Dr A. Smith could not distinguish between the
+condition of involuntary paralysis of the faculties which he says he has
+_often_ seen, and the insane boldness of nesting birds? Had the mice,
+seen by Mr Pullen, had the frog, young ones to protect? Or the squirrel
+mentioned by Kalm? or the mouse seen by Le Vaillant? or the eel in the
+drain? But what is the value of a hypothesis,--so far as its claims to
+solve this question are concerned,--which will not touch these cases?
+When Mr Martin denies that there is anything mysterious in the matter,
+and in the same sentence admits that "the victim may feel an impulse to
+rush into the danger which it might escape," he just yields the whole
+point. I venture to affirm that this _is_ something mysterious,
+something totally unaccountable. I ask _what_, and _whence_, and _why_,
+this strange impulse that overcomes the first of all instincts, the
+prime law of self-preservation?
+
+It does not explain the cause of the phenomenon, though it possibly
+helps us to determine its proper seat, to learn that fascination belongs
+to other animals besides the serpent tribes. We shall perhaps not err if
+we conclude that the peculiarity resides not in the object, but in the
+subject; that it is a mental emotion capable of being excited by objects
+having little in common except the death-terror which they excite. I
+have no doubt that it is a phase of extreme terror; the singularity of
+the phenomenon consists in the reversal of ordinary instinctive laws
+which it induces. My readers will probably be interested in the details
+of some cases in which the exciters of the emotion were animals other
+than serpents. Here is one, apparently related with care and
+truthfulness, though anonymous, in which the fascinator was as unlikely
+as can be well imagined to excite, and the fascinatee to feel, the
+emotion:--
+
+"One evening, being seated in a room at Garrackpore, the window of which
+was open, and the ceiling on one side sloped downwards towards the
+window, my attention was attracted by a butterfly which chanced to fly
+into the room. I observed its motions for a minute or two, when I
+thought there was something that appeared unnatural in them, and the
+insect began to dart to and fro in one direction, occasionally, however,
+varying its flight about the room. I looked up to see what it could
+possibly be at, and instantly observed an ordinary-sized lizard on the
+cloth of the upper ceiling. I had not even then the most distant idea of
+what was really going on; but seeing the butterfly dart every now and
+then at the lizard, I supposed it in play, till its motions became less
+quick and animated. The lizard remained all this time immovable, but at
+last suddenly shifted its ground to the sloping part of the ceiling. The
+motions of the butterfly became still more languid, until at length, to
+my utter surprise, I saw the lizard open its mouth, and the butterfly
+flew directly into it. The lizard was about half a minute swallowing it,
+wings and all. Until the last act of this curious scene, though I well
+knew the lizard's object, I supposed it would probably make a leap at
+the butterfly, yet had no idea of its succeeding, and expected to see
+the butterfly fly away. Had I had an idea of the cause, I should have
+broken the charm.
+
+"From that moment I never had the least doubt of the power of
+fascination: that power I conceive to be _terror_, which, if the object
+was sufficiently terrible, I believe would act equally on man or any
+other creature."[178]
+
+Still more strange is it to hear of scorpions fascinating blue-bottle
+flies! "On my arrival" says Mr Robert Hunter, "at Nágpur, in Central
+India, in 1847, I requested that the first scorpion found in the house
+might be allowed to live for a few minutes, that I might have an
+opportunity of observing its form and movements. In that part of India
+one has rarely to wait long for such a visitant, and on an early evening
+my colleague, the Rev. Mr Hislop, announced that there was a scorpion on
+the wall. A lamp was set down on the floor, and we took convenient
+stations for noting what might pass. Just then a large fly, of the genus
+Musca, made its appearance, and soon became aware of the presence of the
+scorpion. A strong fury seemed to seize it, irresistibly impelling it to
+an insane attack on the terrible occupant of the wall: it flew at it
+with all the little force it could muster, the scorpion meanwhile
+stretching out its lobster-like claw to catch it as it came. At the
+first charge, the fly rebounded from the crustaceous integument of its
+adversary, having done no more damage than if a child were to apply its
+hand to the well-mailed body of a cuirassier. It seemed amazed at its
+own audacity; and in a state of great apparent agitation wheeled round,
+and taking precipitately to flight, soon put two or three yards of safe
+space between itself and its formidable but wingless foe. We now
+forcibly hoped 'the better part of valour' might be allowed to prevail.
+But no! the tiny creature stood--it ventured to look--there glared still
+in view the malignant form. What could the poor animal do but make a
+second brilliant onset, in which it again eluded the outstretched claw
+of its enemy, and, as before, was successful in effecting a retreat?
+'Surely,' we mused, 'no further knight-errantry will be attempted: the
+most exacting would consider this enough.' But we were mistaken. Again
+and again did the fly return to the combat, till in an unguarded moment
+it flew exactly into the open claw, which closing, rendered escape
+impossible. The generosity of a Mouravieff was scarcely to be looked for
+in the scorpion, which, as will be readily believed, lost no time in
+devouring its gallant captive. Possibly the fly may have been partly
+dazzled by the glare of the lamp. But undoubtedly it was in the main
+fascination, induced by the sight of the dread figure on the wall, that
+impelled it to begin the unequal contest, which could terminate only in
+the loss of its life."[179]
+
+After these cases, I fear my readers would see but little of the
+romantic in stories of stoats mesmerising hares and rabbits, or foxes
+paralysing pullets. The former are common enough,--the wretched hare
+creeping along with a bewildered look, as if its back were broken, or
+screaming in helpless immobility. I will confine myself to a single
+narrative furnished by Mr Henry Bond, to whom this chapter is already
+indebted for one case. As he was walking on the hillside above West
+Creech Farm, in Penbeck, Somerset, last August, where the down is
+scattered with very low furze-bushes, his attention was arrested by a
+cry of distress. It proceeded from a rabbit which was cantering round in
+a ring, with a halting gait. He watched it for some minutes; but, as
+the circle became smaller, and the rabbit more agitated, he perceived a
+stoat turning its head with the rabbit's motion, and fixing its gaze
+upon it. He struck a blow at the stoat, but missed it; its attention was
+thus withdrawn from its intended victim, which instantly ran away with
+great vigour in a straight direction.[180]
+
+This is a remarkably good case; the circular movement of the rabbit; the
+ever-diminishing circle; the rotation of the stoat; the fixity of its
+gaze; the liberation of the rabbit the moment the stoat was disturbed;
+and the instant recovery of its faculties on the breaking of the
+spell;--all these are circumstances of the highest interest in a case
+avouched by so good a naturalist as Mr Bond.
+
+Mr J. H. Gurney reports the account of a respectable gamekeeper, who,
+being much annoyed by the nightly visits of a fox to the poultry, could
+not imagine how Reynard managed to effect his purpose, as they roosted
+on a large spreading oak. One morning, however, just as day was dawning,
+he heard a great noise among the poultry, and, looking out of the
+window, saw a fox running round and round under the place where they
+sat, and soon observed that the fowls began to fall from the tree in
+great confusion. The fox immediately seized his victim, and the mystery
+was so far solved. A day or two afterwards the fox, a very large male,
+was killed in an adjoining paddock, and no further assaults were made
+upon the poultry.
+
+In this case the result was possibly effected by vertigo; the birds,
+bewildered and amazed in the dim light, followed with their eyes the
+course of the sly depredator, as he ran swiftly in a circle beneath,
+until the frequent turning of their heads made them giddy and unable to
+keep their balance. _But how did the fox know that such a result would
+follow?_
+
+The same gentleman gives, from his own observation, a case that is more
+to the point. Here a bird is the mesmeric practitioner. "I once saw a
+golden eagle which appeared entirely to fascinate a rabbit that was put
+into the large cage in which the eagle was kept. As soon as the rabbit
+was introduced, the eagle fixed his eye upon it, and the rabbit intently
+returned the gaze, and began going round the eagle in circles,
+approaching nearer each time, the eagle meanwhile turning on his axis
+(as it were) on the block of wood upon which he was seated, and keeping
+his eye fixed upon that of the rabbit.
+
+"When the rabbit had approached very near to the bottom of the eagle's
+perch, it stood up on its hind legs, and looked the eagle in the face;
+the eagle then made his pounce, which appeared at once to break the
+charm, and the rabbit ran for its life, but it was too late for it to
+escape the clutch of the eagle, and the instant death which followed
+that tremendous squeeze."[181]
+
+I am not sure how far a parallelism exists between this animal
+fascination by the eye, and that attraction which fire is well known to
+possess for many creatures. Shelley sings of
+
+      "The desire of the moth for the star,"
+
+as if it were a romantic passion for that which is bright and beautiful.
+This is, of course, a poet's aspect; the insect-collector, who wants to
+fill his cabinet--"my friend the weaver," who nightly pursues his
+"untaxed and undisputed game"--well knows that the glare of his
+bull's-eye lamp will attract the moths by thousands on a damp night in
+June. The little flitting atoms pass and repass across the field of
+light, suddenly flashing into full radiance, and in an instant relapsing
+into the darkness, unless his gauze net is too rapid for them. I have
+often sat reading late at night with a candle in the window, and
+observed with interest how many insects of all orders will soon
+congregate on the outside; now and then some large moth coming up with a
+dull _thud_, or a great mailed beetle dashing against the glass with a
+crash that makes one look sharply up to see whether he has not cracked
+the pane. In Jamaica I have taken many valuable beetles and other
+insects around the candle-shades at an open window, which were not met
+with in any other way.
+
+So in Alabama, where it is customary in balmy autumn evenings for the
+family to sit in the yard under the broad sheltering trees, by the
+flickering light of the yard-fire. This fire is lighted at dusk on an
+iron tripod breast-high, and kept up till bed-time. It is the duty of a
+negro urchin to keep it constantly bright with splints of pine, so as to
+maintain a perpetual blaze, as the object is to illuminate the yard and
+its contiguous offices. The little "nigger" nods, of course, but the
+loud scolding voice of master, mistress, or overseer, or any one else,
+rates him, and rouses him to duty, as soon as the flame falls. It is
+pleasant to sit and watch the effect of the light, either transmitted
+through or reflected from the quivering leaves of the surrounding trees,
+the blaze now rising brightly and playing in tongue-like flickering
+spires, now sinking and dying to a ruddy glow, then suddenly reviving
+under the frightened watchfulness of the sable minister, who plays the
+part of vestal virgin at this altar.
+
+Large insects often play around this fire. Beetles "wheel their drony
+flight" in buzzing circles round for a few turns, and are gone; and
+moths come fluttering about, and often scorch their plumy wings. I have
+taken some very fine Sphinges and other moths thus; and the only
+specimen I ever saw of that very curious insect the Mole-cricket alive
+(a species distinct from, but very closely allied to, our European
+insect) was one that suddenly dashed into the ashes of the
+light-stand--a curious and interesting circumstance, when connected with
+the opinion that I have before alluded to, that the _Gryllotalpa
+Europæa_ is one of the producers of the _Ignis fatuus_.
+
+Birds also are attracted by light at night. I have read of a Titmouse
+that was seen fluttering around a gas-lamp in the suburbs of London, and
+would not be driven away; it at length made its entrance into the lamp
+through the orifice at the bottom, and continued to flit around and
+across the jet. In 1832, a Herring-gull struck one of the mullions of
+the Bell Rock Light-house with such force, that two of the polished
+plates of glass, measuring about two feet square, and a quarter of an
+inch in thickness, were shivered to pieces, and scattered over the floor
+in a thousand atoms, to the great alarm of the keeper on watch, and the
+other inmates of the house, who rushed instantly to the light-room. The
+gull was found to measure five feet between the tips of the wings. In
+his gullet was a large herring, and in his throat a piece of plate-glass
+of about one inch in length.
+
+Dr Livingstone gives some curious examples of the attractive power of
+fire over various creatures in South Africa, which he attributes to a
+sort of fascination. "Fire," he says, "exercises a fascinating effect on
+some kinds of toads. They may be seen rushing into it on the evenings
+without ever starting back on feeling pain. Contact with the hot embers
+rather increases the energy with which they strive to gain the hottest
+parts, and they never cease their struggles for the centre, even when
+their juices are coagulating and their limbs stiffening in the roasting
+heat. Various insects also are thus fascinated; but the scorpions may be
+seen coming away from the fire in fierce disgust, and they are so
+irritated as to inflict at that time their most painful stings."[182]
+
+[164] _Peter Pilgrim._
+
+[165] _Hist. of Carolina._
+
+[166] _Amænit. Acad._
+
+[167] _Hist. of Carolina._
+
+[168] _Dahomey and the Dahomans._
+
+[169] _Visits to Madagascar_, 231.
+
+[170] _Zoology of South Africa_--Reptilia.
+
+[171] _Oiseaux d'Afrique._
+
+[172] _Times_ Newspaper, November 9, 1852.
+
+[173] _Zoologist_, 7273.
+
+[174] _Zoologist_, 7382.
+
+[175] Quoted in the _Zoologist_, 2397.
+
+[176] _Pict. Museum_, ii. 107.
+
+[177] _Reptiles_, (Rel. Tr. Soc.,) 206.
+
+[178] _Bengal Sporting Mag._ for Oct. 1836; cited in the _Zoologist_,
+5070.
+
+[179] _Zool._, 5214.
+
+[180] _Zool._, 7273.
+
+[181] _Zool._ 4049, 4050.
+
+[182] _Travels_, 144.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+SERPENT-CHARMING.
+
+
+From the day when the solemn doom was pronounced,--"I will put enmity
+between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed," the
+serpent-form has begotten revulsion and dread in the human breast. And
+deservedly; for a venomous serpent is a terrible enemy: the direful
+venom of sin injected by "that old serpent, the Devil," is well
+symbolised by the most potent of all lethic agencies,--the poison of the
+rattlesnake or the cobra.
+
+And yet in all ages there have been persons in the countries where the
+most venomous snakes abound, who have professed, and have been believed
+to enjoy, an absolute immunity from their bites, and even to exercise
+some inexplicable power over them, whereby their rage is soothed, and
+they are rendered for the time gentle and harmless. The Holy Scriptures
+repeatedly allude to this ancient art. The Magicians of Egypt, who
+turned their rods into serpents, are supposed to have had recourse to a
+secret known, it is said, to the modern conjurors of the same country,
+who, by pressing the nape of the neck of the cobra with their fingers,
+throw it into a sort of catalepsy, by which its whole body becomes rigid
+like a rod, and from which it is relieved by suddenly throwing it on the
+ground. Aaron's rod was a veritable rod before and after the
+transaction, but changed into a serpent by Divine miraculous energy:
+theirs were serpents made to assume the appearance of rods for the
+moment by a cunning device.
+
+Other and more direct allusions, however, occur to the art of
+serpent-charming. Thus the obduracy of the wicked is compared to "the
+deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of
+charmers, charming never so wisely."[183] And the Aseverity of the
+Chaldean invaders is depicted under this imagery:--"Behold, I will send
+serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they
+shall bite you, saith the LORD."[184]
+
+Among the ancient Romans the Psylli, a people of Africa, and the Marsi,
+a German tribe who had settled in Italy, were reputed to have the power
+of charming serpents, and to be endowed with immunity from the results
+of their venom. Celsus, however, maintains that this power consisted in
+an acquaintance with the fact, now well known, that animal poisons are
+hurtful only when mingled with the blood. They may therefore be taken
+into the mouth with perfect impunity. With reference to so great an
+authority, however, there is more in the art and mystery of
+serpent-charming than this.
+
+When Lucian describes the Babylonian magician as walking abroad, and
+calling to him all the serpents that were near, with certain ceremonies,
+such as the utterance of sacred words from an ancient book, lustrations
+made with sulphur and a torch, and solemn marchings in a circle, and
+when he asserts that the venomous reptiles, _nolentes volentes_,
+presented themselves harmless at his feet,--he describes a scene which
+is sufficiently familiar to European travellers in Egypt and India. And
+so, when Silius Italicus speaks of Atyr, instructed how to disarm
+serpents of their dire venom, and to lull to sleep the terrible
+water-snakes with his magic touch, he refers, whether truly or falsely,
+to something of a more potent character than the feat by which Queen
+Philippa saved the life of her royal husband.
+
+Immunity from the poison of serpents, and serpent-charming, are two
+things. The former, so far as it depends on the natural law already
+mentioned, scarcely comes within the province of this work. But is there
+not an innate immunity residing in some persons, and even in some
+peoples, by which, without the operation of any recognised natural law,
+or even any effort, they are securely protected either against the bites
+of venomous serpents, or, at least, against the fatality which is the
+ordinary result of being bitten?
+
+The Psylli, according to Pliny, were so characteristically endowed with
+this immunity, that they made it a test of the legitimacy of their
+children; for they were accustomed to expose their new-born babes (only
+in doubtful cases, we may suppose) to the most venomous serpents they
+could find; assured that if their paternity was pure Psyllic, they would
+be quite unharmed. Of this tribe was the ambassador Hexagon, who,
+boasting of his power before the Roman consuls, submitted to the
+crucial test which they suggested, of being inclosed in a vessel
+swarming with poisonous reptiles, which, says the legendary story, hurt
+him not.
+
+The same historian tells us that the Psylli, who formerly inhabited the
+vicinity of the Greater Syrtis,--that is, the modern Tripoli and
+Barca,--were conquered and almost exterminated by the Nasamones, who
+possessed their land; but that a remnant fled to some distant region. It
+is not improbable that the present inhabitants of Sennaar, on the south
+of Egypt, may be the lineal descendants of these same Psylli; for, since
+Egypt was densely peopled and highly cultivated, a barbarous tribe could
+scarcely have made good their footing there; and as on the other side
+was the Great Desert of the Sâhra, and on the north the sea, there was
+no resource open to them but to creep along the desert edge of Egypt
+till they found a thinly-inhabited land sufficiently savage to enable
+them to form a settlement. The first region of this character that they
+could possibly find would be Nubia; and there it is most interesting to
+know that there exists a people at the present time, pretending to the
+same powers as the old Psylli. Bruce, whose testimony, at first much
+impugned, has come to be received with confidence, avouches that all the
+black people in the kingdom of Sennaar, whether Funge or Nuba, are
+perfectly armed against the bite of either scorpion or viper. They take
+the _Cerastes_--a little asp with two horns, of the most deadly
+venom--into their hands at all times, put them into their bosoms, and
+throw them at one another as children do balls, without ever irritating
+them by this usage so much as to make them bite. One day when the
+traveller was sitting with the brother of the prime minister of Sennaar,
+a slave of his brought a _Cerastes_, which he had just taken out of a
+hole, and was using with every sort of familiarity. Bruce expressed his
+suspicion that the teeth had been drawn, but was assured that they were
+not, both by the slave and by his master, who, taking the viper from
+him, wound it round his arm, and at the traveller's desire, ordered the
+servant to accompany him with it to his residence. Here Bruce, to test
+the power of the serpent, took a chicken by the neck, and made it
+flutter; the seeming indifference of the snake immediately gave place to
+eagerness, and he bit the fowl with great signs of anger, which died
+almost immediately. Bruce considers that the indifference was only
+seeming towards the man,--that it was indeed powerlessness, for he
+constantly observed that, however lively the snake was before, yet upon
+being seized by any of the blacks, it seemed as if taken with sudden
+sickness and feebleness, frequently shut its eyes, and never turned its
+mouth towards the arm of the person who held it.
+
+How exactly this account agrees with the words of Silius,
+
+      "---- _tactuque_ graves _sopire_ chelydros."
+
+The Nubian traveller informs us that the Arabs--meaning apparently the
+Moslem blacks--have not this secret naturally, but that from infancy
+they acquire an exemption from the mortal consequences attending the
+bites of all venomous reptiles by chewing a certain root, and washing
+themselves (it is not _anointing_) with an infusion of certain plants in
+water. This is by no means improbable; and it were much to be desired
+that the root and the plants were obtained and identified, that their
+preventive powers might be tested by competent men of science. In all
+probability they would be found to belong to the Quassia tribe, the
+natural order _Simarubaceæ_, plants of the tropical regions of both
+continents, whose juices are of an intense bitterness. An infusion of
+the chips of _Quassia amara_ and of _Simaruba amara_ is found to be an
+effectual poison to flies; and the Brazilian Indians use an infusion of
+_Simaruba versicolor_ as a specific against the bite of serpents, and
+use it with great effect in the pediculous diseases which are so common
+among that people.
+
+It was a plant of this order, _Simaba cedron_, on which experiments were
+made a few years ago, at the Zoological Gardens, just before the
+lamentable death, by the bite of the Cobra, of poor Gurling, who,
+indeed, assisted in them. Mr Squire, the eminent chemist, was desirous
+of testing the powers of this plant, which, dried and reduced to powder,
+is in high repute among the Indians of South America as a serpentifuge.
+Dr Quain and Mr Evans concurred in this desire; and, with the permission
+of the Zoological Society of London, a series of experiments, of much
+interest, if not very conclusive in their results, were performed at the
+Gardens, on the 8th July 1852.
+
+The trials were made only on small animals, but in each case the alleged
+remedy proved inefficacious. The experimenters, however, think that it
+would be unsafe to reject the _Simaba cedron_ as an antidote because it
+here failed, inasmuch as death followed so rapidly that there was small
+opportunity for its action. It is not until it shall have been tried and
+have failed upon stronger animals, that, in the face of the experience
+of the Indians in hot climates, it should be repudiated. The remedy was
+applied in the form of an infusion poured down the throat of the bitten
+animal as quickly as possible after the stroke, and of the moistened
+powder applied to the wound. It seems to me worthy of consideration
+whether, in the light of what Bruce says of the Nubians, a washing of
+the body with the infusion, or an imbibition of it, or both, _before_
+the serpent's attack, might not be more efficacious as a preventive
+either of the bite or of its results, than its administration afterwards
+as a cure. Whatever be the substance with which the Nubians wash
+themselves, it seems to communicate to the body some quality, perhaps of
+odour, which repels and sickens serpents. Now, this may reside in the
+intense bitterness of the _Simarubaceæ_; and it would be worth while to
+try whether a rattlesnake or a puff-adder would strike a guinea-pig that
+had just been bathed in an infusion of the _Simaba_, or to which a dose
+of the same had just been administered, and if so, whether the bite then
+would be fatal. Even if these experiments yielded no positive result, it
+would still be open to consider whether the lapse of time, or a long
+sea-voyage, or exposure to our moist climate, may not have deprived the
+powdered root of the plant of antitoxic properties which it may have
+possessed when freshly prepared in its native region.
+
+Tschudi, whose researches into the natural history of Peru are replete
+with interesting and valuable information, has some observations on the
+native remedies for serpent-bites which I will cite, prefacing the
+extract with a graphically terrible picture from his pen of the venomous
+reptiles themselves:--
+
+"The serpents are to be feared; and, on approaching them, it is not easy
+to decide at the first view whether they belong to a poisonous or
+innoxious species. In the forests, where the fallen leaves lie in
+thick moist layers, the foot of the hunter sinks deep at every step.
+Multitudes of venomous Amphibia are hatched in the half-putrescent
+vegetable matter; and he who inadvertently steps on one of these
+animals may consider himself uncommonly fortunate if he can effect
+his retreat without being wounded. But it is not merely in these places,
+which seem assigned by nature for their abode, that loathsome reptiles
+are found: they creep between the roots of large trees, under the
+thickly-interwoven brushwood, on the open grass-plats, and in the maize
+and sugar-cane fields of the Indians; nay, they crawl even into their
+huts, and most fortunate is it for the inhabitants of those districts
+that the number of the venomous, compared with the innoxious reptiles,
+is comparatively small. Of the poisonous serpents, only a few kinds are
+known whose bite is attended with very dangerous consequences. The
+minamaru or jergon (_Lachesis picta_, Tsch.) is, at most, three feet
+long, with a broad, heart-shaped head, and a thick upper lip. It haunts
+the higher forests, while in those lower down his place is filled by his
+no less fearful relative, the flammon, (_Lachesis rhombeata_, Prince
+Max.,) which is six or seven feet in length. These serpents are usually
+seen coiled almost in a circle, the head thrust forward, and the fierce,
+treacherous-looking eyes glaring around, watching for prey, upon which
+they pounce with the swiftness of an arrow; then, coiling themselves up
+again, they look tranquilly on the death-struggle of the victim. It
+would appear that these Amphibia have a perfect consciousness of the
+dreadful effect of their poisonous weapon, for they use it when they are
+neither attacked nor threatened, and they wound not merely animals fit
+for their food, but all that come within their reach. More formidable
+than the two snakes just described, but happily much less common, is the
+brown ten-inch-long viper (_Echidna ocellata_, Tsch.). It is brown, with
+two rows of black circular spots. The effect of its bite is so rapid
+that it kills a strong man in two or three minutes. So convinced are the
+natives of its inevitably fatal result, that they never seek any remedy:
+but immediately on receiving the wound lay themselves down to die. In
+the montanas of Pangoa this viper abounds more than in any other
+district: and never without apprehension do the cholos undertake their
+annual journey for the coca harvest, as they fear to fall victims to the
+bite of this viper. The warning sound of the rattlesnake is seldom
+heard in the hot montanas, and never in the higher regions.
+
+"Nature, who in almost all things has established an equilibrium,
+supplies the natives with remedies against the bite of the serpent. One
+of the cures most generally resorted to is the root of the amarucachu
+(_Polianthes tuberosa_,[185] Linn.), cut into slips and laid upon the
+wound. Another is the juice of the creeping plant called vijuco de huaco
+(_Mikania huaco_,[186] Kunth), which is already very widely celebrated.
+
+"This latter remedy was discovered by the negroes of the equatorial
+province Choco. They remarked that a sparrow-hawk, called the _huaco_,
+picked up snakes for his principal food, and when bitten by one it flew
+to the vejuco and ate some of the leaves. At length the Indians thought
+of making the experiment on themselves, and when bitten by serpents they
+drank the expressed juice of the leaves of the vejuco, and constantly
+found that the wound was thereby rendered harmless. The use of this
+excellent plant soon became general, and in some places the belief of
+the preservative power of the vejuco juice was carried so far that men
+in good health were inoculated with it. In this process some spoonfuls
+of the expressed fluid are drunk, and afterwards some drops are put into
+incisions made in the hands, feet, and breast. The fluid is rubbed into
+the wounds by fresh vejuco leaves. After this operation, according to
+the testimony of persons worthy of credit, the bite of the poisonous
+snake fails for a long time to have any evil effect. Beside the two
+plants mentioned above, many others are used with more or less
+favourable results. The inhabitants of the montana also resort to other
+means, which are too absurd to be detailed here: yet these medicines are
+often of benefit, for their operation is violently reactive. They
+usually produce the effect of repeated emetics and cause great
+perspiration. There is much difference in the modes of external
+treatment of the wound, and burning is often employed. I saw an Indian
+apply to his wife's foot, which had been bitten, a plaster consisting of
+moist gunpowder, pulverised sulphur, and finely-chopped tobacco mixed up
+together. He laid this over the wounded part, and set fire to it. This
+application in connexion with one of the nausea-exciting remedies taken
+inwardly had a successful result.
+
+An English officer, engaged in the wars which freed the South American
+republics from the Spanish dominion, thus speaks of a plant which is
+probably the same _Mikania_. His account is curiously confirmatory of
+the accuracy of Bruce:--
+
+"Among the many medicinal and poisonous plants growing on the banks of
+the Orinoco, one of the most singular is a species of _vejuco_, which,
+when properly administered, proves a powerful preservative from the
+effects of poisonous serpents. It even appears to deprive these reptiles
+either of their power or inclination to use their fangs. Some of the
+leaves and small branches are pounded, and applied in that state as a
+cataplasm to both arms; the skin having been previously scarified freely
+above the elbows. This species of inoculation is repeated, at stated
+intervals; the juice of the bruised plant, diluted with water, being
+also occasionally drunk. Several soldiers, belonging to General Tedeno's
+division, had undergone this treatment, and frequently made the
+advantage they had thus acquired useful on a march. They were thereby
+enabled to take shelter in deserted huts, which we dared not enter on
+account of the snakes always lurking in such places; although these men
+could bring them out in their hands, without sustaining any injury. As
+they had been for some time in our company, we could ascertain that they
+had not any snakes in their possession concealed for the purpose of
+deception. Besides, they could have little or no inducement to practice
+an imposition upon us, as they neither asked for, nor expected, any
+reward for exhibiting their skill in destroying these reptiles."[187]
+
+According to Captain Forbes, the negroes of Dahomey employ a grass, or
+grass-like herb, with success. One of his hammock-men had been bitten by
+venomous snakes repeatedly, but, his father being a doctor, he had
+escaped injury. Walking one day through some long grass, the captain,
+pointing to the bare legs of his servant, asked if there was not danger.
+"None," said he; "my father picks some grass, and if on the same day the
+decoction is applied, the wound heals at once."[188]
+
+Some animals, especially those which prey upon serpents, seem to be
+proof against their bites. The Ichneumons or Mangoustes of Africa and
+Asia have long been celebrated for their immunity, and veritable stories
+have been narrated of their having recourse to some herb, when bitten,
+after which they successfully renewed the attack. Percival, in his
+account of Ceylon, relates that a Mangouste placed in a close room where
+a venomous serpent was, instead of darting at it, as he would ordinarily
+have done, ran peeping about anxiously seeking some way of escape; but
+finding none it returned to its master, crept into his bosom, and could
+by no means be persuaded to face the snake. When, however, both were
+removed out of the house into the open field, the Mangouste instantly
+flew at the serpent, and soon destroyed it. After the combat the little
+quadruped suddenly disappeared for a few minutes, and again returned.
+Percival concludes, not unreasonably, that during its absence, it had
+found the antidotal herb, and eaten of it. The natives state that the
+Mangouste resorts on such occasions to the _Ophiorhiza mungos_, whose
+root is reputed a specific for serpents' bites. This is a Cinchonaceous
+plant, so intensely bitter that it is called by the Malays by a name
+which signifies earth-gall.[189]
+
+Captain Forbes in his interesting account of Dahomey, alludes to these
+combats, which he says he has witnessed in India. He says that the
+serpent (Cobra) has usually the advantage at first, but the Mangouste
+retreating, devours some wild herb, returns and presently conquers.
+
+Sir Emerson Tennent inclines to refer the immunity of the Mangouste to
+an inherent property. He remarks that the mystery of its power has been
+"referred to the supposition that there may be some peculiarity in its
+organisation which renders it _proof against_ the poison of the serpent.
+It remains for future investigation to determine how far this conjecture
+is founded in truth; and whether in the blood of the Mongoos there
+exists any element or quality which acts as a prophylactic. Such
+exceptional provisions are not without precedent in the animal economy:
+the hornbill feeds with impunity on the deadly fruit of the _Strychnos_;
+the milky juice of some species of _Euphorbia_, which is harmless to
+oxen, is invariably fatal to the zebra; and the tsetse fly, the pest of
+South Africa, whose bite is mortal to the ox, the dog, and the horse, is
+harmless to man and the untamed creatures of the forest."[190]
+
+Our own hedgehog possesses the privilege of being unharmed by the venom
+of the viper, as is manifest in its frequent contests with it. Mr Slater
+has frequently seen combats between these animals, which always
+terminated in favour of the hedgehog. The latter seemed perfectly
+regardless of the many bites it received on the snout.[191]
+
+To return to Bruce's statements. After describing the little horned
+viper of Egypt, the _Cerastes_, and its insidious manner of creeping
+towards its victim with its head averted, till within reach, when it
+suddenly springs and strikes, he goes on to say: "I saw one of them at
+Cairo crawl up the side of a box, in which there were many, and there
+lie still as if hiding himself, till one of the people who brought them
+to us came near him, and though in a very disadvantageous posture,
+sticking, as it were, perpendicularly to the side of the box, he leaped
+near the distance of three feet, and fastened between the man's
+forefinger and thumb, so as to bring the blood. The fellow shewed no
+signs of either pain or fear, and we kept him with us full four hours,
+without his applying any sort of remedy, or seeming inclined to do so.
+
+"To make myself assured" (adds Bruce) "that the animal was in its
+perfect state, I made the man hold him by the neck, so as to force him
+to open his mouth and lacerate the thigh of a pelican, a bird I had
+tamed, as big as a swan. The bird died in about thirteen minutes, though
+it was apparently affected in fifty seconds; and we cannot think this
+was a fair trial, because a very few minutes before it had bit the man,
+and so discharged part of its virus, and it was made to scratch the
+pelican by force, without any irritation or action of its own.
+
+[Illustration: SNAKE-CHARMING.]
+
+"I will not hesitate to aver," he adds, "that I have seen at Cairo (and
+this may be seen daily without trouble or expense) a man, who came from
+above the catacombs, where the pits of the mummy-birds are kept, who has
+taken a Cerastes with his naked hand from a number of others lying at
+the bottom of the tub, has put it upon his bare head, covered it with
+the common red cap he wears, then taken it out, put it in his breast,
+and tied it about his neck like a necklace, after which it has been
+applied to a hen and bit it, which has died in a few minutes;. and, to
+complete the experiment, the man has taken it by the neck, and beginning
+at its tail, has ate it, as one would do a carrot or a stock of celery,
+without any seeming repugnance."[192]
+
+A few years earlier than Bruce, Hasselquist, an enthusiastic young
+naturalist, and one of the pupils of Linnæus, had visited the East. He
+paid much attention to the subject, and records his judgment that there
+is no delusion in serpent-charming, but that certain persons do really,
+in whatever way they effect it, fascinate serpents. "They take the most
+poisonous vipers with their bare hands, play with them, put them in
+their bosoms, and use a great many more tricks with them, as I have
+often seen. The person I saw on the above day had only a small viper,
+but I have frequently seen them handle those that are three or four feet
+long, and of the most horrid sort. I inquired _and examined_ whether
+they cut out the viper's poisonous teeth: but _I have seen with my own
+eyes they do not_: we may therefore conclude, that there are to this day
+Psylli in Egypt; but what art they use is not generally known. Some
+people are very superstitious; and the generality believe this to be
+done by some supernatural art, which they obtain from invisible beings;
+I do not know whether their power is to be ascribed to good or evil; but
+I am persuaded that those who undertake it use many superstitions."
+
+Subsequently we find some details of interest. "Now was the time (July)
+to catch all sorts of snakes to be met with in Egypt, the great heats
+bringing forth these vermin. I therefore made preparation to get as many
+as I could, and at once received four different sorts, which I have
+described and preserved in _aqua vitæ_. These were the Common Viper, the
+Cerastes of Alpin, the Jaculus, and an Anguis Marinus. They were brought
+me by a Psylle, who put me, together with the French consul, Sironcourt,
+and all the French nation present, in consternation.
+
+"They gathered about us to see how she handled the most poisonous and
+dreadful creatures alive and brisk, without their doing or offering to
+do her the least harm. When she put them into the bottle where they were
+to be preserved, she took them with her bare hands, and handled them as
+our ladies do their laces. She had no difficulty with any but the
+_Viperæ officinales_, which were not fond of their lodging. They found
+means to creep out before the bottle could be corked. They crept over
+the hands and bare arms of the woman, without occasioning the least fear
+in her; she with great calmness took the snakes from her body, and put
+them into the place destined for their grave. She had taken these
+serpents in the field with the same ease she handled them before us;
+this we were told by the Arab who brought her to us. Doubtless this
+woman had some unknown art which enabled her to handle those creatures.
+It was impossible to get any information from her, for on this subject
+she would not open her lips."
+
+He thus sums up the results of his investigations. "The circumstances
+relating to the fascination of serpents in Egypt stated to me, were
+principally:--
+
+"1st.--That the art is only known to certain families, who propagate it
+to their offspring.
+
+"2d.--The person who knows how to fascinate serpents, never meddles with
+other poisonous animals; such as scorpions, &c. There are different
+persons who know how to fascinate these animals; and they again never
+meddle with serpents.
+
+"3d.--Those that fascinate serpents eat them both raw and boiled, and
+even make broth of them, which they eat very commonly amongst them; but
+in particular they eat such a dish when they go out to catch them. I
+have been told that serpents, fried or boiled, are frequently eaten by
+the Arabians, both in Egypt and Arabia, though they know not how to
+fascinate them, but catch them either alive or dead.
+
+"4th.--After they have eaten their soup, they procure a blessing from
+their scheik, who uses some superstitious ceremonies, and, amongst
+others, spits on them several times with certain gestures."
+
+The blessing of the priest, Hasselquist pronounces correctly enough to
+be mere superstition; we may fairly conclude that the eating of the
+snakes is also irrelevant,--both of these circumstances being calculated
+to increase popular wonder only, and to lead the observers from the true
+scent, which probably is the employment of preventive simples.
+Hasselquist had been told of a plant with which the charmers anointed
+or rubbed themselves before they touched the serpents; but, as no such
+plant was produced to him, he regarded it as fabulous. We have seen
+reason, however, to conclude that the real key to the mystery lies
+there.[193]
+
+The ancients believed that the human spittle was so fatal to serpents
+that much of the secret of charming lay in the knowledge of this fact.
+Of course this would make Psylli of all men; but there may be this
+measure of truth in the supposition, that the natural exudations of a
+human body which has been bathed or rubbed with a penetrating
+alexipharmic, may be so impregnated with the odour, as to be peculiarly
+repellent of the snake. Denham describes a scene of snake-charming in
+which the spittle played an important part. A juggler brought him in a
+bag two venomous snakes, which he set at liberty, beginning to beat a
+little drum. They immediately reared themselves on their tails, moving
+in a sort of dance. The juggler played various tricks with them,
+sometimes wreathing them round his neck, coiling them in his bosom, or
+throwing them among the people. On pointing his finger at their mouth,
+they immediately raised themselves in attitude to spring forward and
+strike; but after having exasperated them to the utmost, _he had only to
+spit in their face_, to make them retreat quite crest-fallen. From his
+description these seem to have been of the genus _Naia_, upwards of six
+feet long, and very venomous. The fangs, he says, had been extracted;
+but still, to guard against all possible injury, the fellow who played
+tricks with them had a large roll of cloth wound round the right
+arm.[194]
+
+The influence of music on the serpents seems to be universally assumed
+as a part of the professional snake-charmer's success. The ancient
+Psylli who were employed to prevent the Roman camp from being troubled
+with venomous serpents, marched around it, chanting mystic songs.[195]
+Johnson describes the very clever snake-catchers of India as pretending
+to draw them from their holes by a song, and by playing a plaintive tune
+on an instrument somewhat resembling an Irish bagpipe.[196] He says,
+indeed, that this is all delusion; but Forbes, in his "Oriental
+Memoirs," allows its reality. A learned native of India assured Sir
+William Jones that he had frequently seen the most venomous and
+malignant snakes leave their holes upon hearing notes from a flute,
+which, as he supposed, gave them peculiar delight.
+
+The Egyptian snake-charmer assumes an air of mystery, strikes the walls
+with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a clucking noise with his
+tongue, and says, "I adjure you, by God, if ye be above, or if ye be
+below, that ye come forth; I adjure you by the most great Name, if ye be
+obedient, come forth, and if ye be disobedient, die, die, die!"[197] The
+late Dr W. A. Bromfield, in some extracts from his letters published in
+the _Zoologist_,[198] confirms this:--"The chief actor was a
+fine-looking man, with a handsome and intelligent, but peculiar cast of
+countenance. He carried a stick in his hand, with which, on entering
+each apartment, he struck the wall several times, uttering, in a low,
+measured tone, a form of exorcism in Arabic; adjuring and commanding the
+serpent--which he declared, immediately on the door being thrown open,
+was lurking in the walls or ceiling--to come forth. Presently, the
+reptile would be seen emerging from some hole or corner, with which
+every room, even in the better class of Egyptian houses, abounds; on
+which the enchanter would draw the unwilling serpent towards him, with
+the point of the stick, and when within reach put it in the bag he
+carried about with him for that purpose."
+
+Chateaubriand has drawn a graphic picture of the power of music on the
+American Rattlesnake. The serpent happening to enter the encampment of
+his party in Canada, a Canadian who could play on the flute, advanced,
+by way of diversion, with his magic pipe, against it. On his approach
+the haughty reptile curled itself into a spiral line, flattened its
+head, inflated its cheeks, contracted its lips, displayed its envenomed
+fangs, and its bloody throat; its double tongue glowed like two flames
+of fire; its eyes were burning coals; its body, swollen with rage, rose
+and fell like the bellows of a forge; its dilated skin assumed a dull
+and scaly appearance; and its rattle, which sounded the denunciation of
+death, vibrated with extreme velocity. The Canadian now began to play
+upon his flute: the serpent started with surprise, and drew back its
+head. In proportion as it was struck with the magic effect, its eyes
+lost their fierceness, the vibrations of its tail became slower, and the
+sound which it emitted gradually became weaker and ceased. The folds of
+the fascinated Serpent became less perpendicular upon their spiral line,
+expanded by degrees, and sunk one after another upon the ground, forming
+concentric circles. The colours recovered their brilliancy on its
+quivering skin; and, slightly turning its head, it remained motionless
+in the attitude of attention and pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian
+advanced a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes.
+The Reptile inclined its variegated neck, opened a passage with its head
+through the high grass, and began to creep after the musician, stopping
+when he stopped, and following him again as soon as he moved forward. In
+this manner, to the astonishment both of Europeans and natives, he was
+led out of the camp; and it was unanimously decreed, that the life of a
+creature so sensible of the concord of sweet sounds should be
+spared.[199]
+
+Some allowance in the colouring of this picture, which must be allowed
+to be beautifully painted, may possibly be made to the poetical
+imagination of the narrator, for Chateaubriand could not tell a story
+without embellishing it _suo more_. We may, however, accept the main
+facts, confirmed as they are by the experience of other observers in
+other countries.
+
+Mr Gogerly, a missionary of some standing in India observes that some
+persons who were incredulous on the subject, after taking the most
+careful precautions against any trick or artifice being played, sent a
+charmer into the garden to prove his powers;--the man began to play upon
+his pipe, and proceeding from one part of the garden to another, for
+some minutes stopped at a part of the wall much injured by age, and
+intimated that a serpent was within. He then played quicker, and his
+notes were louder, when almost immediately a large Cobra di Capello put
+forth its hooded head, and the man ran fearlessly to the spot, seized it
+by the throat, and drew it forth. He then shewed the poison fangs, and
+beat them out; afterwards it was taken to the room where his baskets
+were left, and deposited among the rest. The snake-charmer, observes the
+same writer, applies his pipe to his mouth, and sends forth a few of his
+peculiar notes, and all the serpents stop as though enchanted; they then
+turn towards the musician, and approaching him within two feet raise
+their heads from the ground, and bending backwards and forwards, keep
+time with the tune. When he ceases playing, they drop their heads and
+remain quiet on the ground.
+
+The _Penny Magazine_ for April 1833, contains the following very precise
+and circumstantial narrative, communicated by a gentleman of high
+station at Madras:--"One morning, as I sat at breakfast, I heard a loud
+noise and shouting among my palankeen-bearers. On inquiry, I learned
+that they had seen a large hooded snake, and were trying to kill it. I
+immediately went out, and saw the snake creeping up a very high green
+mound, whence it escaped into a hole in an old wall of ancient
+fortification; the men were armed with their sticks, which they always
+carry in their hands, and had attempted in vain to kill the reptile,
+which had eluded their pursuit, and in his hole had coiled himself up
+secure, whilst we could see his bright eyes shining. I had often desired
+to ascertain the truth of the report, as to the effect of music upon
+snakes. I therefore inquired for a snake-catcher. I was told there was
+no person of the kind in the village; but after a little inquiry, I
+heard there was one in a village distant about three miles. I
+accordingly sent for him, keeping a strict watch over the snake, which
+never attempted to escape, whilst we, his enemies, were in sight. About
+an hour elapsed, when my messenger returned bringing a snake-catcher.
+This man wore no covering on his head, nor any on his person, excepting
+a small piece of cloth round his loins; he had in his hands two baskets,
+one containing tame snakes, the other empty: these and his musical pipe
+were the only things he had with him. I made the snake-catcher leave his
+two baskets on the ground, at some distance, while he ascended the mound
+with his pipe alone. He began to play: at the sound of the music the
+snake came gradually and slowly out of his hole. When he was entirely
+within reach, the snake-catcher seized him dexterously by the tail and
+held him thus at arm's length; whilst the snake, enraged, darted his
+head in all directions, but in vain: thus suspended, he has not the
+power to round himself, so as to seize hold of his tormentor. He
+exhausted himself in vain exertions; when the snake-catcher descended
+the bank, dropped him into the empty basket, and closed the lid: he then
+began to play, and after a short time, raised the lid of the basket; the
+snake darted about wildly, and attempted to escape; the lid was shut
+down again quickly, the music always playing. This was repeated two or
+three times; and in a very short interval, the lid being raised, the
+snake sat on his tail, opened his hood and danced quite as quietly as
+the tame snakes in the other basket, nor did he attempt again to escape.
+This, having witnessed with my own eyes, I can assert as a fact."
+
+Experienced and skilful as these men are, however, they do not
+invariably escape with impunity. Fatal terminations to these exhibitions
+of the psyllic art now and then occur, for there are still to be found
+"deaf adders, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming
+never so wisely." In Madras, a few years ago, a noted serpent-charmer
+chanced one morning to get hold of a Cobra of considerable size, which
+he got conveyed to his home. He was occupied abroad all day, and had not
+time to get the dangerous fangs extracted from the Serpent's mouth. This
+at least is the probable solution of the matter. In the evening he
+returned to his dwelling, considerably excited with liquor, and began to
+exhibit tricks with his snakes to various persons who were around him at
+the time. The newly-caught Cobra was brought out with the others, and
+the man, spirit-valiant, commenced to handle the stranger like the rest.
+But the Cobra darted at his chin, and bit it, making two marks like pin
+points. The poor juggler was sobered in an instant. "I am a dead man,"
+he exclaimed. The prospect of immediate death made the maintenance of
+his professional mysticism a thing of no moment. "Let the creature
+alone," said he to those about him, who would have killed the Cobra; "it
+may be of service to others who are of my trade. To me it can be of no
+more use. Nothing can save me." His professional knowledge was but too
+accurate. In two hours he was a corpse! The narrator saw him a short
+time after he died. His friends and brother jugglers had gathered around
+him, and had him placed on a chair in a sitting position. Seeing the
+detriment likely to result to their trade and interests from such a
+notion, they vehemently asserted that it was not the envenomed bite
+which had killed him. "No, no; he only forgot one little word--one small
+portion of the charm." In fact, they declared that he was not dead at
+all, but only in a sort of swoon, from which, according to the rules of
+the cabalistic art, he would recover in seven days. But the officers of
+the barracks, close to which the deceased had lived, interfered in the
+matter. They put a guard of one or two men on the house, declaring that
+they would allow the body to remain unburied for seven days, but would
+not permit any trickery. Of course the poor serpent-charmer never came
+to life again. His death, and the manner of it, gave a severe blow, as
+has been already hinted, to the art and practice of snake-charming in
+Madras.
+
+Roberts also mentions the instance of a man who came to a gentleman's
+house to exhibit tame snakes, and on being told that a Cobra, or Hooded
+Snake was in a cage in the house, was asked if he could charm it; on his
+replying in the affirmative, the Serpent was released from the cage,
+and, no doubt, in a state of high irritation. The man began his
+incantations, and repeated his charms, but the Snake darted at him,
+fastened upon his arm, and before night he was a corpse.
+
+These failures, rare and abnormal as they confessedly are, do not by any
+means disprove the reality of snake-charming; they certainly shew that
+the men believe in their own powers. It may be, as some Europeans have
+maintained, that in India, the exhibitors usually practise upon tame
+snakes, from which they have already extracted the fangs, or even
+eradicated the poison sacs,--an operation performed without difficulty
+by making an incision beneath and behind each eye. Or it may be that the
+power of music over these reptiles is ordinarily relied on, and that in
+rare instances this fails. I have myself taken fierce and active
+lizards, in Jamaica, by a noose of string, while whistling a lively
+tune. As soon as the whistling commenced, the lizard would become still
+on the trunk or the branch of a tree, and so remain unmoved, with a
+sleepy look all the while I was searching up the string, preparing the
+noose, and presenting it to him, giving just a backward glance of his
+eye, as the noose slipped over his head, the whistling going on
+vigorously all the time, of course, till the cord being jerked tight, he
+suddenly found himself dangling in the air at the end of a stick, and
+began to wriggle and writhe, and scratch and bite furiously.
+
+One thing seems clear from these accidents. The Indian _samp-wallahs_ do
+not use any infusion or unguent to stupefy and disarm their snakes, as
+do those of Ethiopia. If these men just mentioned had been so protected
+they would not have been killed, however rash or pot-valiant they might
+have been. Indeed the accounts of Bruce and others of the African
+professors of the psyllic art, and the phenomena of the serpents acted
+upon, differ greatly from descriptions of parallel exhibitions in India,
+and suggest diverse modes of explanation.
+
+A dozen years ago there were a couple of oriental Psylli performing at
+the Zoological Gardens. Mr Brodcrip has given a very graphic sketch of
+their performance as he saw it in the Reptile House. The two Arabs took
+up their position on the floor, the company standing in a semicircle at
+a respectful distance.
+
+"The old Arab said something to the young one, who stooped down ... and
+took out a large deal-box, drew off the cover, thrust in his hand and
+pulled out a large long _Naia haje_ (the Egyptian species of Cobra).
+After handling it and playing with it a little while, he set it down on
+the floor, half squatted close to it, and fixed his eyes on the snake.
+The serpent instantly raised itself, expanded its hood, and turned
+slowly on its own axis, following the eye of the young Arab, turning as
+his head, or eye, or body turned. Sometimes it would dart at him, as if
+to bite. He exercised the most perfect command over the animal. All this
+time the old Arab stood still, pensively regarding the operation; but
+presently he also squatted down, muttering some words, opposite to the
+snake. He evidently affected the reptile more strongly than his more
+mercurial relative, though he remained motionless, doing nothing that I
+could see but fixing his eyes upon the snake, with his face upon a level
+with the raised head of the serpent, which now turned all its attention
+to him, and seemed to be in a paroxysm of rage. Suddenly it darted
+open-mouthed at his face, furiously dashing its expanded whitish-edged
+jaws into the dark hollow cheek of the charmer, who still imperturbably
+kept his position, only smiling bitterly at his excited antagonist. I
+was very close, and watched very narrowly; but though the snake dashed
+at the old Arab's face and into it more than twice or thrice with its
+mouth wide open, I could not see the projection of any fang.
+
+"Then the old Arab, who, it was said, had had the gift of charming
+serpents in his family for a long series of years, opened another box,
+and took out four or five great lizards, and provoked the Naia with
+them, holding them by the tails in a sort of four-in-hand style. Then
+the youth brought out a Cerastes, which I observed seemed overpowered,
+as if, as the country people say, something had come over it. He placed
+it on the floor; but this serpent did not raise itself like the Naia,
+but, as the charmer stooped to it, moved in a very odd, agitated manner,
+on its belly, regarding him askant. I thought the serpent was going to
+fly at the lad, but it did not. He took it up, played with it, blew or
+spit at it, and then set it down apparently sick, subdued, and limp. He
+then took it again, played with it a second time, gathered it up in his
+hand, put it in his bosom, went to another box, drew the lid, and
+brought out more snakes, one of which was another Naia, and the others
+of a most venomous kind.
+
+"Now there were two Naias, with heads and bodies erect, obeying,
+apparently, the volition of the charmers. One of the snakes bit the
+youth on the naked hand, and brought blood; but he only spat on the
+wound and scratched it with his nail which made the blood flow more
+freely. Then he brought out more lizards of a most revolting aspect. By
+this time the floor of the reptile house, that formed the stage of the
+charmers, began to put one in mind of the incantation-scene in _Der
+Freischutz_, only that the principal performers looked more like the
+Black Huntsman and one of his familiars than Max and Caspar, and the
+enchanters' circle was surrounded with fair ladies and their
+well-dressed lords, instead of the appalling shapes which thronged round
+the affrighted huntsman at the casting of the charmed bullets.
+
+"The Arabs, holding the snakes by the tails, let their bodies touch the
+floor, when they came twisting and wriggling on towards the spectators,
+who now backed a little upon the toes of those who pressed them from
+behind. Sometimes the charmers would loose their hold, when the
+serpents, as if eager to escape from their tormentors, rapidly advanced
+upon the retreating ring; but they always caught them by the tails in
+time, and then made them repeat the same advances. I kept my position in
+front throughout, and had no fear, feeling certain that Mr Mitchell,
+and those under whose superintendence this highly amusing and
+instructive establishment is so well conducted, would not have permitted
+the exhibition to take place, if there had been the least danger.
+Besides this, I observed that the charmers only used their own serpents,
+which they had, I presume, brought with them; and I confess that the
+impression upon my mind was, that they had been rendered innoxious by
+mechanical means."[200]
+
+This last assumption the narrator subsequently found to be indubitably
+true. What is said of the _Cerastes_, however, looks more like the
+effect of something detrimental to the snake in the lad's odour, or in
+his spittle. Of course no confidence can be placed in their statements,
+but it is noteworthy that they both claimed to belong to a race over
+whom snakes have no morbific power,--Psylli, in fact, of many
+generations.
+
+Dr Davy asserts that in India, however, the poison fangs are _not_
+extracted. He tells us that he has himself examined the snakes exhibited
+(which are always Cobras) and have found the fangs uninjured. He
+attributes the power of the charmers to their agility and courage,
+founded on an intimate acquaintance with the habits and disposition of
+the reptiles. The learned Doctor acting on this persuasion, says that he
+has himself repeatedly irritated these serpents with impunity. They can
+be readily appeased when irritated, by the voice and by gentle movements
+of the hand in a circle, and by stroking them on the body.
+
+A very curious subject, closely connected with serpent-charming, is the
+power of extracting venom from a wound inflicted by reptiles, attributed
+to the "snake-stone," which the Hindoos and Cingalese usually carry with
+them. Captain Napier thus describes it:--
+
+"These people generally have for sale numbers of _snake-stones_, which
+are said to be equally an antidote against the bite of the serpent and
+the sting of the scorpion. For the former I have never seen it tried:
+and to prove its efficacy with the latter, the samp-wallah generally
+carries about in small earthen vessels a number of these animals, one of
+which he allows to wound him with his sting. The snake-stone, which is a
+dark, shining, smooth pebble, about the size and shape of a French bean,
+on being applied to the wound, instantly adheres to it, and by a power
+of suction appears to draw out the poison, which is supposed to be
+contained in the small bubbles which, on the immersion of the stone into
+a glass of water are seen in great numbers to rise to the surface.
+
+"My first idea on beholding the samp-wallah allow himself to be stung by
+the scorpion was that the latter had by some means been rendered
+harmless. However, not wishing voluntarily to put this to the test by
+personal experience, I purchased some of the stones, resolved on the
+very first opportunity to try their efficacy. Shortly after this,
+happening to be marching up the country with a detachment, we pitched
+our camp on some very stony ground, in clearing which one of the English
+soldiers happened to be bit [stung] in the hand by a large scorpion. As
+soon as I heard of this circumstance, I sent for the sufferer, who
+appeared to be in great pain, which he described as a burning sensation
+running all the way up his arm to the very shoulder.
+
+"I applied one of the snake-stones to the puncture; it adhered
+immediately, and during about eight minutes that it remained on the
+patient, he by degrees became easier; the pain diminished, gradually
+coming down from the shoulder, until it appeared entirely confined to
+the immediate vicinity of the wound. I now removed the stone; on putting
+it into a cup of water, numbers of small air-bubbles rose to the
+surface, and in a short time the man ceased to suffer any inconvenience
+from the accident."[201]
+
+It is scarcely needful to say that the emission of bubbles is a most
+ordinary phenomenon, and could have not the slightest connexion with the
+alexipharmic power of the stone, whether real or imaginary. Any one may
+see exactly the same thing on dropping a bit of new flower-pot, or a
+very dry brick into water, or any other substance heavier than the
+fluid, which is at the same time dry and porous. It results from the air
+which is contained in the pores of the material, which on immersion is
+displaced by the heavier water, and rises in oozing bubbles to the
+surface.
+
+Sir Emerson Tennent has some observations of much value on these
+"stones," as well as on cognate matters, which my readers may like to
+see, and with which I close this subject:--
+
+"On one occasion, in March 1854, a friend of mine was riding, with some
+other civil officers of the government, along a jungle-path in the
+vicinity of Bintenne, when they saw one of two Tamils, who were
+approaching them, suddenly dart into the forest and return, holding in
+both hands a _cobra di capello_ which he had seized by the head and
+tail. He called to his companion for assistance to place it in their
+covered basket, but in doing this, he handled it so inexpertly that it
+seized him by the finger, and retained its hold for a few seconds, as if
+unable to retract its fangs. The blood flowed, and intense pain appeared
+to follow almost immediately; but, with all expedition, the friend of
+the sufferer undid his waistcloth, and took from it two snake-stones,
+each of the size of a small almond, intensely black and highly polished,
+though of an extremely light substance. These he applied one to each
+wound inflicted by the teeth of the serpent, to which the stones
+attached themselves closely, the blood that oozed from the bites being
+rapidly imbibed by the porous texture of the article applied. The stones
+adhered tenaciously for three or four minutes, the wounded man's
+companion in the meanwhile rubbing his arm downwards from the shoulder
+towards the fingers. At length the snake-stones dropped off of their own
+accord; the suffering appeared to have subsided; he twisted his fingers
+till the joints cracked, and went on his way without concern. Whilst
+this had been going on, another Indian of the party who had come up
+took from his bag a small piece of white wood, which resembled a root,
+and passed it gently near the head of the cobra, which the latter
+immediately inclined close to the ground; he then lifted the snake
+without hesitation, and coiled it into a circle at the bottom of his
+basket. The root, by which he professed to be enabled to perform this
+operation with safety, he called the _Naya-thalee Kalinga_ (the root of
+the snake-plant,) protected by which he professed his ability to
+approach any reptile with impunity. In another instance, in 1853, Mr
+Lavalliere, the District Judge of Kandy, informed me that he saw a
+snake-charmer in the jungle, close by the town, search for a _cobra di
+capello_, and, after disturbing it in its retreat, the man tried to
+secure it, but, in the attempt, he was bitten in the thigh till blood
+trickled from the wound. He instantly applied the _Pamboo-Kaloo_ (or
+snake-stone), which adhered closely for about ten minutes, during which
+time he passed the root which he held in his hand backwards and forwards
+above the stone, till the latter dropped to the ground. He assured Mr
+Lavalliere that all danger was then past. That gentleman obtained from
+him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw him repeatedly afterwards
+in perfect health. The substances which were used on both these
+occasions are now in my possession. The roots employed by the several
+parties are not identical. One appears to be a bit of the stem of an
+_Aristolochia_; the other is so dry as to render it difficult to
+identify it, but it resembles the quadrangular stem of a jungle vine.
+Some species of _Aristolochia_, such as the _A. serpentaria_ of North
+America, are supposed to act as a specific in the cure of snake-bites;
+and the _A. Indica_ is the plant to which the ichneumon is popularly
+believed to resort as an antidote when bitten; but it is probable that
+the use of any particular plant by the snake-charmers is a pretence, or
+rather a delusion, the reptile being overpowered by the resolute action
+of the operator, and not by the influence of any secondary appliance,
+the confidence inspired by the supposed talisman enabling its possessor
+to address himself fearlessly to his task, and thus to effect by
+determination and will, what is popularly believed to be the result of
+charms and stupefaction."
+
+The writer then alludes to the facts mentioned by Bruce, which I have
+before adduced; and proceeds:--
+
+"As to the snake-stone itself, I submitted one, the application of which
+I have been describing, to Mr Faraday, and he has communicated to me, as
+the result of his analysis, his belief that it is 'a piece of charred
+bone which has been filled with blood perhaps several times, and then
+carefully charred again. Evidence of this is afforded, as well by the
+apertures of cells or tubes on its surface as by the fact that it yields
+and breaks under pressure, and exhibits an organic structure within.
+When heated slightly, water rises from it, and also a little ammonia;
+and, if heated still more highly in the air, the carbon burns away, and
+a bulky white ash is left, retaining the shape and size of the 'stone.'
+This ash, as is evident from inspection, cannot have belonged to any
+vegetable substance, for it is almost entirely composed of phosphate of
+lime. Mr Faraday adds that 'if the piece of matter has ever been
+employed as a spongy absorbent, it seems hardly fit for that purpose in
+its present state; but who can say to what treatment it has been
+subjected since it was fit for use, or to what treatment the natives may
+submit it when expecting to have occasion to use it?'"
+
+Sir E. Tennent supposes that the animal charcoal may be sufficiently
+absorbent to extract the venom from the recent wound together with a
+portion of the blood, before it has had time to be carried into the
+system. If this be so the process is analogous to that of sucking a
+poisoned wound, already referred to.[202]
+
+What the author means by a jungle vine I do not exactly know, but
+conjecture that it may be one of the _Bignoniaceæ_, the woody climbing
+species of which have in general their stem divided into lobes arranged
+in a quadrangular manner. I am not aware that any species of this order
+is an antidote to animal poisons, but many have powerful medicinal
+properties, and abound in bitter juices. The whitewood of Jamaica
+(_Bignonia leucoxylon_) enjoys a reputation as a remedy for the poison
+of the Manchineel (_Hippomane mancinella_) which is so virulent that
+persons are reported to have been killed by its volatile emanations,
+when accidentally sleeping under its shade, and a drop of its juice
+falling on the skin burns it like fire, and produces an ulcer difficult
+to heal. The value of the _Aristolochia_ has been already referred to;
+and on the whole I am disposed to attach more importance to the use of
+vegetable specifics by the Ceylonese operators than the learned author
+whom I have just quoted. The subject is a highly curious one, and well
+worthy of minute investigation by able and unprejudiced men of science,
+willing to receive unscientific information and suggestions, in various
+parts of the world, particularly in the intertropical regions of both
+hemispheres.
+
+[183] Psalm lviii. 4, 5.
+
+[184] Jer. viii. 17.
+
+[185] This is the Tuberose, a liliaceous plant, so commonly cultivated
+in our conservatories. It is generally stated to be a native of the East
+Indies, but the one spoken of by Tschudi, with a Peruvian name, must
+certainly be an indigenous plant of the country.
+
+[186] The genus _Mikania_ of Willdenow is one of the tubuliflorous
+_Asteraceæ_. _M. guaco_ Humboldt mentions, under the name of Vijuco del
+Guaco, as being highly esteemed in South America as a valuable antidote
+against the bite of serpents. "Guaco" and "huaco" are the same word, the
+intensity of the aspirate varying among different peoples. The power of
+this _Mikania_ is denied in the most positive terms by Hancock, who
+suspects that the real Guaco antidote is some kind of _Aristolochia_.
+The word "Vijuco" or "Bejuco," in Tropical America, signifies any
+climbing plant, and is equivalent to our florist word "creeper."
+
+_Eupatorium ayapana_, belonging to the same order as _Mikania_, is a
+valuable repellent of the poison of venomous snakes. For this purpose it
+is used in Brazil. A quantity of the bruised leaves, which are to be
+frequently changed, is laid on the scarified wound, and some spoonfuls
+of the expressed juice are from time to time administered to the
+patient, till he is found to be free from the symptoms, especially the
+dreadful anxiety which follows the wounds of venomous reptiles. _E.
+perfoliatum_ has a very similar action, and _Mikania opifera_ is
+employed in the same way.--(_Lindley's Veg. Kingd._, p. 707.) These
+facts tend to confirm the accuracy of Tschudi and Humboldt against
+Hancock.
+
+[187] _Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela_, vol. i., p. 43.
+
+[188] _Dahomey and the Dahomans._
+
+[189] Several of the _Aristolochieæ_--plants generally having a very
+bitter taste, and a strong, pungent, disagreeable smell--are valuable
+alexipharmics. There is a plant very common in Jamaica, where it is
+called snake-withe, trailing over the stone fences, which I suspect to
+be an _Aristolochia_, and perhaps _A. trilobata_; it is employed as a
+sudden and potent sudorific, and as an antidote to serpent-bites in
+other countries, for in Jamaica there is no venomous reptile. The _A.
+anguicida_ of Carthagena is described by Jacquin as fatal to serpents.
+He says that the juice of the root chewed and introduced into the mouth
+of a serpent so stupefies it that it may be for a long time handled with
+impunity: if the reptile is compelled to swallow a few drops, it
+perishes in convulsions. The root is also reputed to be an antidote to
+serpent-bites. "It is not a little remarkable," observes Dr Lindley,
+"that the power of stupefying snakes, ascribed in Carthagena to
+_Aristolochia anguicida_, should be also attributed to _A. pallida_,
+_longa_, _b{oe}tica_, _sempervirens_ and _rotunda_; which are said to be
+the plants with which the Egyptian jugglers stupefy the snakes they play
+with."
+
+[190] _Ceylon_, i., 147.
+
+[191] "On the Habits of the Viper in Silesia:" _Zoologist_, p. 829.
+
+[192] _Trav. to the Sources of the Nile, passim._
+
+[193] _Travels in the Levant, passim._
+
+[194] _Discov. in Africa_, ii., p. 292.
+
+[195] _Lucan's Pharsalia._
+
+[196] _Ind. Field Sports._
+
+[197] _Mod. Egyptians._
+
+[198] _Zool._, 6400.
+
+[199] _Beauties of Christianity._
+
+[200] _Note-book of a Naturalist_, 202.
+
+[201] Napier's _Scenes and Sports_, vol. ii., p. 227.
+
+[202] Tennent's _Ceylon_.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+BEAUTY.
+
+
+Very much of the delight with which we pursue natural history is surely
+due to the almost constant recognition of the beautiful. I do not know
+that I could say with the poet,--
+
+      "A thing of beauty is a joy _for ever_;"
+
+but certainly it is a joy as long as it endures; and the naturalist
+finds an endless recurrence of things of beauty. Birds, insects, shells,
+zoophytes, flowers, sea-weeds, are all redundant of beauty; and all the
+classes of natural objects, though not in an equal degree, nor
+manifestly in every individual object, yet possess it as a prominent
+element. Indeed, from the profusion with which loveliness is sown
+broadcast over the works of God, I have often thought, though it is not
+directly revealed, that a sense of the beautiful and a complacency in
+it, altogether independent of fitness for certain ends, or the uses
+which may be subserved, is an attribute of the Holy One Himself, and
+that our perception of it is the reflection of His--a part of that image
+of God in which man was created, and which sin has not wholly
+obliterated. I know that God may have clothed His works with beauty for
+other admiring eyes than man's; and that it is probable that the holy
+angels may be far more conversant with creation than we are with all our
+researches,--that the ten thousand times ten thousand flowers which are
+"born to blush unseen" by _man_, may be seen and admired by "ten
+thousand times ten thousand" angels,[203] and thus the tribute of praise
+for their perfection may be ever ascending before Him whose hands made
+them for His glory. We may allow this; and yet with reverence presume
+that His own pure eyes look upon the lilies' array with a delight in
+their mere loveliness, infinitely greater than that which men, or even
+angels, take in it, seeing it is written,--"for thy pleasure they are,
+and were created."
+
+I remember being struck, and somewhat awed, too, with a thought of this
+kind, once, when, pushing my way through a very dense and tangled
+thicket in a lone and lofty mountain region of Jamaica, sufficiently
+remote from the dwellings of man to render it probable that no civilized
+human foot had penetrated thither before. I suddenly came upon a most
+magnificent terrestrial orchid in full blossom. It was _Phajus
+Tankervilliæ_,--a noble plant, which from the midst of broad leaves
+growing out of a mass of green bulbs, had thrown up its stout
+blossom-stems to the height of a yard or more, crowned with the
+pyramidal spike of lily-like flowers, whose expanding petals of pure
+white on one side and golden brown on the other, and trumpet-lip of
+gorgeous purple seemed, to my ravished gaze, the very perfection of
+beauty. For ages, I thought, that beauteous flower had been growing in
+that wild and unvisited spot, every season "filling the air around with
+beauty," and had in all probability never met a single human gaze
+before. Had, then, all that divinely-formed loveliness been mere waste
+for those generations? I asked myself; and I immediately replied, No:
+the eye of God himself hath rested on it with satisfaction, and the Lord
+hath taken pleasure in this work of His hands.
+
+I shall not make this chapter an essay on the sublime and beautiful, nor
+seek to analyse the sense of beauty. It is enough that it is an appetite
+of our being, and that most abundantly in nature, on every side, there
+is the material of its gratification. So abundantly, indeed, that it
+were easy to expand the few pages which I propose to devote to the
+subject into a volume, or a dozen volumes, and yet leave untouched vast
+treasures of the beautiful in natural history. I must content myself and
+my readers with the selection of a few of the more prominent objects in
+which this sense is gratified, and with a discrimination of two or three
+distinct phases or conditions of existence which contribute, each in its
+measure, to give delight to the eyes.
+
+[Illustration: ANTELOPES.]
+
+Among Quadrupeds, there is perhaps less of beauty, strictly considered,
+than in most other classes of animals. Elegance of form, however, which
+is one phase of it, is seen in the lithe and active squirrel, the pretty
+petaurist, and many other of the smaller beasties, and is found in
+perfection in the deer and antelopes. Who that has seen a pet fawn
+coming to be caressed by a fair girl, but must have had his sense of the
+beautiful gratified? Mark the freedom and grace of every motion! See
+how it stretches out its pretty meek face and taper neck towards the
+hand; its extreme timidity causing its whole body and every limb to
+start on the slightest stir from the beholders, while on the least
+approach it bounds away in the exuberant playfulness of its little
+heart, then stops, and turns, and gazes, and stretches out its neck
+again! See when it trots or walks, how high it lifts its little slender
+feet, bending its agile limbs as if motion itself were a pleasure! See,
+as it stands, with one fore-foot bent up, the hoof nearly touching the
+belly; the long graceful ears moving this way and that, now thrown
+forwards, now backwards, now erected, to catch the slightest
+sound,--what a picture of fairy grace it is! There is beauty, too, in
+the soft, full liquid eye of these animals,--the "bright, black eye" of
+the "dear gazelle," which in the East is the very ideal of female
+loveliness. Its melting gaze seems full of tenderness, so that we cannot
+look without loving it.
+
+Nor is beauty of colour wholly wanting. How rich is the tawny fur of the
+tiger, dashed with its black streaks! And the brighter yellow of the
+leopard and the jaguar, studded all over with rosettes of black spots!
+We forget the ferocity of the savage in its beautifully-painted coat.
+The zebra, too,--with the fine contrast of those bands of richest sable
+on the cream-coloured ground, now bold and broad, as on the rounded
+body, now running in fine parallel but irregularly-waved lines, as on
+the face,--is a beautiful quadruped; and a herd of them galloping
+wantonly over a South African plain, must be a sight worth seeing
+indeed.
+
+When we come to Birds, however, beauty is not the exception, but the
+rule. The form of a bird is almost always graceful; the rounded
+swellings and undulations of outline, and the smoothness of the plumage
+give pleasure to the eye, even when there is no attractiveness of hue.
+One has almost a difficulty in naming an inelegant bird. But when, as in
+a thousand instances, brilliancy of colouring is combined with elegance
+of shape and smoothness of plumage, we must be charmed. Is not our own
+little goldfinch, is not the pert chaffinch that comes up to our very
+feet for a grain or a crumb, a pretty object? But the tropical
+birds,--we must look at them if we wish to know what nature can do in
+the way of adornment. We should go to the flats on the embouchure of the
+Amazon, and see the rosy spoonbills, in their delicate carnation dress,
+set off by the lustrous crimson of their shoulders and breast-tufts,
+feeding by hundreds on the green mud, or watch the gorgeous ibises, all
+clad in glowing scarlet with black-tipped wings, when, in serried ranks,
+a mile in length, like the vermillion cloud of morning, they come to
+their breeding-place,--a truly magnificent sight.[204]
+
+The first of the Parrot tribe that I ever had an opportunity of seeing
+in its native freedom was the beautiful Parrakeet of the Southern
+States. Eighty or a hundred birds in one compact flock passed me flying
+low, and all nearly on the same plane; and, as they swept by, screaming
+as they went, I fancied that they looked like an immense shawl of green
+satin, on which an irregular pattern was worked in scarlet and gold and
+azure. The sun's rays were brilliantly reflected from the gorgeous
+surface, which rapidly sped past like a splendid vision.
+
+The Cock of the Rock is a fine South American bird of the richest orange
+colour, crowned with a double crest of feathers edged with purple. Mr
+Wallace describes his search for it on the Rio Negro, and his admiration
+of its beauty. Some time he sought in vain, for it is a rare bird, till
+the old Indian who was his guide suddenly caught him by the arm, and,
+pointing to a dense thicket, whispered in a low tone, "Gallo!" Peering
+through the foliage, the naturalist caught a glimpse of the magnificent
+bird, sitting amidst the gloom, and shining out like a mass of brilliant
+flame. As it is easily alarmed and very wary, it required some following
+and perseverance before he shot it. One of his Indians descended into
+the deep rocky glen into which it fell, and brought it to him. "I was
+lost," he says, "in admiration of the dazzling beauty of its soft downy
+feathers; not a spot of blood was visible, not a feather was ruffled,
+and the soft, warm, flexible body set off the fresh swelling plumage in
+a manner which no stuffed specimen can approach."[205]
+
+There is something exquisitely pleasing to the eye in the delicate
+painting of the soft plumage in most of the Goatsuckers and their
+allies. Entirely destitute of brilliant hues as they are, the
+combinations of warm browns, and cool greys, interchanged with black and
+white, and the manner in which these are softened, and blended, and
+minutely pencilled, produce an effect that is peculiarly charming.
+
+In the Trogons of the tropical regions we see elegance of form combined
+with the most gorgeous colouring. Green and gold, crimson, scarlet,
+orange, and black, are the hues of these birds, which hide themselves in
+the deep dark recesses of the Amazonian and Indian forests. That species
+called the Resplendent is the noblest of the race, whose magnificence
+was so well appreciated by the ancient Mexican emperors, that none but
+members of the royal family were permitted to adorn themselves with its
+flowing plumes. The whole upper parts of this bird, its fine coronal
+crest of erectile plumes, its shoulder-hackles, or long lance-shaped
+feathers, that droop over the sides, and the elongated tail-coverts
+which hang down beyond the tail to a length of three feet or more,
+curving elegantly under the bird, as it sits on a branch, are of the
+richest golden green, shining with a satiny radiance. The under parts
+are of a splendid scarlet, and the tail feathers are white, with broad
+black bars.
+
+More enchanting than mere colour, however rich and glowing this may be,
+is the fine metallic reflection which we see on the plumage of many
+tropical birds. The Rifle-bird of Australia might be seen sitting on a
+tree, and be passed by with contempt as a mere crow, while the eye was
+attracted to a more gaily-hued parrot by its side. But viewed close at
+hand, in the full blaze of the sun, the darker-plumaged bird is seen to
+exceed the other by far, in gorgeous glory, and to be not unworthy of
+the specific title of _Paradiseus_, by which it is known to naturalists.
+The body generally is of a deep velvet black, but it reflects a purple
+flush on the upper parts, and the feathers of the under parts are edged
+with olive-green. The crown of the head, and the whole throat, are
+clothed with scale-like feathers of the brightest emerald-green, which
+blaze with a gemmeous lustre in certain lights, and make the most vivid
+contrast with the velvet of the body. The tail displays its two middle
+feathers of the same lustrous green, while the bordering ones are deep
+black.
+
+The vast and little-known island of Papua contains some specimens of the
+feathered race of surpassing glory. The _Epimachi_, or Plume-birds, take
+a prominent place in this category. They are remarkable for the erectile
+scale-like feathers of the sides and shoulders, which form large
+fan-shaped tufts, standing out from the body in a very striking manner.
+Speaking of the superb Epimachus, Sonnerat, its describer, thus
+writes:--"As if to add to the singularity of this bird, nature has
+placed above and below its wings feathers of an extraordinary form, and
+such as one does not see in other birds; she seems, moreover, to have
+pleased herself in painting this being, already so singular, with her
+most brilliant colours. The head, the neck, and the belly are glittering
+green; the feathers which cover these parts possess the lustre and
+softness of velvet to the eye and touch; the back is changeable violet;
+the wings are of the same colour, and appear, according to the lights in
+which they are held, blue, violet, or deep black; always, however,
+imitating velvet. The tail is composed of twelve feathers, the two
+middle feathers are the longest, and the lateral feathers gradually
+diminish; it is violet, or changeable blue above, and black beneath. The
+feathers which compose it are as wide in proportion as they are long,
+and shine above and below with the brilliancy of polished metal.
+
+"Above the wings the scapularies are very long and singularly formed;
+their points being very short on one side, and very long on the other.
+These feathers are of the colour of polished steel, changing into blue,
+terminated by a large spot of brilliant green, and forming a species of
+tuft or appendage at the margin of the wings.
+
+"Below the wings spring long curved feathers, directed upwards; these
+are black on the inside, and brilliant green on the outside. The bill
+and feet are black."[206]
+
+The same author, in referring to the brilliant metallic hues of this and
+other birds, takes occasion to notice the iridescent effect which is
+produced by the different angle at which light falls on the feathers.
+The emerald-green, for instance, will often fling out rays of its two
+constituent primary colours, at one time being blue-green, at another
+gold-green, while in certain lights all colour vanishes, and a
+velvet-black is presented to the eye. The ruby feathers of several birds
+become orange under certain lights, and darken to a crimson-black at
+other times.
+
+[Illustration: MOURNING THE DEAD CUCKOO.]
+
+This change of hue is analogous to the well-known iridescent
+changeableness of the nacre which lines various shells, and is owing to
+the structure of its surface reflecting the light in different rays,
+according to the angle at which it falls upon the feathers.
+
+Another species, a native of the same teeming region, the Twelve-thread
+Epimachus, glows, with equal lustre, in the richest violet and emerald,
+but somewhat diversely arranged. The long, elegant depending tail is
+here reduced to ordinary dimensions, but, as if to compensate for this
+inferiority, the Twelve-thread is adorned with an expanding dress of the
+purest snowy white, composed of long silky plumes that spring from
+behind and below the wings, so soft and so loosely webbed as to wave
+gracefully in the slightest breeze. From these tufts project long and
+very slender shafts, unwebbed, and as fine as threads, curling
+elegantly, six on each side.
+
+The little Sun-birds of India and Africa, and the still tinier
+Humming-birds of the New World are conspicuous for the metallic radiance
+of their plumage. Take for an example of the former the Fire-tailed
+Sun-bird of Nepâl. The crown and forehead are brilliant steel-blue,
+while the neck, the back, and the rump are of the richest scarlet,
+diversified by a broad patch of bright yellow across the middle of the
+back. The central feathers of the tail are lengthened, and are bright
+scarlet, while the lateral feathers are edged with the same rich hue on
+brown. The breast is golden yellow or orange, flushed with crimson in
+the centre, and the rest of the inferior parts are olive-green. Most of
+those gorgeous colours have a silky or metallic lustre, and blaze out
+under the tropical sunlight with amazing brightness.
+
+Exquisite ornaments are these to an Indian garden, where they delight in
+the flowering plants and shrubs. They creep to and fro about the stalks
+and twigs, clinging by their little purple feet, and rifling the tubular
+corollas of the honeyed blossoms, whence doubtless they gather many
+minute insects, licked up with the nectar, by the aid of their curiously
+pencilled tongue.
+
+For that peculiar charm which resides in flashing light combined with
+the most brilliant colours, the lustre of precious stones, there are no
+birds, no creatures, that can compare with the Humming-birds. Confined
+exclusively to America,--whence we have already gathered between three
+and four hundred distinct species, and more are being continually
+discovered,--these lovely little winged gems were to the Mexican and
+Peruvian Indians the very quintessence of beauty. By these simple people
+they were called by various names signifying "the rays of the sun," "the
+tresses of the day-star," and the like. Their glittering scale-like
+plumage was employed to make, at the cost of immense time, patience, and
+labour, the radiant mantles in which the emperors and highest nobles
+appeared on state occasions, as well as to form by a sort of mosaic,
+those embroidered pictures which so attracted the admiration of the
+Spanish conquerors. The Mexican priests adopted the tiny birds into
+their mythology: they taught that the souls of those warriors who died
+in defence of the gods, were conducted by Toyamiqui, the wife of the
+god of war, straight to the mansion of the sun, and there transformed
+into humming-birds.
+
+In the gorgeous forest glooms of the mountainous parts of Jamaica, and
+especially in the sunny glades which here and there break their
+uniformity, where the ever-verdant foliage rises upon all sides of the
+open space like a wall, covered with the most elegant and fragrant
+flowers, I have been charmed by the familiar fearlessness and lustrous
+splendour of these little creatures. Here sitting down on a prostrate
+log in the shadow, I have watched them sipping all around, flitting to
+and fro, coming and going, every moment disappearing in the sombre
+shade, or suddenly flashing out, with a whirr like that of a
+spinning-wheel, into the bright sunshine. Bold and unsuspecting, they
+might be seen exploring bush after bush, and coming, while I remained
+motionless, even within arm's length of me, busily rifling all the
+blossoms in rapid succession, regularly quartering the surface of some
+favourite shrub, so as to lose none, and of course, in their zeal,
+frequently probing the same flower again and again. Sometimes it would
+be the Mango, suspending himself on whirring pinions in front of the
+flowers, his broadly-expanded tail-feathers of the richest violet, his
+body plumage all green and gold, and his cheeks and throat blazing, in
+the changing light, with the radiance now of the ruby, now of the
+amethyst, now of the sapphire, and now becoming for an instant the most
+intense black. But much more commonly on these occasions was I visited
+by the elegant Long-tail, whose slender form, black velvet crest,
+emerald bosom, and long tail-plumes, distinguish it as one of the
+_principes_ of this patrician race. This lovely little gem would be
+hovering about, half-a-dozen visible at the same moment, threading the
+projecting branches, now probing here, now there, one moment above a
+flower and bending down to it, the next hanging below it, and thrusting
+up its crimson beak to kiss its nectar-tube from beneath, the cloudy
+wings on each side vibrating with a noise like that of a factory wheel,
+and its entire throat, breast and belly clothed in scaly plumage of the
+richest green, contrasted finely with the velvety black of all beside.
+This scaly plumage would flash brilliantly back the sun's light, like a
+noble emerald in the crown of a king; then, by the slightest possible
+turn of the bird, it would become black, all the light being absorbed;
+then, on another movement, it would seem a dark rich olive, and in an
+instant flame forth again with emerald effulgence, over which olive and
+black clouds were momentarily passing and repassing.
+
+The phenomenon of this changing lustre is worthy of more careful
+attention than it has received. In such Humming-birds as I have
+examined,--and possibly it may be a general rule,--the iridescence of
+those portions of the plumage that are changeable is splendid in the
+ratio of the acuteness of the angle formed by the incident ray and the
+reflected one. Thus the scaly plumage of the neck of the Mango appears
+to advantage in a room with a single window, only when the beholder
+stands with his back to the light, and has the bird before him and
+facing him. Then the perpendicular band down the throat and breast,
+which seems composed of the richest black velvet, is bounded on each
+side by a broad band of glowing crimson, mingled with violet. It is not
+the _entire_ plumage of even a Humming-bird that displays these
+refulgent gleams: some of the brilliant hues are permanent, not
+changeable colours; such as the golden greens which adorn the back and
+wing-coverts in so many species; in which the colour is subject to
+little change, and the only effect produced by the alteration of the
+angle of the light is the transforming the tips of the feathers into the
+appearance of burnished gold.
+
+Wilson[207] has remarked that the plumage of the Indigo finch
+(_Fringilla cyanea_) in certain lights appears of a rich sky-blue and in
+others of a vivid verdigris green, so that the same bird, in passing
+from one place to another before your eyes, seems to undergo a total
+change of colour. When the rays of light so fall on the plumage that the
+angle of the incident and reflected ray is acute, the colour is green,
+when obtuse, blue. I have myself noticed exactly the same thing in the
+brilliant changeable colour of insects,--as, for instance, the
+_Cicindelæ_ of America, and the Emerald Virgin Dragonfly (_Agrion
+Virginica_.)
+
+To return, however, to our Humming-birds, of which my readers will like
+to have one or two more described,--_la crême de la crême_, the very
+_élite_ of this lovely little fairy population. If we were to cross the
+Atlantic to Brazil, track up the mighty Amazon some thirty days' sail,
+and a distance of a thousand miles, we should come to the mouth of the
+Rio Negro, where a remarkable change in the appearance of the water
+indicates a totally different region. Instead of the muddy water of the
+Amazon, resembling pea-soup, that of the Negro is intensely dark, but
+clear and limpid, every ripple sparkling like crystal. The land becomes
+high, and the river, some four miles wide, passes between lofty cliffs,
+crowned with the rich green walls of the primeval forest. The country is
+far more attractive than that on the Amazon; instead of a dead level,
+swampy and intersected by sluggish _igaripés_, or shallow ponds,
+overhung by impenetrably tangled thickets, and full of venomous flies,
+here are gentle hills, and tiny brooks of sparkling water, and a
+comparatively open forest, with bright clear glades in which the
+traveller may recline without persecution from the flies,--these pests
+being unknown on the "black waters." The ground is covered by evergreens
+of different species and exquisite forms, and many kinds of elegant
+ferns are growing in the valleys. There are few lianes or spinous briers
+stretching from tree to tree, obstructing free passage, but a thousand
+lesser vines drape the low tree tops with myriads of flowers, new and
+attractive to the visitor. Everywhere the forest is intersected by
+paths, some made by the inhabitants in their frequent rambles, others by
+wild animals that come to the water to drink; and along these the eager
+naturalist can readily pass to the feeding trees of many beautiful and
+peculiar birds.
+
+Here are wont to haunt many varieties of the richly-hued trogons,
+unknown to the lower regions; and at any hour their plaintive note may
+be heard at intervals, as they sit moodily, singly or in pairs, on the
+branches, with the long tail outspread and drooping, watching for
+passing insects. Cuckoos of several kinds, their plumage glancing red in
+the subdued light, flit noiselessly through the woods, searching for
+caterpillars. Purple jays, in large flocks, alight on some berry-bearing
+tree, chattering and gesticulating, but shy and alert,--ready to start
+at the snapping of a twig. Motmots and chatterers in gayest
+hues,--scarlet, violet and blue,--are abundant. Goatsuckers, in
+exquisitely-blended and pencilled tones of colour, start from some shady
+glen where they are dozing away the day hours, and, flying a short
+distance on soft winnowing pinions, rest again, and seem to fall asleep
+in an instant. Showy manikins and tanagers of the brightest tints are
+flaunting in every bush: pigeons and doves of soberer hues are cooing
+their gentle complainings in the taller trees; and guans and curassows
+are marching with stately pace in the paths, picking here and there some
+delicate morsel; or running with loud harsh cry, with outstretched neck
+and rapid stride, as they detect approaching danger.[208]
+
+Still, conspicuous above all are the Humming-birds, which, revelling in
+this region of the sun, are buzzing around the blossoming shrubs like
+insects. And pre-eminent among these is the Fiery Topaz, a name that
+attempts to express what neither title, nor description, nor coloured
+figure can adequately express,--its gemmeous magnificence and lustre.
+One of the first ornithologists of the age, the Prince of Canino, has
+assigned to the species the honour of being "_inter Trochilides
+pulcherrimus_." Description, however, I must give, for want of anything
+better, since, even if I possessed a living specimen, I could not
+exhibit its living radiance to all my readers: therefore, pray pay
+attention to the details, and imagine. The general hue of this imperial
+atom is a blazing scarlet, in fine contrast with which the head and
+lower part of the throat are deep velvet-black. The gorget of the throat
+is emerald green, with a cloud of delicate crimson in the centre. The
+lower part of the back, the rump and the upper tail-coverts are of that
+beautiful bronzed green which changes to orange gold, so frequently seen
+in this tribe; while the wing-quills and tail are purplish black, except
+the middle pair of feathers in the latter, which are very slender,
+project to a great length, and cross each other; these are green with a
+purple gloss.
+
+Among the hundreds of species of this very lovely tribe that swarm in
+the intertropical regions of South America, I will select one more for
+its surpassing beauty. It is the Bar-tailed Comet. We must look for it
+in the temperate and equable valley of the Desaguedero, which leads out
+of Lake Titiçaça, the largest sheet of water on the South American
+continent, and famous in Peruvian tradition, as the scene where Mango
+Capac and Mama Ocollo surprised the barbarous aborigines by their first
+appearance. On one of the charming islets of this quiet lake, the two
+august strangers were seen, clothed in garments; and, declaring that
+they were the children of the sun long prophesied of, proceeded to teach
+their simple subjects the arts of civilisation, and to establish a
+regular government. We must search for our tiny Comet, too, in the
+cultivated plains that surround the Cerro of Potosi, that singular cone
+sixteen thousand feet in height, which is wholly composed of silver, and
+which is estimated to have yielded, during the three hundred years that
+have elapsed since the Indian exposed the solid silver, when he
+accidentally tore up a shrub by the roots,--the sum of two hundred
+millions of pounds sterling. The districts around, and specially the
+environs of the town of Chuquisaca, are adorned with a profusion of
+gardens and orchards, in which many European trees and flowers grow, as
+well as those of the tropics, the climate possessing the charms of many
+regions. In the shrubberies of the city, and in the gardens of the
+Indian cottages, as well as the slopes of the surrounding mountains,
+where the native groves and forests grow undisturbed, the brilliant
+Bar-tail may be seen during the summer months; but, as soon as the
+chilling winds of April tell of coming winter, the charming visitor
+becomes scarce, and flitting northward finds in the forests of Lower
+Peru the mild and balmy air which he loves. When the trees are in
+blossom, and particularly the apple-trees, which have been introduced
+from Europe, and are largely cultivated in orchards, the males may be
+seen shooting in and out among the foliage, like glowing coals of fire,
+chasing each other with shrill chirpings, and with surprising
+perseverance and acrimony. The fields of maize, and pulse, and other
+leguminous plants which are cultivated in the plains, receive a fair
+share of his attention; and the nopâleries, or cactus-gardens, where the
+cochineal insect is reared for those most valuable crimson and scarlet
+dyes, which far outshine the vaunted productions of ancient Tyre. The
+blossom of the nopâl is itself one of the most splendid of flowers. It
+begins to open as the sun declines, and is in full expanse throughout
+the night, shedding a delicious fragrance, and offering its brimming
+goblet, filled with nectareous juice, to thousands of moths, and other
+crepuscular and nocturnal insects. When the moon is at the full in those
+cloudless nights whose loveliness is known only in the tropics, the
+broad blossom is seen as a circular disk nearly a foot in diameter, very
+full of petals, of which the outer series are of a yellowish hue,
+gradually paling to the centre, where they shine in the purest white.
+The numerous recurving stamens surround the style which rises in the
+midst like a polished shaft, the whole glowing in its silvery beauty
+under the moonbeams, from the dark and matted foliage, and diffusing its
+delicious clove-like fragrance so profusely that the air is loaded with
+it for furlongs round.
+
+Other species of Cactus and Cereus, some with yellow, and some with
+pink, and some with rich crimson blossoms,--the pride of our
+conservatories,--sprawl profusely in these gardens; and here the
+Bar-tail flaunts all day long sipping the nectar, and picking up myriads
+of minute insects which the blossoms attract, and which lodge in the
+honeyed recesses.
+
+But it is time that the reader should know what sort of a bird this
+Bar-tailed Comet is. Attend, then, while I describe his ball-dress, more
+lustrous than any fair lady ever wore at Almack's. The head, neck, upper
+part of the back, and a considerable portion of the under surface, are
+light green, with reflections of burnished gold on the cheeks and
+forehead. The lower back is of a deep crimson. The throat flames like an
+emerald. The tail is the chief feature, the feathers being broad, and
+greatly lengthened, in regular graduation from the central ones to the
+outmost pair, which are double the length of the entire bird besides.
+The form of the tail is widely forked, its outline having a double
+curve, somewhat lyre-shaped. The tail-coverts are ruddy brown; and the
+feathers themselves are of the richest and most glowing fire-colour,
+incomparably lustrous; each feather being broadly tipped with velvety
+black. The graduation of the feathers throws these terminal black tips
+to a considerable distance from each other, and their alternation with
+the intermediate spaces of the fiery glow has an inconceivably charming
+effect, as the bird makes its rapid evolutions through the air, and
+whisks about among the flowers, with a velocity which the eye of the
+beholder can scarcely follow. It is very fond of certain long
+trumpet-shaped pendent blossoms, into which it penetrates so far, that
+nothing of it can be seen except the tips of its radiant forked tail
+projecting from the tube.
+
+Another family of birds that is conspicuous for gorgeous beauty is that
+of the Pheasants. Our own familiar species, which is said to have been
+brought long ages ago from the banks of the Phasis in Colchis, by Jason
+in the Argo,--
+
+      "Argivâ primum sum transportata carinâ,"[209]--
+
+is a very splendid bird, and is well painted in a few lines by
+Pope;--who speaks of his
+
+                              "Glossy varying dyes,
+      His purple crest and scarlet-circled eyes;
+      The vivid green his shining plumes unfold,
+      His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold."[210]
+
+But besides this, there are Indian and Chinese species which excel it in
+glory. There are the richly-pencilled Gold and Silver Pheasants, and the
+noble Reeves' and Amherst Pheasants, with their extraordinary
+long-barred tail plumes. The last named is a bird of unusual
+magnificence.
+
+Then there is the splendid Fire-back of Sumatra and Java, which is
+adorned with a crest of slender stalked feathers, each expanding into a
+disk with spreading barbs. The head, neck, breast, and belly of this
+rare bird are of deep steel-blue, very lustrous, the lower part of the
+back fiery orange-red or flame-colour, varying in intensity according to
+the incidence of the light, and passing like a zone of fire round the
+body, though less brilliant on the abdomen; the rump and tail-coverts
+broad and truncate, bluish-green, each feather tipped by a paler bar.
+The tail is erect and arched, somewhat like that of the common cock,
+its middle feathers are pure white, and all the rest black, with green
+reflections. The legs and feet, which are scarlet, and the skin of the
+face, purple, complete the toilet of this magnificent oriental.
+
+What shall we say to the Argus Pheasant, the bird of Malacca with the
+magnificent pinions? How fine a sight must it be to see this noble fowl
+displaying his coxcombery in the presence of his admiring hens,
+strutting to and fro with his long tail feathers spread and erected, and
+his broad wings expanded and scraping the ground far on each side! The
+colours, it is true, are sober browns, varied with black and white; but
+how exquisitely are these arranged! Perhaps no brilliancy of tint would
+more charm the eye than the row of ocellated spots,--each a dark
+circular disk surrounded by concentric circles,--that runs along the
+centre of each of the enormously-developed secondary wing-quills.
+
+To come back to colour and metallic refulgence. We must not overlook the
+Monâl, or Scaly Impeyan of the Himalaya chain. This fowl, which is
+little less than a turkey, looks as if clothed in scale armour of
+iridescent metal, of which the specific hues can scarcely be indicated,
+so changeable are they; green, steel-blue, crimson, purple, and
+golden-bronze,--all of the utmost intensity of colour, and of dazzling
+refulgence, adorn this bird, set off by a broad square patch of pure
+white in the middle of the back, while the crown of the head carries a
+drooping crest of naked-shafted, broad-tipped, green feathers. This
+splendid fowl is as hardy as the turkey or pheasant, and will probably
+before long be domesticated in British preserves, to which it would be a
+noble addition, being perhaps exceeded by nothing in nature for
+refulgence.
+
+In the same regions are found the Polyplectrons, or Pheasant Peacocks,
+birds of the same family. Look at one of these in detail, the Crested
+Polyplectron of the Sunda Isles. It much resembles a peacock in contour,
+the head and neck black, with steely reflections, relieved by a long
+stripe of white arching over each eye, and a broad patch of the same on
+the ears. The forehead and crown carry a crest of tall feathers capable
+of erection, and making a fine ornament. The whole under parts are
+velvet black; the back and rump warm brown, with paler wavy bands and
+lines. The coverts and secondary feathers of the wings are of the
+richest blue, each feather tipped with velvety black. But the tail is
+the grand display. It is a true tail, not a train of superincumbent
+feathers as in the peacock, the quill-feathers being of great length and
+breadth, and the whole capable of being widely expanded into an enormous
+rounded fan. The individual feathers are brown, pencilled and sprinkled
+with pale buff,--a pretty ground, on each of which is painted two large
+oval eye-spots of the most brilliant metallic blue or green, according
+to the light, contained within encircling double rings of black and
+white. These refulgent eyes are so set that they constitute two curved
+bands placed at some distance apart, running across the tail, and when
+this organ is expanded they impart to it a most regal appearance.
+
+Last, but not least, in this distinguished tribe, there is the familiar
+Peacock, a proverb of splendour in raiment from the remote antiquity of
+Aristophanes and Aristotle to Mr Hollingshead, who lashes the sumptuary
+tendencies of our modern ladies under the title of "Peacockism."[211]
+The true Peacock, however, the genuine bird, may at least plead that no
+milliners' bills of £3000 are ever proved against him in Bankruptcy
+Courts.
+
+I am not going to be so impertinent as to describe in detail the plumage
+of a bird so well known as the Peacock. Who does not know his empurpled
+neck so elegantly bridled, his aigrette of four-and-twenty
+battledore-feathers, his pencilled body-clothing, and, above all, his
+grand erectile train with its rows of eyelets? Who has not admired the
+lustre and beauty of those eyelets,--the kidney-like nucleus of deepest
+purple, the surrounding band of green, widening in front and filling the
+notch of the pupil, the broad circle of brown, and the narrow black ring
+edged with chestnut, and then the decomposed barbs of the feather,
+gilded green, all presenting the effulgence of burnished metal, or
+rather the glitter and glow of precious gems, flashing in the varying
+light? One can hardly imagine the splendour of the scene described by
+Colonel Williamson, as seen by him in the Jungleterry District in India,
+when, being engaged shooting these beautiful fowl, he estimates that not
+fewer than twelve or fifteen hundred Peafowl of various sizes were
+within sight of him for nearly an hour. "Whole woods were covered with
+their beautiful plumage, to which the rising sun imparted additional
+brilliancy. Small patches of plain among the long grass, most of them
+cultivated, and with mustard then in bloom, which induced the birds to
+feed, increased the beauty of the scene."
+
+In the preceding volume I have spoken of the gorgeous beauty of the
+Birds of Paradise, and have quoted the description given by Lesson of
+his rapt feelings when, on first seeing a specimen in the forests of
+Papua, he could not shoot from emotion. A chapter on animal beauty
+cannot pass over this magnificent family, though to my own taste there
+is something in the refulgent radiance of the Humming-birds and
+Pheasants which is superior to anything seen in the Paradise-birds. The
+latter, or some of them at least, give me the idea of being
+over-dressed, particularly that one called the Superb, whose singular
+forked gorget and shoulder-cape, gorgeous as these adornments are, with
+their lustrous violet and green flushes, are somewhat inelegant in form.
+Yet some of them are softly beautiful;--
+
+      "So richly deck'd in variegated down,
+      Green, sable, shining yellow, shading brown,
+      Tints softly with each other blended,
+      Hues doubtfully begun and ended;
+      Or intershooting, and to sight
+      Lost and recover'd, as the rays of light
+      Glance in the conscious plumes touch'd here and there.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      "This the Sun's Bird, whom Glendoveers might own,
+      As no unworthy partner in their flight
+      Through seas of ether, where the ruffling sway
+      Of nether air's rude billows is unknown:
+      Whom sylphs, if e'er for casual pastime they
+      Through India's spicy regions wing their way,
+      Might bow to as their lord."[212]
+
+[Illustration: PEACOCK-SHOOTING.]
+
+The Emerald Paradise, the best known of the family, seems to have been
+in the poet's eye; and certainly the combination of form and colour in
+this species is very charming. The rich chocolate of the upper parts,
+and the delicate lemon-yellow of the neck, contrast well with the
+gemmeous green lustre of the front, when the velvety plumage flashes and
+gleams in the sunlight. And the numerous soft floating plumes that arch
+out from the flanks to a great distance on all sides are exquisite in
+loveliness. "Even in the absolute quiet of a stuffed skin under a glass
+case," as Mr Wood remarks, "these plumes are full of astonishing beauty,
+their translucent golden-white vanelets producing a most superb effect
+as they cross and recross each other, forming every imaginable shade of
+white, gold and orange, and then deepening towards their extremities
+into a soft purplish red."
+
+Mr G. Bennett, who saw a living specimen in an aviary at Macao,
+describes these long, elegant, loose-barbed plumes as occupying a good
+deal of the bird's own attention and care. "One of the best
+opportunities of seeing this splendid bird in all its beauty of action
+as well as display of plumage, is early in the morning, when he makes
+his toilet: the beautiful sub-alar plumage is then thrown out and
+cleaned from any spot that may sully its purity, by being passed gently
+through the bill; the short chocolate wings are extended to the utmost,
+and he keeps them in a steady flapping motion as if in imitation of
+their use in flight, at the same time raising up the delicate long
+feathers over the back, which are spread in a chaste and elegant manner,
+floating like films in the ambient air. In this position the bird would
+remain for a short time, seemingly proud of its heavenly beauty, and in
+raptures of delight with its most enchanting self; it would then assume
+various attitudes, so as to regard its plumage in every direction."[213]
+
+Passing over all other classes of animate existence, I shall say a few
+words on the surpassing loveliness which is displayed by many of the
+Insect tribes. The nursery prejudice, that these creatures are worthy
+only to be trodden under foot, as things repulsive and disgusting, is
+certainly decaying, though it retains its hold still in some minds. A
+glance through an entomological cabinet would prove how unjust are such
+notions. If brilliant hues, polished surface, sculptured chasings,
+graceful forms, and lively motions can command admiration, these are
+displayed by Insects to a degree which we should in vain look for in any
+other class of creatures. We need not speak of simple colours; these
+occur in profusion, of all hues, of all shades of intensity, and of the
+very highest degrees of brightness; combined too, in the most elegant
+manner, and very frequently, particularly in the _Lepidoptera_,
+presenting that peculiar charm which results from the association of
+tints that are complemental to each other.
+
+Words are always felt to be too poor to describe the refulgence of the
+hues of many of the feathered tribes;--the metallic gloss of the Trogons
+and the oriental _Gallinaceæ_, the gem-like flashings of the
+Humming-birds and the Birds of Paradise. Perhaps it would be deemed
+extravagant to assert, that these glories can be _excelled_ by the tiny
+races I am now discussing; but equalled, _most fully equalled_, they
+assuredly are. To possess the glow of burnished metal upon the most
+varied hues, is, in the order _Coleoptera_, a common thing. Most of the
+_Eumolpidæ_ are remarkable for this; of which I may instance _Chrysochus
+fulgidus_, a beetle from Bombay. The _Buprestidæ_ have long been
+celebrated, for the same reason; and portions of their bodies have been
+used in the toilet of ladies, in association with diamonds and rubies.
+
+Many of the _Chlamydæ_ blaze with golden-crimson, purple, and the most
+fiery orange. The species of the small genus _Eurhinus_ seem to send
+forth the coloured flames of the pyrotechnic art. The _Longicornes_
+display the same beauties, associated with gigantic size. _Cheloderus
+Childreni_, for example, a large beetle from Columbia, is equal to any
+_Buprestis_ for the radiance of the green, crimson, purple, blue,
+scarlet, and gold, that are all at the same time flaming from its
+singularly-sculptured surface.
+
+But there are impressions conveyed by the reflection of light from the
+bodies of many beetles, which far exceed the metallic fulgor of which I
+have been speaking, beautiful as it is. I cannot hope to describe them
+intelligibly; I know of no combination of words which will give an idea
+of them. I mean the soft, almost velvety radiance of some of the
+_Goliathi_; of many of the _Cetoniæ_, as the genus _Eudicella_, for
+instance; and of not a few of the _Phanæi_, in the former two, the hue
+is generally green; in the latter, this colour is associated with other
+hues, most glowing, yet of an indescribable softness. I cannot imagine
+anything of this sort more charming than the soft golden and orange hue
+upon the green of the magnificent _Phanæus imperialis_.
+
+Others again, as _Hoplia farinosa_, a little chafer from Southern
+Europe, and many of the weevil tribe (_Curculionidæ_), are covered with
+scales of vivid splendour, but so minute, and so closely set, that the
+whole surface reflects one soft but rich lustre of tints, differing
+according to the species. We would instance, of these, the noble species
+of the genus _Cyphus_. Others of the same great family, on a dark but
+still richly-coloured ground, have the minute scales clustered in spots
+or bands, forming regular patterns in much variety; and in these they
+reflect rainbow hues, as if a sunbeam decomposed through a prism had
+been solidified and pulverised; or if viewed through a lens, looking
+like powdered gems, each individual scale changing its hues with the
+slightest motion of the eye. Among these we may mention _Hypsonotus
+elegans_, _Cyphus spectabilis_, _Entimus splendidus_, and _E.
+imperialis_, commonly known as diamond beetles; and the elegantly-shaped
+genus _Pachyrhynchus_, of which the _P._ _gemmatus_, from the
+Philippine Islands, is, perhaps, the most lovely of all earthly
+creatures.
+
+And if we look at the _Lepidoptera_, the order more especially under
+review, we feel that beauty belongs to them rather as an essence than as
+an accident. Their broad fan-like wings have an airy lightness and grace
+to which the painter and the poet pay homage, when they endow the sylphs
+and loves of their fancy with butterfly pinions.
+
+They are clothed with minute scales, which are the vehicle of their
+colours, somewhat resembling in this respect the beetles last spoken of;
+but they have beauties peculiar to themselves. Fine combinations and
+contrasts of colours are too much the rule in this order to need
+specification; and these are often shaded and blended with a downy
+softness, as in the Sphinges and Moths. As illustrious examples, I will
+mention the _Gynautocera_, a group of Oriental Moths approaching in some
+points the Butterflies, as exhibiting the most brilliant hues in bands
+and clouds, but softly blended and mingled, with exceeding chasteness
+and beauty.
+
+Many species of the genus _Catagramma_, a group of Butterflies marked on
+the inferior surface of the fore-wings with scarlet and black, and on
+that of the hind with singular concentric circles of black on a white
+ground, have on the superior surface the metallic lustre common in the
+beetles, the wings being of golden green or blue. The genus _Urania_ has
+this radiance still more conspicuous; while the inferior surface of some
+of the _Theclæ_, as _T. imperialis_, _T. Actæon_, _T. Endymion_, &c., is
+covered with the most rich and varied metallic hues, as if powdered
+with gold, copper, and silver filings. Some Butterflies, as several of
+our native _Fritillaries_, and more vividly an American species,
+(_Argynnis passifloræ_,) one from New Zealand, (_Argyrophenga
+antipodum_,) and the beautiful _Paphia Clytemnestra_, have spots of
+burnished silver on their inferior surface; and several of our own
+moths, as the genus _Plusia_, are so spotted on the upper surface.
+Others display a lustre between that of silver and that of pearl, as
+several species of _Charaxes_ on one, and the magnificent _Morpho
+Laertes_ on both surfaces. But of this sort of beauty, perhaps nothing
+can excel the gemmeous green, changing to azure, of _Papilio Ulysses_,
+or that of _Apatura (?) laurentia_; or, above all, of some of the great
+Brazilian _Morphos_. The blaze of silvery azure that flashes from _M.
+Adonis_, _M. Cytheris_, and _M. Menelaus_, is indescribable; the eyes
+are pained as they gaze upon it; yet there is said to be an unnamed
+species from the emerald mountains of Bogota, of which a single specimen
+is in a private cabinet in London, which is far more lustrous than
+these.
+
+The change from one hue to another produced by the play of light in
+altering the angle of its reflection, has always been much admired; and
+this occurs in great perfection, and with much diversity, in the lovely
+insects of the _Lepidopterous_ order.
+
+Some of the genus _Hætera_, (as _H. piera_, and _H. esmeralda_,) and
+many of the _Heliconiadæ_, as _Hymenitis diaphana_, &c., have the wings
+nearly or quite destitute of the ordinary scaly clothing, presenting
+only a transparent membrane of great delicacy; over which the light
+plays with a beautiful iridescence. _Papilio Arcturus_ and some allied
+species, are of a golden-green, changing to blue, or to glowing purple.
+Very many of the _Nymphalidæ_ are distinguished for a flush of
+surpassing richness, that in one particular light gleams over the
+surface. Our own _Apatura Iris_, commonly known as the purple emperor,
+is a native example of this beauty, and still more _A. namoura_; but
+especially the species of the genus _Thaumantis_, as well as _Morpho
+Martia_, and _M. Automedon_. _Diadema bolina_ also displays a purple
+flush over and around the white spots, which is exquisitely beautiful.
+In general this glow is found only in the male, but in the lovely
+_Epiphile chrysitis_ it is common to the female.
+
+In _Colias Electra_ a warm purple glow plays over the surface in a
+strong light, which is the more singularly beautiful, because the
+permanent colour which is thus suffused is a rich golden orange. There
+is, however, a species (_C. Lesbia_) of which only a single specimen is
+known, and that is in fragments, in the Banksian Collection, which is in
+this respect vastly superior to the former. In all these cases, the
+playing gleam is more or less empurpled; in _Paphia Portia_, however, it
+may be called crimson.
+
+But still more exquisitely beautiful than any of these is the fine
+opalescence that irradiates some butterflies in the changing beam. There
+is a white butterfly from Senegal (_Anthocharis Ione_) allied to our
+common garden whites, marked at the tips of the wings with a spot of
+violet, surrounded by black. In a certain aspect, there plays over this
+spot a violet opalescence of exceeding richness. And to mention no more,
+(for, indeed, we know not that we could mention anything to surpass
+this,) the carnation spots on the black wings of _Papilio Anchises_, _P.
+Æneas_, _P. Tullus_, &c., are at intervals flushed with a violet
+opalescence, so brilliant, that we know no other object to compare with
+it.
+
+In contemplating such objects, we cannot help concurring in the
+sentiments expressed by the pious Ray:--"Quæri fortasse à nonnullis
+potest, quis Papilionum usus sit? Respondeo, Ad ornatum universi, et ut
+hominibus spectaculo sint: ad rura illustranda velut tot bracteæ
+inservientes. Quis enim eximiam earum pulchritudinem et varietatem
+contemplans mira voluptate non afficiatur? Quis tot colorum et schematum
+elegantias naturæ ipsius ingenio excogitatas et artifici penicillo
+depictas curiosis oculis intuens, divinæ artis vestigia eis impressa non
+agnoscat et miretur?" And I may add, since such exquisite traces of
+loveliness remain in a world which Satan has spoiled and sin defiled,
+what must have been its glory when He who made it could take complacency
+in beholding it, and in the minutest details could pronounce it "very
+good!"
+
+The Rev. James Smith of Monquhitter thus alludes to the exquisite beauty
+of some South American butterflies. One or two of the species I have
+already alluded to, but even these can yield additional themes of
+admiration. "I hold," he says, "that there are hues and shades of
+colour which are positively beautiful in themselves, and independently
+of all associations whatever; and to look upon which merely as patches
+of colour, affords a gratification of no mean description. And for the
+truth of such an opinion, I know not where I should obtain a stronger
+and a more pleasing proof, than from the _Lepidoptera_ to which I have
+alluded. The patch, for instance, which is on the posterior wings of the
+_Hætera Esmeralda_, and which may be characterised as a compound of
+carmine and of the deepest blue dotted with two spots of vermilion, will
+in itself, and irrespectively of association, communicate a pleasure to
+every eye which looks upon it. The band of silver blue on the wing of a
+large _Morpho_; the deep tone, to speak in pictorial phrase, of the
+black in the _Papilio Sesostris_, finer even than the finest velvet of
+Genoa; the rich dark orange on _Epicilia Ancæa_; the blue, shining in
+one unnamed species like polished steel, in another (_Thecla_) with a
+radiant clearness, which ultramarine itself could not surpass; the
+satin-like golden green, the pearly lustrous white, and the deep shining
+emerald ribbons in _Urania Boisduvalii_; the crimson lines and spots
+deeper and clearer than blood, in a species to which no name is
+attached, of _Papilio_; the small spangles of silver with which the
+under surface of one of the least among them (_Cupido_) is, as it were,
+incrusted; the iridescent and delicate violet with which, on the same
+surface, a particular species of _Hætera_ is, so to speak, washed over,
+in a way which calls to our remembrance the 'scumbling' given by
+Rembrandt as the finishing touch to his finest productions; all these,
+and many more, possess a beauty which I contend, in opposition to the
+doctrine of Alison and Jeffrey, is absolute in itself; which is
+altogether irrespective of association; and which the most skilful of
+human pencils would find it impossible completely and properly to
+copy."[214]
+
+I must apologise to fair readers for alluding to Spiders--"nasty
+spiders!"--in a chapter on beauty; but prejudice must not make us shut
+our eyes to glories even among these. In the tropical species there is
+often metallic splendour and brilliance of colour. In my "Naturalist's
+Sojourn in Jamaica," my friend Mr Hill has written some very interesting
+observations on the web of a certain Spider, and on the relations of its
+structure with that of the Spider itself; but I allude to it now because
+of the elegance of the creature, the _Epeira argentata_ of Fabricius.
+The upper surface of the body is of a glistening satiny or silvery
+whiteness, the belly yellow, spotted with black, and the legs marked
+with alternate rings of the same contrasted hues.
+
+In the same island I was familiar with another species, (_Nephila
+clavipes_,) remarkable for the length and strength of its silken cords.
+The body, which is lengthened, is studded with round white spots, each
+encircled with a black border, on a rich greenish brown ground,
+reminding one of the characteristic markings of the Tragopans among
+birds. The cephalothorax is shining black, its lustre half concealed by
+a clothing of short silvery down: the legs are very long, and have a
+remarkably elegant appearance from having a bunch of black hair set
+around the extremity of the first and second joints, like the bristles
+of a bottle-brush.
+
+I fortify my own verdict with the observations of a brother naturalist
+on the Spiders of Borneo, presuming that those which he alludes to
+appear to belong to the genus _Gastracantha_, of which I have seen
+species in Jamaica.
+
+"The spiders, so disgusting in appearance in many other countries, are
+here of quite a different nature, and are the most beautiful of the
+insect tribe; they have a skin of a shell-like texture, furnished with
+curious processes, in some long, in others short, in some few, in others
+numerous; but are found, of this description, only in thick woods and
+shaded places: their colours are of every hue, brilliant and metallic as
+the feathers of the humming-bird, but are, unlike the bright colours of
+the beetle, totally dependent on the life of the insect which they
+beautify, so that it is impossible to preserve them."[215]
+
+It is possible that this beauty might be less evanescent if the animals
+were preserved in spirit or other antiseptic fluid. A writer in the
+_Zoologist_ (p. 5929) mentions the fact that the iridescence of certain
+beetles (_Cassida_) which is peculiarly splendid and metallic, and which
+disappears immediately on the insects' becoming dry, is perpetuated in
+its original loveliness when the specimens are preserved in spirit, even
+after the lapse of several years.
+
+The tropical species of this genus are far finer and richer than our
+little English kinds, though these are pretty. I was much delighted by
+the brilliance of some of the Jamaican species, and Sir Emerson Tennent
+thus speaks of them in Ceylon:--
+
+"There is one family of insects, the members of which cannot fail to
+strike the traveller by their singular beauty, the _Cassidadæ_, or
+tortoise beetles, in which the outer shell overlaps the body, and the
+limbs are susceptible of being drawn entirely within it. The rim is
+frequently of a different tint from the centre, and one species which I
+have seen is quite startling from the brilliancy of its colouring, which
+gives it the appearance of a ruby inclosed in a frame of pearl; but this
+wonderful effect disappears immediately on the death of the
+insect."[216]
+
+If we turn to the vegetable world, what a profusion of beauty do we
+find! Exquisite are the tiny Mosses, when the fogs and rains of winter,
+so inimical to other vegetation, have quickened them into verdure and
+fruit. How they spread along the hedgerow banks in soft fleeces of vivid
+emerald, and shoot up their slender stalks, each crowned with its tiny
+urn, and wearing its fairy nightcap! Beautiful are the tiny dark-green
+feather-like leaves of the Forkmoss crowded on the clayey bank;
+beautiful the wild sprays of the plumy Hypnum; and beautiful the little
+round velvet cushions of Tortula, that grow on every old wall-top.
+
+      "The tiny moss, whose silken verdure clothes
+      The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise,
+      Like fairy urns, on stalks of golden sheen,
+      Demand our admiration and our praise,
+      As much as cedar kissing the blue sky
+      Or Krubul's giant-flower. God made them all,
+      And what _He_ deigns to make should ne'er be deem'd
+      Unworthy of our study."
+
+Exquisite too are the Ferns, in their arching fronds, so richly cut in
+elegant tracery. See a fine crown of the Lady Fern in a shaded
+Devonshire lane, and confess that grace and beauty are triumphant there.
+And in the saturated atmosphere of the tropical islands, where these
+lovely plants form a very large proportion of the entire vegetation, and
+some of them rise on slender stems thirty or forty feet in altitude,
+from the summit of which the wide-spreading fronds arch gracefully on
+every side, like a vast umbrella of twinkling verdure, through whose
+filagree work the sunbeams are sparkling,--what can be more charming
+than Ferns?
+
+The queenly Palms, too, are models of stately beauty. Linnæus called
+them _vegetabilium principes_; and, when we see them in some noble
+conservatory of adequate dimensions, such as the glass palm-house at
+Kew, crowded side by side, with their crowned heads, and lofty stature,
+and proud, erect bearing, we are involuntarily reminded of the monarchs
+of many kingdoms met in august conclave.
+
+      "Lo! higher still the stately palm-trees rise,
+        Chequering the clouds with their unbending stems,
+      And o'er the clouds, amid the dark-blue skies,
+        Lifting their rich unfading diadems.
+          How calm and placidly they rest
+          Upon the heaven's indulgent breast,
+      As if their branches never breeze had known!
+          Light bathes them aye in glancing showers,
+          And Silence, 'mid their lofty bowers,
+      Sits on her moveless throne."
+
+Are the Grasses worthy of mention for their beauty? Surely, yes. Many of
+them display a downy lightness exquisitely lovely, as the common
+Feather-grass. The golden panicles of the great Quake-grass, so
+curiously compacted and hanging in stalks of so hair-like a tenuity as
+to nod and tremble with the slightest motion, how beautiful are these!
+And the satiny plumes of the Pampas-grass projecting from the clump of
+leaves form a fine object. But the Bamboos, those great arborescent
+Grasses of the tropics, form a characteristic feature of the vegetation
+of those regions, of almost unexampled magnificence. I have seen them in
+their glory, and can sympathise with the philosophical Humboldt in the
+powerful effect which the grandeur of the Bamboo produces on the poetic
+mind. It is an object never to be forgotten, especially when growing in
+those isolated clumps, that look like tufts of ostrich-plumes magnified
+to colossal dimensions. A thousand of these noble reeds standing in
+close array, each four or five inches in the diameter of its stem, and
+rising in erect dignity to the height of forty feet, and all waving
+their tufted summits in diverging curves moved by every breeze,--form,
+indeed, a magnificent spectacle. Growing in the most rocky situations,
+the Bamboo is frequently planted in Jamaica on the very apex of those
+conical hills which form so remarkable a feature in the landscape of the
+interior, and to which its noble tufts constitute a most becoming crown.
+
+Mr Ellis thus describes the elegance of these magnificent Grasses in
+Madagascar:--
+
+"The base of the hills and the valleys were covered with the Bamboo,
+which was far more abundant than during any former part of the journey.
+There were at least four distinct varieties: one a large growing kind,
+erect nearly to the point; a second smaller, seldom rising much above
+twenty feet in height, bushy at the base, and gracefully bending down
+its tapering point. A third kind rose in single cane, almost without a
+leaf, to the height of thirty feet or more; or, bending over, formed a
+perfectly circular arch. I also saw a Bamboo growing as a creeper, with
+small short joints, feathered with slender leafy branches at every
+joint, and stretching in festoons from tree to tree along the side of
+the road, or hanging suspended in single lines from a projecting branch,
+and swinging gently with the passing breeze. The appearance of the
+Bamboo when growing is exceedingly graceful. Sometimes the canes, as
+thick as a man's arm at the base, rise forty or fifty feet high, fringed
+at the joints, which are two or three feet apart, with short branches of
+long, lance-shaped leaves. The smaller kinds, which abound most in this
+region, are still more elegant; and the waving of the canes, with their
+attenuated but feathery-looking points, bending down like a plume, and
+the tremulous quivering, even in the slightest breeze, of their long,
+slender leaves, present ever-varying aspects of beauty; and, combined
+with the bright-green colour of the Bamboo-cane and leaf, impart an
+indescribable charm to the entire landscape."[217]
+
+Glorious in loveliness are the _Musaceæ_, the Plantains and Bananas of
+the hot regions. Humboldt calls the Banana "one of the noblest and most
+lovely of vegetable productions;" and truly its enormous, flag-like
+leaves of the richest green, permeated by nervures running transversely
+in exactly parallel lines, and arching out in every direction from the
+succulent, spongy, sheathed stem, command our admiration, apart from the
+beauty of their flowers, or the importance of their fruit.
+
+In a description of a mountain scene in Tahiti, drawn with graphic power
+by Charles Darwin, the Banana forms a prominent element:--"I could not
+look on the surrounding plants without admiration. On every side were
+forests of Banana; the fruit of which, though serving for food in
+various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the ground.... As the evening
+drew to a close, I strolled beneath the gloomy shade of the Bananas up
+the course of the stream. My walk was soon brought to a close, by coming
+to a waterfall between two and three hundred feet high; and again above
+this there was another.... In the little recess where the water fell, it
+did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown. The thin edges of
+the great leaves of the Banana, damp with spray, were unbroken, instead
+of being, as is so generally the case, split into a thousand shreds.
+From our position, almost suspended on the mountain-side, there were
+glimpses into the depths of the neighbouring valleys: and the lofty
+points of the central mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the
+zenith, hid half the evening sky. Thus seated, it was a sublime
+spectacle to watch the shades of night gradually obscuring the last and
+highest pinnacles."[218]
+
+This scene must have been one of surpassing sublimity and loveliness.
+Few doubtless have ever beheld anything that can be compared with it.
+But perhaps many have felt--I have, often,--that there are occasions in
+which the sense of the beautiful in nature becomes almost painfully
+overpowering. I have gazed on some very lovely prospects, bathed perhaps
+in the last rays of the evening sun, till my soul seemed to struggle
+with a very peculiar undefinable sensation, as if longing for a power to
+enjoy, which I was conscious I did not possess, and which found relief
+only in tears. I have felt conscious that there were elements of
+enjoyment and admiration there, which went far beyond my capacity of
+enjoying and admiring; and I have delighted to believe, that, by and by,
+when, in the millennial kingdom of Jesus, and, still more, in the
+remoter future, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the
+earth--the "_new_ earth,"--shall be endowed with a more than
+paradisaical glory, there will be given to redeemed man a greatly
+increased power and capacity for drinking in, and enjoying the augmented
+loveliness. Doubtless the risen and glorified saints, sitting with the
+King of kings upon His throne, will have the senses of their spiritual
+bodies expanded in capacity beyond what we can now form the slightest
+conception of; and as all then will be enjoyment of the most exquisite
+kind, and absolutely unalloyed by interruption or satiety,--the eye will
+at length be satisfied with seeing, and the ear be satisfied with
+hearing. "_I shall be satisfied_, when I awake up with thy likeness."
+
+It is in _Flowers_ that the beauty of the vegetable world chiefly
+resides; and I shall now therefore select a few examples from the
+profusion of lovely objects which the domain proper of Flora presents to
+us.
+
+That very curious tribe of plants, the _Orchideæ_, so remarkable for the
+mimic forms of other things, that its blossoms delight to assume, is
+also pre-eminent in gorgeous beauty. Take the _Sobraliæ_,--terrestrial
+species from Central America, where they form extensive thickets,
+growing thrice the height of man, with slender nodding stems, and
+alternate willow-like leaves, and terminal racemes loaded with
+snow-white, pink, crimson, or violet flowers.[219] Imagine the crushing
+through "thickets" of the lovely _S. macrantha_! The large lily-like
+blossoms of this species are eight inches long, and as many wide, of the
+richest purple crimson, and of the most elegant shape conceivable, with
+the lip so wrapped round the column as to appear funnel-shaped, bordered
+by an exquisitely-cut fringe.
+
+I have before alluded to _Phajus Tankervilliæ_, that rich lily-like
+spike of blossom which I stumbled on in the midst of a dense thicket in
+the mountains of Jamaica. Another terrestrial genus of great elegance is
+_Cypripedium_, of which we have one native species, _C. calceolus_, the
+yellow lady's slipper,--one of the most charming, but the rarest and
+most difficult of propagation, of British plants. But this is far
+excelled in beauty by many of the exotic species; as, for example, the
+exquisite _C. barbatum_ from Malacca. The very foliage is princely; for
+the nervures and cross-veins form a network pattern of dark green upon
+the light green area of each broad leaf. The blossom rears up its noble
+head erect, with its standard-petal of white, striped with green and
+purple, the wing-petals studded with purple tubercles along their edges,
+and the lip or slipper-shaped petal of a dark purple hue.
+
+My readers may have occasionally noticed a little plant, in the most
+recherchées stove-houses, of so much delicacy and preciousness that it
+is invariably kept under a bell-glass. I mean the _Anæctochilus
+setaceus_. It belongs to this tribe, and is a terrestrial species,
+growing about the roots of the trees in the humid forests of Ceylon. Its
+exquisite loveliness has attracted the attention of even the apathetic
+Cingalese, who call it by the poetical epithet of _Wanna Raja_, or king
+of the forest. It does not appear to possess any peculiar attractiveness
+in its blossoms,--indeed, I have never seen it in flower; but its
+leaves, which grow in opposite pairs, are elegantly heart-shaped, of a
+deep rich greenish-brown hue, approaching to black, of a surface which
+resembles velvet, reticulated all over with pale golden veins, which,
+being numerous and minute, have a very charming appearance, somewhat
+like the pale network on black patches which we see in the wings of some
+dragon-flies.
+
+The epiphyte Orchids are also magnificent in beauty. One of the
+handsomest genera is _Dendrobium_, containing many species, mostly
+natives of Southern Asia and the great islands. Perhaps the finest of
+all is _D. nobile_, of which the sepals and petals are greenish-white,
+tipped with rich purple, and the downy tube-like lip is of the same
+regal hue in the interior, with a pale yellow margin.
+
+By the side of this you may set the lovely _Huntleya violacea_, one of
+the discoveries of Sir R. Schomburgk in the interior of Guiana. Its
+broad wavy petals of the softest richest violet, "vary in intensity from
+deepest sapphire to the mild iridescence of opal." This fine flower has
+a melancholy interest from its being associated with the death of Sir
+Robert's friend and fellow-servant, Mr Reiss. The gorgeous scenes of
+tropical vegetation in which the plant was found, and the sad accident,
+are thus depicted by the accomplished traveller:--
+
+"I discovered the _Huntleya violacea_ for the first time in October
+1837, then on my ascent of the river Essequibo. The large cataract,
+Cumaka Toto, or Silk Cotton Fall, obliged us to unload our corials, and
+to transport the luggage overland, in order to avoid the dangers which a
+mass of water, at once so powerful and rapid, and bounded by numerous
+rocks, might offer to our ascent. While the Indians were thus occupied,
+I rambled about one of the small islands, which the diverging arms of
+the river formed in their descent, and the vegetation of which had that
+peculiar lively appearance which is so characteristic of the vicinity of
+cataracts, where a humid cloud, the effects of the spray, always hovers
+around them. Blocks of syenite were heaped together; and while their
+black shining surface contrasted strongly with the whitish foam of the
+torrent, and with the curly waves beating against the rocky barriers--as
+if angry at the boundary which they attempted to set to the incensed
+element--their dome-shaped summits were adorned with a vegetation at
+once rich and interesting. _Heliconias_, _Tillandsias_, _Bromelias_,
+_Ferns_, _Pothos_, _Cyrtopodiums_, _Epidendrums_, _Peperomias_, all
+appeared to struggle for the place which so small a surface afforded to
+them. The lofty mountains, Akaywanna, Comute, or Taquia, and Tuasinki,
+recede and form an amphitheatre, affording a highly interesting scene,
+and no doubt the most picturesque of that part of the river Essequibo.
+
+"I was attracted by a number of _Oncidium altissimum_ which covered one
+of the rocky piles, and astonished me by their long stems and bright
+colour of their flowers, when my attention was more powerfully attracted
+by a plant, the appearance of which, although different from the
+pseudo-bulbous tribe, proclaimed, nevertheless, that it belonged to that
+interesting family, the _Orchideæ_. The specimens were numerous; and
+clothed almost, with their vivid green, the rugged and dark trunks of
+the gigantic trees, which contributed to the majestic scene around me.
+It was not long before I discovered one of these plants in flower. It
+was as singular as it was new to me;--the sepals and petals of a rich
+purple and velvet-like appearance; the helmet, to which form the column
+bore the nearest resemblance, of the same colour; the labellum striated
+with yellow.
+
+"In the sequel of my expeditions, I found it generally in the vicinity
+of cataracts, where a humid vapour is constantly suspended, and where
+the rays of the sun are scarcely admitted through a thick canopy of
+foliage. I traced the _Huntleya_ from the sixth parallel of latitude to
+the shady mountains of the Acaria chain near the equator; but in its
+fullest splendour it appeared at one of the small islands among the
+Christmas cataracts in the river Berbice. There is a melancholy
+circumstance connected with the plant, which its appearance never fails
+to recall to my memory. Their singular beauty at this spot induced my
+friend, Mr Reiss, who accompanied me as a volunteer during the
+unfortunate expedition up the river Berbice, to draw and paint it on the
+spot. He was yet occupied with this task when the last of our canoes was
+to descend the dangerous cataract. He arose from his occupation,
+desirous to descend with the Indians in the canoe, although against my
+wish, but he persisted. The canoe approached the fall; it upset; and, of
+thirteen persons who were in it at the time, he was the only one who
+paid the rash attempt with his life. He is now buried opposite that
+island, the richest vegetable productions of which it was his last
+occupation to imitate on paper and in colours."[220]
+
+We might linger long on these flowers of strange loveliness, but space
+compels us to forsake them and to turn to some other examples in the
+wide range of Flora's domains. How glorious a sight must be the sheeted
+Rhododendrons of the Himalaya peaks, on whose lofty elevations Dr Hooker
+found these fine plants in great prominence, "clothing the
+mountain-slopes with a deep-green mantle, glowing with bells of
+brilliant colours; of the eight or ten species growing here, [on the
+Zemir, in Sikkim, twelve thousand feet above the sea,] every bush was
+loaded with as great a profusion of blossoms as are their northern
+congeners in our English gardens!"[221]
+
+The noblest of the genus is that which is dedicated to Lady Dalhousie.
+It is an epiphyte, being always found growing, like the Orchids, among
+mosses and ferns, upon the trunks of large trees, especially oaks and
+magnolias, at an elevation of from seven to ten thousand feet. In this
+particular, in the fragrance of its noble white blossoms, in its slender
+habit, in the whorled arrangement of its branches, and in the length of
+time during which it continues in flower in its native regions, viz.,
+from April to July, it differs from all its fellows of the same genus
+that inhabit northern India.
+
+The flowers are four inches in length and four in diameter, with a broad
+trumpet lip. Their colour is pure white, assuming a delicate rosy tinge
+as they become old, and sometimes becoming spotted with orange. They
+have an odour which resembles that of the lemon.
+
+Of this and the following species Dr Hooker writes from Dorjiling, seven
+thousand feet above the sea:--"On the branches of the immense
+purple-flowered magnolia, (_M. Campbellii_,) and those of oaks and
+laurels, _Rhododendron Dalhousiæ_ grows epiphytally, a slender shrub
+bearing from three to six white lemon-scented bells, four and a half
+inches long and so many broad, at the end of each branch. In the same
+woods the scarlet Rhododendron (_R. arboreum_) is very scarce, and is
+outvied by the great _R. argenteum_, which grows as a tree, forty feet
+high, with magnificent leaves twelve to fifteen inches long, deep green
+wrinkled above and silvery below, while the flowers are as large as
+those of _R. Dalhousiæ_ and grow more in a cluster. I know nothing of
+the kind that exceeds in beauty the flowering branch of _R. argenteum_,
+with its wide-spreading foliage and glorious mass of flowers."[222]
+
+The latter, which is nearly equal to _R. Dalhousiæ_ in the size of its
+blossoms, and perhaps superior to it in other respects, is another
+white-flowered species. It is, as described above, a tree with large
+massive leaves of a silvery tint beneath. When young, they are
+exquisitely beautiful, being encased in long flesh-coloured cones of
+large scales, of very ornamental appearance. The flowers are three
+inches long, forming a compact globose head.
+
+They secrete a large quantity of honey, which is said to be poisonous,
+as is also that of _R. Dalhousiæ_.
+
+The grandeur and beauty of the same genus are celebrated by Mr Low, as
+he saw the species growing in Borneo, where too their parasitic
+character struck him, as it had done Dr Hooker:--
+
+"Perhaps the most gorgeous of the native plants are the various species
+of the genus _Rhododendron_, which here assume a peculiar form, being
+found epiphytal upon the trunks of trees, as the genera of the tribe
+_Orchidace{oe}_. This habit, induced probably by the excessive moisture of
+the climate, is not, however, confined to the Ericaceous plants, but
+also prevails with the genera _Fagria_, _Combretum_, and many others,
+usually terrestrial; the roots of the Rhododendrons, instead of being,
+as with the species [which are] inhabitants of cold climates, small and
+fibrous, become large and fleshy, winding round the trunks of the forest
+trees; the most beautiful one is that which I have named in compliment
+to Mr Brooke. Its large heads of flowers are produced in the greatest
+abundance throughout the year: they much exceed in size those of any
+known species, frequently being formed of eighteen flowers, which are of
+all shades, from pale and rich yellow to a rich reddish salmon-colour;
+in the sun, the flowers sparkle with a brilliancy resembling that of
+gold dust.
+
+"Four other species which I discovered are very gorgeous, but of
+different colours, one being crimson and another red, and the third a
+rich tint between these two: of the fourth I have not yet seen the
+flowers."[223]
+
+Take an example from another order. The Lightning-tree of Madagascar
+rises before us in the graphic pages of Mr Ellis:--
+
+"But the most magnificent objects were the fine trees of _Astrapæa
+Wallichii_, or _viscosa_. The name of this Malagasy plant was derived
+from the word for lightning, on account of the brilliancy of its
+flowers; and Sir Joseph Paxton and Dr Lindley have thus spoken of _A.
+Wallichii_:--'One of the finest plants ever introduced. And when loaded
+with its magnificent flowers, we think nothing can exceed its grandeur.'
+I had seen a good-sized plant growing freely at Mauritius, but here it
+was in its native home, luxuriating on the banks of the stream, its
+trunk a foot in diameter, its broad-leaved branches stretching over the
+water, and its large, pink, globular, composite[224] flowers, three or
+four inches in diameter, suspended at the end of a fine down-covered
+stalk, nine inches or a foot in length. These, hanging by hundreds along
+the course of the stream, surpassed anything of the kind I had seen, or
+could possibly have imagined. I frequently met with the _Astrapæa_
+afterwards, but always growing near the water, and its branches
+frequently stretching over a lake or river."[225]
+
+The Leguminous or Papilionaceous order presents many plants of striking
+beauty, both in foliage, which is often of extreme lightness and
+elegance, and also in blossom. They are among the gayest and most
+graceful of plants in all regions. The magnificent vegetation of the
+Mauritius contains one of notable glory, the Flamboyant, thus noticed by
+Ellis:--
+
+"Conspicuous beyond all the rest is the stately and gorgeous _Poinciana
+regia_, compact-growing and regular in form, but retaining something of
+the acacia habit, rising sometimes to the height of forty or fifty feet,
+and, between the months of December and April, presenting, amidst its
+delicate pea-green pinnated leaves, one vast pyramid of bunches of
+bright, dazzling scarlet flowers. Seen sometimes over the tops of the
+houses, and at others in an open space, standing forth in truly regal
+splendour, this is certainly one of the most magnificent of trees. Its
+common name is _mille fleurs_, or _flamboyant_."[226]
+
+I have had the delight of seeing the _Poinciana pulcherrima_ in Jamaica,
+where it goes by the name of Flower-feuce, or sometimes, the "Pride of
+Barbadoes." It is, when in flower, a gorgeous mass of scarlet and
+orange, and it seemed to me the most magnificent thing in its way, that
+I had ever seen. It does not, however, attain the dimensions of its
+antipode, rarely exceeding those of a large shrub.
+
+I know not what the Burmese tree is, which is alluded to in the
+following extracts from letters which I have received from my esteemed
+friend, Captain G. E. Bulger, of the 10th Regiment:--
+
+"I shall be exceedingly obliged by your telling me whether you are
+familiar with the tree known in the West Indies and South America as the
+'Bois Immortel;' and whether you think the leaf herewith sent belongs to
+it.
+
+"During the cool season in Burmah, the forest presents a gorgeous sight,
+from the multitude of scarlet blossoms which a large kind of tree puts
+forth; and I am strongly inclined to think that this splendid ornament
+of the jungles is, at all events, allied to the Bois Immortel of the
+Western World.
+
+"The tree I speak of begins to flower about the middle of December, at
+which time the leaves commence to wither and drop off. By the end of
+January, when it is in full bloom, there is hardly a leaf remaining, but
+it continues one mass of scarlet blossom until March. The flower is
+shaped like that of the pea.
+
+"If you can enlighten me on this point I shall be indeed very much
+obliged."
+
+I was compelled to confess my ignorance even of the South American
+beauty, and my friend thus replied:--
+
+"I first read of the 'Bois Immortel' in 'Waterton's Wanderings,' and I
+subsequently saw a coloured representation of the tree in Mr Gould's
+magnificent work on Humming-Birds. I think the specific name was also
+given in that work, but it is some time ago, and I have almost forgotten
+what it was like. Since I saw these two works, I have heard officers
+speak of the splendour of the South American forests during the season
+of 'Le Bois Immortel,' and have heard more than one say that they
+believed nothing on earth could be more magnificent than 'matchless
+Trinidad' when these trees are in full bloom. The autumnal beauty of the
+North American woods is, doubtless, familiar to you, and I question very
+much whether there is anything richer or more lovely to be found even in
+South America."
+
+Even the humblest orders of plants have the element of beauty bestowed
+on them with no niggard hand. Who would have expected, among the
+_Chenopodeæ_, and, above all, in the lowly little Saltworts, to find
+such a glowing scene as Mr Atkinson describes?--
+
+"We were now on a heavy sandy steppe--part of the Sackha Desert, which
+extends into the Gobi--and vegetation was so very scant, that even the
+steppe grass had disappeared. The _Salsola_ was growing in a broad belt
+around the small salt lakes, its colour varying from orange to the
+deepest crimson. These lakes have a most singular appearance when seen
+at a distance. The sparkling of the crystallised salt, which often
+reflected the deep crimson around, gave them the appearance of diamonds
+and rubies set in a gorgeous framework. I rode round several times,
+admiring their beauty, and regretting that it was impossible to stay and
+visit a large lake, which I observed, ten or fifteen versts distant,
+surrounded with green, orange, and crimson."[227]
+
+The microscope, too, will bring out beauties in flowers which the
+unassisted eye is incompetent fully to recognise. If we take a scarlet
+Geranium, or a purple Heartsease, the eye is delighted with the
+brilliancy of the colouring; but on placing a petal of either on a slip
+of glass, under a pretty high magnifying power, and reflecting the full
+rays of the sun through the object, the rich gorgeousness of the hue,
+the sparkling gem-like radiance of the surface, and the
+exquisitely-regular form of the round cells, with their clear
+interstices, form a spectacle of glorious beauty that almost surpasses
+the conception of one who has not seen it.
+
+I shall close this chapter, which might easily have been expanded into a
+volume, with a reference to an humble and minute plant, whose fairy
+loveliness, combined with an almost unkillable hardiness of
+constitution, has won for it a place in every garden, however
+unpretending, and however ungenial in its locality,--the London-pride.
+This exquisite little Saxifrage, general favourite as it is, requires
+the microscope to bring out its beauties to advantage, but under a good
+instrument you cannot fail to be charmed with it. I have one before me
+at this moment, and will describe what I see.
+
+First, I notice, on a cursory glance, that the whole plant is clothed
+with tiny hairs; I take one of the flower-stalks and examine these with
+a power of three hundred diameters. Each now becomes a stem of
+glass-like clearness, tapering upwards to a point, where it bears a
+richly crimson cup, and in this is seated a globule of colourless
+glass, just as an acorn sits in its shell. The multitude of these
+organs--glandular hairs, the botanist calls them--standing up side by
+side, rising to varying heights, and displaying various degrees of
+development, is a very pleasing sight.
+
+I turn to an unopened bud, putting on a lower power, and viewing it as
+an opaque object, with reflected light by the aid of the Lieberkuhn.
+Here are the parting sepals of the calyx, painted with rose-pink and
+pea-green, and studded all over with the knobbed hairs just noticed; the
+coloured surface is rough with granules, but it is the roughness of
+glass, for every knob gleams and sparkles with light. The corolla, a
+little white ball, displays its petals smoothly folded over each other,
+and their surface has the same appearance of granular glass as that of
+the calyx.
+
+But now let me examine this blossom just expanded this morning,--the
+very first of the season, by the way. I must have a low power for this,
+eighty diameters, or so. Oh, how exquisite! The little saucer of five
+oval petals, each of snowy whiteness, bearing its bow of lovely crimson
+specks, with a spot of gamboge-yellow for the chord, and the whole
+sparkling with glassy points as before. The pale red germen in the
+centre, rising into two points of snow, their rosy tips pressed close
+together, as if the twins were kissing. The ten stamens, five short
+alternating with five long ones, and each bearing its pretty
+kidney-shaped anther of pale scarlet. No; all are not kidney-shaped; for
+here is one which has burst, and the grains of red pollen are seen
+covering its rough purple surface; and here is one stamen from the
+point of which the anther has gone, leaving only two or three
+pollen-grains adhering. Behind all, I see the sepals of the calyx,
+peeping out between the petals, and forming a fine dark background for
+them, and for the longer filaments.
+
+And now I say to my readers, one and all,--you may not have the
+opportunity to examine the glorious tropical Orchids, or the gorgeous
+Flamboyant, but go and pluck a flower of the London-pride, and you will
+have before your eyes such a production of Divine handiwork as may well
+excite the admiration and adoration of an angel.
+
+[203] Rev. v. 11.
+
+[204] Edwards's _Voyage up the Amazon_, 194.
+
+[205] _Travels on the Amazon and Negro_, 222.
+
+[206] _Voy. à la Nouv. Guinée._
+
+[207] _Amer. Ornith._
+
+[208] Edwards's _Voy. up the Amazon_, 143.
+
+[209] _Martial_, xiii. 72.
+
+[210] _Windsor Forest._
+
+[211] See _Good Words_ for April 1861.
+
+[212] _Wordsworth_.
+
+[213] _Wanderings in N. S. Wales_, &c., ii. 43.
+
+[214] _Zool._, 3060.
+
+[215] Low's _Sarawak_, 87.
+
+[216] Tennent's _Ceylon_, i. 250.
+
+[217] Ellis's _Visit to Madagascar_, 313.
+
+[218] _Nat. Voyage_, ch. xviii.
+
+[219] Pöppig.--_Nov. Gen. et Sp._, i. 54.
+
+[220] Lindley's _Sertum Orchid._; pi. xxvi.
+
+[221] _Himal. Journ._, ii. 58.
+
+[222] _Himal. Journals_, i. 126.
+
+[223] Low's _Sarawak_, 65.
+
+[224] The writer by this term doubtless alludes to the panicles or heads
+_compounded_ of many individual flowers; for the plant does not belong
+to the order _Compositæ_, but to _Byttneriaceæ_.
+
+[225] Ellis's _Madagascar_, p. 390.
+
+[226] Ellis's _Visits to Madagascar_, 57.
+
+[227] Atkinson's _Siberia_, 472.
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+PARASITES.
+
+
+Vast as is this round world on which we live, its surface is not nearly
+large enough for all the living creatures which are ordained to inhabit
+it. Multitudes of animals do not walk on the ground, or swim in the
+waters, or fly in the air, but find the scene of their abode on or in
+the bodies of other animals. Multitudes of plants do not grow out of the
+soil, but attach themselves to other plants, and draw their sustenance
+and support thence. Nay, there are parasites upon parasites, and this,
+according to Hood, in an infinitely descending series.
+
+      "Great fleas have little fleas
+        Upon their backs to bite 'em;
+      And little fleas have lesser fleas;
+        And so _ad infinitum_."
+
+Perhaps the poet's imagination ran a little ahead of his science here;
+but the idea of an _infinite_ succession of parasites, like nests of
+pill-boxes, is surely a funny one. There is nothing funny, however, in
+the thought "that even man," who was made in the image of God, "bears
+about in his vital organs various forms of loathsome creatures, which
+riot on his fluids, and consume the very substance of his tissues while
+ensconced where no efforts of his can dislodge them, no application
+destroy them. So it is; and few physical facts are better calculated to
+humble man, and stain the pride of his glory, than to feel that he may
+at any moment be nourishing a horrid tape-worm in his alimentary canal,
+or that his muscles may be filled with millions of microscopic
+_trichinæ_.
+
+I will not dwell on these; though, if I were writing a book of pure
+science, there is a wondrous array of facts of the most striking and
+interesting character, connected with the structure, the metamorphoses,
+and the habits, of the Entozoic Worms, which I might present to my
+readers. It is more pleasant to consider other facts, perhaps not less
+marvellous, which, as they do not come quite so home to our personal
+feelings, will not excite horror and disgust in our minds.
+
+The _economy_ of creation is remarkable. He who, by His divine
+manipulation converted five loaves and two small fishes into a hearty
+meal for five thousand men, besides women and children, and who could,
+with the same ease have made them a hundred times as much, said, when
+the meal was over, "Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost." And,
+when He spread the earth with life, though His resources were infinite,
+He ordained that one object, itself healthfully enjoying life, and
+fulfilling its own proper ends of being, should be a microcosm, on which
+another range of life should find its sphere, and on which it should
+disport, as on an independent world. I have often admired, in the
+gorgeous tropical forests, what a wilderness of vegetation a single
+tree supports; what numbers of orchids and wild pines spring out of the
+forks, what creepers and lianes hang and twine about its branches, what
+elegant ferns cluster on the horizontal limbs, what snake-like cacti
+creep from bough to bough, what mosses, and jungermanniæ crowd in every
+crevice, what many-coloured lichens stud the rugged bark! And then
+animal life is swarming in all this great field of parasitic vegetation.
+Reptiles and birds, snails and slugs, insects and millepedes, and
+spiders and worms nestle by thousands in such prolific situations, so
+that a great old tropical tree, one of the giant figs or cotton-trees,
+is a very museum in itself.
+
+And in my wanderings along the sea-edge here at home how often have I
+been amazed at the diverse population, plant and animal, which crowds a
+single oar-weed, or tangle! The stem fringed with delicate red-weeds, as
+the minute _Rhodymeniæ_, and _Polysyphoniæ_, and _Callithamnia_; the
+tortuous roots studded with Anemones, with _Flustræ_ and _Lepraliæ_, and
+multitudes of other _Polyzoa_, with tiny Polypes of many kinds, with
+Barnacles and Limpets, and sheltering small Crustacea, and Mites, and
+Annelids by scores.
+
+Mr Darwin has an interesting passage on this subject, evoked by the
+profusion of parasitic life on the long sea-weed of Cape Horn
+(_Macrocystis_). "The number of living creatures" he remarks, "whose
+existence intimately depends on the Kelp is wonderful. A great volume
+might be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of
+sea-weed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the
+surface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a white
+colour. We find exquisitely delicate structures, some inhabited by
+simple hydra-like polypi, others by more organised kinds, and beautiful
+compound Ascidiæ. On the leaves also, various patelliform shells,
+Trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some bivalves are attached. Innumerable
+crustacea frequent every part of the plant. On shaking the great
+entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttle-fish, crabs of all
+orders, sea-eggs, star-fish, beautiful Holuthuriæ, Planariæ, and
+crawling nereidous animals of a multitude of forms, all fall out
+together. Often as I recurred to a branch of the kelp, I never failed to
+discover animals of new and curious structure. In Chiloe, where the kelp
+does not thrive very well, the numerous shells, corallines, and
+crustacea are absent; but there yet remain a few of the Flustraceæ, and
+some compound Ascidiæ; the latter, however, are of different species
+from those in Terra del Fuego: we here see the fucus possessing a wider
+range than the animals which use it as an abode. I can only compare
+these great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere, with the
+terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions.
+
+"Yet if in any country a forest was destroyed, I do not believe nearly
+so many species of animals would perish as would here, from the
+destruction of the kelp. Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous
+species of fish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter:
+with their destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the
+otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly, the
+Fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land, would
+redouble his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps cease to
+exist."
+
+I have alluded to the epiphytic plants which are so abundant in the
+tropics, and which add so greatly to the gorgeousness of the forests
+there. The most remarkable, or, at all events, the best known, of these
+are the _Orchideæ_, to which, as I have already had occasion more than
+once to speak of them, I shall do little more than refer here. These
+establish themselves in the forks, upon the greater limbs, and even in
+the roughnesses of the bark of the trunk, adhering by their long,
+interlaced roots, which look like knotted whip-cord, and forming their
+bunches of psuedo-bulbs, whence their succulent, thick, but elegant
+leaves project,--a great tuft of verdure; and their fantastic
+flower-scapes wave in the air or droop with their weight of gorgeous
+bloom. Thus they derive their nourishment from the humid atmosphere
+alone, being dependent on the friendly tree only for support and
+elevation. Humidity seems essential to the vigour of these and most
+other forms of parasitic vegetation. In the deep shady, gloomy forests
+of Java, which constitute the zone of vegetation around the base of the
+mountains, these plants abound, where the air is heavy and damp with the
+vapours that cannot ascend, and where the density of the foliage is
+almost frightful; where heat, moisture, and a most extraordinarily deep
+and rich vegetable soil combine to produce wood of a fungus-like
+softness, and an inconceivable abundance of twining plants and
+epiphytes. In those forests, more especially where huge fig-trees
+constitute the principal part of the timber, intermingled with the most
+tropical forms of vegetation, such as _Sterculiaceæ_, _Sapindaceæ_, and
+_Artocarpeæ_, tufts of _Orchideæ_ attain a vast size and luxuriance, in
+company with Aroideous and Zinziberaceous plants.[228] In Demerara, Mr
+Henchman found masses of _Oncidium altissimum_ and _Maxillaria Parkeri_
+of wide dimensions, and so densely growing as to defy any attempt at
+intrusion; and on the Spanish main he saw the _Epidendrum_ known as the
+"Spread Eagle" clasping enormous trees, and covering them from the top
+to the bottom.
+
+The fig-trees, which are among the most gigantic of the tropical
+forest-trees, and which support an immense profusion of epiphytes, are
+themselves frequently parasitic and epiphyte in their early condition.
+It is not uncommon in Jamaica to see a network of roots partially
+embracing the trunk of some great tree, far up its column, and gradually
+creeping round and downward. I have seen an old wall so covered,
+presenting a very curious spectacle. The roots of a wide-spreading fig
+growing out of the summit of the wall, had spread over its perpendicular
+surface, down to the earth, all in the same plane, clinging to the wall;
+the chief roots were as thick as a man's leg, but subordinate roots had
+proceeded from one to another, anastomosing in all directions (if I may
+use such a term), so as to make a most elaborate network of a multitude
+of meshes of various angular forms and sizes. These cross-roots were _at
+each extremity_ united with the larger roots, and looked as if the whole
+network had been skilfully carved out of one solid plank of wood, by
+cutting out the areas or meshes, and rounding the component bars; the
+very bark that covered the whole was continuous, where the roots united,
+as if they had been always integrally one.
+
+The only mode in which I can account for this singular phenomenon is the
+following hypothesis:--The seed of the tree was originally deposited on
+the summit of the wall, beneath the eaves. As it germinated, the roots
+ran down towards the earth, some perpendicularly, some diagonally; but
+all creeping along the surface of the wall, no roots having shot out
+from its perpendicular. As these roots increased, they sent out side
+rootlets, which, still running on the face of the wall, by and by came
+in contact with another of the primary roots. Then, instead of creeping
+_over_ it, as the roots of other trees would have done, the soft tip of
+the rootlet actually united with the substance of the root at the point
+of contact, the fibres of the two becoming interlaced, and their united
+surfaces gradually becoming covered with a common bark. The repetition
+of this process had produced the very curious wooden net which I have
+attempted to describe.
+
+A still more remarkable example of this parasitic mode of growth I have
+seen in the same island. By the side of a mountain road was a large
+fig-tree, the base of whose trunk was about thirty feet from the
+ground. Thence it reared itself up pillar-like towards the heavens, and
+spread abroad its vast horizontal array of branches across the road.
+From the same point there descended to the earth a hollow cone of roots,
+interwoven and anastomosed, especially at the upper parts, in the same
+manner as those of the boiling-house wall, but forming towards the
+bottom only three or four flattened irregular columns. Into the area
+inclosed by this network of roots a person might enter, for it was about
+six feet wide, and, looking up, behold the base of the trunk eight or
+ten yards above his head.
+
+The explanation of this curious phenomenon depends upon the tendency
+just mentioned. On this site once stood a large tree of some other
+species, probably a cotton-tree (_Eriodendron_), or some other
+soft-timbered kind. The little scarlet berry of a Fig-tree was carried
+by some vagrant Banana-bird or Pigeon to its boughs, and there devoured.
+After the little truant had finished his morsel, he perhaps wiped his
+beak against the rough bark of the trunk, beside the branch on which he
+was seated. Some of the minute seeds, enveloped in mucilage, were thus
+left on the tree, which the rain presently washed down into the broad
+concavity of the forks, where, among moss and rotten leaves, it soon
+germinated and grew. The roots gradually crept down the trunk of the
+supporting tree, closely clinging to its bark, and by their
+interlacement at length formed a living case, enveloping it on every
+side, and penetrating the earth around its base. The growth of these,
+and also of the inclosed tree, daily induced a tighter and tighter
+pressure on the latter, which at length arrived at such a degree as to
+stop the circulation of the sap between the bark and the wood. Death, of
+course, was the result, and speedy decay reduced the supporting tree to
+a heap of mouldering dust: while the parasite, now able to maintain its
+own position by its hollow cone of roots, increased in size and
+strength, and overtopped its fellows of the forest;--_a tree standing
+upon stilts_.
+
+A few years ago I was struck with the appearance of an East Indian
+species of the same genus in one of the conservatories at Kew. Three
+shoots had run up the wall, clinging so close, that the leaves looked as
+if they were actually glued to the bricks, one over the other, in the
+most regular manner. Yet, on examination, I saw that the leaves did not
+adhere at all; the only support was that of the tiny rootlets which
+proceeded laterally from each stem, which the leaves concealed. The
+appearance of the whole was so curious, with the pale growing bud
+peeping out from beneath the topmost leaf, that I was greatly attracted
+by it. The base of the plant was in a pot, but the attendant informed me
+that this connexion was about to be cut off, by severing each shoot at
+the point where it first seized the wall. The leaves above this point,
+by their superior size and vigour, shewed that the plant was already
+independent of its pot, and that it was capable of supporting itself,
+like a proper air-plant, by imbibition from the atmosphere alone,
+needing nothing more than support in its upright position, which it
+obtained from the wall by its clinging aerial rootlets.
+
+Every one who has wandered in a primeval forest of the tropics, whether
+in the eastern or the western hemisphere, has been struck by the
+inconceivable profusion of the climbers and twiners with which the trees
+are laced together. They are found from the thickness of a warship's
+cable to that of pack-thread; the stronger ones often uncouthly twisted
+together, and binding tree to tree. They are of the orders
+_Malpighaceæ_, _Apocyaneæ_, _Asclepiadeæ_, _Bignoniaceæ_, &c., and often
+are adorned with the most brilliant flowers.
+
+I have before cited descriptions of these wonderful lianes, as they
+occur in the forests of South America; my readers may like to peruse Sir
+Emerson Tennent's graphic sketch of those of Ceylon:--
+
+"It is the trees of older and loftier growth that exhibit the rank
+luxuriance of these wonderful epiphytes in the most striking manner.
+They are tormented by climbing plants of such extraordinary dimensions
+that many of them exceed in diameter the girth of a man; and these
+gigantic appendages are to be seen surmounting the tallest trees in the
+forest, grasping their stems in firm convolutions, and then flinging
+their monstrous tendrils over the larger limbs till they reach the top,
+whence they descend to the ground in huge festoons, and, after including
+another and another tree in their successive toils, they once more
+ascend to the summit, and wind the whole into a maze of living network
+as massy as if formed by the cable of a line-of-battle ship. When, by
+and by, the trees on which this singular fabric has become suspended
+give way under its weight, or sink by their own decay, the fallen trunk
+speedily disappears, while the convolutions of climbers continue to grow
+on, exhibiting one of the most marvellous and peculiar living mounds of
+confusion that it is possible to fancy. Frequently one of these creepers
+may be seen holding by one extremity the summit of a tall tree, and
+grasping with the other an object at some distance near the earth,
+between which it is strained as tight and straight as if hauled over a
+block. In all probability the young tendril had been originally fixed in
+this position by the wind, and retained in it till it had gained its
+maturity, where it has the appearance of having been artificially
+arranged as if to support a falling tree."[229]
+
+Leaving the vegetable world, we may find some very curious examples of
+parasitism among Insects. Every one who has paid the slightest attention
+to this class of animals is aware that there are slender flies called
+_Ichneumons_, whose grubs are hatched and reared in the bodies of other
+insects. Many of these have the ovipositor greatly lengthened, and
+projecting like a very slender needle from the extremity of the abdomen.
+In some species, this needle-like organ is three or four times the
+entire length of the body; and this great longitude is intended to reach
+the pupæ of wasps and similar insects which inhabit deep holes. The
+needle itself is well worthy of study. It is not simple, but composed
+of two pieces forming a sheath, which open and reveal a central finer
+filament, furnished at its tip (in _Pimpla manifestator_, for example)
+with saw-like teeth. With this instrument, which possesses great
+elasticity and flexibility, the insect works, as a carpenter with his
+brad-awl, boring through the clay, with which the wasp has closed up the
+hole that contains her grub, until the tip of the ovipositor reaches the
+soft body of the insect. Into this it pierces, and deposits an egg, and
+is withdrawn. The slight puncture is scarcely felt by the grub, which
+continues to eat and grow; the inserted egg, however, presently hatches,
+and produces the ichneumon-grub, which begins to feed on the fat of the
+wasp-grub, instinctively avoiding the vital parts, until the latter has
+attained nearly its full size, and is ready to pass into the pupa state;
+when, its vigour being gone, it fails to accomplish the metamorphosis,
+the insidious intruder, now also full grown, taking its place, and by
+and by issuing from the hole a perfect Ichneumon.
+
+How often has the enthusiastic young entomologist been subjected to sore
+disappointment by the parasitic habits of these _Ichneumonidæ_! He has
+obtained some fine caterpillar, a great rarity, and by dint of much
+searching of his Westwood or his Stainton, feels quite certain that it
+is the larva of some much-prized butterfly. He ascertains its leaf-food;
+which it eats promisingly; all goes on encouragingly. Surely it cannot
+be far from the pupa state now! When some morning he is horrified to
+behold, instead of the chrysalis, a host of filthy little grubs eating
+their way out of the skin of his beautiful caterpillar, or covering its
+remains with their tiny yellow cocoons.
+
+Some of these parasites are so minute that their young are hatched and
+reared in the _eggs_ of other insects. Bonnet found that the egg of a
+butterfly, itself no bigger than the head of a minikin pin, was
+inhabited by several of the stranger grubs; for out of twenty such eggs,
+he says, "a prodigious quantity" of the grubs were evolved.
+
+A very interesting tribe of insects, so diverse from all other known
+forms as to constitute an order among themselves, that of the
+_Strepsiptera_, passes its youth in the bodies of certain wild bees. Mr
+Kirby's account of his first detection of one of these, though often
+quoted, is so interesting that I must cite it afresh. "I had previously
+observed," he remarks, "upon bees something that I took to be a kind of
+mite (_Acarus_), which appeared to be immovably fixed just at the
+inosculations of the dorsal segments of the abdomen. At length, finding
+three or four upon an _Andræna nigroænea_, I determined not to lose the
+opportunity of taking one off to examine and describe; but what was my
+astonishment when, upon my attempting to disengage it with a pin, I drew
+forth from the body of the bee a white fleshy larva, a quarter of an
+inch in length, the head of which I had mistaken for an acarus (_bee
+louse_)! After I had examined one specimen, I attempted to extract a
+second; and the reader may imagine how greatly my astonishment was
+increased, when, after I had drawn it out but a little way, I saw its
+skin burst, and a head as black as ink, with large staring eyes and
+antennæ, consisting of two branches, break forth, and move itself
+quickly from side to side. It looked like a little imp of darkness just
+emerged from the infernal regions. My eagerness to set free from its
+confinement this extraordinary animal may be easily conjectured. Indeed,
+I was impatient to become better acquainted with so singular a creature.
+When it was completely disengaged, and I had secured it from making its
+escape, I set myself to examine it as accurately as possible; and I
+found, after a careful inquiry, that I had got a nondescript, whose very
+class seemed dubious."
+
+Mr Newman, in an essay of much value,[230] has shewn that the larvæ of
+this tribe of insects are born alive, that they attach themselves to the
+abdomens of wild bees, nestling among the hair, and that they are thus
+introduced into the nest of the bee. Here it is somewhat uncertain how
+they are sustained at first, for at this time the bee-grubs are not
+hatched; probably they remain without food for some days, or devour a
+portion of the pollen and honey stored up. As soon, however, as the
+bee-grub is hatched, the Stylops-larva undergoes a metamorphosis, sheds
+its six legs, and becomes a footless maggot; it pierces the soft skin of
+the bee-grub, and feeds on its juices, till its maturity, as the
+Ichneumon on the body of the caterpillar.
+
+When the perfect bee emerges in the following spring, it bears the
+full-grown Stylops, protruding from the rings of its abdomen. The latter
+is in pupa, all the organs being distinct and separate, but wrapped
+together, and inclosed in separate pellicles; very soon, it emerges, as
+described by Kirby, and escapes, leaving a great unsightly cavity in the
+body of the bee. This is the male: the female never escapes, but lays
+its eggs on the bee in which it has been reared, and then dies.
+
+In the spring we frequently see among herbage a great uncouth beetle of
+a dark blue-black hue, with short wing-cases and long, heavy body, which
+discharges drops of yellow fluid when handled, and is therefore called
+the Oil-beetle (_Melöe proscarabæus_). The early stages of this beetle
+have much affinity with those of the _Stylops_. The beetle lays a number
+of yellow eggs in a hole in the earth; these produce little active
+six-footed larvæ, resembling lice, which crawl to the summit of
+dandelion and other flowers in the sunshine, and await the visit of a
+bee. On the arrival of one, the active grub immediately clings to its
+body, and is carried to the nest, not, however, to introduce itself
+parasitically into the body of the bee-grub, but to feed on the
+provision which the parent bee has stored up for its own young. Thus it
+becomes very fat, and grows to a size much larger than that of the
+full-grown bee-grub, having early dropped its six long clinging legs,
+which, having performed their proper function in catching hold of a bee,
+are no longer needed. It changes to a perfect beetle in autumn, lies in
+the bee's nest all the winter, and emerges in the spring.
+
+The large jelly-like Medusæ which in summer are seen floating around our
+coasts, driving themselves along by alternate contractions and
+expansions of their umbrella, are frequently infested by little
+creatures of widely different organisation, Crustaceans belonging to the
+genera _Hyperia and Metoecus_. On the beautiful _Chrysaora_ of the
+southern coast I have seen the _Metoecus medusarum_, a little shrimp
+about half-an-inch in length, with enormous lustrous green eyes, which
+takes up his residence in the cavities of the sub-umbrella,--dwelling in
+them as in so many spacious and commodious apartments, of which he takes
+possession, evidently without asking leave of the landlord, or paying
+him even the compliment of a peppercorn rent. Here he snugly ensconces
+himself, and feels so much at home, that he is not afraid to leave his
+dwelling now and then, to take a swim in the free water, returning to
+his chamber after his exercise; and here he rears his numerous family,
+which, in the form of tiny white specks, very much unlike their parents
+in shape, stud the membranes of the jelly-fish.
+
+But, what is stranger still, Mr M'Cready has recently discovered in the
+harbour of Charleston in North America, a _Medusa_ which is parasitic
+upon another _Medusa_. _Cunina octonaria_ does not swim freely in the
+water, but inhabits the cavity of the bell of _Turritopsis nutricula_.
+"Not only does the latter furnish a shelter and dwelling-place for the
+larvæ during their development; it also serves as their nurse, by
+allowing the parasites, whilst adhering by their tentacles, to draw
+nourishment out of its mouth by means of a large proboscis. In point of
+fact, the relation between them is of so unprecedented a nature, that
+the author may well be excused for having at first taken the impudent
+parasite for the gemmiparous progeny of the sheltering Medusa. The
+youngest state of this parasitic Medusa observed by the author formed a
+ciliated body of clavate form, adhering to the cavity of the bell by
+means of the slender stalk in which it terminated. The first change
+consists in the emission, from the thick end, of two slender flexible
+tentacles, and in the formation of a central cavity by liquefaction. At
+this stage of development, the author frequently observed gemmation
+taking place at the thicker end, sometimes frequently repeated.
+Subsequently the number of tentacles becomes doubled. These bend
+together over the clavate extremity, and are then employed, instead of
+the thin end of the body, in adhering to the cavity of the sheltering
+Medusa. The thin extremity then acquires a mouth, and may be recognised
+as a stomachal peduncle, which is employed, as above indicated, in
+obtaining nourishment. The morphological nature of the proboscis becomes
+still more distinct when, after the lapse of some little time, an
+annular fold makes its appearance immediately under the tentacles, which
+is recognisable from its form, and from the formation in it of (eight)
+otolithic capsules, as the first indication of the future bell.
+Simultaneously with the otolithic capsules, four rudimentary tentacles
+make their appearance between the four tentacles. The Medusa remains in
+this stage of development for a long time. The bell gradually becomes
+more freely developed, and at last, by the reduction and entire
+disappearance of the stomachal peduncle, becomes the most essential part
+of the Medusa, after it has left its previous dwelling-place in the bell
+of the _Turritopsis_. The bell nevertheless retains for some time its
+earlier lobed form and unequal tentacles."[231]
+
+More remarkable even than this association is the fact that certain true
+Fishes habitually reside in the stomachs of star-fishes. This
+circumstance, which had been observed in the Oriental Archipelago by MM.
+Quoy and Gaimard, and by Dr Bleeker, has recently been confirmed by Dr
+Doleschall, who has written a very interesting Memoir on it.
+
+This learned naturalist states that the fact of the connexion between
+the fish and the star-fish is well known to most of the fishermen in
+Amboyna, and that he was able to obtain a sufficiency of specimens for
+examination; but as the star-fishes (and with them the fishes) speedily
+died in confinement, he was unable to make continuous observations upon
+them in a living state. Of the results of his observations he gives the
+following summary:--
+
+"The fish stands to the star-fish in a definite relation which cannot be
+the object of observation. Why the little fish should always seek the
+stomachal cavity of one and the same species of star-fish, and not that
+of various species, is a mystery. It is well known that Crustaceans of
+the genus _Pagurus_ inhabit the empty shells of Mollusca; but we find
+on the shore the same species of _Pagurus_ in the shells of the most
+various genera and species.
+
+"I have never met with _Oxybeles gracilis_, on the contrary, in any
+other species of star-fish than _Culcita discoidea_. The fish was
+described by Bleeker under the above name in 'Natuurkundig Tijdschrift,'
+vii., p. 162. The author proceeds to state that neither he nor any one
+else in Amboyna has ever captured the fish under other circumstances, or
+while swimming freely in the sea; but upon this Dr Bleeker remarks that
+many of his specimens of _Fierasfer Brandesii_, and all those of
+_Fierasfer (Oxybeles) gracilis_ and _F. lumbricoides_, were obtained by
+him along with other fishes, and were probably taken while swimming
+freely in the sea.
+
+"Upon the habits of _Oxybeles gracilis_ the author goes on to say that
+it is certain that this animal passes the greater part of its existence
+in the stomach of the star-fish, rarely shewing itself outside of this,
+and then probably at night. That it does come out occasionally, appears
+from the fact that in two cases the author observed the fish with a
+portion of its body outside the cavity of the star-fish, and in the act
+of creeping in.
+
+"The same observations shewed that the fish, in returning to its
+concealment, passes along the furrow of the lower surface of one of the
+arms leading to the mouth of the star-fish, which is wide enough, when
+the tentacles are retracted, to leave room for the passage of the
+slender body of the _Oxybeles_. This fact likewise proves that the
+_Oxybeles_ does not get into the stomach of the _Culcita_ by accident.
+
+"If a living _Culcita_ be cut in two, the fish is seen moving freely in
+the cavity of its body. If it be taken out, it immediately seeks the
+shade. If the two halves of the _Culcita_ (still alive) be placed in the
+water, the fish will soon be seen to draw towards them, in order to get
+into the cavity of the star-fish. When exposed to the light, it is
+uneasy, and its iris contracts excessively. The author never found two
+fishes in the same star-fish.
+
+"In most of the fishes examined by him, the author found the stomach
+empty; it was full only in one. The contents of the stomach had the
+appearance of a lump of fat, and consisted of half-digested muscle.
+Under the microscope, striated muscular fibres could be detected, and
+the author thinks that they belonged to the muscles of a fish. This
+circumstance proves that _Oxybeles_ does not feed upon the chyle of the
+star-fish, but that its nourishment is analogous to that of other
+fishes. Whether it seizes upon the fishes taken by the star-fish for its
+own nourishment must be determined by further investigations.
+
+"The author's observations establish--
+
+"1. That _Oxybeles gracilis_ is not a true parasite.
+
+"2. That it passes the greater part of its life in the stomach of
+_Culcita discoidea_, as is also indicated by the unusually pale colour
+of the fish.
+
+"3. That, however, it can come out, either to seek nourishment, or for
+the purpose of reproduction.
+
+"4. That it returns to the mouth along the furrow on the ventral surface
+of the arms.
+
+"5. That it is very sensitive to light.
+
+"6. That it feeds upon other animals.
+
+"In fresh water the animals live for about half-an-hour. The pigment
+upon the peritoneum exhibits under the microscope the most beautiful
+stellate forms. The fish possesses a swimming-bladder."[232]
+
+Some very curious instances of parasitism occur, in which one kind of
+creature compels or induces another creature to labour for its special
+benefit. Indeed, in all cases, the parasite is benefited by the
+functions of the supporter; but, in the cases I refer to, the slavery is
+more special and more apparent.
+
+There is a large species of Crab (_Dromia_) found in the West Indies,
+which is invariably found covered with a dense mass of sponge. The
+sponge is found to have grown in such a manner as to fit every
+prominence and cavity of the crab, exactly as if a plastic material had
+been moulded on it, yet it is not adherent to it, but is merely held in
+position by the hindmost pair of feet, which in this genus of crabs, are
+turned upwards, and apparently serve no other purpose than that of hooks
+to hold on the sponge _in situ_.
+
+On our own shores we are familiar with the Hermit crabs making use of
+various kinds of univalve shells as houses to protect their softer
+hindparts; but in many of these cases there is a third party in the
+transaction, which is made to work for the crab's especial advantage.
+The shell of the mollusk is sometimes covered with a sort of fleshy
+polype-mass (_Hydractinia echinata_), which is parasitic on the shell.
+The shell, however, being tenanted also by the active crab, the polype,
+as it grows, moulds itself on the crab's body, and thus extends the
+dimensions of its house, so that it has no necessity either to enlarge
+its dwelling by the absorption of part of the interior shell-wall, or to
+leave this shell and search for one of ampler size, as other
+Hermit-crabs are obliged to do who have not the advantage of so
+accommodating a fellow-lodger. "One can understand," says Dr Gray, "that
+the Crab may have the instinct to search for shells, on which the coral
+[polype] has begun to grow; but this will scarcely explain why we never
+find the [polype] except on shells in which Hermit-crabs have taken up
+their residence."[233]
+
+Small Annelids and Crustaceans not unfrequently burrow into the stony
+walls of corals; but Dr Gray records a much more uncommon case, from the
+Guilding collection. "It is an expanded coral, which forms a thin
+surface on the top of another coral, and is furnished with a number of
+small, depressed, horizontal cases, opening with an oblong mouth. Some
+of these contain within them a small, free, crustaceous animal, a
+_Cymothoa_, which nearly fits the case; and it is evident that, by their
+moving backwards and forwards on the surface, they have caused the
+animal of the coral to form one of these cases for the protection of
+each specimen."[234]
+
+The manner in which this result is obtained is thus explained--"The
+animals which form their habitation in corals, appear to begin their
+domicile in the same way as the barnacles before referred to; they take
+advantage of the soft and yielding nature of the animals which form the
+corals, &c., and taking up a lodgement in their body, all they have to
+do is to keep a clear passage in it, either by the moving backwards and
+forwards, the exertion of their limbs, or the ingress or egress of water
+to and from their bodies, and in time, as the coral is secreted by the
+animal, it will form a wall round them; but if, by any accident, the
+parasite animal should not keep a passage from the coral to the surface
+of the body of the animal clear, which it must be constantly induced to
+do, since by this means it procures food, the coral animal will in a
+very short time close over it and bury it alive in the mass of the
+coral; and this, from the number of these animals, of all sizes and in
+different stages of growth, which are to be found in the substance of
+the large and massive corals, must often be occurring. Thus the Italian
+romance is often literally fulfilled in nature."
+
+Certain birds are parasitic, in this sense, that they compel or induce
+other birds to perform the labour of incubation and of rearing their
+young. The Rhea or Ostrich of South America is parasitical on its own
+species; the females laying each several eggs in the nests of several
+other females, and the male ostrich taking all the cares of incubation.
+More familiar examples, however, occur in our own Cuckoo, and in the
+Cowpen birds (_Molothrus_ _pecoris_ and _M. niger_) of North and South
+America. "These fasten themselves," as has been remarked by Mr Swainson,
+"on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into
+life, whose food they live upon, and whose death would cause theirs
+during the period of infancy."
+
+The habit, at least in the case of the European Cuckoo, is so well
+known, that I need not do more than merely allude to the fact, that the
+female seeks for the nests of other insect-eating birds, always much
+smaller than itself, and deposits its own eggs,--a single egg in each;
+that this stranger egg is hatched by the foster-mother with all care,
+and the young bird is nurtured with all tenderness even at the expense
+of its own proper eggs and young, which in general are sacrificed in the
+course of the process. Every schoolboy knows these facts, but few
+perhaps have ever suspected the existence of a romantic feeling of love
+and fealty in the little bird towards the cuckoo herself, prompting the
+rendering of the service required as a coveted honour. Yet a naturalist
+has communicated to Mr Yarrell some facts which certainly look this way;
+and because they are indubitably the very romance of natural history, I
+cite them, leaving my readers to judge of their value.
+
+"As you have contributed," writes Mr W. C. Newby of Stockton, "so much
+to the information and amusement of the numerous class of readers who
+take an interest in subjects of natural history, I consider it my duty
+to communicate first to you, what appears to me a new fact in the
+habits and character of that general favourite the cuckoo.
+
+"An egg of this bird was brought to me on the 6th instant, which had
+been taken from the nest of the yellow bunting, at a short distance from
+this town, and the boy who got the egg gave the following account,
+which, I think, may be relied on. When bird-nesting the previous
+Saturday, he found a nest of the gold spink (a local name for the yellow
+bunting) with the young birds just hatched. On visiting the nest the
+following day, he flushed the old bird, having seen her sitting on it,
+but the young birds were all excluded, and were lying dead near; and to
+his surprise, a single egg--the one he brought to me--occupied the place
+of the callow brood. He took away the egg (which is now in my
+possession) so that it is impossible to corroborate the statement in any
+degree. The above circumstance was first named to me by Tom Green, a
+well-known character and naturalist in this town, whom I have always
+found to be accurate in his observations on birds, and by him I was
+referred to the boy. On my objecting to Green that the accident appeared
+incredible, because unnatural, and contrary to strong parental instinct,
+he replied, "Ay, sir, but little birds are mightily ta'en up with a
+cuckoo; they'll awmost dee out for them;" and he related the following
+fact which came under his own observation. When out with his gun,
+collecting birds to stuff, (animal-preserving being one of his many
+trades), he shot at and wounded a cuckoo, which, after flying some
+distance, fell upon a hedge with its wings outstretched: the attendant
+bird, which in this case was one of the pipits, continued in the flight
+of its patron after the shot, and when Green approached, he found it
+sitting on the body of the dead cuckoo.[235]
+
+"It has been supposed by some, that small birds follow the cuckoo for
+the sake of annoyance, mistaking it for a sparrow-hawk, to give public
+notice of a pirate abroad, and to warn all peaceful subjects of the air
+against a common danger. But this is clearly not so, for the flight and
+cries clearly distinguish the feelings in the two cases. The attendance
+on the cuckoo is at a distance, silent and respectful; but in the other
+we have a sort of hue and cry raised, as it were, against a felon, and
+which is kept up from place to place, if not to the shame, at least to
+the discomfiture of the culprit.
+
+"The cuckoo is certainly a favourite with them; as Green says, 'they,
+(the lesser birds,) are mightily ta'en up with it;' but to what it owes
+its influence with its parasites I leave to you and other philosophical
+naturalists to determine: I am content to relate, in simple terms, an
+interesting fact."
+
+There is so much analogy with these cuckoo-proceedings in the habits of
+Ants, that, although these cannot correctly be designated as parasites,
+the details of their manners will not be wholly out of place, in winding
+up this chapter. I refer to the propensity manifested by certain species
+of ants to make slaves of the workers of another species, leading them
+into captivity and compelling them to labour for the benefit of the
+marauders. Strangely enough, the parallel between the human and the
+formican slave-trade holds to this further extent that, so far as we
+know, the kidnappers are red or pale-coloured ants, and the slaves, like
+true _niggers_, are black.
+
+The slave-hunting expeditions are planned and executed with the utmost
+skill and courage. "When the red ants are about to sally forth on a
+marauding expedition, they send scouts to ascertain the exact position
+in which a colony of negroes may be found; these scouts, having
+discovered the object of their search, return to the nest, and report
+their success. Shortly afterwards the army of red ants marches forth,
+headed by a vanguard which is perpetually changing; the individuals
+which constitute it, when they have advanced a little before the main
+body, halting, falling into the rear, and being replaced by others: this
+vanguard consists of eight or ten ants only.
+
+"When they have arrived near the negro colony, they disperse, wandering
+through the herbage and hunting about, as if aware of the propinquity of
+the object of their search, yet ignorant of its exact position. At last
+they discover the settlement, and the foremost of the invaders rushing
+impetuously to the attack, are met, grappled with, and frequently killed
+by the negroes on guard; the alarm is quickly communicated to the
+interior of the nest; the negroes sally forth by thousands, and the red
+ants rushing to the rescue, a desperate conflict ensues, which, however,
+always terminates in the defeat of the negroes, who retire to the inmost
+recesses of their habitation. Now follows the scene of pillage; the red
+ants, with their powerful mandibles, tear open the sides of the negro
+ant-hill, and rush into the heart of the citadel. In a few minutes each
+of the invaders emerges, carrying in its mouth the pupa of a worker
+negro, which it has obtained in spite of the vigilance and valour of its
+natural guardians. The red ants return in perfect order to their nest,
+bearing with them their living burdens. On reaching the nest the pupæ
+appear to be treated precisely as their own, and the workers, when they
+emerge, perform the various duties of the community with the greatest
+energy and apparent good will; they repair the nest, excavate passages,
+collect food, feed the larvæ, take the pupæ into the sun-shine, and
+perform every office which the welfare of the colony seems to require;
+in fact, they conduct themselves entirely as if fulfilling their
+original destination."[236]
+
+[228] Reinwardt.
+
+[229] Tennent's _Ceylon_, i. 104.
+
+[230] "Affinities of the Stylopites," in _Zool._, 1792.
+
+[231] Wiegmann's _Archiv._, 1860, _Bericht_, p. 169.
+
+[232] _Ann. Nat. Hist._ for April, 1861.
+
+[233] _Zool._, 204.
+
+[234] _Ibid._, 205.
+
+[235] _Zool._, 2589.
+
+[236] Newman, _Hist. of Insects_, 50.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+ON THE SEA-SERPENT.
+
+
+Since the publication of my former volume, which concluded with an
+examination of the evidence for the existence of this unrecognised
+animal, two other important testimonies have been brought under my
+notice. The first of these is that of an officer of high literary
+reputation, the Consular representative of Great Britain lately residing
+at Boston, in the United States, who thus gives his personal testimony
+and that of his lady to the appearance of the monster:--
+
+"On a Sunday afternoon in the middle of August, above a hundred persons,
+at that time in and about the hotel, were called on to observe an
+extraordinary appearance in the sea, at no great distance from the
+shore. Large shoals of small fish were rushing landwards in great
+commotion, leaping from the water, crowding on each other, and shewing
+all the common symptoms of flight from the pursuit of some wicked enemy.
+I had already more than once remarked this appearance from the rocks,
+but in a minor degree; and on these occasions I could always distinguish
+the shark, whose ravages among the "manhaidens" was the cause of such
+alarm. But the particular case in question was far different from those.
+The pursuer of the fugitive shoals soon became visible; and that it was
+a huge marine monster, stretching to a length quite beyond the
+dimensions of an ordinary fish, was evident to all the observers. No
+one, in short, had any doubt as to its being the sea-serpent, or one of
+the species to which the animal or animals so frequently before seen
+belonged. The distance at which this one was, for ten minutes or a
+quarter of an hour, visible, made it impossible to give a description of
+its apparent dimensions so accurate as to carry conviction to the
+sceptical. For us who witnessed it, it was enough to be convinced that
+the thing was a reality. But one of the spectators, Dr Amos Binney, a
+gentleman of scientific attainments, drew up a minute account of it,
+which is deposited in the archives of one of the Philosophical Societies
+of Boston. I was and am quite satisfied that on this occasion I had a
+partial and indistinct but positive view of this celebrated nondescript.
+But had the least doubt rested on my mind, it would have been entirely
+removed by the event of the day following the one just recorded. On that
+day, a little before noon, my wife was sitting, as was her wont, reading
+on the upper piazza of the hotel. She was alone. The gentlemen,
+including myself and my son, were, as usual, absent at Boston, and the
+ladies were scattered about in various directions. She was startled by a
+cry from the house of "The sea-serpent! The sea-serpent!" But this had
+been so frequent, by the way of joke, since the event of the preceding
+day, and was so like "The wolf, the wolf!" of the fable, that it did not
+attract her particular attention for a moment or two, until she observed
+two women belonging to the family of the hotel-keeper running along the
+piazza towards the corner nearest the sea, with wonder in their eyes,
+and the cry of "The serpent, the serpent! He is turning, he is turning!"
+spontaneously bursting from their lips. Then my wife did fix her looks
+in the direction they ran; and sure enough she saw, apparently quite
+close beyond the line formed by the rising ground above the rocks, a
+huge serpent, gliding gracefully through the waves, having evidently
+performed the action of turning round. In an instant it was in a
+straight line, moving rapidly on; and after coasting for a couple of
+minutes the north-west front of the hotel, and (as accurately as the
+astonished observer could calculate) looking as it stretched at full
+length in the water about the length of the piazza, that is to say,
+about ninety feet; it sank quietly beneath the surface, and was seen no
+more.
+
+"The person who was thus so lucky as to get this unobstructed view, is
+one so little liable to be led astray by any imaginary impulse, that I
+reckon on her statement with entirely as much confidence as if my own
+eyes had demonstrated its truth."--_Grattan's Civilised America_, p. 39.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The second testimony is contained in the following communication with
+which I have been favoured by Mr Cave:--
+
+                              35, WILTON PLACE, _April 29, 1861_.
+
+SIR,--On reading your interesting "Romance of Natural History" it
+occurred to me that I could supply some corroborative evidence of the
+existence of the sea serpent. On looking up my old journals, I found it
+was slighter than I imagined; but, such as it is, I give it almost
+verbatim from my diary.
+
+I was in Jamaica the year after you were, and have often regretted that
+we were not there together, as I might have shewn you parts of the
+island which you missed, and have been, perhaps, the cause of a few more
+pages to your very pleasant journal of a naturalist there.--Believe me,
+faithfully, yours,
+
+                                        STEPHEN CAVE,
+                                    M.P. for Shoreham.
+
+    Philip H. Gosse, Esq.
+
+
+_Extract from a Journal written during a Voyage to the West Indies in
+1846._
+
+_Thursday, Dec. 10._--Off Madeira, on board R.M.S. "Thames."--"Made
+acquaintance with a Captain Christmas of the Danish navy, a proprietor
+in Santa Cruz, and holding some office about the Danish Court. He told
+me he once saw a sea-serpent between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. He
+was lying-to in a gale of wind, in a frigate of which he had the
+command, when an immense shoal of porpoises rushed by the ship, as if
+pursued; and, lo and behold! a creature with a neck moving like that of
+a swan, about the thickness of a man's waist, with a head like a horse,
+raised itself slowly and gracefully from the deep, and seeing the ship
+it immediately disappeared again, head foremost, like a duck diving. He
+only saw it for a few seconds; the part above the water seemed about 18
+feet in length. He is a singularly intelligent man, and by no means one
+to allow his imagination to run away with him."
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+Æpyornis, 38.
+
+America, early condition of, 8, 32.
+
+Ant-eaters, 9.
+
+Antidotes to poison, 268, 272, 276, 298, 300.
+
+Ants, slave-hunting, 384.
+
+Apteryx, egg of, 38.
+
+Argus pheasant, 323.
+
+Auk, great, 82.
+
+Australia, early condition of, 12.
+
+Aye-aye, 78.
+
+
+Bamboo, elegance of, 340.
+
+Bananas in Tahiti, 342.
+
+Barbadoes Pride, 353.
+
+Bats, immured, 183, 185.
+
+Bear, black, 70.
+
+Bear, cave, 15, 69.
+
+Beauty, Divine appreciation of, 302
+  --in quadrupeds, 304
+  --in birds, 306
+  --in beetles, 329
+  --in butterflies, 331
+  --in plants, 338
+  --in flowers, 344.
+
+Beaver in Britain, 72.
+
+Beetles, splendour of, 329, 337.
+
+Birds, colossal, of Australia, 13, 34.
+
+Bison of Europe, 68.
+
+Blood rain, 98, 102
+  --waters, 99, 103
+  --snow, 100.
+
+Bois Immortel, 354.
+
+Britain, early condition of, 13, 44.
+
+Butterflies, splendour of, 331.
+
+Bruce on serpent-charming, 266, 277.
+
+
+Cave in Skye, 134.
+
+Changeable colours, 315.
+
+Climbers of tropical forests, 368.
+
+Climbing perch, 123.
+
+Cock of the rock, 307.
+
+Corals, parasitic, 380.
+
+Corncrake, torpidity of, 198.
+
+Cowpen bird, 381.
+
+Crabs, parasitic habits of, 379.
+
+Crane-fly, luminous, 231.
+
+Creation progressive, 89.
+
+Cuckoo, habits of, 381.
+
+
+Deer, elegance of, 304.
+
+Deposition, rate of geologic, 47.
+
+Dinothere, 5, 14.
+
+Dodo, 74.
+
+Drift, remains in, 44.
+
+
+Eagle fascinates rabbit, 259.
+
+Eel, wanderings of, 122.
+
+Eggs, fossil, 37, 38.
+
+Elephant of Siberia, 6, 20.
+
+Elk, Irish, 14, 49-57, 61.
+
+Entozoic worms, 360.
+
+Europe, early condition of, 3.
+
+Extinction of species, 1, 81, 88.
+
+
+Fascination in serpents, 242
+  --in lizards, 255
+  --in scorpion, 256
+  --in stoats, 257
+  --in fox, 258
+  --in eagle, 259.
+
+Fig-trees, parasitic, 364.
+
+Fire attracts insects, 260
+  --birds, 261
+  --toads, 262.
+
+Fishes, showers of, 109-117
+  --torpidity of, 118
+  --travelling, 121
+  --parasitic, 376.
+
+Flamboyant, 353.
+
+Fleas _ad infinitum_, 359.
+
+Flints, fossil, 44.
+
+Fox of Falkland, 86
+  --fascinating poultry, 258.
+
+Frogs, showers of, 108.
+
+
+Galeodes, account of, 237.
+
+Goatsuckers, 307.
+
+Grouse, 95.
+
+Guiana, scenery in, 346.
+
+
+Hand-tree of Mexico, 87.
+
+Hasselquist on serpent charming, 279.
+
+Hedgehog, immunity of, 277.
+
+Hyena, cave, 16.
+
+Humming birds, elegance of, 312
+  --mango, 313
+  --long-tail, 314
+  --fiery topaz, 317
+  --comet, 318, 321.
+
+
+Ibis, scarlet, 306.
+
+Ichneumon-flies, 369.
+
+Impeyan, scaly, 323.
+
+Ireland, animals of, 57.
+
+
+Kangaroo, giant, 13.
+
+Káureke, 42.
+
+
+Lantern-fly, 227.
+
+Lepidosiren, 119.
+
+Lightning-tree of Madagascar, 352.
+
+Lizard swallowing its young, 224
+  --fascinates butterfly, 255.
+
+London-pride, microscopic beauty of, 356.
+
+Luminosity of fulgora, 227
+  --of mole-cricket, 230
+  --of crane-fly, 231
+  --of caterpillars, 232.
+
+
+Machairode, 15.
+
+Macrauchen, 11, 33.
+
+Mammoth, 6, 14, 20.
+
+Man, fossil relics of, 44.
+
+Mangouste and snake, 275.
+
+Manu-mea, 79.
+
+Marvels, vulgar love of, 96.
+
+Mastodon, 7, 14, 26, 30.
+
+Medusæ, parasites of, 374
+  --parasitic, 374.
+
+Megathere, 9, 33.
+
+Mermaids, 125
+  --zoological necessity of, 126
+  --exhibitions of, 129
+  --Norse legends of, 132
+  --narratives of, 136, 139, 141, 142.
+
+Moa, 34.
+
+Mole-cricket luminous, 230.
+
+Music, power of, on Serpents, 284.
+
+Musk-ox, 86.
+
+Mylodon, 9, 32.
+
+
+Nestor Parrot, 80.
+
+Nile valley, geology of, 46.
+
+Norfolk Island, parrot of, 80.
+
+Notornis, capture of, 41.
+
+
+Oil-beetle, habits of, 373.
+
+Orchideæ, beauty of, 344
+  --parasitic habits of, 363.
+
+Ostrich, American, 381.
+
+Oxen, ancient, of Ireland, 63
+  --of Britain, 65, 67
+  --of Scania, 66.
+
+
+Paradise-birds, 326.
+
+Parasitic vegetation, 361
+  --insects, 369
+  --medusæ, 374
+  --fish, 376
+  --crabs, 379
+  --polype, 380
+  --birds, 381.
+
+Parrakeet, Carolina, 306.
+
+Parrot, long-beaked, 80.
+
+Peacock, 325.
+
+Perch, climbing, 123.
+
+Pheasants, 322.
+
+Plants, alexipharmic, 268, 272, 276, 298, 300.
+
+Plume-birds, 309.
+
+Polyplectrons, 324.
+
+Potosi, scenery of, 319.
+
+Psylli, 265.
+
+
+Rhinoceros of Siberia, 6, 19.
+
+Rhododendrons of India, 349
+  --of Borneo, 351.
+
+Rifle-bird, 308.
+
+Rio Negro, scenery of, 316.
+
+
+Saltwort, beauty of, 355.
+
+Scelidothere, 9, 32.
+
+Scenery, remarkable, in Jamaica, 213.
+
+Scorpion fascinates fly, 256.
+
+Sea-serpent, Mr Grattan's evidence, 387
+  --Mr Cave's evidence, 389.
+
+Serpent-charming, 263-294.
+
+Serpent, crested, 211
+  --fascinating powers of, 242.
+
+Serpents of Peru, 270.
+
+Showers of blood, 98
+  --snails, 106
+  --frogs, 107
+  --fishes, 109.
+
+Sivathere, 5.
+
+Snails, showers of, 106.
+
+Snake-stones, 294.
+
+Snow, red, 100.
+
+Species, extinction of, 1.
+
+Spiders, bird-eating, 233
+  --webs of, 236, 238
+  --beauty of, 336.
+
+Spoonbill, 306.
+
+Star-fish, parasite of, 376.
+
+Stelleria, 78.
+
+Stoats fascinating rabbits, 257.
+
+Strepsiptera, 371.
+
+Stylops, habits of, 371.
+
+Sun-birds, 311.
+
+Swallows, torpidity of, 191-202
+  --submersion of, 192
+  --winter appearance of, 202-209.
+
+
+Tahiti, scenery in, 342.
+
+Tartary, scenery in, 355.
+
+Tertiary geography, 3, 12, 14.
+
+Tiger, beauty of, 305.
+
+Toads, showers of, 107
+  --in stones, 146, 190
+  --in trees, 148, 153
+  --in mortar, 161, 178, 179
+  --experiments on, 165, 179
+  --attracted by fire, 262.
+
+Tortoise, colossal, 6, 17.
+
+Toxodon, 12, 32.
+
+Travelling fishes, 121.
+
+Trogon, resplendent, 308.
+
+
+Urus, 64.
+
+
+Venom of serpents, experiments on, 249.
+
+Viper swallowing its young, 220.
+
+
+Wasps, sleep of, 180.
+
+Wolf, 71.
+
+
+Zebra, beauty of, 305.
+
+
+
+
+BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+By the same Author.
+
+
+First Series. Third Edition, post 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth,
+
+THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WOLF.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+I. TIMES AND SEASONS.
+
+II. HARMONIES.
+
+III. DISCREPANCIES.
+
+IV. MULTUM E PARVO.
+
+V. THE VAST.
+
+VI. THE MINUTE.
+
+VII. THE MEMORABLE.
+
+VIII. THE RECLUSE.
+
+IX. THE WILD.
+
+X. THE TERRIBLE.
+
+XI. THE UNKNOWN.
+
+XII. THE GREAT UNKNOWN.
+
+
+"This is a charming book.... Every lover of nature, every lover of the
+marvellous, every lover of the beautiful, every soul that can feel the
+charm of true poetry, must be deeply grateful to Mr Gosse for an
+intellectual treat of the highest order.... This 'Romance of Natural
+History' will be one of the best gift-books which can be procured for
+the season of Christmas and the New Year."--_Daily News._
+
+
+
+
+Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth,
+
+LIFE IN ITS LOWER, INTERMEDIATE, AND HIGHER FORMS:
+
+OR, MANIFESTATIONS OF THE DIVINE WISDOM IN THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
+ANIMALS.
+
+BY P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S.
+
+
+Complete in 4 vols., crown 8vo, 16s. cloth gilt,
+
+OUR CHRISTIAN CLASSICS:
+
+READINGS FROM THE BEST DIVINES.
+
+By JAMES HAMILTON, D.D.
+
+DEDICATED TO THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON.
+
+
+Extending from the Reformation to the close of the eighteenth century,
+it is the object of this series to give the reader a comprehensive view
+of that very various and noble Christian literature by which our country
+has been signalised above all others, with biographical and critical
+notices of the more distinguished authors.
+
+
+
+
+Complete in 6 vols., crown 8vo, price £1, 4s. in cloth,
+
+EXCELSIOR:
+
+HELPS TO PROGRESS IN RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND LITERATURE.
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY CAREFUL DRAWINGS ON WOOD.
+
+
+As, besides continuous papers on such subjects as Zoology, Meteorology,
+British Mining, the Fine Arts, the Human Frame, Church History, English
+Letter-Writers, &c., these volumes contain numerous contributions in the
+departments of Biography, Adventures and Incidents of Travel, the Useful
+Arts, Tales, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Scriptural Evidences, and
+Christian Ethics, it is believed that they will be found a welcome
+acquisition amongst those who, in their search for amusement, do not
+lose sight of instruction. More especially is it respectfully submitted
+that, combining so much sound information with the liveliness of a
+miscellany, they would find an appropriate place in the bookcase of the
+Schoolroom and in the Village Library, as well as on the shelf beside
+the Parlour-fire.
+
+
+LONDON: JAMES NISBET & CO., BERNERS STREET.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance of Natural History, Second
+Series, by Philip Henry Gosse
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+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Romance of History, by Philip Henry Gosse.
+    </title>
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+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance of Natural History, Second
+Series, by Philip Henry Gosse
+
+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: The Romance of Natural History, Second Series
+
+Author: Philip Henry Gosse
+
+Release Date: June 13, 2010 [EBook #32800]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURAL HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Barbara Tozier, Odessa Paige Turner, Bill
+Tozier and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+<h1>THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.</h1>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter"  style="width: 251px;">
+<a href="images/fig004-400dpia1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig004-400dpia400.jpg" width="251" height="400" alt="FASCINATION." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">FASCINATION.</span><br />
+
+<span class="right">
+<i>Front.</i><br /></span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">
+EDINBURGH:<br />
+PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY,<br />
+PAUL'S WORK.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h1>THE ROMANCE</h1>
+
+<p class="center">OF</p>
+
+<h1>NATURAL HISTORY.</h1>
+
+<p class="center">BY</p>
+  <h3>PHILIP HENRY GOSSE, F.R.S.</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">Second Series.</p>
+
+<p class="center">LONDON:
+  JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.</p>
+
+<p class="center">M.DCCC.LXI.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<table class="toc" summary="Contents." cellspacing="8" width="80%">
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>I. THE EXTINCT.</big></b></td></tr>
+<tr><th>&nbsp;</th><th>PAGE</th></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td>Death of Species&mdash;Some Died in Early Historic Ages&mdash;Some
+Dying Now&mdash;Changes of Land and Water&mdash;Tertiary State of
+Europe&mdash;Dinothere of Germany&mdash;Sivathere of India&mdash;Gigantic
+Tortoise&mdash;Pachyderms of Siberia&mdash;Rhinoceros&mdash;Mammoth&mdash;Mastodon
+of America&mdash;Great Quadrupeds of South
+America&mdash;Sloths&mdash;Habits of Mylodon&mdash;Macrauchen&mdash;Toxodon&mdash;Ancient
+Australia and its Colossal Birds&mdash;Ancient
+Britain&mdash;Its Flora and Fauna&mdash;Irish Elk&mdash;Carnivores&mdash;Chronology
+of the Tertiary Era&mdash;Contemporaneous Existence
+of Man with the Fossil Fauna&mdash;Gigantic Tortoise&mdash;Condition
+of Siberian Pachyderms&mdash;Discovery of the Remains&mdash;Contemporary
+Fauna of Britain&mdash;Chinese and Siberian Traditions&mdash;Indian
+Traditions of the Mastodon&mdash;State of its Remains&mdash;Its
+Food&mdash;Comparative Lateness of Geologic Processes in
+America&mdash;Possibility that the Mastodon was a Beast of Burden&mdash;Darwin
+on the South American Sloths&mdash;Freshness of
+their Remains&mdash;Synchronism with Existing Creatures&mdash;Birds
+of New Zealand&mdash;Maori Tales&mdash;Evidence of Recent Existence&mdash;Story
+of an English Seaman&mdash;Examination of its Truth&mdash;Fossil
+Eggs&mdash;Comparison of Dimensions&mdash;Larger Eggs in
+Madagascar&mdash;&AElig;pyornis&mdash;Its Present Existence Possible&mdash;Discovery
+of the Notornis&mdash;Tertiary Britain&mdash;Fossil Man&mdash;Worked
+Flints&mdash;Associated with Fossil Bones&mdash;Species&mdash;Age
+of Man&mdash;Alluvium of the Nile&mdash;Conclusions from it Delusive&mdash;Rates
+of Geologic Changes Variable&mdash;Examples&mdash;Evidence of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span>Contemporaneity of Man with the Tertiary Fauna&mdash;Irish Elk&mdash;State
+of its Remains&mdash;Traditionary and Documentary Evidence
+of its Recent Existence&mdash;Slaughtered by Man&mdash;Proof
+of this Fact&mdash;Great Accumulation of Skulls at Lough G&ucirc;r&mdash;Weapons
+found with Elk Relics&mdash;Proofs of its having been
+Cooked&mdash;Manner of Hunting the Elk&mdash;Ancient Irish Poem on
+Animals&mdash;No Allusion to the Elk in it&mdash;This Explained&mdash;Notices
+of Early Oxen&mdash;Their Fossil Relics&mdash;C&aelig;sar's Account
+of the Urus&mdash;Wild Oxen in Ancient Greece and Western
+Asia&mdash;Guy of Warwick and the Dun Cow&mdash;The Turnbulls&mdash;The
+Urus Fossil in Britain&mdash;Vast Size of Fossil Oxen&mdash;Scanian
+Fossil Ox bearing a Spear-wound&mdash;Other Ancient
+Oxen&mdash;European Bison&mdash;British Bears&mdash;Period of their Extinction&mdash;Extinction
+of the Wolf&mdash;Beaver Extinct in Britain&mdash;Almost
+Extinct in Europe&mdash;Dodo&mdash;Accounts of Voyagers&mdash;Seen
+in London&mdash;Museum Relics&mdash;Paintings&mdash;Stelleria&mdash;Cheiromys&mdash;Moho&mdash;Kaureke&mdash;Manu-mea&mdash;Nestor
+of Norfolk
+Island&mdash;Great Auk&mdash;Its Recent Abundance&mdash;Catalogue of
+Specimens and Eggs in Cabinets&mdash;Falkland Fox&mdash;Musk Ox&mdash;Hand-tree
+of Mexico&mdash;Attempt to Estimate the Rate of
+Species-extinction&mdash;Perhaps One a Year&mdash;Question of Continuous
+Creation of Species&mdash;Causes of Extinction&mdash;Thoughts
+of Owen and Darwin&mdash;Geographic Distribution an Important
+Element&mdash;Fauna Peculiar to Islands&mdash;Red Grouse&mdash;Precariousness
+of its Existence,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>II. THE MARVELLOUS.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Vulgar Love of Marvels&mdash;False Causes&mdash;Counter Tendency of
+Science&mdash;Blood-Showers&mdash;Traced to Butterfly-discharges&mdash;Worms
+in Horse Pond&mdash;Crimson Snow&mdash;Discharges of Birds&mdash;Real
+Red Rain&mdash;Waters turned to Blood&mdash;Oscillatoria&mdash;Infusoria&mdash;"Raining
+Cats and Dogs"&mdash;Snail-showers&mdash;Frog-showers&mdash;At
+Portobello&mdash;At Leeds&mdash;On the Continent&mdash;Fish-showers&mdash;The
+Aberdare Shower&mdash;Explanations and Criticisms&mdash;Veritable
+Fish-showers in South America&mdash;In India&mdash;In
+Ceylon&mdash;Torpidity of Fishes in Mud&mdash;Lepidosiren&mdash;Its
+Structure&mdash;Amphibious Fishes&mdash;Climbing Perch&mdash;Salarias
+of Ceylon&mdash;Provisional Structure,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td></tr>
+
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span><b><big>III. MERMAIDS.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>The Oannes of Berosus&mdash;Assyrian Representations of Mermen&mdash;Dagon
+and Atergatis&mdash;Universal Belief in Mermaids&mdash;Opinion
+of Swainson&mdash;Sirens in Dongola&mdash;Museum Specimens&mdash;Japanese
+Ingenuity&mdash;Accounts of Living Specimens&mdash;Assumed
+to be Cow-whales&mdash;Indian Accounts&mdash;Scandinavian
+Myths&mdash;Mermaids in Shetland&mdash;A Love Story&mdash;Cavern in
+Skye&mdash;Veritable Narratives&mdash;Hudson's Report&mdash;Steller's
+Sea-ape&mdash;Rencontre of Weddell's Seaman&mdash;Merman seen at
+Landscrone&mdash;Mermaid Captured by Six Shetlandmen&mdash;Comments
+on the Story&mdash;Critical Examination of it,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>IV. THE SELF-IMMURED.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Toads Found in Wood and Stone&mdash;Difficulties&mdash;Bell's Caution&mdash;Current
+Explanations&mdash;Mr Bartlett's Toad in Fir-tree&mdash;His
+Letter in Reply&mdash;Mr Bree's Toad in Sandstone&mdash;Mr Peacock's
+Toad in Lias&mdash;Toad in Tamarind-wood in India&mdash;Comments
+on the Report&mdash;Toad in Flint at Blois&mdash;Toad in Iron Ore&mdash;<i>Audi
+alteram partem</i>&mdash;Mr Plant's Disappointment&mdash;Seven
+Frogs in Nodules of Limestone&mdash;Toad Immured in Old Wall&mdash;Frog
+in Freestone&mdash;Toads deep in Stiff Clay&mdash;Experiments&mdash;Dr
+Buckland Immures Toads in Oolitic Limestone and
+Sandstone&mdash;Results&mdash;Dr Buckland's Conclusions&mdash;Toads
+Inclosed in Plaster of Paris&mdash;Critical Examination of the
+Experiments&mdash;Objections to the Conclusions&mdash;Evidence rather
+in Favour of Common Belief&mdash;Toad Sixteen Years in Closed-in
+Wall&mdash;Toad in Mortar under a Horse-block&mdash;Indefinite
+Torpidity of Wasps&mdash;Mr Bartlett Finds a Bat in a Vault
+Closed for Twenty Years&mdash;Mr Smith Finds a Bat in a Vault
+Closed for One Hundred and Six Years,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>V. HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWS.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>The Question&mdash;Popular Belief&mdash;Scientific Statements of Swallows'
+Torpidity and Submersion&mdash;Achard's Statement&mdash;White's
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>Account&mdash;Cases given by Bishop Stanley&mdash;Supposed Torpidity
+of American Swift&mdash;Hybernating Corn-crakes&mdash;Barrington's
+Reports of Torpid Swallows&mdash;Curator Wall's Story&mdash;Fitton's
+Story&mdash;Swallows in Britain during Winter&mdash;Cases recorded by
+White&mdash;Montagu&mdash;Yarrell&mdash;C. Bree&mdash;Bell&mdash;Hewitson&mdash;Harcourt&mdash;Rodd&mdash;Hadfield&mdash;W.
+Bree&mdash;Johnston&mdash;Gurney&mdash;Examination
+of the Evidence&mdash;Conclusion in Favour of Torpidity,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>VI. THE CRESTED AND WATTLED SNAKE.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Seba's Museum&mdash;His "Thesaurus"&mdash;Figures of Curious Serpents&mdash;What
+could they have been?&mdash;Proofs that they were
+Ophidian, not Piscine&mdash;Reports of Wonderful Serpent in
+Jamaica&mdash;Singular Character of its Habitat&mdash;Geological and
+Botanical Features&mdash;Locale of Three-fingered Jack&mdash;Crested
+Snake Killed here&mdash;Negro Stories of its Voice&mdash;Heard of in
+Hayti&mdash;Author's Efforts to obtain a Specimen&mdash;Occurrence
+of Two Specimens,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>VII. THE DOUBTFUL.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Viper Swallowing her Young&mdash;Conflicting Statements&mdash;Physiologically
+not Impossible&mdash;Reports of Witnesses&mdash;Mr Percival's
+Account&mdash;Mr Wolley's Corroboration&mdash;Mr Bond's Testimony&mdash;Case
+of the Rattlesnake&mdash;Seen by Palisot de Beauvois&mdash;Case
+of the Common Lizard&mdash;Comments on the Evidence.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Madame Merian&mdash;Her Truth Impeached&mdash;Her Story of the Lantern-fly&mdash;Denials
+of its Luminosity by Entomologists&mdash;Confirmation
+of it by Lacordaire&mdash;By Spinola&mdash;By Wesmael&mdash;English
+Insects only Occasionally Luminous&mdash;Mole-cricket&mdash;The
+Cause of <i>ignis fatuus</i>&mdash;Crane-fly&mdash;Luminous Caterpillars&mdash;Perhaps
+a Disease.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Madame Merian again Arraigned&mdash;Her Account of Spiders Preying
+on Humming-birds&mdash;Mr MacLeay's Denial and Proof of the
+Negative&mdash;Comment on his Evidence&mdash;Langsdorff's Evidence&mdash;Ceylon
+Spiders&mdash;Sir E. Tennent's Criticisms&mdash;Collateral
+Evidence for the Affirmative&mdash;Strong Webs of <i>Nephila</i>&mdash;The
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span>Solfuga of India&mdash;Account of its Habits&mdash;Attacks and Overcomes
+Small Birds&mdash;Captain Sherwill Saw a Spider Eating a
+Bird in India&mdash;Moreau de Jonn&egrave;s' Direct Confirmation of
+Merian&mdash;Mr H. Bates's Conclusive Testimony,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>VIII. FASCINATION.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Power Attributed to Serpents of Paralysing their Prey&mdash;Dr Bird's
+Story of Black Snake&mdash;Rattlesnake and Squirrel&mdash;Cobra and
+Lizard&mdash;African Snake and Mouse&mdash;Snake and Frog&mdash;Habits
+of the Boomslange&mdash;Snake and Shrike&mdash;Snake and Mouse&mdash;Dr
+Evans's Observations on Serpents at the Zoological Gardens&mdash;Ringed
+Snake and Hedge Sparrow&mdash;Snake and Robin&mdash;Indian
+Serpent and Eel&mdash;Attempted Explanations&mdash;Mr
+Martin's Observations&mdash;Barton Attributes the Phenomena to
+Maternal Love&mdash;Explanation Inadequate&mdash;The Power Exercised
+by Other Animals&mdash;Lizard and Butterfly&mdash;Scorpion and
+Fly&mdash;Stoats and Hares&mdash;Foxes and Pullets&mdash;Eagle and Rabbit&mdash;Attractive
+Power of Fire&mdash;Entomologist's Bull's-eye Lamp&mdash;Yard-fire
+in Alabama&mdash;Insects come to the Fire&mdash;Titmouse
+around a Gas-lamp&mdash;Bell Rock Lighthouse visited by Herring-gull&mdash;Fire
+Fascinates Toads in Africa,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>IX. SERPENT-CHARMING.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Revulsion Inspired by the Serpent&mdash;Persons Professing Immunity
+against Venomous Serpents&mdash;Scriptural Allusions&mdash;The Ancient
+Psylli and Marsi&mdash;Babylonian Magician&mdash;Atyr&mdash;Immunity
+Distinct from Serpent-charming&mdash;Hexagon the Ambassador&mdash;Posterity
+of Psylli in Sennaar&mdash;Bruce's Curious Account&mdash;Various
+Plants Antidotic to Serpent-venom&mdash;Experiments on
+<i>Simaba Cedron</i>&mdash;Peruvian Serpents and Remedies&mdash;Various
+South American Antidotes&mdash;Vejuco of Venezuela&mdash;Grass of
+Dahomey&mdash;Immunity of Mangouste&mdash;Anecdotes&mdash;Of Hedgehog&mdash;Bruce's
+Account of the Cerastes&mdash;Hasselquist's Observations&mdash;Psyllic
+Woman&mdash;Power of Spittle&mdash;Influence of Music
+on Serpents&mdash;Proceedings of Egyptian Charmers&mdash;Rattlesnake
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>Charmed by a Flute&mdash;Cobra of India Attracted by Music&mdash;Occasional
+Failures and Fatalities&mdash;Anecdotes&mdash;Comments&mdash;Psylli
+in London&mdash;Are the Poison-fangs Extracted?&mdash;Power
+of Snake-stones&mdash;Napier's and Tennent's Accounts&mdash;Faraday's
+Analysis&mdash;Plant-remedies,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>X. BEAUTY.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Delight in Beauty&mdash;Divine Appreciation of it&mdash;Magnificent Flower
+in a Thicket&mdash;Beauty of Deer&mdash;Pet Fawn&mdash;Eye of Gazelle&mdash;Spotted
+Fur&mdash;Zebra-stripes&mdash;Birds&mdash;Spoonbills on the Amazon&mdash;Carolina
+Parakeet&mdash;Cock of the Rock&mdash;Soft blending
+in the Goatsuckers&mdash;Resplendent Trogon&mdash;Metallic Colours&mdash;Rifle-bird&mdash;Plume-birds&mdash;Iridescent
+Hues&mdash;Sun-birds&mdash;Humming-birds&mdash;Mexican
+Names&mdash;Jamaican Humming-birds&mdash;Mango&mdash;Long-tail&mdash;Cause
+of changeable Lustre&mdash;Angle of
+Light&mdash;Other Examples&mdash;Region of the Amazon and Rio Negro&mdash;Birds&mdash;Fiery
+Topaz Humming-bird&mdash;Cerro of Potosi&mdash;Night-blowing
+Cactus&mdash;Bar-tail Comet&mdash;Pheasant tribe&mdash;Chinese
+Pheasants&mdash;Fire-back of Java&mdash;Argus of Malacca&mdash;Impeyan
+of India&mdash;Polyprectons&mdash;Peacock&mdash;Wild Peacock-shooting&mdash;Paradise-birds&mdash;Emerald&mdash;His
+Vanity in Dress&mdash;Splendour
+of Insects&mdash;Metallic Beetles&mdash;Soft Refulgence&mdash;Gem-scales&mdash;Butterflies&mdash;Changes
+of Hue&mdash;Opalescence&mdash;Ray
+on the "<i>Cui bono?</i>"&mdash;Smith on South American Butterflies&mdash;Splendour
+of Spiders&mdash;in Jamaica&mdash;in Borneo&mdash;Tortoise-beetles&mdash;Beauty
+of Plants&mdash;Mosses&mdash;Ferns&mdash;Palms&mdash;Grasses&mdash;Bamboo&mdash;in
+Jamaica&mdash;in Madagascar&mdash;Plantains&mdash;Scene
+in Tahiti&mdash;Beauty exceeds our Power of Imbibing it&mdash;Flowers&mdash;Orchide&aelig;&mdash;Sobralia&mdash;Cypripedium&mdash;An&aelig;ctochilus&mdash;Dendrobium&mdash;Huntleya&mdash;Scene
+in Guiana&mdash;Death of
+Reiss&mdash;Rhododendrons of Himalayas&mdash;of Borneo&mdash;Lightning-tree
+of Madagascar&mdash;Flamboyant&mdash;Barbadoes Pride&mdash;Burmese
+tree&mdash;Le Bois Immortel&mdash;Scene in Tartary&mdash;Microscopic
+Beauties of London Pride,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_302">302</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>XI. PARASITES.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Fleas on fleas <i>ad infinitum</i>&mdash;Intestinal Worms&mdash;Economy of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span>Creation&mdash;Epiphyte Vegetation&mdash;Life in a Sea-weed&mdash;Orchids
+in the Tropics&mdash;Parasitic Fig-trees&mdash;Lianes&mdash;in Ceylon&mdash;Parasitism
+in Insects&mdash;Ichneumons&mdash;Kirby's Discovery of Stylops&mdash;Economy&mdash;Oil-beetle&mdash;Medusa
+and Shrimp&mdash;Medusa parasitic
+on Medusa&mdash;Fish in Stomach of Starfish&mdash;Crab and
+Sponge&mdash;Hermit Crab and Polype&mdash;Parasites in Corals&mdash;Ostrich
+parasitic on Ostrich&mdash;Cuckoo and Cowpen birds&mdash;Veneration
+of Small Birds for Cuckoo&mdash;Slavery among Ants&mdash;Nigger-hunting,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_359">359</a></td></tr>
+
+
+<tr><td class="center"><b><big>APPENDIX.</big></b></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Sea-serpent&mdash;Additional Testimonies to its Existence&mdash;Statement
+of Consul Grattan&mdash;Communication from Mr Stephen Cave,</td><td valign="bottom"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2>
+
+<table class="loi" summary="List of Illustrations." cellspacing="8">
+
+<tr><td>PLATE</td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>I. FASCINATION</td><td align="right">(<i><a href="#Page_i">Frontispiece</a></i>).</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>II. ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.2">36</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>III. SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.3">56</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>IV. THE CLIMBING PERCH,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.4">122</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>V. TOAD IN A HOLE, </td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.5">158</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>VI. BIRD-EATING SPIDER,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.6">240</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>VII. SNAKE-CHARMING,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.7">278</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>VIII. ANTELOPES,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.8">304</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>IX. PLUME-BIRD,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.9">310</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>X. PEACOCK-SHOOTING,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Fig.10">326</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_ROMANCE_OF_NATURAL_HISTORY" id="THE_ROMANCE_OF_NATURAL_HISTORY"></a>THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="I" id="I"></a>I.</h2>
+
+<h2>THE EXTINCT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>If it is a scene of painful interest, as surely it is to a
+well-constituted mind, to stand by and watch the death-struggles
+of one of the nobler brutes,&mdash;a dog or an elephant,
+for example,&mdash;to mark the failing strength, the
+convulsive throes, the appealing looks, the sobs and sighs,
+the rattling breath, the glazing eye, the stiffening limbs&mdash;how
+much more exciting is the interest with which we
+watch the passing away of a dying species. For species
+have their appointed periods as well as individuals: viewed
+in the infinite mind of <span class="smcap">God</span>, the Creator, from the standpoint
+of eternity, each form, each race, had its proper
+duration assigned to it&mdash;a duration which, doubtless,
+varied in the different species as greatly as that assigned
+to the life of one individual animal differs from that
+assigned to the life of another. As the elephant or the
+eagle may survive for centuries, while the horse and the
+dog scarcely reach to twenty years, and multitudes of
+insects are born and die within a few weeks, so one
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>species may have assigned to its life, for aught I know, a
+hundred thousand years as its normal period, and another
+not more than a thousand. If creation was, with respect
+to the species, what I have elsewhere proved it was with
+respect to the individual,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>&mdash;a violent irruption into the
+cycle of life&mdash;then we may well conceive this to have taken
+place at very varying relative periods in the life-history
+of the different species;&mdash;that is to say, that at a given date,
+(viz., that of creation) one species might be just completing,
+<i>ideally</i>, its allotted course, another just commencing, and
+a third attaining its meridian.</p>
+
+<p>Certain it is, that not a few species of animals have
+died during the present constitution of things. Races,
+which we know on indubitable evidence to have existed
+during the dominion of man, have died out, have become
+extinct, so that not a single individual survives. The
+entire totality of individuals which constituted the species,
+have, in these cases, ceased to be. Some of these seem
+to have died at a very early era of human history; but
+others at a comparatively recent period, and some even
+within our own times. Even within the last twenty years
+several animals have been taken, of which it is highly probable
+that not a single representative remains on the earth;
+while there are others yet again, which we know to be
+reduced to a paucity so extreme, that their extinction can
+scarcely be delayed more than a few years at most. Thus
+we may consider ourselves as standing by the dying-beds
+of these creatures, with the consciousness that we shall
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>soon see them no more; that the sentence is gone forth
+against them; that their sands are running to the last
+grains, and that no effort of ours can materially prolong
+their existence. The facts from which these conclusions
+are drawn are highly curious, and I shall endeavour to
+lay them, with as much brevity as they will allow, before
+my readers.</p>
+
+<p>On that prochronic hypothesis, by which alone, as I
+conceive, the facts revealed by geological investigation
+can be reconciled with the unerring statements of Scripture,&mdash;every
+word of which is truth, the truth of a "God
+that cannot lie,"&mdash;we may assume the actual creation of
+this earth to have taken place at that period which is
+geologically known as the later Tertiary Era, or thereabout.
+When, on the third day, "the waters under the heaven
+were gathered together into one place, and the dry land
+appeared," it is not necessary to suppose that the form
+assumed by the emerging land was immediately that which
+it now has; we may, on the other hand, I think, assume
+as likely, that successive or continuous changes of elevation
+followed, which have been protracted, perhaps constantly
+decreasing in extent and force, to the present hour.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>Perhaps between the six days' work of Creation and
+the Noachic Flood, Europe became much altered in outline,
+and in elevation. It may have been, at first, a great
+archipelago, agreeing with the epithet by which it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>
+designated in early Scripture, "the Isles,"<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> and by which
+it was subsequently known for ages. The Pyrenees, the
+Alps, and the Apennines, already emerged, were slowly
+uniting, and the Carpathians, the Balkan, the Taurus, and
+the Caucasus, were uprearing, while the vast regions to
+the north were still an expanse of open sea. England
+was probably united with the newly-formed European
+continent, and embraced Ireland in one great mass of
+unbroken land, which stretched far away into the Atlantic.
+Volcanoes were active in the north of Ireland, and in the
+west of Scotland, pouring forth those floods of fiery lava
+which have cooled into the columnar forms seen at the
+Giant's Causeway and the Cave of Fingal. Slowly the
+north of Europe emerged, and the great south-west
+expanse of Britain sank beneath the sea, leaving, it may
+be, the large island of Atlantis in mid-ocean, to be submerged
+by a later catastrophe.</p>
+
+<p>Probably changes very similar were coevally taking
+place in Asia and North America, while the vast flat
+alluvial regions of South America were, perhaps, even
+still more recently formed, and a great Pacific continent
+was in course of subsidence, of which Australasia and
+Polynesia are the existing remains.</p>
+
+<p>Such changes of elevation, and of the continuity of
+land, must effect considerable alterations of climate; and,
+therefore, it is not surprising to know that, in earliest
+ages, animals and plants flourished in regions to which
+they would now be altogether unfitted, and that many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>
+races existed then which have since died out; for geological
+and climatal modifications are among the most
+easily conceivable causes of the decease of species.</p>
+
+<p>In the great swamps of emerging Germany, and in the,
+as yet, only half-drained valleys of Switzerland, lurked
+then the heavy Dinothere. Huger than the hugest elephant,
+he carried an enormous body of twenty feet in
+length, vast and barrel-like, which even his columnar
+limbs of ten feet long scarcely sufficed to raise from the
+ground. His uncouth head, elephantine in shape, was furnished
+with a short proboscis; and two tusks, short and
+strong, projected from the lower jaw, not curving upward,
+as in the elephant, but downward, as in the walrus. In
+the teeming marshes lurked this ungainly beast, half immersed,
+digging out with his mighty pickaxe-tusks the
+succulent roots that permeated the soft soil, which his
+sensitive trunk picked up, and conveyed to his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>On the southern slopes of the slowly-rising Himalayas,
+already clothed with forests of teak, and palm, and bamboo,
+revelled the Sivathere, another heavy creature, of the
+bulk of a rhinoceros, and therefore not more than half
+equalling the German colossus. He too was a strange
+subject. With a proportionally enormous head, in form
+somewhat between that of the elephant and of the rhinoceros,
+minute sunken piggish eyes, and a short proboscis
+like that of the tapir, he carried two pairs of dissimilar
+horns. On the forehead were placed one pair, seated upon
+bony cores, not unlike those of our short-horn oxen. Behind
+these there rose another pair, large and massive,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>
+which were palmated and branching, like those of the
+fallow-deer, but on a gigantic scale. What sort of a
+body, and what kind of limbs, furnished the complement
+of this curiously-compound head, we do not exactly know;
+but surely it must have been a very remarkable form, as
+it browsed quietly and blamelessly, among the luxuriant
+shrubs of those sun-facing slopes.</p>
+
+<p>In the same regions a land Tortoise of enormous bulk,
+far vaster than the vastest of now existing species, to
+which that ponderous one which will march merrily away
+with a ton weight on its back, is a mere pigmy, shook the
+earth with its waddle, and the forests with its hoarse
+bellowing. Broad roads, like our highways, were beaten
+by it through the jungle, along which it periodically
+travelled to the cool springs, leisurely sauntering, and
+tarrying to munch the fleshy gourds and cactuses that
+bordered its self-made track.</p>
+
+<p>The plains of Siberia, stretching away towards the
+Arctic Ocean, sheltered countless hosts of huge pachydermatous
+quadrupeds. A species of Rhinoceros, not less
+bulky than those of the present age, roamed to the very
+verge of the Icy Sea; its hide, tough and leathery, was
+destitute of folds, but was clothed with tufts of rigid
+gray hair,&mdash;an ornament which is denied to our existing
+degenerates. Two horns, the front one of unusual massiveness
+and length, were seated, as in several of the African
+kinds, one behind the other, and were wielded by a head
+of great strength and development.</p>
+
+<p>More remarkable still was that great hairy Elephant,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>
+called the Mammoth, which appears to have swarmed in
+those cold plains by myriads. Of equal dimensions to
+the Indian species of the present age, this denizen of the
+north had far more enormous curving tusks, and instead
+of the naked hide of those we are familiar with, his body
+was encased in black hair, with a thick under stratum of
+red curled wool, and bore a long mane on the ridge of the
+neck.</p>
+
+<p>There was, at the same time, a quadruped, nearly allied
+to the elephants, but differing from them in some technical
+characters. With a body equally bulky, but considerably
+longer, it had shorter limbs, a broader head, small tusks
+in the lower, as well as large curving ones in the upper
+jaw, and probably a trunk intermediate between the
+elephant's and the tapir's. Truly cosmopolite as this great
+Mastodon was, for we dig up his bones from all parts of
+the world, he had his head-quarters in North America,
+where, from his dimensions and his numbers, he must
+have formed a very characteristic feature of the primeval
+swamps and forests. There, with his tusks, he grubbed
+up the young trees, whose juicy roots he ground down
+with his great mammillary molar teeth, or chewed up to
+a pulp the sapwood of the recent branches and spicy
+twigs. And ever and anon he would resort to the broad
+saline marshes,&mdash;the "Licks," as they are now called,&mdash;to
+lick up the crystallised salt on their margins, so grateful to
+all herbivorous quadrupeds. Here, in his eagerness to
+gratify his palate with the pungent condiment, he would
+press farther and farther into the treacherous quagmire,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>
+till he began to sink, and then, in his terror, he would
+plunge and flounder, getting more and more deeply bemired,
+till at length he could struggle no more, and the
+bog would close over him, and he would be no more seen
+till some spectacled geologist of this nineteenth century,
+note-book in hand, would go and dig up his remains,
+marvelling at the freshness with which they had been
+preserved in the antiseptic peat.</p>
+
+<p>But let us look at South America, where, as the great
+back-bone chain of the Andes is being elevated out of the
+sea, the torrents and cataracts are pouring down from its
+sides immense quantities of crumbled rock and pasty mud,
+which, deposited upon the vast tabular field, brought by
+the upheaving just to the level of the sea, forms that
+grand alluvial plain unequalled on the face of the globe
+for extent, which is clothed with the mighty forests of
+Guiana and Brazil, or with the tall grass and thistles of
+the Pampas. The torrents still fall; and, meandering
+through this glorious plain, unite and form the most
+majestic of rivers, ever depositing the rich alluvium, and
+thus sensibly augmenting, to this day, the breadth of their
+noble continent, and their own length.</p>
+
+<p>Strange creatures riot here in these primal ages. The
+young land, hot and moist,&mdash;moist with the unevaporated
+water of the depositing rivers, and hot with the influence
+of the submarine volcano which is lifting it, as well as
+with the beams of the tropical sun,&mdash;brings forth from its
+steaming bosom, the most gigantic trees in the most profuse
+luxuriance. And animal life teems too, in this riant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>
+vegetation. Millions of insects,&mdash;ants, and termites, and
+beetles,&mdash;are busy at work upon the trunks of the great
+trees, eating them down, and swarming in their immense
+populous nests, beyond all imaginings. Surely they will
+soon eat up the entire forest, dense and rapid as it grows,
+and there will be nothing left but cities of insects. No
+fear! See those great waddling beasts<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> with stout short
+legs, and enormous hoof-like claws so bent inward that
+the creatures are obliged to walk on the edge of their
+paws,&mdash;they are equally busy with the insects, tearing
+apart with their powerful claws the earthy nests as fast as
+they are built, and devouring the makers themselves by
+wholesale. Here is a wonderful creature, a vast armadillo,
+with a body as big as a rhinoceros, covered with a
+convex oval shield, formed of hexagonal plates accurately
+fitted to each other. See how he approaches a fallen tree,
+which his unerring instinct tells him is perforated through
+and through, and filled with the swarming millions of ants;
+with his powerful jaws he munches up the entire mass;
+the thin and papery partitions of the dusty wood are
+ground to powder, and the ants are licked in and chewed
+into a black pulp between those curious cylinders of
+teeth.</p>
+
+<p>But lo! here are mightier creatures yet! See the vast
+Mylodon, the Scelidothere, and the still more colossal
+Megathere. Ponderous giants these! The very forests
+seem to tremble under their stately stride. Their immense
+bulk preponderates behind, terminating in a tail<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>
+of wonderful thickness and solidity: the head is mean
+and awakens no terror; the eye lacks lustre and threatens
+no violence, though the whole form betokens vast power,
+and the stout limbs are terminated by the same stout,
+inbent, sharp hoof-claws. One of them approaches that
+wide-spreading locust-tree; he gazes up at the huge mud-brown
+structures that resemble hogsheads affixed to the
+forks of the branches, and he knows that the luscious
+termites are filling them to overflowing. His lips water
+at the tempting sight; have them he must. But how?
+that heavy sternpost of his was never made for climbing;
+yet see! he rears himself up against the tree; is he about
+to essay the scaling? Not he: he knows his powers
+better. He gives it one embrace; one strong hug; as if
+to test its thickness and hold upon the earth. Now he is
+digging away below, scooping out the soft soil from between
+the roots,&mdash;and it is marvellous to note how rapidly
+he lays them bare with those great shovel-like claws of his.
+Now he rears himself again; straddles wide on his hind
+feet, fixing the mighty claws deep in the ground; plants
+himself firmly on his huge tail, as on the third foot of a
+tripod, and once more grasps the tree. The enormous
+hind quarters, the limbs and the loins, the broad pelvis,
+the thick spinal cord supplying abundant nervous energy
+to the swelling muscles, inserted in the ridged and
+keeled bones, all come into play, as a <i>point d'appui</i> for
+the Herculean effort. "And now conceive the massive
+frame of the Megathere convulsed with the mighty
+wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
+attachment with the force of a hundred giants: extraordinary
+must be the strength and proportions of the
+tree, if, when rocked to and fro, to right and left, in such
+an embrace, it can long withstand the efforts of its
+assailant."<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> It yields; the roots fly up; the earth is
+scattered wide upon the surrounding foliage; the tree
+comes down with a thundering crash, cracking and snapping
+the great boughs like glass; the frightened insects
+swarm out at every orifice; but the huge beast is in
+upon them; with his sharp hoofs he tears apart the
+crusty walls of the earth-nests, and licks out their living
+contents, fat pup&aelig;, eggs and all, rolling down the sweet
+morsels, half sucking, half chewing, with a delighted
+gusto that repays him for all his mighty toil.</p>
+
+<p>While the heavy giant is absorbed in his juicy breakfast,
+see, there lounges along his neighbour, the Macrauchen.
+Equally massive, equally heavy, equally vast, equally
+peaceful, the stranger resembles a huge rhinoceros elevated
+on much loftier limbs; but his most remarkable feature
+is an enormously long neck, like that of the camel, but
+carried to the altitude of that of the giraffe. Thus he
+thrusts his great muzzle into the very centre of the
+leafy trees, and gathering with his prehensile and flexible
+lip the succulent twigs and foliage, he too finds abundance
+of food for his immense body, in the teeming vegetation,
+without intruding upon the supply of his fellows.</p>
+
+<p>And what enormous mass is suddenly thrust up out of
+the quiet water of yonder igarip&eacute;? A hoarse, hollow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+grunt, as it comes up, tells us that it is alive, and now we
+discern that it is the head of an animal&mdash;the Toxodon.
+Half hidden as it is under the shadow of the fan-palms,
+and the broad, arrowy leaves of the great arums that grow
+out of the lake, we see the little piggish eyes, set far up
+in the great head, and wide apart, peeping with a curious
+union of stupidity and shrewdness; the immense muzzle
+and lips; the broad cheeks armed with stiff projecting
+bristles; and, as the creature opens its cavernous mouth
+to seize a floating gourd, an extraordinary array of
+incurving teeth, strangely bowed so as to make a series
+of arches of immense power. Now, with his strong front
+teeth, he tears up the great fleshy arum-roots from the
+clay of the bank, and grinds them to pulp; and now,
+with another grunt, the vast bristly head sinks beneath
+the water, and we see it no more. Hundreds of other
+creatures are straying around,&mdash;sloths, bats, and monkeys,
+and birds of gay plumage, on the trees; ant-eaters and
+cavies, lizards and snakes, on the ground; butterflies and
+humming-birds hovering in the air; tapirs and turtles and
+crocodiles in the waters;&mdash;but these are matters of course:&mdash;we
+are only thinking of such as have passed away and
+left no descendants to perpetuate their forms to our own
+times.</p>
+
+<p>Away to the great Austral land&mdash;in our day minished
+to the insular Australia and New Zealand and a few satellite
+isles&mdash;but then, in the morning of creation, possibly
+stretching far to the north and on either hand, so as to
+include the scattered groups of Polynesia in one great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
+continent, and even to reach so far as Madagascar on the
+west. This was the region of gigantic fowls, and of
+marsupial quadrupeds. Kangaroos of eight or nine feet
+in stature leaped over the primeval bush, and wombats
+and dasyures of elephantine bulk burrowed in the hill
+sides, and great lion-like beasts prowled about the plains.
+But surely the most characteristic feature of the scene
+was impressed by the birds! Vast struthious birds,
+which would have looked down with supreme contempt
+on the loftiest African ostrich, whose limb-bones greatly
+exceeded in bulk those of our dray horses, whose three-toed
+feet made a print in the clay some eighteen inches
+long, and whose proud heads commanded the horizon
+from an elevation of twelve feet above the ground,&mdash;terrible
+birds, whose main development of might was in
+the legs and feet, being utterly destitute of the least trace
+of wings&mdash;these strode swiftly about the rank ferny
+brakes, possessing a conscious power of defence in the
+back stroke of their muscular feet, and fearless of man or
+beast, mainly nocturnal in their activity, concealing themselves
+by day in the recesses of the dense forests, where
+the majestic trees were interwoven with cable-like climbers,
+or couching in the midst of tall reeds and aroideous
+plants that margined the great swampy lakes of these
+regions.</p>
+
+<p>But what of our own land? What of these distant isles
+of the Gentiles in that early day, when the enterprising
+sons of Cain, migrating from the already straitened land
+of Nod, were pushing their advancing columns, with arts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+and arms, in all directions over the young earth? Did
+any of them reach to the as yet insular Europe, settling
+themselves along the margins of its deep gulfs and draining
+basins? Perhaps they did, and even explored the
+utmost limits of the great Atlantic island, on the remains
+of which we live. What did they find here? A land of
+mountain and valley, of plain and down, of lake and
+river, of bog and fell, of forest and field, in some features
+much as now: where the oak, and elm, and ash covered
+great tracts, and the birch and fir clothed the hills; but
+where the yew and the laurel grew side by side with the
+custard-apple and the fan-palm, and the ground was overrun
+with trailers of the gourd and melon kind, but where
+grasses were few and scarce, the exquisite order <i>Rosace&aelig;</i>,
+with its beautiful flowers and grateful fruit, was rarely
+seen, and the aromatic <i>Labiat&aelig;</i>&mdash;the thyme, and mint,
+and sage&mdash;were as yet unknown.</p>
+
+<p>And the beasts that already tenanted this fair land
+were for bulk and power worthy of the domain. The
+Dinothere and the Mastodon wallowed and browsed where
+great London now crowds its princely palaces. Through
+the greenwood shades of the forests of oak wandered
+hippopotamuses and rhinoceroses of several kinds, the
+long-tusked mammoth, and two or three species of horses.
+Two gigantic oxen&mdash;a bison and a urus&mdash;roamed over
+the fir-clad hills of Scotland, and a curious flat-headed ox,
+of small size and minute horns, made Ireland its peculiar
+home. That island, too, was the metropolis of a colossal
+fallow-deer, whose remains, ticketed as those of the Irish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
+Elk, astonish us in our museums. It stood seven feet in
+height at the withers, and waved its branching antlers,
+eleven feet wide, twelve feet and upwards above the
+ground;<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> yet its magnificent stature could not preserve
+it from a not infrequent fate, that of becoming intombed
+in the deep bogs of its native isle. Britain had, moreover,
+a stag of scarcely less gigantic proportions, with the reindeer
+of the north, and the smaller kinds with which we
+are now familiar.</p>
+
+<p>All these herbivores, and numberless smaller genera,
+some now extinct, some surviving, were kept in check by
+powerful predatory tyrants, for whose representatives we
+must now look to the jungles of India or the burning
+karroos of Southern Africa. The Lion and the Tiger
+stalked over these isles, and a terrible tiger-like creature,
+the Machairode, of even superior size and power to the
+scourge of the Bengal jungle, with curved and saw-edged
+canine-teeth, hung upon the flanks of the cervine and
+bovine herds, and sprang upon the fattest of them. Then,
+too, there was a vast Bear, huger and mightier than the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
+fearful grizzly bear of America, which haunted caves,
+and prowling around forced down with its horrid paws
+the shaggy bull, and broke his stout neck by main force,
+and dragged the body home to devour at leisure. And
+many of these caves, the holes and chasms of the limestone
+districts, were inhabited by a gigantic species of Hyena,
+which seems to have existed in great numbers, so that
+the caverns are strewn all over, from end to end, with
+thousands of teeth and disjointed bones, both of the
+hyenas themselves and of the other carnivores; shewing
+that there they lived and died in successive generations;
+and, mainly, of other creatures, of very varied species,
+great and small, most of them cracked, and crushed, and
+gnawed, shewing the plain marks of the powerful conical
+teeth of those obscene nocturnal animals.</p>
+
+<p>Thus I have endeavoured to draw a picture, vague and
+imperfect, I know, of some of the more remarkable and
+prominent features of the primeval earth, limiting the
+sketch to those forms which we know only by their fossil
+remains. In endeavouring to paint their contour and
+general appearance, and still more their habits and instincts,
+conjecture must be largely at work&mdash;a conjecture,
+however, which takes for its basis the anatomical
+exigencies of the osseous structure, and the analogy of
+existing creatures the most nearly related to the fossil.</p>
+
+<p>These forms, many of them so huge and uncouth, are
+well known as having tenanted various regions of the
+earth during what is known as the Tertiary Era, in its
+later periods. They certainly do not exist in those regions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
+now. When did their life&mdash;their species-life&mdash;terminate?
+I have been assuming that they were upon the earth, as
+living sentient beings, in the earliest age of what we call
+the historic period&mdash;that is, according to the chronology
+of the Word of God, which must be true, within the last
+six thousand years. This assumption is so heterodox,
+that unsupported by evidence, it would be generally rejected;
+let us then inquire what evidence there is that
+man was an inhabitant of the globe contemporaneously
+with these huge giants of the bestial creation.</p>
+
+<p>I do not pretend to offer positive evidence concerning
+the synchronism of <i>all</i> the animals I have been describing
+with man; but, as there is no doubt that they were all
+contemporaneous, <i>inter se</i>, if we can attain to good
+grounds for concluding his co-existence with <i>some</i> of
+them, it may be no unfair presumption that the case was
+so with the others.</p>
+
+<p>And first, with respect to the <i>Colossochelys Atlas</i>, that
+vast fossil land tortoise of the Sewalik hills, in the north
+of India, whose carapace may have covered an area of
+twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, and whose entire length,
+as in walking, when head and tail were protruded, could
+not have been much less than thirty feet. The discoverers
+of this interesting relic, Dr Falconer and Major
+Cauntley, have discussed the question of its probable
+cessation of existence with some care; and they have come
+to the conclusion "that there are fair grounds for entertaining
+the belief, as probable, that the <i>Colossochelys Atlas</i>
+may have lived down to an early period of the human<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+epoch, and become extinct since." This they infer on
+two grounds: first, from the fact that, in the same strata,
+which are not limited to the Sewalik hills, but extend,
+with the remains of this immense tortoise, all over the
+great Indian area, from Ava to the Gulf of Cambay, other
+tortoises, crocodiles, &amp;c., which were contemporary with
+the <i>Colossochelys</i>, have survived to the present time; and,
+secondly, from mythologic and cosmogonic traditions of
+many eastern nations, having reference to a tortoise of
+such gigantic size as to be associated in the current
+fables with an elephant.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>Elian, the Greek naturalist, quoting Megasthenes, a
+still older authority, who resided several years in India,
+and who collected a good deal of interesting information
+concerning the country, reports that in the sea around
+Ceylon there were found tortoises of such enormous
+dimensions that huts were made of their shells, each shell
+being fifteen cubits (or twenty-two feet) long; so that
+several people were able to find comfortable shelter under
+it from the rain and sun.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> And both Strabo and Pliny<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>
+assert that the Chelonophagi, who inhabited the shores of
+the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, converted the enormous
+shells of the turtles which they caught into roofs for their
+houses and boats for their little voyages. It has been
+suggested that the <i>Colossochelys</i> may have given origin
+to these statements; but I rather think the great sea-turtles
+of the genus <i>Chelone</i> are referred to, the convex
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>shells of which are known in our own day to reach to a
+length of eight feet or upwards.</p>
+
+<p>The circumstances attending the discovery of the
+rhinoceros and elephant of Siberia are very curious and
+interesting; since of them we have not the fossilised
+skeletons, but the carcases preserved in a fresh state, as if
+just dead, with (in one case) the flesh upon the bones in
+an eatable state, and actually forming the food of dogs
+and wolves, the skin entire, and covered with fur, and
+even the eyes so perfectly preserved that the pupils could
+be distinctly seen.</p>
+
+<p>In 1771, in the frozen gravelly soil of Wilhuji, in the
+northern part of Siberia, an animal was found partially
+exposed. It was twelve feet in length; its body was enveloped
+in a skin which had the thickness and firmness
+of sole-leather, but was destitute of folds. Short hair,
+strongly planted in the pores of the skin, grew on the face
+in tufts; it was rigid in texture, and of a grey hue, with
+here and there a black bristle, larger and stiffer than the
+rest. Short ash-grey hair was observed to clothe the
+legs, in moderate profusion. The eyelids and eyelashes
+were still visible; the remains of the brain were still in
+the cavity of the skull, and the flesh of the body, in a
+putrefying condition, was still beneath the skin. On the
+nose there were indications of a horn having been seated,
+around which the integument had formed a sort of fold.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the creature was known to be a Rhinoceros, and
+the head and feet were lifted, and conveyed to St Petersburg,
+where they are still preserved in the Imperial<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
+Museum. Men of science soon remarked that in very
+many points this specimen differed from any species now
+known; and, indeed, a hairy rhinoceros was, in itself, an
+anomaly. Subsequent investigations have revealed that
+the same species, known as <i>Rhinoceros tichorhinus</i>, inhabited
+Siberia in great numbers, and is now extinct.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly thirty years afterwards a still more interesting
+revelation occurred. The shores of the Icy Ocean had
+yielded a vast number of tusks, not distinguishable from
+those of the known elephants, and capable of being
+worked up by ivory-manufacturers, so that they occupied
+a well-recognised place in the commercial markets, and
+they constitute to this day the principal supply of the
+Russian ivory-turners. A fisherman living at the mouth
+of the Lena, being one day engaged in collecting tusks,
+saw among some ice-blocks an uncouth object. The next
+year he observed it still further exposed, and in the following
+season, 1801, he saw that it was an enormous
+animal, having great tusks, one of which, with the entire
+side of the carcase, projected from the frozen mass. He
+knew it to be a <i>Mammoth</i>, for so the fossil elephants were
+called, and observed it with interest. The next season
+was so cold that no change took place; but in 1803, the
+melting of the ice proceeded so far that the gigantic
+animal fell down from the cliff entire, and was deposited
+on the sand beneath. The following season the fisherman,
+Schumachoff, cut out the tusks, which he sold for
+fifty rubles, and two years after this the scene was visited
+by Mr Adams, in the service of the Imperial Court, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
+has given an interesting account of his observations,
+made, it must be remembered, in the seventh year after
+the first discovery:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I found the Mammoth," observes this gentleman,
+"still in the same place, but altogether mutilated ...
+the Jakutski of the neighbourhood having cut off the
+flesh, with which they fed their dogs during the scarcity.
+Wild beasts, such as white bears, wolves, wolverines, and
+foxes, also fed upon it, and the traces of their footsteps
+were seen around. The skeleton, almost entirely devoid
+of its flesh, remained whole, with the exception of one
+fore-leg. The head was covered with a dry skin; one of
+the ears, well preserved, was furnished with a tuft of hairs.
+All these parts have necessarily been injured in transporting
+them a distance of 7330 miles (to St Petersburg);
+but the eyes have been preserved, and the pupil of one
+can still be distinguished.</p>
+
+<p>"The Mammoth was a male, with a long mane on the
+neck. The tail and proboscis were not preserved. The
+skin, of which I possess three-fourths, is of a dark-grey
+colour, covered with reddish wool and black hairs; but
+the dampness of the spot, where it had lain so long, had
+in some degree destroyed the hair. The entire carcase,
+of which I collected the bones on the spot, was nine feet
+four inches high, and sixteen feet four inches long, without
+including the tusks, which measured nine feet six
+inches along the curve. The distance from the base or
+root of the tusk to the point is three feet seven inches.
+The two tusks together weighed three hundred and sixty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+pounds, English weight, and the head alone four hundred
+and fourteen pounds.</p>
+
+<p>"I next detached the skin of the side on which the
+animal had lain, which was well preserved. This skin
+was of such extraordinary weight that ten persons found
+difficulty in transporting it to the shore. After this I dug
+the ground in different places, to ascertain whether any
+of its bones were buried, but principally to collect all the
+hairs which the white bears had trod into the ground while
+devouring the flesh. Although this was difficult from
+the want of instruments, I succeeded in collecting more
+than a pood (thirty-six pounds) of hair. In a few days the
+work was completed, and I found myself in possession of
+a treasure which amply recompensed me for the fatigues
+and dangers of the journey, and the considerable expenses
+of the enterprise.... The escarpment of ice was thirty-five
+to forty toises high; and, according to the report of the
+Tungusians, the animal was, when they first saw it, seven
+toises below the surface of the ice, &amp;c. On arriving with
+the Mammoth at Borchaya, our first care was to separate
+the remaining flesh and ligaments from the bones, which
+were then packed up. When I arrived at the Jakutsk, I
+had the good fortune to repurchase the tusks, and from
+thence expedited the whole to St Petersburg. The skeleton
+is now in the Museum of the Academy, and the skin still
+remains attached to the head and feet. A part of the
+skin, and some of the hair of this animal were sent by
+Mr Adams to Sir Joseph Banks, who presented them to
+the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. The hair<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+is entirely separated from the skin, excepting in one very
+small part, where it still remains attached. It consists of
+two sorts, common hair and bristles, and of each there are
+several varieties, differing in length and thickness. That
+remaining fixed on the skin is of the colour of the camel,
+an inch and a-half long, very thick-set, and curled in
+locks. It is interspersed with a few bristles about three
+inches long, of a dark-reddish colour. Among the separate
+parcels of hair are some rather redder than the short
+hair just mentioned, about four inches; and some bristles
+nearly black, much thicker than horse hair, and from twelve
+to eighteen inches long. The skin, when first brought to
+the Museum, was offensive; it is now quite dry and hard,
+and where most compact, is half-an-inch thick. Its colour
+is the dull black of the living elephants."<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+
+<p>To me this narrative possesses an intense interest, and
+I have gazed with great curiosity on the bit of dried and
+blackened leather that is preserved in the Museum in
+Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, knowing it to have presented the
+primal freshness of life within the present century. I
+cannot help thinking that both the rhinoceros and this
+elephant roamed over the plains of Siberia, not only since
+the creation of man, but even since the Deluge. The
+freshness of their state shews that the freezing up of their
+carcases must have been sudden, and immediate upon
+death. What supposition so natural as that, perhaps in a
+blinding snowstorm, they slipped into a crevice in the ice-cliff,
+were snowed up instantly, and thus preserved by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+antiseptic power of frost to this age? The glaciers of the
+north may hold multitudes more of these and kindred
+creatures, some of which may yet be disinterred, or thawed
+out, and may lift yet more the curtain which so tantalisingly
+covers the conditions of their life-history. These
+two huge Pachyderms are certainly extinct now; yet their
+remains, scattered over so vast an area, are everywhere
+associated with those of other animals which were indubitably
+contemporary with them, and whose species-life
+is continued to our own times. Some of these, as the
+great bear and the musk-ox of the sub-polar regions, we
+know to be in the habit of migrating northward in spring,
+and southward in autumn. That no lack of suitable food
+would be found, even in such high latitudes, for browsing
+quadrupeds, appears from the fact that, even beyond the
+parallel of 75&deg; north, large birch-trees are found embedded
+in the cliffs, in abundance sufficient to be largely used as
+common fuel, and still retaining their woody fibre, their
+bark, branches, and roots. The climate then was not
+<i>greatly</i> different from what it is now, when the birch, as
+a tree, reaches to about 70&deg;.</p>
+
+<p>It is interesting to observe that both this elephant and
+this rhinoceros were inhabitants of England also; and that
+at the same period as the cavern bear, the hyena, the lion,
+and the machairode, the baboon, the bison, and the urus,
+the Irish elk, and the extinct horse; at the same time too,
+as the rein-deer, the stag, the black bear, the wolf and
+fox, the beaver, the wild cat, the hare, and rabbit, the
+otter and badger, the wild hog, the rat and mouse, all our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+present shrews, the mole, the stoat and polecat, the noctule
+and the horse-shoe bats. And curious it is to note, as we
+go over this list, how some of the creatures enumerated
+are long extinct everywhere, some have been long extinct
+in England, but are still found elsewhere, some have more
+recently become extinct here, but at different eras, some
+are nearly extinguished, and some are yet abundant in
+different degrees.</p>
+
+<p>I do not attach much importance to the traditions of
+the Siberians, that the tusks and skeletons which they
+find belonged to a large subterraneous animal, which
+could not bear the light; nor to those of the Chinese,
+respecting a similar burrowing quadruped of prodigious
+bulk, which they call, by a sort of irony, <i>tyn-schu</i>, or the
+mouse that hides himself. The fables may have easily
+been formed from the observation of the fossil bones, and
+do not necessarily imply any memory of the living original.</p>
+
+<p>The two examples of the exhumation of <i>Pachydermata</i>
+in a fresh state, which I have given in detail, are by
+no means the only cases that have occurred. It is the
+universally-received belief throughout Siberia, that Mammoths
+have been found with the flesh quite fresh and
+filled with blood; probably meaning that the animal
+juices flowed when thawed. Isbrand Ides mentions a
+head on which the flesh, in a decaying state, was present;
+and a frozen leg, as large as the body of a man; and
+Jean Bernhard M&uuml;ller speaks of a tusk, the cavity of
+which was filled with a substance which resembled coagulated
+blood.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Again, in the voyage of Sarytschew, particulars are
+given of the discovery of a Mammoth on the banks of the
+Alaseia, a river which flows into the Arctic Ocean, beyond
+the Indigirska. It had been dislodged by a flood, and
+somewhat injured; but the carcase was still almost entire,
+and was covered with the skin, to which in some places
+long hair remained attached.</p>
+
+<p>These statements might reasonably have been esteemed
+either fables or gross exaggerations, but for the subsequent
+discovery of the rhinoceros and elephant whose
+remains have been brought to Europe. Read in the light
+of these accounts, the earlier stories take the dignity of
+authentic history; and it is interesting to note how well
+these details agree with those observed by the accurate
+Adams;&mdash;the long hair, for example, with which the
+Alaseia carcase was clothed being the very counterpart
+of that upon the Lena elephant; though <i>&agrave; priori</i> we
+should have looked for a very different condition in the
+integument of these huge Pachyderms.</p>
+
+<p>If we look now at the great Mastodon, that elephantine
+beast, which with a stature equal to that of the
+tallest African elephant combined a much greater length
+of body and bulk of limb, we shall see some reason for
+concluding that the period of its decease is not indefinitely
+removed from our own era. Its remains occur in
+greatest abundance in North America; and it is interesting
+to observe that among several of the aboriginal tribes
+of Red men there were extant traditions of the Mastodon
+as a living creature. Dim, vague, and distorted these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+traditions are; but so far from our rejecting them <i>in toto</i>
+on that account, we ought rather to consider these characters
+as evidence of their antiquity. When semi-savage
+nations present us with orally-preserved accounts of very
+remote objects or actions, we look, as a matter of course,
+for a considerable element of the wild, and extravagant,
+and absurd in them. If we found nothing but what was
+reasonable, and consistent, and intelligible, we should say
+in a moment, this account cannot have been transmitted
+very far. The question, in the case before us, is not, we
+must remember, the precise habits and instincts of the
+Mastodon, but whether the Indians knew anything at all
+of the Mastodon having ever been a living animal. Now,
+as I have observed, they had. M. Fabri, a French officer
+who had served in Canada, informed Buffon that the Red
+men spoke of the great bones which lay scattered in
+various parts of that region as having belonged to an
+animal which, after their oriental style, they named <i>Le
+P&egrave;re aux B&oelig;ufs</i>. The Shawnee Indians believed that
+with these enormous animals there existed men of proportionate
+development, and that the Great Being destroyed
+both with thunderbolts. Those of Virginia stated that, as
+a troop of these terrible quadrupeds were destroying the
+deer, the bisons, and the other animals created for the use
+of the Indians, the Great Man slew them all with His
+thunder, except the big bull, who, nothing daunted, presented
+his enormous forehead to the bolts, and shook them
+off as they fell, till, being at last wounded in the side, he
+fled towards the great lakes, where he is to this day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Evidence of the comparatively-recent entombment of
+these remains exists, however, of another character. They
+do not in general appear to have been rolled, but to have
+lived where they are now found; in some instances, as
+along the Great Osage River, being imbedded in a vertical
+position, as if the animals had been suddenly bogged in
+the swampy soil. Nor is there any great accumulation of
+earth upon them generally. All along the edges of that
+great saline morass called, from the abundance of these
+animal relics, Big Bone Lick, and on the borders, the
+skeletons are found sunk in the soft earth, many of them
+not more than a yard or two below the surface, and some
+even scarcely covered. With them are found in large
+numbers the bones of the existing bison, the wapiti-stag,
+and other herbivores, which still throng to the same place,
+for the same reasons, and meet the same fate.</p>
+
+<p>Comparative anatomy determines, from the structure
+of the bones of the head in the Mastodon, that it must
+have carried a proboscis like that of the elephant. This,
+though wholly fleshy, has left traces of its existence.
+Barton reports that, in 1762, out of five skeletons which
+were seen by the natives, one skull still possessed what
+they described as a "long nose" with the mouth under it.
+And Kalm, in speaking of a skeleton, discovered by the
+Indians in what is now the State of Illinois, says that the
+form of the trunk was still apparent, though half decomposed.
+The preservation of these perishable tissues in
+this case must doubtless be attributed to the salt with
+which the bog-earth is saturated. Still more recently a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>
+skeleton was found in Virginia, which contained a very
+interesting proof of the food of the animal: a mass of
+twigs, grass, and leaves, in a half-bruised state, enclosed
+in a sort of sac, lay within the cavity of the body, doubtless
+the contents of the stomach. Some of the twigs
+could be identified as those of existing species of trees and
+shrubs, among them a species of <i>rose</i>, still common in the
+region.</p>
+
+<p>All this is very strong evidence that the deposition of
+these remains cannot have taken place in a <i>very</i> remote
+era,&mdash;that, in fact, it must have been since the general
+deluge recorded in the Word of God.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh Miller has an interesting observation concerning
+the actual date of geologic phenomena in North America,
+compared with that of their counterparts in the Old World.
+He says, "The much greater remoteness of the mastodontic
+period in Europe than in America is a circumstance
+worthy of notice, as it is one of many facts that seem to
+indicate a general transposition of at least the later geologic
+ages on the opposite sides of the Atlantic. Groups
+of corresponding character on the eastern and western
+shores of this great ocean were not contemporaneous in
+time. It has been repeatedly remarked that the existing
+plants and trees of the United States, with not a few of
+its fishes and reptiles, bear in their forms and constructions
+the marks of a much greater antiquity than those of
+Europe. The geologist who set himself to discover similar
+types on the eastern side of the Atlantic, would have to
+seek for them among the deposits of the later tertiaries.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
+North America seems to be still passing through its later
+tertiary ages; and it appears to be a consequence of this
+curious transposition, that while in Europe the mastodontic
+period is removed by two great geologic eras, from the
+present time, it is removed from it in America by only
+one."<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p>
+
+<p>Professor Agassiz has expressed opinions of the same
+character, adducing the present existence in America of
+several forms of animals, which are known in this hemisphere
+only in a fossil state.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>I cannot refrain from adding the following combination
+of fact and speculation, from the pen of an accomplished
+traveller in Mexico. It opens up a new train of ideas:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Some time before our visit, a number of workmen
+were employed on the neighbouring estate of Chapingo,
+to excavate a canal over that part of the plain from which
+the waters have gradually retired during the last three
+centuries. At four feet below the surface, they reached
+an ancient causeway, of the existence of which there was
+of course not the most remote suspicion. The cedar piles,
+by which the sides were supported, were still sound at
+heart. Three feet below the edge of this ancient work, in
+what may have been the very ditch, they struck upon the
+entire skeleton of a Mastodon, embedded in the blue clay.
+Many of the most valuable bones were lost by the careless
+manner in which they were extricated; others were ground
+to powder on their conveyance to the capital, but sufficient
+remained to prove that the animal had been of great size.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+My informant measured the diameter [<i>qu.</i> circumference?]
+of the tusk, and found it to be eighteen inches.</p>
+
+<p>"Though I should be very glad to take shelter under
+the convenient <i>Quien sabe</i>? the use of which I have
+suggested to you, I could not avoid, at the time I was in
+Mexico, putting my isolated facts together, and feeling
+inclined to believe that this country had not only been
+inhabited in extremely remote times, when the valley bore
+a very different aspect from that which it now exhibits, or
+which tradition gives it, but that the extinct race of
+enormous animals, whose remains would seem, in the
+instance I have cited, to be coeval with the undated works
+of man, may have been subjected to his will, and made
+instrumental, by the application of their gigantic force,
+to the transport of those vast masses of sculptured and
+chiselled rock which we marvel to see lying in positions
+so far removed from their natural site.</p>
+
+<p>"The existence of these ancient paved causeways also,
+not only from their solid construction over the flat and
+low plains of the valley, but as they may be traced running
+for miles over the dry table-land and the mountains,
+appears to me to lend plausibility to the supposition;
+as one might inquire, to what end the labour of such
+works, in a country where beasts of burden were unknown?</p>
+
+<p>"But I leave this subject to wiser heads and bolder
+theorists. Had the Mammoth of Chapingo been discovered
+with a ring in his nose, or a bit in his mouth, a
+yoke on his head, or a crupper under his tail, the ques<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>tion
+would have been set at rest. As it is, there is plenty
+of room for conjecture and dispute."<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p>With respect to the great extinct Mammalia of South
+America, we find Mr Darwin, to whom we are indebted
+for our knowledge of so many of them, continually expressing
+his wonder at the comparatively modern era of
+their existence. After having enumerated nine vast
+beasts, which he found imbedded in the beach at Bahia
+Blanca, within the space of 200 yards square, and remarked
+how numerous in kinds the ancient inhabitants of the
+country must have been, he observes that "this enumeration
+belongs to a very late tertiary period. From the
+bones of the <i>Scelidotherium</i>, including even the kneecap,
+being entombed in their proper relative positions,
+and from the osseous armour of the great armadillo-like
+animal being so well preserved, together with the bones
+of one of its legs, we may feel assured that these remains
+were fresh and united by their ligaments when deposited
+in the gravel with the shells. Hence we have good evidence
+that the above-enumerated gigantic quadrupeds,
+more different from those of the present day than the oldest
+of the tertiary quadrupeds of Europe, lived whilst the sea
+was peopled with most of its present inhabitants."<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p>Of the remains of the Mylodon, and of that strange
+semi-aquatic creature the Toxodon, he says, they appeared
+so fresh that it was difficult to believe they had
+lain buried for ages under ground. The bones were so
+fresh, that they yielded, on careful analysis, seven per
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>cent. of animal matter, and when heated in the flame of a
+spirit-lamp, they not only exhaled a very strong animal
+odour, but actually burned with a small flame.</p>
+
+<p>Mr Darwin's interest was excited by the evidences
+everywhere present of the immensity of this extinct population.
+"The number of the remains imbedded in the
+great estuary-deposit which forms the Pampas, and covers
+the gigantic rocks of Banda Oriental, must be extraordinarily
+great. I believe a straight line drawn in any
+direction through the Pampas would cut through some
+skeleton or bones.... We may suppose that the whole
+area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct
+gigantic quadrupeds."<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p>
+
+<p>The whole plain of South America from the Rio Plata
+to the Straits of Magellan has been raised from the sea
+within the species-life of the existing sea-shells, the old
+and weathered specimens of which, left on the surface of
+the plain, still partially retain their colours! Darwin
+infers, as certain, from data which he has adduced, that
+the Macrauchen, that strange giraffe-necked pachyderm,
+lived <i>long after</i> the sea was inhabited by its present
+shells, and when the vegetation of the land could not
+have been other than it is now. And if the Macrauchen,
+then the Toxodon, the Scelidothere, the Megathere, the
+Mylodon, the Glyptodon, the Glossothere, and all the rest
+of the quaint but mighty host of gone giants, that once
+thronged these austral plains.</p>
+
+<p>Evidence for the recent existence of the colossal ostrich-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>like
+birds of New Zealand is stronger still. It is about
+twenty-one years since the first intimation was given to
+scientific Europe of the remains of such animals, through
+some bones sent by the Rev. W. Williams to Dr Buckland.
+From these, and a collection soon afterwards sent
+home, Professor Owen established the genus <i>Dinornis</i>,
+identifying five species, the largest of which, <i>D. giganteus</i>,
+he concluded to have stood about ten feet in height. The
+remains have since been obtained in great profusion, and
+the result of further investigations by the Professor has
+been the establishment of three other genera, viz., <i>Palapteryx</i>,
+<i>Nestor</i>, and <i>Notornis</i>,&mdash;the latter a large bird
+allied to the Rails and Coots.</p>
+
+<p>A very interesting communication from Mr Williams
+accompanied one of the consignments, extracts of which
+I will quote. It bears date "Poverty Bay, New Zealand,
+17th May 1842." "It is about three years ago, on paying
+a visit to this coast, south of the East Cape, that the
+natives told me of some extraordinary monster, which
+they said was in existence in an inaccessible cavern on the
+side of a hill near the river Wairoa; and they shewed me
+at the same time some fragments of bone taken out of
+the beds of rivers, which they said belonged to this creature,
+to which they gave the name of <i>Moa</i>. When I
+came to reside in this neighbourhood I heard the same
+story a little enlarged; for it was said that this creature
+<i>was still existing</i> at the said hill, of which the name is
+Wakapunake, and that it is guarded by a reptile of the
+Lizard species, but I could not learn that any of the pre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>sent
+generation had seen it. I still considered the whole
+as an idle fable, but offered a large reward to any who
+would catch me either the bird or its protector." These
+offers procured the collection of a considerable number of
+fossil bones, on which Mr Williams makes the following
+observations:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"1. None of these bones have been found on the dry
+land, but are all of them from the banks and beds of
+fresh-water rivers, buried only a little distance in the
+mud.... All the streams are in immediate connexion
+with hills of some altitude.</p>
+
+<p>"2. This bird was in existence here at no very distant
+time, though not in the memory of any of the inhabitants:
+for the bones are found in the beds of the present streams,
+and do not appear to have been brought into their present
+situation by the action of any violent rush of waters.</p>
+
+<p>"3. They existed in considerable numbers,&mdash;(an observation
+which has since been abundantly confirmed.)</p>
+
+<p>"4. It may be inferred that this bird was long-lived,
+and that it was many years before it attained its full size.
+(The writer grounds this inference on the disparity in
+dimensions of the corresponding bones, supposing that
+they all belonged to one and the same species; which,
+however, was an erroneous assumption.)</p>
+
+<p>"5. The greatest height of the bird was probably not
+less than fourteen or sixteen feet. The leg-bones now
+sent give the height of six feet to the root of the tail.</p>
+
+<p>"Within the last few days I have obtained a piece of
+information worthy of notice. Happening to speak to an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+American about these bones, he told me that the bird is
+still in existence in the neighbourhood of Cloudy Bay, in
+Cook's Straits. He said that the natives there had mentioned
+to an Englishman belonging to a whaling party,
+that there was a bird of extraordinary size to be seen
+only at night, on the side of a hill near the place, and
+that he, with a native and a second Englishman, went to
+the spot; that, after waiting some time, they saw the
+creature at a little distance, which they describe as being
+about fourteen or sixteen feet high. One of the men
+proposed to go nearer and shoot, but his companion was
+so exceedingly terrified, or perhaps both of them, that
+they were satisfied with looking at the bird, when, after a
+little time, it took the alarm, and strode off up the side
+of the mountain.</p>
+
+<p>"This incident might not have been worth mentioning,
+had it not been for the extraordinary agreement in point
+of the size of the bird [with my deductions from the
+bones]. <i>Here</i> are the bones which will satisfy you that
+such a bird <i>has been</i> in existence; and <i>there</i> is said to be
+the <i>living bird</i>, the supposed size of which, given by an
+independent witness, precisely agrees."</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.2" id="Fig.2">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;">
+<a href="images/fig051a-400dpi1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig051a-400dpi400.jpg" width="250" height="400" alt="ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The story told of the whaler appears to me to bear
+marks of truth. The bold essay to explore, the terror
+inspired by the gigantic figure, especially in the solemnity
+of night, the description of the manners of the bird running
+and striding, so like those of the Apteryx, with which
+its bones shew the Moa to have been closely allied, and the
+inglorious return of the party without achieving any
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>exploit, are all too natural to permit the thought that no
+more than inventive power has been at work.</p>
+
+<p>And well may the colossus have inspired fear. The
+bones sent to London greatly exceed in bulk those of the
+largest horse. The leg-bone of a tall man is about one
+foot four inches in length, and the thigh of O'Brien, the
+Irish giant, whose skeleton, eight feet high, is mounted in
+the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, is not quite
+two feet. But the leg-bone (<i>tibia</i>) of the <i>Dinornis</i> we
+know measured as much as two feet ten inches, and we
+have no reason to suppose, considering the disparity that
+exists in the specimens examined, that we have seen by
+any means the largest.</p>
+
+<p>Additional reason for supposing these magnificent birds
+to have existed not long ago, is found in the fact that
+specimens of their eggs have been preserved. The circumstances
+attendant on the discovery and identification
+of these possess a remarkable interest. In the volcanic
+sand of New Zealand Mr Walter Mantell found a gigantic
+egg, which we may reasonably infer to be that of either
+<i>Dinornis</i> or <i>Palapteryx</i>, of the magnitude of which he
+gives us a familiar idea by saying that his hat would have
+been but just large enough to have served as an egg-cup
+for it. This is the statement of a man of science, and
+therefore we may assume an approximate degree of precision
+in the comparison.</p>
+
+<p>I do not know the size of Mr Mantell's hat, but I find
+that the transverse diameter of my own is six inches or a
+little more. If we may take this as the shorter diameter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+of the ovoid, the longer would probably be about eight
+and a half inches; dimensions considerably greater than
+those of the Ostrich's egg (which are about six and a
+quarter in length), but not what we should have expected
+from a bird from twelve to fourteen feet in height. And
+this the rather when we consider that the egg of the
+New Zealand <i>Apteryx</i>, to which these birds manifest a
+very close affinity, is one of dimensions that are quite
+surprising in proportion to the bulk of the bird. The
+Apteryx is about as big as a turkey, standing two feet in
+height, but its egg measures four inches ten lines by
+three inches two lines in the respective diameters. The
+egg of the <i>Dinornis giganteus</i>, to bear the same ratio to
+the bird as this, would be of the incredible length of two
+feet and a half, by a breadth of one and three quarters!
+Possibly this specimen, though indubitably the egg of one
+of this great family of extinct birds, may after all be that
+of one of the subordinate species.</p>
+
+<p>But about the same time as Mr Mantell's discovery, one
+of equal interest was made in Madagascar. The master
+of a French ship obtained, in 1850, from natives of the
+island, three eggs, of far greater size, and fragments of
+the leg-bones of an immense bird. These, on their arrival
+at Paris, formed the subjects of valuable investigations by
+M. Isidore Geoffroy St Hilaire<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> and Professor Owen.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+<p>The native statement was, that one of the eggs had
+been found entire in the bed of a torrent, among the
+debris of a land-slip; that a second egg, with some frag<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>ments
+of bone, was subsequently found in a formation
+<i>which is stated to be alluvial</i>; a third egg, which the
+natives had perforated at one end, and used as a vessel,
+was also found. This last egg was broken in the carriage,
+the other two arrived in Europe entire.</p>
+
+<p>These two, though nearly alike in size, differed considerably
+in their relative proportions and shape, the one
+being shorter and thicker, with more equal ends than the
+other. The following table shews the dimensions of both
+compared with those of an ostrich's egg:&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<table summary="egg-comparison" width="80%">
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td colspan="3" style="text-align: center">Ovoid egg.</td> <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td> <td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;">Ellipsoid egg.</td><td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td><td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;">Ostrich egg.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td> <td>ft.</td> <td>in.</td> <td>li.</td> <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>  <td>ft.</td> <td>in.</td> <td>li.</td>   <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td> <td>ft.</td> <td>in.</td> <td>li.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Longer circumference</td>   <td>2</td>   <td>10</td>       <td>9</td>  <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>   <td>2</td>   <td>9</td>   <td>6</td>  <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>     <td>1</td>   <td>6</td>   <td>0</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Shorter circumference</td>  <td>2</td>   <td>&nbsp;4</td>   <td>3</td> <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>    <td>2</td>   <td>5</td>   <td>6</td> <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>    <td>1</td>   <td>4</td>   <td>6</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Extreme length</td>         <td>1</td>   <td>&nbsp;0</td>   <td>8</td> <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>    <td>1</td>   <td>0</td>   <td>5</td> <td style="width: 5%;">&nbsp;</td>     <td>0</td>   <td>6</td>   <td>4</td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<p>M. Geoffroy St Hilaire estimates the larger of the two
+to contain 10&#8539; quarts, or the contents of nearly six eggs
+of the Ostrich, or sixteen of the Cassowary, or a hundred
+and forty-eight of the Hen, or fifty thousand of the Humming
+bird.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<p>The fragments of bone indicated a bird of the same
+natural affinities as the New Zealand colossi, and of
+dimensions not widely remote from theirs. Professor
+Owen thinks that it did not exceed in height or size
+<i>Dinornis giganteus</i>, and that there is a probability that it
+was slightly smaller. The Madagascar bird has been
+named <i>&AElig;pyornis maximus</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The fragments of the egg of the New Zealand bird
+(still uncertain as to the species to which it is to be
+referred) shew that the shell was absolutely thinner, and
+therefore relatively <i>much</i> thinner than that of the Ostrich's
+egg; the air-pores, too, have a different form, being linear,
+instead of round, and the surface is smoother. In these
+qualities, the New Zealand egg resembles that of the
+<i>Apteryx</i>; in the thickness and roughness of the egg of
+<i>&AElig;pyornis</i> there is more similarity to those of the Ostrich
+and Cassowary. The colour of the Madagascar egg is a
+dull greyish yellow; but it is possible that this may be
+derived from the soil in which it has long been imbedded.
+The fragments of the New Zealand egg are white, like the
+eggs of the <i>Apteryx</i> and Ostrich: those of the Emu and
+Cassowary are light green.</p>
+
+<p>The willing fancy suggests the possibility that, in an
+island of such immensity as Madagascar, possessing lofty
+mountain-ranges, covered with the most magnificent
+forests, where civilised man has only yet touched one or
+two spots on the seaward borders, but where these slight
+explorations have educed so many wondrous animals, so
+many strange forms of vegetable life, the noble <i>&AElig;pyornis</i>
+may yet be stalking with giant stride along the fern-fringed
+hill-sides, or through the steaming thickets;
+though in the more contracted area of New Zealand its
+equally ponderous cousins, the <i>Dinornis</i> and the <i>Palapteryx</i>,
+may have sunk beneath the persevering persecutions
+of man.</p>
+
+<p>Yet another item of evidence bearing on the recent if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>
+not present existence of these great fowls has recently
+come to light:&mdash;the most interesting discovery that one of
+the genera whose fossil remains had been found associated
+with theirs is really extant in New Zealand. I refer to
+the <i>Notornis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>At a meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held
+on the 13th November 1850, Dr Mantell made the following
+communication relative to this discovery:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It was in the course of last year, on the occasion of my
+son's second visit to the south of the middle island, that
+he had the good fortune to secure the recent <i>Notornis</i>,
+which I now submit, having previously placed it in the
+hands of the eminent ornithologist Mr Gould, to figure
+and describe. This bird was taken by some sealers who
+were pursuing their avocations in Dusky Bay. Perceiving
+the trail of a large and unknown bird on the snow, with
+which the ground was then covered, they followed the
+footprints till they obtained a sight of the <i>Notornis</i>, which
+their dogs instantly pursued, and, after a long chase,
+caught alive in the gully of a sound behind Resolution
+Island. It ran with great speed, and on being captured
+uttered loud screams, and fought and struggled violently.
+It was kept alive three or four days on board the schooner,
+and then killed, and the body roasted and eaten by the
+crew, each partaking of the dainty, which was declared to
+be delicious. The beak and legs were of a bright red
+colour. My son secured the skin, together with very fine
+specimens of the Kapapo or ground parrot (<i>Strigops</i>), a
+pair of Huias (<i>Neomorpha</i>), and two species of Kiwikiwi,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>
+namely <i>Apteryx Australis</i>, and <i>A. Oweni</i>. The latter
+very rare bird is now added to the collection of the British
+Museum."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr Walter Mantell states, that, according to the native
+traditions, a large Rail was contemporary with the Moa,
+and formed a principal article of food among their ancestors.
+It was known to the North Islanders by the name
+'Moho,' and to the South Islanders by that of 'Takahe;'
+but the bird was considered by both natives and Europeans
+to have been long since exterminated by the wild
+cats and dogs; not an individual having been seen or
+heard of since the arrival of the English colonists. On
+comparing the head of the bird with the fossil cranium,
+and mandibles, and the figures and descriptions in the
+'Zoological Transactions' (Plate lvi.), my son was at once
+convinced of their identity. It may not be irrelevant to
+add, that in the course of Mr Walter Mantell's journey
+from Banks's Peninsula along the coast to Otago, he
+learned from the natives that they believed there still
+existed in that country the only indigenous terrestrial
+quadruped, except a species of rat, which there are any
+reasonable grounds for concluding New Zealand ever possessed.
+While encamping at Arowenua, in the district
+of Timaru, the Maoris assured them that about ten miles
+inland there was a quadruped which they called K&aacute;ureke,
+and that it was formerly abundant, and often kept by
+their ancestors in a domestic state as a pet animal. It
+was described as about two feet in length, with coarse
+grizzly hair; and must have more nearly resembled the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
+otter or badger than the beaver or the Ornithorhynchus,
+which the first accounts seem to suggest as the probable
+type. The offer of a liberal reward induced some of the
+Maoris to start for the interior of the country where the
+K&aacute;ureke was supposed to be located; but they returned
+without having obtained the slightest trace of the existence
+of such an animal. My son, however, expresses his
+belief in the native accounts, and that, if the creature no
+longer exists, its extermination is of very recent date.
+In concluding this brief narrative of the discovery of a
+genus of birds once contemporary with the colossal Moa,
+and hitherto only known by its fossil remains, I beg to
+remark that this highly interesting fact tends to confirm
+the conclusions expressed in my communication to the
+Geological Society, namely, that the <i>Dinornis</i>, <i>Palapteryx</i>,
+and related forms, were coeval with some of the existing
+species of birds peculiar to New Zealand, and that their
+final extinction took place at no very distant period, and
+long after the advent of the aboriginal Maoris."</p>
+
+<p>Mr Gould then read a paper pointing out the zoological
+characters of the bird discovered by Mr Mantell, which
+he had no hesitation in identifying as the species formerly
+characterised, from its osseous remains, by Professor
+Owen, under the name of <i>Notornis Mantelli</i>. Mr Gould,
+in adverting to the extreme interest with which the present
+existence of a species which was certainly contemporary
+with the Moa must be regarded, pointed out, from
+the preserved skin, which was on the table, how accurate
+a prevision of its character had been made by Professor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+Owen, when investigating the fragments from which our
+first knowledge of it had been derived.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<p>At length I come home to Great Britain and Ireland&mdash;the
+"nice little, tight little islands" where so many of
+our sympathies properly centre, where natural-history
+facts and all other facts interest us so much more than
+parallel facts elsewhere, and where, above all, there are so
+many more lights streaming into the darkness, and bringing
+out truth. Let us again look back to the period of
+the Bison, and Reindeer, and Elk, of the Elephant, and Hippopotamus,
+and Rhinoceros, of the Lion and the Hyena,
+and the great Cave Bear, and search among the vanishing
+traces of the far past for glimpses of evidence when their
+age ceased to be.</p>
+
+<p>Some dim light falls on the obscurity from the discovery
+of the fossil remains of man himself&mdash;the human
+bones found by Dr Schmerling in a cavern near Liege,
+the remains mentioned by M. Marcel de Serres and others
+in several caverns in France, associated with fossil relics
+of this period. But more from the occurrence of flints,
+apparently fashioned by human art, in superficial deposits,
+together with the same extinct fossils of the tertiary.
+Even at the very moment that I write this sheet, my eye
+falls on the report<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> of an important meeting of the
+Ethnological Society, for the purpose of discussing this
+very subject of "The flint implements found associated
+with the bones of extinct animals in the Drift." Many
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>of the leading geologists and arch&aelig;ologists were present,
+for the matter has become one of absorbing interest, conflicting,
+as the facts seem to do, with some assumptions
+received as unquestioned verities in Geology.</p>
+
+<p>These flints, which seem indubitably to have been
+chipped into the forms of arrow-heads, lance-heads, and
+the like, have been found in France in large numbers, as
+also in other parts of the continent, and in England.
+They resemble those still used by some savage tribes. In
+this very neighbourhood, as in the cavern called Kent's
+Hole near Torquay, and in one more recently examined at
+Brixham, they are found mixed up with the bones of the
+Rhinoceros, of the Cave Bear, and the Hyena, At Menchecourt,
+near Abbeville, they occur in a deposit of sand,
+sandy clay, and marl, with bones of the same animals, and
+others, their contemporaries. Concerning this bed, Mr
+Prestwich, in a paper read before the Royal Society, May
+26, 1859, says that it must be referred to those usually designated
+as post pliocene, but that the period of its deposit
+was anterior to that of the surface assuming its present
+outline, so far as some of its minor features are concerned.
+"He does not, however, consider that the facts
+of necessity carry man back in past time more than they
+<i>bring forward the great extinct mammals towards our
+own time</i>, the evidence having reference only to relative,
+and not to absolute time; and he is of opinion that many
+of the later geological changes may have been sudden, or
+of shorter duration than generally considered. In fact,
+from the evidence here exhibited, and from all that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
+knows regarding the drift phenomena generally, the
+author sees no reason against the conclusion that this
+period of man and the extinct mammals&mdash;supposing their
+contemporaneity to be proved&mdash;was brought to a sudden
+end by a temporary inundation of the land; on the contrary,
+he sees much to support such a view on purely
+geological considerations."<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>At the meeting of the Ethnological Society just held,
+there seems to have been an increasing tendency to admit
+the hypothesis of the continuance of the Mammalia of
+the Tertiary into the human era. Mr Evans, who exhibited
+specimens taken at a depth of twenty to thirty feet,
+from a stratum of coarse fresh-water gravel, lying on chalk,
+and containing an entire skeleton of an extinct Rhinoceros,
+and overlaid by sandy marl containing existing shells,
+shewed that the deposit had certainly not been disturbed
+till the present time, so that the gravel, the bones, and the
+flints had been deposited coetaneously. He suggested
+"that the animals supposed to have become extinct
+before man was created might have continued to exist
+to more recent periods than had been admitted." And
+this opinion found support from other leading geologists.</p>
+
+<p>That this conclusion would throw the existence of man
+to an era far higher than that assigned to him by the
+inspired Word, is, I know, generally held; and certain
+investigations, made in the alluvial deposit of the Nile,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>
+are considered to prove that man has been living in a
+state of comparative civilisation in the Nile Valley for
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>the last 13,500 years. But that conclusion absolutely
+rests on the supposition that the rate of increase formed
+by the annual deposit of the Nile mud has been always
+exactly the same as now,&mdash;a supposition, not only without
+the least shadow of proof, but also directly contrary to
+the highest probability, nay, certainty, in the estimation
+of those who believe in the Noachian deluge. For surely
+the drainage of the entire plain of North Africa after
+that inundation must have produced an alluvium of
+vast thickness in a very brief time; while beneath that
+deposit the works of the antediluvian world might well
+be buried. Yet the possibility of there ever having been
+any greater rate of deposit than within the last 3000
+years, the recorder of those investigations, in his unseemly
+haste to prove the Bible false, strangely leaves wholly out
+of his consideration.</p>
+
+<p>So, doubtless, concerning other deposits containing
+fossil remains, whose extreme antiquity is assumed from
+the known rate of surface-increase now, we ought to
+remember that we have not a tittle of proof that the rate
+of increase has not at certain remote periods been suddenly
+and immensely augmented. There are many facts
+on record which tend to shew that the rate at which
+geologic changes take place in certain localities affords no
+reliable data whatever to infer that at which phenomena
+apparently quite parallel have occurred in other localities.
+An upheaval or a subsidence of one part of a country
+may rapidly effect a great change in the amount of soil or
+gravel precipitated by streams, without destroying or
+changing their channels, and yet the deposit may be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+made sufficiently gradually to allow the burial of shells
+or of bones of creatures which lived and died on the spot.</p>
+
+<p>The degradation of a cliff, either suddenly or gradually,
+might throw a vast quantity of fragments into a rapid
+stream, and cause a deposit of gravel of considerable
+breadth and thickness in a comparatively short period
+of time,&mdash;say a century or two.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Charles Lyell has adduced examples of very rapid
+formation of certain stony deposits, which should make
+us cautious how we assert that such and such a thickness
+<i>must</i> have required a vast number of years. In one of
+them there is a thickness of 200 or 300 feet of travertine of
+recent deposit, while in another, a solid mass <i>thirty feet thick
+was deposited in about twenty years</i>. There are countless
+places in Italy where the formation of limestone may be
+seen, as also in Auvergne and other volcanic districts.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p>
+
+<p>From these and similar considerations it seems to me
+by no means unreasonable that the four thousand years
+which elapsed between the Creation and the commencement
+of Western European history should have been
+amply sufficient for many of those geological operations
+whose results are seen in what are known as the later
+Tertiary deposits,&mdash;the crag, the drift, the cavern-accumu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>lations,
+and the like. And, as a corollary to this, that
+the great extinct Mammalia may have extended into this
+period, and thus have been contemporary with man, for
+a greater or less duration, according to the species; some,
+probably, having been extinguished at a very early period
+of the era, while others lived on to the time I have named,
+or even later.</p>
+
+<p>But have we nothing better for this conclusion than an
+assumption of the possibility, and a more or less probable
+conjecture? Yes; we have some facts of interest to warrant
+it, or I should not have ventured to introduce the
+subject in this work. There are facts,&mdash;besides the admixture
+of human workmanship with the animal remains in
+undisturbed deposits&mdash;direct evidence, not altogether
+shadowy, of the co-existence of the extinct animals with
+living men.</p>
+
+<p>And first, I would mention some circumstances bearing
+analogy to the exhumation of the fresh Pachyderms of
+Siberia. Some years ago, a portion of the leg of an Irish
+Elk, so-called, (<i>Megaceros hibernicus</i>,) with a part of the
+tendons, skin, and hair upon it, was dug up with other
+remains from a deposit on the estate of H. Grogan Morgan,
+Esq., of Johnstown Castle, Wexford, and is now in
+that gentleman's possession. This leg was exhibited, and
+formed the subject of a lecture at the time by Mr Peile,
+veterinary surgeon, Dublin.</p>
+
+<p>It has been ascertained that the marrow in some of the
+bones blazes like a candle; that the cartilage and gelatine,
+so far from having been destroyed, were not appar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>ently
+altered by time.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Archdeacon Maunsell actually
+made soup of the bones, and presented a portion thereof
+to the Royal Dublin Society (whether they enjoyed it I
+have not heard; it must have been "a little high," I
+fear). They are frequently used by the peasantry for
+fuel. On the occasion of the rejoicings for the victory at
+Waterloo, a bonfire was made of these bones, and it was
+observed that they gave out as good a blaze as those of
+horses, often used for similar purposes.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p>
+
+<p>Pepper, in his "History of Ireland," states that the
+ancient Irish used to hunt a very large black deer, the
+milk of which they used as we do that of the cow, and
+the flesh of which served them for food, and the skin for
+clothing. This is a very remarkable record; and is
+confirmed by some bronze tablets found by Sir William
+Betham, the inscriptions on which attested that the
+ancient Irish fed upon the milk and flesh of a great black
+deer.</p>
+
+<p>According to the "Annals of the Four Masters," Niel
+Sedamin, a king of Ireland before the Christian era, was
+so called because "the cows and the female deer were alike
+milked in his reign." The art of taming the wild deer
+and converting them into domestic cattle is said to have
+been introduced by Flidisia, this monarch's mother. Deer
+are said to have been used to carry stones and wood for
+Codocus when his monastery was built, as also to carry
+timber to build the castle of a king of Connaught. These<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+may have been red deer, but as there is good proof that
+the giant deer was really domesticated, it seems more
+likely that such offices should have been performed by the
+latter than by the former.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting letter from the Countess of Moira, published
+in the "Arch&aelig;ologia Britannica," gives an account
+of a human body found in gravel under eleven feet of
+peat, soaked in the bog-water; it was in good preservation,
+and completely clothed in antique garments of deer-hair,
+conjectured to be that of the Giant Elk.</p>
+
+<p>A skull of the same animal has been discovered in
+Germany in an ancient drain, together with several urns
+and stone-hatchets. And in the museum of the Royal
+Dublin Society there exists a fossil rib bearing evident
+token of having been wounded by some sharp instrument
+which remained long infixed in the wound, but had not
+penetrated so deep as to destroy the creature's life. It
+was such a wound as the head of an arrow, whether of
+flint or of metal, would produce.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1846, a very interesting corroboration of
+the opinion long held by some that the great broad-horned
+Deer was domesticated by the ancient Irish, was given by
+the discovery of a vast collection of bones at Lough G&ucirc;r,
+near Limerick. The word G&ucirc;r is said to mean "an assemblage,"
+so that the locality is "the Lake of the Assemblage,"
+commemorating perhaps the gathering of an army
+or some other host at the spot. In the midst of the lake
+is an island, which is described as being so completely
+surrounded with bones and skulls of animals "that one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+would think the cattle of an entire nation must have been
+slaughtered to procure so vast an assemblage."</p>
+
+<p>The skulls are described as belonging to the following
+animals:&mdash;The giant deer (females); a deer of inferior
+size; the stag; another species of stag; the fallow deer;
+the broad-faced ox; the hollow-faced ox; the long-faced
+ox; another species of ox; the common short-horned ox;
+the goat; and the hog.</p>
+
+<p>The principal points of interest centred in the Giant
+Deer or so-called Irish Elk. The skulls of these, as of all
+the larger animals, "were broken in by some sharp and
+heavy instrument, and in the same manner as butchers of
+the present day slaughter cattle for our markets, and in
+many cases the marrow-bones were broken across, as if to
+get at the marrow."</p>
+
+<p>Of course, if this was indubitable, the conclusion was
+inevitable, that the Giant Deer was not only contemporary
+with man, but was domesticated by him with other
+quadrupeds, and used for food. Professor Owen, however,
+contended that the skulls of the Giant Deer were not
+females but males, from which the horns had been forcibly
+removed, and that the holes in the foreheads were made by
+the violent wrenching off of the horns tearing away a
+portion of the frontal bone from which they grew.</p>
+
+<p>In reply to this opinion, Mr H. D. Richardson of
+Dublin, whose personal acquaintance with the relics of
+this noble species is peculiarly extensive, shewed that
+certain variations of proportion on which the learned
+Professor relied to prove the skulls to be male, were of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
+no such value, individual animals presenting great discrepancies
+in these respects: that the total absence of
+cornuous peduncles from the sides of the forehead, and of
+the elevated bony ridge, conclusively proved the sex to be
+female, which was permanently destitute of horns; and
+that in no case could it be said that the ridge was forced
+away, since the violence was confined to a <i>small hole</i> in
+the centre of the forehead.</p>
+
+<p>To put the matter to test, Mr Richardson experimented
+on two perfect male skulls. In the one instance the force
+was applied to the beam of the horns, and the result was
+their fracture where they are united to the peduncles.
+In the other case the force was applied to the peduncles
+themselves, to ascertain whether it was possible to wrench
+them and the ridge away from the face, when the consequence
+was, that the skull was completely riven asunder.
+Indeed to any one who looks at the position of the horns
+in this animal, and their implantation, it must be self-evident
+that their violent removal must tear away the
+entire forehead, and not leave a central hole. Mr Edward
+Newman who subsequently examined the specimens speaks
+decidedly on this point:&mdash;"I have not the least hesitation
+in expressing my firm conviction that the fractures were
+the result of human hands, and were the cause of the
+death of the animals. These two fractured skulls correspond
+too exactly with each other, and with that of a
+bullock with which I compared them, to have resulted
+from accident: the edges of the fractures wore the
+appearance of having been coeval with the interment or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+submergence of the skulls, and presented a very strikingly
+different appearance from a fracture recently made, and
+which I had the opportunity of examining. There were
+several skulls of the male of the same species, one bearing
+enormous antlers, but none exhibiting the slightest trace
+of frontal fracture."<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p>
+
+<p>A circumstance of much importance is that these skulls
+were found in company with those of many well-known
+domestic animals, as the ox, the goat, and the hog. <i>These
+skulls were similarly fractured.</i> As it is evident that
+<i>their</i> demolition was produced by the butcher's pole-axe,
+why not that of the elk-skulls?</p>
+
+<p>"At the first cursory glance, it may appear somewhat
+strange that the skulls of the males should invariably have
+been found entire, and that even the recent discovery at
+Lough G&ucirc;r should form no exception.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not, however, find any difficulty here. In the first
+place, we may fairly suppose that males, like our bulls, were
+not equally prized as food. In the second place, the size,
+as well as the position of the antlers, would render it next
+to an impossibility to give the desired blow with the pole-axe.
+In the third place, the greater strength and thickness
+of the skull would almost to a certainty render the
+blow unavailing; and in the fourth place, supposing the
+females domesticated, and the occasional tenants of sheds
+and other buildings, we may well imagine that the males
+were excluded from such buildings by the enormous size
+of their antlers. Perhaps a few only of the males, as in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+our cattle, were suffered to become adult, one male sufficing
+for many females. Perhaps the males were allowed
+free range, the females only being permitted at stated
+seasons to accompany them. In fine, the more we investigate
+probabilities, the more we reason from present
+experience and knowledge, the less difficulty shall we
+find in the way of believing the gigantic deer of Ireland
+an animal coeval with man and subservient to his
+uses."<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p>
+
+<p>In a communication subsequently made to the <i>Zoologist</i>
+by Mr Richardson, he gives the following additional evidence:&mdash;"In
+the collection of the late Mr Johnston, of
+Down, which had been left by his uncle, an attorney, and
+in which everything was labelled with the accuracy and
+precision of that profession, is a small brass spear, with a
+piece of wood still in the socket, with a label, stating it to
+have been found in a marl-pit, among the bones of a deer.
+An excise-officer told me that he saw, found in a marl-pit,
+at Mentrim in Meath, the skeleton of a deer, and a man,
+and a long knife: the latter, I believe, is rather a short
+sword, now, I think, in the collection of Mr Petrie, of
+Dublin, who told me that some such tradition had accompanied
+it into his possession.... Dr Martin informs me
+that on the banks of the river Suir, near Portland, Waterford,
+and on nearly every farm, are found, near springs,
+spaces of frequently seventy feet in diameter, consisting
+of stones, broken up as if for roads, and lying together in
+a mass. These stones were evidently purposely broken,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+and all much of one size, and are charred. These spaces
+are many feet in depth. The tradition respecting them
+is current among the peasantry, that here in olden time,
+a great deer was killed and baked in these stone-pits, the
+stones having been previously heated like a kiln, and they
+also distinguish the animal as the 'Irish Elk.' These
+places are called in Irish by a name signifying the 'Buck's
+Den.'"</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.3" id="Fig.3">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 247px;">
+<a href="images/fig073-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig073-400.jpg" width="247" height="400" alt="SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>From all these testimonies combined, can we hesitate a
+moment in believing that the Giant Deer was an inhabitant
+of Ireland since its colonisation by man? It seems to me
+that its extinction cannot have taken place more than a
+thousand years ago. Perhaps at the very time that C&aelig;sar
+invaded Britain the Celts in the sister isle were milking
+and slaughtering their female elks, domesticated in their
+cattlepens of granite, and hunting the proud-antlered
+male with their flint arrows and lances. It would appear,
+that the mode of hunting him was to chase and terrify
+him into pools and swamps, such as the marl-pits then
+were; that, having thus disabled him in the yielding bogs,
+and slain him, the head was cut off, as of too little value
+to be worth the trouble of dragging home; that the under
+jaws and tongue were cut off; and that frequently the
+entire carcase was disjointed on the spot, the best parts
+only being removed. This would account for the so frequent
+occurrence of separate portions of the skeleton, and
+especially of skulls, in the bog-earth. No doubt so large
+an animal would not long survive in a state of freedom,
+after an island so limited in extent as Ireland became
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>peopled throughout; and supposing the females to have
+been domesticated, it is quite conceivable that the difficulty
+or even danger of capturing or domesticating the
+males, may have caused the species soon to become extinct
+in captivity, when it no longer continued to exist in a
+wild state. Thus we may perhaps account for the
+certainly remarkable fact that no native Irish name has
+been recognised as belonging to it;&mdash;remarkable, because
+the Irish tongue is particularly rich in distinctive names
+for natural objects. There exists a very curious ancient
+poem in that language which professes to enumerate the
+whole fauna of the island. It is founded on the legend
+that Fian MacCumhaill was made prisoner by Cormac
+MacArt, king of Erinn; that the victor promised to give
+him freedom on condition that, as a ransom, a pair of each
+wild animal found in Ireland were brought before him on
+the green of Tara. Cailte MacRonain, the foster-brother
+of the captive general undertook the task, and succeeded
+in bringing the collection before the king within a twelvemonth;
+and in the poem, he is supposed to narrate to St
+Patrick the detail and result of his enterprise. Of this
+poem, which is considered to be as early as the ninth
+century, the reader may like to see the following translation
+by Mr Eugene Curry, containing the zoological
+portion:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+
+<span class="i0">"I then went forth to search the lands,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">To see if I could redeem my chief,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">And soon returned to noble Tara,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">With the ransom that Cormac required.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I brought with me the fierce <i>Geilt</i>,<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></span><br />
+<span class="i2">And the tall <i>Grib</i><a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> with talons,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">And the two Ravens of Fid-d&aacute;-Beann,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">And the two Ducks of Loch Saileann.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Foxes from Sliabh Cuilinn,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Wild Oxen<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> from Burren,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two Swans from the dark wood of Gabhran,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">And two Cuckoos from the wood of Fordrum.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two <i>Toghmalls</i><a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> from Fidh-Gaibhle,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Which is by the side of the two roads,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">And two Otters after them,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">From the brown-white rock of Dobhar.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Gulls from Tralee hither,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two <i>Ruilechs</i><a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> from Port Lairge (Waterford),</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Four <i>Snags</i><a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> from the River Brosna,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Plovers from the rock of Dun&aacute;n.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two <i>Echtachs</i><a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> from the lofty Echtghe,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Thrushes from Letter Longarie,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two <i>Drenns</i><a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> from Dun Aife,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">The two <i>Cainches</i><a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> of Corraivte.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Herons from the hilly Corann,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">The two <i>Errfiachs</i><a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> of Magh Fobhair,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">The two Eagles of Carrick-na-Cloch,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Hawks from the wood of Caenach.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Pheasants from Loch Meilge,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Water-hens from Loch Eirne,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two Heath-hens from the Bog of Mafa,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Swift Divers from Dubh Loch.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two <i>Cricharans</i><a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> from Cualann,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Titmice from Magh Tualang,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two Choughs from Gleann Gaibhle,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Sparrows from the Shannon.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Cormorants from Ath Cliath,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two <i>Onchus</i><a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> from Crotta Cliach,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two Jackdaws from Druim Damh,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two <i>Riabhogs</i><a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> from Leathan Mhaigh.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Rabbits from Dumho Duinn,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two wild Hogs from circular Cnoghbha,</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span><span class="i0">Two <i>Peat&aacute;ns</i><a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> from Creat Roe,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two wild Boars<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> from green-sided Tara.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Pigeons out of Ceis Corann,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Blackbirds out of Leitir Finnchoill,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two black Birds (?) from the strand of Dabhan,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Roebucks from Luachair Deaghaidh.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two <i>Fereidhins</i><a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> from Ath Loich,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Fawns from Moin mor,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two Bats out of the Cave of Cnoghbha,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Pigs<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> from the lands of Ollarbha.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Swallows out of Sidh Buidhe,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two <i>Iaronns</i><a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> from the wood of Luadraidh,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two <i>Geisechtachs</i><a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> from Magh Mall,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two charming Robins from Cnamh Choill.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Woodcocks from Coillruadh,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Crows from Lenn Uar,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two <i>Bruacharans</i><a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> from Sliabh-da-Ean,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Barnacle-Geese from Turloch Bruigheoil.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two <i>Naescans</i><a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> from Dun Daighre,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Yellow-ammers from the brink of Bairne,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two <i>Spireogs</i><a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> from Sliabh Cleath,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Grey Mice from Limerick.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Corncrakes from the Banks of Shannon,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Wagtails from the brinks of Birra,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two Curlews from the Harbour of Galway,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two <i>Sgreach&oacute;gs</i><a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> from Muirtheimhne.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two <i>Geilt Glinnes</i><a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> from Glenn-a-Smoil,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Jackdaws from great Ath Mogha,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Two fleet <i>Onchus</i><a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> from Loch Con,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Cats out of the Cave of Cruachain.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Two Goats from Sith Gabhran,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Two Pigs<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> of the Pigs of Mac Lir,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">A Ram and Ewe both round and red,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">I brought with me from Aengus.</span><br />
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I brought with me a Stallion and a Mare,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">From the beautiful stud of Manannan,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">A Bull and a white Cow from Druim Cain,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Which were given me by Muirn Munchain."</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p><p>No <i>known</i> allusion occurs in this poem to the Giant
+Deer.<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> First, however, we must remember that no small
+number of the animals mentioned are quite unrecognisable;
+and that of those names to which an explanation is
+given, many are probably incorrectly rendered. Secondly,
+if it could be absolutely shewn that no allusion exists to
+that fine beast, it would not at all disprove its existence
+a thousand years before. Supposing that the <i>Megaceros</i>
+became extinct soon after the colonisation of Ireland, and
+that this was several centuries before the Christian era,
+the distinctive name by which it had been known might
+well have died out and become extinct also, among a
+people unacquainted with letters. Or if a dim tradition
+of the animal and of its name still lingered here and there,
+it might well be omitted from a catalogue which professed
+to give the creatures actually collected in a living state at
+a given period. It would have been interesting to have
+been able to identify the Great Elk, but its introduction
+would have been a glaring anachronism.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p>
+<p>The enumeration of nearly a hundred and sixty quadrupeds
+and birds either indigenous to or naturalised in
+Ireland at so early a period, possesses, I say, a peculiar
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>If the editor's suggestion is correct, that the <i>Echtach</i>
+was a bovine animal, then we have three distinct mentions
+of this family in the poem,&mdash;the Wild Oxen, the
+Echtachs, and the Bull and White Cow. The second and
+third of these were probably domesticated animals; the
+first one expressly "Wild." Now at least five distinct
+species of Oxen are known to have inhabited Europe and
+the British Isles during the later periods of the Tertiary
+era, which have been named respectively, <i>Bison priscus</i>,
+<i>Bos primigenius</i>, <i>frontosus</i> and <i>longifrons</i>, and <i>Ovibos
+moschatus</i>. Of these, skulls of <i>Bos frontosus</i> and <i>B.
+longifrons</i> have been dug up in some numbers in Ireland.
+Some of these bear, in the perforation of the forehead,
+evident proof of having been slaughtered <i>secundum artem</i>,
+and therefore of having been domesticated. But one large
+skull of the <i>longifrons</i> type, now in the Museum of the
+Royal Irish Academy, has a cut in the forehead, into which
+can be accurately fitted several of the narrow bronze
+"celts," or arrow-heads so frequently dug up in Ireland;
+a pretty fair proof that this animal was killed by the
+hunter's arrow, and was therefore wild.</p>
+
+<p>No bovine animals of the true taurine race are now
+known to exist in an aboriginally wild state; but at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
+epoch of our earliest historical knowledge of central and
+western Europe it was far otherwise. C&aelig;sar, describing,
+under the name of <i>Urus</i>, certain wild oxen of the great
+Hercynian forest, says, "These Uri are little inferior to
+elephants in size, but are bulls in their nature, colour,
+and figure. Great is their strength, and great their
+swiftness, nor do they spare man or beast when once they
+have caught sight of him. These, when trapped in pitfalls,
+the hunters unsparingly kill. The youths, exercising
+themselves by this sort of hunting, are hardened by the
+toil, and those among them who have killed most, bringing
+with them the horns, as testimonials, acquire great
+praise. But these Uri cannot be habituated to man, nor
+made tractable, not even when taken young. The great
+size of the horns, as well as the form and quality of them,
+differs much from those of our oxen."</p>
+
+<p>It is probable that this race extended widely over
+Europe, and even into Asia. Herodotus mentions Macedonian
+wild oxen, with exceedingly large (<span title="Greek: hypermegathia">&#8017;&#960;&#949;&#961;&#956;&#949;&#947;&#945;&#952;&#953;&#945;</span>)
+horns; and Philip of Macedon killed a wild bull in Mount
+Orbela, which had made great havoc, and produced much
+terror among the inhabitants; its spoils he hung up in the
+Temple of Hercules. The Assyrian artists delighted to
+sculpture on the royal bas-reliefs of Nineveh the conquest
+of the wild bull by the prowess of their Nimrod monarchs,
+and the figures, in their minute anatomical characters,
+well agree with the descriptions and remains of the European
+<i>Urus</i>. The large forest that surrounded ancient
+London was infested with <i>boves sylvestres</i> among other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>
+wild beasts, and it is probable that these were <i>Uri</i>. The
+legendary exploit of Guy, Earl of Warwick, in freeing the
+neighbourhood from a terrible dun cow, whether historically
+true or not, shews the existence of formidable wild
+bovines in the heart of England, and the terror they
+inspired among the people. The family of Turnbull, in
+Scotland, are traditionally said to owe their patronymic to
+a hero who turned a wild bull from Robert the Bruce,
+when it had attacked him while hunting.</p>
+
+<p>What has become of the terrible Uri which lived in
+Europe at the commencement of the Christian era? Advancing
+civilisation has rooted them out, so that no living
+trace of them remains, unless the cream-white breed which
+is preserved in a semi-wild state in some of our northern
+parks be their representatives; or, as is not improbable,
+their blood may still circulate in our domestic oxen.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there is no doubt of the identity of a species found
+abundantly in Britain in the Tertiary deposits, and named
+by Owen <i>Bos primigenius</i>, with the Urus of C&aelig;sar. This
+fossil bull was as certainly contemporary in this island
+with the elephant, and the hyena, and the baboon, and,
+strange to say, with the reindeer, and the musk-ox, too&mdash;thus
+combining a tropical, a temperate, and an arctic
+fauna in our limited island at the same period! What a
+strange climate it must have been to suit them all!</p>
+
+<p>Professor Nilsson, who has paid great attention to fossil
+oxen, mentions a skull of this species which must have
+belonged to an animal more than twelve feet in length
+from the nape to the root of the tail, and six feet and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+a half in height. Again, the skull of a cow in the British
+Museum, figured by Professor Owen, measures thirty
+inches from the crown to the tips of the jaws! What a
+beast must this have been! Would not the slaughter of
+such a "Dun Cow" as this in single combat have been an
+exploit worthy of a doughty earl?</p>
+
+<p>That this ancient fossil bull was really contemporary
+with man in Scandinavia is proved by evidence which is
+irrespective of the question of its identity with C&aelig;sar's
+Urus. For one of Professor Nilsson's specimens "bears
+on its back a palpable mark of a wound from a javelin.
+Several celebrated anatomists and physiologists, among
+whom," he says, "I need only mention the names of John
+M&uuml;ller, of Berlin, and Andreas Retzius, of Stockholm, have
+inspected this skeleton, and are unanimous in the opinion
+that the hole in question upon the backbone is the consequence
+of a wound, which, during the life of the animal,
+was made by the hand of man. The animal must have
+been very young, probably only a calf, when it was
+wounded. The huntsman who cast the javelin must have
+stood before it. It was yet young when it died, probably
+not more than three or four years old."</p>
+
+<p>We may, then, assume as certain that the vast <i>Bos
+primigenius</i> of Western Europe lived as a wild animal
+contemporaneously with man; and as almost certain
+(assuming its identity with the <i>Urus</i>) that it continued to
+be abundant as late as the Christian era.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Bos frontosus</i> is a middling-sized bovine. "Its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
+remains," says Professor Nilsson, "are found in turf-bogs
+in Southern Scandinavia, and in such a state as plainly
+shews that they belonged to a more ancient period than
+that in which tame cattle existed in Sweden. This species
+lived in Scandinavia contemporaneously with the <i>Bos
+primigenius</i>, and the <i>Bison Europ&aelig;us</i>.... If ever it
+was tamed, and thereby in the course of time contributed
+to form some of the tame races of cattle, it must have
+been the small-horned, often hornless, breed, which is to
+be found in the mountains of Norway, and which has a
+high protuberance between the setting-on of the horns
+above the nape."</p>
+
+<p>This species occurs in a fossil state in some numbers in
+Ireland; it has also been found in England. It is by
+some supposed to be the origin of, or, at least, to have
+contributed blood to, the middling Highland races with
+high occiput, and small horns.</p>
+
+<p>There is more certainty of the co-existence of the small
+<i>B. longifrons</i> with man. Some of the evidence I have
+already adduced. "Within a few years," says a trustworthy
+authority, "we have read in one of the scientific
+periodicals,&mdash;but have just now sought in vain for the
+notice,&mdash;of a quantity of bones that were dug up in some
+part of England, together with other remains of what
+seemed to be the relics of a grand feast, held probably
+during the Roman domination of Britain, for, if we mistake
+not, some Roman coins were found associated with them.
+<i>There were skulls</i> and other remains of <i>Bos longifrons</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+quite undistinguishable in form from the antique fossil,
+whether wild or domesticated, which, of course, remains a
+question."<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p>
+
+<p>Professor Owen conjectures that this species may have
+contributed to form the present small shaggy Highland
+and Welsh cattle,&mdash;the kyloes and runts; and a similar
+breed in the northern parts of Scania may have had a
+similar origin.</p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Bison priscus</i>, the fossil remains of which occur
+in many parts of Europe, and more sparsely in Great
+Britain,<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> we have an example of a noble animal, which,
+contemporary with all those which have been engaging
+our attention, survives to the present hour, but is dying
+out, and would have long ago been extinguished, probably,
+but for the fostering influence of human conservation. For
+the species is considered as absolutely identical with the
+<i>Bison Europ&aelig;us</i> of modern zoology, the Bison or Wisent
+of the Germans, the Aurochs of the Prussians, the Zubr
+of the Poles, that formidable creature, which is maintained
+by the Czar in an ever-diminishing herd in the vast forests
+of Lithuania,<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> and which, perhaps, still lingers in the
+fastnesses of the Caucasus. This, the largest, or at least
+the most massive of all existing quadrupeds, after the
+great Pachyderms, roamed over Germany in some numbers
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>as late as the era of Charlemagne. Considerably later
+than this it is reckoned among the German beasts of
+chase, for in the <i>Niebelungen Lied</i>, a poem of the twelfth
+century, it is said,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+
+<span class="i0">"Dar nach schlouch er schiere, einen wisent und einen elch,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Starcher ure viere, und einen grimmen schelch."</span><br /></div>
+<div class="stanza">
+
+<span class="i0">"After this he straightway slew a bison and an elk,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">Of the strong uri four, and a single fierce schelch."<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is a formidable beast, standing six feet high at the
+shoulders, where it is protected by a thick and profuse
+mane. Specimens have been known to reach a ton in
+weight. It manifests an invincible repugnance to the
+ox.</p>
+
+<p>There are several other animals of note which, like the
+Bison, were once common inhabitants of these islands,
+but have long been extinct here, though more genial
+circumstances have preserved their existence on the continent
+of Europe. Of the great Cave Bear, no evidence
+of its period exists, that I know of, except that which
+may be deduced from the commixture of its remains with
+those of other animals of whose recent date we have proof.
+But there is another kind of Bear, whose relics in a fossil
+state are not uncommon in the Tertiary deposits, viz.,
+the common Black Bear (<i>Ursus arctos</i>) of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>This savage animal must have early succumbed to man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>
+The "Triads"<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> mention bears as living here before the
+Kymri came. The Roman poets knew of their existence
+here: Martial speaks of the robber Laureolus being
+exposed on the cross to the fangs of the <i>Caledonian</i>
+Bear; and Claudian alludes to British bears. The Emperor
+Claudius, on his return to Rome after the conquest
+of this island, exhibited, as trophies, combats of British
+bears in the arena. In the Penitential of Archbishop
+Egbert, said to have been compiled about <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 750, bears
+are mentioned as inhabiting the English forests, but they
+must have gradually become rare, for the chase-laws of
+Canute, at the beginning of the eleventh century, are
+silent about them. In Doomsday Book, we find incidental
+notice of this animal, for the city of Norwich is said to
+have been required to furnish a bear annually to Edward
+the Confessor, together with "six dogs for the bear,"&mdash;no
+doubt for baiting him. This seems to have been the
+latest trace on record of the bear in Britain; unless the
+tradition may compete with it, which states that one of
+the Gordon family was empowered by the king of Scotland
+to carry three bears' heads on his banner, as a reward
+for his prowess in slaying a fierce bear.</p>
+
+<p>In Ireland it seems to have become extinct even yet
+earlier. Bede says the only ravenous animals in his day
+were the wolf and the fox; Donatus, who died in <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 840,
+distinctly says it was not a native of the island in his
+time; and Geraldus Cambrensis does not enumerate it as
+known in the twelfth century. Neither is it included in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>
+the ransom-beasts of Cailte's collection. Yet a native
+Irish name for the bear&mdash;Mathghambain&mdash;occurs in an
+old glossary<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin;
+and the late Wm. Thomson says that a tradition is current
+of its having once been an Irish animal; and it is
+associated with the wolf as a native beast in the stories
+handed down from generation to generation to the present
+time.</p>
+
+<p>The wolf, however, survived in both islands to a much
+later era. In the days of the Heptarchy it was a terrible
+pest; King Edgar commuted the punishment of certain
+offences into a requisition for a fixed number of wolves'
+tongues; and he converted a heavy tax on one of the
+Welsh princes into an annual tribute of three hundred
+wolves' heads. These laws continued to the time of
+Edward I., when the increasing scarcity of the animal
+doubtless caused them to fall into disuse. Mr Topham,
+in his Notes to Somerville's "Chase," says, that it was in
+the wolds of Yorkshire that a price was last set on a
+wolf's head. The last record of their occurring in formidable
+numbers in England is in 1281; but for three
+centuries after this, the mountains and forests of Scotland
+harboured them; for Hollinshed reports that in
+1577 the wolves were very troublesome to the flocks of
+that country. Nor were they entirely destroyed out of
+this island till about a century afterwards, when the last
+wolf fell in Lochaber, by the hand of Sir Ewen Cameron
+of Lochiel. In Ireland the last wolf was slain in 1710.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus here we are able to lay our finger on the exact dates
+when a large and rapacious species of animal actually
+became extinct so far as the British Isles are concerned.
+And if the species had been confined in its geographical
+limits, as many other species of animals are, to one group
+of islands, we should know the precise date of its absolute
+extinction.</p>
+
+<p>The Beaver was once an inhabitant of British rivers.
+Its remains are found in Berkshire, Cambridgeshire,
+Yorkshire, and elsewhere, associated with the other Mammalia
+of the fresh-water deposits and caves, but not in
+any abundance. No record of its actual existence, however,
+in these counties exists, nor anywhere else but in
+Wales and Scotland, whose mountain streams and rugged
+ravines afforded it shelter till after the Norman Conquest.
+It was very rare even then, and for a hundred years before;
+for the laws of Howel Dda, the Welsh king, who died in
+948, in determining the value of peltry, fix the price
+of the beaver's skin at a hundred and twenty pence, when
+the skins of the stag, the wolf, the fox, and the otter, were
+worth only eightpence each, that of the white weasel or
+ermine at twelvepence, and that of the marten, at twenty-four
+pence. The appropriate epithet of Broad-tail (Llostllyddan)
+was given it by the Welsh. Giraldus Cambrensis,
+who travelled through Wales in 1188, gives, in his Itinerary,
+a short account of the beaver, but states that the river
+Teivy in Cardiganshire, and one other river in Scotland,
+were the only places in Great Britain, where it was then
+found. In all probability it did not long survive that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
+century, for no subsequent notice of it as a British animal
+is extant. Tradition, however, still preserves the remembrance
+of its presence in those indelible records, names of
+places. "Two or three waters in the Principality," says
+Pennant, "still bear the name of <i>Llyn yr afangc</i>,&mdash;the
+Beaver Lake.... I have seen two of their supposed
+haunts: one in the stream that runs through Nant Francon;
+the other in the river Conwy, a few miles above
+Llanrwst; and both places, in all probability, had formerly
+been crossed by beaver-dams."</p>
+
+<p>If, as naturalists of the highest eminence believe, there
+is specific difference between the beaver of Europe and
+that of America, then we may say that our species is fast
+passing away from the earth. A few colonies yet linger
+along the banks of the Danube, the Weser, the Rhone
+and the Euphrates, but they consist of few individuals,
+ever growing fewer; and the value of their fur exciting
+cupidity, they cannot probably resist much longer the
+exterminating violence of man.</p>
+
+<p>The causes which led to the extinction of these animals
+in our islands are then obvious, and are thus playfully
+touched by the late James Wilson:&mdash;"The beaver might
+have carried on business well enough, in his own quiet
+way, although frequently incommoded by the love of
+peltry on the part of a hat-wearing people; but it is clear
+that no man with a small family and a few respectable
+farm servants, could either permit a large and hungry
+wolf to be continually peeping at midnight through the
+keyhole of the nursery, or allow a brawny bruin to snuff<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+too frequently under the kitchen door (after having
+hugged the watch-dog to death) when the servant-maids
+were at supper. The extirpation then of at least two of
+these quondam British species became 'a work of necessity
+and mercy,' and might have been tolerated even on a
+Sunday, (between sermons,) especially as naturalists have
+it still in their power to study the habits of similar wild
+beasts, by no means yet extinct, in the neighbouring countries
+of France and Germany."<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the example of recent extinction most popularly
+known is that of the Dodo, a very remarkable bird,
+which about two centuries ago existed in considerable
+abundance, in the isles of Mauritius, Bourbon, and Rodriguez.
+It was a rather large fowl, incapable of rising
+from the ground, by reason of the imperfect development
+of its wings, of massive, uncouth figure, predisposed to
+fatness, and noted for the sapidity of its flesh. Two
+skulls and two unmatched feet of this strange bird are
+preserved in European museums; and these shew that
+its nearest affinities were with the pigeon-tribe, of which
+we know some species of terrestrial habits, but none approaching
+this bird in its absolute confinement to the
+earth.</p>
+
+<p>In the reports of numerous voyagers who visited these
+islands from the end of the fifteenth century to the middle
+of the seventeenth, we have many accounts of the appearance
+and habits of this bird, evidently sketched from the
+life. Some of the descriptions, as also the figures by which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+they are illustrated, are quaint enough; as, for example,
+that graphic sketch hit off by old Sir Thomas Herbert,
+who saw the bird in his travels in 1634:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Dodo," he says, "comes first to our description.
+Here and in Dygarrois (and nowhere else that
+I c<sup>d</sup> ever see or heare of) is generated the Dodo. (A
+Portuguize name it is, and has reference to her simplenes)
+a bird which for shape and rareness might be
+call'd a Ph&oelig;nix (wer't in Arabia); her body is round
+and extreame fat, her slow pace begets that corpulencie;
+few of them weigh lesse than fifty pound:
+better to the eye than the stomack: greasie appetites
+may perhaps commend them, but, to the indifferently
+curious, nourishment, but prove offensive. Let's take
+her picture: her visage darts forth melancholy, as sensible
+of nature's injurie in framing so great and massive
+a body to be directed by such small and complementall
+wings, as are unable to hoise her from the
+ground, serving only to prove her a bird; which otherwise
+might be doubted of: her head is variously drest,
+the one halfe hooded with downy blackish feathers; the
+other perfectly naked; of a whitish hue, as if a transparent
+lawne had covered it; her bill is very howked
+and bends downwards, the thrill or breathing place is
+in the midst of it; from which part to the end, the
+colour is a light greene mixt with a pale yellow; her
+eyes be round and small, and bright as diamonds; her
+cloathing is of finest downe, such as ye see in goslins;
+her trayne is (like a China beard) of three or foure
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>short feythers; her legs thick, and black, and strong;
+her tallons or pounces sharp; her stomack fiery hot,
+so as stones and yron are easilie digested in it; in that
+and shape, not a little resembling the Africk oestriches:
+but so much, as for their more certain dyfference I
+dare to give thee (with two others) her representation."<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>It is pretty certain that a living specimen was about
+the same time exhibited in England. Sir Hamon L'Estrange
+tells us distinctly that he <i>saw</i> it. His original
+MS. is preserved in the British Museum, and with some
+blanks caused by the injury of time, of no great consequence,
+reads as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"About 1638, as I walked London streets, I saw the
+picture &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of a strange fowl hong out upon a cloth.
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; vas and myselfe with one or two more Gen. in
+company went in to see it. It was kept in a chamber,
+and was a greate fowle somewhat bigger than the largest
+Turky Cock and so legged and footed but stouter and
+thicker and of a more erect shape, coloured before like
+the breast of a yong Cock Fesan and on the back of dunn
+or deare coulour. The keeper called it a Dodo and in the
+ende of a chimney in the chamber there lay an heap of
+large pebble stones whereof hee gave it many in our sight,
+some as bigg as nutmegs and the keeper told us shee eats
+them conducing to digestion and though I remember not
+how farre the keeper was questioned therein yet I am confident
+that afterwards shee cast them all agayne."<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
+<p>It is probable that this very specimen passed into the
+museum of Tradescant, who, in the Catalogue of "The
+Collection of Rarities preserved at Lambeth," dated 1656,
+mentions the following: "Dodar from the Island Mauritius:
+it is not able to flie being so bigg." Willoughby the
+ornithologist, a most unexceptionable testimony, says that
+he saw this specimen in Tradescant's museum: it is mentioned
+also by others;&mdash;as by Llhwyd in 1684, and by
+Hyde in 1700. It passed, with the rest of the Tradescant
+Collection, to Oxford, and thus became part of the Ashmolean
+Museum,&mdash;and being in a decayed condition, was
+ordered to be destroyed by the authorities, who had no
+apprehension of its value, in 1755. The skull and one
+foot, however, were preserved, and are still in the Museum
+at Oxford. Remains of the Dodo have been dug up in
+the Mauritius, and are in the Paris Museum, and in that
+of the Zoological Society of London. The bird certainly
+does not exist there now, nor in either of the neighbouring
+islands.</p>
+
+<p>In the British Museum there is a fine original painting,
+once the property of George Edwards, the celebrated bird
+painter, representing the Dodo surrounded by other minor
+birds and reptiles. Edwards states that "it was drawn
+in Holland, from a living bird brought from St Maurice's
+Island, in the East Indies. It was the property of Sir
+Hans Sloane at the time of his death, and afterwards
+becoming my property, I deposited it in the British
+Museum as a great curiosity."</p>
+
+<p>Professor Owen has discovered another original figure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
+of this interesting form in Savary's painting of "Orpheus
+and the Beasts," at the Hague. The figure, though small,
+displays all the characteristic peculiarities, and agrees
+well with Edwards' painting, while evincing that it was
+copied from the living bird.</p>
+
+<p>It is possible that there were two species of Dodo;
+which would explain certain discrepancies in the descriptions
+of observers. At all events we have here one, if
+not more, conspicuous animal absolutely extinguished
+within the last two hundred years.</p>
+
+<p>Just about a century ago a great animal disappeared
+from the ocean, which, according to Owen, was contemporary
+with the fossil elephant and rhinoceros of Siberia
+and England. Steller, a Russian voyager and naturalist,
+discovered the creature, afterward called <i>Stelleria</i> by
+Cuvier, in Behring's Straits; a huge, unwieldy whale-like
+animal, one of the marine pachyderms, allied to the
+Manatee, but much larger, being twenty-five feet long,
+and twenty in circumference. Its flesh was good for food,
+and from its inertness and incapacity for defence, the
+race was extirpated in a few years. Steller first discovered
+the species in 1741, and the last known specimen was
+killed in 1768. It is believed to be quite extinct, as it
+has never been met with since.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a century ago, Sonnerat found in Madagascar, a
+curious animal, (<i>Cheiromys</i>,) which in structure seems to
+connect the monkeys with the squirrels. So rare was it
+there that even the natives viewed it with curiosity as
+an animal altogether unknown to them; and, from their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+exclamations of astonishment rather than from its cry,
+the French naturalist is said to have conferred upon it
+the name of Aye-aye, by which it is now known. <i>Not a
+specimen, as I believe, has been seen since Sonnerat's day</i>,
+so that, if not actually obliterated, the species must be
+on the verge of extinction.</p>
+
+<p>Species are dying out in our own day. I have already
+cited the interesting case of the Moho, that fine Gallinule
+of New Zealand, of which a specimen&mdash;probably the last
+of its race,&mdash;was obtained by Mr Walter Mantell; and that
+of the K&aacute;ureke, the badger-like quadruped of the same
+islands, which was formerly domesticated by the Maoris,
+but which now cannot be found.</p>
+
+<p>The Samoa Isles in the Pacific recently possessed a
+large and handsome kind of pigeon, of richly-coloured
+plumage, which the natives called <i>Manu-mea</i>, but to which
+modern naturalists have given the name of <i>Didunculus
+strigirostris</i>. It was, both by structure and habit, essentially
+a ground pigeon, but not so exclusively but that it
+fed, and roosted too, according to Lieut. Walpole, among
+the branches of tall trees. Mr T. Peale, the naturalist of
+the U. S. Exploring Expedition, who first described it, informs
+us that according to the tradition of the natives, it
+once abounded; but some years ago these persons, like
+more civilised folks, had a strong desire to make pets of
+cats, and found, by means of whale-ships, opportunities of
+procuring a supply; but the consequence of the introduction
+of "pussy,"&mdash;for under this familiar old-country
+title were the exotic tabbies introduced&mdash;was the rapid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+diminution of the handsome <i>Manu-mea</i>. Pussy did not
+fancy yams and taro&mdash;the vegetable diet on which the
+natives regaled&mdash;and took to the woods and mountains to
+search for something better. There she met with the
+feeble-winged <i>Didunculus</i> scratching the soft earth for
+seeds, and with a purr and a mew soon scraped acquaintance
+with the stranger. Pussy declared she loved him well,
+and so she did&mdash;too well, in fact; she felt "as if she could
+eat him up,"&mdash;<i>and did</i>. The news soon spread among the
+tabbies that there were sweet birds in the woods, and the
+result is the almost total disappearance of poor <i>Manu-mea</i>.
+Like the Dodo, it has ceased to be, but at the hand of a
+more ignominious foe. The Samoan may truly say to his
+former pet, "<i>Cecidisti, O Manu-mea, non manu me&acirc;, sed
+ungue felino</i>." So rare had the bird become, that during
+the stay of the Expedition only three specimens could be
+procured, and of these two were lost by shipwreck. I do
+not know whether another has been met with since. Probably
+they are all gone; for that was twenty years ago.</p>
+
+<p>When Norfolk Island,&mdash;that tiny spot in the Southern
+Ocean since so stained with human crime and misery&mdash;was
+first discovered, its tall and teeming forests were
+tenanted by a remarkable Parrot with a very long and
+slender hooked beak, which lived upon the honey of
+flowers. It was named <i>Nestor productus</i>. When Mr
+Gould visited Australia in his researches into the ornithology
+of those antipodeal regions, he found the Nestor
+Parrot absolutely limited to Philip Island, a tiny satellite
+of Norfolk Island, whose whole circumference is not more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>
+than five miles in extent. The war of extermination had
+been so successful in the larger island that, with the exception
+of a few specimens preserved in cages, not one was
+believed to survive. Since then its last retreat has been
+harried, and Mr J. H. Gurney thus writes the dirge of the
+last of the Nestors:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have seen the man who exterminated the <i>Nestor
+productus</i> from Philip Island, he having shot the last of
+that species left on the island; he informs me that they
+rarely made use of their wings, except when closely pressed;
+their mode of progression was by the upper mandible;
+and whenever he used to go to the island to shoot, he
+would invariably find them on the ground, except one,
+which used to be sentry on one of the lower branches of
+the <i>Araucaria excelsa</i>, and the instant any person landed,
+they would run to those trees and haul themselves up by
+the bill, and, as a matter of course, they would there
+remain till they were shot, or the intruder had left the
+island. He likewise informed me that there was a large
+species of hawk that used to commit great havoc
+amongst them, but what species it was he could not tell
+me."<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a></p>
+
+<p>I have before mentioned that Professor Owen had
+recognised the species in fossil skulls from New Zealand,
+associated with remains of <i>Dinornis</i>, <i>Palapteryx</i>, and
+<i>Notornis</i>. Thus it appears that the long-billed Parrot is
+an ancient race, whose extreme decrepitude has just survived
+to our time;&mdash;that it first became extinct from New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+Zealand, then from Norfolk Island, and lastly from Philip
+Island. Peace to its ashes!</p>
+
+<p>Mr Yarrell, in his "History of British Birds,"<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> commences
+his account of one of them in these words:&mdash;"The
+Great Auk is a very rare British Bird, and but few
+instances are recorded of its capture. The natives in the
+Orkneys informed Mr Bullock, on his tour through these
+islands several years ago, that only one male had made its
+appearance for a long time, which had regularly visited
+Papa Westra for several seasons. The female, which the
+natives call the queen of the Auks, was killed just before
+Mr Bullock's arrival. The king or male, Mr Bullock had
+the pleasure of chasing for several hours in a six-oared
+boat, but without being able to kill him, for though he
+frequently got near him, so expert was the bird in its
+natural element that it appeared impossible to shoot him.
+The rapidity with which he pursued his course under
+water was almost incredible. About a fortnight after Mr
+Bullock had left Papa Westra, this male bird was obtained
+and sent him, and at the sale of his collection, was purchased
+for the British Museum, where it is still carefully
+preserved."</p>
+
+<p>This fine bird, which was larger than a goose, is believed
+to be extinct. Mr Bullock's specimen was taken in 1812;
+another was captured at St Kilda in 1822, another was
+picked up dead near Lundy Island in 1829, and yet
+another was taken in 1834, off the coast of Waterford.</p>
+
+<p>On the north coast of Europe the bird is equally rare;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+not more than two or three, at the utmost, having been
+procured during the present century. During that period,
+however, it has haunted one or two breeding-rocks on the
+south coast of Iceland, in some abundance. In the years
+1830 and 1831, as many as twenty-seven were obtained
+there, and from that time till 1840, about ten more. The
+last birds obtained on the Iceland coast were a pair, which
+were shot on their nest in 1844. The last taken in any
+locality, so far as is known, was one shot in 1848, by a
+peasant, on the Island of Wardoe, within the Arctic
+Circle.</p>
+
+<p>Two centuries ago, the Great Auk was not uncommon
+on the shores of New England; and, off the great fishing-banks
+of Newfoundland, it appears to have been very
+abundant. "Its appearance was always hailed by the
+mariner approaching that desolate coast as the first indication
+of his having reached soundings on the fishing-banks.
+During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries these
+waters, as well as the Iceland and Faroe coasts, were
+annually visited by hundreds of ships from England,
+France, Spain, Holland, and Portugal; and these ships
+actually were accustomed to provision themselves with
+the bodies and eggs of these birds, which they found
+breeding in myriads on the low islands off the coast
+of Newfoundland. Besides the fresh birds consumed by
+the ship's crew, many tons were salted down for further
+use. In the space of an hour, these old voyagers tell us,
+they could fill thirty boats with the birds. It was only
+necessary to go on shore, armed with sticks to kill as many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+as they chose. The birds were so stupid that they allowed
+themselves to be taken up, on their own proper element,
+by boats under sail; and it is even said that on putting
+out a plank it was possible to drive the Great Auks up
+and out of the sea into boats. On land the sailors formed
+low enclosures of stones, into which they drove the Penguins
+[or Auks], and, as they were unable to fly, kept them
+there enclosed till they were wanted for the table."</p>
+
+<p>"In 1841, a distinguished Norwegian naturalist, (too
+early, alas! lost to science,) Peter Stuwitz, visited Tunk
+Island, or Penguin Island, lying to the east of Newfoundland.
+Here, on the north-west shore of the island, he
+found enormous heaps of bones and skeletons of the Great
+Auk, lying either in exposed masses or slightly covered
+by the earth. On this side of the island the rocks slope
+gradually down to the shore; and here were still standing
+the stone fences and enclosures into which the birds were
+driven for slaughter."<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is just possible that the bird may yet haunt the inaccessible
+coast of East Greenland, but ships sailing between
+that country and Iceland never meet with it at sea.
+Nor did Graah observe it during his toilsome researches
+east of Cape Farewell. The numerous fishing craft that
+every season crowd the shores of Newfoundland and
+Labrador forbid the notion that it yet lingers there; for
+the great market-value set upon the bird and its eggs
+for collections would prevent its existence there from
+being overlooked. The numerous Polar voyages of dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>covery,
+and the annual fleets of whalers, would certainly
+have discovered it, if it still haunted the more northern
+regions. It is possible that a few isolated individuals
+may still survive; but it is the habit of the bird, as of
+most sea-fowl, to breed in society in bare seaward rocks,
+and the circumstance that no breeding station is known
+to be now frequented by the Great Auk renders it but
+too probable that it also must be classed among the
+species that were.</p>
+
+<p>The interest attached to this now extinct bird has induced
+some correspondents of the <i>Zoologist</i> to attempt
+an enumeration of the specimens, both of the bird and of
+its eggs, (which from their great size, as well as from their
+rarity, have always had a value with collectors,) known to
+be preserved in cabinets. The result is that English collections
+contain 14 birds and 23 eggs; those of continental
+Europe, 11 birds and 20 eggs; the United States,
+1 bird and 2 eggs:&mdash;the total being 26 birds and 45
+eggs.</p>
+
+<p>It would appear that the rock off the south of Iceland
+which was the chief breeding resort of the Great Auk,
+and which from that circumstance bore the name or
+"Geir-fulga Sker," sank to the level of the sea during a
+volcanic disturbance in or about the year 1830. "Such
+disappearance of the fit and favourable breeding-places of
+the <i>Alca impennis</i>," observes Professor Owen, "must
+form an important element in its decline towards extinction."
+One might think that there would be rocks
+enough left for the birds to choose a fresh station; but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
+really we do not know what are the elements of choice in
+such a case: some peculiarities exist which make one particular
+rock to be selected by sea-fowl, when others apparently
+to us as suitable are quite neglected; but we do not
+know what they are. Possibly when Geir-fulga Sker
+sank, there was no other islet fit to supply the blank.
+Possibly, too, the submersion took place during the breeding
+season, drowning the eggs or young. If this was the
+case, it would indeed be "a heavy blow and great discouragement"
+to the dwindling Alcine nation.</p>
+
+<p>Mr Darwin speaks of a large wolf-like Fox (<i>Canis antarcticus</i>)
+which at the time of his voyage was common to
+both the Falkland Islands, but absolutely confined to
+them. He says, "As far as I am aware, there is no other
+instance in any part of the world, of so small a mass of
+broken land, distant from a continent, possessing so
+large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself. Their
+numbers have rapidly decreased; they are already banished
+from that half of the island which lies to the eastward
+of the neck of land between St Salvador Bay and
+Berkeley Sound. Within a very few years after these
+islands shall have become regularly settled, in all probability
+this fox will be classed with the Dodo, as an animal
+which has perished from the face of the earth."<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Musk Ox (<i>Ovibos moschatus</i>), a long-haired ruminant,
+resembling what you would suppose a cross between
+a bull and a sheep might be,&mdash;formerly an inhabitant of
+Britain with the Elephant and the Hyena, but now found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
+only on the polar margins of North America,&mdash;is becoming
+very scarce; and it is probable that before long its last
+representative will leave its bones with those of the lamented
+Franklin and his companions.</p>
+
+<p>From the more perishable character of vegetable tissues
+we have far less data for determining the extinction of
+plant species; but analogy renders it highly probable that
+these also have died out, and are dying in a corresponding
+ratio with animals. I am not aware that a single
+example can be adduced of a plant that has certainly
+ceased to exist during the historic era. But Humboldt
+mentions a very remarkable tree in Mexico, of which it is
+believed only a single specimen remains in a state of
+nature. It is the Hand-tree (<i>Cheirostemon platanoides</i>),
+a sterculaceous plant with large plane-like leaves, and with
+the anthers connected together in such a manner as to
+resemble a hand or claw rising from the beautiful purplish-red
+blossoms. "There is in all the Mexican free
+States only one individual remaining, one single primeval
+stem of this wonderful genus. It is supposed not to be
+indigenous, but to have been planted by a king of Toluca
+about five hundred years ago. I found that the spot
+where the Arbol de las Manitas stands is 8825 feet above
+the level of the sea. Why is there only one tree of the
+kind? Whence did the kings of Toluca obtain the young
+tree, or the seed? It is equally enigmatical that Montezuma
+should not have possessed one of these trees in his
+botanical gardens of Huaxtepec, Chapoltepec, and Iztapalapan,
+which were used as late as by Philip the Second's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+physician, Hernandez, and of which gardens traces still
+remain; and it appears no less striking that the Hand-tree
+should not have found a place among the drawings of
+subjects connected with Natural History, which Nezahual
+Coyotl, king of Tezcuco, caused to be made half a century
+before the arrival of the Spaniards."</p>
+
+<p>There is an example of this interesting plant growing
+in one of the conservatories at Kew, but I do not know
+whence it was obtained. It has been asserted that it
+grows wild in the forests of Guatemala.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving plants out of consideration from lack of adequate
+data, we find that a considerable number of species
+of animals have certainly ceased to exist since man inhabited
+the globe. There have been, doubtless, many others
+that have shared the same fate, which we know nothing
+about. It is only within the last hundred years that we
+have had anything approaching to an acquaintance with
+the living fauna of the earth; yet, during that time some
+seven or eight creatures we know have been extinguished.
+Fully half of these,&mdash;the Auk, the Didunculus, the
+Notornis, and the Nestor,&mdash;within the last ten years! It
+would really seem as if the more complete and comprehensive
+an acquaintance with the animals of the world
+became, the more frequently this strange phenomenon of
+expiring species was presented to us. Perhaps it is not
+extravagant to suppose that&mdash;including all the invertebrate
+animals, the countless hosts of insects, and all the
+recondite forms that dwell in the recesses of the ocean&mdash;a
+species fades from existence every year. All the examples<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
+that have been given were either Mammalia or Birds, (<i>the
+Colossochelys</i> only excepted:) now these, though the most
+conspicuous and best known, are almost the least populous
+classes of living beings. There is no reason whatever for
+concluding that the law of mortality of species does not
+extend to all the other classes, vertebrate and invertebrate,
+in an equal ratio, so that my estimate will appear, I think,
+a very moderate one. Yet it is a startling thought, and
+one which the mind does not entertain without a measure
+of revulsion, that the passing of every century in the
+world's history has left its fauna <i>minus</i> a hundred species
+of animals that were denizens of the earth when it began.
+I was going to say "left the fauna so much <i>poorer</i>;" but
+that I am not sure of. The term would imply that the
+blanks are not filled up; and that, I repeat, I am not
+sure of. Probability would suggest that new forms are
+continually created to supply the lack of deceased ones;
+and it may be that <i>some</i>, at least, of the creatures ever
+and anon described as new to science, especially in old
+and well-searched regions, may be newly called into being,
+as well as newly discovered. It may be so, I say; I
+have no evidence that it is so, except the probability
+of analogy; we know that the rate of mortality among
+<i>individuals</i> of a species, speaking generally, is equalled
+by the rate of birth, and we may suppose this balance
+of life to be paralleled when the unit is a species, and
+not an individual. If the Word of God contained anything
+either in statement or principle contrary to such
+a supposition, I would not entertain it for a moment, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>
+I do not know that it does. I do not know that it is anywhere
+implied that God created no more after the six
+days' work was done. His Sabbath-rest having been
+broken by the incoming of sin, we know from John v. 17,
+that He continued to work without interruption; and we
+may fairly conclude that progressive creation was included
+as a part of that unceasing work.</p>
+
+<p>I know not whether my readers will take the same
+concern as I do in this subject of the dying-out of species,
+but to me it possesses a very peculiar interest. Death is
+a mysterious event, come when and how it will; and
+surely the departure from existence of a species, of a type
+of being, that has subsisted in contemporary thousands of
+individuals, for thousands of years, is not less imposingly
+mysterious than that of the individual exemplar.</p>
+
+<p>We do not know with any precision what are the immediate
+causes of death in a species. Is there a definite
+limit to life imposed at first? or is this limit left, so to
+speak, to be determined by accidental circumstances?
+Perhaps both: but if the latter, what are those circumstances?</p>
+
+<p>Professor Owen says:&mdash;"There are characters in land
+animals rendering them more obnoxious to extirpating
+influences, which may explain why so many of the larger
+species of particular groups have become extinct, whilst
+smaller species of equal antiquity have survived. In proportion
+to its bulk is the difficulty of the contest which
+the animal has to maintain against the surrounding agencies
+that are ever tending to dissolve the vital bond, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
+subjugate the living matter to the ordinary chemical and
+physical forces. Any changes, therefore, in such external
+agencies as a species may have been originally adapted to
+exist in, will militate against that existence in a degree
+proportionate to the size which may characterise the
+species. If a dry season be gradually prolonged, the large
+mammal will suffer from the drought sooner than the
+small one; if such alteration of climate affect the quantity
+of vegetable food, the bulky herbivore will first feel the
+effects of stinted nourishment; if new enemies be introduced,
+the large and conspicuous animal will fall a prey
+while the smaller kinds conceal themselves and escape.
+Small quadrupeds, moreover, are more prolific than large
+ones. Those of the bulk of the mastodons, megatheria,
+glyptodons, and diprotodons, are uniparous. The actual
+presence, therefore, of small species of animals in countries
+where larger species of the same natural families
+formerly existed, is not the consequence of degeneration&mdash;of
+any gradual diminution of the size&mdash;of such species,
+but is the result of circumstances which may be illustrated
+by the fable of 'the Oak and the Reed;' the
+smaller and feebler animals have bent and accommodated
+themselves to changes to which the larger species have
+succumbed."<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a></p>
+
+<p>"We do not steadily bear in mind," remarks Mr Darwin,
+"how profoundly ignorant we are of the condition of
+existence of every animal; nor do we always remember
+that some check is constantly preventing the too rapid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>
+increase of every organised being left in a state of nature.
+The supply of food, on an average, remains constant; yet
+the tendency in every animal to increase by propagation
+is geometrical; and its surprising effects have nowhere
+been more astonishingly shewn, than in the case of the
+European animals run wild during the last few centuries
+in America. Every animal in a state of nature regularly
+breeds; yet in a species long established, any <i>great</i> increase
+in numbers is obviously impossible, and must be checked
+by some means. We are nevertheless seldom able with
+certainty to tell in any given species, at what period of
+life, or at what period of the year, or whether only at
+long intervals, the check falls; or again, what is the precise
+nature of the check. Hence probably it is, that we
+feel so little surprise at one, of two species closely allied
+in habits, being rare and the other abundant in the same
+district; or again, that one should be abundant in one
+district, and another, filling the same place in the economy
+of nature, should be abundant in a neighbouring district,
+differing very little in its conditions. If asked how this
+is, one immediately replies that it is determined by some
+slight difference in climate, food, or the number of enemies:
+yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise
+cause and manner of action of the check! We are,
+therefore, driven to the conclusion that causes generally
+quite inappreciable by us, determine whether a given
+species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers.</p>
+
+<p>"In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a
+species through man, either wholly or in one limited dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>trict,
+we know that it becomes rarer and rarer, and is then
+lost; it would be difficult to point out any just distinction
+between a species destroyed by man or by the increase of
+its natural enemies. The evidence of rarity preceding extinction,
+is more striking in the successive tertiary strata,
+as remarked by several able observers; it has often been
+found that a shell very common in a tertiary stratum is now
+most rare, and has even long been thought to be extinct.
+If, then, as appears probable, species first become rare and
+then extinct&mdash;if the too rapid increase of every species,
+even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must
+admit, though how and when it is hard to say&mdash;and if we
+see, without the smallest surprise, though unable to assign
+the precise reason, one species abundant, and another
+closely-allied species rare in the same district&mdash;why should
+we feel such great astonishment at the rarity being carried
+a step further to extinction? An action going on, on
+every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely
+be carried a little further, without exciting our observation.
+Who could feel any great surprise at hearing
+that the Megalonyx was formerly rare compared with the
+Megatherium, or that one of the fossil Monkeys was few
+in number compared with one of the now living Monkeys?
+and yet, in this comparative rarity, we should have the
+plainest evidence of less favourable conditions for their
+existence. To admit that species generally become rare
+before they become extinct&mdash;to feel no surprise at the
+comparative rarity of one species with another, and yet to
+call in some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+when a species ceases to exist, appears to me much the
+same as to admit that sickness in the individual is the prelude
+of death&mdash;to feel no surprise at sickness&mdash;but when
+the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died
+through violence."<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p>
+
+<p>Geographical distribution is an important element in
+this question of extinction. A species that is spread over
+a wide region is far more likely to survive than one which
+is confined to a limited district; and extraneous influences
+acting prejudicially will exterminate a species which is
+confined to an island much sooner than if it had a continent
+to retire upon. We have seen how the <i>Nestor</i> Parrot
+became extinct in New Zealand, while it survived in
+Norfolk Island, because the former was colonised by the
+Maori race, while the latter remained in its virginity.
+But how quickly did the poor Parrot succumb as soon as
+man set his foot on Norfolk and Philip Islands! And
+how brief was the lease of life accorded to the <i>Didunculus</i>,
+when once the "Pussies" found their way to the little
+Samoa isles!</p>
+
+<p>Very many islands have a fauna that is to a great
+extent peculiar to themselves. I know that, in Jamaica,
+the Humming-birds, some of the Parrots, some of the
+Cuckoos, most of the Pigeons, many of the smaller birds,
+and, I think, all of the Reptiles, are found nowhere else.
+Nay, more, that even the smaller islands of the Antilles
+have each a fauna of its own, unshared with any other
+land;&mdash;its own Humming-birds, its own Lizards and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>Snakes; its own Butterflies and Beetles, its own Spiders,
+its own Snails, its own Worms. How likely are some of
+these very limited species to become extinguished! By
+the increasing aggressions of clearing and cultivating
+man; by slight changes of level; even by electric and
+meteoric phenomena acting very locally. I find that, in
+Jamaica, many of the animals peculiar to the island are
+not spread over the whole surface, limited as that is, but
+are confined to a single small district. In some cases,
+the individuals are but few, even in that favoured locality;
+how easily we may conceive of a season drier than ordinary,
+or wetter than ordinary, or a flood, or a hurricane of
+unusual violence, or a volcanic eruption, either killing
+outright these few individuals, or destroying their means
+of living, and so indirectly destroying them by starvation.
+And then the species has disappeared!</p>
+
+<p>The common Red Grouse, so abundantly seen during
+the season hanging at every poulterer's and game-dealer's
+shop in London, is absolutely unknown out of the British
+Isles. It could not live except in wide, unenclosed, uncultivated
+districts; so that when the period arrives that
+the whole of British land is enclosed and brought under
+cultivation, the Grouse's lease of life will expire. We
+owe it to our hard-worked members of Parliament to
+hope that this condition of things may be distant.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>II.</h2>
+
+<h2>THE MARVELLOUS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The vulgar mind is very prone to love the marvellous,
+and to count for a prodigy every unusual phenomenon,
+every occurrence not perfectly accountable on any hypothesis
+which is familiar to them. The poetical period of
+history in every country is full of prodigies; for in the
+dawn of civilisation the physical laws of nature are little
+understood, and multitudes of natural phenomena are
+either referred to false causes, or, being unreferrible to any
+recognised cause, are set down as mere wonders. It is
+the province of science to dispel these delusions, to expose
+the undiscovered, but by no means undiscoverable, origins
+of unusual events, and thus to be continually narrowing
+the limits of the unknown. These limits, however, have
+not even yet quite reached the minuteness of a mathematical
+point; and there are a few marvels left for the
+indefatigable rummagings of modern science to explain.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the predominant tendency of uneducated minds
+in the present day is rather to attribute effects to <i>false</i>
+causes, than to leave them without any assignable cause.
+It is much easier for an unreasoning person to say that
+Tenterden steeple is the cause of Goodwin Sands, than to
+leave Goodwin Sands quite unaccounted for; or to say,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>
+the plant-lice suddenly appear crowding the rose-twigs,
+"the east wind has cast a blight," or "it is something in
+the air," than "I do not know how to account for their
+appearance." To a reflecting person, indeed, who weighs
+forces, the east wind appears as incompetent to the production
+of living animals as the tall tower to the origination
+of a sand-bank; and this, though he might be able
+to suggest nothing a whit more competent. What should
+he do in such a case? Manifestly this&mdash;test the actual
+existence and conditions of the phenomenon; see that it
+really has occurred; and, if the fact cannot be denied,
+admit it as a fact, and wait further light as to its causation.</p>
+
+<p>I do not by any means presume to declare the universal
+"why and because" of every familiar or unfamiliar
+occurrence: I leave that to more pretentious philosophers;
+smiling occasionally in my sleeve at the egotism
+which cannot see its own <i>non-sequiturs</i>. But still less
+can I consent to set aside every phenomenon which I
+cannot explain, with the common resource,&mdash;"Pooh!
+pooh! there must be some mistake!" Rather would I
+say, "There must still be some ignorance in me: near as I
+have reached to the summit of the ladder of knowledge,
+there must be still one or two rongs to be mounted before
+I can proclaim my mastery of all, absolutely <i>all</i>, the
+occult causes of things. Therefore, till then I must be
+content with the lowlier task of patiently accumulating
+evidence."</p>
+
+<p>At various times and in various places popular super<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>stition
+has been excited by the occurrence of what have
+been called showers of blood. The destruction of cities
+and of kingdoms has been, according to historians, preceded
+by this awful omen. Yet this has been explained
+by a very natural and accountable phenomenon. In the
+year 1553, the hedges and trees, the stones of the pathway,
+and the clothes of many persons, were sprinkled
+copiously with drops of red fluid, which was supposed to
+be blood, till some observant person noticed the coincident
+appearance of unusual swarms of butterflies, and marked
+that the coloured drops proceeded from them. Again, at
+Aix la Chapelle in 1608, the same awful appearance occurred,
+especially on the walls of a particular churchyard.
+M. Peiresc, an able naturalist, residing at Aix, traced the
+phenomenon here to the same cause. Just before, he had
+found a large chrysalis, which he had enclosed in a box,
+in order to identify the species to which it belonged. A
+few days after, hearing a rustling, he opened the box, and
+discovered a beautiful butterfly evolved from the pupa,
+which had left upon the floor of its prison a large red
+stain. He saw that the character of this deposit agreed
+exactly with that of the ominous drops abroad, and remarking
+an unusual abundance of the same kind of butterfly,
+he conceived that he had revealed the cause of the
+terrific phenomenon. He was confirmed in this belief by
+the circumstance that the supposed blood-drops were not
+found in the streets of the town, nor upon the roofs of
+the houses, where they must have occurred had they
+fallen from the sky; and, moreover, that it was rare to see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
+any on the exposed parts of stones, walls, &amp;c.; but rather
+under the protection of angles, and in slight cavities&mdash;which
+agrees well with the habits of the insects in question.
+No doubt this was the true explanation of the
+phenomenon, but it does not say much for the powers of
+observation which could have attributed it to blood, for
+the colour is by no means that of blood, especially <i>dried</i>
+blood, but much more crimson; and the earthy deposit,
+resembling chalk, which copiously remains after the fluid
+part has evaporated, would in a moment convince any one
+who was in the habit of comparing things which differ, that,
+whatever the substance was, blood it certainly was not.</p>
+
+<p>I myself not long ago met with an appearance which
+bore a much closer resemblance to drops of blood than
+this, and which yet was referrible to a widely different
+origin. In the neighbourhood of Ashburton, in Devon, a
+quarter of a mile or so from the town, there is a shallow
+horse-pond, the bottom of which consists of an impalpable
+whitish mud, much indented with hoof-holes and other
+irregularities. In these, the water being dimly clear from
+settlement, I observed what looked exactly like blood, in
+numerous patches, the appearance being as if two or three
+drops of blood had fallen in one spot, half-a-dozen in
+another, and so on. The colour was true, and even when
+I alighted, and looked carefully on the spots, they had
+just that curdled appearance that drops of blood assume
+when they fall into still water. But there appeared on
+minute examination a constant intestine motion in each
+spot, which caused me to bring my eye closer, when I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>
+discovered that I had been egregiously deceived. Each
+apparent drop of blood was formed of a number of slender
+worms, about as thick as a hog's bristle, and an inch and
+a half long, of a red hue, which protruded the greater
+part of their length from the mud, in a radiating form,
+each maintaining a constant undulatory movement. There
+were more or fewer centres of radiation, the circles frequently
+interrupted by, and merging into, others, just as
+drops of blood crowded together would do. On the
+slightest disturbance the little actors shrank out of sight
+into the soft mud; but by scooping up a little of this I
+contrived to get a number of them into a phial, which, as
+the sediment settled, were seen at the bottom playing as if
+in their pond. On examination of the specimens with a
+microscope I found them to be minute Annelids, such as
+I have described, apparently of the genus <i>Lumbriculus</i> of
+Grube, with two rows of bristle-pencils, and two bristles
+in a pencil. The body was transparent and colourless,
+and the red hue was given by the great and conspicuous
+longitudinal blood-vessels, and by the lateral connecting
+vessels, which viewed sidewise took the form of loops.
+The animals soon died in captivity, but I kept some for
+three or four days alive.</p>
+
+<p>I have elsewhere referred to the curious phenomenon of
+crimson snow, and to the uncertainty which still hangs
+over its cause. I have lately met with another explanation,
+which seems sufficiently guaranteed to be depended
+on, though, as the red snow occurs in places where this
+cause cannot operate, it only shews that similar results<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>
+may be produced by diverse agencies. A certain resemblance
+between the facts and those adduced by M. Peiresc
+will warrant my quoting them. Mr Thomas Nicholson,
+in a visit to Sowallik Point, in Prince Regent's Inlet, thus
+describes what he saw:&mdash;"The summit of the hill forming
+the point is covered with huge masses of granite, while
+the side, which forms a gentle declivity towards the bay,
+was covered with crimson snow. It was evident, at first
+view, that this colour was imparted to the snow by a substance
+lying on the surface. This substance lay scattered
+here and there in small masses bearing some resemblance
+to powdered cochineal, surrounded by a lighter shade,
+which was produced by the colouring matter being partly
+dissolved and diffused by the deliquescent snow. During
+this examination our hats and upper garments were observed
+to be daubed with a substance of a similar red
+colour; and a moment's reflection convinced us that this
+was the excrement of the little Auk, myriads of which bird
+were continually flying over our heads, having their
+nests among the loose masses of granite. A ready explanation
+of the origin of the red snow was now presented to
+us, and not a doubt remained in the mind of any of us
+that this was the correct one. The snow on the mountains
+of higher elevation than the nests of these birds was
+perfectly white; and a ravine at a short distance, which
+was filled with snow from top to bottom, but which
+afforded no hiding-place for these birds to form their
+nests, presented an appearance uniformly white."<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+<p>After all, however, real <i>bon&acirc; fide</i> rain does sometimes
+descend, which, if not blood-red, is at least red. "M.
+Giovanni Campani, Professor of Chemistry at the University
+of Siena, has just published a letter, addressed to Professor
+Matteucci, on a most singular phenomenon which
+occurred at Siena in December last. On the 28th of that
+month, about seven <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, the inhabitants of the northwestern
+part of the city witnessed with surprise the curious
+phenomenon of a copious fall of rain of a reddish hue,
+which lasted two hours; a second shower of the same
+colour occurred at eleven <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, and a third at two <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>,
+but that of the deepest red fell the first time. But what
+adds to the strangeness of the occurrence is that it was
+entirely confined to that particular quarter of the town,
+and so nicely was the line drawn that the cessation of the
+red colour was ascertained in one direction to be at about
+two hundred m&egrave;tres from the meteorological observatory,
+the pluviometer of which received colourless rain at exactly
+the same time. The temperature during the same interval
+varied between 8 deg. and 10 deg. Centigrade (46 and
+50 Fahrenheit). The wind blew from the S.W. at the
+beginning of the phenomenon, and afterwards changed to
+W.S.W. None of the rural population in the immediate
+vicinity of Siena remarked the occurrence, so that most
+probably the rain that fell round the town was colourless.
+The same phenomenon, strange to say, recurred in exactly
+the same quarter of the town on the 31st of December,
+and again on the 1st of January, the wind being W.N.W.,
+and the temperature respectively 35 and 39&middot;42 deg.,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
+Fahrenheit. Each time, however, the red colour diminished
+in depth, its greatest strength having at no time
+exceeded that of weak wine and water. A similar occurrence
+is recorded as having taken place in 1819 at
+Blankenburg, when MM. Meyer and Stopp found the
+water to contain a solution of chloride of cobalt. Professor
+Campani, who is now engaged, in conjunction with his
+colleague, Professor Gabrielli, in analyzing the red water
+collected, has ascertained that in this instance it contains
+no chloride of cobalt, and, moreover, that the colour must
+be owing to some solution, since the water has deposited
+no sediment."<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a></p>
+
+<p>The occasional occurrence of large masses of water
+stained of a vivid red hue, and for the most part suddenly,
+and without any ostensible cause, has not unreasonably
+been recorded as a prodigy, rivalling one of
+the plagues of Egypt&mdash;the turning of the waters into
+blood.</p>
+
+<p>"I remember," says Mr Latrobe, "the report reaching
+Neufchatel, through the medium of the market-people
+passing from the one lake to the other, (some time during
+the winter,) that the waters of the lake of Morat had
+suddenly become the colour of blood, though I could
+meet with no one whose testimony was sufficiently clear
+and unequivocal to establish the fact. This, joined to
+my not having the leisure then to go and see for myself,
+caused the matter to slip from my memory entirely,
+till I found myself in the neighbourhood. Here the cir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>cumstance
+was fully confirmed to me in a manner not
+to be questioned; and having since met with a paper,
+written by M. de Candolle, of Geneva, on the subject, I
+shall take what is there stated as my best guide in
+mentioning the facts as they occurred:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It appears that this singular phenomenon began to
+excite the attention of the inhabitants of Morat as early
+as November last year, and that it continued more or less
+observable during the whole of the winter.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr Trechsel, a gentleman resident at Morat, to whom
+M. de Candolle applied, on hearing the report, for information
+and specimens of the colouring matter, stated&mdash;That
+during the early hours of the day no extraordinary
+appearance was observable in the lake; but that a little
+later, long parallel lines of reddish matter were seen to
+extend along the surface of the water, at some short distance
+from the banks. This, being blown by the wind
+towards the more sheltered parts of the shore, collected
+itself about the reeds and rushes, covering the surface of
+the lake with a light foam; forming as it were different
+strata of various colours, from greenish black, grey, yellow,
+and brown, to the most delicious red. He adds, that this
+matter exhaled a pestiferous odour during the day, but
+disappeared at the approach of night. It was further
+observed, that during tempestuous weather it vanished
+altogether. Many small fishes were seen to become intoxicated
+while swimming amongst it, and after a few
+convulsive leaps, to lie motionless on the surface.</p>
+
+<p>"The naturalists of Geneva decided, from the specimens<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
+sent, that it was an animal substance, which, if not the
+<i>Oscillatoria subfusca</i>,<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> was nearly allied to it.</p>
+
+<p>"Soon after the beginning of May it disappeared
+entirely. It is not known that this phenomenon has
+appeared before in the lake of Morat within the memory
+of man. Tradition states the same to have happened the
+year preceding the great battle."<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p>
+
+<p>A few years ago, in one of my tanks of sea-water, there
+occurred a phenomenon much like this. Patches of a
+rich crimson-purple colour formed here and there on the
+surface, which rapidly grew on all sides till they coalesced.
+If allowed to be a few days undisturbed, the entire surface
+of the water became covered with a pellicle of the
+substance, which spread also over the stones and shells of
+the bottom, and the sides of the vessel. It could be lifted
+in impalpable lamin&aelig; on sheets of paper. I found it difficult
+to keep it within bounds, and impossible to get quite
+rid of it, till, after some months, I lost it by the accidental
+breaking of the vessel. Under the microscope, this proved
+an <i>Oscillatoria</i>, which I could not identify with any of
+the described species in Harvey's <i>Phytologia</i>: the filaments
+creeping and twining with the peculiar vermicular
+movements of the genus.</p>
+
+<p>Blood-like waters are sometimes produced by a rapid
+evolution of infusorial animalcules. Of these the most
+effective are <i>Astasia h&aelig;matodes</i>, and <i>Euglena sanguinea</i>;
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>both of them minute spindle-shaped creatures of a pulpy
+substance, and sanguine hue. They are produced occasionally
+in incalculable numbers, increasing with vast
+rapidity by means of spontaneous division. Ehrenberg
+suggests that the miracle of blood-change performed on
+the Nile and on all other collections of water in Egypt by
+Moses (Exod. vii. 17-25) may have been effected by the
+agency of these animalcules. Of course it would require
+Divine power as much to educe uncounted millions of
+animalcules at the word of command, as to form real
+blood, so that no escape from the presence of Deity would
+be gained by admitting the supposition; but the words of
+the inspired narrative seem to render it untenable.</p>
+
+<p>To return to showers. "If it should rain cats and
+dogs,"&mdash;is a phrase which is in many mouths; but probably
+no one has heard it transferred from the subjunctive
+to the indicative mood. Why not, however, if it
+rains snails, frogs, fishes, and feathers? That these
+animals and animal products are really poured down
+from the atmosphere, I can adduce some evidence; the
+value of which my readers may weigh when they have
+heard the pleadings.</p>
+
+<p>In that venerable newspaper, <i>Felix Farley's Journal</i>,
+for July 1821, there was "an account of a wonderful
+quantity of snail-shells found in a piece of land of several
+acres near Bristol, that common report says fell in a
+shower." This shell-storm attracting much attention at
+the time, Mr Wm. Baker, of Bridgewater, asked information
+from the Curator of the Bristol Institution, who thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+cleared up the mystery:&mdash;"The periwinkles are indeed
+wonderful. They descended, forsooth, in a heavy rain-like
+shower on the field of Mr Peach, as a due punishment
+for his disrespect to the virtues of our late queen.
+The shower was so intense, that the umbrella of an old
+lady passing by was broken to pieces, and the fragments
+lifted in the air by the whirlwind, which picked up all the
+periwinkles on the neighbouring hills, and dropped them
+three inches thick on Mr Peach's field! But you know
+the story of 'The Three Black Crows;' and thus the
+whole is reduced to no periwinkle rain, no whirlwind;
+but turns out to be our old friend <i>Helix virgata</i>, making
+its annual pilgrimage in search of a mate, and occurring
+one in almost every square inch in the field in question."</p>
+
+<p>Provincial newspapers seem to have a special power of
+reporting such natural history facts, which rarely survive
+investigation. The <i>Stroud Free Press</i>, for May 23,
+1851, tells us that "an extraordinary scene was witnessed
+at Bradford, about twelve miles from Bristol, on Saturday
+week, when that village was visited by a heavy shower of
+snails. They might have been gathered by bushels." Mr
+J. W. Douglas, the eminent entomologist, immediately
+asked some pertinent questions anent the shower; but
+whether it was that the witnesses were grieved at his profanely
+comparing such prodigies to Professors Morison and
+Holloway's cures, or whether they had no more definite
+intelligence to communicate, <i>certes</i> echo answered not.</p>
+
+<p>We fear we must give up snails. But frogs! everybody
+knows that toads and frogs fall from the sky. According<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
+to travellers in tropical America, the inhabitants of Portobello
+assert that every drop of rain is changed into a toad;
+the more instructed, however, believe that the spawn of
+these animals is raised with the vapour from the adjoining
+swamps, and being driven in the clouds over the city, the
+ova are hatched as they descend in rain. 'Tis certain that
+the streets after a night of heavy rain are almost covered
+with the ill-favoured reptiles, and it is impossible to walk
+without crushing them.<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> But heretic philosophers point to
+the mature growth of the vermin, many of them being six
+inches in length, and maintain that the clever hypothesis
+just mentioned will scarcely account for the appearance of
+these.</p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Leeds Mercury</i> for June 1844, there occurred
+the following statement:&mdash;"In the course of the afternoon
+of Monday last, during the prevalence of rather heavy
+rain, the good people of Selby were astonished at a remarkable
+phenomenon. It was rendered forcibly apparent,
+that, with the descent of the rain, there was a shower of
+another description, viz. a shower of frogs. The truth of
+this was rendered more manifest by the circumstance that
+several of the frogs were caught in their descent by holding
+out hats for that purpose. They were about the size
+of a horse-bean, and remarkably lively after their aerial
+but wingless flight. The same phenomenon was observed
+in the immediate neighbourhood."</p>
+
+<p>The editor of the <i>Zoologist</i> immediately asked for confirmation
+of the stated facts, from resident persons of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>science; but notwithstanding the circumstantiality of the
+account, and especially the reported actual capture of the
+little sprawlers in hats, no one replied to the demand,
+and we are compelled to conclude that the report would
+not bear critical investigation.</p>
+
+<p>Yet incredulity may be pushed too far even here. For,
+in the continental journals many more such statements
+occur than in those of this country, and some of them
+vouched by apparently indisputable authority. If my
+readers will refer to <i>L'Institut.</i> tom. ii. (1834) pp. 337,
+346, 347, 353, 354, 386, 409; tom. iv. (1836) pp. 221,
+314, 325; tom. vi. (1838) p. 212, they will find mention
+made of this phenomenon,&mdash;showers of toads. In two or
+three of these cases, the toads were not only observed in
+countless numbers on the ground, during, and after, heavy
+storms of rain, but were seen to strike upon the roofs of
+houses, bounding thence into the streets; they even fell
+upon the hats, umbrellas, and clothes of the observers, who
+were out in the storm, and, in one instance, were actually
+received into the outstretched hand.<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a></p>
+
+<p>Much more recently, namely, early in 1859, the newspapers
+of South Wales recorded a shower of fish in the
+Valley of Aberdare. The repeated statements attracted
+more notice than usual, and the Rev. John Griffith, the
+vicar of the parish, communicated the following results of
+his inquiries to the <i>Evening Mail</i>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Many of your readers might, perhaps, like to see the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>facts connected with this phenomenon. They will be
+better understood in the words of the principal witness, as
+taken down by me on the spot where it happened. This
+man's name is John Lewis, a sawyer in Messrs Nixon and
+Co.'s yard. His evidence is as follows:&mdash;'On Wednesday,
+February 9, I was getting out a piece of timber for the
+purpose of setting it for the saw, when I was startled by
+something falling all over me&mdash;down my neck, on my
+head, and on my back. On putting my hand down my
+neck I was surprised to find they were little fish. By this
+time I saw the whole ground covered with them. I took
+off my hat, the brim of which was full of them. They were
+jumping all about. They covered the ground in a long
+strip of about eighty yards by twelve, as we measured afterwards.
+That shed (pointing to a very large workshop)
+was covered with them, and the shoots were quite full of
+them. My mates and I might have gathered bucketfuls
+of them, scraping with our hands. We did gather a great
+many, about a bucketful, and threw them into the rain-pool,
+where some of them now are. There were two
+showers, with an interval of about ten minutes, and each
+shower lasted about two minutes or thereabouts. The
+time was eleven <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> The morning up-train to Aberdare
+was just then passing. It was not blowing very
+hard, but uncommon wet, just about the same wind as
+there is to-day (blowing rather stiff), and it came from
+this quarter (pointing to the S. of W.). They came down
+with the rain in "a body, like."' Such is the evidence.
+I have taken it for the purpose of being laid before Pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>fessor
+Owen, to whom, also, I shall send to-morrow, at the
+request of a friend of his, eighteen or twenty of the little
+fish. Three of them are large and very stout, measuring
+about four inches. The rest are small. There were some&mdash;but
+they are since dead&mdash;fully five inches long. They
+are very lively.&mdash;Your obedient servant,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span style="margin-right: 3em;">"<span class="smcap">John Griffith</span>,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-right: 1em;">"Vicar of Aberdare and Rural Dean.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-right: 10em;">"<span class="smcap">Vicarage, Aberdare</span>, <i>March 8</i>."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The specimens which were forwarded to Professor Owen
+were exhibited in a tank at the Zoological Gardens in the
+Regent's Park: they consisted of minnows (<i>Leuciscus
+phoxinus</i>) and Smooth-tailed sticklebacks (<i>Gasterosteus
+leiurus</i>.) A <i>savant</i> thus endeavoured to "enlighten" the
+uninitiated on the matter:&mdash;"On reading the evidence
+it appears to me most probably only a practical joke of
+the mates of John Lewis, who seem to have thrown a
+pailful of water with the fish in it over him, and he appears
+to have returned them to the pool from which they
+were originally taken. The fish forwarded are very unlike
+those taken up in whirlwinds in tropical countries, and we
+must make allowance for unintentional exaggerations of
+quantity, &amp;c., in an account given a month after the event
+had occurred."</p>
+
+<p>This "appears to me" a beautiful example of critical
+acumen. My readers will do well to look at it for a
+moment; as they may thus learn how to sift the grain
+of truth out of the bushel of chaff. <i>Reverent&egrave;r procedamus!</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The main (is it not the only?) objection to the honest
+sawyer's statement is that "the fish are very unlike those
+taken up in whirlwinds in tropical countries." That is,
+that, seeing the phenomenon occurs in Great Britain, it
+is most unfortunate that the fishes are British species.
+Now, in India, when such things occur, it is always
+<i>Indian</i> species that are taken up; <i>ergo</i>, it ought to be
+Indian species <i>here</i>. But these are "very unlike" the
+Indian fishes; <i>ergo</i>, it is manifestly a humbug.</p>
+
+<p>Then, does it not strike one as palpably probable, when
+once one's dull intellect has been "enlightened" by the
+brilliant suggestion,&mdash;that the worthy sawyer who had
+a pail of water soused upon him, thought it was a heavy
+shower of rain? <i>Very</i> heavy, no doubt; indeed he says
+it was "uncommon wet." To be sure, he thought there
+were <i>two</i> showers, each lasting about two minutes, with
+an interval of ten minutes between them; but this little
+error might be easily made, for doubtless a bucket of
+water poured on one's head might well be equivalent to
+two showers of rain, or even ten, for that matter. To be
+sure, moreover, there was a considerable quantity of
+fish:&mdash;"The whole ground was covered with them: they
+were jumping all about: they covered the ground in a
+long strip of about eighty yards by twelve, <i>as we measured</i>
+afterwards: the shed was covered with them, and
+the shoots were quite full of them.... My mates and
+I might have gathered bucketfuls of them: we did gather
+about a bucketful." Yes, yes: but all were originally in
+the pail of water thrown over you, John. How stupid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+you were, not to perceive <i>that</i>! How there was room for
+any water at all in the pail, seeing there were so many
+fish, you say you don't know; but that is your stupidity,
+John! There <i>must</i> have been room for water, for it was
+"uncommon wet;" and the water was in the pail, for the
+Doctor says so. Uncommon fishy, too, I should think;
+but let that pass. Where the mates collected the pail of
+live fishes for their pleasant and profitable hoax, and how,
+and when,&mdash;the sceptic might wonderingly ask; but a
+hoax it was. <i>Ipse dixit.</i></p>
+
+<p>However, the verdict did not obtain universal assent;
+and an excellent and well-known naturalist, Mr Robert
+Drave, residing in the vicinity, ventured modestly to indicate
+a dissent. "I think actual fact will excuse the
+otherwise apparently unbecoming assumption in me, of
+opposing such high authority by a contrary opinion, for
+from information <i>obtained from many sources, and very
+careful and minute</i> inquiry, I am quite convinced that a
+great number of fish did actually descend with rain <i>over
+a considerable tract of country</i>. The specimens I obtained
+<i>from three individuals</i>, resident some distance
+from each other, were of two species, the common minnow
+and the three-spined stickleback; the former most
+abundant, and mostly very small, though some had attained
+their full size."<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a></p>
+
+<p>If now we look to other lands, we shall find that the
+descent of fishes from the atmosphere, under conditions
+little understood, is a phenomenon which rests on indubi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>table
+evidence. Humboldt has published interesting
+details of the ejection of fish in large quantities from
+volcanoes in South America. On the night between the
+19th and 20th of June, 1698, the summit of Carguairazo,
+a volcano more than 19,000 feet in height, fell in, and all
+the surrounding country for nearly thirty-two square miles
+was covered with mud and fishes. A similar eruption of
+fish from the volcano of Imbaburu was supposed to have
+been the cause of a putrid fever which raged in the town
+of Ibarra seven years before that period.</p>
+
+<p>These facts are not inexplicable. Subterraneous lakes,
+communicating with surface-waters, form in deep cavities
+in the declivities, or at the base of a volcano. In certain
+active stages of ignition, these internal cavities are burst
+open, and their contents discharged through the crater.
+Humboldt ascertained that the fishes in question belonged
+to a curious and ill-favoured species of the <i>Silurid&aelig;</i>,&mdash;the
+<i>Pimelodes Cyclopum</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Showers of fishes, however, do occur, which cannot be
+connected with volcanic agency. Dr Buist, in an interesting
+paper published in the <i>Bombay Times</i> in 1856,
+has collected a number of authentic examples of this
+phenomenon. The author, after enumerating the cases
+just cited, and others of similar character, in which fishes
+were said to have been thrown out from volcanoes in
+South America, and precipitated from clouds in various
+parts of the world, adduces the following instances of
+similar occurrences in India:&mdash;"In 1824," he says, "fishes
+fell at Meerut, on the men of her Majesty's 14th Regi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>ment,
+then out at drill, and were caught in numbers. In
+July 1826, live fish were seen to fall on the grass at
+Moradabad during a storm. They were the common
+<i>Cyprinus</i>, so prevalent in our Indian waters. On the 19th
+of February 1830, at noon, a heavy fall of fish occurred
+at the Nokulhatty factory, in the Daccah Zillah; depositions
+on the subject were obtained from nine different
+parties. The fish were all dead; most of them were
+large; some were fresh, others were rotten and mutilated.
+They were seen at first in the sky, like a flock of birds,
+descending rapidly to the ground; there was rain drizzling,
+but no storm. On the 16th and 17th of May, 1833,
+a fall of fish occurred in the Zillah of Futtehpoor, about
+three miles north of the Jumna, after a violent storm of
+wind and rain. The fish were from a pound and a-half
+to three pounds in weight, and of the same species as
+those found in the tanks in the neighbourhood. They
+were all dead and dry. A fall of fish occurred at Allahabad,
+during a storm in May 1835; they were of the
+chowla species, and were found dead and dry after the
+storm had passed over the district. On the 20th of September
+1839 after a smart shower of rain, a quantity of
+live fish, about three inches in length, and all of the same
+kind, fell at the Sunderbunds, about twenty miles south
+of Calcutta. On this occasion it was remarked that the
+fish did not fall here and there irregularly over the ground,
+but in a continuous straight line, not more than a span
+in breadth. The vast multitudes of fish, with which the
+low grounds round Bombay are covered, about a week or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
+ten days after the first burst of the monsoon, appear to be
+derived from the adjoining pools or rivulets, and not to
+descend from the sky. They are not, as far as I know,
+found in the higher parts of the island. I have never seen
+them, though I have watched carefully, in casks collecting
+water from the roofs of buildings, or heard of them on
+the decks or awnings of vessels in the harbour, where they
+must have appeared had they descended from the sky.
+One of the most remarkable phenomena of this kind
+occurred during a tremendous deluge of rain at Kattywar,
+on the 25th of July 1850, when the ground around Rajkote
+was found literally covered with fish; some of them
+were found on the top of haystacks, where probably they
+had been drifted by the storm. In the course of twenty-four
+successive hours twenty-seven inches of rain fell,
+thirty-five fell in twenty-six hours, seven inches in one
+hour and a-half, being the heaviest fall on record. At
+Poonah, on the 3d of August 1852, after a very heavy
+fall of rain, multitudes of fish were caught on the ground
+in the cantonments, full half a mile from the nearest
+stream. If showers of fish are to be explained on the
+assumption that they are carried up by squalls or violent
+winds, from rivers or spaces of water not far away from,
+where they fall, it would be nothing wonderful were they
+seen to descend from the air during the furious squalls
+which occasionally occur in June."</p>
+
+<p>Sir E. Tennent adds the following examples:&mdash;"I had
+an opportunity, on one occasion only, of witnessing the
+phenomenon which gives rise to this popular belief. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>
+was driving in the cinnamon gardens near the fort of
+Colombo, and saw a violent but partial shower descend
+at no great distance before me. On coming to the spot,
+I found a multitude of small silvery fish from one and a
+half to two inches in length, leaping on the gravel of the
+high road, numbers of which I collected and brought away
+in my palankin. The spot was about half a mile from the
+sea, and entirely unconnected with any watercourse or pool.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr Whiting, who was many years resident at Trincomalee,
+writes me that he 'had been often told by the
+natives on that side of the island that it sometimes rained
+fishes; and on one occasion (he adds) I was taken by them,
+in 1849, to a field at the village of Karrancotta-tivo, near
+Batticaloa, which was dry when I passed over it in the
+morning, but had been covered in two hours by sudden
+rain to the depth of three inches, in which there was then
+a quantity of small fish. The water had no connexion
+with any pond or stream whatsoever.' Mr Cripps, in
+like manner, in speaking of Galle, says: 'I have seen in
+the vicinity of the fort, fish taken from rain-water that
+had accumulated in the hollow parts of the land that in
+the hot season are perfectly dry and parched. The place
+is accessible to no running stream or tank; and either
+the fish, or the spawn from which they were produced,
+must of necessity have fallen with the rain.'"<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr J. Prinsep, the eminent secretary to the Asiatic
+Society of Bengal, found a fish in the pluviometer at
+Calcutta, in 1838.<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+<p>It is a highly curious fact that the pools, reservoirs,
+and tanks in India and Ceylon are well provided with
+fish of various species, though the water twice every year
+becomes perfectly evaporated, and the mud of the bottom
+becomes converted into dust, or takes the condition of
+baked clay, gaping with wide and deep clefts, in which
+not the slightest sign of moisture can be detected. This
+is the case with temporary hollows in the soil, which have
+no connexion with running streams or permanent waters,
+from which they might be supposed to receive a fresh
+stock of fish.</p>
+
+<p>Two modes of accounting for this strange phenomenon
+have obtained currency. The one is that received by
+those Europeans who are content with any solution of a
+difficulty, without too closely testing it; viz., that the
+fishes fall with the rains from the air. The actual occurrence
+of such showers rests, as we have just seen, on good
+evidence; but, admitting the fact, it must be a rare phenomenon,
+whereas the presence of fish in the new-made
+pools is universal. Again, if the rains brought them in
+such abundance as to stock all the pools, an equal number
+would fall on the dry ground, which is not pretended to
+be the case. The other accepted solution is that which
+has received the sanction of Mr Yarrell, who observes&mdash;"The
+impregnated ova of the fish of one rainy season are
+left unhatched in the mud through the dry season, and
+from their low state of organisation <i>as ova</i>, the vitality is
+preserved till the occurrence and contact of the rain and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
+the oxygen of the next wet season, when vivification takes
+place from their joint influence."<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a></p>
+
+<p>This may be fully allowed, yet it does not meet the
+exigences of the case. Sir E. Tennent and others have
+shewn that it is not young fishes just escaped from the
+egg which appear in the new-formed pools, but full-grown
+fishes, fit for the market; a fact well known to the
+Singalese fishermen, who resort to the hollows as soon as
+the monsoon has brought rain; and they invariably take
+in these pools, which a day or two before were as dry as
+dust, plenty of fishes fully grown, a foot or eighteen inches
+long, or longer.</p>
+
+<p>Neither of these hypotheses, then, will account for the
+fact: and we must admit that the fishes of these regions
+have the instinct to burrow down in the solid mud of the
+bottom, at the approach of the dry season, and the power
+of retaining life, doubtless in a torpid condition, until the
+return of the periodic rains, as Theophrastus long ago
+observed.<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></p>
+
+<p>The <i>Lepidosiren</i>, a very remarkable genus of animals
+from Africa and South America, affords a curious illustration
+of this power. It is altogether a highly singular
+creature, and has attracted a great deal of notice because
+its organisation belongs to two types: it is, so to speak,
+placed midway between the great classes of Reptiles and
+Fishes, the characters which identify it with either being
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>almost equally balanced. Professor Owen and other eminent
+physiologists regard it as a fish, while Professor Bischoff,
+with others equally learned, consider it an Amphibian
+reptile.</p>
+
+<p>It is the habits of this strange creature, however, which
+induce me to notice it here. An inhabitant of rivers and
+ponds, which are swollen by periodic rains, and subject
+to entire or partial desiccation by long droughts, it is
+liable to be left by the retreating waters, exposed to the
+burning sun, under which it would presently die, but for
+a special provision.</p>
+
+<p>The animal has the instinct to bury itself in the mud
+of the bottom, on the approach of the droughts, penetrating
+to a depth of several feet. There it coils itself
+into a ball, with the tail folded over the nose, but so as
+to leave the nasal apertures uncovered; and, probably
+by its wrigglings, it forms a cavity or chamber in the
+clay, which becomes lined with a membranous slough
+thrown off from its body. Meanwhile the water evaporates,
+the mud dries, bakes, and cracks under the torrid
+heat of the dry season, thus allowing air to penetrate
+down to the retreat of the torpid mud-fish, in sufficient
+quantity for its very sluggish respiration. Here it lies
+inactive for five or six months, until the wet season again
+sets in, and the returning floods cover the old beds, soften
+the baked clay, revivify the imprisoned animal, and restore
+it to liberty and aquatic locomotion.</p>
+
+<p>To meet these strange conditions of life, the <i>Lepidosiren</i>
+is furnished with a twofold apparatus for respira<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>tion;
+the one aquatic, consisting of gills, ordinarily contained
+in a branchial chamber, (but in one species, at
+least, external,) suited for the separation of oxygen from
+the water, and the other aerial, consisting of true lungs,
+closely resembling those of serpents, though manifestly
+only a modification of the well-known swim-bladder of
+many fishes,&mdash;by means of which the animal breathes
+atmospheric air, during its periodic captivity.</p>
+
+<p>The same emergency is met by other species in another
+way. It does not appear that the <i>Lepidosiren</i> has the
+power of voluntarily forsaking the water, or of travelling
+on land, notwithstanding its twofold respiration; but
+some of the fishes of the tropics certainly resort to this
+mode of evading the fatal contingency of being baked
+out by the evaporating power of the periodical dry
+season.</p>
+
+<p>Theophrastus, the contemporary of Aristotle, mentions
+fishes found in the Euphrates which in the dry seasons
+leave the vacant channels and crawl over the ground in
+search of water, moving along by fins and tail.<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> Pallegoix
+gives three kinds of fish in Siam, which leave the tanks
+and channels and travel through the grass;<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> and Sir
+John Bowring states that in ascending the river Meinam
+to Bangkok, he was amused with the sight of fish leaving
+the stream, gliding over the wet banks, till they disappeared
+among the trees of the jungle.<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> The <i>Hydragyr&aelig;</i>
+of Carolina in like manner leave the drying pools, and
+seek the nearest water in a straight line, though at a
+considerable distance. And Sir R. Schomburgk tells us
+that certain species of <i>Dora</i> in Guiana have the same
+habit, and are occasionally met with in such numbers in
+their terrestrial travels that the negroes fill baskets with
+them.<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p><p>These fishes, provincially called Hassars, project themselves
+on their bony pectoral fins, aiding their advance
+by the elastic spring of the tail exerted sidewise, proceeding
+in this manner nearly as fast as a man can walk.
+The strong scaly bands which envelop the body facilitate
+the march, in the same way as the transverse plates (<i>scuta</i>)
+on the belly of serpents, which take hold of the ground,
+as the ribs perform the office of feet. The Indians know
+that these fishes have the power of carrying a supply of
+water in a reservoir, for the keeping of the gills in a moist
+condition. If they fail in finding water, they are said to
+burrow in the still soft mud, and pass the dry season in
+torpidity like the <i>Lepidosiren</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The common eel is well known to have this habit of
+travelling with us; I well remember my surprise, when a
+boy, at finding an eel in a grassy meadow one dewy summer
+evening, at a considerable distance from water. Since
+then I have seen a small species of <i>Antennarius</i>, running
+quickly to and fro on the surface of the great beds of
+floating sea-weed in the Gulf stream, progressing by means
+of its pectorals and ventrals quite out of water, with the
+utmost facility.</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.4" id="Fig.4">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;">
+<a href="images/fig141-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig141-400.jpg" width="250" height="400" alt="THE CLIMBING PERCH." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">THE CLIMBING PERCH.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+<p>The most celebrated example of this faculty, however,
+is the climbing perch (<i>Anabas scandens</i>) of India. The
+vagaries of this little fish have been recorded from the
+earliest times, and numerous modern witnesses have borne
+record to its powers. Mr E. Layard once encountered
+several travelling along a hot dusty gravel-road in the
+mid-day sun.<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> Daldorf, a Danish zoologist of reputation,
+asserts that he has seen this species in the act of climbing
+palm-trees, effecting its ascent by means of fins and tail,
+with the aid of its spinous gill-covers. There is, however,
+some doubt whether he was not under mistake in
+this, though the fact of its crawling up the banks and
+living out of water is abundantly known.</p>
+
+<p>On the coasts of Ceylon, according to its accomplished
+historian,&mdash;on the rocks which are washed by the surf,
+there are multitudes of a curious little fish, (<i>Salarias
+alticus</i>,) which possesses the faculty of darting along the
+surface of the water, and running up the wet stones, with
+the utmost ease and rapidity. By aid of its pectoral and
+ventral fins and gill-cases, it moves across the damp sand,
+ascends the roots of the mangroves, and climbs up the
+smooth face of the rocks in search of flies; adhering so
+securely as not to be detached by repeated assaults of the
+waves. These little creatures are so nimble, that it is
+almost impossible to lay hold of them, as they scramble
+to the edge, and plunge into the sea on the slightest
+attempt to molest them. They are from three to four
+inches in length, and of a dark-brown colour, almost indistinguishable
+from the rocks they frequent.<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+<p>In all these cases probably, the power of sustaining a
+protracted privation of water depends on a peculiar structure
+of the pharynx, which is divided by membranous
+plates into cells which the fish can fill at pleasure with
+water, and by ejecting small portions at a time can
+moisten its gills, and thus preserve the filaments of these
+organs in a fit condition to maintain the circulation and
+oxygenation of the blood. These labyrinthal water-chambers
+are particularly numerous and complicated in
+the <i>Anabas</i> just mentioned. This, however, has no analogy
+with the lung of the <i>Lepidosiren</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>III.</h2>
+
+<h2>MERMAIDS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>According to Berosus there came up from the Red Sea,
+on the shore contiguous to Babylonia, a brute creature
+named Oannes, which had the body of a fish, above whose
+front parts rose the head of a man; it had two human
+feet, which projected from each side of the tail; it had
+also a human voice and human language. This strange
+monster sojourned among the rude people during the day,
+taking no food, but retiring to the sea again at night;
+and continued for some time, teaching them the arts of
+civilised life. Other ancient authors, as Polyhistor and
+Apollodorus, allude to the same tradition; and we gather
+that the portrait of the learned stranger (not painted <i>from
+the life</i>, we may presume, considering the condition of the
+people when he appeared, unless we may suppose it to
+have been the effort of one of his pupils in the pictorial
+art under his instruction) was preserved at Babylon to the
+historic period.</p>
+
+<p>In an elaborate sculpture of the later Assyrian period,
+discovered by M. Botta at Khorsabad, a maritime expedition
+is portrayed, and the sea around the ships is filled
+with various marine animals, and among them the compound
+mythic forms of winged bulls and bull-lions, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+which the Assyrians delighted, together with a figure
+composed of the body and tail of a fish extended horizontally,
+and the perpendicular trunk and foreparts of a man,
+crowned with the sacred cap, possibly representing the
+traditional Oannes.</p>
+
+<p>The god Dagon of the Philistines, and the goddess
+Atergatis of the Syrians were worshipped under the
+same combination of the human and piscine forms, and
+the Tritons of classical mythology perpetuated the idea.</p>
+
+<p>It is curious that in almost all ages and in almost all
+countries there should have prevailed a belief in the
+actual living existence of creatures like this. Was the
+mythological symbol the origin of the persuasion? Or
+is there any marine animal uniting so much of the general
+form of the fish with that of man as to have given the
+conception of the idol? A naturalist of deserved eminence
+has maintained, on purely scientific grounds, that
+such an animal must exist,&mdash;that the laws of nature absolutely
+require such a being; and though the amount of
+force which his reasoning, possesses will be estimated
+differently according as we reject or accept the hypothesis
+of the circularity of the great plan of nature, we may as
+well see what he has to say for a marine primate,&mdash;be he
+man or ape, mermaid or mermonkey.</p>
+
+<p>"There is yet," says Mr Swainson, "another primary
+type necessary to complete the circle of the quadrumanous
+animals, and it is that which we have elsewhere distinguished
+as the natatorial; but of such an animal we have
+only vague and indefinite accounts. It will be seen that,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>
+throughout the whole class of quadrupeds, the aquatic
+types are remarkably few, and in general scarce; and
+that they contain fewer forms or examples than any other,
+and are often, in the smaller groups, entirely wanting.
+To account for this is altogether impossible; we can only
+call attention to the fact, as exemplified in the aquatic
+order of <i>Cetacea</i>, in that of the <i>Fer&aelig;</i>, in the <i>Pachydermata</i>,
+in the circle of the <i>Glires</i>, and in all the remaining
+natatorial types of the different circles of quadrupeds.
+We do not implicitly believe in the existence of mermaids
+as described and depicted by the old writers&mdash;with a
+comb in the one hand and a mirror in the other; but it is
+difficult to imagine that the numerous records of singular
+marine animals, unlike any of those well known, have
+their origin in fraud or gross ignorance. Many of these
+narratives are given by eye-witnesses of the facts they
+vouch for&mdash;men of honesty and probity, having no object
+to gain by deception, and whose accounts have been confirmed
+by other witnesses equally trustworthy. Can it
+be supposed that the unfathomable depths of ocean are
+without their <i>peculiar</i> inhabitants, whose habits and
+economy rarely, if ever, bring them to the surface of the
+watery element? As reasonably might a Swiss mountaineer
+disbelieve in the existence of an ostrich, because it
+cannot inhabit his Alpine precipices, as that we should
+doubt that the rocks and caverns of the ocean are without
+animals destined to live in such situations, and such
+only. The natatorial type of the <i>Quadrumana</i>, however,
+is most assuredly wanting. Whatever its precise con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>struction
+may or might have been, it would represent and
+correspond to the seals in the circle of the <i>Fer&aelig;</i>, or rapacious
+quadrupeds; while a resemblance to the <i>Simiad&aelig;</i>,
+or monkeys, must be considered an essential character of
+any marine animal which is to connect and complete the
+circular series of types in the <i>Quadrumana</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Mr Swainson absolutely excludes Man from the zoological
+circle, on grounds which few naturalists are disposed
+to think sufficient; else we might suggest that man himself
+is the natatorial type of the <i>Primates</i>. Taking this
+author's own selection<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> of the characters which mark the
+natatorial types of animals, for our guide, we find that the
+largest size, the smallest fore-limbs, the most obtuse
+muzzle, the most carnivorous appetite, and the most
+natatory habits (for I do not know that the Apes, or the
+Sapajous, or the Lemurs, or the Bats, ever take to the
+water voluntarily, whereas savage Man is always a great
+swimmer), belong to Man, and so, <i>Swainsonio ipso judice</i>,
+constitute <i>him</i> the true aquatic primate. But if so, we
+do not want a merman or mermonkey; nay, we should
+not know where to insert him in the zoological circle if
+we found him; he would be awkwardly <i>de trop</i>.</p>
+
+<p>But yet nature <i>has</i> an awkward way of mocking at our
+impossibilities; and it <i>may be</i> that green-haired maidens
+with oary tails lurk in the ocean caves, and keep mirrors
+and combs upon their rocky shelves. Certainly the belief
+in them is very widely spread, and occasionally comes to
+us from quarters where we should hardly have looked for
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>it. A negro from Dongola assured Prince Puckler Muskau
+that in the country of Sennaar there was no doubt
+that Sirens (mermaids) still existed, for that he himself
+had seen more than one.<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a></p>
+
+<p>In my boyhood I well recollect being highly excited by
+the arrival in our town, at fair-time, of a "show," which
+professed to exhibit a mermaid, whose portrait, on canvas
+hung outside, was radiant in feminine loveliness and
+piscine scaliness. I fondly expected to see the very counterpart
+within, how disposed I did not venture to imagine,
+but alive and fascinating, of course. Had I not seen her
+picture? I joyfully paid my coppers, but oh! woful disappointment!
+I dimly saw, within a dusty glass case, in a
+dark corner, a shrivelled and blackened little thing which
+might have been moulded in mud for aught I could see,
+but which was labelled, "MERMAID!" So great was
+my disgust, so bitter my feelings of shame and anger at
+having been so grossly taken in, that I did not care to
+observe what might have been noteworthy in it. I read
+afterwards that it was a very ingenious cheat; the trunk
+and head of a monkey had been grafted on to the body
+and tail of a large salmon-like fish, and the junction had
+been so cleverly effected, that only a very close examination
+detected the artifice. It professed to have been
+brought from China, but possibly was an importation even
+thither, if Steinmetz is correct. According to this writer,
+"A Japanese fisherman contrived to unite the upper half
+of a monkey to the lower half of a fish, so neatly as to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>
+defy ordinary inspection. He then gave out that he had
+caught the creature alive in his net, but that it had died
+shortly after being taken out of the water; and he derived
+considerable pecuniary profit from his cunning in more
+ways than one. The exhibition of the sea-monster to
+Japanese curiosity paid well; but yet more productive
+was the assertion that the half-human fish, having spoken
+the few minutes it existed out of its native element, had
+predicted a certain number of years of wonderful fertility,
+and a fatal epidemic, the only remedy for which would be
+possession of the marine prophet's likeness. The sale of
+these pictured mermaids was immense. Either this composite
+animal, or another, the offspring of the success of
+the first, was sold at the Dutch factory, and transmitted
+to Batavia, where it fell into the hands of a speculating
+American, who brought it to Europe, and here, in the
+years 1822-3, exhibited his purchase as a real mermaid
+at every capital, to the admiration of the ignorant, the
+perplexity of the learned, and the filling of his own purse.
+Indeed, the mermaids exhibited in Europe and America,
+to the great profit of the enterprising showmen, have all
+been of Japanese manufacture."<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a></p>
+
+<p>This, however, will not account for the frequent reports
+of the living creatures having been seen, and unbelievers
+have to form some other hypothesis. In the tropical seas
+the cow-whales, uncouth marine <i>pachydermata</i>, have been
+assumed to be the originals of these stories. Megasthenes
+reported that the sea which washed Taprobane, the modern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
+Ceylon, was inhabited by a creature having the appearance
+of a woman; and &AElig;lian improves the account by
+stating that there are whales having the form of satyrs.
+'Tis true the Manatee and the Dugong are rather mer-swine
+than mer-maids; but there is something in the
+bluff round head which may remind a startled observer of
+the human form divine. Sir Emerson Tennent considers
+that this rude approach to the human outline, and the
+attitude of the mother while suckling her young, pressing
+it to her breast with one paw, while swimming with the
+other, the head of both being held perpendicularly above
+water, and then, when disturbed, suddenly diving and displaying
+her broad fin-like tail,&mdash;these, together with her
+habitual demonstrations of strong maternal affection, may
+probably have been the original from which the pictures
+of the mermaid were portrayed, and thus that earliest
+invention of mythical physiology may be traced to the
+Arab seamen and to the Greeks, who had watched the
+movements of the Dugong in the Red Sea and Indian
+Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The early Portuguese settlers in India had no doubt
+that true mermen were found in those seas; and the
+annalist of the exploits of the Jesuits narrates that seven
+of these monsters, male and female, were captured at
+Manaar in 1560, and carried to Goa, where they were dissected
+by Demas Bosquez, physician to the Viceroy, and
+"their internal structure found to be in all respects conformable
+to the human." Making allowance for the very
+limited acquaintance which the worthy physician was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+likely to have made with human anatomy by actual
+autopsy, this statement goes for little:&mdash;the real resemblance,
+assuming them to have been Dugongs, was about
+the same as that presented by the hog, whose inwards are
+popularly believed by our own country people to be in
+very close accordance with those of "Christians."</p>
+
+<p>Sir E. Tennent has embellished his book with a very
+taking portrait of the mermaid on the Dugong hypothesis;
+shewing two females, each holding a baby [is it right to
+say <i>merbaby</i>?], emerging from the sea-wave; they do look,
+to be sure, sufficiently human, but the well-known monogram
+of our clever friend Wolf in the corner of the cut
+suggests shrewd doubts that the portraits were not "<i>ad
+viv</i>."</p>
+
+<p>It is, perhaps, among the Scandinavian races that the
+belief in the merman has reached its culminating point.
+So many particulars are inculcated concerning the mode
+and conditions of life of these submarine beings, that the
+most intimate relations appear to have subsisted between
+the terrestrial and the aquatic peoples. According to the
+creed of the Norsemen, there exists, far beneath the
+depths of the ocean, an atmosphere adapted to the breathing
+organs of beings resembling in form the human race,
+endowed with surpassing beauty, with limited supernatural
+powers, but liable to suffering, and even to death.
+Their dwelling is in a vast region, situate far below the
+bottom of the sea, which forms a canopy over them, like
+the sky over us, and there they inhabit houses constructed
+of the pearly and coralline productions of the ocean.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
+Having lungs not adapted to a watery medium, but
+formed for breathing atmospheric air, it would be impossible
+for them to pass through the volume of waters that
+separates our world from theirs, if it were not that they
+possess the power of entering the skin of some marine
+animal, whose faculties they thus temporarily acquire, or
+of changing their own form and structure so as to suit
+the altered condition through which they are to travel.
+The most ordinary shape they assume is, as everybody
+knows, that of man (that is, their own proper form) from
+the waist upward, but below that of a fish. Whether they
+now breathe by gills or lungs, the anatomists, it seems,
+have not yet determined; we must presume the former
+alternative, since else it is not apparent what they have
+gained by their piscine metamorphosis of tail; though
+where the branchi&aelig; are situate we are a little at a loss to
+imagine. These, however, are matters which doubtless
+the scientific world will one day determine: it seems certain
+that they do thus acquire an amphibious nature, so
+as not only to exist submerged in the waters, but to land
+on the shores of our sunny world, where they frequently
+doff their fishy half, resume their proper human form, and
+pass muster while they pursue their investigations here.<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a></p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately, but one of these resources can ever be
+availed of by any individual mer-man or -maid, nor can any
+"son or daughter of the ocean borrow more than one sea-dress
+of this kind for his own particular use; therefore if
+the garb should be mislaid on the shores he never can re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>turn
+to his submarine country and friends. A Shetlander,
+having once found an empty seal-skin on the shore, took
+it home and kept it in his possession. Soon after, he met
+the most lovely being who ever stepped on the earth,
+wringing her hands with distress, and loudly lamenting,
+that, having lost her sea-dress, she must remain for ever
+on the earth. The Shetlander, having fallen in love at
+first sight, said not a syllable about finding this precious
+treasure, but made his proposals, and offered to take her
+for better or for worse, as his future wife! The merlady,
+though not, as we know, much a woman of the world,
+very prudently accepted the offer! I never heard what
+the settlements were, but they lived very happily for some
+years, till one day, when the green-haired bride unexpectedly
+discovered her long-lost seal-skin, and instantly
+putting it on, she took a hasty farewell of everybody, and
+ran towards the shore. Her husband flew out in pursuit
+of her, but in vain! She sprang from point to point, and
+from rock to rock, till at length, hastening into the ocean,
+she disappeared for ever, leaving the worthy man, her
+husband, perfectly planet-struck and inconsolable on the
+shore!"<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p>
+
+<p>Nor are there lacking in the rocky cliffs of our own
+northern islands fit lodgings for these sea kings and
+queens. The gifted pen of Sir Walter Scott has sketched
+one of these from his own observation: "Imagination
+can hardly conceive anything more beautiful than the extraordinary
+grotto discovered not many years since upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
+the estate of Alexander MacAllister, Esq. of Strathaird [in
+Skye]. The first entrance to this celebrated cave is rude
+and unpromising: but the light of the torches with which
+we were provided, was soon reflected from the roof, floor,
+and walls, which seemed as if they were sheeted with
+marble, partly smooth, partly rough with frostwork and
+rustic ornaments, and partly seeming to be wrought into
+statuary. The floor forms a steep and difficult ascent,
+and might be fancifully compared to a sheet of water,
+which, while it rushed whitening and foaming down a
+declivity, had been suddenly arrested and consolidated by
+the spell of an enchanter. Upon attaining the summit of
+this ascent, the cave opens into a splendid gallery, adorned
+with the most dazzling crystallizations, and finally descends
+with rapidity to the brink of a pool, of the most limpid
+water, about four or five yards broad. There opens beyond
+this pool a portal arch, formed by two columns of
+white spar, with beautiful chasing upon the sides, which
+promises a continuation of the cave. One of our sailors
+swam across, for there is no other mode of passing, and
+informed us (as indeed we partly saw by the light he
+carried) that the enchantment of MacAllister's cave terminates
+with this portal, a little beyond which there was
+only a rude cavern, speedily choked with stones and earth.
+But the pool on the brink of which we stood, surrounded
+by the most fanciful mouldings, in a substance resembling
+white marble, and distinguished by the depth and purity
+of its waters, might have been the bathing grotto of a
+naiad. The groups of combined figures projecting or em<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>bossed,
+by which the pool is surrounded, are exquisitely
+elegant and fanciful. A statuary might catch beautiful
+hints from the singular and romantic disposition of those
+stalactites. There is scarce a form or group on which
+active fancy may not trace figures or grotesque ornaments,
+which have been gradually moulded in this cavern by the
+dropping of the calcareous water hardening into petrifactions.
+Many of these fine groups have been injured
+by the senseless rage for appropriation of recent tourists;
+and the grotto has lost, (I am informed,) through the
+smoke of torches, something of that vivid silver tint which
+was originally one of its chief distinctions. But enough
+of beauty remains to compensate for all that may be
+lost."<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a></p>
+
+<p>But these tales are the <i>nug&aelig; canor&aelig;</i> of the naturalist.
+Once more,&mdash;Is there any substratum of truth underlying
+these fancies? or must they be unhesitatingly dismissed
+to the region of fable? Certainly, if there were not two
+or three narratives which have an air of veracity and dependableness,
+bearing out the belief to some slight extent,
+I should not have noticed it here.</p>
+
+<p>How simple and circumstantial is this story told by old
+Hudson, the renowned navigator! a man whose narrative
+is more than usually dry and destitute of everything like,
+not only imagination, but even an imaginative aspect of
+ordinary circumstances. On the 15th of June, when in
+lat. 75&deg;, trying to force a passage to the pole near Nova
+Zembla, he records the following incident: "This morn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>ing
+one of our company looking overboard saw a mermaid;
+and calling up some of the company to see her, one
+more came up, and by that time she was come close to
+the ship's side, looking earnestly on the men. A little
+after, a sea came and overturned her. From the navel
+upward, her back and breasts were like a woman's, as
+they say that saw her; her body as big as one of us; her
+skin very white; and long hair hanging down behind, of
+colour black. In her going down they saw her tail, which
+was like the tail of a porpoise, and speckled like a
+mackerel. Their names that saw her were Thomas Hilles
+and Robert Rayner."<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a></p>
+
+<p>Whatever explanation be attempted of this apparition,
+the ordinary resource of seal or walrus will not avail here.
+Seals and walruses must have been as familiar to these
+Polar mariners as cows to a dairy-maid. Unless the whole
+story was a concerted lie between the two men, reasonless
+and objectless,&mdash;and the worthy old navigator doubtless
+knew the character of his men,&mdash;they must have seen, in
+the black-haired, white-skinned creature, some form of
+being as yet unrecognised.</p>
+
+<p>Steller, a zoologist of some repute, who examined the
+natural history of the Siberian seas, reports having seen,
+near Behring's Straits, a strange animal, which he calls a
+Sea-ape. "It was about five feet long, with a head like
+a dog's; the ears sharp and erect, and the eyes large; on
+both lips it had a kind of beard; the form of the body
+was thick and round, but tapering to the tail, which was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>bifurcated, with the upper lobe longest; the body was
+covered with thick hair, grey on the back, and red on the
+belly. Steller could not discover any feet or paws. It
+was full of frolic, and sported in the manner of a monkey,
+swimming sometimes on one side of the ship and sometimes
+on the other, and looking at it with seeming surprise.
+It would come so near the ship that it might be
+touched with a pole; but if any one stirred, it would immediately
+retire. It often raised one third of its body
+above the water, and stood upright for a considerable
+time; then suddenly darted under the ship, and appeared
+in the same attitude on the other side; this it would
+repeat for thirty times together. It would frequently
+bring up a sea plant, not unlike a bottle-gourd, which it
+would toss about and catch again in its mouth, playing
+numberless fantastic tricks with it."</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing in this description which would exclude
+it from well-recognised zoological classification. It
+is highly probable that it was one of the seal tribe, but
+of a species, perhaps a genus, not yet identified. All
+analogy would suggest that fore-paws must have been
+present in an animal with a dog-like head, and clothed
+with hair; but they were perhaps small,&mdash;smaller even
+than in other <i>Phocad&aelig;</i>, and may have been so concealed
+in the long hair, or held so closely pressed to the body,
+as not to be visible. The only other difficulty is in the
+posterior extremity. This is described by Steller in terms
+that imply a true piscine tail, expanded in a direction
+vertical to the plane of the body, and of that peculiar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
+form called <i>heterocercal</i>, which distinguishes the cartilaginous
+families of Fishes, the Sharks and Rays. But
+the animal was indubitably a Mammal; and therefore we
+may almost with certainty assume that, if the body terminated
+in a natatory expansion, it would be, as in the
+whales, and manatees, a horizontal expansion, and not a
+vertical one. But if the strange creature was indeed, as
+I conclude, of the Phocine type, we have only to suppose
+the tail, which is usually very small in this family, to have
+been so greatly developed, as to exceed the united hind
+feet, which may have been small, and the appearance,
+seen momentarily, and in the wash of the waves, might
+well seem that of a heterocercal tail.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Weddell, well known for his geographical discoveries
+in the extreme south of the globe, relates the
+following story: "A boat's crew were employed on Hall's
+Island, when one of the crew, left to take care of some produce,
+saw an animal whose voice was even musical. The
+sailor had lain down, and about ten o'clock he heard a
+noise resembling human cries; and as daylight in these
+latitudes never disappears at this season, he rose and looked
+around; but, on seeing no person, returned to bed; presently
+he heard the noise again; rose a second time, but
+still saw nothing. Conceiving, however, the possibility
+of a boat being upset, and that some of the crew might
+be clinging to some detached rocks, he walked along the
+beach a few steps, and heard the noise more distinctly,
+but in a musical strain. Upon searching round he saw
+an object lying on a rock a dozen yards from the shore,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
+at which he was somewhat frightened. The face and
+shoulders appeared of human form, and of a reddish
+colour; over the shoulders hung long green hair; the
+tail resembled that of the seal, but the extremities of the
+arms he could not see distinctly. The creature continued to
+make a musical noise while he gazed about two minutes,
+and on perceiving him it disappeared in an instant. Immediately
+when the man saw his officer, he told this
+wild tale, and to add weight to his testimony, (being a
+Romanist,) he made a cross on the sand which he kissed,
+as making oath to the truth of his statement. When I
+saw him, he told the story in so clear and positive a
+manner, making oath to its truth, that I concluded he
+must really have seen the animal he described, or that it
+must have been the effects of a disturbed imagination."<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a></p>
+
+<p>The <i>green</i> hair in this description is the most suspicious
+element; it is so exactly that attributed to the poetical
+mermaids, and so entirely without precedent in the whole
+range of known zoology,&mdash;that, if taken literally, I fear it
+would condemn the narrative. But among the Antarctic
+seals, both golden yellow fur, and black fur, are found;
+and if hairs of these two colours were about equally intermingled,
+the result would be an olive-green, as we see in
+some of the monkeys; and then some allowance must
+doubtless be made for imagination, in one little accustomed
+to precise observation, and "somewhat frightened"
+withal. I should say, with little hesitation, that this
+creature was of the seal family, only that the seaman's
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>daily habits brought him into the most familiar contact
+with various kinds of seals; and, unless the animal in
+question had differed notably from such as he was
+acquainted with, he would not have been so affected by
+the phenomenon. In such stories, the sorts of creatures
+familiar to the observation of the narrator, and the amount
+of surprise produced in his mind by the stranger,&mdash;must
+always be carefully estimated, as important elements in
+the formation of our judgment.</p>
+
+<p>To come nearer home, Pontoppidan records the appearance
+of a merman, which was deposed to on oath by the
+observers: "About a mile from the coast of Denmark,
+near Landscrona, three sailors, observing something like a
+dead body floating in the water, rowed towards it. When
+they came within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared
+as at first, for it had not stirred; but at that instant it
+sunk, and came up almost immediately in the same place.
+Upon this, out of fear, they lay still, and then let the boat
+float, that they might the better examine the monster,
+which, by the help of the current, came nearer and nearer
+to them. He turned his face and stared at them, which
+gave them a good opportunity of examining him narrowly.
+He stood in the same place for seven or eight minutes,
+and was seen above the water breast high. At last they
+grew apprehensive of some danger, and began to retire;
+upon which the monster blew up his cheeks, and made a
+kind of lowing noise, and then dived from their view. In
+regard to his form, they declare in their affidavits, which
+were regularly taken and recorded, that he appeared like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>
+an old man, strong-limbed, with broad shoulders, but his
+arms they could not see. His head was small in proportion
+to his body, and had short curled black hair, which
+did not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his
+head, and he had a meagre face, with a black beard;
+about the body downwards this merman was quite pointed
+like a fish."<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p>
+
+<p>But the most remarkable story that I know of in recent
+times, is that adduced by Dr Robert Hamilton, in his
+able History of the Whales and Seals, in the <i>Naturalist's
+Library</i>, he himself vouching for its general truth, from
+personal knowledge of some of the parties: "It was reported
+that a fishing-boat, off the island of Yell, one
+of the Shetland group, had captured a mermaid by its
+getting entangled in the lines!! The statement is, that
+the animal was about three feet long, the upper part
+of the body resembling the human, with protuberant
+mamm&aelig; like a woman; the face, the forehead, and neck,
+were short and resembling those of a monkey; the arms,
+which were small, were kept folded across the breast; the
+fingers were distinct, not webbed; a few stiff long bristles
+were on the top of the head, extending down to the shoulders,
+and these it could erect and depress at pleasure,
+something like a crest. The inferior part of the body
+was like a fish. The skin was smooth, and of a grey
+colour. It offered no resistance, nor attempted to bite,
+but uttered a low plaintive sound. The crew, six in
+number, took it within their boat, but superstition
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>getting the better of curiosity, they carefully disentangled
+it from the lines, and a hook which had accidentally
+fastened in its body, and returned it to its
+native element. It instantly dived, descending in a
+perpendicular direction.</p>
+
+<p>"After writing the above, (we are informed) the narrator
+had an interview with the skipper of the boat and one of
+the crew, from whom he learned the following additional
+particulars. They had the animal for three hours within
+the boat; the body was without scales or hair; was of a
+silvery grey colour above, and white below, like the human
+skin; no gills were observed; nor fins on the back or
+belly. The tail was like that of the dog-fish: the mamm&aelig;
+were about as large as those of a woman; the mouth
+and lips were very distinct, and resembled the human.</p>
+
+<p>"This communication was from Mr Edmonston, a well-known
+and intelligent observer, to the distinguished Professor
+of Natural History in the Edinburgh University,
+and Mr E. adds a few reflections, which are so pertinent,
+that we shall avail ourselves of them. That a very peculiar
+animal has been taken, no one can doubt. It was
+seen and handled by six men, on one occasion, and for
+some time, not one of whom dreams of a doubt of its
+being a mermaid. If it were supposed that their fears
+magnified its supposed resemblance to the human form, it
+must at all events be admitted that there was some ground
+for exciting these fears. But no such fears were likely to
+be entertained; for the mermaid is not an object of terror
+to the fisherman; it is rather a welcome guest, and danger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>
+is to be apprehended only from its experiencing bad treatment.
+The usual resources of scepticism, that the seals
+and other sea-animals, appearing under certain circumstances,
+operating on an excited imagination, and so producing
+ocular illusion, cannot avail here. It is quite impossible
+that, under the circumstances, six Shetland fishermen
+could commit such a mistake."<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a></p>
+
+<p>There is, no doubt, much in this account which signally
+distinguishes it from all other statements with which it
+can be compared, except that of Hudson's sailors, with
+which it well coincides. The protuberant mamm&aelig;, resembling
+those of a woman; the human, or at least simian
+face, forehead, and neck, and especially the mouth and
+lips; the distinct unwebbed fingers; the erectile crest of
+bristles; the nature of the surface,&mdash;without scales or
+hair; the colour; and the tail,&mdash;like that of a fish;&mdash;are
+all very remarkable points; and unless we conclude the
+entire story to be a lie, a mere barefaced hoax,&mdash;must
+necessarily indicate a creature of which scientific zoology
+knows absolutely nothing.</p>
+
+<p>It is observable that, here again, the tail is said to have
+been piscine and heterocercal, "like that of the dog-fish:"
+while the naked skin, and the colour&mdash;silvery grey above
+and white below,&mdash;will well agree with the characteristics
+common to the smaller <i>Squalid&aelig;</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It is a pity that an account like this, avouched by six
+witnesses, was not thoroughly sifted. I have no doubt
+that, if a person tolerably conversant with zoology, and accustomed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>
+to the habit of cross-examination, had examined
+these six eye-witnesses <i>separately</i>, making full notes of
+what each could remember to have observed, and had then
+checked each deposition by all the others, a mass of testimony
+would have been accumulated that would in an
+instant have convinced any candid inquirer what measure
+of truth lay in the story. Points in which the whole six,
+or even three or four, agreed, might unhesitatingly have
+been set down as correct: suggestive questions, (not, however,
+suggesting the sort of answer,) as, "Had the creature
+so and so, or so and so?" could not have received the
+same reply from all the deponents, without being worthy
+of credence: even the points on which they would have
+differed might themselves have been instructive to an
+intelligent inquirer. I do not know that any such precautionary
+measures were resorted to in this case, and the
+tale must remain as we get it; but I make these observations
+for the purpose of suggesting, in the event of any
+similar occurrence, the advantage of <i>separate</i> examination
+in getting at the truth. On a review of the whole evidence,
+I do not judge that this single story is a sufficient
+foundation for believing in the existence of mermaids;
+but, taken into combination with other statements, it induces
+a strong suspicion that the northern seas may hold
+forms of life as yet uncatalogued by science.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV.</h2>
+
+<h2>THE SELF-IMMURED.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Turning from reputed beings of which the very existence
+is the subject of doubt, let us consider one or two
+well-known and homely creatures, about which a certain
+degree of romantic interest hovers, because conditions of
+life are attributed to them by popular faith, which the
+general verdict of science denies.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most remarkable examples in this category
+of <i>dubitanda</i>, is the oft-repeated case of Toads and similar
+animals found inclosed within the solid wood of living
+trees, or even within blocks of stone, with no discernible
+communication with the external air, or at least no aperture
+by which they could have entered their prison, yet, in
+every instance, alive. That insuperable difficulties stand
+<i>a priori</i> in the way of our believing in such conditions,
+no one familiar with animal physiology can deny; for, as
+Mr Bell observes, to believe that a Toad inclosed within
+a mass of clay, or other similar substance, shall exist
+wholly without air or food, for hundreds of years, and at
+length be liberated alive and capable of crawling, on the
+breaking up of the matrix,&mdash;now become a solid rock,&mdash;is
+certainly a demand upon our credulity which few will be
+ready to answer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Yet, after all, it is a question that must not be decided
+<i>a priori</i>: it must rest upon evidence. It may be that
+here, too, fact is stranger than fiction; and we must not
+shut our eyes and ears to concurrent credible testimony,
+if it happen to bear witness to facts which we cannot
+account for. Truth will certainly be upon us, even
+though, ostrich-like, we thrust our head into a bush, and
+maintain that we cannot see it.</p>
+
+<p>The learned historian of British Reptiles speaks with
+his characteristic candour upon the point. He admits
+that the many concurrent assertions of credible persons,
+who declare themselves to have been witnesses of the
+emancipation of imprisoned Toads, forbid us hastily to
+refuse our assent, or at least to deny the possibility of
+such a circumstance; while he demands better and more
+cautious evidence to authorise our implicit faith in these
+asserted facts.<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a></p>
+
+<p>The ordinary mode of accounting for the phenomena,
+supposing them to be narrated in good faith, is that the
+animal "fell into the hollow where the men were at work,
+and was taken up by them in ignorance of the mode in
+which it had come there," or that "it may have hidden
+in the hollow of a tree during the autumn and winter,
+and on the return of spring found itself so far inclosed
+within its hiding-place as to be unable to escape." This
+latter suggestion would be more worthy of attention were
+the winter season the period in which, in our climate,
+periodical additions are made to the living wood, so as to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>narrow the entrance, or in which augmentations of bulk
+occurred to Toads, so as to prevent them from getting out
+where they got in;&mdash;but unfortunately the reverse of
+both suppositions is true. As to the former suggestion,
+while it may possibly serve to dismiss a few of the published
+statements, there are others which it would be
+absurd to explain thereby.</p>
+
+<p>True to its principles of never shutting the door to the
+investigation of any natural history subject, the <i>Zoologist</i>
+has, during the eighteen years of its existence, been a
+medium for collecting and preserving facts bearing on
+this question. The pages of this periodical form an
+invaluable storehouse to the philosophic naturalist, who
+wishes to pursue his science undeterred by the ridicule of
+sciolism or the frown of authority. Let us search its
+treasures, then, expecting to find stories of diverse grades
+of credibility, of which the editor wisely leaves his readers
+to judge for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>In May 1844, the Rev. J. Pemberton Bartlett of Kingston,
+in Kent, an experienced naturalist, mentions the
+following fact as having just come under his own notice:&mdash;"Only
+a few weeks since, in cutting down a fir-tree
+here, the workman discovered, completely imbedded in the
+centre, a Toad, which had doubtless been there some
+years, as the tree had completely grown over it; it must
+have been kept alive by absorbing the moisture of the
+tree. It was not in a completely torpid state, and after
+being exposed to the air a few hours, it crawled in true
+toad-like style. The age of the tree in which it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
+found was, as far as I could judge from the number of
+circles, about twenty-five years."<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a></p>
+
+<p>In reply to an inquiry whether he himself saw the Toad,
+and counted the timber-rings, Mr Bartlett favours me
+with the following note:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">
+"<span class="smcap">Exbury Parsonage, near Southampton</span>,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-right: 6em;"><i>February 22, 1861</i>.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,&mdash; ... <i>I</i> quite believe that Toads <i>do</i> live
+in stone, but I have found it very difficult to get the facts
+from eye-witnesses. The imbedded Toad in the fir-tree,
+mentioned by me in the <i>Zoologist</i>, I saw, and, as stated
+there, I counted the rings of the tree. I believe it to
+have been the common Toad; but it looked rather more
+flabby, and not quite so round in its proportions, as toads
+generally do; in fact, instead of being 'puffed up' as
+they commonly are, it was considerably <i>down in the
+mouth</i>, from its close imprisonment! The cavity in
+which it was fixed appeared to have been originally a
+crack or fissure in the side of the tree; whether caused by
+decay, or made by a nuthatch or some other bird, I cannot
+say. The wound appeared to have healed, as the bark
+had apparently closed over it. The question now arises,
+Was the Toad <i>young</i> when it got into the hollow? and did
+it grow after it became a prisoner? Or had it come to
+years of discretion, when it took that unfortunate step, or
+rather crawl, into the cavity where it was so long to be imprisoned?
+And <i>why did</i> it remain there so quietly, while
+the bark gradually grew over its prison-house? The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+answer that I should give to the first of these questions
+would be, that probably it had arrived at a state of <i>toadhood</i>
+when it took refuge in the tree, and <i>did not</i> grow
+afterwards. My theory why it remained ensconced there
+so quietly is this, that probably it might have been accustomed
+for some time to take refuge by day in this hole,
+from whence it would set out on its nocturnal rambles,
+and probably 'not go home till morning;' that on some
+occasion, 'when daylight did appear,' it returned to its
+accustomed haunt, and there squatted, winking and puffing,
+after its night's exploits, as toads are wont to do;
+that, on that luckless day, some felled tree or trees were
+laid up against the fir-tree that contained its abode, and
+that the tree or trees remained there till the bark closed
+so as to prevent its escape. What makes this idea the
+more probable is that the place where the fir-tree grew
+had, for probably years, been used as a place to store
+felled timber, as it was used for that purpose at the time
+I saw the Toad.</p>
+
+<p>"After the discovery of this Toad in the fir-tree, I tried
+several experiments on Toads, by burying them in closely-sealed
+flower-pots, at a depth of nearly three feet. I much
+regret that I cannot find my notes on the subject; but I
+remember perfectly the main facts of one. The Toad was
+placed in a flower-pot, with another turned over it, and
+well cemented together&mdash;the two holes in both pots being
+also closely cemented up. It was buried between two and
+three feet deep in the garden. At the end of three months
+I took it up, and weighed the Toad, and found it had lost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>
+a very little in weight. This I did again at the end of
+three months more; it was then quite lively, and had lost
+again but little in weight. I replaced it as before, and
+on taking it up the third time, I found the pots had, probably
+the cement not having been dry when buried,
+slipped on one side, and the moisture had got in, and consequently
+the poor Toad was dead, as well as buried!
+Now, surely if a Toad could live <i>six months</i> hermetically
+<i>sealed</i> in a flower-pot, without air or food&mdash;why not a
+much longer time?...&mdash;Believe me, yours faithfully,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">
+"<span class="smcap">J. Pemberton Bartlett</span>."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. W. J. Bree of Allesley, also an excellent
+zoologist, alluding to some queries by Mr E. Newman,
+communicated the following facts:&mdash;"I quite agree with
+you that the statements about Toads found in solid stone
+are mostly very unsatisfactory. One instance of the kind
+I have seen, as briefly stated, <i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i>, ix. 316.
+The Toad appeared to me neither more nor less than our
+common species, although I certainly did not examine it
+scientifically. The stone was the new red sandstone of
+geologists; and was brought up, as I was told, some yards
+from below the surface. I understood the Toad, and the
+two portions of stone in which it was found inclosed,
+were deposited in some medical museum at Birmingham.
+The animal would not have been discovered but for an
+accident: the workmen were carting the stone away, and
+the block containing the Toad happened to be placed on
+the top of a great load, and accidentally fell from the cart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>
+to the ground, and, breaking by the fall, brought to light
+the incarcerated reptile, which, I conclude, was somewhat
+injured by the fall, as there was a fresh wound on one
+side of the head, and it appeared to be blind of one eye.
+The Toad died, I was informed, the second day after it
+was discovered, partly, in all probability, in consequence
+of the injury. When I say the block of stone was <i>solid</i>,
+this statement requires some qualification: the two parts
+of the stone fitted together exactly, and quite close, except
+where the cavity was in which the Toad lay; but from
+this cavity there was evidently a flaw on one side towards
+the extremity, and a discolouring of the substance of the
+sandstone, so that although the two portions fitted together,
+they might not have been (on one side of the
+cavity) very firmly united. This circumstance, perhaps,
+may detract from the value of the example; nevertheless,
+it is unaccountable how the animal could have got into
+the position in which it was found: it is not conceivable,
+I think, that it should have been there ever since the first
+formation of the rock, and there certainly appeared to be
+no means by which it could have entered the rock in its
+present state, even admitting (what we know to be the
+fact) that Toads have the power of getting in and out of
+a very small orifice."</p>
+
+<p>The author of the next account, signed "E. Peacock,"
+is unknown to me; and it does not appear whether he
+speaks from personal observation or not. He says, "A
+few days ago, two labourers, employed at a stone quarry
+at Frodingham, near Brigg, Lincolnshire, found, at a depth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>
+of five feet below the surface of the ground, and between
+two blocks of stone (lias), a living Toad: the interstice
+between the stones was filled with yellow clay, and there
+did not appear the least possible aperture by which anything
+could have passed."<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a></p>
+
+<p>Even from remote India we have reports of the same
+phenomenon. A correspondent from Serampore sends
+the <i>Zoologist</i> the following:&mdash;"Last Wednesday, Feb. 7,
+1849, on severing the branch of a tree, apparently of
+the tamarind species, I found a Toad in the centre of the
+wood, entirely excluded from light and air. The appearance
+of the animal was rather extraordinary. The body
+seemed full of air, and the skin soft and puffy, and of a
+light yellowish colour, with the exception of the extremities
+of the feet, which were hard and dark. The creature
+when exposed to the air seemed rather uncomfortable, and
+drew in its head just like a turtle when alarmed. It was
+thrown into a tank, when the water around, to the space
+of about a foot on either side, became perfectly white,
+like milk. It jumped out of the water immediately,
+apparently not liking the coldness. I did not have opportunity
+of observing it further, which I regret, as the
+animal got concealed in the long grass on the side of the
+tank, and was thus lost. The general supposition as to the
+mode by which animals get inclosed within trees, is their
+taking shelter in the cavity of a tree when very young, and
+the growth of the tree filling up the cavity, and thus imprisoning
+the animal. But this supposition, if true in the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>present case, makes the circumstance now related the more
+extraordinary. The tree is an old one, upwards of fifty feet
+high, and having a trunk more than three feet in diameter;
+and the height from the ground at which the Toad was
+found was about twelve feet. We must suppose the Toad
+to have got into the tree when within a foot from the
+ground: how many years old then must the animal be?"</p>
+
+<p>The mention of the whitening of the water in which
+the Toad was immersed is to my mind a strong corroboration
+of the veracity of the preceding narrative. It is not
+a circumstance at all likely to occur to a mere inventor,
+as it does not in the least bear on the question of incarceration,
+and there is no attempt to explain it. I have
+occasionally seen fluids rendered partially opaque by the
+outflow of a milky secretion from animals immersed in
+them, as in the case of the curious <i>Peripatus</i> of Jamaica,
+which, when put alive into spirits, discharges a considerable
+quantity of white fluid, which diffuses in the alcohol.
+The Toad was probably distinct from our common English
+species, but we know that the latter secretes a yellow
+acrid fluid in some abundance in the follicles of its skin,
+and this might be poured out under the excitement of
+alarm or anger.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer of 1851, the Acad&eacute;mie des Sciences
+was interested (according to the public papers) with this
+question. In digging a well at Blois, in June of that
+year, "some workmen drew up from about a yard beneath
+the surface a large flint, weighing about fourteen pounds,
+and on striking it a blow with a pickaxe, it split in two,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
+and discovered, snugly ensconced in the very centre, a
+large Toad. The Toad seemed for a moment greatly
+astonished, but jumped out, and rather rapidly crawled
+away. He was seized and replaced in the hole, when he
+settled himself down very quietly. The stone and Toad,
+just as they were, were sent to the Society of Sciences at
+Blois, and became immediately the subject of curious
+attention. First of all, the flint, fitted together, with the
+Toad in the hole, was placed in a cellar, and imbedded in
+moss. There it was left for some time. It is not known
+if the Toad ate, but it is certain that he made no discharge
+of any kind. It was found that if the top of the stone
+were cautiously removed in a dark place he did not stir,
+but that if the removal were effected in the light, he immediately
+got out and ran away. If he were placed on
+the edge of the flint, he would crawl into his hole, and fix
+himself comfortably in. He gathered his legs beneath
+his body; and it was observed that he took especial care
+of one of his feet, which had been slightly hurt in one
+of his removals. The hole is not one bit larger than the
+body, except a little where the back is. There is a sort
+of ledge on which his mouth reposes, and the bones of the
+jaws are slightly indented, as if from long resting on a
+hard substance. Not the slightest appearance of any
+communication whatsoever between the centre and the
+outside of the stone can be discovered, so that there is no
+reason to suppose that he could have drawn any nourishment
+from the outside. The committee, consisting of
+three eminent naturalists, one of whom has made Toads<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
+his peculiar study for years, made no secret of their belief
+that the Toad had been in that stone for hundreds, perhaps
+thousands of years; but how he could have lived
+without air, or food, or water, or movement, they made
+no attempt to explain. They accordingly contented themselves
+with proposing that the present should be considered
+another authentic case, to be added to the few hundreds
+already existing, of Toads being found alive imbedded in
+stone, leaving it to some future savant to explain what
+now appears the wonderful miracle by which Nature keeps
+them alive so long in such places. But the distinguished
+M. Majendie suggested that it was just possible that an
+attempt was being made to hoax the Academy, by making
+it believe that the Toad had been found in the hole,
+whereas it might only have been put in by the mischievous
+workmen after the stone was broken. Terrified at the
+idea of becoming the laughing-stock of the public, the
+Academy declined to take any formal resolution about
+the Toad, but thanked the committee for its very interesting
+communication; and so the subject dropped."</p>
+
+<p>This statement does not, to be sure, bear about it that
+character of precision which should mark the report of
+a scientific body, nor is it verified by authority; but
+the terror ascribed to L'Acad&eacute;mie at the idea of being
+hoaxed, and the instant quashing of the inquiry, are so
+true to nature, so accurately characteristic of our august
+associations of savans, that I cannot help believing the
+story.</p>
+
+<p>Here is another, which has the air of a <i>bon&acirc; fide</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
+account, though I have no knowledge of the writer, nor
+does he himself seem to pretend to personal autopsy of
+the discovery.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday last, September 20, while some workmen
+were engaged in getting iron ore at a place called Paswick,
+in the north of this county, [Derby,] they came
+upon a solid lump of ore, which, being heavier than two
+men could lift, they set to work to break with their picks,
+when, to their surprise, in a cavity near the centre of the
+stone, they found a Toad alive. The cavity was much
+larger than the Toad, being nearly six inches in diameter,
+and was lined with crystals of what I suppose to be carbonate
+of lime. The stone was about four yards from
+the surface of the ground; it is now in the possession of
+Mr Haywood of Derby, by whose men it was found; but
+unfortunately the Toad was not preserved after its death,
+which took place almost immediately on its exposure to
+the atmosphere.<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a></p>
+
+<p><i>Audi alteram partem.</i> Mr Plant of the Salford Museum
+tells us, both in sorrow and in anger, a story,
+doubtless more amusing to us who read it than to him, of
+his adventures among the toad-finders. When geologising
+in the neighbourhood of Chesterfield, a quarryman,
+whom he had invited to share a bottle of porter, informed
+him in confidence that Toads inclosed in stone were plentiful
+thereabout. "He said he had often found them,
+and that he knew a stone before it was broken that would
+contain a Toad; giving me long and circumstantial ac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>counts
+of the whole phenomenon: and, to convince me of
+the truth of his statement, he took me to the quarry (a
+carboniferous sandstone) that I might see the stones out
+of which he said the Toads had been released. I examined
+the stones and the whole quarry very attentively,
+and listened to the emphatic testimony of other miners
+present. After complying in an agreeable manner to
+their remark that the day was warm, and the water of the
+quarry not much in favour, I made a simple proposal of
+this nature:&mdash;I promised to pay to any one of them the
+sum of twenty shillings for the next stone in which they
+found a Frog or Toad when the stone was broken in two.
+They should catch the Frog if he bolted out of the hole,
+replace him, and fit the stones together again, afterwards
+despatching it to me in that condition. I further promised
+to pay the sum of forty shillings to any one of
+them who should procure me a stone, unbroken, in which
+he considered a Toad or Frog was imprisoned, if, on breaking
+it myself, such turned out to be the case. These
+conditions were to remain in force for twelve months;
+and as the means of conveyance to my address, which I
+gave them, would occasion little or no trouble, the offer
+was readily accepted by the miners; who also, to express
+their confidence in soon being able to supply the order,
+proposed that it would be all safe if I advanced a little
+cash on account; which however I resolutely declined
+doing. And now what will the credulous believers in
+these 'Toads in stone' who read the <i>Zoologist</i> say, when
+they learn that I visited the quarry twice during the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>twelve months, in order to fetch the Toads which never
+came by rail? I always found the men there blasting
+tons of new rock, splitting stones for every building purpose,
+yet dry-throated and sullen; for, alas! most unaccountably
+during that long twelve months they found
+plenty of holes&mdash;not Toad holes&mdash;in the sandstone, but
+the reptiles had been banished as effectually as ever they
+were from the Emerald Isle."<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a></p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.5" id="Fig.5">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 260px;">
+<a href="images/fig179-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig179-400.jpg" width="260" height="400" alt="TOAD IN A HOLE." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">TOAD IN A HOLE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This was disheartening, certainly: and we do not wonder
+that Mr Plant became "a total disbeliever in these
+'simple tales.'" Still, it is just possible, that immured
+Toads may exist, though Mikey of the Chesterfield quarry,
+in hope of the advance, did brag a little too confidently of
+the commonness of the occurrence. That, within one
+twelvemonth, within the limits of one quarry, no such
+Toad turned up, even under the stimulus of the proffered
+forty shillings, can scarcely be admitted to be absolutely
+conclusive proof of the negative, at least not to us who
+were not placed in the painful position of <i>gullees</i>. Mr
+Arthur Hussey of Rottingdean justly remarks, when presenting
+some evidence <i>per contra</i>, that we should not
+think the innocence of a culprit was established by his
+asserting, when sundry witnesses affirmed they saw him
+commit the offence he was accused of,&mdash;that he could
+produce ten times the number who would swear they <i>did
+not</i> see him.</p>
+
+<p>"During the summer of 1846," writes Mr Hussey, "in
+the formation of a railroad, about half a mile from Ponte<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>fract,
+in Yorkshire, the works were carried a 'depth of four
+feet through a rock betwixt lime and sandstone, about
+the junction of the two formations:' the rock being so
+firm as to require blasting. 'It is entirely free from beds
+of any kind, or what the workmen term "backs," running
+up it,' but therein are 'an infinite number of small
+nodules of a harder quality, entirely crystallised in the
+interior.' After blasting, the labourers were much surprised
+to find among the fragments several of these
+nodules, each one containing a Frog, as many as seven
+having been counted after one 'shot.'</p>
+
+<p>"These were not casually seen when exposed, and then
+disregarded, but were examined in their stone prisons
+through very minute holes, some even preserved in that
+state for a long period. For example, the relator states
+of one specimen, 'I kept this Toad in a cellar for about
+five months, during which time it ate nothing, and was
+without light, the hole in the stone being covered with a
+piece of clay, and the whole kept moist and cool with
+water.' Of another he says, 'The Frog lived only about
+a week, as I kept it in a place which I think was too
+warm for it, and also not sufficiently dark and quiet.
+When the Frogs were disturbed by the shots, their first
+desire seemed to be to get under shelter of some stone, or
+into their old holes again, shewing thereby that sight was
+not wanting, and bodily activity was perfect as far as
+could be seen. One thing struck me as singular with
+regard to the Frog I kept&mdash;its fresh, plump, and healthy
+appearance, its skin being soft and transparent. One day,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
+when I was holding my finger over the hole in the stone,
+it pushed its head between my finger and the sides of the
+hole, and drew its whole body after it on to the table,
+where it appeared more like a skeleton than any living
+animal I have ever seen, but by degrees it extended itself
+to its former dimensions.'</p>
+
+<p>"Of the above curious occurrence my only knowledge is
+derived from the account written to a distant friend, of
+which the substance has now been extracted. The writer
+is an utter stranger, but he was officially employed in the
+operations which resulted in the discoveries; and my
+information leads me to believe his report deserving of
+confidence, for which reason I have not hesitated to offer
+this abstract for publication in the <i>Zoologist</i>."<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Rev. Alfred Charles Smith, an excellent and genial
+naturalist, favours us with another case, introducing it
+incidentally in illustration of the general habit he is
+denouncing of wantonly destroying animal life:&mdash;"As an
+instance of this thoughtless cruelty, I must give an
+account that has just come to my notice. Some labourers
+were pulling down an old wall, in the thickness of which
+they found one of those phenomena&mdash;so frequently heard
+of and so unsatisfactorily accounted for&mdash;a Toad completely
+imbedded in stone and mortar. 'There was no
+doubt,' said the labourer who described it, 'that he had
+been there for a great number of years, for there was no
+hole or chink by which he could have entered or left the
+place of his long sojourn.' 'Well,' said the listener to his
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>account, 'but are you sure that the Toad was alive when
+you found it?' 'No doubt of that, sir,' said the man, 'for
+he crawled out of his round hole and was moving away,
+when I knocked him on the head with my pickaxe.'</p>
+
+<p>"So here was this poor harmless creature, whose long
+incarceration in his gloomy dungeon might have excited
+compassion in his favour, suddenly released from his
+prison, only to be slain by his liberator!"<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a></p>
+
+<p>The next is from the <i>Caledonian Mercury</i>. Newspaper
+zoology is proverbially untrustworthy, and the editor of
+the <i>Zoologist</i>, who reprints the paragraph, kindly adds a
+caveat for the benefit of his readers,&mdash;"<i>Nimium ne crede
+Mercurio!</i>" But, nevertheless, let us look at it: alone
+it would stand for little, but, remember, in such questions
+as this the evidence is cumulative. "There is at present
+to be seen at Messrs Sanderson and Sons, George Street,
+Edinburgh, an extraordinary specimen of natural history&mdash;a
+Frog which had been discovered alive in freestone
+rock. A few months ago, while some colliers in the
+employ of Mr James Nasmyth (lessee of Dundonald
+Colliery, in Fife, the property of R. B. Wardlaw Ramsay,
+Esq. of Whitehill), were engaged in taking out the pavement
+of the seam coal, which was freestone, they discovered
+a cavity in which a Frog was lying. On touching
+it the Frog jumped about for some time, and a bucket of
+water being procured, it was put into it, and taken to the
+surface. On reaching it, the animal was found to be dead.
+It was at the depth of forty-five fathoms, or ninety yards
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>from the surface, in a perpendicular line of strata, consisting
+of alternate layers of coal and freestone, with
+ironstone, and about four hundred yards from the outcrop
+surface. The Frog seems to have much of the same
+character as the present species. It is very attenuated,
+which cannot be wondered at, considering its domicile for
+so many ages, its original existence being of course considered
+contemporaneous with the formation of the freestone
+rock in which it was contained."<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a></p>
+
+<p>Now, again, we get the statement of a careful working
+naturalist, Mr Thomas Clark of Halesleigh. He cannot,
+indeed, give personal authority for what he records; but
+the confidence of such a man in his informant is an element
+not without its value. "March 25, 1859. In the
+early part of this month, two live Toads were dug out
+from the bottom of a bed of stiff brick clay, in the neighbourhood
+of Bridgewater, at the depth of fourteen feet
+from the surface of the ground; a third was killed by the
+spade before they were observed. This bed of clay rests
+on peat, and the Toads were found at the junction of the
+two beds, in a small domed cavity, about the size of the
+crown of a man's hat. On being exposed to the air, they
+uttered a squeaking cry, resembling that of a rat, but in
+about a minute they seemed reconciled to their new destiny,
+and moved freely about. They were kept in a jar
+for a few days, and then placed at liberty in a garden,
+where I suppose they are still living. The living ones
+were about two inches in length, but narrow in propor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>tion,
+and of a rather lighter colour than Toads usually are;
+the one which was killed was very much larger. The
+clay under which they were buried had been gradually
+dug out from the surface since about the beginning of
+the year, but the last five feet of depth was not dug till
+the day on which they were discovered. After about two
+feet of the surface, the clay is very close and adhesive, and
+far too moist to admit of cracks being formed in it, even
+in the driest summers."<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a></p>
+
+<p>To this communication inserted in the <i>Zoologist</i>, Mr
+Newman added a note asking the name of any scientific
+man who was present at the exhumation. Mr Clark replies:&mdash;"I
+am unable to give such a name, further than
+as the intelligent foreman of the brickyard, Thomas Duddridge,
+(who witnessed the exhumation by one of the
+labourers of the yard,) may be entitled to the appellation;
+but no one, however high his scientific attainments, could
+be more careful than he was to give me correct information,
+or more exact in his statements; and if, after minute
+inquiry, I had not been fully satisfied of the correctness
+of his account, I should not have sought to occupy the
+pages of the <i>Zoologist</i> with its recital. On shewing him
+the notice in the <i>Zoologist</i>, he said it was impossible for
+anything to be more correct; and he added, that the little
+cavity which the Toads occupied was quite smooth in
+every part, apparently by their long-continued movements,&mdash;as
+smooth, to use his own illustration, as the
+inside of a China bowl."<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p>
+<p>Numerous experiments have been made with a view to
+test the possibility of these reputed facts. If Toads do so
+commonly become voluntarily or accidentally immured,
+and remain without light, food, or even air, for many
+years, and yet survive, let us put some Toads into similar
+circumstances, keep them shut up, and, after the lapse of
+a sufficient interval, examine them, and see whether they
+are alive or dead. "<i>Experimentum faciemus in corpore
+vili</i>," as the village doctor said to his assistant over the
+sick traveller.</p>
+
+<p><i>Probatum est!</i> Besides the case mentioned in Mr Bartlett's
+letter (<i>ante</i>, p. 149), the late Dr Buckland, in November
+1825, instituted a series of careful experiments, which
+are thus narrated by himself:&mdash;"In one large block of
+coarse oolitic limestone, twelve circular cells were prepared,
+each about one foot deep and five inches in diameter, and
+having a groove or shoulder at its upper margin fitted to
+receive a circular plate of glass, and a circular slate to
+protect the glass: the margin of this double cover was
+closed round and rendered impenetrable to air and water
+by a luting of soft clay. Twelve smaller cells, each six
+inches deep and five inches in diameter, were made in
+another block of compact siliceous sandstone, viz., the
+Pennant Grit of the coal formation near Bristol; these
+cells also were covered with similar plates of glass and
+slate, cemented at the edge by clay. The object of the
+glass covers was to allow the animals to be inspected,
+without disturbing the clay so as to admit external air or
+insects into the cell. The limestone is so porous that it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+easily permeable by water, and probably also by air; the
+sandstone is very compact.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 26th of November 1825, one live Toad was
+placed in each of the above-mentioned twenty-four cells,
+and the double cover of glass and slate placed over each
+of them, and cemented down by the luting of clay. The
+weight of each Toad in grains was ascertained and noted
+by Dr Daubeny and Mr Dillwyn at the time of their
+being placed in the cells; that of the smallest was 115
+grains, and of the largest 1185 grains. The large and
+small animals were distributed in equal proportion between
+the limestone and sandstone cells.</p>
+
+<p>"These blocks of stone were buried together in my
+garden beneath three feet of earth, and remained unopened
+until the 10th of December 1826, on which day
+they were examined. Every Toad in the smaller cells of
+the compact sandstone was dead, and the bodies of most
+of them so much decayed that they must have been dead
+some months. The greater number of those in the larger
+cells of porous limestone were alive. No. 1, whose weight
+when immured was 924 grains, now weighed only 698
+grains. No. 5, whose weight when immured was 1185
+grains, now weighed 1265 grains. The glass cover over
+this cell was slightly cracked, so that minute insects might
+have entered: none, however, were discovered in this cell;
+but in another cell whose glass was broken, and the
+animal within it dead, there was a large assemblage of
+minute insects; and a similar assemblage also on the outside
+of the glass of a third cell. In cell No. 9, a Toad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
+which when put in weighed 988 grains, had increased to
+1116 grains, and the glass cover over it was entire; but
+as the luting of the cell within which this Toad had increased
+in weight was not particularly examined, it is
+probable there was some aperture in it by which small
+insects found admission. No. 11 had decreased from 936
+grains to 652 grains.</p>
+
+<p>"When they were first examined in December 1826,
+not only were all the small Toads dead, but the larger ones
+appeared much emaciated, with the two exceptions above
+mentioned; we have already stated that these probably
+owed their increased weight to the insects which had
+found access to the cells, and become their food.</p>
+
+<p>"The death of every individual of every size in the
+smaller cells of compact sandstone, appears to have resulted
+from a deficiency in the supply of air, in consequence
+of the smallness of the cells, and the impermeable
+nature of the stone; the larger volume of air originally
+inclosed in the cells of the limestone, and the porous
+nature of the stone itself, (permeable as it is slowly by
+water, and probably by air,) seem to have favoured the
+duration of life to the animals inclosed in them without
+food.</p>
+
+<p>"It should be noticed that there is a defect in these
+experiments, arising from the treatment of the twenty-four
+Toads before they were inclosed in the blocks of
+stone. They were shut up and buried on the 26th of
+November, but the greater number of them had been
+caught more than two months before that time, and had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
+been imprisoned all together in a cucumber frame placed
+on common garden earth, where the supply of food to so
+many individuals was probably scanty, and their confinement
+unnatural, so that they were in an unhealthy and
+somewhat meagre state at the time of their imprisonment.
+We can therefore scarcely argue with certainty from the
+death of all these individuals within two years, as to the
+duration of life which might have been maintained had
+they retired spontaneously, and fallen into the torpor of
+their natural hibernation in good bodily condition.</p>
+
+<p>"The results of our experiments amount to this: all the
+Toads, both large and small, inclosed in sandstone, and
+the small Toads in the limestone also, were dead at the
+end of thirteen months. Before the expiration of the
+second year all the large ones also were dead; these were
+examined several times during the second year through
+the glass covers of the cells, but without removing them
+to admit air; they appeared always awake, with their eyes
+open, and never in a state of torpor, their meagreness
+increasing at each interval in which they were examined,
+until at length they were found dead; those two also
+which had gained an accession of weight at the end of
+the first year, and were then carefully closed up again,
+were emaciated and dead before the expiration of the
+second year.</p>
+
+<p>"At the same time that these Toads were inclosed in
+stone, four other Toads of middling size were inclosed in
+three holes, cut for this purpose on the north side of the
+trunk of an apple-tree; two being placed in the largest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>
+cell, and each of the others in a single cell. The cells
+were nearly circular, about five inches deep and three
+inches in diameter; they were carefully closed up with a
+plug of wood, so as to exclude access of insects, and apparently
+were air-tight; when examined at the end of a
+year, every one of the Toads was dead, and their bodies
+were decayed.</p>
+
+<p>"From the fatal result of the experiments made in the
+small cells cut in the apple-tree and the block of compact
+sandstone, it seems to follow that Toads cannot live a year
+excluded totally from atmospheric air; and, from the
+experiments in the larger cells within the block of oolitic
+limestone, it seems also probable that they cannot survive
+two years entirely excluded from food; we may therefore
+conclude that there is a want of sufficiently minute and
+accurate observation in those so frequently recorded cases,
+where Toads are said to be found alive within blocks of
+stone and wood, in cavities that had no communication
+whatever with the external air. The fact of my two Toads
+having increased in weight at the end of the year, notwithstanding
+the care that was taken to inclose them
+perfectly by a luting of clay, shews how very small an
+aperture will admit of insects sufficient to maintain life.
+In the cell No. 5, where the glass was slightly cracked,
+the communication though small was obvious, but in the
+cell No. 9, where the glass cover remained entire, and
+where it appears certain, from the increased weight of the
+inclosed animal, that insects must have found admission,
+we have an example of these minute animals finding their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
+way into a cell to which great care had been taken to
+prevent any possibility of access.</p>
+
+<p>"Admitting, then, that Toads are occasionally found in
+cavities of wood and stone with which there is no communication
+sufficiently large to allow the ingress and
+egress of the animal inclosed in them, we may, I think,
+find a solution of such phenomena in the habits of these
+reptiles, and of the insects which form their food. The
+first effort of the young Toad, as soon as it has left its tadpole
+state and emerged from the water, is to seek shelter
+in holes and crevices of rocks and trees. An individual
+which, when young, may have thus entered a cavity by
+some very narrow aperture, would find abundance of food
+by catching insects, which, like itself, seek shelter within
+such cavities; and may soon have increased so much in
+bulk as to render it impossible to get out again through
+the narrow aperture at which it entered. A small hole
+of this kind is very likely to be overlooked by common
+workmen, who are the only people whose operations on
+stone and wood disclose cavities in the interior of such
+substances.</p>
+
+<p>"In the case of Toads, Snakes, and Lizards, that occasionally
+issue from stones that are broken in a quarry, or
+in sinking wells, and sometimes even from strata of coal at
+the bottom of a coal-mine, the evidence is never perfect
+to shew that the reptiles were entirely inclosed in solid
+rock. No examination is ever made until the reptile is
+first discovered by the breaking of the mass in which it
+was contained, and then it is too late to ascertain, without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>
+carefully replacing every fragment, (and in no case that I
+have seen reported has this ever been done,) whether or
+not there was any hole or crevice by which the animal
+may have entered the cavity from which it was extracted.
+Without previous examination it is almost impossible to
+prove that there was no such communication. In the
+case of rocks near the surface of the earth, and in stone
+quarries, reptiles find ready admission to holes and fissures.
+We have a notorious example of this kind in the Lizard
+found in a chalk-pit, and brought alive to the late Dr
+Clark. In the case also of wells and coal-pits, a reptile
+that had fallen down the well or shaft, and survived its
+fall, would seek its natural retreat in the first hole or
+crevice it could find, and the miner dislodging it from
+this cavity, to which his previous attention had not been
+called, might in ignorance conclude that the animal was
+coeval with the stone from which he had extracted it.</p>
+
+<p>"It remains only to consider the case (of which I know
+not any authenticated example) of Toads that have been
+said to be found in cavities within blocks of limestone, to
+which, on careful examination, no access whatever could
+be discovered, and where the animal was absolutely and
+entirely closed up with stone. Should any such case ever
+have existed, it is probable that the communication between
+this cavity and the external surface had been closed
+up by stalactitic incrustation, after the animal had become
+too large to make its escape. A similar explanation
+may be offered of the much more probable case of a
+live Toad being entirely surrounded with solid wood. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>
+each case, the animal would have continued to increase in
+bulk so long as the smallest aperture remained by which
+air and insects could find admission; it would probably
+become torpid as soon as this aperture was entirely closed
+by the accumulation of stalactite or the growth of wood.
+But it still remains to be ascertained how long this state
+of torpor may continue under total exclusion from food
+and from external air: and, although the experiments
+above recorded shew that life did not extend two years
+in the case of any one of the individuals which formed
+the subjects of them, yet, for reasons which have been
+specified, they are not decisive to shew that a state of
+torpor, or suspended animation, may not be endured for
+a much longer time by Toads that are healthy and well fed
+up to the moment when they are finally cut off from food,
+and from all direct access of atmospheric air.</p>
+
+<p>"The common experiment of burying a Toad in a flower-pot
+covered with a tile, is of no value unless the cover be
+carefully luted to the pot, and the hole at the bottom of
+the pot also closed, so as to exclude all possible access of
+air, earthworms, and insects. I have heard of two or
+three experiments of this kind, in which these precautions
+have not been taken, and in which at the end of a year
+the Toads have been found alive and well.</p>
+
+<p>"Besides the Toads inclosed in wood and stone, four
+others were placed each in a small basin of plaster of
+Paris, four inches deep and five inches in diameter, having
+a cover of the same material carefully luted round with
+clay; these were buried at the same time and in the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
+place with the blocks of stone, and on being examined at
+the same time with them in December 1826, two of the
+Toads were dead, the other two alive, but much emaciated.
+We can only collect from this experiment, that a thin
+plate of plaster of Paris is permeable to air in a sufficient
+degree to maintain the life of a Toad for thirteen months.</p>
+
+<p>"In the 19th Vol., No. I, p. 167, of <i>Sillimans American
+Journal of Science and Arts</i>, David Thomas, Esq.
+has published some observations on Frogs and Toads in
+stone and solid earth, enumerating several authentic and
+well-attested cases. These, however, amount to no more
+than a repetition of the facts so often stated and admitted
+to be true, viz., that torpid reptiles occur in cavities of
+stone, and at the depth of many feet in soil and earth;
+but they state not anything to disprove the possibility of
+a small aperture, by which these cavities may have had
+communication with the external surface, and insects
+have been admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"The attention of the discoverer is always directed more
+to the Toad than to the minuti&aelig; of the state of the cavity
+in which it was contained."</p>
+
+<p>The importance of these experiments, the care with
+which they were instituted, the deserved reputation of
+the experimenter, and the philosophic character of his
+inferences, will, I trust, apologise for the extent of this
+quotation. I do not think, however, that the question is
+settled by them; and I will venture to make one or two
+comments on the facts and on the observations.</p>
+
+<p>Dr Buckland allows that the circumstances of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>
+incarceration of his Toads were not natural. This seems
+to me an element of more importance than he attributes
+to it. They were shut up while in active life, after having
+been confined for two months on scanty food;&mdash;"So that
+they were in an <i>unhealthy and somewhat meagre</i> state at
+the time of their imprisonment." We do not know what
+conditions, what natural provisions precede torpidity and
+are essential to it; but possibly there are some, which in
+these cases were compulsorily precluded by human interference.
+It is stated that the animals that survived to
+the second year were always found awake when examined,&mdash;"<i>never
+in a state of torpor</i>." But Toads that had hid
+themselves would have been torpid during the winter
+months; and thus we have a sufficient proof that a
+natural condition of body had been by some means prevented.
+The experiment would be much more fair to the
+Toad, and much more conclusive to me, if the animal were
+inclosed during the depth of its winter-sleep, care being
+taken to handle it as little as possible.</p>
+
+<p>As it was, however, <i>most of the Toads</i> inclosed in the
+limestone <i>survived upwards of thirteen months</i>. This
+surely is a very remarkable fact. Take the case of No. 9.
+Here was a Toad, nearly full grown, which had been shut
+up in a stone cell, covered with a plate of glass carefully
+luted down all round, so as to exclude air, buried under
+three feet of earth, so as to exclude the smallest gleam of
+light; yet, at the expiration of thirteen months, the cell
+being examined in winter, when normally all Toads ought
+to be sound asleep, this Toad was wide awake, not in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>
+least emaciated, but so thriving in its strange dungeon as
+actually to have made 128 grains of flesh! to have actually
+increased in weight at the rate of 12&#189; per cent.!</p>
+
+<p>Dr Buckland says, "It is probable there was some
+aperture in the luting by which small insects found
+admission." But this is altogether a <i>petitio principii</i>: it
+absolutely begs the question at issue. Are not these
+insects entirely gratuitous? The luting was, of course,
+carefully laid on: there could be no drying to cause contraction,
+buried as it was in the earth; the glass was
+uninjured; no orifice was detected; and yet, forsooth,
+it must be assumed that "small insects found admission."
+Then, too, consider the problem. It is not the possibility
+that a microscopically minute insect or two may have
+managed in some inscrutable way to insinuate themselves,
+but insects sufficient to support this large Toad for thirteen
+months, and to make it at the end of that time 128
+grains heavier than it was when first inclosed! There is
+the fact, as stated by this careful observer; and I am
+sure his hypothesis of intrusive insects will not account
+for it.</p>
+
+<p>I might make similar remarks on No. 5. The glass
+was "<i>slightly</i> cracked." No insects were discovered in
+it; nor is any perceptible orifice alluded to; yet this Toad
+had increased from 1185 grains to 1265 grains. The
+"<i>slight</i> crack" in the glass makes this example less
+remarkable at first sight than the other; but in reality it
+is equally inscrutable. Insects, however minute, do not
+pass through glass merely cracked; but the requirement<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>
+is the admission of insects enough to make an increase of
+flesh of 80 grains' weight, besides maintaining the waste of
+the Toad during thirteen months. Where, in each case, was
+the excrement corresponding to such an augmentation?
+An insect-diet, as every naturalist knows, leaves a very
+considerable residuum of indigestible, incorruptible, chitinous
+matter: the f&oelig;cal remains of an insect-diet sufficient
+to keep an adult Toad in condition for thirteen
+months, and leave him 128 grains heavier than at first,
+would form no inconsiderable or inconspicuous mass.
+Yet the silence of the observer on so conclusive an evidence
+proves that it was utterly wanting.</p>
+
+<p>The Toads which survived longest were the largest
+specimens. Perhaps it requires a condition of peculiar
+vigour to bear the incarceration. Even these were all
+dead before two years had elapsed. But then it must be
+remembered that they had been disturbed: they had
+been taken out, handled, and weighed, and replaced; and
+during the second year they had been examined "several
+times." Air, it is true, was not admitted in these later
+examinations; but <i>light was</i>; and it may be that the
+absence of all external stimulus (and light is a potent
+one) is indispensable to the prolongation of vitality under
+conditions so abnormal.</p>
+
+<p>No one supposes that incarceration in solid rock is
+an ordinary event in the life of even a Toad. However
+it occur,&mdash;granting that it may occur,&mdash;it must
+surely be a rare accident happening to an individual here
+and there, from which millions of Toads are exempt. We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>
+may reasonably suppose, too, that not one in a hundred
+so accidentally incarcerated would survive, the accident in
+the majority of cases proving fatal. If we bear in mind
+these not unreasonable presumptions, we shall not hastily
+decide that all the recorded discoveries of Toads immured
+are proved false and impossible, because we have not
+succeeded in finding a case of longevity out of four-and-twenty
+Toads, many of them little ones, which we took
+and violently immured at our pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>To my own mind these interesting experiments are far
+more corroborative than contradictory of the popular
+belief. The amazing fact remains, that an adult vertebrate
+air-breathing animal can certainly live, and increase
+in size, shut up in a stone cell, debarred from light and
+air and food, for a period between one and two years!
+What have we parallel to this in the whole range of
+natural history? <i>C'est le premier pas qui co&ucirc;te.</i> After
+the first year has passed so auspiciously, why may not a
+second? a third? and so indefinitely&mdash;under circumstances
+peculiarly favouring? It is by no means certain that there
+are not such favouring circumstances, because we cannot
+precisely predicate what they are. And if we admit the
+reported cases to be&mdash;only a few of them&mdash;true, we cannot
+evade the conclusion, that the longevity of these imprisoned
+Toads must be immense, incalculable. For a
+Toad that emerges when a block of stone is split up,
+from a matrix that fits (say somewhat roughly, if you
+please) its form and size, must have been there ever since
+the stone was in a soft state, how long soever that may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+have been. Nor does it in the least affect the question,
+that there may have been some minute crack in the
+matrix through which insects, sufficient to support life,
+entered. This circumstance, I say, if satisfactorily proved,
+would not touch the question of time. And surely it is
+a marvel of colossal magnitude that a vertebrate animal
+should have maintained its life shut up in a mass of
+stone ever since the deposition of the matter in a solid
+form, even though we be able to eliminate from it the
+element of total abstinence during the entire period.</p>
+
+<p>But facts are upon record which prove the possibility
+of Toads surviving a protracted incarceration, effected by
+man, and therefore without their will. In 1809, on
+opening a gap in a wall at Bamborough, in Northumberland,
+for the passage of carts, a Toad, which had been
+incarcerated in the centre of a wall, was found alive, and
+set at liberty. A mason, named George Wilson, when
+building this wall, sixteen years before, had wantonly
+immured the animal, in a close cavity formed of lime and
+stone, just sufficient to contain it, and which he plastered
+so closely as seemingly to prevent the admission of air.
+When discovered, it seemed at first, as must naturally be
+supposed, in a very torpid state; but it soon recovered
+animation and activity, and, as if sensible of the blessings
+of freedom, made its way to a collection of stones, and
+disappeared.<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr F. W. L. Ross of Broadway House, near Topsham,
+an acute and experienced naturalist, narrates the follow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>ing
+circumstances:&mdash;"In the year 1821, I was residing in
+the country, and in my court-yard was a set of stone steps
+for mounting on horseback. These being useless to me,
+I desired they might be removed. On taking them down,
+the lowest step, a coarse red conglomerate, measuring
+about three feet in length, ten inches in depth, and about
+fourteen in width, was raised by a heavy bar. It had
+been well bedded in mortar, in which, while soft, a Toad
+had been evidently placed, as there was no appearance of
+any way by which it could have found ingress or egress,
+the mould or cast being as perfect as if taken in plaster.
+On the removal of the stone, the Toad remained torpid for
+a few minutes, when it seemed to revive, and then crept
+out. From the owners of the property I ascertained that
+the steps had been placed there forty-five years before, and,
+to the best of their knowledge, had never been moved.</p>
+
+<p>"The second account is from a clergyman, and originated
+in my informing him of the above. He caused
+a pit to be dug in his garden, six feet deep; at the
+bottom was laid a slate, on which a full-sized Toad was
+placed, with an inverted flower-pot over it. The hole
+and edges were well luted with clay; the pit was then
+filled in, and on that day twelve months reopened, when
+the Toad was found alive, and as well as when inclosed in
+its living tomb. If, therefore, it could exist in such a
+state for twelve months, it is not impossible that it might
+do so for a much longer period."<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a></p>
+
+<p>These curious facts derive confirmation and augmented
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>interest from some apparently parallel conditions observed
+of other animals, widely removed in the organic
+scale from the Reptilia, and that on both sides. Some
+glimpses of an indefinitely protracted torpidity in Wasps
+are given to us in a communication from an eminent entomologist,
+Mr G. Wailes of Newcastle, to the Entomological
+Society of London, and published in their "Proceedings"
+of March 5, 1860. These Rip Van Winkles of the insect
+race choose, it seems, the tops of loftiest mountains for
+going to their long sleep. Who knows what might be
+found if a clever insect-hunter were to go stone-turning on
+the peaks of Ararat? Read the following, young enterprising
+entomologists! and set out.</p>
+
+<p>"It is very evident that we have a great deal yet to
+learn about the Social Wasps, and therefore the following
+remarks as to <i>Vespa vulgaris</i> may be interesting. Ever
+since 1829 I have, at intervals, searched the summit of
+Skiddaw (3022 feet) for specimens of <i>Leistus montanus</i>,
+and on every occasion have taken out from underneath the
+loose fragments of the slate perfectly torpid females of
+this Wasp, with the wings, legs, antenn&aelig;, &amp;c., precisely in
+the state in which we find them during winter in the
+lower lands. Not unfrequently I have met with dead
+specimens which seemed to have perished in the same
+dormant state, and been there for a year or two at least.
+Mr Smith, in his catalogue of the British Vespad&aelig;, under
+this species, states that Mr Wollaston found the female
+abundant under stones on the extreme summit of Gribon
+Oernant, near Llangollen, in September 1854, adding,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
+'probably hybernating for the winter,' but had evidently
+forgotten my writing to him on the subject. My visits to
+the mountain have extended from the latter end of June
+to the latter end of August, and therefore it necessarily
+follows that either these specimens of the female Wasp
+were those of the previous year, or that this sex appears
+much earlier in the season than has hitherto been supposed.
+But in either case the question arises, why are
+they torpid during these the hottest months of the year?
+It is quite true that the temperature of the altitude is
+below that of the plains, especially during the night, and
+I have myself been enveloped in falling sleet and snow
+more than once, both in June and August, though, as a
+rule, the Cumberland mountains seldom have a thick
+covering of snow, and often only a few inches once or
+twice in the winter. Still, the temperature of ordinary
+mountains always approaches that of the plains in summer,
+and, one would have expected, was in Britain at least sufficiently
+high to rouse these Wasps in their winter quarters,
+when every other insect under the same stones was
+active and stirring, and the air so warm and bright that
+<i>Larentia salicata</i> and <i>Crambus furcatillus</i> were sporting
+in the mid-day sun above them. Such, however, was
+not the case, and when turned out of their snug, dry
+quarters, they allowed themselves to be handled and put
+into pill-boxes just as they do in winter. We may therefore
+ask, when are these sleepers to awake? for as the
+ground temperature reaches its maximum during the
+months in which I have met with them, and Mr Wollas<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>ton
+has found them in a similar state in September, when
+a declining temperature has set in, we must conclude that
+for that year all prospect of their subsequent issue from
+their retreats through the influence of heat is barred. Can
+this be called hybernation, as it is usually understood?
+Or is there some other cause of torpidity besides mere
+cold? Or are we to conclude that when once put to sleep
+in these lofty regions, they wake no more unless kindly
+removed into a milder clime by a stray entomologist, when,
+as I have always noticed, they become as active as those
+of the warm lowlands?"<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr Westwood, in the conversation that ensued on this
+communication, suggested that these female Wasps had
+been the founders of colonies in the preceding spring, and,
+after performing their maternal duties, had retired to die
+in the situations in which they were found by Mr Wailes.
+But with all due deference to so great an authority, is not
+this another example of those "explanations" which are
+thrown off without a due consideration of the exigencies
+of the case in hand&mdash;explanations which really explain
+nothing? For though this hypothesis might account for
+Wasps found under such conditions in June, it will not do
+for the September findings. Insects that had performed
+the end of their existence and had retired to die in June,
+would not live through July and August, and be found
+alive in September. Besides, Mr Wailes distinctly affirms,
+that <i>they always become active</i> when removed to a milder
+clime, which is proof positive that they had not retired to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>die. Mr Smith's hypothesis, that they are "probably hybernating
+for the winter," will not account for their torpidity
+in June and July. Mr Westwood's hypothesis, that
+they are moribund individuals after their spring work,
+will not explain their vitality till September, and their
+revivification when removed.</p>
+
+<p>But these are insects; and the difference between vertebrate
+and invertebrate life is so vast that, after all, the
+possibilities of the latter may not have much bearing on
+those of the former. What, then, shall we say to an
+indefinite prolongation of life under like dreary conditions
+in&mdash;<i>Bats</i>? <i>Bats</i>, which are true vertebrata; and
+no amphibia grovelling at the bottom of the vertebrate
+ladder, where the dim flame of spinal life is just glimmering
+in the socket, but <i>Mammalia</i>, and those of nearly the
+highest type;&mdash;<i>Bats</i>, which Linn&aelig;us associated with
+<i>Homo sapiens</i> himself in his first Order <i>Primates</i>! Can
+<i>these</i> live for years shut up from light and food and air?
+these great-chested, well-lunged, warm-blooded, aerial
+quadrupeds? "Impossible! I would not believe it, if&mdash;&mdash;"
+Stay! make no rash vows; but read, weigh,
+and judge. Remember,&mdash;both the following statements
+are by clergymen, each of whom is a well-known, careful,
+experienced naturalist.</p>
+
+<p>"A very curious instance," says Mr Pemberton Bartlett,
+"of the great length of time that a Bat can remain in a
+state of torpidity, came under my notice about three
+weeks since; and as I believe instances of the kind are
+but rarely observed, perhaps an account of the facts of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>the case may not prove uninteresting. Upon opening a
+vault in Bishopsbourne church, the bricklayer observed a
+large Bat clinging to the wall. Thinking it a curious
+thing to find a Bat in a vault which he knew had not
+been opened for twenty years, in the evening he sent it to
+me by his boy, who, when he arrived at the door, was
+tempted to open the basket to look at the inmate, when
+most unfortunately it made its escape, and flitted into a
+leaden spout which was placed against the house, from
+whence I was unable to recover it. Upon learning the
+particulars of its discovery, I made a careful search about
+the vault, but was unable to trace any hole or crack
+through which the smallest Bat could have crept. The
+bricklayer also informed me that there was no place where
+a Bat could have entered, in the part where he opened the
+vault, as the entrance was bricked up, and over the steps
+was a slab which fitted close. If, indeed, it had been
+possible for a Bat to have got between this, the brickwork
+at the entrance would most effectually have prevented it
+from finding an asylum in the vault. The natural inference
+therefore is, that the Bat must have got into the
+vault when it was last opened, and consequently had
+been entombed since the year 1823! It was most
+unfortunate that I was unable to decide what species
+it was; but, from the bricklayer's description, I think it
+must have been <i>Vespertilio Pipistrellus</i>. When first
+taken out of the vault it was in a torpid state, but the
+effects of the air may be imagined from its taking the
+first opportunity to escape in the evening; it flew, how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>ever,
+far more 'leaden winged' than ever bats are wont to
+fly, which was by no means marvellous, when we consider
+it had been out of practice for twenty-one years."<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a></p>
+
+<p>The next account, by the Rev. A. C. Smith, of Yatesbury
+Rectory, Calne, is one of peculiar interest. The narrator
+actually witnessed the discovery. His investigation
+was pursued with the cautious care, and his statement is
+made with the precision, which belong to science; and the
+details are so full, and his remarks so appropriate, that
+though the story is somewhat long, I cannot bring myself
+to abridge it. It bears date, Feb. 18, 1854. Of course,
+the reader will note how these two narratives yield each
+other mutual corroboration.</p>
+
+<p>"While effecting some repairs in the pavement of the
+aisle of my church, a short time since, the masons found
+it necessary to remove some bricks from the solid wall of
+an adjacent vault, in order the better to adjust an iron
+bar intended to support the superincumbent flagstone.
+It seems that one or two bricks being removed, and
+several large and handsome coffins being exposed to view,
+curiosity tempted one of the workmen to reach his hand
+in with a lighted candle, in order to see the names and
+dates on the coffins; the result of which investigation
+shewed that the last coffin was placed there in 1748.
+During this search I entered the church, just in time to
+witness the extreme surprise, and the no little consternation,
+of the man, whose hand had suddenly come in contact
+with a Bat, suspended from the roof of the vault.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
+The Bat was soon brought to light; and, in its half-torpid
+state, placed in my hand. We then proceeded to make a
+very minute examination of this vault with a lighted candle,
+in order to discover, if possible, by what means the
+Bat could have penetrated to its resting-place: but, although
+our search was very careful and long continued,
+we failed to discover the smallest crack or crevice in
+which a pin could be thrust. The roof was an arch of
+brick, surmounted by flagstones; the sides were solid
+masonry, bearing no appearance internally of decay; and
+the position of the vault was very near the centre of the
+church: so that I was much puzzled to account for the
+occurrence of the Bat in a place apparently hermetically
+sealed for above a hundred years; and knew not how to
+combat the opinion of the workmen, that it must have
+been entombed there alive since the year 1748.</p>
+
+<p>"I now proceeded to institute inquiries regarding the
+vault in which the Bat was found. The marble monument
+above, recorded the names of an old Wiltshire family
+long since extinct in these parts, and the dates of the
+three coffins below, corroborating the statement of the
+brass plate, that the individual last buried died <span class="smcap">A.D.</span>
+1748. Several old men in the parish remembered an adjacent
+vault being opened, when they were boys, nearly
+sixty years since: but all positively denied that the vault
+in question had ever been opened in their lives: and one,
+a very old man, formerly clerk, and whose then residence
+abutted on the churchyard, was very emphatic on this
+point. So that I am constrained to believe that the vault<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
+has remained untouched since it received its last occupant,
+a hundred and six years ago: and I am the more convinced
+of this from the excessive freshness of the last coffin,
+the brass plate and nails of which are as bright, and
+its whole appearance as new, as if it had been placed there
+but yesterday, which would not have been the case had
+the external air been admitted at any time since the vault
+was closed.</p>
+
+<p>"During the time of the examination of the vault, the
+Bat was held in my hand, and above an hour must have
+elapsed since its capture before I was enabled to take it to
+the Rectory, and place it under an inverted glass: by this
+time the warmth of my hand had considerably revived it,
+and it wandered round its prison, snuffing about with its
+curious nose, and standing up, and trying to hook itself
+on to the smooth glass, which baffled all its attempts.
+As it obstinately refused to eat small pieces of chopped
+meat, with which I tempted it to break its fast, which
+may have continued a hundred and six years, and after
+which I should have imagined it to be ravenous; and as
+it lay on its side, apparently in a dying state, humanity
+urged me to give it a chance of life, by restoring it to
+liberty, and I accordingly carried it to the garden, where
+I placed it upon the turf, and watched its movements.
+At first it clung to the blades of grass, and shivered a
+good deal; presently it fluttered along the ground; soon
+it rose upon the wing, though in an awkward manner,
+and although it sank several times, as if about to fall to
+the ground, and as if it had not found the use of its wings,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
+(which might have been a little stiff for want of exercise,
+if they had been closed above a hundred years), it passed
+behind a clump of trees and I saw it no more; and then
+I began to regret, when too late, that I had not made
+more efforts to keep it alive and watch its recovery. I
+know little of the different species of Bats, but, from its
+diminutive size, and extremely long ears, I should imagine
+it to be the <i>Vespertilio auritus</i> of Gilbert White.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, if the hypothesis be deemed absurd that the Bat
+had been immured in the vault since 1748, how then are
+we to account for its presence there? For although I am
+aware that a Bat, and especially one of the smallest species,
+would creep through a very small crack or crevice, yet the
+evidence of my own senses, after a very close examination,
+convinces me that not even the smallest crack existed between
+the bricks of the vault; and I think the evidence
+no less conclusive that the vault has remained untouched
+for a great number of years. Again, notwithstanding the
+disbelief of some, it is very generally acknowledged that
+Toads do occasionally exist in blocks of stone and in timber;
+and the material in which they are inclosed having
+gradually formed around them, they must necessarily have
+been entombed, in some well-authenticated cases, for a
+very long period of time. Why then, I ask, should we
+deny that to be possible with the Bat, which we so readily
+concede to be an occurrence by no means unusual with
+the Toad? I own, that, taking all these things into account,
+and finding no other possible solution for the mystery,
+I came to the conclusion, after mature deliberation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
+that the Bat had been entombed in the vault since it last
+was opened in the year 1748. That impression has increased
+upon longer reflection, and has been further
+strengthened almost into certainty, from the perusal of a
+very interesting and very similar case, recorded by the
+Rev. J. P. Bartlett in an early volume of the <i>Zoologist</i>
+(<i>Zool.</i>, 613.)<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a> That gentleman states, that on opening a
+vault which had been closed for twenty-one years, a Bat
+was discovered in a torpid state; that he himself made a
+very careful search about the vault, and was unable to
+discover any crack through which the smallest Bat could
+have crept; that the vault was surrounded with brickwork;
+the entrance was bricked up, and over the steps was
+placed a close-fitting slab; and that he could come to no
+other conclusion than that the Bat had been inclosed there
+for twenty-one years. I confess that I quite agree in
+opinion with Mr Bartlett, and believe that the Bat discovered
+in the vault in Bishopsbourne church crept in on
+the occasion of its last opening: and so in the like manner
+with the one found in my own church; for although there
+is unquestionably a vast difference between twenty-one
+and a hundred and six years, yet, if we can establish the
+fact of a Bat remaining torpid for the shorter period, I
+find no difficulty in understanding that a sleep which
+would endure so long as that did, might be protracted
+to a far longer period. It is most probable that many
+will differ from me in opinion, and perhaps some will
+ridicule the idea: if they can discover any other pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>bable
+or even possible means of accounting for the presence
+of the Bat in the vault, exclusive of a crack or chink in
+it, or of its having been opened within the memory of living
+man, both of which views I firmly oppose, I shall feel
+greatly obliged by their stating their opinions in the
+<i>Zoologist</i>: meanwhile I hold to my belief, that the Bat
+had been there for not less than <i>one hundred and six
+years</i>!"<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>V.</h2>
+
+<h2>HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>What becomes of our swallows in the winter? They
+migrate, you reply, to a warmer parallel. That is true,
+no doubt; though there have not been wanting naturalists
+of respectable name who have maintained that none
+of them ever leave the country. No doubt, however, they
+do migrate; but is this true of the entire body, or only
+of a portion? That the whole hirundinal population&mdash;swifts,
+swallows, martins, and bank-martins&mdash;disappear
+from view, every one knows; for who ever saw any of the
+tribe wheeling and traversing through the sky in the
+frosts of January or February? But so do the Bats and
+the Butterflies. Now, the Bats hybernate with us, concealing
+themselves in crevices, caves, hollow trees, unused
+buildings, and similar places; so do the house-flies; so
+do the butterflies, some species at least, and many other
+insects. Do the Swallows hybernate? That they do
+is a very old opinion; and those homely but wide-spread
+rhymes that record so many accepted facts in popular
+natural history, record <i>this</i> as a fact. Our rustic children
+sing&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+
+<span class="i0">"The bat, the bee, the butterfly,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">The cuckoo and the swallow,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">The corn-crake and the wheat-ear,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">They all sleep in the hollow."</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p>
+<p>Local variations&mdash;what we may call <i>lectiones vari&aelig;</i>&mdash;exist;
+for example, in the south-east of our island, the third line
+runs,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+
+<span class="i0">"The corn-crake and the <i>nightingale</i>."</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In the north of Europe an opinion has long prevailed
+that the Swallows not only hybernate in a state of torpidity,
+but, like the frogs and toads, retire to the bottoms
+of pools to spend that dreary season. In Berger's "Calendar
+of Flora," published in the <i>Am&oelig;nitates Academic&aelig;</i>,
+vol. iv., he puts down as the phenomenon proper to the
+22d of September, "<i>Hirundo submergitur</i>," talking, as
+Gilbert White remarks, as familiarly of the Swallows going
+under water, as he would of his poultry going to roost at
+sunset. Klein, and even Linn&aelig;us himself, adopted this
+strange opinion, which was considered to rest upon good
+testimony, and that not only of the illiterate and unobservant.
+Etmuller, who was Professor of Anatomy and Botany
+at Leipsig in the middle of the seventeenth century, says,
+"I remember to have found more than a bushel would
+hold of Swallows closely clustered among the reeds of a
+fish-pond under the ice, all of them to appearance dead,
+but with the heart still pulsating." And Derham, the
+acute author of "Physico-theology," citing this statement,
+adds, "We had at a meeting of the Royal Society, February
+12, 1713, a further confirmation of Swallows retiring
+under water in the winter from Dr Colas, a person very
+curious in these matters, who, speaking of their way of
+fishing in the northern parts by breaking holes and drawing
+their nets under the ice, saith, that he saw sixteen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
+Swallows so drawn out of the Lake of Lamrodt, and about
+thirty out of the king's great pond in Rosneilen; and
+that at Schlehitten, near a house of the Earl of Dohna, he
+saw two Swallows just come out of the waters, that could,
+scarcely stand, being very wet and weak, with their wings
+hanging on the ground; and that he observed the Swallows
+to be often weak for some days after their appearance."<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Academy of Upsal received the winter submersion
+of the Swallows as an undoubted fact, and even Cuvier
+admits as "well authenticated, that they fall into a
+lethargic state during winter, and even that they pass that
+season at the bottom of marshy waters."<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> One would
+think that a zoological statement which Linn&aelig;us and
+Cuvier accepted, must be fact; yet it remains utterly improbable.
+In Germany, a reward of an equal weight in
+silver was publicly offered to any one who should produce
+Swallows found under water, but we are assured that no
+one was found to claim the money.</p>
+
+<p>We may safely dismiss the notion of submersion till
+better authenticated; but that of torpidity is still open to
+examination. Statements to the effect that quantities of
+Swallows in a death-like condition have been found in
+hollow trees, holes in cliffs, banks, &amp;c., are even more
+common than those of their submersion; and they seem
+to obtain credence in all the temperate or cold regions
+where the Swallows are found. It is hard to think that a
+persuasion so widely diffused can be wholly groundless.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p>
+<p>Peter Collinson, the friend and correspondent of Linn&aelig;us,
+communicated to the Royal Society the following
+statement by M. Achard:&mdash;"In the latter end of March I
+took my passage down the Rhine to Rotterdam. A little
+below Basel, the south bank of the river was very high
+and steep, of a sandy soil, sixty or eighty feet above the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>"I was surprised at seeing, near the top of the cliff,
+some boys tied to ropes, hanging down doing something.
+The singularity of these adventurous boys, and the business
+they so daringly attempted, made us stop our navigation,
+to inquire into the meaning of it. The waterman
+told us they were reaching the holes in the cliffs for
+Swallows or Martins, which took refuge in them, and remained
+there all the winter, until warm weather, and
+then they came abroad.</p>
+
+<p>"The boys being let down by their comrades to the
+holes, put in a long rammer, with a screw at the end, such
+as is used to unload guns, and, twisting it about, drew out
+the birds. For a trifle I procured some of them. When
+I first had them, they seemed stiff and lifeless; I put one
+of them in my bosom, between my skin and shirt, and
+laid another on a board, the sun shining full and warm
+upon it; and one or two of my companions did the like.
+That in my bosom revived in about a quarter of an hour;
+feeling it move, I took it out to look at it; but perceiving
+it not sufficiently come to itself, I put it in again; in
+about another quarter, feeling it flutter pretty briskly, I
+took it out, and admired it. Being now perfectly re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>covered,
+before I was aware, it took its flight; the covering
+of the boat prevented me from seeing where it went.
+The bird on the board, though exposed to a full sun, yet,
+I presume from a chilliness of the air, did not revive so as
+to be able to fly."<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a></p>
+
+<p>On this account I may observe that Collinson would
+hardly have been the medium of this communication,
+unless he had been satisfied of the probity of his correspondent.
+The time was "the latter end of March," a
+fortnight at least before the arrival of the Sand Martin&mdash;the
+earliest of our migrants; and the whole enterprise of
+the boys, and the familiarity of the waterman with the
+circumstance, as well as their assertions, shew that they,
+at least, had no doubt about this being a case of hybernation.
+Yet the repeated exploration of the Sand Martin's
+burrows in this country, in winter, has produced no birds.</p>
+
+<p>White of Selborne, who was very much interested in
+the solution of this question, mentions two instances&mdash;both,
+however, on hearsay evidence. A clergyman assured
+him that, when he was a boy, some workmen, in pulling
+down the battlements of a tower, early in spring, found
+two or three Swifts <i>among the rubbish</i>, which appeared
+dead, but revived in the warmth. The other account was
+that of the fall of a portion of the cliff near Brighton in
+winter, when many persons found Swallows among the
+rubbish; but here even White's informant did not see the
+birds, but was merely told of them.<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a></p>
+
+<p>Bishop Stanley, in his "Familiar History of Birds," has
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>collected some stories which appear circumstantial enough,
+if we could be quite sure they were authentic; on which
+point the good bishop seems to give the weight of his
+own character, since he observes that they are "cases
+which have come to our knowledge, on the most respectable
+authority."</p>
+
+<p>"On the 16th of November 1826, a gentleman residing
+near Loch Awe, in Scotland, having occasion to examine
+an out-house, used as a cart-shed, saw an unusual appearance
+upon one of the rafters which crossed and supported
+the thatched roof. Upon mounting a ladder, he found to
+his astonishment that this was a group of Chimney-swallows
+(<i>Hirundo rustica</i>) which had taken up their winter
+quarters in this exposed situation. The group consisted
+of five, completely torpid: and none of the tribe to which
+they belonged had been seen for five or six weeks previously:
+he took them in his hand, as they lay closely
+and coldly huddled together, and conveyed them to his
+house, in order to exhibit them as objects of curiosity to
+the other members of his family. For some time they
+remained to all appearance lifeless; but the temperature
+of the apartment into which they were carried being
+considerably raised by a good turf fire, they gradually
+evinced symptoms of reanimation; and in less than a
+quarter of an hour, finding that they were rather rudely
+handled, all of them recovered, so as to fly impatiently
+round the room, in search of some opening by which they
+might escape. The window was thrown up, and they
+soon found their way into the fields, and were never seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>
+again. A similar circumstance, though, from the place of
+its discovery it must refer probably to Sand Martins, was
+related by a gentleman who found two Swallows in a
+sand-bank at Newton, near Stirling, quite dormant.</p>
+
+<p>"Again, about half-a-dozen Swallows were found a few
+years ago, in a torpid state, in the trunk of a hollow tree,
+by a countryman, who brought them to a respectable
+person, by whom they were deposited in a desk, where
+they remained forgotten till the following spring, when,
+one morning, on hearing a noise, he opened the desk, and
+found one of them fluttering about: the others also began
+to shew signs of life, and upon being placed out of doors
+in the sun, speedily arranged their plumage, took wing,
+and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 2d of November 1829, at Loch Ransa, in the
+island of Arran, a man, while digging in a place where a
+pond had been lately drained off, discovered two Swallows
+in a state of torpor; on placing them near the fire, they
+recovered. One unfortunately escaped, but the other was
+kept by the man, for the purpose of shewing it to some
+scientific persons."</p>
+
+<p>In North America there is a curious species of Swift,
+(<i>Acanthylis pelasgia</i>,) which associates in immense flocks
+to roost in chimneys and hollow trees. It is the popular
+belief that these birds spend the winter in a torpid condition
+in their roosting trees. Williams, in his "History of
+Vermont," speaks of a large hollow elm which had been
+for many years appropriated to this purpose. A farmer
+resident close to the tree was persuaded that it was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>
+winter dwelling-place of the Swifts, and avoided felling it
+on that account. About the 1st of May, he always saw
+them come out of it in large numbers, about the middle
+of the day, and in a short time return. Then, as the
+weather grew warmer, they came forth in increased multitudes
+in the morning, and did not return till night. A
+similar account was given of another tree: the first appearance
+of the Swifts in spring was always their emergence
+from its hollow trunk, and their last, in September,
+was their ingress. Yet Wilson, the great ornithologist of
+America, argues, not without some heat, yet with considerable
+force, that such a belief is erroneous. Erroneous,
+certainly, the supposition that the whole body of the
+Chimney-swifts so hybernate; but whether a few do or do
+not, his arguments do not quite conclude.</p>
+
+<p>The rustic quatrain, quoted in the outset of this disquisition,
+mentions the Corncrake, as associated with the
+Swallow in this winter-sleep,&mdash;"in the hollow." It is
+curious that two modern instances are on record of hybernating
+Corncrakes, though this is certainly as migratory a
+species with us as the <i>Hirundinid&aelig;</i>. A farmer at Aikerness
+in Orkney, about midwinter, in demolishing a mud-wall,
+found a Corncrake in the midst of it. It was apparently
+lifeless; but being fresh to the feel and smell, it
+was placed in the warmth. In a short time it began to
+move, and in a few hours was able to walk about, and
+lived for two days in the kitchen; when refusing all food,
+or rather, none that suited it being then obtainable, it died.<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+<p>"The second case occurred at Monaghan, in Ireland,
+where a gentleman, having directed his labourers, in
+winter, to remove a large heap of manure, that had remained
+undisturbed for a great length of time, perceived
+a hole, which was supposed to have been made by rats;
+it penetrated to a great depth, but at its termination, instead
+of rats, three Corncrakes were discovered, as if placed
+there with the greatest care, not a feather being out of its
+place, and apparently lifeless. The birds on examination
+were, however, considered to be in a torpid state, and were
+placed near a fire in a warm room. In the course of a
+short time a tremulous motion was observed in one of
+their legs, and soon after a similar motion was noticed in
+the legs and wings of the whole, which at length extended
+itself to their whole bodies, and finally the birds were
+enabled to run and fly about the room."<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a></p>
+
+<p>Daines Barrington, the correspondent of Gilbert White
+and of Pennant, was a firm believer in the winter sleep of
+Swallows with us. He mentions, on the authority of Lord
+Belhaven, that numbers of Swallows had been found in
+old dry walls and in sandhills near his lordship's seat in
+East-Lothian; not once only, <i>but from year to year</i>, and
+that when they were exposed to the warmth, they revived.
+He says, however, he cannot determine the particular
+species.<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a></p>
+
+<p>The same naturalist mentions many other instances in
+which they have been reported to be found, but he cannot
+give his personal voucher for the truth of the statements.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p>
+<p>"As first in a decayed hollow tree, that was cut down near
+Dolgelly, in Merionethshire; secondly, in a cliff near
+Whitby, in Yorkshire, where, in digging out a fox, whole
+bushels of Swallows were found in a torpid condition;
+thirdly, the Rev. Mr Conway, of Lychton, Flintshire, a
+few years ago, between All Saints' and Christmas, on
+looking down an old lead mine in that county, observed
+numbers of Swallows clinging to the timbers of the shaft,
+seemingly asleep, and on flinging some gravel on them
+they just moved, but never attempted to fly or to change
+their place."<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a></p>
+
+<p>In some communications to the <i>Zoologist</i> for 1845, by
+the late Mr F. Holme, of Oxford, I find the following
+statement:&mdash;"On the hybernation of this species (the
+House-swallow) I was told many years since, by old Wall,
+then keeper of the Kildare Street Museum, in Dublin,
+... that after a heavy snow, in the winter of 1825-26,
+on going into the <i>mansarde</i> to see whether the snow
+had melted through, he found four Chimney-swallows
+perched close together on a cross-beam, with their heads
+under their wings; but on approaching his hand to them
+they flew off, and escaped into the open air."<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a></p>
+
+<p>Again, Mr J. B. Ellman of Battel, says, "There is a
+farmer named Waters, residing at Catsfield, (adjoining
+parish,) who informs me he has frequently (some years
+ago) dug Swallows out of banks in winter, while widening
+the ditches in the brooks," &amp;c.<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+<p>It is unfortunate that most of these and similar discoveries
+were "some years ago;" and that, instead of
+increasing in frequency with the increase of scientific
+research and communication, they strangely become more
+rare. The same remark applies to the following statement:
+it is minute enough, and circumstantially precise;
+but, unfortunately, it was "fifteen years ago." The communicator
+is Edward Brown Fitton, Hastings, under date
+September 8, 1849:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A labourer named William Joyce, who is now employed
+in excavating part of the East Hill for the foundation
+of a house, told me yesterday, that, in the month of
+December, about fifteen years ago, while he was working
+for Mr William Ranger, who had the contract for cutting
+away the 'White Rock,' which used to stand between this
+place and St Leonard's, the men found an immense quantity
+of Swallows in a cleft of the rock. The birds were
+clinging together in large 'clots,' and appeared to be dead,
+but were not frozen together, the weather being rather
+warm for the season, nor were they at all putrid or
+decayed. The men carried out at least <i>three railway-barrows</i>
+full of birds, which were buried with the mould
+and rubbish from the cliff as it was wheeled away. Some
+people from the town carried away a few of the birds to
+'make experiments with,' but Joyce never heard any
+more of them. He mentioned the names of four persons
+now in Hastings, who were then his fellow-labourers, and
+says, that forty or fifty of Mr Ranger's men were on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
+spot when the birds were found, and can confirm what
+he says, both as to the finding and the very great quantity
+of the birds. There are many crevices in the seaward
+surface of the cliffs about here, which apparently
+penetrate the cliff for several yards. The birds were
+found about ten feet from the surface of the rock facing
+the sea, and not very high up."<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a></p>
+
+<p>There is yet another class of facts to be adduced,
+which has an important bearing on the subject. At first
+sight, these facts appear less conclusive than the asserted
+discoveries of the birds, because less direct; but I am inclined
+to attach more value to them, because they are
+attested by so many and so unexceptionable witnesses. I
+mean the sight of Swallows at large in these islands during
+the winter months. Let us see some examples.</p>
+
+<p>White of Selborne records several cases: thus, in 1773,
+twenty or thirty House-martins were playing in the air all
+day on the 3d of November,<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a> after having disappeared
+from the 22d of October. In 1772, he saw three House-swallows
+gliding by on the sea-shore at Newhaven, on the
+4th of November.<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a> On another occasion, (the year not
+being recorded,) he saw, on a sunny morning, a House-martin
+flying, at Oxford, on the 20th of November.<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a> On
+the 26th of November 1768, one of his neighbours saw a
+Martin hawking briskly after flies.<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> And a very respectable
+gentleman assured him that on a remarkably hot
+day, either in the last week in December or the first week
+in January, he espied three or four Swallows in the moulding
+of a window of Merton College, Oxford.<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p><p>Colonel Montagu remarks that "there are a variety of
+instances of the Swallow and Martin having been seen flying
+in the months of November and December, roused
+probably from a state of torpidity by an unusual warmth
+of the air;"<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> and Captain H. W. Hadfield, commenting
+on this, affirms that he has "more than once had ocular
+proof of their presence during the winter months."<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a>
+Yarrell gives examples of the late appearance of the Swift.
+One was seen by Mr Blackwall on the 20th of October
+1815; a second in Perthshire on the 8th of November
+1834; and a third in Devonshire, by the Rev. Mr Cornish,
+on the 27th November 1835.<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a> In considering these
+cases, it is needful to bear in mind that the Swift migrates
+from this country annually from the 1st to the 15th of
+August.</p>
+
+<p>Mr C. R. Bree mentions the following case, which I record,
+not because it was particularly late, but because the
+state of the season, and some other circumstances which
+he remarks on are interesting:&mdash;"On the 25th of October
+1848, some workmen being engaged on the roof of my
+house, I was surprised by the appearance of three Swallows
+flying about the men. I had not seen one since the
+beginning of the month. By the side of the edge of the
+gable-end of the house the plaster was broken away,
+forming a hole, which led under the roof. While watch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>ing
+the birds, which came occasionally quite close to my
+face, I saw first one, then another, alight upon the ledge
+of the gable-end, near the hole. Now, I thought, I am to
+settle the question of hybernation: but I was disappointed.
+Though I watched them for several hours&mdash;though I sent
+the workmen to another part of the house, yet, although
+they frequently settled about the hole, they never entered
+it. They were evidently young birds, and had been disturbed.
+One of them rested upon the chimney, and appeared
+weak and dull. I lost sight of them during the
+day; but the following morning, the weather being warm,
+I saw several flying about high up in the air. There is
+some mystery about these things. Why have these late
+appearances been more remarked this year than other
+years? How did the birds obtain food during the three
+weeks of bitter cold weather when they were not seen in
+October?"<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a></p>
+
+<p>On the 10th of December 1843, a specimen of the Swallow,
+<i>an adult bird, not a young of the season</i>, (an important
+circumstance,) in full plumage and good condition,
+was shot at Goole, in the West Riding, and was sent to
+Mr R. J. Bell, of Derby, a good ornithologist,<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> who records
+the fact. In 1852, that excellent naturalist, Mr Hewitson,
+of Oatlands, saw two Chimney-swallows at Eshar on the
+18th of November, and on the 21st had four martins
+about his house.<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> In 1855, Mr E. Vernon Harcourt reports
+the occurrence of several Martins skimming about
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>at Uckfield on the 23d of November; and on the 6th of
+December several Chimney-swallows about the house at
+Hastings.<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a> In the same season flocks of Martins were
+hawking vigorously, in the vicinity of Penzance, to the
+28th of November, as witnessed by Mr E. H. Rodd.<a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a>
+Captain Hadfield again, writing in 1856, gives extracts
+from his journals, whereby he records having seen Swallows
+and Martins as late as November 3, 1841, December
+2, 1842, November 13, 1852, November 22, 1853, November
+(about the middle) 1854, and November 24 (Swallows)
+and December 2 (Martins) 1855. Of the last-mentioned
+occurrence he gives the following interesting note:&mdash;"Dec.
+2, 4 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> Observed eight Martins flying round the
+garden, and occasionally alighting on the perpendicular
+face of the wall of a house near my garden gate, to which
+they would cling for a few seconds, and then, dropping
+off, whirl round, returning to the same spot, seemingly
+quite unconscious of my presence and that of several
+others: they seemed bent on effecting an entrance under
+the eaves of the house, by a small opening they had discovered
+near a water-pipe that had been carried through
+the wall: they were, I believe, all young birds of the season,
+as they appeared small, their tails being also shorter
+than in the adults; they were weak on the wing, but that
+may have arisen from their being benumbed by the cold,
+the thermometer standing at 44&deg; only at the above hour.
+There had been a bright sun during the greater part of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>the day, but I had observed a white frost in the morning.
+I conclude that these late birds were merely seeking a
+roosting-place for the night, and not a place of concealment
+for the winter, although I might have been excused,
+according to Cuvier, White, &amp;c., had I thought they were
+taking up their winter quarters; but I have not sufficient
+faith in the theory to induce me to unslate a part of the
+roof to seek for them, which might be done, however, at a
+trifling cost, provided permission were obtained."<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is rather a pity that the observer had not confidence
+enough to induce him to make the investigation which he
+suggests.</p>
+
+<p>Mr William Bree mentions as many as fifteen or twenty
+Martins and Swallows sporting in the air near Temple Balsall
+on the 18th November 1846, adding that he has frequently
+seen individuals much later, but never recollects
+to have seen so great a number together at that late period.
+And, finally, Mr J. Johnston, jun., reports that he saw, in
+the afternoon of 18th January 1837, three Swallows dipping
+and hawking as in summer, near Wakefield.<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a></p>
+
+<p>There is less evidence of the appearance of these birds
+before the ordinary time of arrival of the migrants. But
+White, when a boy, observed a Swallow for a whole day
+together on a sunny warm Shrove Tuesday, which day
+could not fall out later than the middle of March, and
+often happened early in February.<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a> And Mr Samuel
+Gurney, jun., together with several other persons, saw
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>either a Martin or Swallow, on the 27th of March
+1844.<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a></p>
+
+<p>If this last occurrence had stood alone, it would have
+been of slight importance; for Yarrell mentions a single
+Swallow as having been seen by a fisherman near the
+Eddystone as early as the 4th of April; and Sand-martins,
+even as far north as Carlisle, before the end of March. It
+is just possible that these may have been stragglers of the
+great army of migrants, arriving some ten or fifteen days
+before their time; but considering the whole great array
+of evidence, I rather believe that these too were hybernants,
+who had been prematurely awakened from torpidity
+by unusually warm days.</p>
+
+<p>The accounts of <i>Hirundines</i> having been found in a
+somnolent state in winter may or may not be true;
+though the great number of such statements in various
+and distant countries makes the indiscriminate rejection
+of them even more difficult than the acceptance. But
+still there remains the undeniable fact that it is quite an
+ordinary thing for birds of this family, including all our
+four common species, to be seen with us through November
+and December, and occasionally in January;&mdash;that is,
+for two or three months after the great body of migrants
+have left the country. No one, I suppose, pretends that migration
+of Swallows takes place in December or January;
+therefore it is manifest that a certain number&mdash;more or
+fewer&mdash;remain. What becomes of them? We certainly
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>see them only occasionally: where are they on the days on
+which they do not appear,&mdash;days extending to several
+consecutive weeks? If they had not been torpid during
+those weeks, if the more active functions of life had not
+been suspended, would they not certainly have been
+starved? But the specimen shot on the 10th December,
+and examined by Mr Bell, was in good condition, which
+is consistent with but one alternative; either it had been
+well fed throughout the preceding six weeks, or it had
+been hybernating. But the former supposition implies
+that it had been habitually on the wing during that
+period, as Swallows feed only on the wing; which could
+not have been the case without its being noticed and
+recorded.</p>
+
+<p>It is common to say that these occasional winter Swallows
+are the later broods of young, which, being too infantile
+to migrate, are compelled to linger in the country of
+their nativity, and becoming lethargic from the advancing
+cold, at length die before the spring. But when this
+hypothesis is looked at, it seems hardly tenable. In
+many of the instances recorded, the specimens seen even
+late into the winter, are represented as gaily and vigorously
+hawking for flies, or sweeping over the water as in
+summer. This does not look like poor deserted orphans
+starved with the cold, retiring to die; but birds in health,
+temporarily awakened from normal slumber by an unusual
+temperature, and instantly ready for a full use of their
+faculties. However, to settle the point by fact, Mr Bell<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>
+distinctly states that his specimen of December 10th was
+"an adult bird, <i>not</i> a young bird of the season."</p>
+
+<p>If it should be asked why they do not appear in January
+or February, as well as November and December, the
+answer is obvious. The winter's lethargy of hybernating
+warm-blooded vertebrates is much more readily interrupted
+in the earlier part of the season than in the middle and
+latter part. And this is natural; for the more intense
+cold of January benumbs and suspends the vital functions
+far more completely, and the <i>coma</i> so superinduced is
+sufficiently deep to resist the counteracting influence of a
+few warm days, even though the temperature should be
+as high as on those earlier days that awakened them, or
+even higher.</p>
+
+<p>The aggregate evidence, then, seems to leave no room for
+reasonable doubt, that a certain number of our <i>Hirundinid&aelig;</i>,&mdash;few,
+indeed, as compared with the vast migrant
+population, but still considerable, looked at <i>per se</i>,&mdash;for
+some reason or other, evade the task of a southward flight,
+and remain, becoming torpid, occasionally betrayed into a
+temporary activity, and resuming their active life, about the
+same time, or occasionally a little <i>before</i> the time, of the arrival
+of their congeners from abroad. It is, however, desirable
+for the absolute settlement of the question, that specimens,
+actually discovered in a lethargic condition, should come
+under the observation of competent scientific naturalists,
+<i>open to conviction</i>, who would leave them <i>in situ</i>, keeping
+an eye on them from time to time till the return of warm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>
+weather in spring. It is not enough to take them into a
+warm room, and to shew that they revive in such circumstances:
+we want to know positively whether they will be
+resuscitated normally and naturally by the vernal warmth,
+and come forth spontaneously to sport, and wheel, and
+skim, and soar, and stoop, and hawk, and twitter,&mdash;among
+their travelled fellows. Who will undertake to decide the
+point in this manner? He will have achieved a name in
+science.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI.</h2>
+
+<h2>THE CRESTED AND WATTLED SNAKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>About the middle of the last century there existed in
+Amsterdam a Museum of natural history, which, though
+accumulated by the zeal and industry of a private individual,
+far exceeded in extent and magnificence any collection
+then in the world. It had been gathered by
+Albert Seba, a wealthy apothecary in the Dutch East
+India Company's service, who fortunately published an
+elaborate description of its contents. This great work,
+"<i>Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri accurata
+Descriptio</i>,"&mdash;in four volumes folio, published from 1734
+to 1765,&mdash;is even now remarkable for the accuracy and
+beauty of its copious engravings, which still are referred to
+as authorities, though the descriptions are devoid of scientific
+value. Many of these figures and descriptions, about
+whose reality no shadow of doubt exists, are those of creatures
+which are altogether unknown to modern science,
+and some of them are highly curious.</p>
+
+<p>Serpents seem to have been a special hobby of Seba's;
+and he has delineated a vast number of species. Among
+them are two<a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a> about which a singular interest hangs.
+They are of rather small size; the one pale yellow, marked
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>with oval reddish spots, the other reddish, with five green
+transverse bands. The head in each case has a horny-pointed
+muzzle, and the cheeks are furnished with depending
+wattles of a coral-red hue.</p>
+
+<p>From the expressions of wonder with which Seba introduces
+his descriptions of these animals, it is evident
+that they were no ordinary forms. He does not know
+whether to call them Eels or Serpents, the critical characters,
+which in our day would instantly determine
+this point, being then scarcely heeded. He calls them
+"marine," but whether on any other evidence than the
+pendent processes of the cheeks, which he calls "fins,"
+does not appear. But no fish known to naturalists will
+answer to these representations. The pointed head, indeed,
+resembles in some respects that of <i>Mur&oelig;na</i>, but
+this genus of fishes is altogether destitute of pectoral fins,
+while the vertically-flattened tail, and the long dorsal and
+anal fins confluent around the extremity of the body in
+<i>Mur&oelig;na</i>, are totally unlike these figures. These and all
+similar fishes are, moreover, destitute of visible scales;
+but in these the scaling is decidedly serpentine, and the
+second, in particular, has large symmetrical plates across
+the belly, while the head in both is shielded with broad
+plates like a Colubrine Snake. The tail is drawn out to
+a long conical point, without the slightest appearance of
+compression or of bordering fins. In one figure there is
+seen a little projecting point at the edge of the lower
+belly, which at first sight suggests the idea of the anal
+hook of a <i>Boa</i>, but which, by comparison with other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>
+figures, we discover to be intended to represent the projection
+of the pre-anal scale. The very minuteness of this
+character makes it valuable: its value was doubtless unheeded
+by the artist, who merely drew what he saw; it
+is, however, a very decisive mark of distinction between
+a serpent and a fish.</p>
+
+<p>Seba records that he had received these Serpents from
+the Island of St Domingo. This was at that time a
+flourishing French colony, and its natural productions
+were far better known to Europe than they now are.
+When I visited the neighbouring island of Jamaica in
+1845-46, I heard accounts of a wonderful animal occasionally
+seen in the eastern districts of the island, which was
+reported as a Snake with a cock's comb and wattles, and
+which crowed like a cock. A good deal of mystery
+attached to this strange Serpent.</p>
+
+<p>It was appropriated to a very remarkable and peculiar
+character of scenery:&mdash;A wild mountain-region, formed
+of white limestone, abounding in narrow glens, bounded
+by abrupt precipices, and permeated by whispering streams
+that frequently pour in slender cascades over the rocks.
+The limestone rock rises in abrupt terraces, wall above
+wall, and its entire surface is most singularly honeycombed,
+"as if wrought by a graving tool into rough
+diamond-points," alternating with smooth and rounded
+holes of various sizes, from that of a hazel-nut upward.
+In many of these hollows lie the small land-shells of the
+country, bleached perfectly white, like the stone itself, of
+the genera <i>Helix</i>, <i>Cyclostoma</i>, <i>Helicina</i>, <i>Cylindrella</i>,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+<i>Achatina</i>, &amp;c., many of them perfect, but many more
+in fragments. They exactly resemble fossil shells <i>in situ</i>,
+but the species are absolutely identical with those that
+crawl over the shrubs and trees in the same region. In
+very many cases the dead shells accurately fit the hollows
+in the rock, whose interior is impressed with the form
+and sculpturing of the shell in <i>intaglio</i>:&mdash;a most curious
+and interesting fact, as it points to the very recent formation
+of the region, the stone bearing evident tokens of
+having been in a plastic condition when the shells were
+enveloped in it. Out of the hollows of the rock, their
+roots fast grasping the sharp-edged projections and tooth-like
+points of stone, and twining through the tortuous
+cavities, and insinuating their fibrils into every minute
+hollow where water may lodge, grow many tall trees of
+various kinds, interlaced with climbers, and hung with
+festoons of <i>lianes</i>, that resemble long and twisted cords,
+thrown from one to another, or depending from the
+branches towards the ground. The noble Agave, or what
+we in England call the American Aloe, here throws out
+its broad, fleshy, spine-edged leaves, and lifts its tall flower-stalk
+loaded with the candelabra-like branches of bloom;
+and numerous thick <i>Cacti</i>, some erect and massive, others
+whip-like, long and trailing, give a peculiar aspect to the
+vegetation. Great tufts of <i>Orchide&oelig;</i>,&mdash;the lovely <i>Broughtonia</i>,
+with its thick ovate leaves, and racemes of elegant
+crimson flowers, the <i>Brasavola</i>, with long leaves resembling
+porcupine-quills in form, and blossoms of virgin
+white, the <i>Oncidium</i>, with its yellow and red flowers, like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>
+a score of painted butterflies dancing in every breath, and
+many others,&mdash;crowd the forks or droop from the twisted
+boughs of the trees.</p>
+
+<p>This formation of honeycombed limestone is full of
+caverns, many of which lead into one another in chains,
+and which have invested the region with a sort of superstitious
+mystery. Runaway slaves and outlaws have
+availed themselves of the facilities which its ravines and
+inaccessible fastnesses afford, to defy capture; and during
+the rebellion of the Maroons, it attained a considerable
+notoriety. There is one estate about eight miles from
+Kingston, in the immediate vicinity of which the famous
+hero, Three-fingered Jack, made his head-quarters. It is a
+district of wild torrents and waterfalls of the most romantic
+character; "the imagination of no painter of theatrical
+spectacles can surpass the wild wonders of the mountain-hold
+of the <i>real</i> Three-fingered Jack. Part of the road
+by which you ascend the falls is a subterranean passage;
+and caverns are entered by simple crevices which seem
+mere chinks in the irregular surface of the rock, all which
+natural peculiarities account for the mysterious disappearances
+which the mountain hero was enabled to enact from
+his pursuers."</p>
+
+<p>It was at this spot I first heard reliable tidings of the
+strange Crested Snake. A medical gentleman of reputation
+informed me that he had seen, in 1829, a serpent of
+about four feet in length, but of unwonted thickness, dull
+ochry in colour with well-defined dark spots, having on
+its head a sort of pyramidal helmet, somewhat lobed at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>
+the summit, of a pale red hue. The animal, however, was
+dead, and decomposition was already setting in. He informed
+me that the negroes of the district were well acquainted
+with it; and that they represented it as making
+a noise, not unlike the crowing of a cock, and as being
+addicted to preying on poultry.</p>
+
+<p>Nor is it in Jamaica alone that the Crested Snake is
+known. In the island of St Domingo, whence Seba received
+his curious specimens, my friend Mr Hill heard
+reports of it. A Spanish gentleman whom he was visiting
+in Hayti, told him that he had seen it, and begged
+him to note it among the remarkable things of the
+country. It was in that far east of the island, known as
+the ancient Caciquedom of Higuey, where the Indians
+were of a more warlike disposition than their meek
+brethren of the centre and west, and where the cruelties
+perpetrated upon them by their Spanish invaders reached
+such a superhuman pitch of diabolism, that even Las
+Casas says he almost feared to repeat them. The limestone
+mountains are here of exactly the same description as
+those in Jamaica, and the scenery assumes exactly the
+same romantic character. My friend's Spanish informant
+had seen the serpent with mandibles like a bird,
+with a cock's crest, with scarlet lobes or wattles; and
+he described its habits,&mdash;perhaps rather from common
+fame than from personal observation,&mdash;as a frequenter of
+hen-roosts, into which it would thrust its head, and deceive
+the young chickens by its imitative physiognomy,
+and by its attempts to crow, like their own Chanticleer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>
+"Il canta como un Gallo;" was the report in Hayti, just
+as in Jamaica.</p>
+
+<p>I was much interested in this mysterious reptile, and
+mentioned in the public papers my wish to possess a
+specimen. A gentleman of the vicinity, Mr Jasper Cargill,
+was so desirous to oblige me that he offered a sovereign
+for one; but though several persons were prompt
+to promise the capture, no example was forthcoming.</p>
+
+<p>After my return from Jamaica, the occurrence of two
+specimens found came under the notice of my friend, but
+neither of them was preserved. Mr Cargill had informed
+him that some years before, when visiting Skibo, in St
+George's, an estate of his father's, in descending the mountain-road,
+his attention was drawn to a snake of a dark
+hue, that erected itself from amid some fragments of
+limestone-rock that lay about. It was about <i>four feet
+long</i>, and unusually <i>thick-bodied</i>. His surprise was greatly
+increased on perceiving that it was <i>crested</i>, and that from
+the side of the cheeks depended some <i>red-coloured flaps</i>,
+like gills or wattles. After gazing at him intently some
+time, with its head well erect, it drew itself in, and disappeared
+among the fragmentary rocks.</p>
+
+<p>The son of this gentleman met with another specimen
+under the following circumstances, as detailed to me by
+my friend:&mdash;"It was, I think, on Easter Eve, the 30th of
+March last, [1850,] that some youngsters of the town
+came running to tell me of a curious snake, unlike any
+snake they had ever seen before, which young Cargill had
+shot, when out for a day's sport among the woodlands of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>
+a neighbouring penn. They described it as in all respects
+a serpent, but with a very curious shaped head, and with
+wattles on each side of its jaws. After taking it in hand
+and looking at it, they placed it in a hollow tree, intending
+to return for it when they should be coming home, but
+they had strolled from the place so far that it was inconvenient
+to retrace their steps when wearied with rambling;
+but they had lost no time in relating the adventure to me,
+knowing it would interest me much, particularly as young
+Cargill's father had thought it a snake similar to the one
+he had seen at Skibo, in St George's, or to the crested
+serpent for a specimen of which, when in St Thomas's
+in the East, he had offered the sum of twenty shillings.
+The youth that shot the snake fell ill on the following
+morning with fever, and could not go back to the woodlands
+to seek it, but he sent his younger brother who had
+been with him; but although he thought he rediscovered
+the tree in which his brother had placed it, he could not
+find the snake. He conjectured that the rats had devoured
+it in the night. When this adventure was related
+to me, another youth, Ulick Ramsay, a godson of mine,
+who came with the young Cargills to tell me of their
+discovery, informed me that not long previously, he had
+seen in the hand of the barrack-master-serjeant at the
+barracks in Spanish Town, a curious snake, which he, too,
+had shot among the rocks of a little line of eminences
+near the railway, about two miles out, called Craigallechie.
+It was a serpent with a curious shaped head, and projections
+on each side, which he likened to the fins of an eel,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
+but said they were close up to the jaws. Here are, unquestionably,
+two of the same snakes with those of Seba's
+Thesaurus, taken near Spanish Town, and both about the
+honeycombed rocks that protrude through the plain of
+St Catherine's in detached ridges and cones and hummocks,
+being points of the greater lines of limestone,
+which have been covered by the detritus of the plains, leaving
+masses of the under-rocks here and there uncovered.
+These are the spots frequented, too, by the <i>Cyclura</i>; and
+are continuations of our Red Hills&mdash;a country that so
+much resembles the terraced cliffs and red-soil glens of
+Higuey.</p>
+
+<p>It is remarkable that I have heard nothing more of this
+serpent of renown, this true Basilisk, from that time till
+now; though I have no doubt my Jamaica friends, who
+had become much interested in the matter, would have
+communicated the specimen to me if any one had been
+obtained. There is, however, sufficient evidence to assume
+the existence of such a form in the greater Antilles,
+whether Seba's figures be identical with it or not.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII.</h2>
+
+<h2>THE DOUBTFUL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>A very curious and unaccountable habit is attributed to
+some Reptiles, which, though asserted by many witnesses,
+at different times and in distant countries, has not yet
+received the general assent of men of science. White of
+Selborne, in one of his charming letters to Pennant, has
+the following note:&mdash;"Several intelligent folks assure me
+that they have seen the Viper open her mouth and admit
+her helpless young down her throat on sudden surprises,
+just as the female Opossum does her brood into the pouch
+under her belly, upon the like emergencies. Yet the London
+viper-catchers insist on it, to Mr Barrington, that no
+such thing ever happens."<a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a></p>
+
+<p>The evidence of the London viper-catchers goes for no
+more than it is worth; those whom Mr Barrington applied
+to,&mdash;how many and of what experience I know not,&mdash;had
+not met with such a case. But negative evidence
+is of little weight against positive. At the same time,
+others of the same fraternity affirm the fact. There is, as
+Mr Martin observes, no physiological reason against the
+possibility of the young maintaining life for a brief period
+within the stomach of the parent. A swallowed frog has
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>been heard, by Mr Bell, to cry several minutes after it
+had been swallowed by a snake; and the same excellent
+authority has seen another frog leap out of the mouth of
+a snake which had swallowed it, taking advantage of the
+fact that the latter gaped, as they frequently do, immediately
+after taking food.</p>
+
+<p>Mr Martin says he has conversed with several who had
+been assured by gamekeepers and gardeners that the
+swallowing of the young by vipers had been witnessed by
+them.<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a> And Mr Blyth, a zoologist of established reputation,
+observes,&mdash;"I have been informed of this by so many
+credible eye-witnesses, that I cannot hesitate in yielding
+implicit credence to the fact. One man particularly, on
+whose word I fully rely, tells me that he has himself seen
+as many as thirteen young vipers thus enter the mouth of
+the parent, which he afterwards killed and opened for the
+purpose of counting them."<a name="FNanchor_144_144" id="FNanchor_144_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr E. Percival, writing to the <i>Zoologist</i>, under date
+"64 Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, Oct. 17, 1848," narrates the
+following facts:&mdash;"When in Scotland, last autumn, I saw
+what at the time satisfied me that vipers really possessed
+this faculty, though the evidence was scarcely as conclusive
+as might have been wished. Walking along a
+sunny road, I saw a viper lying on the parapet. She had
+apparently just been killed by a blow from a stick. Five
+or six young ones, about four inches long, were wriggling
+about their murdered parent, and one was making its way
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>out of her mouth, at the time when I approached. Whether
+this was the first time the young ones had seen the light,
+or whether they were only leaving a place of temporary
+refuge, I leave to more experienced observers than myself
+to determine."<a name="FNanchor_145_145" id="FNanchor_145_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a></p>
+
+<p>This communication brought out the following from
+the late Mr John Wolley:&mdash;"Mr Percival's interesting
+note (<i>Zool.</i>, 2305) on this subject reminds me of a very
+similar anecdote, told me several years ago by a gentleman
+who is an accurate observer, and who has had long experience
+in all kinds of sports. He one day shot a viper, and
+almost immediately afterwards it was surrounded by young
+ones, in what appeared to him the most mysterious manner.
+But here the grand link was wanting which Mr
+Percival has supplied,&mdash;the young ones were not seen to
+come out of their mother's mouth. I may be allowed to
+mention an anecdote, told me in 1842, by an illiterate
+shepherd of Hougham, near Dover: he met me catching
+vipers, and, on my entering into conversation with him,
+he volunteered&mdash;without any allusion of mine&mdash;to tell this
+curious story. One day his father came suddenly upon a
+viper surrounded by her young, she opened her mouth and
+they all ran down her throat; he killed her, and leaving
+her on the ground, propped her mouth open between two
+pieces of stick; presently the young ones crawled out:
+on the slightest alarm they retreated back again,&mdash;and
+this they did repeatedly for several days, during which
+time many people came to see it.<a name="FNanchor_146_146" id="FNanchor_146_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a> The young which White
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>of Selborne cut out of the old female, and which immediately
+threw themselves into attitudes of defiance, had probably
+not then seen the daylight for the first time. Mr
+Bell, in a note in Bennett's edition of White's 'Selborne,'
+mentions the wide-spread belief in this alleged habit of
+the viper; but appears to consider the fact not proved.
+Accounts of similar habits in foreign viviparous snakes,
+common report, and, above all, Mr Percival's observation,
+leave no doubt on my mind about the matter."</p>
+
+<p>The most recent case on record that I have met with,
+is the following, communicated to the <i>Zoologist</i><a name="FNanchor_147_147" id="FNanchor_147_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a> for last
+December, by the Rev. Henry Bond, of South Petherton:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Walking in an orchard near Tyneham House, in
+Dorsetshire, I came upon an old adder basking in the
+sun, with her young around her; she was lying on some
+grass that had been long cut, and had become smooth
+and bleached by exposure to the weather. Alarmed by
+my approach, I distinctly saw the young ones run down
+their mother's throat. At that time I had never heard of
+the controversy respecting the fact, otherwise I should
+have been more anxious to have killed the adder, to prove
+the case. As it was, she escaped while I was more interested
+in the circumstance I witnessed than in her destruction."</p>
+
+<p>Exactly the same thing is told of the North American
+Rattlesnake. Hunter says, that when alarmed, the young
+ones, which are eight or ten in number, retreat into the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>mouth of the parent, and reappear on its giving a contractile
+muscular token that the danger is past.<a name="FNanchor_148_148" id="FNanchor_148_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a></p>
+
+<p>M. Palisot de Beauvois asserts that he saw a large
+rattlesnake which he had disturbed in his walks immediately
+coil itself up and open its jaws, when in an instant
+five small ones that were lying by it rushed into its open
+mouth. He concealed himself, and watched the snake,
+and in a quarter of an hour saw her discharge them. He
+then approached a second time, when the young ones
+rushed into the parent's mouth more quickly than before,
+and the animal immediately moved off, and escaped.
+The phenomenon is said to have been observed in regard
+to some of the venomous snakes of India, but I cannot
+now refer to details.</p>
+
+<p>Confirmation of a reported fact is sometimes derived
+from collateral evidence, and such is not wanting in the
+present case. The phenomenon is not confined to serpents;
+it has been observed in their near relatives, the
+lizards. Mr Edward Newman, while guarding the subject
+with a philosophical caveat, furnishes his readers with the
+following highly interesting and germane statement:&mdash;"1st,
+My late lamented friend, William Christy, jun., found
+a fine specimen of the common scaly lizard with two young
+ones. Taking an interest in everything relating to Natural
+History, he put them into a small pocket vasculum to bring
+home; but when he next opened the vasculum the young
+ones had disappeared, and the belly of the parent was
+greatly distended; he concluded she had devoured her own
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>offspring; at night the vasculum was laid on a table, and
+the lizard was therefore at rest: in the morning the young
+ones had reappeared, and the mother was as lean as at first.
+2d, Mr Henry Doubleday, of Epping, supplies the following
+information:&mdash;A person whose name is English, a good
+observer, and one, as it were, brought up in Natural
+History, under Mr Doubleday's tuition, once happened to
+set his foot on a lizard in the forest, and while the lizard
+was thus held down by his foot, he distinctly saw three
+young ones run out of her mouth. Struck by such a
+phenomenon, he killed and opened the old one, and found
+two other young ones in her stomach, which had been
+injured when he trod upon her. In both these instances
+the narrators are of that class who do know what to observe,
+and how to observe it; and the facts, whatever explanation
+they may admit, are not to be dismissed as the
+result of imagination or mistaken observation."<a name="FNanchor_149_149" id="FNanchor_149_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is remarkable that all the serpents to which the
+phenomenon is attributed are ovo-viviparous. Our common
+lizard, to which the facts just narrated doubtless
+belong (<i>Zootoca vivipara</i>), has the same property, which,
+however, appears to be by no means common among the
+Saurian races. This coincidence, while it would afford a
+handle to the deniers of the stated facts, in the assumption
+that the emergence of the living young from the
+abdomen, or their presence within it, has given rise to the
+notion&mdash;may have an essential significance and connexion
+with the phenomenon itself, on the hypothesis of its truth.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>That endowment, whatever it be, which enables the young
+to live and breathe in the abdominal cavity of the mother
+before birth, may render it easier for them than for others
+not so endowed to survive a temporary incarceration within
+the stomach after birth. Mr Newman does not know how
+to believe that a young and tender animal can remain in
+the strongly digestive stomach of a viper and receive no
+injury; but he has forgotten to take into the account the
+well-ascertained power that living tissues have the power
+of resisting the action of chemical re-agents that would
+instantly take effect upon them when dead. The walls
+of the stomach itself are not corroded by the gastric-juice
+which is rapidly dissolving the piece of meat within it.
+If the young animals can do without air for a while in
+their snug retreat, I do not think they would need fear
+the digestive operation. Air, I should suppose, <i>must</i> be
+excluded from the stomach, unless the parent have the
+power of swallowing air voluntarily, for the emergency;
+but perhaps a cold-blooded animal like a reptile, with a sluggish
+circulation and respiration, might do with very much
+less fresh air than a mammal under similar conditions.</p>
+
+<p>The proposed <i>rationale</i> of those who reject these statements,&mdash;that
+female vipers in the last stage of pregnancy
+have been opened, and have given freedom to living and
+active young, and that careless and unscientific observers
+have leaped to the conclusion that their young must have
+entered by the mouth,&mdash;will not stand before the testimony
+distinctly given by witnesses, who have actually
+seen the young retreat into the mouth, and have then found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
+them within the body. No doubt the subject needs further
+investigation by careful and unprejudiced naturalists;
+but the positive evidence already adduced on the testimony
+of so many deponents, warrants our accepting the phenomenon
+as a normal habit of certain species of Saurians
+and Ophidians, though it may be somewhat rarely resorted
+to, and that whatever physical difficulties may seem to
+stand in the way of its <i>&agrave; priori</i> probability&mdash;difficulties
+which perhaps depend on our ignorance, and which will
+disappear before the light of advancing knowledge.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The entomologists have fallen most ungallantly foul of
+Madame Merian, a lady who resided in Surinam nearly
+two hundred years ago, and devoted her attention to the
+native entomology, painting insects in a very admirable
+manner. She is set down as a thorough heretic, not at all
+to be believed, a manufacturer of unsound natural history,
+an inventor of false facts in science.</p>
+
+<p>Among other things, she speaks of a large hemipterous
+fly, which has in consequence of her reports been named
+<i>Fulgora lanternaria</i>. This insect has the head produced
+into a large inflated proboscis more than an inch in length,
+which is said to carry an intense luminosity within its
+transparent walls, as a candle is carried within a lantern.
+The fair observer says that the first discovery which she
+made of this property caused her no small alarm. The
+Indians had brought her several of these insects, which
+by daylight exhibited no extraordinary appearance, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
+she enclosed them in a box until she should have an
+opportunity of drawing them, placing it upon a table in her
+lodging-room. In the middle of the night the confined
+insects made such a noise as to awake her, and she opened
+the box, the inside of which, to her great astonishment,
+appeared all in a blaze; and in her fright letting it fall,
+she was not less surprised to see each of the insects apparently
+on fire. She soon, however, divined the cause of this
+unexpected phenomenon, and re-enclosed her brilliant
+guests in their place of confinement. She adds that the
+light of one of these Fulgor&aelig; is sufficiently bright to read
+a newspaper by: and though the tale of her having
+drawn one of these insects by its own light is without
+foundation, she doubtless might have done so if she had
+chosen.</p>
+
+<p>This circumstantial and apparently truthful statement
+has brought no small odium on the fair narrator. Other
+naturalists who have had opportunities of seeing the insect
+in its native regions strongly deny its luminosity.
+The inhabitants of Cayenne, according to the French Dictionnaire
+d'Histoire Naturelle, aver that it does not shine
+at all; and this is confirmed by M. Richard, a naturalist,
+who reared the species. The learned and accurate Count
+Hoffmansegg states that his insect collector Herr Sieber,
+a practised entomologist of thirty years' experience, who
+during a sojourn of several years in Brazil took many specimens
+of the <i>Fulgora lanternaria</i>, never saw a single one
+which was in the slightest degree luminous. There is a
+kindred species in China, <i>F. candelaria</i>, very common in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>
+those glazed boxes of insects which the Chinese sell to
+mariners; this also has been supposed to emit light, but
+Dr Cantor assures us that he has never observed the least
+luminosity in this species.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it would seem that the obloquy which has fallen
+upon the ingenious lady is not altogether undeserved, and
+that for the sake of a telling story, she has been indeed
+"telling a story." But we may imagine her offended
+ghost looking round and saying, "All these gentlemen
+merely say they have <i>not</i> seen the light; now I say I have:
+is there no one who will verify my statement?"</p>
+
+<p>M. Lacordaire,&mdash;an authority on South American insects
+second to none, says that he himself indeed never saw
+a luminous <i>Fulgora</i> all the time he was collecting in Brazil
+and Cayenne, and that most of the inhabitants of the
+latter country, when questioned on the subject, denied the
+fact, yet <i>that others of the natives as distinctly affirmed
+that it is luminous</i>. He asks whether it is not possible
+that the light may be confined to one sex, and thus the
+conflicting testimony be reconciled; and gives it as his opinion
+that the point is rather one which requires more
+careful observation, than one which we can consider absolutely
+decided.<a name="FNanchor_150_150" id="FNanchor_150_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150_150" class="fnanchor">[150]</a></p>
+
+<p>Again, the Marquis Spinola, in an elaborate paper on
+this tribe, published in the Annals of the Entomological
+Society of France,<a name="FNanchor_151_151" id="FNanchor_151_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151_151" class="fnanchor">[151]</a> strenuously contends that the remarkable
+development of the frontal portion of the head
+in the whole race is luminous. And finally, a friend of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>Mr Wesmael assured him that he had himself seen the
+American <i>Fulgora</i> luminous while alive.<a name="FNanchor_152_152" id="FNanchor_152_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152_152" class="fnanchor">[152]</a></p>
+
+<p>It may help to sustain our faith in the veracity of
+Madame Merian, to know that there is some reason for
+attributing occasional luminosity to well-known English
+insects, of which hundreds, and even thousands, have been
+taken without manifesting a trace of the phenomenon. Mr
+Spence, in his interesting Letter on Luminous Insects,<a name="FNanchor_153_153" id="FNanchor_153_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153_153" class="fnanchor">[153]</a>
+adduces the following evidence:&mdash;Insects "may be luminous
+which have not hitherto been suspected of being
+so. This seems proved by the following fact: A learned
+friend has informed me, that when he was curate of
+Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, in 1780, a farmer of that place,
+of the name of Simpringham, brought to him a mole-cricket
+(<i>Gryllotalpa vulgaris</i>, Latr.), and told him that
+one of his people seeing a <i>Jack-o'-lantern</i>, pursued it, and
+knocked it down, when it proved to be this insect, and the
+identical specimen shewn to him.</p>
+
+<p>"This singular fact, while it renders it probable that
+some insects are luminous which no one has imagined to
+be so, seems to afford a clue to the, at least, partial explanation
+of the very obscure subject of <i>ignes fatui</i>, and
+to shew that there is considerable ground for the opinion
+long ago maintained by Ray and Willughby, that the
+majority of these supposed meteors are no other than
+luminous insects. That the large varying lambent flames
+mentioned by Beccaria to be very common in some parts
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>of Italy, and the luminous globes seen by Dr Shaw cannot
+be thus explained, is obvious. These were probably
+electrical phenomena; certainly not explosions of phosphuretted
+hydrogen, as has been suggested by some, which
+must necessarily have been momentary. But that the
+<i>ignis fatuus</i> mentioned by Derham as having been seen by
+himself, and which he describes as flitting about a thistle,
+was, though he seems of a different opinion, no other than
+some luminous insect, I have little doubt. Mr Sheppard
+informs me that, travelling one night between Stamford
+and Grantham on the top of the stage, he observed for
+more than ten minutes a very large <i>ignis fatuus</i> in the low
+marshy grounds, which had every appearance of being an
+insect. The wind was very high: consequently, had it
+been a vapour it must have been carried forward in a
+direct line; but this was not the case. It had the same
+motion as a <i>Tipula</i>, flying upwards and downwards, backwards
+and forwards, sometimes appearing as settled, and
+sometimes as hovering in the air. Whatever be the true
+nature of these meteors, of which so much is said and so
+little known, it is singular how few modern instances of
+their having been observed are on record. Dr Darwin
+declares, that though in the course of a long life he had
+been out in the night, and in the places where they are
+said to appear, times without number, he had never seen
+anything of the kind; and from the silence of other
+philosophers of our own times, it should seem that their
+experience is similar."</p>
+
+<p>A paper by Mr R Chambers on the subject adduces the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>
+additional testimony of facts observed by good naturalists,
+as Dickson and Curtis the eminent botanists, and Stothard
+the painter and entomologist, by his own father Mr
+A. Chambers, and by Joseph Simpson, a fisherman living
+near Boston, all of which strongly corroborate the probability
+that some, at least, of the <i>ignes fatui</i> are produced
+by luminous insects.<a name="FNanchor_154_154" id="FNanchor_154_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154_154" class="fnanchor">[154]</a> Mr Main narrates the case
+of a farmer who stated that he had pursued a Will-o'-the-wisp,
+and coming up with it had knocked it down, when
+it proved to be an insect "exactly like a Maggy-long-legs"&mdash;that
+is, the common Crane-fly (<i>Tipula oleracea</i>),
+the very insect with which Mr Sheppard had compared
+the motions of the luminous flame observed by him.<a name="FNanchor_155_155" id="FNanchor_155_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155_155" class="fnanchor">[155]</a> Mr
+Spence argues that while gaseous emanations may be a
+cause of stationary <i>ignes fatui</i>, the same cause will not
+explain those which flit along from place to place; and that
+these are probably luminous insects, however rarely they
+may have come under the notice of entomologists. "A
+very strong argument for the possibility of some flying
+insects being occasionally luminous (in England) is afforded
+by the facts ... of luminous caterpillars having
+been within these few years observed for the first time
+since entomology has been attended to, and that by
+observers every way competent. If caterpillars so very
+common as those of <i>Mamestra oleracea</i> may sometimes,
+though so rarely, be luminous, and if, as Dr Boisduval
+suggests, and is very probable, this appearance was caused
+by disease, it is obvious that flying insects may be also
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>occasionally (though seldom) luminous from disease&mdash;a
+supposition which will at once explain the rarity of the
+occurrence, and the circumstance that insects of such
+different genera, and even orders, are said to have exhibited
+this phenomenon."<a name="FNanchor_156_156" id="FNanchor_156_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156_156" class="fnanchor">[156]</a></p>
+
+<p>These highly curious facts should make observers
+cautious in strongly denying statements made by others
+of phenomena, when they themselves have not been so
+fortunate as to witness them, even though they may
+think their opportunities to have been as favourable as
+those of the <i>soi-disant</i> observer.<a name="FNanchor_157_157" id="FNanchor_157_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157_157" class="fnanchor">[157]</a></p>
+
+<p>But we have not yet dismissed Madame Merian. If
+acquitted of falsehood here, she stands arraigned on a
+second charge of similar character.</p>
+
+<p>In most tropical countries there are found hideous hairy
+spiders of monstrous size and most repulsive appearance;
+short-legged, sombre-hued, ferocious marauders of the
+night, that by day lurk in obscure retreats under stones,
+or in burrows in the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Guiana produces a formidable species of this sort
+(<i>Mygale avicularia</i>), which measures three inches in
+length, and whose feet&mdash;though the genus is, as I have
+said, comparatively short-limbed&mdash;cover an area some
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>eight or ten inches in diameter. Madame Merian has
+exquisitely figured the tragical end of a tiny humming-bird,
+surprised by one of these monsters on her eggs; the
+petite bird overthrown under the fangs of the sprawling
+spider, one of whose feet is in the nest. It was on the
+authority of this lady that Linn&aelig;us gave the name of
+<i>avicularia</i> to the species. Later naturalists have scouted
+the whole story. Mr MacLeay, who resided in Cuba, says
+that there are indeed there huge spiders, allied to our
+garden spider, which make a geometric net, strong enough
+to embarrass small birds; but that these do not attempt
+to catch such prey, and never molest birds at all. On
+the other hand, he avers that the Cuban <i>Mygale</i>, an allied
+species to that of Guiana, makes no web, and has no
+power of injuring birds. He put this to the test of
+experiment; for having maimed a humming-bird, he
+thrust it into the <i>Mygale's</i> hole, which, instead of seizing
+the victim, retreated as in fear out of his den. This Mr
+MacLeay supposes to be conclusive; but a moment's reflection
+will shew how equivocal is the evidence. The
+spider may not have been hungry; or he may have been
+taken aback by the sudden intrusion; or he might not
+choose to take prey that he had not stolen upon and
+slaughtered <i>suo more</i>; or he may have muttered in the
+Arachnidan language,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">
+"Timeo Danaos, et dona ferentes."</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Because a wolf will cower down in the corner of his lair
+(even a tiger has been known to do so)&mdash;when a man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>
+suddenly enters his presence, and will manifest the most
+abject fear, would it be philosophical to ridicule the tales
+told of wolves pursuing and devouring men by night?</p>
+
+<p>M. Langsdorff asked the people of Brazil if the Caranquexeira,
+or the great <i>Mygale</i> of that country, fed upon
+humming-birds, when they answered him, with bursts of
+laughter, that it only gratified its maw with large flies,
+ants, bees, wasps, beetles, &amp;c.; an answer which the traveller
+verified by his own personal experience.<a name="FNanchor_158_158" id="FNanchor_158_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158_158" class="fnanchor">[158]</a> If M.
+Langsdorff means, which of course he does, that he
+learned by personal observation that the spider <i>ordinarily</i>
+feeds on insects, that fact is indubitable, and
+never has been doubted; but if he means that he had
+experience that it eats <i>only</i> such prey, which is the
+question at issue, it is plain that this experience proves
+no more than that he never witnessed such a fact.</p>
+
+<p>Percival, in his account of Ceylon, observes:&mdash;"There
+is an immense spider here, with legs not less than four
+inches long, and having the body covered with thick black
+hair." This was doubtless the <i>Mygale</i> of the island. "The
+webs which it makes are strong enough to entangle and
+hold even small birds, which form its usual prey." Alluding
+to this statement, Sir Emerson Tennent says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"As to the stories told of the <i>Mygale</i> catching and
+killing birds, I am satisfied, both from inquiry and observation,
+that, at least in Ceylon, they are destitute of truth,
+and that (unless in the possible case of acute suffering
+from hunger) this creature shuns all description of food
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>except soft insects and annelides." And yet he immediately
+adds:&mdash;"A lady at Marandan, near Colombo, told
+me that she had, on one occasion, seen a little house-lizard
+(<i>gecko</i>) seized and devoured by one of these ugly spiders."<a name="FNanchor_159_159" id="FNanchor_159_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159_159" class="fnanchor">[159]</a>
+Does he not, then, credit his informant? Or are lizards
+included in the category of "soft insects and annelides?"</p>
+
+<p>Against this incredulity, resting on no better than
+negative evidence, one might adduce collateral proof from
+analogy. There <i>are</i> spiders which feed on vertebrate
+animals, and there <i>are</i> spiders whose webs catch birds.
+The large and beautiful <i>Nephila claripes</i> of tropical
+America weaves strong threads of yellow silk in the paths
+of the woods, converging to a web quite strong enough to
+arrest a bird of weak flight. It must have been a species
+allied to this, but certainly, I think, not the same, of which
+Dr Walsh speaks in his "Travels in Brazil." "Among the
+insects is an enormous spider, which I did not observe
+elsewhere. In passing through an opening between some
+trees, I felt my head entangled in some obstructions, and
+on withdrawing it, my straw hat remained behind. When
+I looked up I saw it suspended in the air, entangled in
+the meshes of an immense cobweb, which was drawn like
+a veil of thick gauze across the opening, and was expanded
+from branch to branch of the opposite trees as
+large as a sheet ten or twelve feet in diameter. The
+whole of this space was covered with spiders of the same
+species but different sizes; some of them, when their legs
+were expanded, forming a circle of six or seven inches in
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>circumference.<a name="FNanchor_160_160" id="FNanchor_160_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160_160" class="fnanchor">[160]</a> They were particularly distinguished by
+bright spots. The cords composing the web were of a glossy
+yellow, like the fibres of silkworms, and equally strong."</p>
+
+<p>There is a creature found in the tropical parts of both
+hemispheres, called <i>Solpuga</i>, which though not exactly a
+spider, is yet so closely allied to that family as to be in
+some measure responsible for its misdoings. It is about
+as large as the <i>Mygale</i>, and, with sufficient general resemblance
+to it to warrant its being popularly considered a
+spider, it has much the same habits and appetites. Captain
+Hutton, in a most interesting memoir, describes the
+details of an Indian species under the name of <i>Galeodes
+vorax</i>. Among many other details, he says&mdash;"This species
+is extremely voracious, feeding at night upon beetles,
+flies, and even large lizards; and sometimes gorging itself
+to such a degree as to render it almost unable to move.
+A lizard, three inches long, <i>exclusive of tail</i>, was entirely
+devoured; the spider sprung at it, and made a seizure
+immediately behind the shoulder, never quitting its hold
+until the whole was consumed. The poor lizard struggled
+violently at first, rolling over and over in its agony, but
+the spider kept firm hold, and gradually sawed away with
+its double jaws into the very entrails of the victim. The
+only parts uneaten were the jaws and part of the skin,
+although the lizard was at least five inches long from nose
+to extremity of tail. After this meal, the spider remained
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>gorged and motionless for about a fortnight, being much
+swollen and distended.</p>
+
+<p>"A young sparrow, about half grown, was placed under
+a bell-glass with a <i>Galeodes</i>; the moment the luckless
+bird moved, the spider seized him by the thigh, which he
+speedily sawed off, in spite of the sparrow's fluttering;
+and then as the poor bird continued to struggle in pain,
+the savage seized him by the throat, and soon put an end
+to his sufferings by cutting off the head. It did not, however,
+devour the bird, nor any part of it, but seemed satisfied
+with having killed it.</p>
+
+<p>"On another occasion, I gave it a large garden-lizard,
+which was instantly seized by the middle of the body; the
+lizard, finding that it could not shake off its adversary,
+turned its head, and bit the <i>Galeodes</i> on the leg, which
+obliged it immediately to quit its hold and retreat.</p>
+
+<p>"On another occasion my friend, Dr Baddeley, confined
+one of these spiders in a wall-shade with two young musk
+rats (<i>Sorex Indicus</i>), both of which were killed by it."<a name="FNanchor_161_161" id="FNanchor_161_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161_161" class="fnanchor">[161]</a></p>
+
+<p>In an expedition to the Kurruckpoor Hills, south of
+Monghyr, Captain Sherwill found upon the summit of
+Maruk, a table-topped hill of 1100 feet elevation, several
+of the gigantic webs of the Epeira spider, some of which
+measured (including the guy-ropes) from ten to twelve feet
+in diameter, the reticulated portion being about five feet, in
+the centre of which the spider, of a formidable size and very
+active, sits waiting for prey. "The webs," he says, "from
+their great strength, offered a sensible resistance when
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>forcing our way through them. In the web of one of the
+spiders we found a bird entangled, and the young spiders,
+about eight in number, feeding upon the carcase. The
+bird was, with the exception of its legs and beak, entirely
+enveloped in the web, and was much decomposed; the
+entwined web had completely pinioned the wings of the
+bird, so as to render its escape impossible. The bird was
+about the size of a field-lark, and was near the centre of
+the web; the old spider was about a foot above the bird:
+we secured, measured, and bottled him. Its dimensions
+were six inches across the legs, and it was armed with a
+formidable pair of mandibles."<a name="FNanchor_162_162" id="FNanchor_162_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162_162" class="fnanchor">[162]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is clear, then, that there is nothing absurd or contrary
+to probability in the statement that spiders attack,
+overcome, and devour birds. But Madame Merian is here
+again favoured with direct witnesses to sustain her good
+faith. M. Moreau de Jonn&egrave;s expressly mentions, on his
+own authority, that the South American Mygale climbs the
+branches of trees to devour the young of humming-birds.
+But the most satisfactory statement is made by Mr H.
+W. Bates, who has recently returned from the interior of
+Brazil after many years spent in studying the entomology
+of that vast region. No one will deny his competency as
+a witness. "Now I will relate to you," he says, "what I
+saw in the month of June 1849, in the neighbourhood of
+Cameta. I was attracted by a curious movement of the
+large gray-brown Mygale on the trunk of a vast tree: it
+was close beneath a deep crevice or chink in the tree,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
+across which this species weaves a dense web, open for its
+exit and entrance at one end. In the present instance
+the lower part of the web was broken, and two pretty
+small finches were entangled in its folds; the finch was
+about the size of the common siskin of Europe, and I
+judged the two to be male and female; one of them was
+quite dead, but secured in the broken web; the other
+was under the body of the spider, not quite dead, and was
+covered in parts with the filthy liquor or saliva exuded by
+the monster. I was on my return from a day's excursion
+by land at the time, with my boxes full of valuable and
+delicate insects, and six miles from my house, and therefore
+could not have brought the specimens home, even if
+I had wished, which I did not, as the spider was a very
+common species, easily to be procured nearer home. The
+species I cannot name; I sent several fine specimens,
+stuffed, to London, in 1851; it is wholly of a gray-brown
+colour, and clothed with coarse pile. Doubtless you will
+immediately know the exact species to which I refer.</p>
+
+<p>"If the Mygales did not prey upon vertebrated animals,
+I do not see how they could find sufficient subsistence.</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.6" id="Fig.6">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 252px;">
+<a href="images/fig263-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig263-400.jpg" width="252" height="400" alt="BIRD-EATING SPIDER." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">BIRD-EATING SPIDER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"On the extensive sandy campos of Santarem, so bare
+in vegetation, there are hundreds of the broad slanting
+burrows of the large stout species, (that fine one, dark
+brown with paler lines down the legs, of which I sent
+specimens in 1851.) The campos, I know, from close
+research, to be almost destitute of insects, but at the same
+time to swarm with small lizards, and some curious ground
+finches of the Emberiza group (one of which has a song
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>wonderfully resembling our yellow bunting of England),
+besides which, vast numbers of the <i>Caprimulgid&aelig;</i> and
+ground doves lay their eggs on the bare ground.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe this species of Mygale feeds on these animals
+and their eggs at night. Just at the close of day, when I
+have been hurrying home, not liking to be benighted on
+the pathless waste, I have surprised these monsters, who
+retreated within the mouths of their burrows on my
+approach."<a name="FNanchor_163_163" id="FNanchor_163_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163_163" class="fnanchor">[163]</a></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII.</h2>
+
+<h2>FASCINATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is a notion of long standing and widely diffused, that
+certain predaceous animals have a power, which, however,
+they only occasionally exert, of paralysing the creatures
+on which they prey, so as utterly to take away the faculty
+of flight, and even, in some circumstances, of drawing
+them, as if by an irresistible influence, to their known
+and dreaded destruction. This fascinating power has
+been most generally attributed to serpents, and is supposed
+to reside in a peculiar glare and fixity of the eyes,
+which appear to mesmerise the victims. If the gaze be
+interrupted, <i>on either part</i>, though but for a moment, it
+is supposed that the spell is broken. Is there any such
+power? or is it merely one of the many myths with which
+popular natural history is still burdened, and which it is
+the province of real science to explode? Let us gather
+together a few of the facts on which the opinion rests.</p>
+
+<p>I am not sure whether I ought to reckon as such the
+following statement, for I do not know the value of the
+authority on which it rests. It is, however, sufficiently
+curious.</p>
+
+<p>Dr Bird, a somewhat appropriate authority in this
+case, mentions an incident which happened in America.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
+"Two boys lighted by chance upon a large black snake;
+upon which one of them resolved to ascertain whether the
+snake, so celebrated for its powers, could fascinate him.
+He advanced a few steps nearer the snake, and made a
+stand, steadily looking on him. When the snake observed
+him in that situation, he raised his head with a
+quick motion, and the lad says, that at that instant there
+appeared something to flash in his eyes, which he could
+compare to nothing more similar than the rays of light
+thrown from a glass or mirror when turned in the sun-shine;
+he said it dazzled his eyes; at the same time the
+colours appeared very beautiful ... he felt as if he was
+in a whirlpool, and that every turn brought him nearer
+to the centre. His comrade seeing him approach nearer
+to the snake, immediately ran and killed it."<a name="FNanchor_164_164" id="FNanchor_164_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164_164" class="fnanchor">[164]</a></p>
+
+<p>There is, however, better authority than this for the
+belief in serpent-mesmerism. Professor Kalm states of
+the Rattlesnake of North America, that it will frequently
+lie at the bottom of a tree on which a squirrel is seated.
+The snake fixes his eyes upon the little animal, and from that
+moment it cannot escape: it begins a doleful outcry, runs
+up the tree a little way, comes down again, then goes up,
+and afterwards comes still lower. The snake continues at
+the bottom of the tree, with its eyes fixed on the squirrel;
+and its attention is so entirely taken up, that a person
+accidentally approaching may make a considerable noise,
+without so much as the snake's turning about. The
+squirrel comes lower, and at last leaps down to the snake,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>whose mouth is already wide open for its reception. The
+little animal then, with a piteous cry, runs into its jaws
+and is swallowed.</p>
+
+<p>Catesby, though he says he never saw the phenomenon
+himself, reports the same thing on the testimony of many
+witnesses, who all agreed that the animals, particularly
+birds and squirrels, no sooner spy the snake than they
+skip from spray to spray, hovering and approaching gradually
+nearer their enemy, regardless of any other danger;
+but with distracted gestures and outcries descend, though
+from the top of the loftiest trees, to the mouth of the
+snake, who, opening his jaws, takes them in and in an instant
+swallows them.<a name="FNanchor_165_165" id="FNanchor_165_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165_165" class="fnanchor">[165]</a></p>
+
+<p>More recently Acrell tells the same story, as unquestionable.
+He declares that as the snake, who is the most indolent
+of all serpents, lies under the shade of a tree, opening
+his jaws a little, he fixes his brightly-glittering eyes on
+any bird or squirrel which is in it. The squirrel, uttering
+a mournful and feeble cry, leaps from bough to bough, as
+if seeking to escape, but presently, as if struck with the
+fascination, he comes down the tree, and flings himself,
+with a spring, into the very jaws of his enemy. A mouse,
+shut up with a rattlesnake in an iron box, at first sat in
+one corner, the snake opposite to it. The reptile fixed its
+terrible eye on the little trembler, which at length threw
+itself into the mouth of the serpent.<a name="FNanchor_166_166" id="FNanchor_166_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166_166" class="fnanchor">[166]</a></p>
+
+<p>Lawson affirms that <i>he has seen</i> the phenomenon actually
+take place with a squirrel and a rattlesnake.<a name="FNanchor_167_167" id="FNanchor_167_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167_167" class="fnanchor">[167]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p>
+<p>I said that the belief is widely spread. We have seen
+it in North America; we will now look at it in Africa.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Forbes incidentally mentions a case analogous
+to these. Passing through some high grass at Ahomey,
+he observed, within an inch of his leg, a small lizard, with
+its eyes fixed. It did not move at his approach. At the
+same moment a cobra darted at it, and before he could
+raise his stick, bore the victim away. The captain naturally
+enough was occupied with his own narrow escape,
+and simply narrates the facts without comment; but the
+fixity of the gaze, and the motionlessness of the lizard,
+were not a little remarkable.<a name="FNanchor_168_168" id="FNanchor_168_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168_168" class="fnanchor">[168]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr Ellis, in his charming volume on Madagascar and
+the Cape, makes the following observations:&mdash;<a name="FNanchor_169_169" id="FNanchor_169_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169_169" class="fnanchor">[169]</a></p>
+
+<p>"In a country abounding, as Africa does, with serpents,
+I expected to hear many anecdotes respecting them; and,
+conversing on one occasion with Mr Pullen, a farmer who
+has lived many years in the country, and seemed to have
+paid rather more than usual attention to this species of
+reptile, he said he once saw a mouse running in a field,
+and that, coming in sight of a snake, though at a considerable
+distance, it instantly stopped. The snake fixed its
+eye on the mouse, which then crept slowly towards the
+snake, and, as it approached nearer, trembled and shrieked
+most piteously, but still kept approaching until quite close,
+when it seemed to become prostrate, and the snake then
+devoured it. On another occasion he had watched a
+snake capture a mouse in the same manner; but, as it was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>retreating, he followed, and struck it on the back with a
+stick, when it opened its mouth, and the mouse escaping,
+ran for some distance, then fell down; but after a minute
+recovered and ran away. Another time he said he watched
+a snake in the water, which had fixed its eye on a frog sitting
+amongst the grass on the bank. The frog, though
+greatly alarmed, seemed unable to stir, until Mr Pullen
+gradually pushed a rush growing near so that it intervened
+between the eye of the snake and its intended victim,
+when the frog, as if suddenly liberated, darted away. Mr
+Pullen's ideas were in accordance with the popular notion,
+that the snake has the power of exercising some mesmeric
+or other influence through the steady fixing of its eye, and
+that whatever intercepts this gaze breaks, as it were, the
+charm, and sets the prisoner free."</p>
+
+<p>A most important witness on this matter is Dr Andrew
+Smith, the learned zoologist of South Africa, who thus
+soberly throws the weight of his own thoroughly competent
+and most conclusive personal observations into the affirmative
+scale. In his interesting account of the Boomslange,
+a serpent of considerable size found in that region, he
+says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"As this snake, <i>Bucephalus capensis</i>, in our opinion,
+is not provided with a poisonous fluid to instil into wounds
+which these fangs may inflict, they must consequently be
+intended for a purpose different to those which exist in
+poisonous reptiles. Their use seems to be to offer obstacles
+to the retrogression of animals, such as birds, &amp;c.,
+while they are only partially within the mouth; and, from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>
+the circumstance of these fangs being directed backwards,
+and not admitting of being raised so as to form an angle
+with the edge of the jaw, they are well fitted to act as
+powerful holders when once they penetrate the skin and
+soft parts of the prey which their possessors may be in
+the act of swallowing. Without such fangs escapes would
+be common; with such, they are rare.</p>
+
+<p>"The natives of South Africa regard the <i>Bucephalus
+capensis</i> as poisonous; but in their opinion we cannot
+concur, as we have not been able to discover the existence
+of any glands manifestly organised for the secretion
+of poison. The fangs are enclosed in a soft, pulpy sheath,
+the inner surface of which is commonly coated with a thin
+glairy secretion. This secretion possibly may have something
+acrid and irritating in its qualities, which may, when
+it enters a wound, occasion pain and even swelling, but
+nothing of greater importance.</p>
+
+<p>"The <i>Bucephalus capensis</i> is generally found upon
+trees, to which it resorts for the purpose of catching birds,
+upon which it delights to feed. The presence of a specimen
+in a tree is generally soon discovered by the birds of
+the neighbourhood, who collect around it, and fly to and
+fro, uttering the most piercing cries, until some one, more
+terror-struck than the rest, actually scans its lips, and,
+almost without resistance, becomes a meal for its enemy.
+During such a proceeding the snake is generally observed
+with its head raised about ten or twelve inches above the
+branch round which its body and tail are entwined, with
+its mouth open and its neck inflated, as if anxiously en<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>deavouring
+to increase the terror which it would almost
+appear it was aware would sooner or later bring within
+its grasp some one of the feathered group.</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever may be said in ridicule of fascination, it is
+nevertheless true that birds, and even quadrupeds, are,
+under such circumstances, unable to retire from the presence
+of certain of their enemies; and, what is even more extraordinary,
+unable to resist the propensity to advance from
+a situation of actual safety into one of the most imminent
+danger. This I have often seen exemplified in the case
+of birds and snakes; and I have heard of instances equally
+curious, in which antelopes and other quadrupeds have
+been so bewildered by the sudden appearance of crocodiles,
+and by the grimaces and contortions they practised,
+as to be unable to fly or even to move from the
+spot towards which they were approaching to seize
+them."<a name="FNanchor_170_170" id="FNanchor_170_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170_170" class="fnanchor">[170]</a></p>
+
+<p>It may have been the Boomslange to which Le Vaillant
+alludes, who says that he saw, on the branch of a tree, a
+species of shrike, trembling as if in convulsions; and at
+the distance of nearly four feet, on another branch, he
+beheld a large species of snake, that was lying with outstretched
+neck, and fiery eyes, gazing steadily at the poor
+animal. The agony of the bird was so great, that it was
+deprived of the power of moving away; and when one of
+the party killed the snake, the shrike was found dead upon
+the spot, and that entirely from fear; for on examination
+it appeared not to have received the slightest wound.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>
+The same traveller informs us, that a short time afterwards
+he observed a small mouse, in similar agonising
+convulsions, about two yards distant from a snake, whose
+eyes were intently fixed upon it; and on frightening away
+the reptile, and taking up the mouse, it expired in his
+hand.<a name="FNanchor_171_171" id="FNanchor_171_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171_171" class="fnanchor">[171]</a></p>
+
+<p>In a record, by Mr D. T. Evans, of some experiments
+with Venomous Serpents, made at the Zoological Gardens,
+mainly with a view to test the efficacy of a reputed remedy
+for their bite,&mdash;<i>Simaba cedron</i>&mdash;and which were pursued
+with the utmost philosophic care, we find the following
+interesting particulars:&mdash;"The attitudes and movements
+of the serpent intending to bite were very striking and
+beautiful. In the first place, he made, with the posterior
+half of his body, a bold curve, having a strong prehensile
+'purchase' on the floor of the cage, so as to secure a steady
+fulcrum for the rapid dart made at the time of the bite.
+The upper half of the body was raised some ten inches or
+a foot, the neck strongly arched, and the head, bent at
+nearly right angles with the neck, was poised directly
+opposite the prey. In such position the serpent remained
+a greater or lesser time (sometimes as long as twenty
+minutes) according to circumstances. During this interval,
+the slightest motion of the animal before him was followed
+by an instantaneous and correspondent movement
+of the head and neck of the serpent. The purpose seemed
+to be that of aim-taking, for the eyes were intently fixed
+upon the prey; but I am by no means sure that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>
+snake, knowing that the latter cannot escape him, does
+not derive pleasure from this prolonged and intent gaze.
+At all events, in one experiment, where the head of a
+rattlesnake so engaged was sideways to the glass of the
+cage, and near it, I observed, and called attention to the
+fact, a remarkable vermicular motion along the course of
+the poison-gland to the opening of the angle of the mouth,
+which we thought might afford him pleasure, and this continued
+until the snake struck his prey.</p>
+
+<p>"So far the Serpents. I now proceed to describe the
+peculiarities shewn by the animals on which we experimented.
+Some philosophers have denied innate ideas to
+man; these and some others have furthermore denied an
+instinctive apprehension of danger in animals. They say
+that of itself, as born, the hare has no dread of the hound:
+that its fear is acquired of experience. I concur in
+neither of these opinions, and think the latter altogether
+refuted by the conduct of the animals exposed to serpents
+in these experiments. Not one of the guinea-pigs or
+rabbits (which were all something under their full growth)
+had ever seen a serpent; yet when introduced to the cage
+they shewed unequivocal symptoms of distress and fear.
+In some instances they actually screamed before they
+were struck. They generally shewed restlessness at first,
+but when the serpent, intending to strike, poised himself
+in front, they became for a time, if not altogether,
+motionless. Is there such a thing as 'fascination?' If
+by this is meant a pleasurable paralysis of the animal's
+powers, I think it more than doubtful; but a deprivation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>
+of the power of motion from terror may, perhaps, take
+place. All, however, that I speak to is a perfectly motionless
+condition of snake and prey, lasting several
+minutes."<a name="FNanchor_172_172" id="FNanchor_172_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172_172" class="fnanchor">[172]</a></p>
+
+<p>Nor are there wanting examples of the same power
+exercised by the common Snake of our own country. I
+content myself with the following two, both of very recent
+record:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Up the hill above Tyneham," writes the Rev. Henry
+Bond, last August, "towards the sea, I was struck by the
+shrill cry and fluttering agitation of a common hedge-sparrow,
+in a whitethorn bush. Regardless of my presence,
+its remarkable motions were continued, getting, at
+every hop from bough to bough, lower and lower down
+in the bush. Drawing nearer, I saw a common snake
+coiled up, but having its head erect, watching the sparrow;
+the moment the snake saw me it glided away,
+and the sparrow flew off with its usual mode of
+flight."<a name="FNanchor_173_173" id="FNanchor_173_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173_173" class="fnanchor">[173]</a></p>
+
+<p>This anecdote brings out another by Mr John Henry
+Belfrage, of Muswell Hill:&mdash;"When proceeding down the
+avenue here one morning, at a turn in the path I saw a
+robin, which appeared to me spell-bound, so much so as
+to allow a much closer approach than is usual even with
+that boldest of the feathered tribe. On going nearer I
+perceived what I took to be the cause, in a large common
+snake, which was lying coiled up on one side of the path,
+with its head a little raised. My appearance broke the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>spell, and the robin flew away; at the same time, the
+snake dropped its head and assumed a perfectly inert
+appearance."<a name="FNanchor_174_174" id="FNanchor_174_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174_174" class="fnanchor">[174]</a></p>
+
+<p>A writer in the <i>Journal of the Indian Archipelago</i>
+thus reports the mesmeric faculty exercised upon a certainly
+somewhat unlikely subject:&mdash;"On approaching an
+almost dry drain, I saw a snake slowly extending his
+coils, raising his head, and steadfastly gazing on what I
+saw to be an eel of about a foot in length. The eel was
+directly opposite to the snake, and glance seemed to meet
+glance, when the snake, having the requisite proximity,
+darted on the eel and caught it about an inch behind the
+head, and carried it off; but the captor was soon himself
+a captive, for with a blow on his head I secured
+both."<a name="FNanchor_175_175" id="FNanchor_175_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175_175" class="fnanchor">[175]</a></p>
+
+<p>The mystery is, as usual in such cases, attempted to be
+explained away. Man does not like mystery; scientific
+man least of all: it is humbling to the pride of science to
+be obliged to confess that there exists anything unaccountable
+to the initiated. Mr W. C. L. Martin thus
+"explains" the statements of Dr A. Smith, and all such
+accounts:&mdash;"There is nothing mysterious in all this; the
+snake does not <i>mesmerise</i> its prey, but merely so terrifies
+it as to stupify it; besides, the victim may feel an impulse
+similar to that which urges many nervous persons on the
+edge of a precipice, or top of a lofty tower, to throw
+themselves down headlong, and which we have heard
+such describe as resisted with difficulty; so may the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>panic-struck bird feel an impulse to rush into danger
+which it might escape by flight."<a name="FNanchor_176_176" id="FNanchor_176_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176_176" class="fnanchor">[176]</a></p>
+
+<p>And again:&mdash;"Fear, amounting to panic, solicitude for
+its young, and efforts to drive away the dreaded intruder,
+leading the bird to venture too closely to the snake for
+its own safety, produce the results erroneously attributed
+to the Reptile's fancied power of fascination by its glance,
+or by some mystic property."<a name="FNanchor_177_177" id="FNanchor_177_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177_177" class="fnanchor">[177]</a></p>
+
+<p>Dr Barton, of Philadelphia, who, at the close of the last
+century, published a memoir on the fascinating powers
+attributed to certain serpents, advocated the same views.
+He considered that in almost every instance the supposed
+power was exerted on birds at the particular season of
+nidification, and that the whole hypothesis originated in
+the <span title="Greek: storgê">&#963;&#964;&#959;&#961;&#947;&#951;</span> which prompts them to protect their eggs or
+young. No doubt <i>some</i> of the instances which have been
+reported as examples of fascination are capable of such an
+explanation, but surely not all; and the fallacy, here
+again, as in so many parallel cases, lies in the advocating of
+some theory which will cover a certain number of the facts,
+and the ignoring of all such as will not be so accounted
+for. Is it to be supposed that Dr A. Smith could not distinguish
+between the condition of involuntary paralysis of
+the faculties which he says he has <i>often</i> seen, and the insane
+boldness of nesting birds? Had the mice, seen by
+Mr Pullen, had the frog, young ones to protect? Or the
+squirrel mentioned by Kalm? or the mouse seen by Le
+Vaillant? or the eel in the drain? But what is the value
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>of a hypothesis,&mdash;so far as its claims to solve this question
+are concerned,&mdash;which will not touch these cases? When
+Mr Martin denies that there is anything mysterious in
+the matter, and in the same sentence admits that "the
+victim may feel an impulse to rush into the danger which
+it might escape," he just yields the whole point. I venture
+to affirm that this <i>is</i> something mysterious, something
+totally unaccountable. I ask <i>what</i>, and <i>whence</i>, and
+<i>why</i>, this strange impulse that overcomes the first of all
+instincts, the prime law of self-preservation?</p>
+
+<p>It does not explain the cause of the phenomenon,
+though it possibly helps us to determine its proper seat, to
+learn that fascination belongs to other animals besides the
+serpent tribes. We shall perhaps not err if we conclude
+that the peculiarity resides not in the object, but in the
+subject; that it is a mental emotion capable of being excited
+by objects having little in common except the death-terror
+which they excite. I have no doubt that it is a
+phase of extreme terror; the singularity of the phenomenon
+consists in the reversal of ordinary instinctive laws
+which it induces. My readers will probably be interested
+in the details of some cases in which the exciters of the
+emotion were animals other than serpents. Here is one,
+apparently related with care and truthfulness, though
+anonymous, in which the fascinator was as unlikely as can
+be well imagined to excite, and the fascinatee to feel, the
+emotion:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"One evening, being seated in a room at Garrackpore,
+the window of which was open, and the ceiling on one side<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>
+sloped downwards towards the window, my attention was
+attracted by a butterfly which chanced to fly into the room.
+I observed its motions for a minute or two, when I thought
+there was something that appeared unnatural in them,
+and the insect began to dart to and fro in one direction,
+occasionally, however, varying its flight about the room.
+I looked up to see what it could possibly be at, and instantly
+observed an ordinary-sized lizard on the cloth of the
+upper ceiling. I had not even then the most distant idea
+of what was really going on; but seeing the butterfly dart
+every now and then at the lizard, I supposed it in play,
+till its motions became less quick and animated. The
+lizard remained all this time immovable, but at last suddenly
+shifted its ground to the sloping part of the ceiling.
+The motions of the butterfly became still more languid,
+until at length, to my utter surprise, I saw the lizard open
+its mouth, and the butterfly flew directly into it. The
+lizard was about half a minute swallowing it, wings and
+all. Until the last act of this curious scene, though I well
+knew the lizard's object, I supposed it would probably
+make a leap at the butterfly, yet had no idea of its succeeding,
+and expected to see the butterfly fly away. Had
+I had an idea of the cause, I should have broken the charm.</p>
+
+<p>"From that moment I never had the least doubt of the
+power of fascination: that power I conceive to be <i>terror</i>,
+which, if the object was sufficiently terrible, I believe
+would act equally on man or any other creature."<a name="FNanchor_178_178" id="FNanchor_178_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178_178" class="fnanchor">[178]</a></p>
+
+<p>Still more strange is it to hear of scorpions fascinating
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>blue-bottle flies! "On my arrival" says Mr Robert
+Hunter, "at N&aacute;gpur, in Central India, in 1847, I requested
+that the first scorpion found in the house might
+be allowed to live for a few minutes, that I might have
+an opportunity of observing its form and movements.
+In that part of India one has rarely to wait long for such
+a visitant, and on an early evening my colleague, the Rev.
+Mr Hislop, announced that there was a scorpion on the
+wall. A lamp was set down on the floor, and we took
+convenient stations for noting what might pass. Just
+then a large fly, of the genus Musca, made its appearance,
+and soon became aware of the presence of the scorpion.
+A strong fury seemed to seize it, irresistibly impelling
+it to an insane attack on the terrible occupant of the wall:
+it flew at it with all the little force it could muster, the
+scorpion meanwhile stretching out its lobster-like claw to
+catch it as it came. At the first charge, the fly rebounded
+from the crustaceous integument of its adversary, having
+done no more damage than if a child were to apply its
+hand to the well-mailed body of a cuirassier. It seemed
+amazed at its own audacity; and in a state of great
+apparent agitation wheeled round, and taking precipitately
+to flight, soon put two or three yards of safe space
+between itself and its formidable but wingless foe. We
+now forcibly hoped 'the better part of valour' might be
+allowed to prevail. But no! the tiny creature stood&mdash;it
+ventured to look&mdash;there glared still in view the
+malignant form. What could the poor animal do but
+make a second brilliant onset, in which it again eluded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>
+the outstretched claw of its enemy, and, as before, was
+successful in effecting a retreat? 'Surely,' we mused,
+'no further knight-errantry will be attempted: the most
+exacting would consider this enough.' But we were mistaken.
+Again and again did the fly return to the combat,
+till in an unguarded moment it flew exactly into the open
+claw, which closing, rendered escape impossible. The
+generosity of a Mouravieff was scarcely to be looked for
+in the scorpion, which, as will be readily believed, lost no
+time in devouring its gallant captive. Possibly the fly
+may have been partly dazzled by the glare of the lamp.
+But undoubtedly it was in the main fascination, induced
+by the sight of the dread figure on the wall, that impelled
+it to begin the unequal contest, which could terminate
+only in the loss of its life."<a name="FNanchor_179_179" id="FNanchor_179_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179_179" class="fnanchor">[179]</a></p>
+
+<p>After these cases, I fear my readers would see but little
+of the romantic in stories of stoats mesmerising hares
+and rabbits, or foxes paralysing pullets. The former are
+common enough,&mdash;the wretched hare creeping along with
+a bewildered look, as if its back were broken, or screaming
+in helpless immobility. I will confine myself to a single
+narrative furnished by Mr Henry Bond, to whom this
+chapter is already indebted for one case. As he was
+walking on the hillside above West Creech Farm, in
+Penbeck, Somerset, last August, where the down is
+scattered with very low furze-bushes, his attention was
+arrested by a cry of distress. It proceeded from a rabbit
+which was cantering round in a ring, with a halting gait.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>He watched it for some minutes; but, as the circle became
+smaller, and the rabbit more agitated, he perceived a stoat
+turning its head with the rabbit's motion, and fixing its
+gaze upon it. He struck a blow at the stoat, but missed
+it; its attention was thus withdrawn from its intended
+victim, which instantly ran away with great vigour in a
+straight direction.<a name="FNanchor_180_180" id="FNanchor_180_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180_180" class="fnanchor">[180]</a></p>
+
+<p>This is a remarkably good case; the circular movement
+of the rabbit; the ever-diminishing circle; the rotation of
+the stoat; the fixity of its gaze; the liberation of the rabbit
+the moment the stoat was disturbed; and the instant
+recovery of its faculties on the breaking of the spell;&mdash;all
+these are circumstances of the highest interest in a case
+avouched by so good a naturalist as Mr Bond.</p>
+
+<p>Mr J. H. Gurney reports the account of a respectable
+gamekeeper, who, being much annoyed by the nightly
+visits of a fox to the poultry, could not imagine how Reynard
+managed to effect his purpose, as they roosted on a
+large spreading oak. One morning, however, just as day
+was dawning, he heard a great noise among the poultry,
+and, looking out of the window, saw a fox running round
+and round under the place where they sat, and soon observed
+that the fowls began to fall from the tree in great
+confusion. The fox immediately seized his victim, and
+the mystery was so far solved. A day or two afterwards
+the fox, a very large male, was killed in an adjoining
+paddock, and no further assaults were made upon the
+poultry.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In this case the result was possibly effected by vertigo;
+the birds, bewildered and amazed in the dim light, followed
+with their eyes the course of the sly depredator, as he ran
+swiftly in a circle beneath, until the frequent turning of
+their heads made them giddy and unable to keep their
+balance. <i>But how did the fox know that such a result
+would follow?</i></p>
+
+<p>The same gentleman gives, from his own observation,
+a case that is more to the point. Here a bird is the
+mesmeric practitioner. "I once saw a golden eagle which
+appeared entirely to fascinate a rabbit that was put into
+the large cage in which the eagle was kept. As soon as
+the rabbit was introduced, the eagle fixed his eye upon it,
+and the rabbit intently returned the gaze, and began
+going round the eagle in circles, approaching nearer each
+time, the eagle meanwhile turning on his axis (as it were)
+on the block of wood upon which he was seated, and keeping
+his eye fixed upon that of the rabbit.</p>
+
+<p>"When the rabbit had approached very near to the
+bottom of the eagle's perch, it stood up on its hind
+legs, and looked the eagle in the face; the eagle then
+made his pounce, which appeared at once to break
+the charm, and the rabbit ran for its life, but it was
+too late for it to escape the clutch of the eagle, and
+the instant death which followed that tremendous
+squeeze."<a name="FNanchor_181_181" id="FNanchor_181_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181_181" class="fnanchor">[181]</a></p>
+
+<p>I am not sure how far a parallelism exists between this
+animal fascination by the eye, and that attraction which
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>fire is well known to possess for many creatures. Shelley
+sings of</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The desire of the moth for the star,"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>as if it were a romantic passion for that which is bright
+and beautiful. This is, of course, a poet's aspect; the
+insect-collector, who wants to fill his cabinet&mdash;"my friend
+the weaver," who nightly pursues his "untaxed and undisputed
+game"&mdash;well knows that the glare of his bull's-eye
+lamp will attract the moths by thousands on a damp
+night in June. The little flitting atoms pass and repass
+across the field of light, suddenly flashing into full
+radiance, and in an instant relapsing into the darkness,
+unless his gauze net is too rapid for them. I have often
+sat reading late at night with a candle in the window,
+and observed with interest how many insects of all orders
+will soon congregate on the outside; now and then some
+large moth coming up with a dull <i>thud</i>, or a great mailed
+beetle dashing against the glass with a crash that makes
+one look sharply up to see whether he has not cracked
+the pane. In Jamaica I have taken many valuable
+beetles and other insects around the candle-shades at an
+open window, which were not met with in any other way.</p>
+
+<p>So in Alabama, where it is customary in balmy autumn
+evenings for the family to sit in the yard under the broad
+sheltering trees, by the flickering light of the yard-fire.
+This fire is lighted at dusk on an iron tripod breast-high,
+and kept up till bed-time. It is the duty of a negro
+urchin to keep it constantly bright with splints of pine,
+so as to maintain a perpetual blaze, as the object is to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>
+illuminate the yard and its contiguous offices. The little
+"nigger" nods, of course, but the loud scolding voice of
+master, mistress, or overseer, or any one else, rates him,
+and rouses him to duty, as soon as the flame falls. It is
+pleasant to sit and watch the effect of the light, either
+transmitted through or reflected from the quivering leaves
+of the surrounding trees, the blaze now rising brightly
+and playing in tongue-like flickering spires, now sinking
+and dying to a ruddy glow, then suddenly reviving under
+the frightened watchfulness of the sable minister, who
+plays the part of vestal virgin at this altar.</p>
+
+<p>Large insects often play around this fire. Beetles
+"wheel their drony flight" in buzzing circles round for
+a few turns, and are gone; and moths come fluttering
+about, and often scorch their plumy wings. I have taken
+some very fine Sphinges and other moths thus; and the
+only specimen I ever saw of that very curious insect the
+Mole-cricket alive (a species distinct from, but very closely
+allied to, our European insect) was one that suddenly
+dashed into the ashes of the light-stand&mdash;a curious and
+interesting circumstance, when connected with the opinion
+that I have before alluded to, that the <i>Gryllotalpa
+Europ&aelig;a</i> is one of the producers of the <i>Ignis fatuus</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Birds also are attracted by light at night. I have read
+of a Titmouse that was seen fluttering around a gas-lamp
+in the suburbs of London, and would not be driven away;
+it at length made its entrance into the lamp through the
+orifice at the bottom, and continued to flit around and
+across the jet. In 1832, a Herring-gull struck one of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>
+mullions of the Bell Rock Light-house with such force,
+that two of the polished plates of glass, measuring about
+two feet square, and a quarter of an inch in thickness,
+were shivered to pieces, and scattered over the floor in a
+thousand atoms, to the great alarm of the keeper on watch,
+and the other inmates of the house, who rushed instantly
+to the light-room. The gull was found to measure five
+feet between the tips of the wings. In his gullet was a
+large herring, and in his throat a piece of plate-glass of
+about one inch in length.</p>
+
+<p>Dr Livingstone gives some curious examples of the attractive
+power of fire over various creatures in South
+Africa, which he attributes to a sort of fascination. "Fire,"
+he says, "exercises a fascinating effect on some kinds of
+toads. They may be seen rushing into it on the evenings
+without ever starting back on feeling pain. Contact with
+the hot embers rather increases the energy with which
+they strive to gain the hottest parts, and they never cease
+their struggles for the centre, even when their juices are
+coagulating and their limbs stiffening in the roasting heat.
+Various insects also are thus fascinated; but the scorpions
+may be seen coming away from the fire in fierce disgust,
+and they are so irritated as to inflict at that time their
+most painful stings."<a name="FNanchor_182_182" id="FNanchor_182_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182_182" class="fnanchor">[182]</a></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX.</h2>
+
+<h2>SERPENT-CHARMING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>From the day when the solemn doom was pronounced,&mdash;"I
+will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
+between thy seed and her seed," the serpent-form has
+begotten revulsion and dread in the human breast. And
+deservedly; for a venomous serpent is a terrible enemy:
+the direful venom of sin injected by "that old serpent, the
+Devil," is well symbolised by the most potent of all lethic
+agencies,&mdash;the poison of the rattlesnake or the cobra.</p>
+
+<p>And yet in all ages there have been persons in the
+countries where the most venomous snakes abound, who
+have professed, and have been believed to enjoy, an absolute
+immunity from their bites, and even to exercise some
+inexplicable power over them, whereby their rage is soothed,
+and they are rendered for the time gentle and harmless.
+The Holy Scriptures repeatedly allude to this ancient art.
+The Magicians of Egypt, who turned their rods into serpents,
+are supposed to have had recourse to a secret known,
+it is said, to the modern conjurors of the same country,
+who, by pressing the nape of the neck of the cobra with
+their fingers, throw it into a sort of catalepsy, by which
+its whole body becomes rigid like a rod, and from which
+it is relieved by suddenly throwing it on the ground.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>
+Aaron's rod was a veritable rod before and after the
+transaction, but changed into a serpent by Divine miraculous
+energy: theirs were serpents made to assume the
+appearance of rods for the moment by a cunning device.</p>
+
+<p>Other and more direct allusions, however, occur to the
+art of serpent-charming. Thus the obduracy of the
+wicked is compared to "the deaf adder that stoppeth her
+ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,
+charming never so wisely."<a name="FNanchor_183_183" id="FNanchor_183_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183_183" class="fnanchor">[183]</a> And the Aseverity
+of the Chaldean invaders is depicted under this imagery:&mdash;"Behold,
+I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you,
+which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith
+the <span class="smcap">Lord</span>."<a name="FNanchor_184_184" id="FNanchor_184_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184_184" class="fnanchor">[184]</a></p>
+
+<p>Among the ancient Romans the Psylli, a people of
+Africa, and the Marsi, a German tribe who had settled in
+Italy, were reputed to have the power of charming serpents,
+and to be endowed with immunity from the results of
+their venom. Celsus, however, maintains that this power
+consisted in an acquaintance with the fact, now well
+known, that animal poisons are hurtful only when mingled
+with the blood. They may therefore be taken into the
+mouth with perfect impunity. With reference to so great
+an authority, however, there is more in the art and
+mystery of serpent-charming than this.</p>
+
+<p>When Lucian describes the Babylonian magician as
+walking abroad, and calling to him all the serpents that
+were near, with certain ceremonies, such as the utterance
+of sacred words from an ancient book, lustrations made
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>with sulphur and a torch, and solemn marchings in a
+circle, and when he asserts that the venomous reptiles,
+<i>nolentes volentes</i>, presented themselves harmless at his
+feet,&mdash;he describes a scene which is sufficiently familiar
+to European travellers in Egypt and India. And so,
+when Silius Italicus speaks of Atyr, instructed how to
+disarm serpents of their dire venom, and to lull to sleep
+the terrible water-snakes with his magic touch, he refers,
+whether truly or falsely, to something of a more potent
+character than the feat by which Queen Philippa saved
+the life of her royal husband.</p>
+
+<p>Immunity from the poison of serpents, and serpent-charming,
+are two things. The former, so far as it depends
+on the natural law already mentioned, scarcely comes
+within the province of this work. But is there not an
+innate immunity residing in some persons, and even in
+some peoples, by which, without the operation of any
+recognised natural law, or even any effort, they are
+securely protected either against the bites of venomous
+serpents, or, at least, against the fatality which is the
+ordinary result of being bitten?</p>
+
+<p>The Psylli, according to Pliny, were so characteristically
+endowed with this immunity, that they made it a test
+of the legitimacy of their children; for they were accustomed
+to expose their new-born babes (only in doubtful
+cases, we may suppose) to the most venomous serpents
+they could find; assured that if their paternity was pure
+Psyllic, they would be quite unharmed. Of this tribe
+was the ambassador Hexagon, who, boasting of his power<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>
+before the Roman consuls, submitted to the crucial test
+which they suggested, of being inclosed in a vessel
+swarming with poisonous reptiles, which, says the legendary
+story, hurt him not.</p>
+
+<p>The same historian tells us that the Psylli, who formerly
+inhabited the vicinity of the Greater Syrtis,&mdash;that is, the
+modern Tripoli and Barca,&mdash;were conquered and almost
+exterminated by the Nasamones, who possessed their land;
+but that a remnant fled to some distant region. It is not
+improbable that the present inhabitants of Sennaar, on
+the south of Egypt, may be the lineal descendants of these
+same Psylli; for, since Egypt was densely peopled and
+highly cultivated, a barbarous tribe could scarcely have
+made good their footing there; and as on the other side
+was the Great Desert of the S&acirc;hra, and on the north the
+sea, there was no resource open to them but to creep
+along the desert edge of Egypt till they found a thinly-inhabited
+land sufficiently savage to enable them to form
+a settlement. The first region of this character that they
+could possibly find would be Nubia; and there it is most
+interesting to know that there exists a people at the
+present time, pretending to the same powers as the old
+Psylli. Bruce, whose testimony, at first much impugned,
+has come to be received with confidence, avouches that all
+the black people in the kingdom of Sennaar, whether
+Funge or Nuba, are perfectly armed against the bite of
+either scorpion or viper. They take the <i>Cerastes</i>&mdash;a
+little asp with two horns, of the most deadly venom&mdash;into
+their hands at all times, put them into their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>
+bosoms, and throw them at one another as children do
+balls, without ever irritating them by this usage so much
+as to make them bite. One day when the traveller was
+sitting with the brother of the prime minister of Sennaar,
+a slave of his brought a <i>Cerastes</i>, which he had just taken
+out of a hole, and was using with every sort of familiarity.
+Bruce expressed his suspicion that the teeth had been
+drawn, but was assured that they were not, both by the
+slave and by his master, who, taking the viper from him,
+wound it round his arm, and at the traveller's desire,
+ordered the servant to accompany him with it to his
+residence. Here Bruce, to test the power of the serpent,
+took a chicken by the neck, and made it flutter; the
+seeming indifference of the snake immediately gave place
+to eagerness, and he bit the fowl with great signs of anger,
+which died almost immediately. Bruce considers that
+the indifference was only seeming towards the man,&mdash;that
+it was indeed powerlessness, for he constantly observed
+that, however lively the snake was before, yet upon being
+seized by any of the blacks, it seemed as if taken with
+sudden sickness and feebleness, frequently shut its eyes,
+and never turned its mouth towards the arm of the person
+who held it.</p>
+
+<p>How exactly this account agrees with the words of Silius,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"&mdash;&mdash; <i>tactuque</i> graves <i>sopire</i> chelydros."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Nubian traveller informs us that the Arabs&mdash;meaning
+apparently the Moslem blacks&mdash;have not this
+secret naturally, but that from infancy they acquire an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>
+exemption from the mortal consequences attending the
+bites of all venomous reptiles by chewing a certain root,
+and washing themselves (it is not <i>anointing</i>) with an infusion
+of certain plants in water. This is by no means
+improbable; and it were much to be desired that the
+root and the plants were obtained and identified, that
+their preventive powers might be tested by competent
+men of science. In all probability they would be found
+to belong to the Quassia tribe, the natural order <i>Simarubace&aelig;</i>,
+plants of the tropical regions of both continents,
+whose juices are of an intense bitterness. An infusion of
+the chips of <i>Quassia amara</i> and of <i>Simaruba amara</i> is
+found to be an effectual poison to flies; and the Brazilian
+Indians use an infusion of <i>Simaruba versicolor</i> as a
+specific against the bite of serpents, and use it with great
+effect in the pediculous diseases which are so common
+among that people.</p>
+
+<p>It was a plant of this order, <i>Simaba cedron</i>, on which
+experiments were made a few years ago, at the Zoological
+Gardens, just before the lamentable death, by the bite of
+the Cobra, of poor Gurling, who, indeed, assisted in them.
+Mr Squire, the eminent chemist, was desirous of testing
+the powers of this plant, which, dried and reduced to
+powder, is in high repute among the Indians of South
+America as a serpentifuge. Dr Quain and Mr Evans
+concurred in this desire; and, with the permission of the
+Zoological Society of London, a series of experiments, of
+much interest, if not very conclusive in their results, were
+performed at the Gardens, on the 8th July 1852.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The trials were made only on small animals, but in
+each case the alleged remedy proved inefficacious. The
+experimenters, however, think that it would be unsafe to
+reject the <i>Simaba cedron</i> as an antidote because it here
+failed, inasmuch as death followed so rapidly that there
+was small opportunity for its action. It is not until it
+shall have been tried and have failed upon stronger
+animals, that, in the face of the experience of the Indians
+in hot climates, it should be repudiated. The remedy
+was applied in the form of an infusion poured down the
+throat of the bitten animal as quickly as possible after
+the stroke, and of the moistened powder applied to the
+wound. It seems to me worthy of consideration whether,
+in the light of what Bruce says of the Nubians, a washing
+of the body with the infusion, or an imbibition of it, or
+both, <i>before</i> the serpent's attack, might not be more efficacious
+as a preventive either of the bite or of its results,
+than its administration afterwards as a cure. Whatever
+be the substance with which the Nubians wash themselves,
+it seems to communicate to the body some quality, perhaps
+of odour, which repels and sickens serpents. Now,
+this may reside in the intense bitterness of the <i>Simarubace&aelig;</i>;
+and it would be worth while to try whether a
+rattlesnake or a puff-adder would strike a guinea-pig that
+had just been bathed in an infusion of the <i>Simaba</i>, or to
+which a dose of the same had just been administered, and
+if so, whether the bite then would be fatal. Even if these
+experiments yielded no positive result, it would still be
+open to consider whether the lapse of time, or a long sea-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>voyage,
+or exposure to our moist climate, may not have
+deprived the powdered root of the plant of antitoxic
+properties which it may have possessed when freshly prepared
+in its native region.</p>
+
+<p>Tschudi, whose researches into the natural history of
+Peru are replete with interesting and valuable information,
+has some observations on the native remedies for serpent-bites
+which I will cite, prefacing the extract with a graphically
+terrible picture from his pen of the venomous reptiles
+themselves:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The serpents are to be feared; and, on approaching
+them, it is not easy to decide at the first view whether
+they belong to a poisonous or innoxious species. In the
+forests, where the fallen leaves lie in thick moist layers,
+the foot of the hunter sinks deep at every step. Multitudes
+of venomous Amphibia are hatched in the half-putrescent
+vegetable matter; and he who inadvertently
+steps on one of these animals may consider himself uncommonly
+fortunate if he can effect his retreat without
+being wounded. But it is not merely in these places,
+which seem assigned by nature for their abode, that loathsome
+reptiles are found: they creep between the roots of
+large trees, under the thickly-interwoven brushwood, on
+the open grass-plats, and in the maize and sugar-cane
+fields of the Indians; nay, they crawl even into their huts,
+and most fortunate is it for the inhabitants of those districts
+that the number of the venomous, compared with
+the innoxious reptiles, is comparatively small. Of the
+poisonous serpents, only a few kinds are known whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>
+bite is attended with very dangerous consequences. The
+minamaru or jergon (<i>Lachesis picta</i>, Tsch.) is, at most, three
+feet long, with a broad, heart-shaped head, and a thick
+upper lip. It haunts the higher forests, while in those
+lower down his place is filled by his no less fearful relative,
+the flammon, (<i>Lachesis rhombeata</i>, Prince Max.,) which is
+six or seven feet in length. These serpents are usually
+seen coiled almost in a circle, the head thrust forward, and
+the fierce, treacherous-looking eyes glaring around, watching
+for prey, upon which they pounce with the swiftness
+of an arrow; then, coiling themselves up again, they look
+tranquilly on the death-struggle of the victim. It would
+appear that these Amphibia have a perfect consciousness
+of the dreadful effect of their poisonous weapon, for they
+use it when they are neither attacked nor threatened, and
+they wound not merely animals fit for their food, but all
+that come within their reach. More formidable than the
+two snakes just described, but happily much less common,
+is the brown ten-inch-long viper (<i>Echidna ocellata</i>,
+Tsch.). It is brown, with two rows of black circular spots.
+The effect of its bite is so rapid that it kills a strong
+man in two or three minutes. So convinced are the
+natives of its inevitably fatal result, that they never seek
+any remedy: but immediately on receiving the wound lay
+themselves down to die. In the montanas of Pangoa this
+viper abounds more than in any other district: and never
+without apprehension do the cholos undertake their annual
+journey for the coca harvest, as they fear to fall
+victims to the bite of this viper. The warning sound of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>
+the rattle-snake is seldom heard in the hot montanas, and
+never in the higher regions.</p>
+
+<p>"Nature, who in almost all things has established an
+equilibrium, supplies the natives with remedies against
+the bite of the serpent. One of the cures most generally
+resorted to is the root of the amarucachu (<i>Polianthes
+tuberosa</i>,<a name="FNanchor_185_185" id="FNanchor_185_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185_185" class="fnanchor">[185]</a> Linn.), cut into slips and laid upon the wound.
+Another is the juice of the creeping plant called vijuco
+de huaco (<i>Mikania huaco</i>,<a name="FNanchor_186_186" id="FNanchor_186_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186_186" class="fnanchor">[186]</a> Kunth), which is already very
+widely celebrated.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p><p>"This latter remedy was discovered by the negroes of
+the equatorial province Choco. They remarked that a
+sparrow-hawk, called the <i>huaco</i>, picked up snakes for his
+principal food, and when bitten by one it flew to the
+vejuco and ate some of the leaves. At length the Indians
+thought of making the experiment on themselves, and
+when bitten by serpents they drank the expressed juice of
+the leaves of the vejuco, and constantly found that the
+wound was thereby rendered harmless. The use of this
+excellent plant soon became general, and in some places
+the belief of the preservative power of the vejuco juice
+was carried so far that men in good health were inoculated
+with it. In this process some spoonfuls of the expressed
+fluid are drunk, and afterwards some drops are put into
+incisions made in the hands, feet, and breast. The fluid
+is rubbed into the wounds by fresh vejuco leaves. After
+this operation, according to the testimony of persons
+worthy of credit, the bite of the poisonous snake fails for
+a long time to have any evil effect. Beside the two plants
+mentioned above, many others are used with more or less
+favourable results. The inhabitants of the montana also
+resort to other means, which are too absurd to be detailed
+here: yet these medicines are often of benefit, for their
+operation is violently reactive. They usually produce the
+effect of repeated emetics and cause great perspiration.
+There is much difference in the modes of external treatment
+of the wound, and burning is often employed. I saw
+an Indian apply to his wife's foot, which had been bitten,
+a plaster consisting of moist gunpowder, pulverised
+sulphur, and finely-chopped tobacco mixed up together.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>
+He laid this over the wounded part, and set fire to it.
+This application in connexion with one of the nausea-exciting
+remedies taken inwardly had a successful result.</p>
+
+<p>An English officer, engaged in the wars which freed the
+South American republics from the Spanish dominion,
+thus speaks of a plant which is probably the same <i>Mikania</i>.
+His account is curiously confirmatory of the accuracy
+of Bruce:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Among the many medicinal and poisonous plants
+growing on the banks of the Orinoco, one of the most
+singular is a species of <i>vejuco</i>, which, when properly administered,
+proves a powerful preservative from the effects
+of poisonous serpents. It even appears to deprive these
+reptiles either of their power or inclination to use their
+fangs. Some of the leaves and small branches are
+pounded, and applied in that state as a cataplasm to both
+arms; the skin having been previously scarified freely
+above the elbows. This species of inoculation is repeated,
+at stated intervals; the juice of the bruised plant, diluted
+with water, being also occasionally drunk. Several soldiers,
+belonging to General Tedeno's division, had undergone
+this treatment, and frequently made the advantage
+they had thus acquired useful on a march. They were
+thereby enabled to take shelter in deserted huts, which
+we dared not enter on account of the snakes always lurking
+in such places; although these men could bring them
+out in their hands, without sustaining any injury. As
+they had been for some time in our company, we could
+ascertain that they had not any snakes in their possession<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>
+concealed for the purpose of deception. Besides, they
+could have little or no inducement to practice an imposition
+upon us, as they neither asked for, nor expected, any
+reward for exhibiting their skill in destroying these
+reptiles."<a name="FNanchor_187_187" id="FNanchor_187_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187_187" class="fnanchor">[187]</a></p>
+
+<p>According to Captain Forbes, the negroes of Dahomey
+employ a grass, or grass-like herb, with success. One of
+his hammock-men had been bitten by venomous snakes
+repeatedly, but, his father being a doctor, he had escaped
+injury. Walking one day through some long grass, the
+captain, pointing to the bare legs of his servant, asked if
+there was not danger. "None," said he; "my father
+picks some grass, and if on the same day the decoction is
+applied, the wound heals at once."<a name="FNanchor_188_188" id="FNanchor_188_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188_188" class="fnanchor">[188]</a></p>
+
+<p>Some animals, especially those which prey upon serpents,
+seem to be proof against their bites. The Ichneumons
+or Mangoustes of Africa and Asia have long been
+celebrated for their immunity, and veritable stories have
+been narrated of their having recourse to some herb, when
+bitten, after which they successfully renewed the attack.
+Percival, in his account of Ceylon, relates that a Mangouste
+placed in a close room where a venomous serpent was,
+instead of darting at it, as he would ordinarily have done,
+ran peeping about anxiously seeking some way of escape;
+but finding none it returned to its master, crept into his
+bosom, and could by no means be persuaded to face the
+snake. When, however, both were removed out of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>house into the open field, the Mangouste instantly flew at
+the serpent, and soon destroyed it. After the combat the
+little quadruped suddenly disappeared for a few minutes,
+and again returned. Percival concludes, not unreasonably,
+that during its absence, it had found the antidotal
+herb, and eaten of it. The natives state that the Mangouste
+resorts on such occasions to the <i>Ophiorhiza mungos</i>,
+whose root is reputed a specific for serpents' bites. This
+is a Cinchonaceous plant, so intensely bitter that it is
+called by the Malays by a name which signifies earth-gall.<a name="FNanchor_189_189" id="FNanchor_189_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189_189" class="fnanchor">[189]</a></p>
+
+<p>Captain Forbes in his interesting account of Dahomey,
+alludes to these combats, which he says he has witnessed
+in India. He says that the serpent (Cobra) has usually
+the advantage at first, but the Mangouste retreating, devours
+some wild herb, returns and presently conquers.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p>
+<p>Sir Emerson Tennent inclines to refer the immunity of
+the Mangouste to an inherent property. He remarks that
+the mystery of its power has been "referred to the supposition
+that there may be some peculiarity in its organisation
+which renders it <i>proof against</i> the poison of the
+serpent. It remains for future investigation to determine
+how far this conjecture is founded in truth; and
+whether in the blood of the Mongoos there exists any
+element or quality which acts as a prophylactic. Such
+exceptional provisions are not without precedent in the
+animal economy: the hornbill feeds with impunity on the
+deadly fruit of the <i>Strychnos</i>; the milky juice of some
+species of <i>Euphorbia</i>, which is harmless to oxen, is invariably
+fatal to the zebra; and the tsetse fly, the pest of
+South Africa, whose bite is mortal to the ox, the dog,
+and the horse, is harmless to man and the untamed creatures
+of the forest."<a name="FNanchor_190_190" id="FNanchor_190_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190_190" class="fnanchor">[190]</a></p>
+
+<p>Our own hedgehog possesses the privilege of being unharmed
+by the venom of the viper, as is manifest in its
+frequent contests with it. Mr Slater has frequently seen
+combats between these animals, which always terminated
+in favour of the hedgehog. The latter seemed perfectly
+regardless of the many bites it received on the snout.<a name="FNanchor_191_191" id="FNanchor_191_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191_191" class="fnanchor">[191]</a></p>
+
+<p>To return to Bruce's statements. After describing the
+little horned viper of Egypt, the <i>Cerastes</i>, and its insidious
+manner of creeping towards its victim with its head
+averted, till within reach, when it suddenly springs and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>strikes, he goes on to say: "I saw one of them at Cairo
+crawl up the side of a box, in which there were many,
+and there lie still as if hiding himself, till one of the
+people who brought them to us came near him, and
+though in a very disadvantageous posture, sticking, as it
+were, perpendicularly to the side of the box, he leaped near
+the distance of three feet, and fastened between the man's
+forefinger and thumb, so as to bring the blood. The fellow
+shewed no signs of either pain or fear, and we kept
+him with us full four hours, without his applying any
+sort of remedy, or seeming inclined to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"To make myself assured" (adds Bruce) "that the animal
+was in its perfect state, I made the man hold him by the
+neck, so as to force him to open his mouth and lacerate
+the thigh of a pelican, a bird I had tamed, as big as a
+swan. The bird died in about thirteen minutes, though
+it was apparently affected in fifty seconds; and we cannot
+think this was a fair trial, because a very few minutes
+before it had bit the man, and so discharged part of its
+virus, and it was made to scratch the pelican by force,
+without any irritation or action of its own.</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.7" id="Fig.7">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 252px;">
+<a href="images/fig303-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig303-400.jpg" width="252" height="400" alt="SNAKE-CHARMING." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">SNAKE-CHARMING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I will not hesitate to aver," he adds, "that I have seen
+at Cairo (and this may be seen daily without trouble or
+expense) a man, who came from above the catacombs,
+where the pits of the mummy-birds are kept, who has
+taken a Cerastes with his naked hand from a number of
+others lying at the bottom of the tub, has put it upon his
+bare head, covered it with the common red cap he wears,
+then taken it out, put it in his breast, and tied it about
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>his neck like a necklace, after which it has been applied
+to a hen and bit it, which has died in a few minutes;.
+and, to complete the experiment, the man has taken it by
+the neck, and beginning at its tail, has ate it, as one
+would do a carrot or a stock of celery, without any seeming
+repugnance."<a name="FNanchor_192_192" id="FNanchor_192_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192_192" class="fnanchor">[192]</a></p>
+
+<p>A few years earlier than Bruce, Hasselquist, an enthusiastic
+young naturalist, and one of the pupils of Linn&aelig;us,
+had visited the East. He paid much attention to the
+subject, and records his judgment that there is no delusion
+in serpent-charming, but that certain persons do
+really, in whatever way they effect it, fascinate serpents.
+"They take the most poisonous vipers with their bare
+hands, play with them, put them in their bosoms, and
+use a great many more tricks with them, as I have often
+seen. The person I saw on the above day had only a
+small viper, but I have frequently seen them handle those
+that are three or four feet long, and of the most horrid
+sort. I inquired <i>and examined</i> whether they cut out the
+viper's poisonous teeth: but <i>I have seen with my own
+eyes they do not</i>: we may therefore conclude, that there
+are to this day Psylli in Egypt; but what art they use is
+not generally known. Some people are very superstitious;
+and the generality believe this to be done by some
+supernatural art, which they obtain from invisible beings;
+I do not know whether their power is to be ascribed to
+good or evil; but I am persuaded that those who undertake
+it use many superstitions."</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span></p>
+<p>Subsequently we find some details of interest. "Now
+was the time (July) to catch all sorts of snakes to be met
+with in Egypt, the great heats bringing forth these vermin.
+I therefore made preparation to get as many as I could,
+and at once received four different sorts, which I have
+described and preserved in <i>aqua vit&aelig;</i>. These were the
+Common Viper, the Cerastes of Alpin, the Jaculus, and
+an Anguis Marinus. They were brought me by a Psylle,
+who put me, together with the French consul, Sironcourt,
+and all the French nation present, in consternation.</p>
+
+<p>"They gathered about us to see how she handled the
+most poisonous and dreadful creatures alive and brisk,
+without their doing or offering to do her the least harm.
+When she put them into the bottle where they were to be
+preserved, she took them with her bare hands, and handled
+them as our ladies do their laces. She had no difficulty
+with any but the <i>Viper&aelig; officinales</i>, which were not fond
+of their lodging. They found means to creep out before
+the bottle could be corked. They crept over the hands
+and bare arms of the woman, without occasioning the
+least fear in her; she with great calmness took the snakes
+from her body, and put them into the place destined for
+their grave. She had taken these serpents in the field
+with the same ease she handled them before us; this we
+were told by the Arab who brought her to us. Doubtless
+this woman had some unknown art which enabled her to
+handle those creatures. It was impossible to get any
+information from her, for on this subject she would not
+open her lips."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He thus sums up the results of his investigations.
+"The circumstances relating to the fascination of serpents
+in Egypt stated to me, were principally:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"1st.&mdash;That the art is only known to certain families,
+who propagate it to their offspring.</p>
+
+<p>"2d.&mdash;The person who knows how to fascinate serpents,
+never meddles with other poisonous animals; such as
+scorpions, &amp;c. There are different persons who know how
+to fascinate these animals; and they again never meddle
+with serpents.</p>
+
+<p>"3d.&mdash;Those that fascinate serpents eat them both raw
+and boiled, and even make broth of them, which they eat
+very commonly amongst them; but in particular they eat
+such a dish when they go out to catch them. I have been
+told that serpents, fried or boiled, are frequently eaten by
+the Arabians, both in Egypt and Arabia, though they
+know not how to fascinate them, but catch them either
+alive or dead.</p>
+
+<p>"4th.&mdash;After they have eaten their soup, they procure
+a blessing from their scheik, who uses some superstitious
+ceremonies, and, amongst others, spits on them several
+times with certain gestures."</p>
+
+<p>The blessing of the priest, Hasselquist pronounces correctly
+enough to be mere superstition; we may fairly
+conclude that the eating of the snakes is also irrelevant,&mdash;both
+of these circumstances being calculated to increase
+popular wonder only, and to lead the observers from the
+true scent, which probably is the employment of preventive
+simples. Hasselquist had been told of a plant with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>
+which the charmers anointed or rubbed themselves before
+they touched the serpents; but, as no such plant was produced
+to him, he regarded it as fabulous. We have seen
+reason, however, to conclude that the real key to the
+mystery lies there.<a name="FNanchor_193_193" id="FNanchor_193_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193_193" class="fnanchor">[193]</a></p>
+
+<p>The ancients believed that the human spittle was so
+fatal to serpents that much of the secret of charming lay
+in the knowledge of this fact. Of course this would
+make Psylli of all men; but there may be this measure of
+truth in the supposition, that the natural exudations of a
+human body which has been bathed or rubbed with a
+penetrating alexipharmic, may be so impregnated with the
+odour, as to be peculiarly repellent of the snake. Denham
+describes a scene of snake-charming in which the spittle
+played an important part. A juggler brought him in a
+bag two venomous snakes, which he set at liberty, beginning
+to beat a little drum. They immediately reared
+themselves on their tails, moving in a sort of dance. The
+juggler played various tricks with them, sometimes
+wreathing them round his neck, coiling them in his
+bosom, or throwing them among the people. On
+pointing his finger at their mouth, they immediately
+raised themselves in attitude to spring forward and
+strike; but after having exasperated them to the utmost,
+<i>he had only to spit in their face</i>, to make them retreat
+quite crest-fallen. From his description these seem to
+have been of the genus <i>Naia</i>, upwards of six feet long,
+and very venomous. The fangs, he says, had been ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>tracted;
+but still, to guard against all possible injury, the
+fellow who played tricks with them had a large roll of
+cloth wound round the right arm.<a name="FNanchor_194_194" id="FNanchor_194_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194_194" class="fnanchor">[194]</a></p>
+
+<p>The influence of music on the serpents seems to be
+universally assumed as a part of the professional snake-charmer's
+success. The ancient Psylli who were employed
+to prevent the Roman camp from being troubled with
+venomous serpents, marched around it, chanting mystic
+songs.<a name="FNanchor_195_195" id="FNanchor_195_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195_195" class="fnanchor">[195]</a> Johnson describes the very clever snake-catchers
+of India as pretending to draw them from their holes by
+a song, and by playing a plaintive tune on an instrument
+somewhat resembling an Irish bagpipe.<a name="FNanchor_196_196" id="FNanchor_196_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196_196" class="fnanchor">[196]</a> He says, indeed,
+that this is all delusion; but Forbes, in his "Oriental Memoirs,"
+allows its reality. A learned native of India
+assured Sir William Jones that he had frequently seen
+the most venomous and malignant snakes leave their holes
+upon hearing notes from a flute, which, as he supposed,
+gave them peculiar delight.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptian snake-charmer assumes an air of mystery,
+strikes the walls with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a
+clucking noise with his tongue, and says, "I adjure you,
+by God, if ye be above, or if ye be below, that ye come
+forth; I adjure you by the most great Name, if ye be
+obedient, come forth, and if ye be disobedient, die, die,
+die!"<a name="FNanchor_197_197" id="FNanchor_197_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197_197" class="fnanchor">[197]</a> The late Dr W. A. Bromfield, in some extracts
+from his letters published in the <i>Zoologist</i>,<a name="FNanchor_198_198" id="FNanchor_198_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198_198" class="fnanchor">[198]</a> confirms
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>this:&mdash;"The chief actor was a fine-looking man, with a
+handsome and intelligent, but peculiar cast of countenance.
+He carried a stick in his hand, with which, on
+entering each apartment, he struck the wall several times,
+uttering, in a low, measured tone, a form of exorcism in
+Arabic; adjuring and commanding the serpent&mdash;which
+he declared, immediately on the door being thrown open,
+was lurking in the walls or ceiling&mdash;to come forth. Presently,
+the reptile would be seen emerging from some hole
+or corner, with which every room, even in the better class
+of Egyptian houses, abounds; on which the enchanter
+would draw the unwilling serpent towards him, with the
+point of the stick, and when within reach put it in the
+bag he carried about with him for that purpose."</p>
+
+<p>Chateaubriand has drawn a graphic picture of the
+power of music on the American Rattlesnake. The
+serpent happening to enter the encampment of his
+party in Canada, a Canadian who could play on the
+flute, advanced, by way of diversion, with his magic
+pipe, against it. On his approach the haughty reptile
+curled itself into a spiral line, flattened its head, inflated
+its cheeks, contracted its lips, displayed its envenomed
+fangs, and its bloody throat; its double tongue glowed
+like two flames of fire; its eyes were burning coals; its
+body, swollen with rage, rose and fell like the bellows of a
+forge; its dilated skin assumed a dull and scaly appearance;
+and its rattle, which sounded the denunciation of
+death, vibrated with extreme velocity. The Canadian
+now began to play upon his flute: the serpent started<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
+with surprise, and drew back its head. In proportion as
+it was struck with the magic effect, its eyes lost their
+fierceness, the vibrations of its tail became slower, and the
+sound which it emitted gradually became weaker and
+ceased. The folds of the fascinated Serpent became less
+perpendicular upon their spiral line, expanded by degrees,
+and sunk one after another upon the ground, forming
+concentric circles. The colours recovered their brilliancy
+on its quivering skin; and, slightly turning its head, it
+remained motionless in the attitude of attention and
+pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian advanced a few
+steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes.
+The Reptile inclined its variegated neck, opened a passage
+with its head through the high grass, and began to creep
+after the musician, stopping when he stopped, and following
+him again as soon as he moved forward. In this
+manner, to the astonishment both of Europeans and
+natives, he was led out of the camp; and it was unanimously
+decreed, that the life of a creature so sensible of
+the concord of sweet sounds should be spared.<a name="FNanchor_199_199" id="FNanchor_199_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199_199" class="fnanchor">[199]</a></p>
+
+<p>Some allowance in the colouring of this picture, which
+must be allowed to be beautifully painted, may possibly
+be made to the poetical imagination of the narrator, for
+Chateaubriand could not tell a story without embellishing
+it <i>suo more</i>. We may, however, accept the main facts,
+confirmed as they are by the experience of other observers
+in other countries.</p>
+
+<p>Mr Gogerly, a missionary of some standing in India
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>observes that some persons who were incredulous on the
+subject, after taking the most careful precautions against
+any trick or artifice being played, sent a charmer into the
+garden to prove his powers;&mdash;the man began to play upon
+his pipe, and proceeding from one part of the garden to
+another, for some minutes stopped at a part of the wall
+much injured by age, and intimated that a serpent was
+within. He then played quicker, and his notes were louder,
+when almost immediately a large Cobra di Capello
+put forth its hooded head, and the man ran fearlessly to
+the spot, seized it by the throat, and drew it forth. He
+then shewed the poison fangs, and beat them out; afterwards
+it was taken to the room where his baskets were
+left, and deposited among the rest. The snake-charmer,
+observes the same writer, applies his pipe to his mouth,
+and sends forth a few of his peculiar notes, and all the
+serpents stop as though enchanted; they then turn towards
+the musician, and approaching him within two feet raise
+their heads from the ground, and bending backwards and
+forwards, keep time with the tune. When he ceases playing,
+they drop their heads and remain quiet on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Penny Magazine</i> for April 1833, contains the
+following very precise and circumstantial narrative, communicated
+by a gentleman of high station at Madras:&mdash;"One
+morning, as I sat at breakfast, I heard a loud noise
+and shouting among my palankeen-bearers. On inquiry,
+I learned that they had seen a large hooded snake, and
+were trying to kill it. I immediately went out, and saw
+the snake creeping up a very high green mound, whence it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>
+escaped into a hole in an old wall of ancient fortification;
+the men were armed with their sticks, which they always
+carry in their hands, and had attempted in vain to kill
+the reptile, which had eluded their pursuit, and in his
+hole had coiled himself up secure, whilst we could see his
+bright eyes shining. I had often desired to ascertain the
+truth of the report, as to the effect of music upon snakes.
+I therefore inquired for a snake-catcher. I was told there
+was no person of the kind in the village; but after a little
+inquiry, I heard there was one in a village distant about
+three miles. I accordingly sent for him, keeping a strict
+watch over the snake, which never attempted to escape,
+whilst we, his enemies, were in sight. About an hour
+elapsed, when my messenger returned bringing a snake-catcher.
+This man wore no covering on his head, nor
+any on his person, excepting a small piece of cloth round
+his loins; he had in his hands two baskets, one containing
+tame snakes, the other empty: these and his musical pipe
+were the only things he had with him. I made the snake-catcher
+leave his two baskets on the ground, at some distance,
+while he ascended the mound with his pipe alone.
+He began to play: at the sound of the music the snake
+came gradually and slowly out of his hole. When he was
+entirely within reach, the snake-catcher seized him dexterously
+by the tail and held him thus at arm's length;
+whilst the snake, enraged, darted his head in all directions,
+but in vain: thus suspended, he has not the power to
+round himself, so as to seize hold of his tormentor. He
+exhausted himself in vain exertions; when the snake-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>catcher
+descended the bank, dropped him into the empty
+basket, and closed the lid: he then began to play, and
+after a short time, raised the lid of the basket; the snake
+darted about wildly, and attempted to escape; the lid was
+shut down again quickly, the music always playing. This
+was repeated two or three times; and in a very short interval,
+the lid being raised, the snake sat on his tail, opened
+his hood and danced quite as quietly as the tame snakes
+in the other basket, nor did he attempt again to escape.
+This, having witnessed with my own eyes, I can assert as
+a fact."</p>
+
+<p>Experienced and skilful as these men are, however, they
+do not invariably escape with impunity. Fatal terminations
+to these exhibitions of the psyllic art now and then
+occur, for there are still to be found "deaf adders, which
+will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never
+so wisely." In Madras, a few years ago, a noted serpent-charmer
+chanced one morning to get hold of a Cobra of
+considerable size, which he got conveyed to his home.
+He was occupied abroad all day, and had not time to get
+the dangerous fangs extracted from the Serpent's mouth.
+This at least is the probable solution of the matter. In
+the evening he returned to his dwelling, considerably
+excited with liquor, and began to exhibit tricks with his
+snakes to various persons who were around him at the
+time. The newly-caught Cobra was brought out with
+the others, and the man, spirit-valiant, commenced to
+handle the stranger like the rest. But the Cobra darted
+at his chin, and bit it, making two marks like pin points.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>
+The poor juggler was sobered in an instant. "I am a
+dead man," he exclaimed. The prospect of immediate
+death made the maintenance of his professional mysticism
+a thing of no moment. "Let the creature alone,"
+said he to those about him, who would have killed the
+Cobra; "it may be of service to others who are of my
+trade. To me it can be of no more use. Nothing can save
+me." His professional knowledge was but too accurate.
+In two hours he was a corpse! The narrator saw him a
+short time after he died. His friends and brother jugglers
+had gathered around him, and had him placed on a
+chair in a sitting position. Seeing the detriment likely
+to result to their trade and interests from such a notion,
+they vehemently asserted that it was not the envenomed
+bite which had killed him. "No, no; he only forgot one
+little word&mdash;one small portion of the charm." In fact, they
+declared that he was not dead at all, but only in a sort of
+swoon, from which, according to the rules of the cabalistic
+art, he would recover in seven days. But the officers of
+the barracks, close to which the deceased had lived, interfered
+in the matter. They put a guard of one or two men
+on the house, declaring that they would allow the body to
+remain unburied for seven days, but would not permit any
+trickery. Of course the poor serpent-charmer never came
+to life again. His death, and the manner of it, gave a
+severe blow, as has been already hinted, to the art and
+practice of snake-charming in Madras.</p>
+
+<p>Roberts also mentions the instance of a man who came
+to a gentleman's house to exhibit tame snakes, and on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
+being told that a Cobra, or Hooded Snake was in a cage
+in the house, was asked if he could charm it; on his replying
+in the affirmative, the Serpent was released from
+the cage, and, no doubt, in a state of high irritation. The
+man began his incantations, and repeated his charms, but
+the Snake darted at him, fastened upon his arm, and before
+night he was a corpse.</p>
+
+<p>These failures, rare and abnormal as they confessedly
+are, do not by any means disprove the reality of snake-charming;
+they certainly shew that the men believe in
+their own powers. It may be, as some Europeans have
+maintained, that in India, the exhibitors usually practise
+upon tame snakes, from which they have already extracted
+the fangs, or even eradicated the poison sacs,&mdash;an operation
+performed without difficulty by making an incision
+beneath and behind each eye. Or it may be that the
+power of music over these reptiles is ordinarily relied on,
+and that in rare instances this fails. I have myself taken
+fierce and active lizards, in Jamaica, by a noose of string,
+while whistling a lively tune. As soon as the whistling
+commenced, the lizard would become still on the trunk or
+the branch of a tree, and so remain unmoved, with a sleepy
+look all the while I was searching up the string, preparing
+the noose, and presenting it to him, giving just a backward
+glance of his eye, as the noose slipped over his head, the
+whistling going on vigorously all the time, of course, till
+the cord being jerked tight, he suddenly found himself
+dangling in the air at the end of a stick, and began to
+wriggle and writhe, and scratch and bite furiously.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One thing seems clear from these accidents. The
+Indian <i>samp-wallahs</i> do not use any infusion or unguent
+to stupefy and disarm their snakes, as do those of Ethiopia.
+If these men just mentioned had been so protected
+they would not have been killed, however rash or pot-valiant
+they might have been. Indeed the accounts of
+Bruce and others of the African professors of the psyllic
+art, and the phenomena of the serpents acted upon, differ
+greatly from descriptions of parallel exhibitions in India,
+and suggest diverse modes of explanation.</p>
+
+<p>A dozen years ago there were a couple of oriental
+Psylli performing at the Zoological Gardens. Mr Brodcrip
+has given a very graphic sketch of their performance
+as he saw it in the Reptile House. The two Arabs took
+up their position on the floor, the company standing in a
+semicircle at a respectful distance.</p>
+
+<p>"The old Arab said something to the young one, who
+stooped down ... and took out a large deal-box, drew
+off the cover, thrust in his hand and pulled out a large
+long <i>Naia haje</i> (the Egyptian species of Cobra). After
+handling it and playing with it a little while, he set it
+down on the floor, half squatted close to it, and fixed his
+eyes on the snake. The serpent instantly raised itself,
+expanded its hood, and turned slowly on its own axis,
+following the eye of the young Arab, turning as his head,
+or eye, or body turned. Sometimes it would dart at him,
+as if to bite. He exercised the most perfect command
+over the animal. All this time the old Arab stood still,
+pensively regarding the operation; but presently he also<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>
+squatted down, muttering some words, opposite to the
+snake. He evidently affected the reptile more strongly
+than his more mercurial relative, though he remained motionless,
+doing nothing that I could see but fixing his eyes
+upon the snake, with his face upon a level with the raised
+head of the serpent, which now turned all its attention to
+him, and seemed to be in a paroxysm of rage. Suddenly
+it darted open-mouthed at his face, furiously dashing its
+expanded whitish-edged jaws into the dark hollow cheek
+of the charmer, who still imperturbably kept his position,
+only smiling bitterly at his excited antagonist. I was very
+close, and watched very narrowly; but though the snake
+dashed at the old Arab's face and into it more than twice
+or thrice with its mouth wide open, I could not see the
+projection of any fang.</p>
+
+<p>"Then the old Arab, who, it was said, had had the gift
+of charming serpents in his family for a long series of
+years, opened another box, and took out four or five great
+lizards, and provoked the Naia with them, holding them
+by the tails in a sort of four-in-hand style. Then the youth
+brought out a Cerastes, which I observed seemed overpowered,
+as if, as the country people say, something had
+come over it. He placed it on the floor; but this serpent
+did not raise itself like the Naia, but, as the charmer
+stooped to it, moved in a very odd, agitated manner, on
+its belly, regarding him askant. I thought the serpent
+was going to fly at the lad, but it did not. He took it up,
+played with it, blew or spit at it, and then set it down apparently
+sick, subdued, and limp. He then took it again,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>
+played with it a second time, gathered it up in his hand,
+put it in his bosom, went to another box, drew the lid,
+and brought out more snakes, one of which was another
+Naia, and the others of a most venomous kind.</p>
+
+<p>"Now there were two Naias, with heads and bodies erect,
+obeying, apparently, the volition of the charmers. One of
+the snakes bit the youth on the naked hand, and brought
+blood; but he only spat on the wound and scratched it
+with his nail which made the blood flow more freely.
+Then he brought out more lizards of a most revolting
+aspect. By this time the floor of the reptile house, that
+formed the stage of the charmers, began to put one in
+mind of the incantation-scene in <i>Der Freischutz</i>, only
+that the principal performers looked more like the Black
+Huntsman and one of his familiars than Max and Caspar,
+and the enchanters' circle was surrounded with fair ladies
+and their well-dressed lords, instead of the appalling
+shapes which thronged round the affrighted huntsman at
+the casting of the charmed bullets.</p>
+
+<p>"The Arabs, holding the snakes by the tails, let their
+bodies touch the floor, when they came twisting and
+wriggling on towards the spectators, who now backed a
+little upon the toes of those who pressed them from behind.
+Sometimes the charmers would loose their hold, when the
+serpents, as if eager to escape from their tormentors,
+rapidly advanced upon the retreating ring; but they
+always caught them by the tails in time, and then made
+them repeat the same advances. I kept my position in
+front throughout, and had no fear, feeling certain that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>
+Mr Mitchell, and those under whose superintendence this
+highly amusing and instructive establishment is so well
+conducted, would not have permitted the exhibition to take
+place, if there had been the least danger. Besides this, I
+observed that the charmers only used their own serpents,
+which they had, I presume, brought with them; and I confess
+that the impression upon my mind was, that they had
+been rendered innoxious by mechanical means."<a name="FNanchor_200_200" id="FNanchor_200_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200_200" class="fnanchor">[200]</a></p>
+
+<p>This last assumption the narrator subsequently found
+to be indubitably true. What is said of the <i>Cerastes</i>,
+however, looks more like the effect of something detrimental
+to the snake in the lad's odour, or in his spittle.
+Of course no confidence can be placed in their statements,
+but it is noteworthy that they both claimed to belong to
+a race over whom snakes have no morbific power,&mdash;Psylli,
+in fact, of many generations.</p>
+
+<p>Dr Davy asserts that in India, however, the poison
+fangs are <i>not</i> extracted. He tells us that he has himself
+examined the snakes exhibited (which are always Cobras)
+and have found the fangs uninjured. He attributes the
+power of the charmers to their agility and courage,
+founded on an intimate acquaintance with the habits and
+disposition of the reptiles. The learned Doctor acting on
+this persuasion, says that he has himself repeatedly irritated
+these serpents with impunity. They can be readily
+appeased when irritated, by the voice and by gentle movements
+of the hand in a circle, and by stroking them on the
+body.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span></p>
+<p>A very curious subject, closely connected with serpent-charming,
+is the power of extracting venom from a wound
+inflicted by reptiles, attributed to the "snake-stone," which
+the Hindoos and Cingalese usually carry with them.
+Captain Napier thus describes it:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"These people generally have for sale numbers of
+<i>snake-stones</i>, which are said to be equally an antidote
+against the bite of the serpent and the sting of the scorpion.
+For the former I have never seen it tried: and to
+prove its efficacy with the latter, the samp-wallah generally
+carries about in small earthen vessels a number of
+these animals, one of which he allows to wound him with
+his sting. The snake-stone, which is a dark, shining,
+smooth pebble, about the size and shape of a French
+bean, on being applied to the wound, instantly adheres
+to it, and by a power of suction appears to draw out
+the poison, which is supposed to be contained in the
+small bubbles which, on the immersion of the stone into
+a glass of water are seen in great numbers to rise to
+the surface.</p>
+
+<p>"My first idea on beholding the samp-wallah allow
+himself to be stung by the scorpion was that the latter
+had by some means been rendered harmless. However,
+not wishing voluntarily to put this to the test by personal
+experience, I purchased some of the stones, resolved on
+the very first opportunity to try their efficacy. Shortly
+after this, happening to be marching up the country with
+a detachment, we pitched our camp on some very stony
+ground, in clearing which one of the English soldiers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>
+happened to be bit [stung] in the hand by a large
+scorpion. As soon as I heard of this circumstance,
+I sent for the sufferer, who appeared to be in great
+pain, which he described as a burning sensation running
+all the way up his arm to the very shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"I applied one of the snake-stones to the puncture;
+it adhered immediately, and during about eight minutes
+that it remained on the patient, he by degrees became
+easier; the pain diminished, gradually coming down from
+the shoulder, until it appeared entirely confined to the
+immediate vicinity of the wound. I now removed the
+stone; on putting it into a cup of water, numbers of
+small air-bubbles rose to the surface, and in a short time
+the man ceased to suffer any inconvenience from the
+accident."<a name="FNanchor_201_201" id="FNanchor_201_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201_201" class="fnanchor">[201]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is scarcely needful to say that the emission of bubbles
+is a most ordinary phenomenon, and could have not the
+slightest connexion with the alexipharmic power of the
+stone, whether real or imaginary. Any one may see
+exactly the same thing on dropping a bit of new flower-pot,
+or a very dry brick into water, or any other substance
+heavier than the fluid, which is at the same time dry and
+porous. It results from the air which is contained in the
+pores of the material, which on immersion is displaced by
+the heavier water, and rises in oozing bubbles to the surface.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Emerson Tennent has some observations of much
+value on these "stones," as well as on cognate matters,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>which my readers may like to see, and with which I close
+this subject:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"On one occasion, in March 1854, a friend of mine
+was riding, with some other civil officers of the government,
+along a jungle-path in the vicinity of Bintenne,
+when they saw one of two Tamils, who were approaching
+them, suddenly dart into the forest and return, holding in
+both hands a <i>cobra di capello</i> which he had seized by the
+head and tail. He called to his companion for assistance
+to place it in their covered basket, but in doing this, he
+handled it so inexpertly that it seized him by the finger,
+and retained its hold for a few seconds, as if unable to
+retract its fangs. The blood flowed, and intense pain
+appeared to follow almost immediately; but, with all
+expedition, the friend of the sufferer undid his waistcloth,
+and took from it two snake-stones, each of the size of a
+small almond, intensely black and highly polished, though
+of an extremely light substance. These he applied one to
+each wound inflicted by the teeth of the serpent, to which
+the stones attached themselves closely, the blood that
+oozed from the bites being rapidly imbibed by the porous
+texture of the article applied. The stones adhered tenaciously
+for three or four minutes, the wounded man's
+companion in the meanwhile rubbing his arm downwards
+from the shoulder towards the fingers. At length the
+snake-stones dropped off of their own accord; the suffering
+appeared to have subsided; he twisted his fingers till
+the joints cracked, and went on his way without concern.
+Whilst this had been going on, another Indian of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>
+party who had come up took from his bag a small piece
+of white wood, which resembled a root, and passed it
+gently near the head of the cobra, which the latter immediately
+inclined close to the ground; he then lifted the
+snake without hesitation, and coiled it into a circle at the
+bottom of his basket. The root, by which he professed to
+be enabled to perform this operation with safety, he called
+the <i>Naya-thalee Kalinga</i> (the root of the snake-plant,)
+protected by which he professed his ability to approach
+any reptile with impunity. In another instance, in 1853,
+Mr Lavalliere, the District Judge of Kandy, informed me
+that he saw a snake-charmer in the jungle, close by the
+town, search for a <i>cobra di capello</i>, and, after disturbing it
+in its retreat, the man tried to secure it, but, in the attempt,
+he was bitten in the thigh till blood trickled from the
+wound. He instantly applied the <i>Pamboo-Kaloo</i> (or snake-stone),
+which adhered closely for about ten minutes, during
+which time he passed the root which he held in his hand
+backwards and forwards above the stone, till the latter
+dropped to the ground. He assured Mr Lavalliere that
+all danger was then past. That gentleman obtained from
+him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw him repeatedly
+afterwards in perfect health. The substances which
+were used on both these occasions are now in my possession.
+The roots employed by the several parties are not
+identical. One appears to be a bit of the stem of an
+<i>Aristolochia</i>; the other is so dry as to render it difficult
+to identify it, but it resembles the quadrangular stem of a
+jungle vine. Some species of <i>Aristolochia</i>, such as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>
+<i>A. serpentaria</i> of North America, are supposed to act as
+a specific in the cure of snake-bites; and the <i>A. Indica</i>
+is the plant to which the ichneumon is popularly believed
+to resort as an antidote when bitten; but it is probable
+that the use of any particular plant by the snake-charmers
+is a pretence, or rather a delusion, the reptile being overpowered
+by the resolute action of the operator, and not
+by the influence of any secondary appliance, the confidence
+inspired by the supposed talisman enabling its possessor
+to address himself fearlessly to his task, and thus to effect
+by determination and will, what is popularly believed to
+be the result of charms and stupefaction."</p>
+
+<p>The writer then alludes to the facts mentioned by
+Bruce, which I have before adduced; and proceeds:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"As to the snake-stone itself, I submitted one, the application
+of which I have been describing, to Mr Faraday,
+and he has communicated to me, as the result of his
+analysis, his belief that it is 'a piece of charred bone
+which has been filled with blood perhaps several times,
+and then carefully charred again. Evidence of this is
+afforded, as well by the apertures of cells or tubes on its
+surface as by the fact that it yields and breaks under
+pressure, and exhibits an organic structure within. When
+heated slightly, water rises from it, and also a little ammonia;
+and, if heated still more highly in the air, the carbon
+burns away, and a bulky white ash is left, retaining the
+shape and size of the 'stone.' This ash, as is evident
+from inspection, cannot have belonged to any vegetable
+substance, for it is almost entirely composed of phosphate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>
+of lime. Mr Faraday adds that 'if the piece of matter
+has ever been employed as a spongy absorbent, it seems
+hardly fit for that purpose in its present state; but who
+can say to what treatment it has been subjected since it
+was fit for use, or to what treatment the natives may
+submit it when expecting to have occasion to use it?'"</p>
+
+<p>Sir E. Tennent supposes that the animal charcoal may be
+sufficiently absorbent to extract the venom from the recent
+wound together with a portion of the blood, before it has
+had time to be carried into the system. If this be so the
+process is analogous to that of sucking a poisoned wound,
+already referred to.<a name="FNanchor_202_202" id="FNanchor_202_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202_202" class="fnanchor">[202]</a></p>
+
+<p>What the author means by a jungle vine I do not
+exactly know, but conjecture that it may be one of the
+<i>Bignoniace&aelig;</i>, the woody climbing species of which have
+in general their stem divided into lobes arranged in a
+quadrangular manner. I am not aware that any species
+of this order is an antidote to animal poisons, but many
+have powerful medicinal properties, and abound in bitter
+juices. The whitewood of Jamaica (<i>Bignonia leucoxylon</i>)
+enjoys a reputation as a remedy for the poison of the
+Manchineel (<i>Hippomane mancinella</i>) which is so virulent
+that persons are reported to have been killed by its volatile
+emanations, when accidentally sleeping under its shade,
+and a drop of its juice falling on the skin burns it like
+fire, and produces an ulcer difficult to heal. The value of
+the <i>Aristolochia</i> has been already referred to; and on the
+whole I am disposed to attach more importance to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>
+use of vegetable specifics by the Ceylonese operators than
+the learned author whom I have just quoted. The subject
+is a highly curious one, and well worthy of minute
+investigation by able and unprejudiced men of science,
+willing to receive unscientific information and suggestions,
+in various parts of the world, particularly in the intertropical
+regions of both hemispheres.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="X" id="X"></a>X.</h2>
+
+<h2>BEAUTY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Very much of the delight with which we pursue natural
+history is surely due to the almost constant recognition of
+the beautiful. I do not know that I could say with the
+poet,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"A thing of beauty is a joy <i>for ever</i>;"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>but certainly it is a joy as long as it endures; and the
+naturalist finds an endless recurrence of things of beauty.
+Birds, insects, shells, zoophytes, flowers, sea-weeds, are all
+redundant of beauty; and all the classes of natural objects,
+though not in an equal degree, nor manifestly in
+every individual object, yet possess it as a prominent
+element. Indeed, from the profusion with which loveliness
+is sown broadcast over the works of God, I have often
+thought, though it is not directly revealed, that a sense of
+the beautiful and a complacency in it, altogether independent
+of fitness for certain ends, or the uses which may
+be subserved, is an attribute of the Holy One Himself,
+and that our perception of it is the reflection of His&mdash;a
+part of that image of God in which man was created, and
+which sin has not wholly obliterated. I know that God
+may have clothed His works with beauty for other admir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>ing
+eyes than man's; and that it is probable that the holy
+angels may be far more conversant with creation than we
+are with all our researches,&mdash;that the ten thousand times
+ten thousand flowers which are "born to blush unseen"
+by <i>man</i>, may be seen and admired by "ten thousand
+times ten thousand" angels,<a name="FNanchor_203_203" id="FNanchor_203_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203_203" class="fnanchor">[203]</a> and thus the tribute of
+praise for their perfection may be ever ascending before
+Him whose hands made them for His glory. We may
+allow this; and yet with reverence presume that His own
+pure eyes look upon the lilies' array with a delight in
+their mere loveliness, infinitely greater than that which
+men, or even angels, take in it, seeing it is written,&mdash;"for
+thy pleasure they are, and were created."</p>
+
+<p>I remember being struck, and somewhat awed, too, with
+a thought of this kind, once, when, pushing my way through
+a very dense and tangled thicket in a lone and lofty mountain
+region of Jamaica, sufficiently remote from the dwellings
+of man to render it probable that no civilized human
+foot had penetrated thither before. I suddenly came upon
+a most magnificent terrestrial orchid in full blossom. It
+was <i>Phajus Tankervilli&aelig;</i>,&mdash;a noble plant, which from the
+midst of broad leaves growing out of a mass of green
+bulbs, had thrown up its stout blossom-stems to the
+height of a yard or more, crowned with the pyramidal
+spike of lily-like flowers, whose expanding petals of pure
+white on one side and golden brown on the other, and
+trumpet-lip of gorgeous purple seemed, to my ravished
+gaze, the very perfection of beauty. For ages, I thought,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>
+that beauteous flower had been growing in that wild and
+unvisited spot, every season "filling the air around with
+beauty," and had in all probability never met a single
+human gaze before. Had, then, all that divinely-formed
+loveliness been mere waste for those generations? I asked
+myself; and I immediately replied, No: the eye of God
+himself hath rested on it with satisfaction, and the Lord
+hath taken pleasure in this work of His hands.</p>
+
+<p>I shall not make this chapter an essay on the sublime
+and beautiful, nor seek to analyse the sense of beauty. It
+is enough that it is an appetite of our being, and that
+most abundantly in nature, on every side, there is the
+material of its gratification. So abundantly, indeed, that
+it were easy to expand the few pages which I propose to
+devote to the subject into a volume, or a dozen volumes, and
+yet leave untouched vast treasures of the beautiful in natural
+history. I must content myself and my readers with the
+selection of a few of the more prominent objects in which
+this sense is gratified, and with a discrimination of two or
+three distinct phases or conditions of existence which contribute,
+each in its measure, to give delight to the eyes.</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.8" id="Fig.8">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;">
+<a href="images/fig331-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig331-400.jpg" width="250" height="400" alt="ANTELOPES." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">ANTELOPES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Among Quadrupeds, there is perhaps less of beauty,
+strictly considered, than in most other classes of animals.
+Elegance of form, however, which is one phase of it, is
+seen in the lithe and active squirrel, the pretty petaurist,
+and many other of the smaller beasties, and is found in
+perfection in the deer and antelopes. Who that has seen
+a pet fawn coming to be caressed by a fair girl, but must
+have had his sense of the beautiful gratified? Mark the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>freedom and grace of every motion! See how it stretches
+out its pretty meek face and taper neck towards the hand;
+its extreme timidity causing its whole body and every
+limb to start on the slightest stir from the beholders,
+while on the least approach it bounds away in the exuberant
+playfulness of its little heart, then stops, and turns, and
+gazes, and stretches out its neck again! See when it trots
+or walks, how high it lifts its little slender feet, bending
+its agile limbs as if motion itself were a pleasure! See,
+as it stands, with one fore-foot bent up, the hoof nearly
+touching the belly; the long graceful ears moving this
+way and that, now thrown forwards, now backwards, now
+erected, to catch the slightest sound,&mdash;what a picture of
+fairy grace it is! There is beauty, too, in the soft, full
+liquid eye of these animals,&mdash;the "bright, black eye" of
+the "dear gazelle," which in the East is the very ideal of
+female loveliness. Its melting gaze seems full of tenderness,
+so that we cannot look without loving it.</p>
+
+<p>Nor is beauty of colour wholly wanting. How rich is
+the tawny fur of the tiger, dashed with its black streaks!
+And the brighter yellow of the leopard and the jaguar,
+studded all over with rosettes of black spots! We forget
+the ferocity of the savage in its beautifully-painted coat.
+The zebra, too,&mdash;with the fine contrast of those bands of
+richest sable on the cream-coloured ground, now bold and
+broad, as on the rounded body, now running in fine
+parallel but irregularly-waved lines, as on the face,&mdash;is a
+beautiful quadruped; and a herd of them galloping wan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>tonly
+over a South African plain, must be a sight worth
+seeing indeed.</p>
+
+<p>When we come to Birds, however, beauty is not the
+exception, but the rule. The form of a bird is almost
+always graceful; the rounded swellings and undulations
+of outline, and the smoothness of the plumage give pleasure
+to the eye, even when there is no attractiveness of
+hue. One has almost a difficulty in naming an inelegant
+bird. But when, as in a thousand instances, brilliancy of
+colouring is combined with elegance of shape and smoothness
+of plumage, we must be charmed. Is not our own
+little goldfinch, is not the pert chaffinch that comes up to
+our very feet for a grain or a crumb, a pretty object?
+But the tropical birds,&mdash;we must look at them if we wish
+to know what nature can do in the way of adornment.
+We should go to the flats on the embouchure of the
+Amazon, and see the rosy spoonbills, in their delicate
+carnation dress, set off by the lustrous crimson of their
+shoulders and breast-tufts, feeding by hundreds on the
+green mud, or watch the gorgeous ibises, all clad in
+glowing scarlet with black-tipped wings, when, in serried
+ranks, a mile in length, like the vermillion cloud of morning,
+they come to their breeding-place,&mdash;a truly magnificent
+sight.<a name="FNanchor_204_204" id="FNanchor_204_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204_204" class="fnanchor">[204]</a></p>
+
+<p>The first of the Parrot tribe that I ever had an opportunity
+of seeing in its native freedom was the beautiful
+Parrakeet of the Southern States. Eighty or a hundred
+birds in one compact flock passed me flying low, and all
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>nearly on the same plane; and, as they swept by, screaming
+as they went, I fancied that they looked like an immense
+shawl of green satin, on which an irregular pattern
+was worked in scarlet and gold and azure. The sun's
+rays were brilliantly reflected from the gorgeous surface,
+which rapidly sped past like a splendid vision.</p>
+
+<p>The Cock of the Rock is a fine South American bird of
+the richest orange colour, crowned with a double crest of
+feathers edged with purple. Mr Wallace describes his
+search for it on the Rio Negro, and his admiration of its
+beauty. Some time he sought in vain, for it is a rare
+bird, till the old Indian who was his guide suddenly
+caught him by the arm, and, pointing to a dense thicket,
+whispered in a low tone, "Gallo!" Peering through the
+foliage, the naturalist caught a glimpse of the magnificent
+bird, sitting amidst the gloom, and shining out like a
+mass of brilliant flame. As it is easily alarmed and very
+wary, it required some following and perseverance before
+he shot it. One of his Indians descended into the deep
+rocky glen into which it fell, and brought it to him. "I
+was lost," he says, "in admiration of the dazzling beauty
+of its soft downy feathers; not a spot of blood was visible,
+not a feather was ruffled, and the soft, warm, flexible body
+set off the fresh swelling plumage in a manner which no
+stuffed specimen can approach."<a name="FNanchor_205_205" id="FNanchor_205_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205_205" class="fnanchor">[205]</a></p>
+
+<p>There is something exquisitely pleasing to the eye in
+the delicate painting of the soft plumage in most of the
+Goatsuckers and their allies. Entirely destitute of bril<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>liant
+hues as they are, the combinations of warm browns,
+and cool greys, interchanged with black and white, and
+the manner in which these are softened, and blended, and
+minutely pencilled, produce an effect that is peculiarly
+charming.</p>
+
+<p>In the Trogons of the tropical regions we see elegance
+of form combined with the most gorgeous colouring.
+Green and gold, crimson, scarlet, orange, and black, are
+the hues of these birds, which hide themselves in the deep
+dark recesses of the Amazonian and Indian forests. That
+species called the Resplendent is the noblest of the race,
+whose magnificence was so well appreciated by the ancient
+Mexican emperors, that none but members of the royal
+family were permitted to adorn themselves with its flowing
+plumes. The whole upper parts of this bird, its fine
+coronal crest of erectile plumes, its shoulder-hackles, or
+long lance-shaped feathers, that droop over the sides, and
+the elongated tail-coverts which hang down beyond the
+tail to a length of three feet or more, curving elegantly
+under the bird, as it sits on a branch, are of the richest
+golden green, shining with a satiny radiance. The under
+parts are of a splendid scarlet, and the tail feathers are
+white, with broad black bars.</p>
+
+<p>More enchanting than mere colour, however rich and
+glowing this may be, is the fine metallic reflection which
+we see on the plumage of many tropical birds. The Rifle-bird
+of Australia might be seen sitting on a tree, and be
+passed by with contempt as a mere crow, while the eye
+was attracted to a more gaily-hued parrot by its side.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>
+But viewed close at hand, in the full blaze of the sun, the
+darker-plumaged bird is seen to exceed the other by far,
+in gorgeous glory, and to be not unworthy of the specific
+title of <i>Paradiseus</i>, by which it is known to naturalists.
+The body generally is of a deep velvet black, but it reflects
+a purple flush on the upper parts, and the feathers
+of the under parts are edged with olive-green. The crown
+of the head, and the whole throat, are clothed with scale-like
+feathers of the brightest emerald-green, which blaze
+with a gemmeous lustre in certain lights, and make the
+most vivid contrast with the velvet of the body. The tail
+displays its two middle feathers of the same lustrous
+green, while the bordering ones are deep black.</p>
+
+<p>The vast and little-known island of Papua contains
+some specimens of the feathered race of surpassing glory.
+The <i>Epimachi</i>, or Plume-birds, take a prominent place in
+this category. They are remarkable for the erectile scale-like
+feathers of the sides and shoulders, which form large
+fan-shaped tufts, standing out from the body in a very
+striking manner. Speaking of the superb Epimachus,
+Sonnerat, its describer, thus writes:&mdash;"As if to add to
+the singularity of this bird, nature has placed above and
+below its wings feathers of an extraordinary form, and
+such as one does not see in other birds; she seems, moreover,
+to have pleased herself in painting this being, already
+so singular, with her most brilliant colours. The head,
+the neck, and the belly are glittering green; the feathers
+which cover these parts possess the lustre and softness of
+velvet to the eye and touch; the back is changeable violet;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>
+the wings are of the same colour, and appear, according
+to the lights in which they are held, blue, violet, or deep
+black; always, however, imitating velvet. The tail is
+composed of twelve feathers, the two middle feathers are
+the longest, and the lateral feathers gradually diminish;
+it is violet, or changeable blue above, and black beneath.
+The feathers which compose it are as wide in proportion
+as they are long, and shine above and below with the brilliancy
+of polished metal.</p>
+
+<p>"Above the wings the scapularies are very long and
+singularly formed; their points being very short on one
+side, and very long on the other. These feathers are of
+the colour of polished steel, changing into blue, terminated
+by a large spot of brilliant green, and forming a species
+of tuft or appendage at the margin of the wings.</p>
+
+<p>"Below the wings spring long curved feathers, directed
+upwards; these are black on the inside, and brilliant green
+on the outside. The bill and feet are black."<a name="FNanchor_206_206" id="FNanchor_206_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206_206" class="fnanchor">[206]</a></p>
+
+<p>The same author, in referring to the brilliant metallic
+hues of this and other birds, takes occasion to notice the
+iridescent effect which is produced by the different angle
+at which light falls on the feathers. The emerald-green,
+for instance, will often fling out rays of its two constituent
+primary colours, at one time being blue-green, at
+another gold-green, while in certain lights all colour
+vanishes, and a velvet-black is presented to the eye. The
+ruby feathers of several birds become orange under certain
+lights, and darken to a crimson-black at other times.</p>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.9" id="Fig.9">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 251px;">
+<a href="images/fig339-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig339-400.jpg" width="251" height="400" alt="MOURNING THE DEAD CUCKOO." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">MOURNING THE DEAD CUCKOO.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span></p>
+<p>This change of hue is analogous to the well-known iridescent
+changeableness of the nacre which lines various
+shells, and is owing to the structure of its surface reflecting
+the light in different rays, according to the angle at
+which it falls upon the feathers.</p>
+
+<p>Another species, a native of the same teeming region,
+the Twelve-thread Epimachus, glows, with equal lustre, in
+the richest violet and emerald, but somewhat diversely
+arranged. The long, elegant depending tail is here reduced
+to ordinary dimensions, but, as if to compensate for this
+inferiority, the Twelve-thread is adorned with an expanding
+dress of the purest snowy white, composed of long silky
+plumes that spring from behind and below the wings, so
+soft and so loosely webbed as to wave gracefully in the
+slightest breeze. From these tufts project long and very
+slender shafts, unwebbed, and as fine as threads, curling
+elegantly, six on each side.</p>
+
+<p>The little Sun-birds of India and Africa, and the still
+tinier Humming-birds of the New World are conspicuous
+for the metallic radiance of their plumage. Take for an
+example of the former the Fire-tailed Sun-bird of Nep&acirc;l.
+The crown and forehead are brilliant steel-blue, while the
+neck, the back, and the rump are of the richest scarlet,
+diversified by a broad patch of bright yellow across the
+middle of the back. The central feathers of the tail are
+lengthened, and are bright scarlet, while the lateral
+feathers are edged with the same rich hue on brown.
+The breast is golden yellow or orange, flushed with
+crimson in the centre, and the rest of the inferior parts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>
+are olive-green. Most of those gorgeous colours have a
+silky or metallic lustre, and blaze out under the tropical
+sunlight with amazing brightness.</p>
+
+<p>Exquisite ornaments are these to an Indian garden,
+where they delight in the flowering plants and shrubs.
+They creep to and fro about the stalks and twigs, clinging
+by their little purple feet, and rifling the tubular corollas
+of the honeyed blossoms, whence doubtless they gather
+many minute insects, licked up with the nectar, by the aid
+of their curiously pencilled tongue.</p>
+
+<p>For that peculiar charm which resides in flashing light
+combined with the most brilliant colours, the lustre of
+precious stones, there are no birds, no creatures, that can
+compare with the Humming-birds. Confined exclusively
+to America,&mdash;whence we have already gathered between
+three and four hundred distinct species, and more are
+being continually discovered,&mdash;these lovely little winged
+gems were to the Mexican and Peruvian Indians the very
+quintessence of beauty. By these simple people they were
+called by various names signifying "the rays of the sun,"
+"the tresses of the day-star," and the like. Their glittering
+scale-like plumage was employed to make, at the cost
+of immense time, patience, and labour, the radiant mantles
+in which the emperors and highest nobles appeared on
+state occasions, as well as to form by a sort of mosaic,
+those embroidered pictures which so attracted the admiration
+of the Spanish conquerors. The Mexican priests
+adopted the tiny birds into their mythology: they taught
+that the souls of those warriors who died in defence of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>
+gods, were conducted by Toyamiqui, the wife of the god
+of war, straight to the mansion of the sun, and there
+transformed into humming-birds.</p>
+
+<p>In the gorgeous forest glooms of the mountainous parts
+of Jamaica, and especially in the sunny glades which here
+and there break their uniformity, where the ever-verdant
+foliage rises upon all sides of the open space like a wall,
+covered with the most elegant and fragrant flowers, I have
+been charmed by the familiar fearlessness and lustrous
+splendour of these little creatures. Here sitting down on
+a prostrate log in the shadow, I have watched them sipping
+all around, flitting to and fro, coming and going, every
+moment disappearing in the sombre shade, or suddenly
+flashing out, with a whirr like that of a spinning-wheel,
+into the bright sunshine. Bold and unsuspecting, they
+might be seen exploring bush after bush, and coming,
+while I remained motionless, even within arm's length of
+me, busily rifling all the blossoms in rapid succession,
+regularly quartering the surface of some favourite shrub,
+so as to lose none, and of course, in their zeal, frequently
+probing the same flower again and again. Sometimes it
+would be the Mango, suspending himself on whirring
+pinions in front of the flowers, his broadly-expanded tail-feathers
+of the richest violet, his body plumage all green
+and gold, and his cheeks and throat blazing, in the changing
+light, with the radiance now of the ruby, now of the
+amethyst, now of the sapphire, and now becoming for an
+instant the most intense black. But much more commonly
+on these occasions was I visited by the elegant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>
+Long-tail, whose slender form, black velvet crest, emerald
+bosom, and long tail-plumes, distinguish it as one of the
+<i>principes</i> of this patrician race. This lovely little gem
+would be hovering about, half-a-dozen visible at the same
+moment, threading the projecting branches, now probing
+here, now there, one moment above a flower and bending
+down to it, the next hanging below it, and thrusting up
+its crimson beak to kiss its nectar-tube from beneath, the
+cloudy wings on each side vibrating with a noise like that
+of a factory wheel, and its entire throat, breast and belly
+clothed in scaly plumage of the richest green, contrasted
+finely with the velvety black of all beside. This scaly
+plumage would flash brilliantly back the sun's light, like
+a noble emerald in the crown of a king; then, by the
+slightest possible turn of the bird, it would become black,
+all the light being absorbed; then, on another movement,
+it would seem a dark rich olive, and in an instant flame
+forth again with emerald effulgence, over which olive and
+black clouds were momentarily passing and repassing.</p>
+
+<p>The phenomenon of this changing lustre is worthy of
+more careful attention than it has received. In such
+Humming-birds as I have examined,&mdash;and possibly it may
+be a general rule,&mdash;the iridescence of those portions of
+the plumage that are changeable is splendid in the ratio
+of the acuteness of the angle formed by the incident ray
+and the reflected one. Thus the scaly plumage of the
+neck of the Mango appears to advantage in a room with a
+single window, only when the beholder stands with his
+back to the light, and has the bird before him and facing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>
+him. Then the perpendicular band down the throat and
+breast, which seems composed of the richest black velvet,
+is bounded on each side by a broad band of glowing crimson,
+mingled with violet. It is not the <i>entire</i> plumage of
+even a Humming-bird that displays these refulgent gleams:
+some of the brilliant hues are permanent, not changeable
+colours; such as the golden greens which adorn the back
+and wing-coverts in so many species; in which the
+colour is subject to little change, and the only effect produced
+by the alteration of the angle of the light is the
+transforming the tips of the feathers into the appearance
+of burnished gold.</p>
+
+<p>Wilson<a name="FNanchor_207_207" id="FNanchor_207_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207_207" class="fnanchor">[207]</a> has remarked that the plumage of the Indigo
+finch (<i>Fringilla cyanea</i>) in certain lights appears of a
+rich sky-blue and in others of a vivid verdigris green, so
+that the same bird, in passing from one place to another
+before your eyes, seems to undergo a total change of
+colour. When the rays of light so fall on the plumage
+that the angle of the incident and reflected ray is acute,
+the colour is green, when obtuse, blue. I have myself
+noticed exactly the same thing in the brilliant changeable
+colour of insects,&mdash;as, for instance, the <i>Cicindel&aelig;</i> of
+America, and the Emerald Virgin Dragonfly (<i>Agrion
+Virginica</i>.)</p>
+
+<p>To return, however, to our Humming-birds, of which
+my readers will like to have one or two more described,&mdash;<i>la
+cr&ecirc;me de la cr&ecirc;me</i>, the very <i>&eacute;lite</i> of this lovely little
+fairy population. If we were to cross the Atlantic to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>Brazil, track up the mighty Amazon some thirty days'
+sail, and a distance of a thousand miles, we should come
+to the mouth of the Rio Negro, where a remarkable
+change in the appearance of the water indicates a totally
+different region. Instead of the muddy water of the
+Amazon, resembling pea-soup, that of the Negro is intensely
+dark, but clear and limpid, every ripple sparkling
+like crystal. The land becomes high, and the river, some
+four miles wide, passes between lofty cliffs, crowned with
+the rich green walls of the primeval forest. The country
+is far more attractive than that on the Amazon; instead
+of a dead level, swampy and intersected by sluggish
+<i>igarip&eacute;s</i>, or shallow ponds, overhung by impenetrably
+tangled thickets, and full of venomous flies, here are
+gentle hills, and tiny brooks of sparkling water, and a
+comparatively open forest, with bright clear glades in
+which the traveller may recline without persecution from
+the flies,&mdash;these pests being unknown on the "black
+waters." The ground is covered by evergreens of different
+species and exquisite forms, and many kinds of elegant
+ferns are growing in the valleys. There are few lianes or
+spinous briers stretching from tree to tree, obstructing
+free passage, but a thousand lesser vines drape the low tree
+tops with myriads of flowers, new and attractive to the
+visitor. Everywhere the forest is intersected by paths,
+some made by the inhabitants in their frequent rambles,
+others by wild animals that come to the water to drink;
+and along these the eager naturalist can readily pass to
+the feeding trees of many beautiful and peculiar birds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Here are wont to haunt many varieties of the richly-hued
+trogons, unknown to the lower regions; and at any
+hour their plaintive note may be heard at intervals, as
+they sit moodily, singly or in pairs, on the branches, with
+the long tail outspread and drooping, watching for passing
+insects. Cuckoos of several kinds, their plumage glancing
+red in the subdued light, flit noiselessly through the woods,
+searching for caterpillars. Purple jays, in large flocks,
+alight on some berry-bearing tree, chattering and gesticulating,
+but shy and alert,&mdash;ready to start at the snapping
+of a twig. Motmots and chatterers in gayest hues,&mdash;scarlet,
+violet and blue,&mdash;are abundant. Goatsuckers, in
+exquisitely-blended and pencilled tones of colour, start
+from some shady glen where they are dozing away the
+day hours, and, flying a short distance on soft winnowing
+pinions, rest again, and seem to fall asleep in an instant.
+Showy manikins and tanagers of the brightest tints are
+flaunting in every bush: pigeons and doves of soberer
+hues are cooing their gentle complainings in the taller
+trees; and guans and curassows are marching with stately
+pace in the paths, picking here and there some delicate
+morsel; or running with loud harsh cry, with outstretched
+neck and rapid stride, as they detect approaching danger.<a name="FNanchor_208_208" id="FNanchor_208_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208_208" class="fnanchor">[208]</a></p>
+
+<p>Still, conspicuous above all are the Humming-birds,
+which, revelling in this region of the sun, are buzzing
+around the blossoming shrubs like insects. And pre-eminent
+among these is the Fiery Topaz, a name that
+attempts to express what neither title, nor description,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>nor coloured figure can adequately express,&mdash;its gemmeous
+magnificence and lustre. One of the first ornithologists
+of the age, the Prince of Canino, has assigned
+to the species the honour of being "<i>inter Trochilides
+pulcherrimus</i>." Description, however, I must give, for
+want of anything better, since, even if I possessed a living
+specimen, I could not exhibit its living radiance to all my
+readers: therefore, pray pay attention to the details, and
+imagine. The general hue of this imperial atom is a
+blazing scarlet, in fine contrast with which the head and
+lower part of the throat are deep velvet-black. The
+gorget of the throat is emerald green, with a cloud of
+delicate crimson in the centre. The lower part of the
+back, the rump and the upper tail-coverts are of that
+beautiful bronzed green which changes to orange gold, so
+frequently seen in this tribe; while the wing-quills and
+tail are purplish black, except the middle pair of feathers
+in the latter, which are very slender, project to a great
+length, and cross each other; these are green with a
+purple gloss.</p>
+
+<p>Among the hundreds of species of this very lovely
+tribe that swarm in the intertropical regions of South
+America, I will select one more for its surpassing beauty.
+It is the Bar-tailed Comet. We must look for it in the
+temperate and equable valley of the Desaguedero, which
+leads out of Lake Titi&ccedil;a&ccedil;a, the largest sheet of water on
+the South American continent, and famous in Peruvian
+tradition, as the scene where Mango Capac and Mama
+Ocollo surprised the barbarous aborigines by their first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>
+appearance. On one of the charming islets of this quiet
+lake, the two august strangers were seen, clothed in garments;
+and, declaring that they were the children of the
+sun long prophesied of, proceeded to teach their simple
+subjects the arts of civilisation, and to establish a regular
+government. We must search for our tiny Comet, too, in
+the cultivated plains that surround the Cerro of Potosi,
+that singular cone sixteen thousand feet in height, which
+is wholly composed of silver, and which is estimated to
+have yielded, during the three hundred years that have
+elapsed since the Indian exposed the solid silver, when he
+accidentally tore up a shrub by the roots,&mdash;the sum of
+two hundred millions of pounds sterling. The districts
+around, and specially the environs of the town of Chuquisaca,
+are adorned with a profusion of gardens and orchards,
+in which many European trees and flowers grow, as well
+as those of the tropics, the climate possessing the charms
+of many regions. In the shrubberies of the city, and in
+the gardens of the Indian cottages, as well as the slopes
+of the surrounding mountains, where the native groves and
+forests grow undisturbed, the brilliant Bar-tail may be
+seen during the summer months; but, as soon as the
+chilling winds of April tell of coming winter, the charming
+visitor becomes scarce, and flitting northward finds in
+the forests of Lower Peru the mild and balmy air which
+he loves. When the trees are in blossom, and particularly
+the apple-trees, which have been introduced from Europe,
+and are largely cultivated in orchards, the males may be
+seen shooting in and out among the foliage, like glowing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>
+coals of fire, chasing each other with shrill chirpings, and
+with surprising perseverance and acrimony. The fields of
+maize, and pulse, and other leguminous plants which are
+cultivated in the plains, receive a fair share of his attention;
+and the nop&acirc;leries, or cactus-gardens, where the
+cochineal insect is reared for those most valuable crimson
+and scarlet dyes, which far outshine the vaunted productions
+of ancient Tyre. The blossom of the nop&acirc;l is itself
+one of the most splendid of flowers. It begins to open as
+the sun declines, and is in full expanse throughout the
+night, shedding a delicious fragrance, and offering its
+brimming goblet, filled with nectareous juice, to thousands
+of moths, and other crepuscular and nocturnal insects.
+When the moon is at the full in those cloudless nights
+whose loveliness is known only in the tropics, the broad
+blossom is seen as a circular disk nearly a foot in diameter,
+very full of petals, of which the outer series are of a yellowish
+hue, gradually paling to the centre, where they
+shine in the purest white. The numerous recurving
+stamens surround the style which rises in the midst
+like a polished shaft, the whole glowing in its silvery
+beauty under the moonbeams, from the dark and matted
+foliage, and diffusing its delicious clove-like fragrance so
+profusely that the air is loaded with it for furlongs round.</p>
+
+<p>Other species of Cactus and Cereus, some with yellow,
+and some with pink, and some with rich crimson blossoms,&mdash;the
+pride of our conservatories,&mdash;sprawl profusely in
+these gardens; and here the Bar-tail flaunts all day long
+sipping the nectar, and picking up myriads of minute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>
+insects which the blossoms attract, and which lodge in the
+honeyed recesses.</p>
+
+<p>But it is time that the reader should know what sort of
+a bird this Bar-tailed Comet is. Attend, then, while I
+describe his ball-dress, more lustrous than any fair lady
+ever wore at Almack's. The head, neck, upper part of
+the back, and a considerable portion of the under surface,
+are light green, with reflections of burnished gold on the
+cheeks and forehead. The lower back is of a deep crimson.
+The throat flames like an emerald. The tail is the
+chief feature, the feathers being broad, and greatly lengthened,
+in regular graduation from the central ones to the
+outmost pair, which are double the length of the entire
+bird besides. The form of the tail is widely forked, its
+outline having a double curve, somewhat lyre-shaped. The
+tail-coverts are ruddy brown; and the feathers themselves
+are of the richest and most glowing fire-colour, incomparably
+lustrous; each feather being broadly tipped with
+velvety black. The graduation of the feathers throws
+these terminal black tips to a considerable distance from
+each other, and their alternation with the intermediate
+spaces of the fiery glow has an inconceivably charming
+effect, as the bird makes its rapid evolutions through the
+air, and whisks about among the flowers, with a velocity
+which the eye of the beholder can scarcely follow. It is
+very fond of certain long trumpet-shaped pendent blossoms,
+into which it penetrates so far, that nothing of it
+can be seen except the tips of its radiant forked tail projecting
+from the tube.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Another family of birds that is conspicuous for gorgeous
+beauty is that of the Pheasants. Our own familiar
+species, which is said to have been brought long ages ago
+from the banks of the Phasis in Colchis, by Jason in the
+Argo,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Argiv&acirc; primum sum transportata carin&acirc;,"<a name="FNanchor_209_209" id="FNanchor_209_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209_209" class="fnanchor">[209]</a>&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>is a very splendid bird, and is well painted in a few lines
+by Pope;&mdash;who speaks of his</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i8">"Glossy varying dyes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His purple crest and scarlet-circled eyes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The vivid green his shining plumes unfold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold."<a name="FNanchor_210_210" id="FNanchor_210_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210_210" class="fnanchor">[210]</a><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But besides this, there are Indian and Chinese species
+which excel it in glory. There are the richly-pencilled
+Gold and Silver Pheasants, and the noble Reeves' and
+Amherst Pheasants, with their extraordinary long-barred
+tail plumes. The last named is a bird of unusual magnificence.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is the splendid Fire-back of Sumatra and
+Java, which is adorned with a crest of slender stalked
+feathers, each expanding into a disk with spreading barbs.
+The head, neck, breast, and belly of this rare bird are of
+deep steel-blue, very lustrous, the lower part of the back
+fiery orange-red or flame-colour, varying in intensity according
+to the incidence of the light, and passing like a
+zone of fire round the body, though less brilliant on the
+abdomen; the rump and tail-coverts broad and truncate,
+bluish-green, each feather tipped by a paler bar. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>
+tail is erect and arched, somewhat like that of the common
+cock, its middle feathers are pure white, and all the rest
+black, with green reflections. The legs and feet, which are
+scarlet, and the skin of the face, purple, complete the toilet
+of this magnificent oriental.</p>
+
+<p>What shall we say to the Argus Pheasant, the bird of
+Malacca with the magnificent pinions? How fine a sight
+must it be to see this noble fowl displaying his coxcombery
+in the presence of his admiring hens, strutting to and
+fro with his long tail feathers spread and erected, and his
+broad wings expanded and scraping the ground far on
+each side! The colours, it is true, are sober browns,
+varied with black and white; but how exquisitely are
+these arranged! Perhaps no brilliancy of tint would
+more charm the eye than the row of ocellated spots,&mdash;each
+a dark circular disk surrounded by concentric circles,&mdash;that
+runs along the centre of each of the enormously-developed
+secondary wing-quills.</p>
+
+<p>To come back to colour and metallic refulgence. We
+must not overlook the Mon&acirc;l, or Scaly Impeyan of the
+Himalaya chain. This fowl, which is little less than a
+turkey, looks as if clothed in scale armour of iridescent
+metal, of which the specific hues can scarcely be indicated,
+so changeable are they; green, steel-blue, crimson, purple,
+and golden-bronze,&mdash;all of the utmost intensity of colour,
+and of dazzling refulgence, adorn this bird, set off by a
+broad square patch of pure white in the middle of the
+back, while the crown of the head carries a drooping crest
+of naked-shafted, broad-tipped, green feathers. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>
+splendid fowl is as hardy as the turkey or pheasant,
+and will probably before long be domesticated in British
+preserves, to which it would be a noble addition, being
+perhaps exceeded by nothing in nature for refulgence.</p>
+
+<p>In the same regions are found the Polyplectrons, or
+Pheasant Peacocks, birds of the same family. Look at
+one of these in detail, the Crested Polyplectron of the
+Sunda Isles. It much resembles a peacock in contour,
+the head and neck black, with steely reflections, relieved
+by a long stripe of white arching over each eye, and a
+broad patch of the same on the ears. The forehead and
+crown carry a crest of tall feathers capable of erection,
+and making a fine ornament. The whole under parts are
+velvet black; the back and rump warm brown, with paler
+wavy bands and lines. The coverts and secondary feathers
+of the wings are of the richest blue, each feather tipped
+with velvety black. But the tail is the grand display. It
+is a true tail, not a train of superincumbent feathers as in
+the peacock, the quill-feathers being of great length and
+breadth, and the whole capable of being widely expanded
+into an enormous rounded fan. The individual feathers
+are brown, pencilled and sprinkled with pale buff,&mdash;a
+pretty ground, on each of which is painted two large
+oval eye-spots of the most brilliant metallic blue or green,
+according to the light, contained within encircling double
+rings of black and white. These refulgent eyes are so
+set that they constitute two curved bands placed at some
+distance apart, running across the tail, and when this organ
+is expanded they impart to it a most regal appearance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Last, but not least, in this distinguished tribe, there is
+the familiar Peacock, a proverb of splendour in raiment
+from the remote antiquity of Aristophanes and Aristotle
+to Mr Hollingshead, who lashes the sumptuary tendencies
+of our modern ladies under the title of "Peacockism."<a name="FNanchor_211_211" id="FNanchor_211_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211_211" class="fnanchor">[211]</a>
+The true Peacock, however, the genuine bird, may at least
+plead that no milliners' bills of &pound;3000 are ever proved
+against him in Bankruptcy Courts.</p>
+
+<p>I am not going to be so impertinent as to describe in
+detail the plumage of a bird so well known as the Peacock.
+Who does not know his empurpled neck so elegantly
+bridled, his aigrette of four-and-twenty battledore-feathers,
+his pencilled body-clothing, and, above all, his
+grand erectile train with its rows of eyelets? Who has
+not admired the lustre and beauty of those eyelets,&mdash;the
+kidney-like nucleus of deepest purple, the surrounding
+band of green, widening in front and filling the notch of
+the pupil, the broad circle of brown, and the narrow black
+ring edged with chestnut, and then the decomposed barbs
+of the feather, gilded green, all presenting the effulgence
+of burnished metal, or rather the glitter and glow of precious
+gems, flashing in the varying light? One can hardly
+imagine the splendour of the scene described by Colonel
+Williamson, as seen by him in the Jungleterry District in
+India, when, being engaged shooting these beautiful fowl,
+he estimates that not fewer than twelve or fifteen hundred
+Peafowl of various sizes were within sight of him for
+nearly an hour. "Whole woods were covered with their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>
+beautiful plumage, to which the rising sun imparted additional
+brilliancy. Small patches of plain among the long
+grass, most of them cultivated, and with mustard then in
+bloom, which induced the birds to feed, increased the
+beauty of the scene."</p>
+
+<p>In the preceding volume I have spoken of the gorgeous
+beauty of the Birds of Paradise, and have quoted the description
+given by Lesson of his rapt feelings when, on
+first seeing a specimen in the forests of Papua, he could
+not shoot from emotion. A chapter on animal beauty
+cannot pass over this magnificent family, though to my
+own taste there is something in the refulgent radiance of
+the Humming-birds and Pheasants which is superior
+to anything seen in the Paradise-birds. The latter, or
+some of them at least, give me the idea of being over-dressed,
+particularly that one called the Superb, whose
+singular forked gorget and shoulder-cape, gorgeous as
+these adornments are, with their lustrous violet and green
+flushes, are somewhat inelegant in form. Yet some of
+them are softly beautiful;&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"So richly deck'd in variegated down,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Green, sable, shining yellow, shading brown,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tints softly with each other blended,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hues doubtfully begun and ended;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or intershooting, and to sight<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lost and recover'd, as the rays of light<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Glance in the conscious plumes touch'd here and there.<br /></span>
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 25%; Margin-left: 2em; Margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" />
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"This the Sun's Bird, whom Glendoveers might own,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As no unworthy partner in their flight<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span><span class="i0">Through seas of ether, where the ruffling sway<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of nether air's rude billows is unknown:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whom sylphs, if e'er for casual pastime they<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through India's spicy regions wing their way,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Might bow to as their lord."<a name="FNanchor_212_212" id="FNanchor_212_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212_212" class="fnanchor">[212]</a><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div><a name="Fig.10" id="Fig.10">&nbsp;</a></div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 256px;">
+<a href="images/fig357-1200.jpg"><img src="images/fig357-400.jpg" width="256" height="400" alt="PEACOCK-SHOOTING." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">PEACOCK-SHOOTING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Emerald Paradise, the best known of the family,
+seems to have been in the poet's eye; and certainly the
+combination of form and colour in this species is very
+charming. The rich chocolate of the upper parts, and the
+delicate lemon-yellow of the neck, contrast well with the
+gemmeous green lustre of the front, when the velvety
+plumage flashes and gleams in the sunlight. And the
+numerous soft floating plumes that arch out from the
+flanks to a great distance on all sides are exquisite in
+loveliness. "Even in the absolute quiet of a stuffed skin
+under a glass case," as Mr Wood remarks, "these plumes
+are full of astonishing beauty, their translucent golden-white
+vanelets producing a most superb effect as they
+cross and recross each other, forming every imaginable
+shade of white, gold and orange, and then deepening
+towards their extremities into a soft purplish red."</p>
+
+<p>Mr G. Bennett, who saw a living specimen in an aviary
+at Macao, describes these long, elegant, loose-barbed
+plumes as occupying a good deal of the bird's own attention
+and care. "One of the best opportunities of seeing
+this splendid bird in all its beauty of action as well as
+display of plumage, is early in the morning, when he
+makes his toilet: the beautiful sub-alar plumage is then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>
+thrown out and cleaned from any spot that may sully its
+purity, by being passed gently through the bill; the short
+chocolate wings are extended to the utmost, and he keeps
+them in a steady flapping motion as if in imitation of
+their use in flight, at the same time raising up the delicate
+long feathers over the back, which are spread in a chaste
+and elegant manner, floating like films in the ambient air.
+In this position the bird would remain for a short time,
+seemingly proud of its heavenly beauty, and in raptures
+of delight with its most enchanting self; it would then
+assume various attitudes, so as to regard its plumage in
+every direction."<a name="FNanchor_213_213" id="FNanchor_213_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213_213" class="fnanchor">[213]</a></p>
+
+<p>Passing over all other classes of animate existence, I
+shall say a few words on the surpassing loveliness which
+is displayed by many of the Insect tribes. The nursery
+prejudice, that these creatures are worthy only to be trodden
+under foot, as things repulsive and disgusting, is
+certainly decaying, though it retains its hold still in some
+minds. A glance through an entomological cabinet would
+prove how unjust are such notions. If brilliant hues,
+polished surface, sculptured chasings, graceful forms, and
+lively motions can command admiration, these are displayed
+by Insects to a degree which we should in vain look
+for in any other class of creatures. We need not speak of
+simple colours; these occur in profusion, of all hues, of
+all shades of intensity, and of the very highest degrees of
+brightness; combined too, in the most elegant manner,
+and very frequently, particularly in the <i>Lepidoptera</i>,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>presenting that peculiar charm which results from the
+association of tints that are complemental to each other.</p>
+
+<p>Words are always felt to be too poor to describe the
+refulgence of the hues of many of the feathered tribes;&mdash;the
+metallic gloss of the Trogons and the oriental <i>Gallinace&aelig;</i>,
+the gem-like flashings of the Humming-birds and
+the Birds of Paradise. Perhaps it would be deemed extravagant
+to assert, that these glories can be <i>excelled</i> by the
+tiny races I am now discussing; but equalled, <i>most fully
+equalled</i>, they assuredly are. To possess the glow of
+burnished metal upon the most varied hues, is, in the
+order <i>Coleoptera</i>, a common thing. Most of the <i>Eumolpid&aelig;</i>
+are remarkable for this; of which I may instance
+<i>Chrysochus fulgidus</i>, a beetle from Bombay. The <i>Buprestid&aelig;</i>
+have long been celebrated, for the same reason;
+and portions of their bodies have been used in the toilet
+of ladies, in association with diamonds and rubies.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the <i>Chlamyd&aelig;</i> blaze with golden-crimson,
+purple, and the most fiery orange. The species of the
+small genus <i>Eurhinus</i> seem to send forth the coloured
+flames of the pyrotechnic art. The <i>Longicornes</i> display the
+same beauties, associated with gigantic size. <i>Cheloderus
+Childreni</i>, for example, a large beetle from Columbia, is
+equal to any <i>Buprestis</i> for the radiance of the green,
+crimson, purple, blue, scarlet, and gold, that are all at the
+same time flaming from its singularly-sculptured surface.</p>
+
+<p>But there are impressions conveyed by the reflection of
+light from the bodies of many beetles, which far exceed
+the metallic fulgor of which I have been speaking,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>
+beautiful as it is. I cannot hope to describe them intelligibly;
+I know of no combination of words which
+will give an idea of them. I mean the soft, almost
+velvety radiance of some of the <i>Goliathi</i>; of many of
+the <i>Cetoni&aelig;</i>, as the genus <i>Eudicella</i>, for instance; and
+of not a few of the <i>Phan&aelig;i</i>, in the former two, the hue
+is generally green; in the latter, this colour is associated
+with other hues, most glowing, yet of an indescribable
+softness. I cannot imagine anything of this sort more
+charming than the soft golden and orange hue upon the
+green of the magnificent <i>Phan&aelig;us imperialis</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Others again, as <i>Hoplia farinosa</i>, a little chafer from
+Southern Europe, and many of the weevil tribe (<i>Curculionid&aelig;</i>),
+are covered with scales of vivid splendour, but so
+minute, and so closely set, that the whole surface reflects
+one soft but rich lustre of tints, differing according to the
+species. We would instance, of these, the noble species
+of the genus <i>Cyphus</i>. Others of the same great family,
+on a dark but still richly-coloured ground, have the
+minute scales clustered in spots or bands, forming regular
+patterns in much variety; and in these they reflect
+rainbow hues, as if a sunbeam decomposed through a
+prism had been solidified and pulverised; or if viewed
+through a lens, looking like powdered gems, each individual
+scale changing its hues with the slightest motion of
+the eye. Among these we may mention <i>Hypsonotus elegans</i>,
+<i>Cyphus spectabilis</i>, <i>Entimus splendidus</i>, and <i>E.
+imperialis</i>, commonly known as diamond beetles; and the
+elegantly-shaped genus <i>Pachyrhynchus</i>, of which the <i>P.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>
+<i>gemmatus</i>, from the Philippine Islands, is, perhaps, the
+most lovely of all earthly creatures.</p>
+
+<p>And if we look at the <i>Lepidoptera</i>, the order more especially
+under review, we feel that beauty belongs to them
+rather as an essence than as an accident. Their broad
+fan-like wings have an airy lightness and grace to which
+the painter and the poet pay homage, when they endow
+the sylphs and loves of their fancy with butterfly pinions.</p>
+
+<p>They are clothed with minute scales, which are the
+vehicle of their colours, somewhat resembling in this
+respect the beetles last spoken of; but they have beauties
+peculiar to themselves. Fine combinations and contrasts
+of colours are too much the rule in this order to
+need specification; and these are often shaded and blended
+with a downy softness, as in the Sphinges and Moths.
+As illustrious examples, I will mention the <i>Gynautocera</i>,
+a group of Oriental Moths approaching in some points the
+Butterflies, as exhibiting the most brilliant hues in bands
+and clouds, but softly blended and mingled, with exceeding
+chasteness and beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Many species of the genus <i>Catagramma</i>, a group of
+Butterflies marked on the inferior surface of the fore-wings
+with scarlet and black, and on that of the hind with
+singular concentric circles of black on a white ground,
+have on the superior surface the metallic lustre common
+in the beetles, the wings being of golden green or blue.
+The genus <i>Urania</i> has this radiance still more conspicuous;
+while the inferior surface of some of the <i>Thecl&aelig;</i>, as
+<i>T. imperialis</i>, <i>T. Act&aelig;on</i>, <i>T. Endymion</i>, &amp;c., is covered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>
+with the most rich and varied metallic hues, as if powdered
+with gold, copper, and silver filings. Some Butterflies,
+as several of our native <i>Fritillaries</i>, and more vividly
+an American species, (<i>Argynnis passiflor&aelig;</i>,) one from
+New Zealand, (<i>Argyrophenga antipodum</i>,) and the beautiful
+<i>Paphia Clytemnestra</i>, have spots of burnished silver
+on their inferior surface; and several of our own moths,
+as the genus <i>Plusia</i>, are so spotted on the upper surface.
+Others display a lustre between that of silver and that of
+pearl, as several species of <i>Charaxes</i> on one, and the magnificent
+<i>Morpho Laertes</i> on both surfaces. But of this
+sort of beauty, perhaps nothing can excel the gemmeous
+green, changing to azure, of <i>Papilio Ulysses</i>, or that of
+<i>Apatura (?) laurentia</i>; or, above all, of some of the great
+Brazilian <i>Morphos</i>. The blaze of silvery azure that
+flashes from <i>M. Adonis</i>, <i>M. Cytheris</i>, and <i>M. Menelaus</i>,
+is indescribable; the eyes are pained as they gaze upon it;
+yet there is said to be an unnamed species from the
+emerald mountains of Bogota, of which a single specimen
+is in a private cabinet in London, which is far more lustrous
+than these.</p>
+
+<p>The change from one hue to another produced by the
+play of light in altering the angle of its reflection, has always
+been much admired; and this occurs in great perfection,
+and with much diversity, in the lovely insects of the
+<i>Lepidopterous</i> order.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the genus <i>H&aelig;tera</i>, (as <i>H. piera</i>, and <i>H. esmeralda</i>,)
+and many of the <i>Heliconiad&aelig;</i>, as <i>Hymenitis diaphana</i>,
+&amp;c., have the wings nearly or quite destitute of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>
+ordinary scaly clothing, presenting only a transparent
+membrane of great delicacy; over which the light plays
+with a beautiful iridescence. <i>Papilio Arcturus</i> and some
+allied species, are of a golden-green, changing to blue, or to
+glowing purple. Very many of the <i>Nymphalid&aelig;</i> are distinguished
+for a flush of surpassing richness, that in one
+particular light gleams over the surface. Our own <i>Apatura
+Iris</i>, commonly known as the purple emperor, is a
+native example of this beauty, and still more <i>A. namoura</i>;
+but especially the species of the genus <i>Thaumantis</i>, as
+well as <i>Morpho Martia</i>, and <i>M. Automedon</i>. <i>Diadema
+bolina</i> also displays a purple flush over and around the
+white spots, which is exquisitely beautiful. In general
+this glow is found only in the male, but in the lovely
+<i>Epiphile chrysitis</i> it is common to the female.</p>
+
+<p>In <i>Colias Electra</i> a warm purple glow plays over the
+surface in a strong light, which is the more singularly
+beautiful, because the permanent colour which is thus suffused
+is a rich golden orange. There is, however, a species
+(<i>C. Lesbia</i>) of which only a single specimen is known,
+and that is in fragments, in the Banksian Collection, which
+is in this respect vastly superior to the former. In all
+these cases, the playing gleam is more or less empurpled;
+in <i>Paphia Portia</i>, however, it may be called crimson.</p>
+
+<p>But still more exquisitely beautiful than any of these is
+the fine opalescence that irradiates some butterflies in the
+changing beam. There is a white butterfly from Senegal
+(<i>Anthocharis Ione</i>) allied to our common garden whites,
+marked at the tips of the wings with a spot of violet, sur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span>rounded
+by black. In a certain aspect, there plays over
+this spot a violet opalescence of exceeding richness. And
+to mention no more, (for, indeed, we know not that we
+could mention anything to surpass this,) the carnation
+spots on the black wings of <i>Papilio Anchises</i>, <i>P. &AElig;neas</i>,
+<i>P. Tullus</i>, &amp;c., are at intervals flushed with a violet opalescence,
+so brilliant, that we know no other object to compare
+with it.</p>
+
+<p>In contemplating such objects, we cannot help concurring
+in the sentiments expressed by the pious Ray:&mdash;"Qu&aelig;ri
+fortasse &agrave; nonnullis potest, quis Papilionum usus
+sit? Respondeo, Ad ornatum universi, et ut hominibus
+spectaculo sint: ad rura illustranda velut tot bracte&aelig;
+inservientes. Quis enim eximiam earum pulchritudinem
+et varietatem contemplans mira voluptate non afficiatur?
+Quis tot colorum et schematum elegantias natur&aelig; ipsius
+ingenio excogitatas et artifici penicillo depictas curiosis
+oculis intuens, divin&aelig; artis vestigia eis impressa non
+agnoscat et miretur?" And I may add, since such
+exquisite traces of loveliness remain in a world which
+Satan has spoiled and sin defiled, what must have been its
+glory when He who made it could take complacency in
+beholding it, and in the minutest details could pronounce
+it "very good!"</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. James Smith of Monquhitter thus alludes to
+the exquisite beauty of some South American butterflies.
+One or two of the species I have already alluded to, but
+even these can yield additional themes of admiration. "I
+hold," he says, "that there are hues and shades of colour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>
+which are positively beautiful in themselves, and independently
+of all associations whatever; and to look upon
+which merely as patches of colour, affords a gratification
+of no mean description. And for the truth of such an
+opinion, I know not where I should obtain a stronger and
+a more pleasing proof, than from the <i>Lepidoptera</i> to
+which I have alluded. The patch, for instance, which is
+on the posterior wings of the <i>H&aelig;tera Esmeralda</i>, and
+which may be characterised as a compound of carmine
+and of the deepest blue dotted with two spots of vermilion,
+will in itself, and irrespectively of association,
+communicate a pleasure to every eye which looks upon it.
+The band of silver blue on the wing of a large <i>Morpho</i>;
+the deep tone, to speak in pictorial phrase, of the black in
+the <i>Papilio Sesostris</i>, finer even than the finest velvet of
+Genoa; the rich dark orange on <i>Epicilia Anc&aelig;a</i>; the
+blue, shining in one unnamed species like polished steel,
+in another (<i>Thecla</i>) with a radiant clearness, which ultramarine
+itself could not surpass; the satin-like golden
+green, the pearly lustrous white, and the deep shining
+emerald ribbons in <i>Urania Boisduvalii</i>; the crimson
+lines and spots deeper and clearer than blood, in a species
+to which no name is attached, of <i>Papilio</i>; the small
+spangles of silver with which the under surface of one of
+the least among them (<i>Cupido</i>) is, as it were, incrusted;
+the iridescent and delicate violet with which, on the same
+surface, a particular species of <i>H&aelig;tera</i> is, so to speak,
+washed over, in a way which calls to our remembrance
+the 'scumbling' given by Rembrandt as the finishing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>
+touch to his finest productions; all these, and many more,
+possess a beauty which I contend, in opposition to the
+doctrine of Alison and Jeffrey, is absolute in itself;
+which is altogether irrespective of association; and which
+the most skilful of human pencils would find it impossible
+completely and properly to copy."<a name="FNanchor_214_214" id="FNanchor_214_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214_214" class="fnanchor">[214]</a></p>
+
+<p>I must apologise to fair readers for alluding to Spiders&mdash;"nasty
+spiders!"&mdash;in a chapter on beauty; but prejudice
+must not make us shut our eyes to glories even among
+these. In the tropical species there is often metallic
+splendour and brilliance of colour. In my "Naturalist's
+Sojourn in Jamaica," my friend Mr Hill has written some
+very interesting observations on the web of a certain
+Spider, and on the relations of its structure with that of
+the Spider itself; but I allude to it now because of the
+elegance of the creature, the <i>Epeira argentata</i> of Fabricius.
+The upper surface of the body is of a glistening
+satiny or silvery whiteness, the belly yellow, spotted with
+black, and the legs marked with alternate rings of the
+same contrasted hues.</p>
+
+<p>In the same island I was familiar with another species,
+(<i>Nephila clavipes</i>,) remarkable for the length and strength
+of its silken cords. The body, which is lengthened, is
+studded with round white spots, each encircled with a
+black border, on a rich greenish brown ground, reminding
+one of the characteristic markings of the Tragopans
+among birds. The cephalothorax is shining black, its
+lustre half concealed by a clothing of short silvery down:
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>the legs are very long, and have a remarkably elegant
+appearance from having a bunch of black hair set around
+the extremity of the first and second joints, like the
+bristles of a bottle-brush.</p>
+
+<p>I fortify my own verdict with the observations of a
+brother naturalist on the Spiders of Borneo, presuming
+that those which he alludes to appear to belong to the
+genus <i>Gastracantha</i>, of which I have seen species in
+Jamaica.</p>
+
+<p>"The spiders, so disgusting in appearance in many
+other countries, are here of quite a different nature, and are
+the most beautiful of the insect tribe; they have a skin of
+a shell-like texture, furnished with curious processes, in
+some long, in others short, in some few, in others numerous;
+but are found, of this description, only in thick
+woods and shaded places: their colours are of every hue,
+brilliant and metallic as the feathers of the humming-bird,
+but are, unlike the bright colours of the beetle, totally
+dependent on the life of the insect which they beautify,
+so that it is impossible to preserve them."<a name="FNanchor_215_215" id="FNanchor_215_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215_215" class="fnanchor">[215]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is possible that this beauty might be less evanescent
+if the animals were preserved in spirit or other antiseptic
+fluid. A writer in the <i>Zoologist</i> (p. 5929) mentions the
+fact that the iridescence of certain beetles (<i>Cassida</i>) which
+is peculiarly splendid and metallic, and which disappears
+immediately on the insects' becoming dry, is perpetuated
+in its original loveliness when the specimens are preserved
+in spirit, even after the lapse of several years.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span></p>
+<p>The tropical species of this genus are far finer and
+richer than our little English kinds, though these are
+pretty. I was much delighted by the brilliance of some
+of the Jamaican species, and Sir Emerson Tennent thus
+speaks of them in Ceylon:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There is one family of insects, the members of which
+cannot fail to strike the traveller by their singular beauty,
+the <i>Cassidad&aelig;</i>, or tortoise beetles, in which the outer
+shell overlaps the body, and the limbs are susceptible of
+being drawn entirely within it. The rim is frequently of
+a different tint from the centre, and one species which I
+have seen is quite startling from the brilliancy of its colouring,
+which gives it the appearance of a ruby inclosed
+in a frame of pearl; but this wonderful effect disappears
+immediately on the death of the insect."<a name="FNanchor_216_216" id="FNanchor_216_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216_216" class="fnanchor">[216]</a></p>
+
+<p>If we turn to the vegetable world, what a profusion of
+beauty do we find! Exquisite are the tiny Mosses, when
+the fogs and rains of winter, so inimical to other vegetation,
+have quickened them into verdure and fruit. How
+they spread along the hedgerow banks in soft fleeces of
+vivid emerald, and shoot up their slender stalks, each
+crowned with its tiny urn, and wearing its fairy nightcap!
+Beautiful are the tiny dark-green feather-like leaves
+of the Forkmoss crowded on the clayey bank; beautiful
+the wild sprays of the plumy Hypnum; and beautiful the
+little round velvet cushions of Tortula, that grow on every
+old wall-top.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The tiny moss, whose silken verdure clothes<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like fairy urns, on stalks of golden sheen,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Demand our admiration and our praise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As much as cedar kissing the blue sky<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or Krubul's giant-flower. God made them all,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And what <i>He</i> deigns to make should ne'er be deem'd<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Unworthy of our study."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Exquisite too are the Ferns, in their arching fronds, so
+richly cut in elegant tracery. See a fine crown of the
+Lady Fern in a shaded Devonshire lane, and confess
+that grace and beauty are triumphant there. And in the
+saturated atmosphere of the tropical islands, where these
+lovely plants form a very large proportion of the entire
+vegetation, and some of them rise on slender stems thirty
+or forty feet in altitude, from the summit of which the
+wide-spreading fronds arch gracefully on every side, like
+a vast umbrella of twinkling verdure, through whose filagree
+work the sunbeams are sparkling,&mdash;what can be
+more charming than Ferns?</p>
+
+<p>The queenly Palms, too, are models of stately beauty.
+Linn&aelig;us called them <i>vegetabilium principes</i>; and, when
+we see them in some noble conservatory of adequate dimensions,
+such as the glass palm-house at Kew, crowded
+side by side, with their crowned heads, and lofty stature,
+and proud, erect bearing, we are involuntarily reminded
+of the monarchs of many kingdoms met in august conclave.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Lo! higher still the stately palm-trees rise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Chequering the clouds with their unbending stems,<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span><span class="i0">And o'er the clouds, amid the dark-blue skies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Lifting their rich unfading diadems.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">How calm and placidly they rest<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Upon the heaven's indulgent breast,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As if their branches never breeze had known!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Light bathes them aye in glancing showers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Silence, 'mid their lofty bowers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sits on her moveless throne."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Are the Grasses worthy of mention for their beauty?
+Surely, yes. Many of them display a downy lightness exquisitely
+lovely, as the common Feather-grass. The golden
+panicles of the great Quake-grass, so curiously compacted
+and hanging in stalks of so hair-like a tenuity as to nod
+and tremble with the slightest motion, how beautiful are
+these! And the satiny plumes of the Pampas-grass projecting
+from the clump of leaves form a fine object. But
+the Bamboos, those great arborescent Grasses of the tropics,
+form a characteristic feature of the vegetation of those
+regions, of almost unexampled magnificence. I have seen
+them in their glory, and can sympathise with the philosophical
+Humboldt in the powerful effect which the
+grandeur of the Bamboo produces on the poetic mind.
+It is an object never to be forgotten, especially when
+growing in those isolated clumps, that look like tufts of
+ostrich-plumes magnified to colossal dimensions. A
+thousand of these noble reeds standing in close array,
+each four or five inches in the diameter of its stem, and
+rising in erect dignity to the height of forty feet, and all
+waving their tufted summits in diverging curves moved
+by every breeze,&mdash;form, indeed, a magnificent spectacle.
+Growing in the most rocky situations, the Bamboo is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>
+frequently planted in Jamaica on the very apex of those
+conical hills which form so remarkable a feature in the
+landscape of the interior, and to which its noble tufts
+constitute a most becoming crown.</p>
+
+<p>Mr Ellis thus describes the elegance of these magnificent
+Grasses in Madagascar:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The base of the hills and the valleys were covered
+with the Bamboo, which was far more abundant than
+during any former part of the journey. There were at
+least four distinct varieties: one a large growing kind,
+erect nearly to the point; a second smaller, seldom rising
+much above twenty feet in height, bushy at the base, and
+gracefully bending down its tapering point. A third kind
+rose in single cane, almost without a leaf, to the height of
+thirty feet or more; or, bending over, formed a perfectly
+circular arch. I also saw a Bamboo growing as a creeper,
+with small short joints, feathered with slender leafy
+branches at every joint, and stretching in festoons from tree
+to tree along the side of the road, or hanging suspended in
+single lines from a projecting branch, and swinging gently
+with the passing breeze. The appearance of the Bamboo
+when growing is exceedingly graceful. Sometimes the
+canes, as thick as a man's arm at the base, rise forty or
+fifty feet high, fringed at the joints, which are two or
+three feet apart, with short branches of long, lance-shaped
+leaves. The smaller kinds, which abound most in this
+region, are still more elegant; and the waving of the
+canes, with their attenuated but feathery-looking points,
+bending down like a plume, and the tremulous quivering,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>
+even in the slightest breeze, of their long, slender leaves,
+present ever-varying aspects of beauty; and, combined
+with the bright-green colour of the Bamboo-cane and leaf,
+impart an indescribable charm to the entire landscape."<a name="FNanchor_217_217" id="FNanchor_217_217"></a><a href="#Footnote_217_217" class="fnanchor">[217]</a></p>
+
+<p>Glorious in loveliness are the <i>Musace&aelig;</i>, the Plantains
+and Bananas of the hot regions. Humboldt calls the
+Banana "one of the noblest and most lovely of vegetable
+productions;" and truly its enormous, flag-like leaves of
+the richest green, permeated by nervures running transversely
+in exactly parallel lines, and arching out in every
+direction from the succulent, spongy, sheathed stem, command
+our admiration, apart from the beauty of their
+flowers, or the importance of their fruit.</p>
+
+<p>In a description of a mountain scene in Tahiti, drawn
+with graphic power by Charles Darwin, the Banana forms
+a prominent element:&mdash;"I could not look on the surrounding
+plants without admiration. On every side were forests
+of Banana; the fruit of which, though serving for food in
+various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the ground....
+As the evening drew to a close, I strolled beneath the
+gloomy shade of the Bananas up the course of the stream.
+My walk was soon brought to a close, by coming to a
+waterfall between two and three hundred feet high; and
+again above this there was another.... In the little recess
+where the water fell, it did not appear that a breath
+of wind had ever blown. The thin edges of the great
+leaves of the Banana, damp with spray, were unbroken,
+instead of being, as is so generally the case, split into a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>thousand shreds. From our position, almost suspended
+on the mountain-side, there were glimpses into the depths
+of the neighbouring valleys: and the lofty points of the
+central mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the
+zenith, hid half the evening sky. Thus seated, it was a
+sublime spectacle to watch the shades of night gradually
+obscuring the last and highest pinnacles."<a name="FNanchor_218_218" id="FNanchor_218_218"></a><a href="#Footnote_218_218" class="fnanchor">[218]</a></p>
+
+<p>This scene must have been one of surpassing sublimity
+and loveliness. Few doubtless have ever beheld anything
+that can be compared with it. But perhaps many have
+felt&mdash;I have, often,&mdash;that there are occasions in which
+the sense of the beautiful in nature becomes almost painfully
+overpowering. I have gazed on some very lovely
+prospects, bathed perhaps in the last rays of the evening
+sun, till my soul seemed to struggle with a very peculiar
+undefinable sensation, as if longing for a power to enjoy,
+which I was conscious I did not possess, and which found
+relief only in tears. I have felt conscious that there were
+elements of enjoyment and admiration there, which went
+far beyond my capacity of enjoying and admiring; and I
+have delighted to believe, that, by and by, when, in the
+millennial kingdom of Jesus, and, still more, in the
+remoter future, in the dispensation of the fulness of times,
+the earth&mdash;the "<i>new</i> earth,"&mdash;shall be endowed with a
+more than paradisaical glory, there will be given to
+redeemed man a greatly increased power and capacity for
+drinking in, and enjoying the augmented loveliness.
+Doubtless the risen and glorified saints, sitting with the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>King of kings upon His throne, will have the senses of
+their spiritual bodies expanded in capacity beyond what
+we can now form the slightest conception of; and as all
+then will be enjoyment of the most exquisite kind, and
+absolutely unalloyed by interruption or satiety,&mdash;the eye
+will at length be satisfied with seeing, and the ear be
+satisfied with hearing. "<i>I shall be satisfied</i>, when I
+awake up with thy likeness."</p>
+
+<p>It is in <i>Flowers</i> that the beauty of the vegetable world
+chiefly resides; and I shall now therefore select a few
+examples from the profusion of lovely objects which the
+domain proper of Flora presents to us.</p>
+
+<p>That very curious tribe of plants, the <i>Orchide&aelig;</i>, so
+remarkable for the mimic forms of other things, that its
+blossoms delight to assume, is also pre-eminent in gorgeous
+beauty. Take the <i>Sobrali&aelig;</i>,&mdash;terrestrial species
+from Central America, where they form extensive thickets,
+growing thrice the height of man, with slender nodding
+stems, and alternate willow-like leaves, and terminal
+racemes loaded with snow-white, pink, crimson, or violet
+flowers.<a name="FNanchor_219_219" id="FNanchor_219_219"></a><a href="#Footnote_219_219" class="fnanchor">[219]</a> Imagine the crushing through "thickets" of
+the lovely <i>S. macrantha</i>! The large lily-like blossoms
+of this species are eight inches long, and as many wide,
+of the richest purple crimson, and of the most elegant
+shape conceivable, with the lip so wrapped round the
+column as to appear funnel-shaped, bordered by an exquisitely-cut
+fringe.</p>
+
+<p>I have before alluded to <i>Phajus Tankervilli&aelig;</i>, that rich
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>lily-like spike of blossom which I stumbled on in the
+midst of a dense thicket in the mountains of Jamaica.
+Another terrestrial genus of great elegance is <i>Cypripedium</i>,
+of which we have one native species, <i>C. calceolus</i>, the
+yellow lady's slipper,&mdash;one of the most charming, but the
+rarest and most difficult of propagation, of British plants.
+But this is far excelled in beauty by many of the exotic
+species; as, for example, the exquisite <i>C. barbatum</i> from
+Malacca. The very foliage is princely; for the nervures
+and cross-veins form a network pattern of dark green
+upon the light green area of each broad leaf. The blossom
+rears up its noble head erect, with its standard-petal of
+white, striped with green and purple, the wing-petals
+studded with purple tubercles along their edges, and the
+lip or slipper-shaped petal of a dark purple hue.</p>
+
+<p>My readers may have occasionally noticed a little plant,
+in the most recherch&eacute;es stove-houses, of so much delicacy
+and preciousness that it is invariably kept under a bell-glass.
+I mean the <i>An&aelig;ctochilus setaceus</i>. It belongs to
+this tribe, and is a terrestrial species, growing about the
+roots of the trees in the humid forests of Ceylon. Its
+exquisite loveliness has attracted the attention of even the
+apathetic Cingalese, who call it by the poetical epithet of
+<i>Wanna Raja</i>, or king of the forest. It does not appear
+to possess any peculiar attractiveness in its blossoms,&mdash;indeed,
+I have never seen it in flower; but its leaves,
+which grow in opposite pairs, are elegantly heart-shaped,
+of a deep rich greenish-brown hue, approaching to black,
+of a surface which resembles velvet, reticulated all over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span>
+with pale golden veins, which, being numerous and minute,
+have a very charming appearance, somewhat like the pale
+network on black patches which we see in the wings of
+some dragon-flies.</p>
+
+<p>The epiphyte Orchids are also magnificent in beauty.
+One of the handsomest genera is <i>Dendrobium</i>, containing
+many species, mostly natives of Southern Asia
+and the great islands. Perhaps the finest of all is <i>D.
+nobile</i>, of which the sepals and petals are greenish-white,
+tipped with rich purple, and the downy tube-like lip is of
+the same regal hue in the interior, with a pale yellow
+margin.</p>
+
+<p>By the side of this you may set the lovely <i>Huntleya
+violacea</i>, one of the discoveries of Sir R. Schomburgk in
+the interior of Guiana. Its broad wavy petals of the
+softest richest violet, "vary in intensity from deepest
+sapphire to the mild iridescence of opal." This fine
+flower has a melancholy interest from its being associated
+with the death of Sir Robert's friend and fellow-servant,
+Mr Reiss. The gorgeous scenes of tropical
+vegetation in which the plant was found, and the sad accident,
+are thus depicted by the accomplished traveller:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I discovered the <i>Huntleya violacea</i> for the first time
+in October 1837, then on my ascent of the river Essequibo.
+The large cataract, Cumaka Toto, or Silk Cotton
+Fall, obliged us to unload our corials, and to transport
+the luggage overland, in order to avoid the dangers which
+a mass of water, at once so powerful and rapid, and
+bounded by numerous rocks, might offer to our ascent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>
+While the Indians were thus occupied, I rambled about
+one of the small islands, which the diverging arms of the
+river formed in their descent, and the vegetation of which
+had that peculiar lively appearance which is so characteristic
+of the vicinity of cataracts, where a humid cloud,
+the effects of the spray, always hovers around them.
+Blocks of syenite were heaped together; and while their
+black shining surface contrasted strongly with the whitish
+foam of the torrent, and with the curly waves beating
+against the rocky barriers&mdash;as if angry at the boundary
+which they attempted to set to the incensed element&mdash;their
+dome-shaped summits were adorned with a vegetation
+at once rich and interesting. <i>Heliconias</i>, <i>Tillandsias</i>,
+<i>Bromelias</i>, <i>Ferns</i>, <i>Pothos</i>, <i>Cyrtopodiums</i>, <i>Epidendrums</i>,
+<i>Peperomias</i>, all appeared to struggle for the place
+which so small a surface afforded to them. The lofty
+mountains, Akaywanna, Comute, or Taquia, and Tuasinki,
+recede and form an amphitheatre, affording a highly interesting
+scene, and no doubt the most picturesque of that
+part of the river Essequibo.</p>
+
+<p>"I was attracted by a number of <i>Oncidium altissimum</i>
+which covered one of the rocky piles, and astonished me
+by their long stems and bright colour of their flowers,
+when my attention was more powerfully attracted by a
+plant, the appearance of which, although different from
+the pseudo-bulbous tribe, proclaimed, nevertheless, that
+it belonged to that interesting family, the <i>Orchide&aelig;</i>. The
+specimens were numerous; and clothed almost, with their
+vivid green, the rugged and dark trunks of the gigantic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>
+trees, which contributed to the majestic scene around me.
+It was not long before I discovered one of these plants in
+flower. It was as singular as it was new to me;&mdash;the
+sepals and petals of a rich purple and velvet-like appearance;
+the helmet, to which form the column bore
+the nearest resemblance, of the same colour; the labellum
+striated with yellow.</p>
+
+<p>"In the sequel of my expeditions, I found it generally in
+the vicinity of cataracts, where a humid vapour is constantly
+suspended, and where the rays of the sun are
+scarcely admitted through a thick canopy of foliage. I
+traced the <i>Huntleya</i> from the sixth parallel of latitude to
+the shady mountains of the Acaria chain near the equator;
+but in its fullest splendour it appeared at one of the
+small islands among the Christmas cataracts in the river
+Berbice. There is a melancholy circumstance connected
+with the plant, which its appearance never fails to recall
+to my memory. Their singular beauty at this spot induced
+my friend, Mr Reiss, who accompanied me as a
+volunteer during the unfortunate expedition up the river
+Berbice, to draw and paint it on the spot. He was yet
+occupied with this task when the last of our canoes was
+to descend the dangerous cataract. He arose from his
+occupation, desirous to descend with the Indians in the
+canoe, although against my wish, but he persisted. The
+canoe approached the fall; it upset; and, of thirteen
+persons who were in it at the time, he was the only one
+who paid the rash attempt with his life. He is now
+buried opposite that island, the richest vegetable pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>ductions
+of which it was his last occupation to imitate on
+paper and in colours."<a name="FNanchor_220_220" id="FNanchor_220_220"></a><a href="#Footnote_220_220" class="fnanchor">[220]</a></p>
+
+<p>We might linger long on these flowers of strange loveliness,
+but space compels us to forsake them and to turn
+to some other examples in the wide range of Flora's
+domains. How glorious a sight must be the sheeted
+Rhododendrons of the Himalaya peaks, on whose lofty
+elevations Dr Hooker found these fine plants in great
+prominence, "clothing the mountain-slopes with a deep-green
+mantle, glowing with bells of brilliant colours; of
+the eight or ten species growing here, [on the Zemir, in
+Sikkim, twelve thousand feet above the sea,] every bush
+was loaded with as great a profusion of blossoms as are
+their northern congeners in our English gardens!"<a name="FNanchor_221_221" id="FNanchor_221_221"></a><a href="#Footnote_221_221" class="fnanchor">[221]</a></p>
+
+<p>The noblest of the genus is that which is dedicated to
+Lady Dalhousie. It is an epiphyte, being always found
+growing, like the Orchids, among mosses and ferns, upon
+the trunks of large trees, especially oaks and magnolias,
+at an elevation of from seven to ten thousand feet. In
+this particular, in the fragrance of its noble white blossoms,
+in its slender habit, in the whorled arrangement of
+its branches, and in the length of time during which it
+continues in flower in its native regions, viz., from April
+to July, it differs from all its fellows of the same genus
+that inhabit northern India.</p>
+
+<p>The flowers are four inches in length and four in
+diameter, with a broad trumpet lip. Their colour is pure
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>white, assuming a delicate rosy tinge as they become old,
+and sometimes becoming spotted with orange. They have
+an odour which resembles that of the lemon.</p>
+
+<p>Of this and the following species Dr Hooker writes from
+Dorjiling, seven thousand feet above the sea:&mdash;"On the
+branches of the immense purple-flowered magnolia, (<i>M.
+Campbellii</i>,) and those of oaks and laurels, <i>Rhododendron
+Dalhousi&aelig;</i> grows epiphytally, a slender shrub bearing
+from three to six white lemon-scented bells, four and a
+half inches long and so many broad, at the end of each
+branch. In the same woods the scarlet Rhododendron
+(<i>R. arboreum</i>) is very scarce, and is outvied by the great
+<i>R. argenteum</i>, which grows as a tree, forty feet high,
+with magnificent leaves twelve to fifteen inches long, deep
+green wrinkled above and silvery below, while the flowers
+are as large as those of <i>R. Dalhousi&aelig;</i> and grow more in
+a cluster. I know nothing of the kind that exceeds in
+beauty the flowering branch of <i>R. argenteum</i>, with its
+wide-spreading foliage and glorious mass of flowers."<a name="FNanchor_222_222" id="FNanchor_222_222"></a><a href="#Footnote_222_222" class="fnanchor">[222]</a></p>
+
+<p>The latter, which is nearly equal to <i>R. Dalhousi&aelig;</i> in
+the size of its blossoms, and perhaps superior to it in
+other respects, is another white-flowered species. It is, as
+described above, a tree with large massive leaves of a
+silvery tint beneath. When young, they are exquisitely
+beautiful, being encased in long flesh-coloured cones of
+large scales, of very ornamental appearance. The flowers
+are three inches long, forming a compact globose head.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span></p>
+<p>They secrete a large quantity of honey, which is said to
+be poisonous, as is also that of <i>R. Dalhousi&aelig;</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The grandeur and beauty of the same genus are celebrated
+by Mr Low, as he saw the species growing in
+Borneo, where too their parasitic character struck him, as
+it had done Dr Hooker:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps the most gorgeous of the native plants are
+the various species of the genus <i>Rhododendron</i>, which
+here assume a peculiar form, being found epiphytal upon
+the trunks of trees, as the genera of the tribe <i>Orchidace&oelig;</i>.
+This habit, induced probably by the excessive moisture of
+the climate, is not, however, confined to the Ericaceous
+plants, but also prevails with the genera <i>Fagria</i>, <i>Combretum</i>,
+and many others, usually terrestrial; the roots of
+the Rhododendrons, instead of being, as with the species
+[which are] inhabitants of cold climates, small and fibrous,
+become large and fleshy, winding round the trunks of
+the forest trees; the most beautiful one is that which
+I have named in compliment to Mr Brooke. Its large
+heads of flowers are produced in the greatest abundance
+throughout the year: they much exceed in size those of
+any known species, frequently being formed of eighteen
+flowers, which are of all shades, from pale and rich
+yellow to a rich reddish salmon-colour; in the sun, the
+flowers sparkle with a brilliancy resembling that of gold
+dust.</p>
+
+<p>"Four other species which I discovered are very
+gorgeous, but of different colours, one being crimson and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span>
+another red, and the third a rich tint between these two:
+of the fourth I have not yet seen the flowers."<a name="FNanchor_223_223" id="FNanchor_223_223"></a><a href="#Footnote_223_223" class="fnanchor">[223]</a></p>
+
+<p>Take an example from another order. The Lightning-tree
+of Madagascar rises before us in the graphic pages
+of Mr Ellis:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"But the most magnificent objects were the fine trees
+of <i>Astrap&aelig;a Wallichii</i>, or <i>viscosa</i>. The name of this
+Malagasy plant was derived from the word for lightning,
+on account of the brilliancy of its flowers; and Sir Joseph
+Paxton and Dr Lindley have thus spoken of <i>A. Wallichii</i>:&mdash;'One
+of the finest plants ever introduced. And when
+loaded with its magnificent flowers, we think nothing can
+exceed its grandeur.' I had seen a good-sized plant growing
+freely at Mauritius, but here it was in its native
+home, luxuriating on the banks of the stream, its trunk
+a foot in diameter, its broad-leaved branches stretching
+over the water, and its large, pink, globular, composite<a name="FNanchor_224_224" id="FNanchor_224_224"></a><a href="#Footnote_224_224" class="fnanchor">[224]</a>
+flowers, three or four inches in diameter, suspended at
+the end of a fine down-covered stalk, nine inches or a foot
+in length. These, hanging by hundreds along the course
+of the stream, surpassed anything of the kind I had seen,
+or could possibly have imagined. I frequently met with
+the <i>Astrap&aelig;a</i> afterwards, but always growing near the
+water, and its branches frequently stretching over a lake
+or river."<a name="FNanchor_225_225" id="FNanchor_225_225"></a><a href="#Footnote_225_225" class="fnanchor">[225]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span></p><p>The Leguminous or Papilionaceous order presents many
+plants of striking beauty, both in foliage, which is often
+of extreme lightness and elegance, and also in blossom.
+They are among the gayest and most graceful of plants in
+all regions. The magnificent vegetation of the Mauritius
+contains one of notable glory, the Flamboyant, thus noticed
+by Ellis:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Conspicuous beyond all the rest is the stately and gorgeous
+<i>Poinciana regia</i>, compact-growing and regular in
+form, but retaining something of the acacia habit, rising
+sometimes to the height of forty or fifty feet, and, between
+the months of December and April, presenting, amidst its
+delicate pea-green pinnated leaves, one vast pyramid of
+bunches of bright, dazzling scarlet flowers. Seen sometimes
+over the tops of the houses, and at others in an
+open space, standing forth in truly regal splendour, this
+is certainly one of the most magnificent of trees. Its
+common name is <i>mille fleurs</i>, or <i>flamboyant</i>."<a name="FNanchor_226_226" id="FNanchor_226_226"></a><a href="#Footnote_226_226" class="fnanchor">[226]</a></p>
+
+<p>I have had the delight of seeing the <i>Poinciana pulcherrima</i>
+in Jamaica, where it goes by the name of
+Flower-feuce, or sometimes, the "Pride of Barbadoes."
+It is, when in flower, a gorgeous mass of scarlet and
+orange, and it seemed to me the most magnificent thing
+in its way, that I had ever seen. It does not, however,
+attain the dimensions of its antipode, rarely exceeding
+those of a large shrub.</p>
+
+<p>I know not what the Burmese tree is, which is alluded
+to in the following extracts from letters which I have
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>received from my esteemed friend, Captain G. E. Bulger,
+of the 10th Regiment:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be exceedingly obliged by your telling me
+whether you are familiar with the tree known in the
+West Indies and South America as the 'Bois Immortel;'
+and whether you think the leaf herewith sent belongs to
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"During the cool season in Burmah, the forest presents
+a gorgeous sight, from the multitude of scarlet blossoms
+which a large kind of tree puts forth; and I am strongly
+inclined to think that this splendid ornament of the
+jungles is, at all events, allied to the Bois Immortel of the
+Western World.</p>
+
+<p>"The tree I speak of begins to flower about the middle
+of December, at which time the leaves commence to
+wither and drop off. By the end of January, when it is
+in full bloom, there is hardly a leaf remaining, but it
+continues one mass of scarlet blossom until March. The
+flower is shaped like that of the pea.</p>
+
+<p>"If you can enlighten me on this point I shall be
+indeed very much obliged."</p>
+
+<p>I was compelled to confess my ignorance even of the
+South American beauty, and my friend thus replied:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I first read of the 'Bois Immortel' in 'Waterton's
+Wanderings,' and I subsequently saw a coloured representation
+of the tree in Mr Gould's magnificent work on
+Humming-Birds. I think the specific name was also
+given in that work, but it is some time ago, and I have
+almost forgotten what it was like. Since I saw these two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>
+works, I have heard officers speak of the splendour of the
+South American forests during the season of 'Le Bois
+Immortel,' and have heard more than one say that they
+believed nothing on earth could be more magnificent than
+'matchless Trinidad' when these trees are in full bloom.
+The autumnal beauty of the North American woods is,
+doubtless, familiar to you, and I question very much
+whether there is anything richer or more lovely to be
+found even in South America."</p>
+
+<p>Even the humblest orders of plants have the element of
+beauty bestowed on them with no niggard hand. Who
+would have expected, among the <i>Chenopode&aelig;</i>, and, above
+all, in the lowly little Saltworts, to find such a glowing
+scene as Mr Atkinson describes?&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"We were now on a heavy sandy steppe&mdash;part of the
+Sackha Desert, which extends into the Gobi&mdash;and vegetation
+was so very scant, that even the steppe grass had
+disappeared. The <i>Salsola</i> was growing in a broad belt
+around the small salt lakes, its colour varying from orange
+to the deepest crimson. These lakes have a most singular
+appearance when seen at a distance. The sparkling of
+the crystallised salt, which often reflected the deep crimson
+around, gave them the appearance of diamonds and
+rubies set in a gorgeous framework. I rode round several
+times, admiring their beauty, and regretting that it was
+impossible to stay and visit a large lake, which I observed,
+ten or fifteen versts distant, surrounded with green, orange,
+and crimson."<a name="FNanchor_227_227" id="FNanchor_227_227"></a><a href="#Footnote_227_227" class="fnanchor">[227]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span></p>
+<p>The microscope, too, will bring out beauties in flowers
+which the unassisted eye is incompetent fully to recognise.
+If we take a scarlet Geranium, or a purple Heartsease,
+the eye is delighted with the brilliancy of the colouring;
+but on placing a petal of either on a slip of glass, under a
+pretty high magnifying power, and reflecting the full
+rays of the sun through the object, the rich gorgeousness
+of the hue, the sparkling gem-like radiance of the surface,
+and the exquisitely-regular form of the round cells, with
+their clear interstices, form a spectacle of glorious beauty
+that almost surpasses the conception of one who has not
+seen it.</p>
+
+<p>I shall close this chapter, which might easily have been
+expanded into a volume, with a reference to an humble
+and minute plant, whose fairy loveliness, combined with
+an almost unkillable hardiness of constitution, has won
+for it a place in every garden, however unpretending, and
+however ungenial in its locality,&mdash;the London-pride. This
+exquisite little Saxifrage, general favourite as it is, requires
+the microscope to bring out its beauties to advantage, but
+under a good instrument you cannot fail to be charmed
+with it. I have one before me at this moment, and will
+describe what I see.</p>
+
+<p>First, I notice, on a cursory glance, that the whole
+plant is clothed with tiny hairs; I take one of the flower-stalks
+and examine these with a power of three hundred
+diameters. Each now becomes a stem of glass-like clearness,
+tapering upwards to a point, where it bears a richly
+crimson cup, and in this is seated a globule of colourless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span>
+glass, just as an acorn sits in its shell. The multitude of
+these organs&mdash;glandular hairs, the botanist calls them&mdash;standing
+up side by side, rising to varying heights, and
+displaying various degrees of development, is a very pleasing
+sight.</p>
+
+<p>I turn to an unopened bud, putting on a lower power,
+and viewing it as an opaque object, with reflected light by
+the aid of the Lieberkuhn. Here are the parting sepals
+of the calyx, painted with rose-pink and pea-green, and
+studded all over with the knobbed hairs just noticed; the
+coloured surface is rough with granules, but it is the
+roughness of glass, for every knob gleams and sparkles with
+light. The corolla, a little white ball, displays its petals
+smoothly folded over each other, and their surface has the
+same appearance of granular glass as that of the calyx.</p>
+
+<p>But now let me examine this blossom just expanded
+this morning,&mdash;the very first of the season, by the way.
+I must have a low power for this, eighty diameters, or so.
+Oh, how exquisite! The little saucer of five oval petals,
+each of snowy whiteness, bearing its bow of lovely crimson
+specks, with a spot of gamboge-yellow for the chord,
+and the whole sparkling with glassy points as before.
+The pale red germen in the centre, rising into two points
+of snow, their rosy tips pressed close together, as if the
+twins were kissing. The ten stamens, five short alternating
+with five long ones, and each bearing its pretty
+kidney-shaped anther of pale scarlet. No; all are not
+kidney-shaped; for here is one which has burst, and the
+grains of red pollen are seen covering its rough purple sur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span>face;
+and here is one stamen from the point of which the
+anther has gone, leaving only two or three pollen-grains
+adhering. Behind all, I see the sepals of the calyx, peeping
+out between the petals, and forming a fine dark background
+for them, and for the longer filaments.</p>
+
+<p>And now I say to my readers, one and all,&mdash;you may
+not have the opportunity to examine the glorious tropical
+Orchids, or the gorgeous Flamboyant, but go and pluck a
+flower of the London-pride, and you will have before your
+eyes such a production of Divine handiwork as may well
+excite the admiration and adoration of an angel.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI.</h2>
+
+<h2>PARASITES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Vast as is this round world on which we live, its surface
+is not nearly large enough for all the living creatures
+which are ordained to inhabit it. Multitudes of animals
+do not walk on the ground, or swim in the waters, or fly
+in the air, but find the scene of their abode on or in the
+bodies of other animals. Multitudes of plants do not
+grow out of the soil, but attach themselves to other plants,
+and draw their sustenance and support thence. Nay,
+there are parasites upon parasites, and this, according to
+Hood, in an infinitely descending series.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Great fleas have little fleas<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Upon their backs to bite 'em;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And little fleas have lesser fleas;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And so <i>ad infinitum</i>."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Perhaps the poet's imagination ran a little ahead of his
+science here; but the idea of an <i>infinite</i> succession of
+parasites, like nests of pill-boxes, is surely a funny one.
+There is nothing funny, however, in the thought "that
+even man," who was made in the image of God, "bears
+about in his vital organs various forms of loathsome
+creatures, which riot on his fluids, and consume the very
+substance of his tissues while ensconced where no efforts of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>
+his can dislodge them, no application destroy them. So
+it is; and few physical facts are better calculated to humble
+man, and stain the pride of his glory, than to feel that
+he may at any moment be nourishing a horrid tape-worm
+in his alimentary canal, or that his muscles may be filled
+with millions of microscopic <i>trichin&aelig;</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I will not dwell on these; though, if I were writing a
+book of pure science, there is a wondrous array of facts of
+the most striking and interesting character, connected
+with the structure, the metamorphoses, and the habits, of
+the Entozoic Worms, which I might present to my
+readers. It is more pleasant to consider other facts,
+perhaps not less marvellous, which, as they do not come
+quite so home to our personal feelings, will not excite
+horror and disgust in our minds.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>economy</i> of creation is remarkable. He who, by
+His divine manipulation converted five loaves and two
+small fishes into a hearty meal for five thousand men,
+besides women and children, and who could, with the
+same ease have made them a hundred times as much,
+said, when the meal was over, "Gather up the fragments,
+that nothing be lost." And, when He spread the earth
+with life, though His resources were infinite, He ordained
+that one object, itself healthfully enjoying life, and fulfilling
+its own proper ends of being, should be a microcosm,
+on which another range of life should find its
+sphere, and on which it should disport, as on an independent
+world. I have often admired, in the gorgeous
+tropical forests, what a wilderness of vegetation a single<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>
+tree supports; what numbers of orchids and wild pines
+spring out of the forks, what creepers and lianes hang
+and twine about its branches, what elegant ferns cluster
+on the horizontal limbs, what snake-like cacti creep from
+bough to bough, what mosses, and jungermanni&aelig; crowd in
+every crevice, what many-coloured lichens stud the rugged
+bark! And then animal life is swarming in all this great
+field of parasitic vegetation. Reptiles and birds, snails
+and slugs, insects and millepedes, and spiders and worms
+nestle by thousands in such prolific situations, so that a
+great old tropical tree, one of the giant figs or cotton-trees,
+is a very museum in itself.</p>
+
+<p>And in my wanderings along the sea-edge here at home
+how often have I been amazed at the diverse population,
+plant and animal, which crowds a single oar-weed, or
+tangle! The stem fringed with delicate red-weeds, as the
+minute <i>Rhodymeni&aelig;</i>, and <i>Polysyphoni&aelig;</i>, and <i>Callithamnia</i>;
+the tortuous roots studded with Anemones, with
+<i>Flustr&aelig;</i> and <i>Leprali&aelig;</i>, and multitudes of other <i>Polyzoa</i>,
+with tiny Polypes of many kinds, with Barnacles and
+Limpets, and sheltering small Crustacea, and Mites, and
+Annelids by scores.</p>
+
+<p>Mr Darwin has an interesting passage on this subject,
+evoked by the profusion of parasitic life on the long sea-weed
+of Cape Horn (<i>Macrocystis</i>). "The number of
+living creatures" he remarks, "whose existence intimately
+depends on the Kelp is wonderful. A great volume might
+be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds
+of sea-weed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>
+float on the surface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines
+as to be of a white colour. We find exquisitely
+delicate structures, some inhabited by simple hydra-like
+polypi, others by more organised kinds, and
+beautiful compound Ascidi&aelig;. On the leaves also,
+various patelliform shells, Trochi, uncovered molluscs,
+and some bivalves are attached. Innumerable crustacea
+frequent every part of the plant. On shaking the great
+entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttle-fish,
+crabs of all orders, sea-eggs, star-fish, beautiful Holuthuri&aelig;,
+Planari&aelig;, and crawling nereidous animals of a
+multitude of forms, all fall out together. Often as I recurred
+to a branch of the kelp, I never failed to discover
+animals of new and curious structure. In Chiloe, where
+the kelp does not thrive very well, the numerous shells,
+corallines, and crustacea are absent; but there yet remain
+a few of the Flustrace&aelig;, and some compound Ascidi&aelig;;
+the latter, however, are of different species from those in
+Terra del Fuego: we here see the fucus possessing a wider
+range than the animals which use it as an abode. I can
+only compare these great aquatic forests of the southern
+hemisphere, with the terrestrial ones in the intertropical
+regions.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet if in any country a forest was destroyed, I do not
+believe nearly so many species of animals would perish as
+would here, from the destruction of the kelp. Amidst
+the leaves of this plant numerous species of fish live,
+which nowhere else could find food or shelter: with their
+destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>
+the otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also;
+and lastly, the Fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this
+miserable land, would redouble his cannibal feast, decrease
+in numbers, and perhaps cease to exist."</p>
+
+<p>I have alluded to the epiphytic plants which are so
+abundant in the tropics, and which add so greatly to the
+gorgeousness of the forests there. The most remarkable,
+or, at all events, the best known, of these are the <i>Orchide&aelig;</i>,
+to which, as I have already had occasion more than once
+to speak of them, I shall do little more than refer here.
+These establish themselves in the forks, upon the greater
+limbs, and even in the roughnesses of the bark of the
+trunk, adhering by their long, interlaced roots, which look
+like knotted whip-cord, and forming their bunches of
+psuedo-bulbs, whence their succulent, thick, but elegant
+leaves project,&mdash;a great tuft of verdure; and their fantastic
+flower-scapes wave in the air or droop with their weight
+of gorgeous bloom. Thus they derive their nourishment
+from the humid atmosphere alone, being dependent on the
+friendly tree only for support and elevation. Humidity
+seems essential to the vigour of these and most other
+forms of parasitic vegetation. In the deep shady, gloomy
+forests of Java, which constitute the zone of vegetation
+around the base of the mountains, these plants abound,
+where the air is heavy and damp with the vapours that
+cannot ascend, and where the density of the foliage is
+almost frightful; where heat, moisture, and a most extraordinarily
+deep and rich vegetable soil combine to produce
+wood of a fungus-like softness, and an inconceivable abund<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>ance
+of twining plants and epiphytes. In those forests,
+more especially where huge fig-trees constitute the principal
+part of the timber, intermingled with the most
+tropical forms of vegetation, such as <i>Sterculiace&aelig;</i>, <i>Sapindace&aelig;</i>,
+and <i>Artocarpe&aelig;</i>, tufts of <i>Orchide&aelig;</i> attain a vast
+size and luxuriance, in company with Aroideous and
+Zinziberaceous plants.<a name="FNanchor_228_228" id="FNanchor_228_228"></a><a href="#Footnote_228_228" class="fnanchor">[228]</a> In Demerara, Mr Henchman
+found masses of <i>Oncidium altissimum</i> and <i>Maxillaria
+Parkeri</i> of wide dimensions, and so densely growing as to
+defy any attempt at intrusion; and on the Spanish main
+he saw the <i>Epidendrum</i> known as the "Spread Eagle"
+clasping enormous trees, and covering them from the top
+to the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>The fig-trees, which are among the most gigantic of the
+tropical forest-trees, and which support an immense profusion
+of epiphytes, are themselves frequently parasitic
+and epiphyte in their early condition. It is not uncommon
+in Jamaica to see a network of roots partially
+embracing the trunk of some great tree, far up its
+column, and gradually creeping round and downward. I
+have seen an old wall so covered, presenting a very curious
+spectacle. The roots of a wide-spreading fig growing out
+of the summit of the wall, had spread over its perpendicular
+surface, down to the earth, all in the same plane,
+clinging to the wall; the chief roots were as thick as a
+man's leg, but subordinate roots had proceeded from one to
+another, anastomosing in all directions (if I may use
+such a term), so as to make a most elaborate network of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span>
+a multitude of meshes of various angular forms and sizes.
+These cross-roots were <i>at each extremity</i> united with the
+larger roots, and looked as if the whole network had been
+skilfully carved out of one solid plank of wood, by cutting
+out the areas or meshes, and rounding the component
+bars; the very bark that covered the whole was continuous,
+where the roots united, as if they had been always integrally
+one.</p>
+
+<p>The only mode in which I can account for this singular
+phenomenon is the following hypothesis:&mdash;The seed of
+the tree was originally deposited on the summit of the
+wall, beneath the eaves. As it germinated, the roots ran
+down towards the earth, some perpendicularly, some
+diagonally; but all creeping along the surface of the
+wall, no roots having shot out from its perpendicular.
+As these roots increased, they sent out side rootlets,
+which, still running on the face of the wall, by and by
+came in contact with another of the primary roots.
+Then, instead of creeping <i>over</i> it, as the roots of other
+trees would have done, the soft tip of the rootlet actually
+united with the substance of the root at the point of contact,
+the fibres of the two becoming interlaced, and their
+united surfaces gradually becoming covered with a common
+bark. The repetition of this process had produced
+the very curious wooden net which I have attempted to
+describe.</p>
+
+<p>A still more remarkable example of this parasitic mode
+of growth I have seen in the same island. By the side of
+a mountain road was a large fig-tree, the base of whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>
+trunk was about thirty feet from the ground. Thence it
+reared itself up pillar-like towards the heavens, and
+spread abroad its vast horizontal array of branches
+across the road. From the same point there descended
+to the earth a hollow cone of roots, interwoven and anastomosed,
+especially at the upper parts, in the same manner
+as those of the boiling-house wall, but forming towards
+the bottom only three or four flattened irregular columns.
+Into the area inclosed by this network of roots a person
+might enter, for it was about six feet wide, and, looking
+up, behold the base of the trunk eight or ten yards above
+his head.</p>
+
+<p>The explanation of this curious phenomenon depends
+upon the tendency just mentioned. On this site once
+stood a large tree of some other species, probably a cotton-tree
+(<i>Eriodendron</i>), or some other soft-timbered kind.
+The little scarlet berry of a Fig-tree was carried by some
+vagrant Banana-bird or Pigeon to its boughs, and there
+devoured. After the little truant had finished his morsel,
+he perhaps wiped his beak against the rough bark
+of the trunk, beside the branch on which he was seated.
+Some of the minute seeds, enveloped in mucilage, were
+thus left on the tree, which the rain presently washed
+down into the broad concavity of the forks, where, among
+moss and rotten leaves, it soon germinated and grew.
+The roots gradually crept down the trunk of the supporting
+tree, closely clinging to its bark, and by their interlacement
+at length formed a living case, enveloping it on
+every side, and penetrating the earth around its base.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span>
+The growth of these, and also of the inclosed tree, daily
+induced a tighter and tighter pressure on the latter,
+which at length arrived at such a degree as to stop the
+circulation of the sap between the bark and the wood.
+Death, of course, was the result, and speedy decay reduced
+the supporting tree to a heap of mouldering dust: while
+the parasite, now able to maintain its own position by
+its hollow cone of roots, increased in size and strength,
+and overtopped its fellows of the forest;&mdash;<i>a tree standing
+upon stilts</i>.</p>
+
+<p>A few years ago I was struck with the appearance of
+an East Indian species of the same genus in one of the
+conservatories at Kew. Three shoots had run up the
+wall, clinging so close, that the leaves looked as if they
+were actually glued to the bricks, one over the other,
+in the most regular manner. Yet, on examination, I saw
+that the leaves did not adhere at all; the only support
+was that of the tiny rootlets which proceeded laterally
+from each stem, which the leaves concealed. The appearance
+of the whole was so curious, with the pale growing
+bud peeping out from beneath the topmost leaf, that I
+was greatly attracted by it. The base of the plant was
+in a pot, but the attendant informed me that this connexion
+was about to be cut off, by severing each shoot at
+the point where it first seized the wall. The leaves above
+this point, by their superior size and vigour, shewed that
+the plant was already independent of its pot, and that it
+was capable of supporting itself, like a proper air-plant,
+by imbibition from the atmosphere alone, needing nothing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>
+more than support in its upright position, which it obtained
+from the wall by its clinging aerial rootlets.</p>
+
+<p>Every one who has wandered in a primeval forest of
+the tropics, whether in the eastern or the western hemisphere,
+has been struck by the inconceivable profusion of
+the climbers and twiners with which the trees are laced
+together. They are found from the thickness of a warship's
+cable to that of pack-thread; the stronger ones
+often uncouthly twisted together, and binding tree to tree.
+They are of the orders <i>Malpighace&aelig;</i>, <i>Apocyane&aelig;</i>, <i>Asclepiade&aelig;</i>,
+<i>Bignoniace&aelig;</i>, &amp;c., and often are adorned with the
+most brilliant flowers.</p>
+
+<p>I have before cited descriptions of these wonderful
+lianes, as they occur in the forests of South America; my
+readers may like to peruse Sir Emerson Tennent's graphic
+sketch of those of Ceylon:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is the trees of older and loftier growth that exhibit
+the rank luxuriance of these wonderful epiphytes in the
+most striking manner. They are tormented by climbing
+plants of such extraordinary dimensions that many of
+them exceed in diameter the girth of a man; and these
+gigantic appendages are to be seen surmounting the tallest
+trees in the forest, grasping their stems in firm convolutions,
+and then flinging their monstrous tendrils over the
+larger limbs till they reach the top, whence they descend
+to the ground in huge festoons, and, after including
+another and another tree in their successive toils, they
+once more ascend to the summit, and wind the whole
+into a maze of living network as massy as if formed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span>
+the cable of a line-of-battle ship. When, by and by, the
+trees on which this singular fabric has become suspended
+give way under its weight, or sink by their own decay,
+the fallen trunk speedily disappears, while the convolutions
+of climbers continue to grow on, exhibiting one of
+the most marvellous and peculiar living mounds of confusion
+that it is possible to fancy. Frequently one of
+these creepers may be seen holding by one extremity the
+summit of a tall tree, and grasping with the other an
+object at some distance near the earth, between which it
+is strained as tight and straight as if hauled over a block.
+In all probability the young tendril had been originally
+fixed in this position by the wind, and retained in it till
+it had gained its maturity, where it has the appearance
+of having been artificially arranged as if to support a
+falling tree."<a name="FNanchor_229_229" id="FNanchor_229_229"></a><a href="#Footnote_229_229" class="fnanchor">[229]</a></p>
+
+<p>Leaving the vegetable world, we may find some very
+curious examples of parasitism among Insects. Every
+one who has paid the slightest attention to this class of
+animals is aware that there are slender flies called <i>Ichneumons</i>,
+whose grubs are hatched and reared in the
+bodies of other insects. Many of these have the ovipositor
+greatly lengthened, and projecting like a very slender
+needle from the extremity of the abdomen. In some species,
+this needle-like organ is three or four times the entire
+length of the body; and this great longitude is intended
+to reach the pup&aelig; of wasps and similar insects which inhabit
+deep holes. The needle itself is well worthy of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>study. It is not simple, but composed of two pieces forming
+a sheath, which open and reveal a central finer filament,
+furnished at its tip (in <i>Pimpla manifestator</i>, for
+example) with saw-like teeth. With this instrument,
+which possesses great elasticity and flexibility, the insect
+works, as a carpenter with his brad-awl, boring through
+the clay, with which the wasp has closed up the hole
+that contains her grub, until the tip of the ovipositor
+reaches the soft body of the insect. Into this it pierces,
+and deposits an egg, and is withdrawn. The slight puncture
+is scarcely felt by the grub, which continues to eat
+and grow; the inserted egg, however, presently hatches,
+and produces the ichneumon-grub, which begins to feed
+on the fat of the wasp-grub, instinctively avoiding the
+vital parts, until the latter has attained nearly its full
+size, and is ready to pass into the pupa state; when, its
+vigour being gone, it fails to accomplish the metamorphosis,
+the insidious intruder, now also full grown, taking its
+place, and by and by issuing from the hole a perfect Ichneumon.</p>
+
+<p>How often has the enthusiastic young entomologist
+been subjected to sore disappointment by the parasitic
+habits of these <i>Ichneumonid&aelig;</i>! He has obtained some
+fine caterpillar, a great rarity, and by dint of much searching
+of his Westwood or his Stainton, feels quite certain
+that it is the larva of some much-prized butterfly. He
+ascertains its leaf-food; which it eats promisingly; all
+goes on encouragingly. Surely it cannot be far from the
+pupa state now! When some morning he is horrified to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span>
+behold, instead of the chrysalis, a host of filthy little
+grubs eating their way out of the skin of his beautiful
+caterpillar, or covering its remains with their tiny yellow
+cocoons.</p>
+
+<p>Some of these parasites are so minute that their young
+are hatched and reared in the <i>eggs</i> of other insects.
+Bonnet found that the egg of a butterfly, itself no bigger
+than the head of a minikin pin, was inhabited by several
+of the stranger grubs; for out of twenty such eggs, he
+says, "a prodigious quantity" of the grubs were evolved.</p>
+
+<p>A very interesting tribe of insects, so diverse from all
+other known forms as to constitute an order among themselves,
+that of the <i>Strepsiptera</i>, passes its youth in the
+bodies of certain wild bees. Mr Kirby's account of his
+first detection of one of these, though often quoted, is so
+interesting that I must cite it afresh. "I had previously
+observed," he remarks, "upon bees something that I took
+to be a kind of mite (<i>Acarus</i>), which appeared to be
+immovably fixed just at the inosculations of the dorsal
+segments of the abdomen. At length, finding three or
+four upon an <i>Andr&aelig;na nigro&aelig;nea</i>, I determined not to
+lose the opportunity of taking one off to examine and
+describe; but what was my astonishment when, upon my
+attempting to disengage it with a pin, I drew forth from
+the body of the bee a white fleshy larva, a quarter of an
+inch in length, the head of which I had mistaken for an
+acarus (<i>bee louse</i>)! After I had examined one specimen,
+I attempted to extract a second; and the reader may
+imagine how greatly my astonishment was increased,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span>
+when, after I had drawn it out but a little way, I saw its
+skin burst, and a head as black as ink, with large staring
+eyes and antenn&aelig;, consisting of two branches, break forth,
+and move itself quickly from side to side. It looked like
+a little imp of darkness just emerged from the infernal
+regions. My eagerness to set free from its confinement
+this extraordinary animal may be easily conjectured.
+Indeed, I was impatient to become better acquainted
+with so singular a creature. When it was completely
+disengaged, and I had secured it from making its escape,
+I set myself to examine it as accurately as possible; and
+I found, after a careful inquiry, that I had got a nondescript,
+whose very class seemed dubious."</p>
+
+<p>Mr Newman, in an essay of much value,<a name="FNanchor_230_230" id="FNanchor_230_230"></a><a href="#Footnote_230_230" class="fnanchor">[230]</a> has shewn
+that the larv&aelig; of this tribe of insects are born alive, that
+they attach themselves to the abdomens of wild bees,
+nestling among the hair, and that they are thus introduced
+into the nest of the bee. Here it is somewhat uncertain
+how they are sustained at first, for at this time
+the bee-grubs are not hatched; probably they remain
+without food for some days, or devour a portion of the
+pollen and honey stored up. As soon, however, as the
+bee-grub is hatched, the Stylops-larva undergoes a metamorphosis,
+sheds its six legs, and becomes a footless
+maggot; it pierces the soft skin of the bee-grub, and
+feeds on its juices, till its maturity, as the Ichneumon on
+the body of the caterpillar.</p>
+
+<p>When the perfect bee emerges in the following spring,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>it bears the full-grown Stylops, protruding from the rings
+of its abdomen. The latter is in pupa, all the organs
+being distinct and separate, but wrapped together, and
+inclosed in separate pellicles; very soon, it emerges, as described
+by Kirby, and escapes, leaving a great unsightly
+cavity in the body of the bee. This is the male: the
+female never escapes, but lays its eggs on the bee in
+which it has been reared, and then dies.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring we frequently see among herbage a great
+uncouth beetle of a dark blue-black hue, with short wing-cases
+and long, heavy body, which discharges drops of
+yellow fluid when handled, and is therefore called the
+Oil-beetle (<i>Mel&ouml;e proscarab&aelig;us</i>). The early stages of
+this beetle have much affinity with those of the <i>Stylops</i>.
+The beetle lays a number of yellow eggs in a hole in the
+earth; these produce little active six-footed larv&aelig;, resembling
+lice, which crawl to the summit of dandelion and
+other flowers in the sunshine, and await the visit of a bee.
+On the arrival of one, the active grub immediately clings to
+its body, and is carried to the nest, not, however, to introduce
+itself parasitically into the body of the bee-grub, but
+to feed on the provision which the parent bee has stored
+up for its own young. Thus it becomes very fat, and
+grows to a size much larger than that of the full-grown
+bee-grub, having early dropped its six long clinging legs,
+which, having performed their proper function in catching
+hold of a bee, are no longer needed. It changes to a perfect
+beetle in autumn, lies in the bee's nest all the winter,
+and emerges in the spring.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The large jelly-like Medus&aelig; which in summer are seen
+floating around our coasts, driving themselves along by
+alternate contractions and expansions of their umbrella,
+are frequently infested by little creatures of widely different
+organisation, Crustaceans belonging to the genera
+<i>Hyperia and Metoecus</i>. On the beautiful <i>Chrysaora</i> of
+the southern coast I have seen the <i>Metoecus medusarum</i>,
+a little shrimp about half-an-inch in length, with enormous
+lustrous green eyes, which takes up his residence in
+the cavities of the sub-umbrella,&mdash;dwelling in them as in
+so many spacious and commodious apartments, of which
+he takes possession, evidently without asking leave of the
+landlord, or paying him even the compliment of a peppercorn
+rent. Here he snugly ensconces himself, and feels
+so much at home, that he is not afraid to leave his dwelling
+now and then, to take a swim in the free water, returning
+to his chamber after his exercise; and here he
+rears his numerous family, which, in the form of tiny
+white specks, very much unlike their parents in shape,
+stud the membranes of the jelly-fish.</p>
+
+<p>But, what is stranger still, Mr M'Cready has recently
+discovered in the harbour of Charleston in North America,
+a <i>Medusa</i> which is parasitic upon another <i>Medusa</i>.
+<i>Cunina octonaria</i> does not swim freely in the water,
+but inhabits the cavity of the bell of <i>Turritopsis nutricula</i>.
+"Not only does the latter furnish a shelter
+and dwelling-place for the larv&aelig; during their development;
+it also serves as their nurse, by allowing the
+parasites, whilst adhering by their tentacles, to draw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span>
+nourishment out of its mouth by means of a large proboscis.
+In point of fact, the relation between them is of
+so unprecedented a nature, that the author may well be
+excused for having at first taken the impudent parasite
+for the gemmiparous progeny of the sheltering Medusa.
+The youngest state of this parasitic Medusa observed by
+the author formed a ciliated body of clavate form, adhering
+to the cavity of the bell by means of the slender
+stalk in which it terminated. The first change consists in
+the emission, from the thick end, of two slender flexible
+tentacles, and in the formation of a central cavity by
+liquefaction. At this stage of development, the author frequently
+observed gemmation taking place at the thicker end,
+sometimes frequently repeated. Subsequently the number
+of tentacles becomes doubled. These bend together over
+the clavate extremity, and are then employed, instead of
+the thin end of the body, in adhering to the cavity of the
+sheltering Medusa. The thin extremity then acquires a
+mouth, and may be recognised as a stomachal peduncle,
+which is employed, as above indicated, in obtaining
+nourishment. The morphological nature of the proboscis
+becomes still more distinct when, after the lapse of some
+little time, an annular fold makes its appearance immediately
+under the tentacles, which is recognisable
+from its form, and from the formation in it of (eight)
+otolithic capsules, as the first indication of the future bell.
+Simultaneously with the otolithic capsules, four rudimentary
+tentacles make their appearance between the four
+tentacles. The Medusa remains in this stage of develop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>ment
+for a long time. The bell gradually becomes more
+freely developed, and at last, by the reduction and entire
+disappearance of the stomachal peduncle, becomes the
+most essential part of the Medusa, after it has left its
+previous dwelling-place in the bell of the <i>Turritopsis</i>.
+The bell nevertheless retains for some time its earlier
+lobed form and unequal tentacles."<a name="FNanchor_231_231" id="FNanchor_231_231"></a><a href="#Footnote_231_231" class="fnanchor">[231]</a></p>
+
+<p>More remarkable even than this association is the fact
+that certain true Fishes habitually reside in the stomachs
+of star-fishes. This circumstance, which had been observed
+in the Oriental Archipelago by MM. Quoy and
+Gaimard, and by Dr Bleeker, has recently been confirmed
+by Dr Doleschall, who has written a very interesting
+Memoir on it.</p>
+
+<p>This learned naturalist states that the fact of the connexion
+between the fish and the star-fish is well known
+to most of the fishermen in Amboyna, and that he was
+able to obtain a sufficiency of specimens for examination;
+but as the star-fishes (and with them the fishes) speedily died
+in confinement, he was unable to make continuous observations
+upon them in a living state. Of the results of
+his observations he gives the following summary:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The fish stands to the star-fish in a definite relation
+which cannot be the object of observation. Why the
+little fish should always seek the stomachal cavity of one
+and the same species of star-fish, and not that of various
+species, is a mystery. It is well known that Crustaceans
+of the genus <i>Pagurus</i> inhabit the empty shells of Mol<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span>lusca;
+but we find on the shore the same species of
+<i>Pagurus</i> in the shells of the most various genera and
+species.</p>
+
+<p>"I have never met with <i>Oxybeles gracilis</i>, on the
+contrary, in any other species of star-fish than <i>Culcita
+discoidea</i>. The fish was described by Bleeker under the
+above name in 'Natuurkundig Tijdschrift,' vii., p. 162.
+The author proceeds to state that neither he nor any one
+else in Amboyna has ever captured the fish under other
+circumstances, or while swimming freely in the sea; but
+upon this Dr Bleeker remarks that many of his specimens
+of <i>Fierasfer Brandesii</i>, and all those of <i>Fierasfer (Oxybeles)
+gracilis</i> and <i>F. lumbricoides</i>, were obtained by him
+along with other fishes, and were probably taken while
+swimming freely in the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Upon the habits of <i>Oxybeles gracilis</i> the author goes
+on to say that it is certain that this animal passes the
+greater part of its existence in the stomach of the star-fish,
+rarely shewing itself outside of this, and then probably
+at night. That it does come out occasionally,
+appears from the fact that in two cases the author
+observed the fish with a portion of its body outside the
+cavity of the star-fish, and in the act of creeping in.</p>
+
+<p>"The same observations shewed that the fish, in returning
+to its concealment, passes along the furrow of the lower
+surface of one of the arms leading to the mouth of the
+star-fish, which is wide enough, when the tentacles are
+retracted, to leave room for the passage of the slender
+body of the <i>Oxybeles</i>. This fact likewise proves that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span>
+<i>Oxybeles</i> does not get into the stomach of the <i>Culcita</i> by
+accident.</p>
+
+<p>"If a living <i>Culcita</i> be cut in two, the fish is seen moving
+freely in the cavity of its body. If it be taken out, it
+immediately seeks the shade. If the two halves of the
+<i>Culcita</i> (still alive) be placed in the water, the fish will
+soon be seen to draw towards them, in order to get into
+the cavity of the star-fish. When exposed to the light,
+it is uneasy, and its iris contracts excessively. The author
+never found two fishes in the same star-fish.</p>
+
+<p>"In most of the fishes examined by him, the author
+found the stomach empty; it was full only in one. The
+contents of the stomach had the appearance of a lump of
+fat, and consisted of half-digested muscle. Under the
+microscope, striated muscular fibres could be detected, and
+the author thinks that they belonged to the muscles of a
+fish. This circumstance proves that <i>Oxybeles</i> does not
+feed upon the chyle of the star-fish, but that its nourishment
+is analogous to that of other fishes. Whether it
+seizes upon the fishes taken by the star-fish for its own
+nourishment must be determined by further investigations.</p>
+
+<p>"The author's observations establish&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"1. That <i>Oxybeles gracilis</i> is not a true parasite.</p>
+
+<p>"2. That it passes the greater part of its life in the
+stomach of <i>Culcita discoidea</i>, as is also indicated by the
+unusually pale colour of the fish.</p>
+
+<p>"3. That, however, it can come out, either to seek
+nourishment, or for the purpose of reproduction.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"4. That it returns to the mouth along the furrow on
+the ventral surface of the arms.</p>
+
+<p>"5. That it is very sensitive to light.</p>
+
+<p>"6. That it feeds upon other animals.</p>
+
+<p>"In fresh water the animals live for about half-an-hour.
+The pigment upon the peritoneum exhibits under the
+microscope the most beautiful stellate forms. The fish
+possesses a swimming-bladder."<a name="FNanchor_232_232" id="FNanchor_232_232"></a><a href="#Footnote_232_232" class="fnanchor">[232]</a></p>
+
+<p>Some very curious instances of parasitism occur, in
+which one kind of creature compels or induces another
+creature to labour for its special benefit. Indeed, in all
+cases, the parasite is benefited by the functions of the
+supporter; but, in the cases I refer to, the slavery is more
+special and more apparent.</p>
+
+<p>There is a large species of Crab (<i>Dromia</i>) found in the
+West Indies, which is invariably found covered with a
+dense mass of sponge. The sponge is found to have
+grown in such a manner as to fit every prominence and
+cavity of the crab, exactly as if a plastic material had
+been moulded on it, yet it is not adherent to it, but is
+merely held in position by the hindmost pair of feet,
+which in this genus of crabs, are turned upwards, and
+apparently serve no other purpose than that of hooks to
+hold on the sponge <i>in situ</i>.</p>
+
+<p>On our own shores we are familiar with the Hermit
+crabs making use of various kinds of univalve shells as
+houses to protect their softer hindparts; but in many of
+these cases there is a third party in the transaction, which
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span>is made to work for the crab's especial advantage. The
+shell of the mollusk is sometimes covered with a sort of
+fleshy polype-mass (<i>Hydractinia echinata</i>), which is parasitic
+on the shell. The shell, however, being tenanted also
+by the active crab, the polype, as it grows, moulds itself
+on the crab's body, and thus extends the dimensions of its
+house, so that it has no necessity either to enlarge its
+dwelling by the absorption of part of the interior shell-wall,
+or to leave this shell and search for one of ampler
+size, as other Hermit-crabs are obliged to do who have
+not the advantage of so accommodating a fellow-lodger.
+"One can understand," says Dr Gray, "that the Crab may
+have the instinct to search for shells, on which the coral
+[polype] has begun to grow; but this will scarcely explain
+why we never find the [polype] except on shells in which
+Hermit-crabs have taken up their residence."<a name="FNanchor_233_233" id="FNanchor_233_233"></a><a href="#Footnote_233_233" class="fnanchor">[233]</a></p>
+
+<p>Small Annelids and Crustaceans not unfrequently burrow
+into the stony walls of corals; but Dr Gray records a
+much more uncommon case, from the Guilding collection.
+"It is an expanded coral, which forms a thin surface on
+the top of another coral, and is furnished with a number
+of small, depressed, horizontal cases, opening with an
+oblong mouth. Some of these contain within them a
+small, free, crustaceous animal, a <i>Cymothoa</i>, which nearly
+fits the case; and it is evident that, by their moving backwards
+and forwards on the surface, they have caused the
+animal of the coral to form one of these cases for the protection
+of each specimen."<a name="FNanchor_234_234" id="FNanchor_234_234"></a><a href="#Footnote_234_234" class="fnanchor">[234]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span></p>
+<p>The manner in which this result is obtained is thus
+explained&mdash;"The animals which form their habitation in
+corals, appear to begin their domicile in the same way as
+the barnacles before referred to; they take advantage of
+the soft and yielding nature of the animals which form
+the corals, &amp;c., and taking up a lodgement in their body,
+all they have to do is to keep a clear passage in it, either
+by the moving backwards and forwards, the exertion of
+their limbs, or the ingress or egress of water to and from
+their bodies, and in time, as the coral is secreted by the
+animal, it will form a wall round them; but if, by any
+accident, the parasite animal should not keep a passage
+from the coral to the surface of the body of the animal
+clear, which it must be constantly induced to do, since by
+this means it procures food, the coral animal will in a very
+short time close over it and bury it alive in the mass of
+the coral; and this, from the number of these animals, of
+all sizes and in different stages of growth, which are to
+be found in the substance of the large and massive corals,
+must often be occurring. Thus the Italian romance is
+often literally fulfilled in nature."</p>
+
+<p>Certain birds are parasitic, in this sense, that they compel
+or induce other birds to perform the labour of incubation
+and of rearing their young. The Rhea or Ostrich of
+South America is parasitical on its own species; the
+females laying each several eggs in the nests of several
+other females, and the male ostrich taking all the cares of
+incubation. More familiar examples, however, occur in
+our own Cuckoo, and in the Cowpen birds (<i>Molothrus</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span>
+<i>pecoris</i> and <i>M. niger</i>) of North and South America.
+"These fasten themselves," as has been remarked by Mr
+Swainson, "on another living animal, whose animal heat
+brings their young into life, whose food they live upon,
+and whose death would cause theirs during the period of
+infancy."</p>
+
+<p>The habit, at least in the case of the European Cuckoo,
+is so well known, that I need not do more than merely
+allude to the fact, that the female seeks for the nests of
+other insect-eating birds, always much smaller than itself,
+and deposits its own eggs,&mdash;a single egg in each; that
+this stranger egg is hatched by the foster-mother with all
+care, and the young bird is nurtured with all tenderness
+even at the expense of its own proper eggs and young,
+which in general are sacrificed in the course of the process.
+Every schoolboy knows these facts, but few perhaps have
+ever suspected the existence of a romantic feeling of love
+and fealty in the little bird towards the cuckoo herself,
+prompting the rendering of the service required as a
+coveted honour. Yet a naturalist has communicated to
+Mr Yarrell some facts which certainly look this way; and
+because they are indubitably the very romance of natural
+history, I cite them, leaving my readers to judge of their
+value.</p>
+
+<p>"As you have contributed," writes Mr W. C. Newby of
+Stockton, "so much to the information and amusement of
+the numerous class of readers who take an interest in subjects
+of natural history, I consider it my duty to communicate
+first to you, what appears to me a new fact
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span>in the habits and character of that general favourite the
+cuckoo.</p>
+
+<p>"An egg of this bird was brought to me on the 6th instant,
+which had been taken from the nest of the yellow
+bunting, at a short distance from this town, and the boy
+who got the egg gave the following account, which, I
+think, may be relied on. When bird-nesting the previous
+Saturday, he found a nest of the gold spink (a local name
+for the yellow bunting) with the young birds just hatched.
+On visiting the nest the following day, he flushed the old
+bird, having seen her sitting on it, but the young birds
+were all excluded, and were lying dead near; and to his
+surprise, a single egg&mdash;the one he brought to me&mdash;occupied
+the place of the callow brood. He took away the egg
+(which is now in my possession) so that it is impossible to
+corroborate the statement in any degree. The above circumstance
+was first named to me by Tom Green, a well-known
+character and naturalist in this town, whom I have
+always found to be accurate in his observations on birds,
+and by him I was referred to the boy. On my objecting
+to Green that the accident appeared incredible, because
+unnatural, and contrary to strong parental instinct,
+he replied, "Ay, sir, but little birds are mightily ta'en up
+with a cuckoo; they'll awmost dee out for them;" and
+he related the following fact which came under his own
+observation. When out with his gun, collecting birds to
+stuff, (animal-preserving being one of his many trades), he
+shot at and wounded a cuckoo, which, after flying some
+distance, fell upon a hedge with its wings outstretched:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span>
+the attendant bird, which in this case was one of the pipits,
+continued in the flight of its patron after the shot, and
+when Green approached, he found it sitting on the body
+of the dead cuckoo.<a name="FNanchor_235_235" id="FNanchor_235_235"></a><a href="#Footnote_235_235" class="fnanchor">[235]</a></p>
+
+<p>"It has been supposed by some, that small birds follow
+the cuckoo for the sake of annoyance, mistaking it for a
+sparrow-hawk, to give public notice of a pirate abroad, and
+to warn all peaceful subjects of the air against a common
+danger. But this is clearly not so, for the flight and cries
+clearly distinguish the feelings in the two cases. The attendance
+on the cuckoo is at a distance, silent and respectful;
+but in the other we have a sort of hue and cry raised,
+as it were, against a felon, and which is kept up from
+place to place, if not to the shame, at least to the discomfiture
+of the culprit.</p>
+
+<p>"The cuckoo is certainly a favourite with them; as Green
+says, 'they, (the lesser birds,) are mightily ta'en up with
+it;' but to what it owes its influence with its parasites I
+leave to you and other philosophical naturalists to determine:
+I am content to relate, in simple terms, an interesting
+fact."</p>
+
+<p>There is so much analogy with these cuckoo-proceedings
+in the habits of Ants, that, although these cannot
+correctly be designated as parasites, the details of their
+manners will not be wholly out of place, in winding up
+this chapter. I refer to the propensity manifested by certain
+species of ants to make slaves of the workers of another
+species, leading them into captivity and compelling
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span>them to labour for the benefit of the marauders. Strangely
+enough, the parallel between the human and the formican
+slave-trade holds to this further extent that, so far as we
+know, the kidnappers are red or pale-coloured ants, and
+the slaves, like true <i>niggers</i>, are black.</p>
+
+<p>The slave-hunting expeditions are planned and executed
+with the utmost skill and courage. "When the red ants
+are about to sally forth on a marauding expedition, they
+send scouts to ascertain the exact position in which a colony
+of negroes may be found; these scouts, having discovered
+the object of their search, return to the nest, and report
+their success. Shortly afterwards the army of red
+ants marches forth, headed by a vanguard which is perpetually
+changing; the individuals which constitute it,
+when they have advanced a little before the main body,
+halting, falling into the rear, and being replaced by others:
+this vanguard consists of eight or ten ants only.</p>
+
+<p>"When they have arrived near the negro colony, they
+disperse, wandering through the herbage and hunting
+about, as if aware of the propinquity of the object of their
+search, yet ignorant of its exact position. At last they
+discover the settlement, and the foremost of the invaders
+rushing impetuously to the attack, are met, grappled with,
+and frequently killed by the negroes on guard; the alarm
+is quickly communicated to the interior of the nest; the
+negroes sally forth by thousands, and the red ants rushing
+to the rescue, a desperate conflict ensues, which, however,
+always terminates in the defeat of the negroes, who retire
+to the inmost recesses of their habitation. Now follows<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span>
+the scene of pillage; the red ants, with their powerful
+mandibles, tear open the sides of the negro ant-hill, and
+rush into the heart of the citadel. In a few minutes each
+of the invaders emerges, carrying in its mouth the pupa
+of a worker negro, which it has obtained in spite of the
+vigilance and valour of its natural guardians. The red
+ants return in perfect order to their nest, bearing with
+them their living burdens. On reaching the nest the pup&aelig;
+appear to be treated precisely as their own, and the
+workers, when they emerge, perform the various duties of
+the community with the greatest energy and apparent
+good will; they repair the nest, excavate passages, collect
+food, feed the larv&aelig;, take the pup&aelig; into the sun-shine,
+and perform every office which the welfare of the colony
+seems to require; in fact, they conduct themselves entirely
+as if fulfilling their original destination."<a name="FNanchor_236_236" id="FNanchor_236_236"></a><a href="#Footnote_236_236" class="fnanchor">[236]</a></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>ON THE SEA-SERPENT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Since the publication of my former volume, which concluded
+with an examination of the evidence for the existence of this
+unrecognised animal, two other important testimonies have been
+brought under my notice. The first of these is that of an officer
+of high literary reputation, the Consular representative of Great
+Britain lately residing at Boston, in the United States, who thus
+gives his personal testimony and that of his lady to the appearance
+of the monster:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"On a Sunday afternoon in the middle of August, above a
+hundred persons, at that time in and about the hotel, were called
+on to observe an extraordinary appearance in the sea, at no great
+distance from the shore. Large shoals of small fish were rushing
+landwards in great commotion, leaping from the water, crowding
+on each other, and shewing all the common symptoms of flight
+from the pursuit of some wicked enemy. I had already more
+than once remarked this appearance from the rocks, but in a
+minor degree; and on these occasions I could always distinguish
+the shark, whose ravages among the "manhaidens" was the
+cause of such alarm. But the particular case in question was
+far different from those. The pursuer of the fugitive shoals
+soon became visible; and that it was a huge marine monster,
+stretching to a length quite beyond the dimensions of an ordinary
+fish, was evident to all the observers. No one, in short,
+had any doubt as to its being the sea-serpent, or one of the
+species to which the animal or animals so frequently before seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span>
+belonged. The distance at which this one was, for ten minutes
+or a quarter of an hour, visible, made it impossible to give a
+description of its apparent dimensions so accurate as to carry
+conviction to the sceptical. For us who witnessed it, it was
+enough to be convinced that the thing was a reality. But one
+of the spectators, Dr Amos Binney, a gentleman of scientific
+attainments, drew up a minute account of it, which is deposited
+in the archives of one of the Philosophical Societies of Boston.
+I was and am quite satisfied that on this occasion I had a partial
+and indistinct but positive view of this celebrated nondescript.
+But had the least doubt rested on my mind, it would have been
+entirely removed by the event of the day following the one just
+recorded. On that day, a little before noon, my wife was sitting,
+as was her wont, reading on the upper piazza of the hotel. She
+was alone. The gentlemen, including myself and my son, were,
+as usual, absent at Boston, and the ladies were scattered about
+in various directions. She was startled by a cry from the house
+of "The sea-serpent! The sea-serpent!" But this had been so
+frequent, by the way of joke, since the event of the preceding
+day, and was so like "The wolf, the wolf!" of the fable, that it
+did not attract her particular attention for a moment or two,
+until she observed two women belonging to the family of the
+hotel-keeper running along the piazza towards the corner nearest
+the sea, with wonder in their eyes, and the cry of "The serpent,
+the serpent! He is turning, he is turning!" spontaneously
+bursting from their lips. Then my wife did fix her looks in the
+direction they ran; and sure enough she saw, apparently quite
+close beyond the line formed by the rising ground above the
+rocks, a huge serpent, gliding gracefully through the waves,
+having evidently performed the action of turning round. In an
+instant it was in a straight line, moving rapidly on; and after
+coasting for a couple of minutes the north-west front of the
+hotel, and (as accurately as the astonished observer could calculate)
+looking as it stretched at full length in the water about the
+length of the piazza, that is to say, about ninety feet; it sank
+quietly beneath the surface, and was seen no more.</p>
+
+<p>"The person who was thus so lucky as to get this unobstructed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span>
+view, is one so little liable to be led astray by any imaginary impulse,
+that I reckon on her statement with entirely as much
+confidence as if my own eyes had demonstrated its truth."&mdash;<i>Grattan's
+Civilised America</i>, p. 39.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The second testimony is contained in the following communication
+with which I have been favoured by Mr Cave:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">
+35, <span class="smcap">Wilton Place</span>, <i>April 29, 1861</i>.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;On reading your interesting "Romance of Natural History"
+it occurred to me that I could supply some corroborative
+evidence of the existence of the sea serpent. On looking up my
+old journals, I found it was slighter than I imagined; but, such
+as it is, I give it almost verbatim from my diary.</p>
+
+<p>I was in Jamaica the year after you were, and have often regretted
+that we were not there together, as I might have shewn
+you parts of the island which you missed, and have been, perhaps,
+the cause of a few more pages to your very pleasant journal
+of a naturalist there.&mdash;Believe me, faithfully, yours,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">
+STEPHEN CAVE,<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">M.P. for Shoreham.<br /></span>
+</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em;">Philip H. Gosse, Esq.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><i>Extract from a Journal written during a Voyage to the West
+Indies in 1846.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>Thursday, Dec. 10.</i>&mdash;Off Madeira, on board R.M.S. "Thames."&mdash;"Made
+acquaintance with a Captain Christmas of the Danish
+navy, a proprietor in Santa Cruz, and holding some office about
+the Danish Court. He told me he once saw a sea-serpent between
+Iceland and the Faroe Islands. He was lying-to in a gale
+of wind, in a frigate of which he had the command, when an immense
+shoal of porpoises rushed by the ship, as if pursued; and,
+lo and behold! a creature with a neck moving like that of a swan,
+about the thickness of a man's waist, with a head like a horse,
+raised itself slowly and gracefully from the deep, and seeing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span>
+ship it immediately disappeared again, head foremost, like a duck
+diving. He only saw it for a few seconds; the part above the
+water seemed about 18 feet in length. He is a singularly intelligent
+man, and by no means one to allow his imagination to run
+away with him."</p>
+
+
+<h3>THE END.</h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+&AElig;pyornis, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br />
+<br />
+America, early condition of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Ant-eaters, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Antidotes to poison, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Ants, slave-hunting, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Apteryx, egg of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Argus pheasant, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Auk, great, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Australia, early condition of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Aye-aye, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Bamboo, elegance of, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bananas in Tahiti, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Barbadoes Pride, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bats, immured, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bear, black, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bear, cave, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Beauty, Divine appreciation of, <a href="#Page_302">302</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in quadrupeds, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in birds, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in beetles, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in butterflies, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in plants, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in flowers, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Beaver in Britain, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Beetles, splendour of, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Birds, colossal, of Australia, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bison of Europe, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Blood rain, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;waters, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;snow, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Bois Immortel, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Britain, early condition of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Butterflies, splendour of, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bruce on serpent-charming, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Cave in Skye, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Changeable colours, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Climbers of tropical forests, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Climbing perch, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cock of the rock, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Corals, parasitic, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Corncrake, torpidity of, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cowpen bird, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Crabs, parasitic habits of, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Crane-fly, luminous, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Creation progressive, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cuckoo, habits of, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Deer, elegance of, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Deposition, rate of geologic, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dinothere, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dodo, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Drift, remains in, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Eagle fascinates rabbit, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Eel, wanderings of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Eggs, fossil, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Elephant of Siberia, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Elk, Irish, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>-<a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Entozoic worms, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Europe, early condition of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Extinction of species, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Fascination in serpents, <a href="#Page_242">242</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in lizards, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in scorpion, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in stoats, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in fox, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in eagle, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Fig-trees, parasitic, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span><br />
+Fire attracts insects, <a href="#Page_260">260</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;birds, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;toads, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Fishes, showers of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;torpidity of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;travelling, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;parasitic, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Flamboyant, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Fleas <i>ad infinitum</i>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Flints, fossil, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Fox of Falkland, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;fascinating poultry, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Frogs, showers of, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Galeodes, account of, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Goatsuckers, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Grouse, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Guiana, scenery in, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Hand-tree of Mexico, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hasselquist on serpent charming, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hedgehog, immunity of, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hyena, cave, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Humming birds, elegance of, <a href="#Page_312">312</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;mango, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;long-tail, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;fiery topaz, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;comet, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ibis, scarlet, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Ichneumon-flies, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Impeyan, scaly, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Ireland, animals of, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Kangaroo, giant, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br />
+<br />
+K&aacute;ureke, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Lantern-fly, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Lepidosiren, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Lightning-tree of Madagascar, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Lizard swallowing its young, <a href="#Page_224">224</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;fascinates butterfly, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+London-pride, microscopic beauty of, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Luminosity of fulgora, <a href="#Page_227">227</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;of mole-cricket, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;of crane-fly, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;of caterpillars, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Machairode, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Macrauchen, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mammoth, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Man, fossil relics of, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mangouste and snake, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Manu-mea, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Marvels, vulgar love of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mastodon, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Medus&aelig;, parasites of, <a href="#Page_374">374</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;parasitic, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Megathere, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mermaids, <a href="#Page_125">125</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;zoological necessity of, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;exhibitions of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;Norse legends of, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;narratives of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Moa, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mole-cricket luminous, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Music, power of, on Serpents, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Musk-ox, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mylodon, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Nestor Parrot, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Nile valley, geology of, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Norfolk Island, parrot of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Notornis, capture of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Oil-beetle, habits of, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Orchide&aelig;, beauty of, <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;parasitic habits of, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Ostrich, American, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Oxen, ancient, of Ireland, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;of Britain, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;of Scania, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Paradise-birds, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Parasitic vegetation, <a href="#Page_361">361</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;insects, <a href="#Page_369">369</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;medus&aelig;, <a href="#Page_374">374</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;fish, <a href="#Page_376">376</a></span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;crabs, <a href="#Page_379">379</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;polype, <a href="#Page_380">380</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;birds, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Parrakeet, Carolina, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Parrot, long-beaked, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Peacock, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Perch, climbing, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pheasants, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Plants, alexipharmic, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Plume-birds, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Polyplectrons, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Potosi, scenery of, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Psylli, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Rhinoceros of Siberia, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Rhododendrons of India, <a href="#Page_349">349</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;of Borneo, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Rifle-bird, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Rio Negro, scenery of, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Saltwort, beauty of, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Scelidothere, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Scenery, remarkable, in Jamaica, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Scorpion fascinates fly, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea-serpent, Mr Grattan's evidence, <a href="#Page_387">387</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;Mr Cave's evidence, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Serpent-charming, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>-<a href="#Page_294">294</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Serpent, crested, <a href="#Page_211">211</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;fascinating powers of, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Serpents of Peru, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Showers of blood, <a href="#Page_98">98</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;snails, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;frogs, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;fishes, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Sivathere, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Snails, showers of, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Snake-stones, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Snow, red, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Species, extinction of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Spiders, bird-eating, <a href="#Page_233">233</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;webs of, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;beauty of, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Spoonbill, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Star-fish, parasite of, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Stelleria, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Stoats fascinating rabbits, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Strepsiptera, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Stylops, habits of, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sun-birds, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Swallows, torpidity of, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>-<a href="#Page_202">202</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;submersion of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;winter appearance of, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>-<a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Tahiti, scenery in, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Tartary, scenery in, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Tertiary geography, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Tiger, beauty of, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Toads, showers of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in stones, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in trees, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;in mortar, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;experiments on, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&mdash;attracted by fire, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Tortoise, colossal, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Toxodon, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Travelling fishes, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Trogon, resplendent, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Urus, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Venom of serpents, experiments on, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Viper swallowing its young, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Wasps, sleep of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Wolf, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Zebra, beauty of, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> See my <i>Omphalos</i>,&mdash;<i>passim</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The gradual but constant elevation of the bed of the Baltic, and
+the subsidence of that of the Pacific Ocean, are examples on a large
+scale.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Gen. x. 5.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>Chlamydotherium</i>, <i>Euryodon</i>, <i>Glossotherium</i>, <i>&amp;c.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Owen <i>On the Mylodon</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Perhaps the most complete and the most magnificent skeleton of
+this animal ever discovered, was exhumed in 1849 at Killowen, in Co.
+Wexford. It was buried <i>only four feet below the surface</i>, between the
+vegetable mould and plastic clay. The roots of the black willow and
+German rush had entwined themselves round the bones, and some
+seeds, ascertained to be those of the wild cabbage, were found in the
+same bed. The dimensions of the skeleton were as follows:&mdash;Height,
+12&#189; feet to the tips of the horns, 7 feet to the top of the pelvis; expanse
+of horns 11 feet in a chord, or 13 feet 6 inches along the curve; palm
+of the antlers 2 feet 7 inches long by 1 foot 5 inches broad, some of the
+snags 2 feet 6 inches long; the face 1 foot 10&#189; inches in length.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> <i>Annals of Nat. Hist.</i> xv.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> <i>Hist. Animals</i>, xvi. 17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Nat. Hist.</i> ix. 10.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> <i>On the Mammoth or Fossil Elephant, &amp;c.</i> London, 1819.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> <i>Testimony of the Rocks</i>, p. 97.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> See vol. i. p. 361, <i>supra</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Latrobe's <i>Mexico</i>, p. 192.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <i>Nat. Voyage</i>, ch. v.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> <i>Nat. Voy.</i> ch. viii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> <i>Compts Rendus</i>, Jan. 27, 1851.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, Jan. 27, 1852.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> "<i>The</i> Humming-bird." Rather a vague mode of speaking, by a
+zoologist, of a genus which numbers more than three hundred species,
+varying in size from that of a swallow to that of a humble-bee. But
+probably he means one of the minuter species.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> <i>Proc. Zool. Soc.</i>, Nov. 7, 1850.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> In the <i>Times</i> of Feb. 21, 1861.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <i>Proc. Roy. Soc.</i>, X. xxxv. 50.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i> IX. xxix. 133.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Because comparatively few readers, and especially the critics, will
+take the trouble to ascertain what an author really means if he attempt
+argumentation, generally supposing him to be proving something else
+than he propounds to himself, it may be needful to say, that I am not
+touching the question of the time required for the formation of the
+stratified rocks in general, but solely for that of the later Tertiary deposits.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> <i>Reports of Analysis</i>, by Apjohn.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Hart <i>On the Fossil Deer</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, for 1846: Preface, p. 10.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Mr Newman, <i>op. cit.</i> x.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> <i>Geilt.</i>&mdash;According to O'Reilly, this word means "a wild man or
+woman,&mdash;one living in woods,"&mdash;a maniac. It may, however, have been
+figuratively applied to some very fierce or untameable creature, either
+quadruped or bird, which inhabited the woods. But that the <i>Simi&aelig;</i>, or
+monkey tribe, were not likely to have at any time inhabited so cold a
+country, one would have seen in the term an exceedingly apt expression
+for "the wild man of the woods." (Note by Translator.)
+</p><p>
+But, I venture to remind the reader, there was a veritable ape found
+in Britain during the very era of the Giant Deer, and of many of the now
+extant animals. I refer to the <i>Macacus plioc&aelig;nus</i> (Owen) of the fresh-water
+deposits. Is it not just possible that the <i>Geilt</i> of Ireland, the
+first-named animal in the poem, may have been this species? A <i>Macacus</i>
+still lingers in Europe, though the elephants and hippopotamuses have
+long deserted us.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> <i>Grib.</i>&mdash;Probably the Osprey.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> These Wild Oxen are worthy of notice.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The <i>Toghmall</i> was a bird kept as a pet. "When Cuchulain slung
+a stone at Queen Meave he killed the Toghmall that was sitting on her
+shoulder."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> <i>Ruilech.</i>&mdash;Unknown.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> <i>Snag.</i>&mdash;Probably the Crane, or one of the Heron tribe.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> <i>Echtach.</i>&mdash;From a legend attached to the locality, there is a possibility
+that these were a peculiar breed of horned cattle.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> <i>Drenn.</i>&mdash;Probably the Wren.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> <i>Cainche</i>&mdash;Unknown.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> <i>Errfiach.</i>&mdash;Unknown.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> <i>Cricharan.</i>&mdash;Possibly the Squirrel, or the Marten.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Mr Curry says, "In the dictionaries <i>Ormchre</i> is the term for a
+leopard, but that animal did not exist in Ireland." But the caves of
+Britain shew that very formidable <i>Felid&aelig;</i> roamed here in the Later
+Tertiary Era.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> <i>Riabhog.</i>&mdash;The "cuckoo's waiting-maid," a little bird, is still so
+called in the west of Ireland. In England the wryneck (<i>Yunx torquilla</i>)
+bears this office, and also in Wales, where Pennant says it is called
+<i>Gw&aacute;s y gog</i>, which means the same thing.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> <i>Peatans.</i>&mdash;Conjectured to be Leverets.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> What is the difference between wild Boars and wild Hogs? The
+ransom, too, was to consist of a male and a <i>female</i> of each kind of <i>wild</i>
+animals.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> <i>Fereidhin.</i>&mdash;Unknown.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> See note <a href="#Footnote_42_42">[42]</a> <i>supra</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> <i>Iaronn.</i>&mdash;Unknown.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> <i>Geisechtachs.</i>&mdash;"Screamers;"&mdash;perhaps Peacocks. But is it likely
+that the Peacock and the Pheasant (<i>vide supra</i>) were imported from the
+East so early?</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> <i>Bruacharan.</i>&mdash;Unknown.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> <i>Naescan.</i>&mdash;The Snipe may be meant.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> The term <i>Spireog</i> is still used in the locality referred to, and signifies
+the Sparrowhawk. It has, however, somewhat of a Saxon sound.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> <i>Sgreach&oacute;g.</i>&mdash;Conjecturally, Screech-owl; or Jay.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> <i>Geilt Glinne.</i>&mdash;See note <a href="#Footnote_28_28">[28]</a> on p. 58.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> The <i>Onchu</i> has been mentioned before. See note <a href="#Footnote_39_39">[39]</a> on p. 59. There
+were several kindred <i>Felid&aelig;</i> in the Pliocene period. May the word
+refer to two of these bearing the same name, but the one distinguished
+by the term <i>fleet</i>?</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> "<i>Pigs</i>" again! This is the fourth time. "Wild Hogs, wild Boars,
+Pigs, and yet Pigs." From the prominence thus given to the grunting
+race in the ransom, one is tempted to conclude that "'Twas the Pig
+that paid the rint," then, as now!</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> Mr Wilde, in an interesting paper "On the Unmanufactured
+Animal Remains belonging to the Royal Irish Academy," read before
+the Academy on the 9th and 25th of May, 1859, to which I am indebted
+for the foregoing poem, cites the following legend, which we
+might have referred to the <i>Megaceros</i>, but that he appears to consider
+the animal in question the Red Deer or Stag:&mdash;"On another occasion
+St Patrick and his retinue, with Cailte MacRonain, came to the house
+of a rich landholder who lived in the southern part of the present
+County of Kildare, near the river Slaney. The farmer complained to
+Cailte that although he sowed a great quantity of corn every year, it
+yielded him no profit, on account of <i>a huge wild Deer</i> which every
+year came across the Slaney from the west when the corn was ripe
+for cutting, and, rushing through it in all directions, trampled it down
+under his feet. Cailte undertook to relieve him, and he sent into
+Munster for his seven deer-nets, which arrived in due time. He then
+went out and placed his men and his hounds in the paths through
+which the great deer was accustomed to pass, and he set his deer-nets
+upon the cliffs, passes, and rivers around, and when he saw the animal
+coming to the Ford of the Red Deer on the river Slaney, he took his
+spear and cast a fortunate throw at him, driving it the length of a man's
+arm out through the opposite side; and 'The Red Ford of the Great
+Deer' is the name of that pass on the Slaney ever since; and they
+brought him back to Drom Lethan, or 'The Broad Hill,' which is called
+'The Broad Hill of the Great Wild Deer.'"</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> The Editor of "The Indian Field;" in the <i>Zoologist</i>, p. 6427.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> The Welsh "Triads," supposed to have been compiled in the
+seventh century, say that "the Kymri, a Celtic tribe, first inhabited
+Britain; before them were no men here, but only bears, wolves, beavers,
+and oxen with high prominences." Were these Bisons?</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> See Vol. i, 203, <i>supra</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> This is the more interesting because it includes the <i>Urus</i> as well
+as the "<i>Schelch</i>," which latter, though the meaning of the word is
+not certain, some are disposed to identify with the Giant Deer of
+Ireland.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> See note <a href="#Footnote_56_56">[56]</a> on p. 68.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> M.S. H. ii. 13.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> <i>Blackwood's Magazine</i>, January 1849.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> "Travels," 4th ed., 1677.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> Sloane MSS., No. 1839.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, p. 4298.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> <i>British Birds</i>, iii. 477, (Ed. 2.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> Dr Charlton, in the <i>Trans. Tyneside Nat. Hist. Soc.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> <i>Nat. Voy.</i>, ch. ix.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> Lecture; reported in the <i>Athen&aelig;um</i> for May 21, 1859.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> <i>Nat. Voyage</i>, ch. viii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> <i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i>, ii. 322.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> From the <i>Times</i> of Jan. 24, 1861.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> The <i>Oscillatoria</i> is a genus of <i>plants</i>; it is a microscopic <i>Alga</i> of
+wire-like form belonging to the great Confervoid family, having the remarkable
+peculiarity of spontaneous and apparently voluntary motion.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> Latrobe's <i>Alpenstock</i>, p. 12.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Seemann's <i>Isthmus of Panama</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> I am indebted for this note to the Rev. Leonard Jenyns. See his
+edition of White's <i>Selborne</i>, (1843) p. 66.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, pp. 6541, 6564.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> <i>Ceylon</i>, i. 211.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> <i>Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal</i>, vi. 465.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> <i>Brit. Fishes</i>, i. xxvii. Aristotle had long before given the same
+explanation.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> <i>De Pisc. in siceo degent.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> <i>De Piscibus.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> <i>Siam</i>, i. 144.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> <i>Emb. to Siam</i>, i. 10.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> <i>Fishes of Guiana</i>, i. 113.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> <i>Annals N. H.</i>, <i>May 1853</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> Tennent's <i>Ceylon</i>, ii. 498.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> <i>Geog. and Classif. of Animals</i>, 249.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> <i>Egypt and Mehemet Ali</i>, ii. p. 322.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> <i>Japan and her People</i>, p. 193.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> See Hibbert's <i>Shetland Islands</i>, p. 566.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Miss Sinclair's <i>Shetland</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> Notes to <i>The Lord of the Isles</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> <i>Hudson the Navigator</i>, by Asher, Voy. ii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> <i>Voyage towards the South Pole</i>, p. 143.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> Pontoppidan's <i>Nat. Hist. of Norway</i>, p. 154.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> <i>Edinburgh Magazine</i>, vol. xiii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> Bell's <i>Brit. Rept.</i> (1839), 112.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, 614.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 1879.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 3632.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 3808.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 3848.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 3904.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 5959.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 6537.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 6565.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> Richardson's <i>Borderer's Table Book</i>, iii. 92.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 3266.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 6941.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 613.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> See page <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <i>ante</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 4245.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> <i>Phys. Theol.</i>, vii., Note <i>d</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> <i>R&egrave;gne Anim.</i>, (Griffith's Ed.,) vii. 61.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> <i>Phil. Trans.</i>, 1763.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> <i>Letter</i> x.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> Stanley's <i>Fam. Hist. of Birds</i>, p. 263.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> <i>Edin. Journ.</i>, viii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> In Pennant's <i>Brit. Zool.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> <i>Brit. Zool.</i>, App.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 1136.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> Ibid., 2302.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 2590.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> <i>Letter</i> xxxviii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> Ibid. xii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> Ibid. xi.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> Ibid. xxxi.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> <i>Letter</i> xxiii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> <i>Orn. Dict.</i>, Introd., xxvii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 5364.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> <i>Brit. Birds</i>, ii. 264.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 2455.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> Ibid., 565.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> Ibid., 3753.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 4945.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> Ibid., 4945.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 4995.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> Ibid. 1639.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> <i>Letter</i> xviii., 2d ser.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 565.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> <i>Op. cit.</i>; vol. ii. pl. 40.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> <i>Brit. Rept.</i>, 51.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> <i>Penny Cyclop.</i>, xxvi. 348.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_144_144" id="Footnote_144_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> Loudon's <i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i> for 1837, p. 441.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_145_145" id="Footnote_145_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 2305.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_146_146" id="Footnote_146_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> Ibid., 2355.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_147_147" id="Footnote_147_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 7278.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_148_148" id="Footnote_148_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> <i>Captivity among the Indians.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_149_149" id="Footnote_149_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 2269.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_150_150" id="Footnote_150_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150_150"><span class="label">[150]</span></a> <i>Introd. &agrave; l'Entom.</i>, ii. 143.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_151_151" id="Footnote_151_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151_151"><span class="label">[151]</span></a> <i>Op. cit.</i>, viii. 163.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_152_152" id="Footnote_152_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152_152"><span class="label">[152]</span></a> <i>Westwood's Mod. Classif. Ins.</i>, ii. 430.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_153_153" id="Footnote_153_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153_153"><span class="label">[153]</span></a> <i>Introd. to Entom.</i> Lett. xxv.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_154_154" id="Footnote_154_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154_154"><span class="label">[154]</span></a> <i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i>, New Ser., i. 353.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_155_155" id="Footnote_155_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155_155"><span class="label">[155]</span></a> Ibid., i. 553.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_156_156" id="Footnote_156_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156_156"><span class="label">[156]</span></a> Dr Boisduval, one hot evening in June, found caterpillars on grass
+which diffused a phosphorescent light; he thought them to be those
+of <i>Mamestra oleracca</i>&mdash;one of the most abundant of our moths&mdash;but
+they seemed larger than common; and whether owing to want of care
+in the rearing or to a condition of disease&mdash;which may, indeed, have
+been the cause of their luminosity&mdash;none of them attained the chrysalis
+state, and so the species was not absolutely decided.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_157_157" id="Footnote_157_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157_157"><span class="label">[157]</span></a> <i>Introd. to Entom.</i>, <i>loc. cit.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_158_158" id="Footnote_158_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158_158"><span class="label">[158]</span></a> <i>Exped. into Int. of Brazil.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_159_159" id="Footnote_159_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159_159"><span class="label">[159]</span></a> Tennent, <i>Ceylon</i>, ii. 226.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_160_160" id="Footnote_160_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160_160"><span class="label">[160]</span></a> Probably we should read "diameter" for "circumference." A
+spider whose legs cover an area of six inches <i>in circumference</i> is by no
+means rare even in England.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_161_161" id="Footnote_161_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161_161"><span class="label">[161]</span></a> <i>Journ. Asiat. Soc.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_162_162" id="Footnote_162_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162_162"><span class="label">[162]</span></a> <i>Proc. Entom. Soc.</i>, November 1, 1852.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_163_163" id="Footnote_163_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163_163"><span class="label">[163]</span></a> <i>Proc. Entomol. Soc.</i>, July 2, 1855.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_164_164" id="Footnote_164_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164_164"><span class="label">[164]</span></a> <i>Peter Pilgrim.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_165_165" id="Footnote_165_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165_165"><span class="label">[165]</span></a> <i>Hist. of Carolina.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_166_166" id="Footnote_166_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166_166"><span class="label">[166]</span></a> <i>Am&aelig;nit. Acad.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_167_167" id="Footnote_167_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167_167"><span class="label">[167]</span></a> <i>Hist. of Carolina.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_168_168" id="Footnote_168_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168_168"><span class="label">[168]</span></a> <i>Dahomey and the Dahomans.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_169_169" id="Footnote_169_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169_169"><span class="label">[169]</span></a> <i>Visits to Madagascar</i>, 231.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_170_170" id="Footnote_170_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170_170"><span class="label">[170]</span></a> <i>Zoology of South Africa</i>&mdash;Reptilia.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_171_171" id="Footnote_171_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171_171"><span class="label">[171]</span></a> <i>Oiseaux d'Afrique.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_172_172" id="Footnote_172_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172_172"><span class="label">[172]</span></a> <i>Times</i> Newspaper, November 9, 1852.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_173_173" id="Footnote_173_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173_173"><span class="label">[173]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, 7273.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_174_174" id="Footnote_174_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174_174"><span class="label">[174]</span></a> <i>Zoologist</i>, 7382.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_175_175" id="Footnote_175_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175_175"><span class="label">[175]</span></a> Quoted in the <i>Zoologist</i>, 2397.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_176_176" id="Footnote_176_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176_176"><span class="label">[176]</span></a> <i>Pict. Museum</i>, ii. 107.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_177_177" id="Footnote_177_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177_177"><span class="label">[177]</span></a> <i>Reptiles</i>, (Rel. Tr. Soc.,) 206.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_178_178" id="Footnote_178_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178_178"><span class="label">[178]</span></a> <i>Bengal Sporting Mag.</i> for Oct. 1836; cited in the <i>Zoologist</i>, 5070.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_179_179" id="Footnote_179_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179_179"><span class="label">[179]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 5214.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_180_180" id="Footnote_180_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180_180"><span class="label">[180]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 7273.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_181_181" id="Footnote_181_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181_181"><span class="label">[181]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i> 4049, 4050.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_182_182" id="Footnote_182_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182_182"><span class="label">[182]</span></a> <i>Travels</i>, 144.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_183_183" id="Footnote_183_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183_183"><span class="label">[183]</span></a> Psalm lviii. 4, 5.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_184_184" id="Footnote_184_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184_184"><span class="label">[184]</span></a> Jer. viii. 17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_185_185" id="Footnote_185_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185_185"><span class="label">[185]</span></a> This is the Tuberose, a liliaceous plant, so commonly cultivated in
+our conservatories. It is generally stated to be a native of the East
+Indies, but the one spoken of by Tschudi, with a Peruvian name, must
+certainly be an indigenous plant of the country.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_186_186" id="Footnote_186_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186_186"><span class="label">[186]</span></a> The genus <i>Mikania</i> of Willdenow is one of the tubuliflorous <i>Asterace&aelig;</i>.
+<i>M. guaco</i> Humboldt mentions, under the name of Vijuco del
+Guaco, as being highly esteemed in South America as a valuable antidote
+against the bite of serpents. "Guaco" and "huaco" are the same
+word, the intensity of the aspirate varying among different peoples.
+The power of this <i>Mikania</i> is denied in the most positive terms by
+Hancock, who suspects that the real Guaco antidote is some kind of
+<i>Aristolochia</i>. The word "Vijuco" or "Bejuco," in Tropical America,
+signifies any climbing plant, and is equivalent to our florist word
+"creeper."
+</p><p>
+<i>Eupatorium ayapana</i>, belonging to the same order as <i>Mikania</i>, is a
+valuable repellent of the poison of venomous snakes. For this purpose
+it is used in Brazil. A quantity of the bruised leaves, which are to be
+frequently changed, is laid on the scarified wound, and some spoonfuls
+of the expressed juice are from time to time administered to the patient,
+till he is found to be free from the symptoms, especially the dreadful
+anxiety which follows the wounds of venomous reptiles. <i>E. perfoliatum</i>
+has a very similar action, and <i>Mikania opifera</i> is employed in the same
+way.&mdash;(<i>Lindley's Veg. Kingd.</i>, p. 707.) These facts tend to confirm the
+accuracy of Tschudi and Humboldt against Hancock.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_187_187" id="Footnote_187_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187_187"><span class="label">[187]</span></a> <i>Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela</i>, vol. i., p. 43.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_188_188" id="Footnote_188_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188_188"><span class="label">[188]</span></a> <i>Dahomey and the Dahomans.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_189_189" id="Footnote_189_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189_189"><span class="label">[189]</span></a> Several of the <i>Aristolochie&aelig;</i>&mdash;plants generally having a very bitter
+taste, and a strong, pungent, disagreeable smell&mdash;are valuable alexipharmics.
+There is a plant very common in Jamaica, where it is called
+snake-withe, trailing over the stone fences, which I suspect to be an
+<i>Aristolochia</i>, and perhaps <i>A. trilobata</i>; it is employed as a sudden and
+potent sudorific, and as an antidote to serpent-bites in other countries,
+for in Jamaica there is no venomous reptile. The <i>A. anguicida</i> of Carthagena
+is described by Jacquin as fatal to serpents. He says that the
+juice of the root chewed and introduced into the mouth of a serpent so
+stupefies it that it may be for a long time handled with impunity: if
+the reptile is compelled to swallow a few drops, it perishes in convulsions.
+The root is also reputed to be an antidote to serpent-bites. "It
+is not a little remarkable," observes Dr Lindley, "that the power of
+stupefying snakes, ascribed in Carthagena to <i>Aristolochia anguicida</i>,
+should be also attributed to <i>A. pallida</i>, <i>longa</i>, <i>b&oelig;tica</i>, <i>sempervirens</i> and
+<i>rotunda</i>; which are said to be the plants with which the Egyptian
+jugglers stupefy the snakes they play with."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_190_190" id="Footnote_190_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190_190"><span class="label">[190]</span></a> <i>Ceylon</i>, i., 147.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_191_191" id="Footnote_191_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191_191"><span class="label">[191]</span></a> "On the Habits of the Viper in Silesia:" <i>Zoologist</i>, p. 829.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_192_192" id="Footnote_192_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192_192"><span class="label">[192]</span></a> <i>Trav. to the Sources of the Nile, passim.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_193_193" id="Footnote_193_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193_193"><span class="label">[193]</span></a> <i>Travels in the Levant, passim.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_194_194" id="Footnote_194_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194_194"><span class="label">[194]</span></a> <i>Discov. in Africa</i>, ii., p. 292.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_195_195" id="Footnote_195_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195_195"><span class="label">[195]</span></a> <i>Lucan's Pharsalia.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_196_196" id="Footnote_196_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196_196"><span class="label">[196]</span></a> <i>Ind. Field Sports.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_197_197" id="Footnote_197_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197_197"><span class="label">[197]</span></a> <i>Mod. Egyptians.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_198_198" id="Footnote_198_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198_198"><span class="label">[198]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 6400.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_199_199" id="Footnote_199_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199_199"><span class="label">[199]</span></a> <i>Beauties of Christianity.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_200_200" id="Footnote_200_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200_200"><span class="label">[200]</span></a> <i>Note-book of a Naturalist</i>, 202.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_201_201" id="Footnote_201_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201_201"><span class="label">[201]</span></a> Napier's <i>Scenes and Sports</i>, vol. ii., p. 227.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_202_202" id="Footnote_202_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202_202"><span class="label">[202]</span></a> Tennent's <i>Ceylon</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_203_203" id="Footnote_203_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203_203"><span class="label">[203]</span></a> Rev. v. 11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_204_204" id="Footnote_204_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204_204"><span class="label">[204]</span></a> Edwards's <i>Voyage up the Amazon</i>, 194.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_205_205" id="Footnote_205_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205_205"><span class="label">[205]</span></a> <i>Travels on the Amazon and Negro</i>, 222.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_206_206" id="Footnote_206_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206_206"><span class="label">[206]</span></a> <i>Voy. &agrave; la Nouv. Guin&eacute;e.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_207_207" id="Footnote_207_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207_207"><span class="label">[207]</span></a> <i>Amer. Ornith.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_208_208" id="Footnote_208_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208_208"><span class="label">[208]</span></a> Edwards's <i>Voy. up the Amazon</i>, 143.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_209_209" id="Footnote_209_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209_209"><span class="label">[209]</span></a> <i>Martial</i>, xiii. 72.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_210_210" id="Footnote_210_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210_210"><span class="label">[210]</span></a> <i>Windsor Forest.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_211_211" id="Footnote_211_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211_211"><span class="label">[211]</span></a> See <i>Good Words</i> for April 1861.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_212_212" id="Footnote_212_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212_212"><span class="label">[212]</span></a> <i>Wordsworth</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_213_213" id="Footnote_213_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213_213"><span class="label">[213]</span></a> <i>Wanderings in N. S. Wales</i>, &amp;c., ii. 43.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_214_214" id="Footnote_214_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214_214"><span class="label">[214]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 3060.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_215_215" id="Footnote_215_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215_215"><span class="label">[215]</span></a> Low's <i>Sarawak</i>, 87.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_216_216" id="Footnote_216_216"></a><a href="#FNanchor_216_216"><span class="label">[216]</span></a> Tennent's <i>Ceylon</i>, i. 250.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_217_217" id="Footnote_217_217"></a><a href="#FNanchor_217_217"><span class="label">[217]</span></a> Ellis's <i>Visit to Madagascar</i>, 313.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_218_218" id="Footnote_218_218"></a><a href="#FNanchor_218_218"><span class="label">[218]</span></a> <i>Nat. Voyage</i>, ch. xviii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_219_219" id="Footnote_219_219"></a><a href="#FNanchor_219_219"><span class="label">[219]</span></a> P&ouml;ppig.&mdash;<i>Nov. Gen. et Sp.</i>, i. 54.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_220_220" id="Footnote_220_220"></a><a href="#FNanchor_220_220"><span class="label">[220]</span></a> Lindley's <i>Sertum Orchid.</i>; pi. xxvi.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_221_221" id="Footnote_221_221"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221_221"><span class="label">[221]</span></a> <i>Himal. Journ.</i>, ii. 58.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_222_222" id="Footnote_222_222"></a><a href="#FNanchor_222_222"><span class="label">[222]</span></a> <i>Himal. Journals</i>, i. 126.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_223_223" id="Footnote_223_223"></a><a href="#FNanchor_223_223"><span class="label">[223]</span></a> Low's <i>Sarawak</i>, 65.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_224_224" id="Footnote_224_224"></a><a href="#FNanchor_224_224"><span class="label">[224]</span></a> The writer by this term doubtless alludes to the panicles or heads
+<i>compounded</i> of many individual flowers; for the plant does not belong
+to the order <i>Composit&aelig;</i>, but to <i>Byttneriace&aelig;</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_225_225" id="Footnote_225_225"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225_225"><span class="label">[225]</span></a> Ellis's <i>Madagascar</i>, p. 390.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_226_226" id="Footnote_226_226"></a><a href="#FNanchor_226_226"><span class="label">[226]</span></a> Ellis's <i>Visits to Madagascar</i>, 57.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_227_227" id="Footnote_227_227"></a><a href="#FNanchor_227_227"><span class="label">[227]</span></a> Atkinson's <i>Siberia</i>, 472.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_228_228" id="Footnote_228_228"></a><a href="#FNanchor_228_228"><span class="label">[228]</span></a> Reinwardt.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_229_229" id="Footnote_229_229"></a><a href="#FNanchor_229_229"><span class="label">[229]</span></a> Tennent's <i>Ceylon</i>, i. 104.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_230_230" id="Footnote_230_230"></a><a href="#FNanchor_230_230"><span class="label">[230]</span></a> "Affinities of the Stylopites," in <i>Zool.</i>, 1792.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_231_231" id="Footnote_231_231"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231_231"><span class="label">[231]</span></a> Wiegmann's <i>Archiv.</i>, 1860, <i>Bericht</i>, p. 169.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_232_232" id="Footnote_232_232"></a><a href="#FNanchor_232_232"><span class="label">[232]</span></a> <i>Ann. Nat. Hist.</i> for April, 1861.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_233_233" id="Footnote_233_233"></a><a href="#FNanchor_233_233"><span class="label">[233]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 204.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_234_234" id="Footnote_234_234"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234_234"><span class="label">[234]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, 205.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_235_235" id="Footnote_235_235"></a><a href="#FNanchor_235_235"><span class="label">[235]</span></a> <i>Zool.</i>, 2589.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_236_236" id="Footnote_236_236"></a><a href="#FNanchor_236_236"><span class="label">[236]</span></a> Newman, <i>Hist. of Insects</i>, 50.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="BALLANTYNE_AND_COMPANY_PRINTERS_EDINBURGH" id="BALLANTYNE_AND_COMPANY_PRINTERS_EDINBURGH"></a>BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.</h2>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="By_the_same_Author" id="By_the_same_Author"></a>By the same Author.</h2>
+
+
+<p>First Series. Third Edition, post 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth,</p>
+
+<p>THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.</p>
+
+<p>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WOLF.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+I. TIMES AND SEASONS.<br />
+<br />
+II. HARMONIES.<br />
+<br />
+III. DISCREPANCIES.<br />
+<br />
+IV. MULTUM E PARVO.<br />
+<br />
+V. THE VAST.<br />
+<br />
+VI. THE MINUTE.<br />
+<br />
+VII. THE MEMORABLE.<br />
+<br />
+VIII. THE RECLUSE.<br />
+<br />
+IX. THE WILD.<br />
+<br />
+X. THE TERRIBLE.<br />
+<br />
+XI. THE UNKNOWN.<br />
+<br />
+XII. THE GREAT UNKNOWN.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p>"This is a charming book.... Every lover of nature, every
+lover of the marvellous, every lover of the beautiful, every soul that
+can feel the charm of true poetry, must be deeply grateful to Mr Gosse
+for an intellectual treat of the highest order.... This 'Romance
+of Natural History' will be one of the best gift-books which can be procured
+for the season of Christmas and the New Year."&mdash;<i>Daily News.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Crown_8vo_5s_cloth" id="Crown_8vo_5s_cloth"></a>Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth,</h2>
+
+<p>LIFE IN ITS LOWER, INTERMEDIATE, AND
+HIGHER FORMS:</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Or</span>, MANIFESTATIONS OF THE DIVINE WISDOM IN THE
+NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">By</span> P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S.</p>
+
+
+<p>Complete in 4 vols., crown 8vo, 16s. cloth gilt,</p>
+
+<p>OUR CHRISTIAN CLASSICS:</p>
+
+<p>READINGS FROM THE BEST DIVINES.</p>
+
+<p>By JAMES HAMILTON, D.D.</p>
+
+<p>DEDICATED TO THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON.</p>
+
+
+<p>Extending from the Reformation to the close of the eighteenth century,
+it is the object of this series to give the reader a comprehensive
+view of that very various and noble Christian literature by which our
+country has been signalised above all others, with biographical and critical
+notices of the more distinguished authors.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Complete_in_6_vols_crown_8vo_price_1_4s_in_cloth" id="Complete_in_6_vols_crown_8vo_price_1_4s_in_cloth"></a>Complete in 6 vols., crown 8vo, price &pound;1, 4s. in cloth,</h2>
+
+<p>EXCELSIOR:</p>
+
+<p>HELPS TO PROGRESS IN RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND
+LITERATURE.</p>
+
+<p>ILLUSTRATED BY CAREFUL DRAWINGS ON WOOD.</p>
+
+
+<p>As, besides continuous papers on such subjects as Zoology, Meteorology,
+British Mining, the Fine Arts, the Human Frame, Church History,
+English Letter-Writers, &amp;c., these volumes contain numerous contributions
+in the departments of Biography, Adventures and Incidents
+of Travel, the Useful Arts, Tales, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Scriptural
+Evidences, and Christian Ethics, it is believed that they will be found
+a welcome acquisition amongst those who, in their search for amusement,
+do not lose sight of instruction. More especially is it respectfully
+submitted that, combining so much sound information with the
+liveliness of a miscellany, they would find an appropriate place in the
+bookcase of the Schoolroom and in the Village Library, as well as on
+the shelf beside the Parlour-fire.</p>
+
+
+<p>LONDON: JAMES NISBET &amp; CO., BERNERS STREET.</p>
+
+<div class="tn">Transcriber's note:<br />
+
+<br />
+Obvious printer's errors have been corrected.
+All other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling
+has been retained.</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance of Natural History, Second
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@@ -0,0 +1,11403 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance of Natural History, Second
+Series, by Philip Henry Gosse
+
+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: The Romance of Natural History, Second Series
+
+Author: Philip Henry Gosse
+
+Release Date: June 13, 2010 [EBook #32800]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURAL HISTORY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Barbara Tozier, Odessa Paige Turner, Bill
+Tozier and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes: Obvious printer error's have been corrected.
+Inconsistencies in Hyphenation and use of accents have been
+maintained. Italic text has been surrounded by _, the only superscript
+character is marked by ^. The ligature of [oe] had to be represented
+as {oe}.
+
+
+
+
+THE ROMANCE
+
+OF
+
+NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+EDINBURGH:
+PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY,
+PAUL'S WORK.
+
+
+[Illustration: FASCINATION.
+
+_Front._]
+
+
+
+
+  THE ROMANCE
+
+  OF
+
+  NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+  by
+  Philip Henry Gosse, F.R.S.
+
+  Second Series.
+
+  LONDON:
+  JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
+
+  M.DCCC.LXI.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+I. THE EXTINCT.
+
+PAGE
+
+  Death of Species -- Some Died in Early Historic Ages -- Some Dying Now
+  -- Changes of Land and Water -- Tertiary State of Europe -- Dinothere of
+  Germany -- Sivathere of India -- Gigantic Tortoise -- Pachyderms of
+  Siberia -- Rhinoceros -- Mammoth -- Mastodon of America -- Great
+  Quadrupeds of South America -- Sloths -- Habits of Mylodon -- Macrauchen
+  -- Toxodon -- Ancient Australia and its Colossal Birds -- Ancient
+  Britain -- Its Flora and Fauna -- Irish Elk -- Carnivores -- Chronology
+  of the Tertiary Era -- Contemporaneous Existence of Man with the Fossil
+  Fauna -- Gigantic Tortoise -- Condition of Siberian Pachyderms --
+  Discovery of the Remains -- Contemporary Fauna of Britain -- Chinese and
+  Siberian Traditions -- Indian Traditions of the Mastodon -- State of its
+  Remains -- Its Food -- Comparative Lateness of Geologic Processes in
+  America -- Possibility that the Mastodon was a Beast of Burden -- Darwin
+  on the South American Sloths -- Freshness of their Remains --
+  Synchronism with Existing Creatures -- Birds of New Zealand -- Maori
+  Tales -- Evidence of Recent Existence -- Story of an English Seaman --
+  Examination of its Truth -- Fossil Eggs -- Comparison of Dimensions --
+  Larger Eggs in Madagascar -- AEpyornis -- Its Present Existence Possible
+  -- Discovery of the Notornis -- Tertiary Britain -- Fossil Man -- Worked
+  Flints -- Associated with Fossil Bones -- Species -- Age of Man --
+  Alluvium of the Nile -- Conclusions from it Delusive -- Rates of
+  Geologic Changes Variable -- Examples -- Evidence of Contemporaneity of
+  Man with the Tertiary Fauna -- Irish Elk -- State of its Remains --
+  Traditionary and Documentary Evidence of its Recent Existence --
+  Slaughtered by Man -- Proof of this Fact -- Great Accumulation of Skulls
+  at Lough Gur -- Weapons found with Elk Relics -- Proofs of its having
+  been Cooked -- Manner of Hunting the Elk -- Ancient Irish Poem on
+  Animals -- No Allusion to the Elk in it -- This Explained -- Notices of
+  Early Oxen -- Their Fossil Relics -- Caesar's Account of the Urus -- Wild
+  Oxen in Ancient Greece and Western Asia -- Guy of Warwick and the Dun
+  Cow -- The Turnbulls -- The Urus Fossil in Britain -- Vast Size of
+  Fossil Oxen -- Scanian Fossil Ox bearing a Spear-wound -- Other Ancient
+  Oxen -- European Bison -- British Bears -- Period of their Extinction --
+  Extinction of the Wolf -- Beaver Extinct in Britain -- Almost Extinct in
+  Europe -- Dodo -- Accounts of Voyagers -- Seen in London -- Museum
+  Relics -- Paintings -- Stelleria -- Cheiromys -- Moho -- Kaureke --
+  Manu-mea -- Nestor of Norfolk Island -- Great Auk -- Its Recent
+  Abundance -- Catalogue of Specimens and Eggs in Cabinets -- Falkland Fox
+  -- Musk Ox -- Hand-tree of Mexico -- Attempt to Estimate the Rate of
+  Species-extinction -- Perhaps One a Year -- Question of Continuous
+  Creation of Species -- Causes of Extinction -- Thoughts of Owen and
+  Darwin -- Geographic Distribution an Important Element -- Fauna Peculiar
+  to Islands -- Red Grouse -- Precariousness of its Existence,      1
+
+II. THE MARVELLOUS.
+
+  Vulgar Love of Marvels -- False Causes -- Counter Tendency of Science --
+  Blood-Showers -- Traced to Butterfly-discharges -- Worms in Horse Pond
+  -- Crimson Snow -- Discharges of Birds -- Real Red Rain -- Waters turned
+  to Blood -- Oscillatoria -- Infusoria -- "Raining Cats and Dogs" --
+  Snail-showers -- Frog-showers -- At Portobello -- At Leeds -- On the
+  Continent -- Fish-showers -- The Aberdare Shower -- Explanations and
+  Criticisms -- Veritable Fish-showers in South America -- In India -- In
+  Ceylon -- Torpidity of Fishes in Mud -- Lepidosiren -- Its Structure --
+  Amphibious Fishes -- Climbing Perch -- Salarias of Ceylon -- Provisional
+  Structure,      96
+
+III. MERMAIDS.
+
+  The Oannes of Berosus -- Assyrian Representations of Mermen -- Dagon and
+  Atergatis -- Universal Belief in Mermaids -- Opinion of Swainson --
+  Sirens in Dongola -- Museum Specimens -- Japanese Ingenuity -- Accounts
+  of Living Specimens -- Assumed to be Cow-whales -- Indian Accounts --
+  Scandinavian Myths -- Mermaids in Shetland -- A Love Story -- Cavern in
+  Skye -- Veritable Narratives -- Hudson's Report -- Steller's Sea-ape --
+  Rencontre of Weddell's Seaman -- Merman seen at Landscrone -- Mermaid
+  Captured by Six Shetlandmen -- Comments on the Story -- Critical
+  Examination of it,      125
+
+IV. THE SELF-IMMURED.
+
+  Toads Found in Wood and Stone -- Difficulties -- Bell's Caution --
+  Current Explanations -- Mr Bartlett's Toad in Fir-tree -- His Letter in
+  Reply -- Mr Bree's Toad in Sandstone -- Mr Peacock's Toad in Lias --
+  Toad in Tamarind-wood in India -- Comments on the Report -- Toad in
+  Flint at Blois -- Toad in Iron Ore -- _Audi alteram partem_ -- Mr
+  Plant's Disappointment -- Seven Frogs in Nodules of Limestone -- Toad
+  Immured in Old Wall -- Frog in Freestone -- Toads deep in Stiff Clay --
+  Experiments -- Dr Buckland Immures Toads in Oolitic Limestone and
+  Sandstone -- Results -- Dr Buckland's Conclusions -- Toads Inclosed in
+  Plaster of Paris -- Critical Examination of the Experiments --
+  Objections to the Conclusions -- Evidence rather in Favour of Common
+  Belief -- Toad Sixteen Years in Closed-in Wall -- Toad in Mortar under a
+  Horse-block -- Indefinite Torpidity of Wasps -- Mr Bartlett Finds a Bat
+  in a Vault Closed for Twenty Years -- Mr Smith Finds a Bat in a Vault
+  Closed for One Hundred and Six Years,      146
+
+V. HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWS.
+
+  The Question -- Popular Belief -- Scientific Statements of Swallows'
+  Torpidity and Submersion -- Achard's Statement -- White's Account --
+  Cases given by Bishop Stanley -- Supposed Torpidity of American Swift --
+  Hybernating Corn-crakes -- Barrington's Reports of Torpid Swallows --
+  Curator Wall's Story -- Fitton's Story -- Swallows in Britain during
+  Winter -- Cases recorded by White -- Montagu -- Yarrell -- C. Bree --
+  Bell -- Hewitson -- Harcourt -- Rodd -- Hadfield -- W. Bree -- Johnston
+  -- Gurney -- Examination of the Evidence -- Conclusion in Favour of
+  Torpidity,      191
+
+VI. THE CRESTED AND WATTLED SNAKE.
+
+  Seba's Museum -- His "Thesaurus" -- Figures of Curious Serpents -- What
+  could they have been? -- Proofs that they were Ophidian, not Piscine --
+  Reports of Wonderful Serpent in Jamaica -- Singular Character of its
+  Habitat -- Geological and Botanical Features -- Locale of Three-fingered
+  Jack -- Crested Snake Killed here -- Negro Stories of its Voice -- Heard
+  of in Hayti -- Author's Efforts to obtain a Specimen -- Occurrence of
+  Two Specimens,      211
+
+VII. THE DOUBTFUL.
+
+  Viper Swallowing her Young -- Conflicting Statements -- Physiologically
+  not Impossible -- Reports of Witnesses -- Mr Percival's Account -- Mr
+  Wolley's Corroboration -- Mr Bond's Testimony -- Case of the Rattlesnake
+  -- Seen by Palisot de Beauvois -- Case of the Common Lizard -- Comments
+  on the Evidence.
+
+  Madame Merian -- Her Truth Impeached -- Her Story of the Lantern-fly --
+  Denials of its Luminosity by Entomologists -- Confirmation of it by
+  Lacordaire -- By Spinola -- By Wesmael -- English Insects only
+  Occasionally Luminous -- Mole-cricket -- The Cause of _ignis fatuus_ --
+  Crane-fly -- Luminous Caterpillars -- Perhaps a Disease.
+
+  Madame Merian again Arraigned -- Her Account of Spiders Preying on
+  Humming-birds -- Mr MacLeay's Denial and Proof of the Negative --
+  Comment on his Evidence -- Langsdorff's Evidence -- Ceylon Spiders --
+  Sir E. Tennent's Criticisms -- Collateral Evidence for the Affirmative
+  -- Strong Webs of _Nephila_ -- The Solfuga of India -- Account of its
+  Habits -- Attacks and Overcomes Small Birds -- Captain Sherwill Saw a
+  Spider Eating a Bird in India -- Moreau de Jonnes' Direct Confirmation
+  of Merian -- Mr H. Bates's Conclusive Testimony,      220
+
+VIII. FASCINATION.
+
+  Power Attributed to Serpents of Paralysing their Prey -- Dr Bird's Story
+  of Black Snake -- Rattlesnake and Squirrel -- Cobra and Lizard --
+  African Snake and Mouse -- Snake and Frog -- Habits of the Boomslange --
+  Snake and Shrike -- Snake and Mouse -- Dr Evans's Observations on
+  Serpents at the Zoological Gardens -- Ringed Snake and Hedge Sparrow --
+  Snake and Robin -- Indian Serpent and Eel -- Attempted Explanations --
+  Mr Martin's Observations -- Barton Attributes the Phenomena to Maternal
+  Love -- Explanation Inadequate -- The Power Exercised by Other Animals
+  -- Lizard and Butterfly -- Scorpion and Fly -- Stoats and Hares -- Foxes
+  and Pullets -- Eagle and Rabbit -- Attractive Power of Fire --
+  Entomologist's Bull's-eye Lamp -- Yard-fire in Alabama -- Insects come
+  to the Fire -- Titmouse around a Gas-lamp -- Bell Rock Lighthouse
+  visited by Herring-gull -- Fire Fascinates Toads in Africa,      242
+
+IX. SERPENT-CHARMING.
+
+  Revulsion Inspired by the Serpent -- Persons Professing Immunity against
+  Venomous Serpents -- Scriptural Allusions -- The Ancient Psylli and
+  Marsi -- Babylonian Magician -- Atyr -- Immunity Distinct from
+  Serpent-charming -- Hexagon the Ambassador -- Posterity of Psylli in
+  Sennaar -- Bruce's Curious Account -- Various Plants Antidotic to
+  Serpent-venom -- Experiments on _Simaba Cedron_ -- Peruvian Serpents and
+  Remedies -- Various South American Antidotes -- Vejuco of Venezuela --
+  Grass of Dahomey -- Immunity of Mangouste -- Anecdotes -- Of Hedgehog --
+  Bruce's Account of the Cerastes -- Hasselquist's Observations -- Psyllic
+  Woman -- Power of Spittle -- Influence of Music on Serpents --
+  Proceedings of Egyptian Charmers -- Rattlesnake Charmed by a Flute --
+  Cobra of India Attracted by Music -- Occasional Failures and Fatalities
+  -- Anecdotes -- Comments -- Psylli in London -- Are the Poison-fangs
+  Extracted? -- Power of Snake-stones -- Napier's and Tennent's Accounts
+  -- Faraday's Analysis -- Plant-remedies,      263
+
+X. BEAUTY.
+
+  Delight in Beauty -- Divine Appreciation of it -- Magnificent Flower in
+  a Thicket -- Beauty of Deer -- Pet Fawn -- Eye of Gazelle -- Spotted Fur
+  -- Zebra-stripes -- Birds -- Spoonbills on the Amazon -- Carolina
+  Parakeet -- Cock of the Rock -- Soft blending in the Goatsuckers --
+  Resplendent Trogon -- Metallic Colours -- Rifle-bird -- Plume-birds --
+  Iridescent Hues -- Sun-birds -- Humming-birds -- Mexican Names --
+  Jamaican Humming-birds -- Mango -- Long-tail -- Cause of changeable
+  Lustre -- Angle of Light -- Other Examples -- Region of the Amazon and
+  Rio Negro -- Birds -- Fiery Topaz Humming-bird -- Cerro of Potosi --
+  Night-blowing Cactus -- Bar-tail Comet -- Pheasant tribe -- Chinese
+  Pheasants -- Fire-back of Java -- Argus of Malacca -- Impeyan of India
+  -- Polyprectons -- Peacock -- Wild Peacock-shooting -- Paradise-birds --
+  Emerald -- His Vanity in Dress -- Splendour of Insects -- Metallic
+  Beetles -- Soft Refulgence -- Gem-scales -- Butterflies -- Changes of
+  Hue -- Opalescence -- Ray on the "_Cui bono?_" -- Smith on South
+  American Butterflies -- Splendour of Spiders -- in Jamaica -- in Borneo
+  -- Tortoise-beetles -- Beauty of Plants -- Mosses -- Ferns -- Palms --
+  Grasses -- Bamboo -- in Jamaica -- in Madagascar -- Plantains -- Scene
+  in Tahiti -- Beauty exceeds our Power of Imbibing it -- Flowers --
+  Orchideae -- Sobralia -- Cypripedium -- Anaectochilus -- Dendrobium --
+  Huntleya -- Scene in Guiana -- Death of Reiss -- Rhododendrons of
+  Himalayas -- of Borneo -- Lightning-tree of Madagascar -- Flamboyant --
+  Barbadoes Pride -- Burmese tree -- Le Bois Immortel -- Scene in Tartary
+  -- Microscopic Beauties of London Pride,      302
+
+XI. PARASITES.
+
+  Fleas on fleas _ad infinitum_ -- Intestinal Worms -- Economy of
+  Creation -- Epiphyte Vegetation -- Life in a Sea-weed -- Orchids in the
+  Tropics -- Parasitic Fig-trees -- Lianes -- in Ceylon -- Parasitism in
+  Insects -- Ichneumons -- Kirby's Discovery of Stylops -- Economy --
+  Oil-beetle -- Medusa and Shrimp -- Medusa parasitic on Medusa -- Fish in
+  Stomach of Star-fish -- Crab and Sponge -- Hermit Crab and Polype --
+  Parasites in Corals -- Ostrich parasitic on Ostrich -- Cuckoo and Cowpen
+  birds -- Veneration of Small Birds for Cuckoo -- Slavery among Ants --
+  Nigger-hunting,      359
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+  Sea-serpent -- Additional Testimonies to its Existence -- Statement of
+  Consul Grattan -- Communication from Mr Stephen Cave,      387
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+  PLATE                              PAGE
+
+  I. FASCINATION (_Frontispiece_).
+
+  II. ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA,           36
+
+  III. SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK,      56
+
+  IV. THE CLIMBING PERCH,            122
+
+  V. TOAD IN A HOLE,                 158
+
+  VI. BIRD-EATING SPIDER,            240
+
+  VII. SNAKE-CHARMING,               278
+
+  VIII. ANTELOPES,                   304
+
+  IX. PLUME-BIRD,                    310
+
+  X. PEACOCK-SHOOTING,               326
+
+
+
+
+THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+
+
+
+I.
+
+THE EXTINCT.
+
+
+If it is a scene of painful interest, as surely it is to a
+well-constituted mind, to stand by and watch the death-struggles of one
+of the nobler brutes,--a dog or an elephant, for example,--to mark the
+failing strength, the convulsive throes, the appealing looks, the sobs
+and sighs, the rattling breath, the glazing eye, the stiffening
+limbs--how much more exciting is the interest with which we watch the
+passing away of a dying species. For species have their appointed
+periods as well as individuals: viewed in the infinite mind of GOD, the
+Creator, from the standpoint of eternity, each form, each race, had its
+proper duration assigned to it--a duration which, doubtless, varied in
+the different species as greatly as that assigned to the life of one
+individual animal differs from that assigned to the life of another. As
+the elephant or the eagle may survive for centuries, while the horse and
+the dog scarcely reach to twenty years, and multitudes of insects are
+born and die within a few weeks, so one species may have assigned to
+its life, for aught I know, a hundred thousand years as its normal
+period, and another not more than a thousand. If creation was, with
+respect to the species, what I have elsewhere proved it was with respect
+to the individual,[1]--a violent irruption into the cycle of life--then
+we may well conceive this to have taken place at very varying relative
+periods in the life-history of the different species;--that is to say,
+that at a given date, (viz., that of creation) one species might be just
+completing, _ideally_, its allotted course, another just commencing, and
+a third attaining its meridian.
+
+Certain it is, that not a few species of animals have died during the
+present constitution of things. Races, which we know on indubitable
+evidence to have existed during the dominion of man, have died out, have
+become extinct, so that not a single individual survives. The entire
+totality of individuals which constituted the species, have, in these
+cases, ceased to be. Some of these seem to have died at a very early era
+of human history; but others at a comparatively recent period, and some
+even within our own times. Even within the last twenty years several
+animals have been taken, of which it is highly probable that not a
+single representative remains on the earth; while there are others yet
+again, which we know to be reduced to a paucity so extreme, that their
+extinction can scarcely be delayed more than a few years at most. Thus
+we may consider ourselves as standing by the dying-beds of these
+creatures, with the consciousness that we shall soon see them no more;
+that the sentence is gone forth against them; that their sands are
+running to the last grains, and that no effort of ours can materially
+prolong their existence. The facts from which these conclusions are
+drawn are highly curious, and I shall endeavour to lay them, with as
+much brevity as they will allow, before my readers.
+
+On that prochronic hypothesis, by which alone, as I conceive, the facts
+revealed by geological investigation can be reconciled with the unerring
+statements of Scripture,--every word of which is truth, the truth of a
+"God that cannot lie,"--we may assume the actual creation of this earth
+to have taken place at that period which is geologically known as the
+later Tertiary Era, or thereabout. When, on the third day, "the waters
+under the heaven were gathered together into one place, and the dry land
+appeared," it is not necessary to suppose that the form assumed by the
+emerging land was immediately that which it now has; we may, on the
+other hand, I think, assume as likely, that successive or continuous
+changes of elevation followed, which have been protracted, perhaps
+constantly decreasing in extent and force, to the present hour.[2]
+
+Perhaps between the six days' work of Creation and the Noachic Flood,
+Europe became much altered in outline, and in elevation. It may have
+been, at first, a great archipelago, agreeing with the epithet by which
+it is designated in early Scripture, "the Isles,"[3] and by which it
+was subsequently known for ages. The Pyrenees, the Alps, and the
+Apennines, already emerged, were slowly uniting, and the Carpathians,
+the Balkan, the Taurus, and the Caucasus, were uprearing, while the vast
+regions to the north were still an expanse of open sea. England was
+probably united with the newly-formed European continent, and embraced
+Ireland in one great mass of unbroken land, which stretched far away
+into the Atlantic. Volcanoes were active in the north of Ireland, and in
+the west of Scotland, pouring forth those floods of fiery lava which
+have cooled into the columnar forms seen at the Giant's Causeway and the
+Cave of Fingal. Slowly the north of Europe emerged, and the great
+south-west expanse of Britain sank beneath the sea, leaving, it may be,
+the large island of Atlantis in mid-ocean, to be submerged by a later
+catastrophe.
+
+Probably changes very similar were coevally taking place in Asia and
+North America, while the vast flat alluvial regions of South America
+were, perhaps, even still more recently formed, and a great Pacific
+continent was in course of subsidence, of which Australasia and
+Polynesia are the existing remains.
+
+Such changes of elevation, and of the continuity of land, must effect
+considerable alterations of climate; and, therefore, it is not
+surprising to know that, in earliest ages, animals and plants flourished
+in regions to which they would now be altogether unfitted, and that
+many races existed then which have since died out; for geological and
+climatal modifications are among the most easily conceivable causes of
+the decease of species.
+
+In the great swamps of emerging Germany, and in the, as yet, only
+half-drained valleys of Switzerland, lurked then the heavy Dinothere.
+Huger than the hugest elephant, he carried an enormous body of twenty
+feet in length, vast and barrel-like, which even his columnar limbs of
+ten feet long scarcely sufficed to raise from the ground. His uncouth
+head, elephantine in shape, was furnished with a short proboscis; and
+two tusks, short and strong, projected from the lower jaw, not curving
+upward, as in the elephant, but downward, as in the walrus. In the
+teeming marshes lurked this ungainly beast, half immersed, digging out
+with his mighty pickaxe-tusks the succulent roots that permeated the
+soft soil, which his sensitive trunk picked up, and conveyed to his
+mouth.
+
+On the southern slopes of the slowly-rising Himalayas, already clothed
+with forests of teak, and palm, and bamboo, revelled the Sivathere,
+another heavy creature, of the bulk of a rhinoceros, and therefore not
+more than half equalling the German colossus. He too was a strange
+subject. With a proportionally enormous head, in form somewhat between
+that of the elephant and of the rhinoceros, minute sunken piggish eyes,
+and a short proboscis like that of the tapir, he carried two pairs of
+dissimilar horns. On the forehead were placed one pair, seated upon bony
+cores, not unlike those of our short-horn oxen. Behind these there rose
+another pair, large and massive, which were palmated and branching,
+like those of the fallow-deer, but on a gigantic scale. What sort of a
+body, and what kind of limbs, furnished the complement of this
+curiously-compound head, we do not exactly know; but surely it must have
+been a very remarkable form, as it browsed quietly and blamelessly,
+among the luxuriant shrubs of those sun-facing slopes.
+
+In the same regions a land Tortoise of enormous bulk, far vaster than
+the vastest of now existing species, to which that ponderous one which
+will march merrily away with a ton weight on its back, is a mere pigmy,
+shook the earth with its waddle, and the forests with its hoarse
+bellowing. Broad roads, like our highways, were beaten by it through the
+jungle, along which it periodically travelled to the cool springs,
+leisurely sauntering, and tarrying to munch the fleshy gourds and
+cactuses that bordered its self-made track.
+
+The plains of Siberia, stretching away towards the Arctic Ocean,
+sheltered countless hosts of huge pachydermatous quadrupeds. A species
+of Rhinoceros, not less bulky than those of the present age, roamed to
+the very verge of the Icy Sea; its hide, tough and leathery, was
+destitute of folds, but was clothed with tufts of rigid gray hair,--an
+ornament which is denied to our existing degenerates. Two horns, the
+front one of unusual massiveness and length, were seated, as in several
+of the African kinds, one behind the other, and were wielded by a head
+of great strength and development.
+
+More remarkable still was that great hairy Elephant, called the
+Mammoth, which appears to have swarmed in those cold plains by myriads.
+Of equal dimensions to the Indian species of the present age, this
+denizen of the north had far more enormous curving tusks, and instead of
+the naked hide of those we are familiar with, his body was encased in
+black hair, with a thick under stratum of red curled wool, and bore a
+long mane on the ridge of the neck.
+
+There was, at the same time, a quadruped, nearly allied to the
+elephants, but differing from them in some technical characters. With a
+body equally bulky, but considerably longer, it had shorter limbs, a
+broader head, small tusks in the lower, as well as large curving ones in
+the upper jaw, and probably a trunk intermediate between the elephant's
+and the tapir's. Truly cosmopolite as this great Mastodon was, for we
+dig up his bones from all parts of the world, he had his head-quarters
+in North America, where, from his dimensions and his numbers, he must
+have formed a very characteristic feature of the primeval swamps and
+forests. There, with his tusks, he grubbed up the young trees, whose
+juicy roots he ground down with his great mammillary molar teeth, or
+chewed up to a pulp the sapwood of the recent branches and spicy twigs.
+And ever and anon he would resort to the broad saline marshes,--the
+"Licks," as they are now called,--to lick up the crystallised salt on
+their margins, so grateful to all herbivorous quadrupeds. Here, in his
+eagerness to gratify his palate with the pungent condiment, he would
+press farther and farther into the treacherous quagmire, till he began
+to sink, and then, in his terror, he would plunge and flounder, getting
+more and more deeply bemired, till at length he could struggle no more,
+and the bog would close over him, and he would be no more seen till some
+spectacled geologist of this nineteenth century, note-book in hand,
+would go and dig up his remains, marvelling at the freshness with which
+they had been preserved in the antiseptic peat.
+
+But let us look at South America, where, as the great back-bone chain of
+the Andes is being elevated out of the sea, the torrents and cataracts
+are pouring down from its sides immense quantities of crumbled rock and
+pasty mud, which, deposited upon the vast tabular field, brought by the
+upheaving just to the level of the sea, forms that grand alluvial plain
+unequalled on the face of the globe for extent, which is clothed with
+the mighty forests of Guiana and Brazil, or with the tall grass and
+thistles of the Pampas. The torrents still fall; and, meandering through
+this glorious plain, unite and form the most majestic of rivers, ever
+depositing the rich alluvium, and thus sensibly augmenting, to this day,
+the breadth of their noble continent, and their own length.
+
+Strange creatures riot here in these primal ages. The young land, hot
+and moist,--moist with the unevaporated water of the depositing rivers,
+and hot with the influence of the submarine volcano which is lifting it,
+as well as with the beams of the tropical sun,--brings forth from its
+steaming bosom, the most gigantic trees in the most profuse luxuriance.
+And animal life teems too, in this riant vegetation. Millions of
+insects,--ants, and termites, and beetles,--are busy at work upon the
+trunks of the great trees, eating them down, and swarming in their
+immense populous nests, beyond all imaginings. Surely they will soon eat
+up the entire forest, dense and rapid as it grows, and there will be
+nothing left but cities of insects. No fear! See those great waddling
+beasts[4] with stout short legs, and enormous hoof-like claws so bent
+inward that the creatures are obliged to walk on the edge of their
+paws,--they are equally busy with the insects, tearing apart with their
+powerful claws the earthy nests as fast as they are built, and devouring
+the makers themselves by wholesale. Here is a wonderful creature, a vast
+armadillo, with a body as big as a rhinoceros, covered with a convex
+oval shield, formed of hexagonal plates accurately fitted to each other.
+See how he approaches a fallen tree, which his unerring instinct tells
+him is perforated through and through, and filled with the swarming
+millions of ants; with his powerful jaws he munches up the entire mass;
+the thin and papery partitions of the dusty wood are ground to powder,
+and the ants are licked in and chewed into a black pulp between those
+curious cylinders of teeth.
+
+But lo! here are mightier creatures yet! See the vast Mylodon, the
+Scelidothere, and the still more colossal Megathere. Ponderous giants
+these! The very forests seem to tremble under their stately stride.
+Their immense bulk preponderates behind, terminating in a tail of
+wonderful thickness and solidity: the head is mean and awakens no
+terror; the eye lacks lustre and threatens no violence, though the whole
+form betokens vast power, and the stout limbs are terminated by the same
+stout, inbent, sharp hoof-claws. One of them approaches that
+wide-spreading locust-tree; he gazes up at the huge mud-brown structures
+that resemble hogsheads affixed to the forks of the branches, and he
+knows that the luscious termites are filling them to overflowing. His
+lips water at the tempting sight; have them he must. But how? that heavy
+sternpost of his was never made for climbing; yet see! he rears himself
+up against the tree; is he about to essay the scaling? Not he: he knows
+his powers better. He gives it one embrace; one strong hug; as if to
+test its thickness and hold upon the earth. Now he is digging away
+below, scooping out the soft soil from between the roots,--and it is
+marvellous to note how rapidly he lays them bare with those great
+shovel-like claws of his. Now he rears himself again; straddles wide on
+his hind feet, fixing the mighty claws deep in the ground; plants
+himself firmly on his huge tail, as on the third foot of a tripod, and
+once more grasps the tree. The enormous hind quarters, the limbs and the
+loins, the broad pelvis, the thick spinal cord supplying abundant
+nervous energy to the swelling muscles, inserted in the ridged and
+keeled bones, all come into play, as a _point d'appui_ for the Herculean
+effort. "And now conceive the massive frame of the Megathere convulsed
+with the mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony
+attachment with the force of a hundred giants: extraordinary must be the
+strength and proportions of the tree, if, when rocked to and fro, to
+right and left, in such an embrace, it can long withstand the efforts of
+its assailant."[5] It yields; the roots fly up; the earth is scattered
+wide upon the surrounding foliage; the tree comes down with a thundering
+crash, cracking and snapping the great boughs like glass; the frightened
+insects swarm out at every orifice; but the huge beast is in upon them;
+with his sharp hoofs he tears apart the crusty walls of the earth-nests,
+and licks out their living contents, fat pupae, eggs and all, rolling
+down the sweet morsels, half sucking, half chewing, with a delighted
+gusto that repays him for all his mighty toil.
+
+While the heavy giant is absorbed in his juicy breakfast, see, there
+lounges along his neighbour, the Macrauchen. Equally massive, equally
+heavy, equally vast, equally peaceful, the stranger resembles a huge
+rhinoceros elevated on much loftier limbs; but his most remarkable
+feature is an enormously long neck, like that of the camel, but carried
+to the altitude of that of the giraffe. Thus he thrusts his great muzzle
+into the very centre of the leafy trees, and gathering with his
+prehensile and flexible lip the succulent twigs and foliage, he too
+finds abundance of food for his immense body, in the teeming vegetation,
+without intruding upon the supply of his fellows.
+
+And what enormous mass is suddenly thrust up out of the quiet water of
+yonder igaripe? A hoarse, hollow grunt, as it comes up, tells us that
+it is alive, and now we discern that it is the head of an animal--the
+Toxodon. Half hidden as it is under the shadow of the fan-palms, and the
+broad, arrowy leaves of the great arums that grow out of the lake, we
+see the little piggish eyes, set far up in the great head, and wide
+apart, peeping with a curious union of stupidity and shrewdness; the
+immense muzzle and lips; the broad cheeks armed with stiff projecting
+bristles; and, as the creature opens its cavernous mouth to seize a
+floating gourd, an extraordinary array of incurving teeth, strangely
+bowed so as to make a series of arches of immense power. Now, with his
+strong front teeth, he tears up the great fleshy arum-roots from the
+clay of the bank, and grinds them to pulp; and now, with another grunt,
+the vast bristly head sinks beneath the water, and we see it no more.
+Hundreds of other creatures are straying around,--sloths, bats, and
+monkeys, and birds of gay plumage, on the trees; ant-eaters and cavies,
+lizards and snakes, on the ground; butterflies and humming-birds
+hovering in the air; tapirs and turtles and crocodiles in the
+waters;--but these are matters of course:--we are only thinking of such
+as have passed away and left no descendants to perpetuate their forms to
+our own times.
+
+Away to the great Austral land--in our day minished to the insular
+Australia and New Zealand and a few satellite isles--but then, in the
+morning of creation, possibly stretching far to the north and on either
+hand, so as to include the scattered groups of Polynesia in one great
+continent, and even to reach so far as Madagascar on the west. This was
+the region of gigantic fowls, and of marsupial quadrupeds. Kangaroos of
+eight or nine feet in stature leaped over the primeval bush, and wombats
+and dasyures of elephantine bulk burrowed in the hill sides, and great
+lion-like beasts prowled about the plains. But surely the most
+characteristic feature of the scene was impressed by the birds! Vast
+struthious birds, which would have looked down with supreme contempt on
+the loftiest African ostrich, whose limb-bones greatly exceeded in bulk
+those of our dray horses, whose three-toed feet made a print in the clay
+some eighteen inches long, and whose proud heads commanded the horizon
+from an elevation of twelve feet above the ground,--terrible birds,
+whose main development of might was in the legs and feet, being utterly
+destitute of the least trace of wings--these strode swiftly about the
+rank ferny brakes, possessing a conscious power of defence in the back
+stroke of their muscular feet, and fearless of man or beast, mainly
+nocturnal in their activity, concealing themselves by day in the
+recesses of the dense forests, where the majestic trees were interwoven
+with cable-like climbers, or couching in the midst of tall reeds and
+aroideous plants that margined the great swampy lakes of these regions.
+
+But what of our own land? What of these distant isles of the Gentiles in
+that early day, when the enterprising sons of Cain, migrating from the
+already straitened land of Nod, were pushing their advancing columns,
+with arts and arms, in all directions over the young earth? Did any of
+them reach to the as yet insular Europe, settling themselves along the
+margins of its deep gulfs and draining basins? Perhaps they did, and
+even explored the utmost limits of the great Atlantic island, on the
+remains of which we live. What did they find here? A land of mountain
+and valley, of plain and down, of lake and river, of bog and fell, of
+forest and field, in some features much as now: where the oak, and elm,
+and ash covered great tracts, and the birch and fir clothed the hills;
+but where the yew and the laurel grew side by side with the
+custard-apple and the fan-palm, and the ground was overrun with trailers
+of the gourd and melon kind, but where grasses were few and scarce, the
+exquisite order _Rosaceae_, with its beautiful flowers and grateful
+fruit, was rarely seen, and the aromatic _Labiatae_--the thyme, and mint,
+and sage--were as yet unknown.
+
+And the beasts that already tenanted this fair land were for bulk and
+power worthy of the domain. The Dinothere and the Mastodon wallowed and
+browsed where great London now crowds its princely palaces. Through the
+greenwood shades of the forests of oak wandered hippopotamuses and
+rhinoceroses of several kinds, the long-tusked mammoth, and two or three
+species of horses. Two gigantic oxen--a bison and a urus--roamed over
+the fir-clad hills of Scotland, and a curious flat-headed ox, of small
+size and minute horns, made Ireland its peculiar home. That island, too,
+was the metropolis of a colossal fallow-deer, whose remains, ticketed as
+those of the Irish Elk, astonish us in our museums. It stood seven feet
+in height at the withers, and waved its branching antlers, eleven feet
+wide, twelve feet and upwards above the ground;[6] yet its magnificent
+stature could not preserve it from a not infrequent fate, that of
+becoming intombed in the deep bogs of its native isle. Britain had,
+moreover, a stag of scarcely less gigantic proportions, with the
+reindeer of the north, and the smaller kinds with which we are now
+familiar.
+
+All these herbivores, and numberless smaller genera, some now extinct,
+some surviving, were kept in check by powerful predatory tyrants, for
+whose representatives we must now look to the jungles of India or the
+burning karroos of Southern Africa. The Lion and the Tiger stalked over
+these isles, and a terrible tiger-like creature, the Machairode, of even
+superior size and power to the scourge of the Bengal jungle, with curved
+and saw-edged canine-teeth, hung upon the flanks of the cervine and
+bovine herds, and sprang upon the fattest of them. Then, too, there was
+a vast Bear, huger and mightier than the fearful grizzly bear of
+America, which haunted caves, and prowling around forced down with its
+horrid paws the shaggy bull, and broke his stout neck by main force, and
+dragged the body home to devour at leisure. And many of these caves, the
+holes and chasms of the limestone districts, were inhabited by a
+gigantic species of Hyena, which seems to have existed in great numbers,
+so that the caverns are strewn all over, from end to end, with thousands
+of teeth and disjointed bones, both of the hyenas themselves and of the
+other carnivores; shewing that there they lived and died in successive
+generations; and, mainly, of other creatures, of very varied species,
+great and small, most of them cracked, and crushed, and gnawed, shewing
+the plain marks of the powerful conical teeth of those obscene nocturnal
+animals.
+
+Thus I have endeavoured to draw a picture, vague and imperfect, I know,
+of some of the more remarkable and prominent features of the primeval
+earth, limiting the sketch to those forms which we know only by their
+fossil remains. In endeavouring to paint their contour and general
+appearance, and still more their habits and instincts, conjecture must
+be largely at work--a conjecture, however, which takes for its basis the
+anatomical exigencies of the osseous structure, and the analogy of
+existing creatures the most nearly related to the fossil.
+
+These forms, many of them so huge and uncouth, are well known as having
+tenanted various regions of the earth during what is known as the
+Tertiary Era, in its later periods. They certainly do not exist in those
+regions now. When did their life--their species-life--terminate? I have
+been assuming that they were upon the earth, as living sentient beings,
+in the earliest age of what we call the historic period--that is,
+according to the chronology of the Word of God, which must be true,
+within the last six thousand years. This assumption is so heterodox,
+that unsupported by evidence, it would be generally rejected; let us
+then inquire what evidence there is that man was an inhabitant of the
+globe contemporaneously with these huge giants of the bestial creation.
+
+I do not pretend to offer positive evidence concerning the synchronism
+of _all_ the animals I have been describing with man; but, as there is
+no doubt that they were all contemporaneous, _inter se_, if we can
+attain to good grounds for concluding his co-existence with _some_ of
+them, it may be no unfair presumption that the case was so with the
+others.
+
+And first, with respect to the _Colossochelys Atlas_, that vast fossil
+land tortoise of the Sewalik hills, in the north of India, whose
+carapace may have covered an area of twelve or fifteen feet in diameter,
+and whose entire length, as in walking, when head and tail were
+protruded, could not have been much less than thirty feet. The
+discoverers of this interesting relic, Dr Falconer and Major Cauntley,
+have discussed the question of its probable cessation of existence with
+some care; and they have come to the conclusion "that there are fair
+grounds for entertaining the belief, as probable, that the
+_Colossochelys Atlas_ may have lived down to an early period of the
+human epoch, and become extinct since." This they infer on two grounds:
+first, from the fact that, in the same strata, which are not limited to
+the Sewalik hills, but extend, with the remains of this immense
+tortoise, all over the great Indian area, from Ava to the Gulf of
+Cambay, other tortoises, crocodiles, &c., which were contemporary with
+the _Colossochelys_, have survived to the present time; and, secondly,
+from mythologic and cosmogonic traditions of many eastern nations,
+having reference to a tortoise of such gigantic size as to be associated
+in the current fables with an elephant.[7]
+
+Elian, the Greek naturalist, quoting Megasthenes, a still older
+authority, who resided several years in India, and who collected a good
+deal of interesting information concerning the country, reports that in
+the sea around Ceylon there were found tortoises of such enormous
+dimensions that huts were made of their shells, each shell being fifteen
+cubits (or twenty-two feet) long; so that several people were able to
+find comfortable shelter under it from the rain and sun.[8] And both
+Strabo and Pliny[9] assert that the Chelonophagi, who inhabited the
+shores of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, converted the enormous
+shells of the turtles which they caught into roofs for their houses and
+boats for their little voyages. It has been suggested that the
+_Colossochelys_ may have given origin to these statements; but I rather
+think the great sea-turtles of the genus _Chelone_ are referred to, the
+convex shells of which are known in our own day to reach to a length of
+eight feet or upwards.
+
+The circumstances attending the discovery of the rhinoceros and elephant
+of Siberia are very curious and interesting; since of them we have not
+the fossilised skeletons, but the carcases preserved in a fresh state,
+as if just dead, with (in one case) the flesh upon the bones in an
+eatable state, and actually forming the food of dogs and wolves, the
+skin entire, and covered with fur, and even the eyes so perfectly
+preserved that the pupils could be distinctly seen.
+
+In 1771, in the frozen gravelly soil of Wilhuji, in the northern part of
+Siberia, an animal was found partially exposed. It was twelve feet in
+length; its body was enveloped in a skin which had the thickness and
+firmness of sole-leather, but was destitute of folds. Short hair,
+strongly planted in the pores of the skin, grew on the face in tufts; it
+was rigid in texture, and of a grey hue, with here and there a black
+bristle, larger and stiffer than the rest. Short ash-grey hair was
+observed to clothe the legs, in moderate profusion. The eyelids and
+eyelashes were still visible; the remains of the brain were still in the
+cavity of the skull, and the flesh of the body, in a putrefying
+condition, was still beneath the skin. On the nose there were
+indications of a horn having been seated, around which the integument
+had formed a sort of fold.
+
+Thus the creature was known to be a Rhinoceros, and the head and feet
+were lifted, and conveyed to St Petersburg, where they are still
+preserved in the Imperial Museum. Men of science soon remarked that in
+very many points this specimen differed from any species now known; and,
+indeed, a hairy rhinoceros was, in itself, an anomaly. Subsequent
+investigations have revealed that the same species, known as _Rhinoceros
+tichorhinus_, inhabited Siberia in great numbers, and is now extinct.
+
+Nearly thirty years afterwards a still more interesting revelation
+occurred. The shores of the Icy Ocean had yielded a vast number of
+tusks, not distinguishable from those of the known elephants, and
+capable of being worked up by ivory-manufacturers, so that they occupied
+a well-recognised place in the commercial markets, and they constitute
+to this day the principal supply of the Russian ivory-turners. A
+fisherman living at the mouth of the Lena, being one day engaged in
+collecting tusks, saw among some ice-blocks an uncouth object. The next
+year he observed it still further exposed, and in the following season,
+1801, he saw that it was an enormous animal, having great tusks, one of
+which, with the entire side of the carcase, projected from the frozen
+mass. He knew it to be a _Mammoth_, for so the fossil elephants were
+called, and observed it with interest. The next season was so cold that
+no change took place; but in 1803, the melting of the ice proceeded so
+far that the gigantic animal fell down from the cliff entire, and was
+deposited on the sand beneath. The following season the fisherman,
+Schumachoff, cut out the tusks, which he sold for fifty rubles, and two
+years after this the scene was visited by Mr Adams, in the service of
+the Imperial Court, who has given an interesting account of his
+observations, made, it must be remembered, in the seventh year after the
+first discovery:--
+
+"I found the Mammoth," observes this gentleman, "still in the same
+place, but altogether mutilated ... the Jakutski of the neighbourhood
+having cut off the flesh, with which they fed their dogs during the
+scarcity. Wild beasts, such as white bears, wolves, wolverines, and
+foxes, also fed upon it, and the traces of their footsteps were seen
+around. The skeleton, almost entirely devoid of its flesh, remained
+whole, with the exception of one fore-leg. The head was covered with a
+dry skin; one of the ears, well preserved, was furnished with a tuft of
+hairs. All these parts have necessarily been injured in transporting
+them a distance of 7330 miles (to St Petersburg); but the eyes have been
+preserved, and the pupil of one can still be distinguished.
+
+"The Mammoth was a male, with a long mane on the neck. The tail and
+proboscis were not preserved. The skin, of which I possess
+three-fourths, is of a dark-grey colour, covered with reddish wool and
+black hairs; but the dampness of the spot, where it had lain so long,
+had in some degree destroyed the hair. The entire carcase, of which I
+collected the bones on the spot, was nine feet four inches high, and
+sixteen feet four inches long, without including the tusks, which
+measured nine feet six inches along the curve. The distance from the
+base or root of the tusk to the point is three feet seven inches. The
+two tusks together weighed three hundred and sixty pounds, English
+weight, and the head alone four hundred and fourteen pounds.
+
+"I next detached the skin of the side on which the animal had lain,
+which was well preserved. This skin was of such extraordinary weight
+that ten persons found difficulty in transporting it to the shore. After
+this I dug the ground in different places, to ascertain whether any of
+its bones were buried, but principally to collect all the hairs which
+the white bears had trod into the ground while devouring the flesh.
+Although this was difficult from the want of instruments, I succeeded in
+collecting more than a pood (thirty-six pounds) of hair. In a few days
+the work was completed, and I found myself in possession of a treasure
+which amply recompensed me for the fatigues and dangers of the journey,
+and the considerable expenses of the enterprise.... The escarpment of
+ice was thirty-five to forty toises high; and, according to the report
+of the Tungusians, the animal was, when they first saw it, seven toises
+below the surface of the ice, &c. On arriving with the Mammoth at
+Borchaya, our first care was to separate the remaining flesh and
+ligaments from the bones, which were then packed up. When I arrived at
+the Jakutsk, I had the good fortune to repurchase the tusks, and from
+thence expedited the whole to St Petersburg. The skeleton is now in the
+Museum of the Academy, and the skin still remains attached to the head
+and feet. A part of the skin, and some of the hair of this animal were
+sent by Mr Adams to Sir Joseph Banks, who presented them to the Museum
+of the Royal College of Surgeons. The hair is entirely separated from
+the skin, excepting in one very small part, where it still remains
+attached. It consists of two sorts, common hair and bristles, and of
+each there are several varieties, differing in length and thickness.
+That remaining fixed on the skin is of the colour of the camel, an inch
+and a-half long, very thick-set, and curled in locks. It is interspersed
+with a few bristles about three inches long, of a dark-reddish colour.
+Among the separate parcels of hair are some rather redder than the short
+hair just mentioned, about four inches; and some bristles nearly black,
+much thicker than horse hair, and from twelve to eighteen inches long.
+The skin, when first brought to the Museum, was offensive; it is now
+quite dry and hard, and where most compact, is half-an-inch thick. Its
+colour is the dull black of the living elephants."[10]
+
+To me this narrative possesses an intense interest, and I have gazed
+with great curiosity on the bit of dried and blackened leather that is
+preserved in the Museum in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, knowing it to have
+presented the primal freshness of life within the present century. I
+cannot help thinking that both the rhinoceros and this elephant roamed
+over the plains of Siberia, not only since the creation of man, but even
+since the Deluge. The freshness of their state shews that the freezing
+up of their carcases must have been sudden, and immediate upon death.
+What supposition so natural as that, perhaps in a blinding snowstorm,
+they slipped into a crevice in the ice-cliff, were snowed up instantly,
+and thus preserved by the antiseptic power of frost to this age? The
+glaciers of the north may hold multitudes more of these and kindred
+creatures, some of which may yet be disinterred, or thawed out, and may
+lift yet more the curtain which so tantalisingly covers the conditions
+of their life-history. These two huge Pachyderms are certainly extinct
+now; yet their remains, scattered over so vast an area, are everywhere
+associated with those of other animals which were indubitably
+contemporary with them, and whose species-life is continued to our own
+times. Some of these, as the great bear and the musk-ox of the sub-polar
+regions, we know to be in the habit of migrating northward in spring,
+and southward in autumn. That no lack of suitable food would be found,
+even in such high latitudes, for browsing quadrupeds, appears from the
+fact that, even beyond the parallel of 75 deg. north, large birch-trees are
+found embedded in the cliffs, in abundance sufficient to be largely used
+as common fuel, and still retaining their woody fibre, their bark,
+branches, and roots. The climate then was not _greatly_ different from
+what it is now, when the birch, as a tree, reaches to about 70 deg..
+
+It is interesting to observe that both this elephant and this rhinoceros
+were inhabitants of England also; and that at the same period as the
+cavern bear, the hyena, the lion, and the machairode, the baboon, the
+bison, and the urus, the Irish elk, and the extinct horse; at the same
+time too, as the reindeer, the stag, the black bear, the wolf and fox,
+the beaver, the wild cat, the hare, and rabbit, the otter and badger,
+the wild hog, the rat and mouse, all our present shrews, the mole, the
+stoat and polecat, the noctule and the horse-shoe bats. And curious it
+is to note, as we go over this list, how some of the creatures
+enumerated are long extinct everywhere, some have been long extinct in
+England, but are still found elsewhere, some have more recently become
+extinct here, but at different eras, some are nearly extinguished, and
+some are yet abundant in different degrees.
+
+I do not attach much importance to the traditions of the Siberians, that
+the tusks and skeletons which they find belonged to a large
+subterraneous animal, which could not bear the light; nor to those of
+the Chinese, respecting a similar burrowing quadruped of prodigious
+bulk, which they call, by a sort of irony, _tyn-schu_, or the mouse that
+hides himself. The fables may have easily been formed from the
+observation of the fossil bones, and do not necessarily imply any memory
+of the living original.
+
+The two examples of the exhumation of _Pachydermata_ in a fresh state,
+which I have given in detail, are by no means the only cases that have
+occurred. It is the universally-received belief throughout Siberia, that
+Mammoths have been found with the flesh quite fresh and filled with
+blood; probably meaning that the animal juices flowed when thawed.
+Isbrand Ides mentions a head on which the flesh, in a decaying state,
+was present; and a frozen leg, as large as the body of a man; and Jean
+Bernhard Mueller speaks of a tusk, the cavity of which was filled with a
+substance which resembled coagulated blood.
+
+Again, in the voyage of Sarytschew, particulars are given of the
+discovery of a Mammoth on the banks of the Alaseia, a river which flows
+into the Arctic Ocean, beyond the Indigirska. It had been dislodged by a
+flood, and somewhat injured; but the carcase was still almost entire,
+and was covered with the skin, to which in some places long hair
+remained attached.
+
+These statements might reasonably have been esteemed either fables or
+gross exaggerations, but for the subsequent discovery of the rhinoceros
+and elephant whose remains have been brought to Europe. Read in the
+light of these accounts, the earlier stories take the dignity of
+authentic history; and it is interesting to note how well these details
+agree with those observed by the accurate Adams;--the long hair, for
+example, with which the Alaseia carcase was clothed being the very
+counterpart of that upon the Lena elephant; though _a priori_ we should
+have looked for a very different condition in the integument of these
+huge Pachyderms.
+
+If we look now at the great Mastodon, that elephantine beast, which with
+a stature equal to that of the tallest African elephant combined a much
+greater length of body and bulk of limb, we shall see some reason for
+concluding that the period of its decease is not indefinitely removed
+from our own era. Its remains occur in greatest abundance in North
+America; and it is interesting to observe that among several of the
+aboriginal tribes of Red men there were extant traditions of the
+Mastodon as a living creature. Dim, vague, and distorted these
+traditions are; but so far from our rejecting them _in toto_ on that
+account, we ought rather to consider these characters as evidence of
+their antiquity. When semi-savage nations present us with
+orally-preserved accounts of very remote objects or actions, we look, as
+a matter of course, for a considerable element of the wild, and
+extravagant, and absurd in them. If we found nothing but what was
+reasonable, and consistent, and intelligible, we should say in a moment,
+this account cannot have been transmitted very far. The question, in the
+case before us, is not, we must remember, the precise habits and
+instincts of the Mastodon, but whether the Indians knew anything at all
+of the Mastodon having ever been a living animal. Now, as I have
+observed, they had. M. Fabri, a French officer who had served in Canada,
+informed Buffon that the Red men spoke of the great bones which lay
+scattered in various parts of that region as having belonged to an
+animal which, after their oriental style, they named _Le Pere aux
+B{oe}ufs_. The Shawnee Indians believed that with these enormous animals
+there existed men of proportionate development, and that the Great Being
+destroyed both with thunderbolts. Those of Virginia stated that, as a
+troop of these terrible quadrupeds were destroying the deer, the bisons,
+and the other animals created for the use of the Indians, the Great Man
+slew them all with His thunder, except the big bull, who, nothing
+daunted, presented his enormous forehead to the bolts, and shook them
+off as they fell, till, being at last wounded in the side, he fled
+towards the great lakes, where he is to this day.
+
+Evidence of the comparatively-recent entombment of these remains exists,
+however, of another character. They do not in general appear to have
+been rolled, but to have lived where they are now found; in some
+instances, as along the Great Osage River, being imbedded in a vertical
+position, as if the animals had been suddenly bogged in the swampy soil.
+Nor is there any great accumulation of earth upon them generally. All
+along the edges of that great saline morass called, from the abundance
+of these animal relics, Big Bone Lick, and on the borders, the skeletons
+are found sunk in the soft earth, many of them not more than a yard or
+two below the surface, and some even scarcely covered. With them are
+found in large numbers the bones of the existing bison, the wapiti-stag,
+and other herbivores, which still throng to the same place, for the same
+reasons, and meet the same fate.
+
+Comparative anatomy determines, from the structure of the bones of the
+head in the Mastodon, that it must have carried a proboscis like that of
+the elephant. This, though wholly fleshy, has left traces of its
+existence. Barton reports that, in 1762, out of five skeletons which
+were seen by the natives, one skull still possessed what they described
+as a "long nose" with the mouth under it. And Kalm, in speaking of a
+skeleton, discovered by the Indians in what is now the State of
+Illinois, says that the form of the trunk was still apparent, though
+half decomposed. The preservation of these perishable tissues in this
+case must doubtless be attributed to the salt with which the bog-earth
+is saturated. Still more recently a skeleton was found in Virginia,
+which contained a very interesting proof of the food of the animal: a
+mass of twigs, grass, and leaves, in a half-bruised state, enclosed in a
+sort of sac, lay within the cavity of the body, doubtless the contents
+of the stomach. Some of the twigs could be identified as those of
+existing species of trees and shrubs, among them a species of _rose_,
+still common in the region.
+
+All this is very strong evidence that the deposition of these remains
+cannot have taken place in a _very_ remote era,--that, in fact, it must
+have been since the general deluge recorded in the Word of God.
+
+Hugh Miller has an interesting observation concerning the actual date of
+geologic phenomena in North America, compared with that of their
+counterparts in the Old World. He says, "The much greater remoteness of
+the mastodontic period in Europe than in America is a circumstance
+worthy of notice, as it is one of many facts that seem to indicate a
+general transposition of at least the later geologic ages on the
+opposite sides of the Atlantic. Groups of corresponding character on the
+eastern and western shores of this great ocean were not contemporaneous
+in time. It has been repeatedly remarked that the existing plants and
+trees of the United States, with not a few of its fishes and reptiles,
+bear in their forms and constructions the marks of a much greater
+antiquity than those of Europe. The geologist who set himself to
+discover similar types on the eastern side of the Atlantic, would have
+to seek for them among the deposits of the later tertiaries. North
+America seems to be still passing through its later tertiary ages; and
+it appears to be a consequence of this curious transposition, that while
+in Europe the mastodontic period is removed by two great geologic eras,
+from the present time, it is removed from it in America by only
+one."[11]
+
+Professor Agassiz has expressed opinions of the same character, adducing
+the present existence in America of several forms of animals, which are
+known in this hemisphere only in a fossil state.[12]
+
+I cannot refrain from adding the following combination of fact and
+speculation, from the pen of an accomplished traveller in Mexico. It
+opens up a new train of ideas:--
+
+"Some time before our visit, a number of workmen were employed on the
+neighbouring estate of Chapingo, to excavate a canal over that part of
+the plain from which the waters have gradually retired during the last
+three centuries. At four feet below the surface, they reached an ancient
+causeway, of the existence of which there was of course not the most
+remote suspicion. The cedar piles, by which the sides were supported,
+were still sound at heart. Three feet below the edge of this ancient
+work, in what may have been the very ditch, they struck upon the entire
+skeleton of a Mastodon, embedded in the blue clay. Many of the most
+valuable bones were lost by the careless manner in which they were
+extricated; others were ground to powder on their conveyance to the
+capital, but sufficient remained to prove that the animal had been of
+great size. My informant measured the diameter [_qu._ circumference?]
+of the tusk, and found it to be eighteen inches.
+
+"Though I should be very glad to take shelter under the convenient
+_Quien sabe_? the use of which I have suggested to you, I could not
+avoid, at the time I was in Mexico, putting my isolated facts together,
+and feeling inclined to believe that this country had not only been
+inhabited in extremely remote times, when the valley bore a very
+different aspect from that which it now exhibits, or which tradition
+gives it, but that the extinct race of enormous animals, whose remains
+would seem, in the instance I have cited, to be coeval with the undated
+works of man, may have been subjected to his will, and made
+instrumental, by the application of their gigantic force, to the
+transport of those vast masses of sculptured and chiselled rock which we
+marvel to see lying in positions so far removed from their natural site.
+
+"The existence of these ancient paved causeways also, not only from
+their solid construction over the flat and low plains of the valley, but
+as they may be traced running for miles over the dry table-land and the
+mountains, appears to me to lend plausibility to the supposition; as one
+might inquire, to what end the labour of such works, in a country where
+beasts of burden were unknown?
+
+"But I leave this subject to wiser heads and bolder theorists. Had the
+Mammoth of Chapingo been discovered with a ring in his nose, or a bit in
+his mouth, a yoke on his head, or a crupper under his tail, the
+question would have been set at rest. As it is, there is plenty of room
+for conjecture and dispute."[13]
+
+With respect to the great extinct Mammalia of South America, we find Mr
+Darwin, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of so many of them,
+continually expressing his wonder at the comparatively modern era of
+their existence. After having enumerated nine vast beasts, which he
+found imbedded in the beach at Bahia Blanca, within the space of 200
+yards square, and remarked how numerous in kinds the ancient inhabitants
+of the country must have been, he observes that "this enumeration
+belongs to a very late tertiary period. From the bones of the
+_Scelidotherium_, including even the kneecap, being entombed in their
+proper relative positions, and from the osseous armour of the great
+armadillo-like animal being so well preserved, together with the bones
+of one of its legs, we may feel assured that these remains were fresh
+and united by their ligaments when deposited in the gravel with the
+shells. Hence we have good evidence that the above-enumerated gigantic
+quadrupeds, more different from those of the present day than the oldest
+of the tertiary quadrupeds of Europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled
+with most of its present inhabitants."[14]
+
+Of the remains of the Mylodon, and of that strange semi-aquatic creature
+the Toxodon, he says, they appeared so fresh that it was difficult to
+believe they had lain buried for ages under ground. The bones were so
+fresh, that they yielded, on careful analysis, seven per cent. of
+animal matter, and when heated in the flame of a spirit-lamp, they not
+only exhaled a very strong animal odour, but actually burned with a
+small flame.
+
+Mr Darwin's interest was excited by the evidences everywhere present of
+the immensity of this extinct population. "The number of the remains
+imbedded in the great estuary-deposit which forms the Pampas, and covers
+the gigantic rocks of Banda Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I
+believe a straight line drawn in any direction through the Pampas would
+cut through some skeleton or bones.... We may suppose that the whole
+area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct gigantic
+quadrupeds."[15]
+
+The whole plain of South America from the Rio Plata to the Straits of
+Magellan has been raised from the sea within the species-life of the
+existing sea-shells, the old and weathered specimens of which, left on
+the surface of the plain, still partially retain their colours! Darwin
+infers, as certain, from data which he has adduced, that the Macrauchen,
+that strange giraffe-necked pachyderm, lived _long after_ the sea was
+inhabited by its present shells, and when the vegetation of the land
+could not have been other than it is now. And if the Macrauchen, then
+the Toxodon, the Scelidothere, the Megathere, the Mylodon, the
+Glyptodon, the Glossothere, and all the rest of the quaint but mighty
+host of gone giants, that once thronged these austral plains.
+
+Evidence for the recent existence of the colossal ostrich-like birds of
+New Zealand is stronger still. It is about twenty-one years since the
+first intimation was given to scientific Europe of the remains of such
+animals, through some bones sent by the Rev. W. Williams to Dr Buckland.
+From these, and a collection soon afterwards sent home, Professor Owen
+established the genus _Dinornis_, identifying five species, the largest
+of which, _D. giganteus_, he concluded to have stood about ten feet in
+height. The remains have since been obtained in great profusion, and the
+result of further investigations by the Professor has been the
+establishment of three other genera, viz., _Palapteryx_, _Nestor_, and
+_Notornis_,--the latter a large bird allied to the Rails and Coots.
+
+A very interesting communication from Mr Williams accompanied one of the
+consignments, extracts of which I will quote. It bears date "Poverty
+Bay, New Zealand, 17th May 1842." "It is about three years ago, on
+paying a visit to this coast, south of the East Cape, that the natives
+told me of some extraordinary monster, which they said was in existence
+in an inaccessible cavern on the side of a hill near the river Wairoa;
+and they shewed me at the same time some fragments of bone taken out of
+the beds of rivers, which they said belonged to this creature, to which
+they gave the name of _Moa_. When I came to reside in this neighbourhood
+I heard the same story a little enlarged; for it was said that this
+creature _was still existing_ at the said hill, of which the name is
+Wakapunake, and that it is guarded by a reptile of the Lizard species,
+but I could not learn that any of the present generation had seen it. I
+still considered the whole as an idle fable, but offered a large reward
+to any who would catch me either the bird or its protector." These
+offers procured the collection of a considerable number of fossil bones,
+on which Mr Williams makes the following observations:--
+
+"1. None of these bones have been found on the dry land, but are all of
+them from the banks and beds of fresh-water rivers, buried only a little
+distance in the mud.... All the streams are in immediate connexion with
+hills of some altitude.
+
+"2. This bird was in existence here at no very distant time, though not
+in the memory of any of the inhabitants: for the bones are found in the
+beds of the present streams, and do not appear to have been brought into
+their present situation by the action of any violent rush of waters.
+
+"3. They existed in considerable numbers,--(an observation which has
+since been abundantly confirmed.)
+
+"4. It may be inferred that this bird was long-lived, and that it was
+many years before it attained its full size. (The writer grounds this
+inference on the disparity in dimensions of the corresponding bones,
+supposing that they all belonged to one and the same species; which,
+however, was an erroneous assumption.)
+
+"5. The greatest height of the bird was probably not less than fourteen
+or sixteen feet. The leg-bones now sent give the height of six feet to
+the root of the tail.
+
+"Within the last few days I have obtained a piece of information worthy
+of notice. Happening to speak to an American about these bones, he told
+me that the bird is still in existence in the neighbourhood of Cloudy
+Bay, in Cook's Straits. He said that the natives there had mentioned to
+an Englishman belonging to a whaling party, that there was a bird of
+extraordinary size to be seen only at night, on the side of a hill near
+the place, and that he, with a native and a second Englishman, went to
+the spot; that, after waiting some time, they saw the creature at a
+little distance, which they describe as being about fourteen or sixteen
+feet high. One of the men proposed to go nearer and shoot, but his
+companion was so exceedingly terrified, or perhaps both of them, that
+they were satisfied with looking at the bird, when, after a little time,
+it took the alarm, and strode off up the side of the mountain.
+
+"This incident might not have been worth mentioning, had it not been for
+the extraordinary agreement in point of the size of the bird [with my
+deductions from the bones]. _Here_ are the bones which will satisfy you
+that such a bird _has been_ in existence; and _there_ is said to be the
+_living bird_, the supposed size of which, given by an independent
+witness, precisely agrees."
+
+[Illustration: ENCOUNTER WITH A MOA.]
+
+The story told of the whaler appears to me to bear marks of truth. The
+bold essay to explore, the terror inspired by the gigantic figure,
+especially in the solemnity of night, the description of the manners of
+the bird running and striding, so like those of the Apteryx, with which
+its bones shew the Moa to have been closely allied, and the inglorious
+return of the party without achieving any exploit, are all too
+natural to permit the thought that no more than inventive power has been
+at work.
+
+And well may the colossus have inspired fear. The bones sent to London
+greatly exceed in bulk those of the largest horse. The leg-bone of a
+tall man is about one foot four inches in length, and the thigh of
+O'Brien, the Irish giant, whose skeleton, eight feet high, is mounted in
+the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, is not quite two feet. But
+the leg-bone (_tibia_) of the _Dinornis_ we know measured as much as two
+feet ten inches, and we have no reason to suppose, considering the
+disparity that exists in the specimens examined, that we have seen by
+any means the largest.
+
+Additional reason for supposing these magnificent birds to have existed
+not long ago, is found in the fact that specimens of their eggs have
+been preserved. The circumstances attendant on the discovery and
+identification of these possess a remarkable interest. In the volcanic
+sand of New Zealand Mr Walter Mantell found a gigantic egg, which we may
+reasonably infer to be that of either _Dinornis_ or _Palapteryx_, of the
+magnitude of which he gives us a familiar idea by saying that his hat
+would have been but just large enough to have served as an egg-cup for
+it. This is the statement of a man of science, and therefore we may
+assume an approximate degree of precision in the comparison.
+
+I do not know the size of Mr Mantell's hat, but I find that the
+transverse diameter of my own is six inches or a little more. If we may
+take this as the shorter diameter of the ovoid, the longer would
+probably be about eight and a half inches; dimensions considerably
+greater than those of the Ostrich's egg (which are about six and a
+quarter in length), but not what we should have expected from a bird
+from twelve to fourteen feet in height. And this the rather when we
+consider that the egg of the New Zealand _Apteryx_, to which these birds
+manifest a very close affinity, is one of dimensions that are quite
+surprising in proportion to the bulk of the bird. The Apteryx is about
+as big as a turkey, standing two feet in height, but its egg measures
+four inches ten lines by three inches two lines in the respective
+diameters. The egg of the _Dinornis giganteus_, to bear the same ratio
+to the bird as this, would be of the incredible length of two feet and a
+half, by a breadth of one and three quarters! Possibly this specimen,
+though indubitably the egg of one of this great family of extinct birds,
+may after all be that of one of the subordinate species.
+
+But about the same time as Mr Mantell's discovery, one of equal interest
+was made in Madagascar. The master of a French ship obtained, in 1850,
+from natives of the island, three eggs, of far greater size, and
+fragments of the leg-bones of an immense bird. These, on their arrival
+at Paris, formed the subjects of valuable investigations by M. Isidore
+Geoffroy St Hilaire[16] and Professor Owen.[17]
+
+The native statement was, that one of the eggs had been found entire in
+the bed of a torrent, among the debris of a land-slip; that a second
+egg, with some fragments of bone, was subsequently found in a formation
+_which is stated to be alluvial_; a third egg, which the natives had
+perforated at one end, and used as a vessel, was also found. This last
+egg was broken in the carriage, the other two arrived in Europe entire.
+
+These two, though nearly alike in size, differed considerably in their
+relative proportions and shape, the one being shorter and thicker, with
+more equal ends than the other. The following table shews the dimensions
+of both compared with those of an ostrich's egg:--
+
+                           Ovoid egg.   Ellipsoid egg.   Ostrich egg.
+                          ft. in. li.    ft. in. li.      ft. in. li.
+Longer circumference       2  10   9      2   9   6        1   6   0
+Shorter circumference      2   4   3      2   5   6        1   4   6
+Extreme length             1   0   8      1   0   5        0   6   4
+
+M. Geoffroy St Hilaire estimates the larger of the two to contain 10-1/8
+quarts, or the contents of nearly six eggs of the Ostrich, or sixteen of
+the Cassowary, or a hundred and forty-eight of the Hen, or fifty
+thousand of the Humming bird.[18]
+
+The fragments of bone indicated a bird of the same natural affinities as
+the New Zealand colossi, and of dimensions not widely remote from
+theirs. Professor Owen thinks that it did not exceed in height or size
+_Dinornis giganteus_, and that there is a probability that it was
+slightly smaller. The Madagascar bird has been named _AEpyornis
+maximus_.
+
+The fragments of the egg of the New Zealand bird (still uncertain as to
+the species to which it is to be referred) shew that the shell was
+absolutely thinner, and therefore relatively _much_ thinner than that of
+the Ostrich's egg; the air-pores, too, have a different form, being
+linear, instead of round, and the surface is smoother. In these
+qualities, the New Zealand egg resembles that of the _Apteryx_; in the
+thickness and roughness of the egg of _AEpyornis_ there is more
+similarity to those of the Ostrich and Cassowary. The colour of the
+Madagascar egg is a dull greyish yellow; but it is possible that this
+may be derived from the soil in which it has long been imbedded. The
+fragments of the New Zealand egg are white, like the eggs of the
+_Apteryx_ and Ostrich: those of the Emu and Cassowary are light green.
+
+The willing fancy suggests the possibility that, in an island of such
+immensity as Madagascar, possessing lofty mountain-ranges, covered with
+the most magnificent forests, where civilised man has only yet touched
+one or two spots on the seaward borders, but where these slight
+explorations have educed so many wondrous animals, so many strange forms
+of vegetable life, the noble _AEpyornis_ may yet be stalking with giant
+stride along the fern-fringed hill-sides, or through the steaming
+thickets; though in the more contracted area of New Zealand its equally
+ponderous cousins, the _Dinornis_ and the _Palapteryx_, may have sunk
+beneath the persevering persecutions of man.
+
+Yet another item of evidence bearing on the recent if not present
+existence of these great fowls has recently come to light:--the most
+interesting discovery that one of the genera whose fossil remains had
+been found associated with theirs is really extant in New Zealand. I
+refer to the _Notornis_.
+
+At a meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held on the 13th
+November 1850, Dr Mantell made the following communication relative to
+this discovery:--
+
+"It was in the course of last year, on the occasion of my son's second
+visit to the south of the middle island, that he had the good fortune to
+secure the recent _Notornis_, which I now submit, having previously
+placed it in the hands of the eminent ornithologist Mr Gould, to figure
+and describe. This bird was taken by some sealers who were pursuing
+their avocations in Dusky Bay. Perceiving the trail of a large and
+unknown bird on the snow, with which the ground was then covered, they
+followed the footprints till they obtained a sight of the _Notornis_,
+which their dogs instantly pursued, and, after a long chase, caught
+alive in the gully of a sound behind Resolution Island. It ran with
+great speed, and on being captured uttered loud screams, and fought and
+struggled violently. It was kept alive three or four days on board the
+schooner, and then killed, and the body roasted and eaten by the crew,
+each partaking of the dainty, which was declared to be delicious. The
+beak and legs were of a bright red colour. My son secured the skin,
+together with very fine specimens of the Kapapo or ground parrot
+(_Strigops_), a pair of Huias (_Neomorpha_), and two species of
+Kiwikiwi, namely _Apteryx Australis_, and _A. Oweni_. The latter very
+rare bird is now added to the collection of the British Museum."
+
+"Mr Walter Mantell states, that, according to the native traditions, a
+large Rail was contemporary with the Moa, and formed a principal article
+of food among their ancestors. It was known to the North Islanders by
+the name 'Moho,' and to the South Islanders by that of 'Takahe;' but the
+bird was considered by both natives and Europeans to have been long
+since exterminated by the wild cats and dogs; not an individual having
+been seen or heard of since the arrival of the English colonists. On
+comparing the head of the bird with the fossil cranium, and mandibles,
+and the figures and descriptions in the 'Zoological Transactions' (Plate
+lvi.), my son was at once convinced of their identity. It may not be
+irrelevant to add, that in the course of Mr Walter Mantell's journey
+from Banks's Peninsula along the coast to Otago, he learned from the
+natives that they believed there still existed in that country the only
+indigenous terrestrial quadruped, except a species of rat, which there
+are any reasonable grounds for concluding New Zealand ever possessed.
+While encamping at Arowenua, in the district of Timaru, the Maoris
+assured them that about ten miles inland there was a quadruped which
+they called Kaureke, and that it was formerly abundant, and often kept
+by their ancestors in a domestic state as a pet animal. It was described
+as about two feet in length, with coarse grizzly hair; and must have
+more nearly resembled the otter or badger than the beaver or the
+Ornithorhynchus, which the first accounts seem to suggest as the
+probable type. The offer of a liberal reward induced some of the Maoris
+to start for the interior of the country where the Kaureke was supposed
+to be located; but they returned without having obtained the slightest
+trace of the existence of such an animal. My son, however, expresses his
+belief in the native accounts, and that, if the creature no longer
+exists, its extermination is of very recent date. In concluding this
+brief narrative of the discovery of a genus of birds once contemporary
+with the colossal Moa, and hitherto only known by its fossil remains, I
+beg to remark that this highly interesting fact tends to confirm the
+conclusions expressed in my communication to the Geological Society,
+namely, that the _Dinornis_, _Palapteryx_, and related forms, were
+coeval with some of the existing species of birds peculiar to New
+Zealand, and that their final extinction took place at no very distant
+period, and long after the advent of the aboriginal Maoris."
+
+Mr Gould then read a paper pointing out the zoological characters of the
+bird discovered by Mr Mantell, which he had no hesitation in identifying
+as the species formerly characterised, from its osseous remains, by
+Professor Owen, under the name of _Notornis Mantelli_. Mr Gould, in
+adverting to the extreme interest with which the present existence of a
+species which was certainly contemporary with the Moa must be regarded,
+pointed out, from the preserved skin, which was on the table, how
+accurate a prevision of its character had been made by Professor Owen,
+when investigating the fragments from which our first knowledge of it
+had been derived.[19]
+
+At length I come home to Great Britain and Ireland--the "nice little,
+tight little islands" where so many of our sympathies properly centre,
+where natural-history facts and all other facts interest us so much more
+than parallel facts elsewhere, and where, above all, there are so many
+more lights streaming into the darkness, and bringing out truth. Let us
+again look back to the period of the Bison, and Reindeer, and Elk, of
+the Elephant, and Hippopotamus, and Rhinoceros, of the Lion and the
+Hyena, and the great Cave Bear, and search among the vanishing traces of
+the far past for glimpses of evidence when their age ceased to be.
+
+Some dim light falls on the obscurity from the discovery of the fossil
+remains of man himself--the human bones found by Dr Schmerling in a
+cavern near Liege, the remains mentioned by M. Marcel de Serres and
+others in several caverns in France, associated with fossil relics of
+this period. But more from the occurrence of flints, apparently
+fashioned by human art, in superficial deposits, together with the same
+extinct fossils of the tertiary. Even at the very moment that I write
+this sheet, my eye falls on the report[20] of an important meeting of
+the Ethnological Society, for the purpose of discussing this very
+subject of "The flint implements found associated with the bones of
+extinct animals in the Drift." Many of the leading geologists and
+archaeologists were present, for the matter has become one of absorbing
+interest, conflicting, as the facts seem to do, with some assumptions
+received as unquestioned verities in Geology.
+
+These flints, which seem indubitably to have been chipped into the forms
+of arrow-heads, lance-heads, and the like, have been found in France in
+large numbers, as also in other parts of the continent, and in England.
+They resemble those still used by some savage tribes. In this very
+neighbourhood, as in the cavern called Kent's Hole near Torquay, and in
+one more recently examined at Brixham, they are found mixed up with the
+bones of the Rhinoceros, of the Cave Bear, and the Hyena, At
+Menchecourt, near Abbeville, they occur in a deposit of sand, sandy
+clay, and marl, with bones of the same animals, and others, their
+contemporaries. Concerning this bed, Mr Prestwich, in a paper read
+before the Royal Society, May 26, 1859, says that it must be referred to
+those usually designated as post pliocene, but that the period of its
+deposit was anterior to that of the surface assuming its present
+outline, so far as some of its minor features are concerned. "He does
+not, however, consider that the facts of necessity carry man back in
+past time more than they _bring forward the great extinct mammals
+towards our own time_, the evidence having reference only to relative,
+and not to absolute time; and he is of opinion that many of the later
+geological changes may have been sudden, or of shorter duration than
+generally considered. In fact, from the evidence here exhibited, and
+from all that he knows regarding the drift phenomena generally, the
+author sees no reason against the conclusion that this period of man and
+the extinct mammals--supposing their contemporaneity to be proved--was
+brought to a sudden end by a temporary inundation of the land; on the
+contrary, he sees much to support such a view on purely geological
+considerations."[21]
+
+At the meeting of the Ethnological Society just held, there seems to
+have been an increasing tendency to admit the hypothesis of the
+continuance of the Mammalia of the Tertiary into the human era. Mr
+Evans, who exhibited specimens taken at a depth of twenty to thirty
+feet, from a stratum of coarse fresh-water gravel, lying on chalk, and
+containing an entire skeleton of an extinct Rhinoceros, and overlaid by
+sandy marl containing existing shells, shewed that the deposit had
+certainly not been disturbed till the present time, so that the gravel,
+the bones, and the flints had been deposited coetaneously. He suggested
+"that the animals supposed to have become extinct before man was created
+might have continued to exist to more recent periods than had been
+admitted." And this opinion found support from other leading geologists.
+
+That this conclusion would throw the existence of man to an era far
+higher than that assigned to him by the inspired Word, is, I know,
+generally held; and certain investigations, made in the alluvial deposit
+of the Nile,[22] are considered to prove that man has been living in a
+state of comparative civilisation in the Nile Valley for the last
+13,500 years. But that conclusion absolutely rests on the supposition
+that the rate of increase formed by the annual deposit of the Nile mud
+has been always exactly the same as now,--a supposition, not only
+without the least shadow of proof, but also directly contrary to the
+highest probability, nay, certainty, in the estimation of those who
+believe in the Noachian deluge. For surely the drainage of the entire
+plain of North Africa after that inundation must have produced an
+alluvium of vast thickness in a very brief time; while beneath that
+deposit the works of the antediluvian world might well be buried. Yet
+the possibility of there ever having been any greater rate of deposit
+than within the last 3000 years, the recorder of those investigations,
+in his unseemly haste to prove the Bible false, strangely leaves wholly
+out of his consideration.
+
+So, doubtless, concerning other deposits containing fossil remains,
+whose extreme antiquity is assumed from the known rate of
+surface-increase now, we ought to remember that we have not a tittle of
+proof that the rate of increase has not at certain remote periods been
+suddenly and immensely augmented. There are many facts on record which
+tend to shew that the rate at which geologic changes take place in
+certain localities affords no reliable data whatever to infer that at
+which phenomena apparently quite parallel have occurred in other
+localities. An upheaval or a subsidence of one part of a country may
+rapidly effect a great change in the amount of soil or gravel
+precipitated by streams, without destroying or changing their channels,
+and yet the deposit may be made sufficiently gradually to allow the
+burial of shells or of bones of creatures which lived and died on the
+spot.
+
+The degradation of a cliff, either suddenly or gradually, might throw a
+vast quantity of fragments into a rapid stream, and cause a deposit of
+gravel of considerable breadth and thickness in a comparatively short
+period of time,--say a century or two.
+
+Sir Charles Lyell has adduced examples of very rapid formation of
+certain stony deposits, which should make us cautious how we assert that
+such and such a thickness _must_ have required a vast number of years.
+In one of them there is a thickness of 200 or 300 feet of travertine of
+recent deposit, while in another, a solid mass _thirty feet thick was
+deposited in about twenty years_. There are countless places in Italy
+where the formation of limestone may be seen, as also in Auvergne and
+other volcanic districts.[23]
+
+From these and similar considerations it seems to me by no means
+unreasonable that the four thousand years which elapsed between the
+Creation and the commencement of Western European history should have
+been amply sufficient for many of those geological operations whose
+results are seen in what are known as the later Tertiary deposits,--the
+crag, the drift, the cavern-accumulations, and the like. And, as a
+corollary to this, that the great extinct Mammalia may have extended
+into this period, and thus have been contemporary with man, for a
+greater or less duration, according to the species; some, probably,
+having been extinguished at a very early period of the era, while others
+lived on to the time I have named, or even later.
+
+But have we nothing better for this conclusion than an assumption of the
+possibility, and a more or less probable conjecture? Yes; we have some
+facts of interest to warrant it, or I should not have ventured to
+introduce the subject in this work. There are facts,--besides the
+admixture of human workmanship with the animal remains in undisturbed
+deposits--direct evidence, not altogether shadowy, of the co-existence
+of the extinct animals with living men.
+
+And first, I would mention some circumstances bearing analogy to the
+exhumation of the fresh Pachyderms of Siberia. Some years ago, a portion
+of the leg of an Irish Elk, so-called, (_Megaceros hibernicus_,) with a
+part of the tendons, skin, and hair upon it, was dug up with other
+remains from a deposit on the estate of H. Grogan Morgan, Esq., of
+Johnstown Castle, Wexford, and is now in that gentleman's possession.
+This leg was exhibited, and formed the subject of a lecture at the time
+by Mr Peile, veterinary surgeon, Dublin.
+
+It has been ascertained that the marrow in some of the bones blazes like
+a candle; that the cartilage and gelatine, so far from having been
+destroyed, were not apparently altered by time.[24] Archdeacon Maunsell
+actually made soup of the bones, and presented a portion thereof to the
+Royal Dublin Society (whether they enjoyed it I have not heard; it must
+have been "a little high," I fear). They are frequently used by the
+peasantry for fuel. On the occasion of the rejoicings for the victory at
+Waterloo, a bonfire was made of these bones, and it was observed that
+they gave out as good a blaze as those of horses, often used for similar
+purposes.[25]
+
+Pepper, in his "History of Ireland," states that the ancient Irish used
+to hunt a very large black deer, the milk of which they used as we do
+that of the cow, and the flesh of which served them for food, and the
+skin for clothing. This is a very remarkable record; and is confirmed by
+some bronze tablets found by Sir William Betham, the inscriptions on
+which attested that the ancient Irish fed upon the milk and flesh of a
+great black deer.
+
+According to the "Annals of the Four Masters," Niel Sedamin, a king of
+Ireland before the Christian era, was so called because "the cows and
+the female deer were alike milked in his reign." The art of taming the
+wild deer and converting them into domestic cattle is said to have been
+introduced by Flidisia, this monarch's mother. Deer are said to have
+been used to carry stones and wood for Codocus when his monastery was
+built, as also to carry timber to build the castle of a king of
+Connaught. These may have been red deer, but as there is good proof
+that the giant deer was really domesticated, it seems more likely that
+such offices should have been performed by the latter than by the
+former.
+
+An interesting letter from the Countess of Moira, published in the
+"Archaeologia Britannica," gives an account of a human body found in
+gravel under eleven feet of peat, soaked in the bog-water; it was in
+good preservation, and completely clothed in antique garments of
+deer-hair, conjectured to be that of the Giant Elk.
+
+A skull of the same animal has been discovered in Germany in an ancient
+drain, together with several urns and stone-hatchets. And in the museum
+of the Royal Dublin Society there exists a fossil rib bearing evident
+token of having been wounded by some sharp instrument which remained
+long infixed in the wound, but had not penetrated so deep as to destroy
+the creature's life. It was such a wound as the head of an arrow,
+whether of flint or of metal, would produce.
+
+In the year 1846, a very interesting corroboration of the opinion long
+held by some that the great broad-horned Deer was domesticated by the
+ancient Irish, was given by the discovery of a vast collection of bones
+at Lough Gur, near Limerick. The word Gur is said to mean "an
+assemblage," so that the locality is "the Lake of the Assemblage,"
+commemorating perhaps the gathering of an army or some other host at the
+spot. In the midst of the lake is an island, which is described as being
+so completely surrounded with bones and skulls of animals "that one
+would think the cattle of an entire nation must have been slaughtered to
+procure so vast an assemblage."
+
+The skulls are described as belonging to the following animals:--The
+giant deer (females); a deer of inferior size; the stag; another species
+of stag; the fallow deer; the broad-faced ox; the hollow-faced ox; the
+long-faced ox; another species of ox; the common short-horned ox; the
+goat; and the hog.
+
+The principal points of interest centred in the Giant Deer or so-called
+Irish Elk. The skulls of these, as of all the larger animals, "were
+broken in by some sharp and heavy instrument, and in the same manner as
+butchers of the present day slaughter cattle for our markets, and in
+many cases the marrow-bones were broken across, as if to get at the
+marrow."
+
+Of course, if this was indubitable, the conclusion was inevitable, that
+the Giant Deer was not only contemporary with man, but was domesticated
+by him with other quadrupeds, and used for food. Professor Owen,
+however, contended that the skulls of the Giant Deer were not females
+but males, from which the horns had been forcibly removed, and that the
+holes in the foreheads were made by the violent wrenching off of the
+horns tearing away a portion of the frontal bone from which they grew.
+
+In reply to this opinion, Mr H. D. Richardson of Dublin, whose personal
+acquaintance with the relics of this noble species is peculiarly
+extensive, shewed that certain variations of proportion on which the
+learned Professor relied to prove the skulls to be male, were of no
+such value, individual animals presenting great discrepancies in these
+respects: that the total absence of cornuous peduncles from the sides of
+the forehead, and of the elevated bony ridge, conclusively proved the
+sex to be female, which was permanently destitute of horns; and that in
+no case could it be said that the ridge was forced away, since the
+violence was confined to a _small hole_ in the centre of the forehead.
+
+To put the matter to test, Mr Richardson experimented on two perfect
+male skulls. In the one instance the force was applied to the beam of
+the horns, and the result was their fracture where they are united to
+the peduncles. In the other case the force was applied to the peduncles
+themselves, to ascertain whether it was possible to wrench them and the
+ridge away from the face, when the consequence was, that the skull was
+completely riven asunder. Indeed to any one who looks at the position of
+the horns in this animal, and their implantation, it must be
+self-evident that their violent removal must tear away the entire
+forehead, and not leave a central hole. Mr Edward Newman who
+subsequently examined the specimens speaks decidedly on this point:--"I
+have not the least hesitation in expressing my firm conviction that the
+fractures were the result of human hands, and were the cause of the
+death of the animals. These two fractured skulls correspond too exactly
+with each other, and with that of a bullock with which I compared them,
+to have resulted from accident: the edges of the fractures wore the
+appearance of having been coeval with the interment or submergence of
+the skulls, and presented a very strikingly different appearance from a
+fracture recently made, and which I had the opportunity of examining.
+There were several skulls of the male of the same species, one bearing
+enormous antlers, but none exhibiting the slightest trace of frontal
+fracture."[26]
+
+A circumstance of much importance is that these skulls were found in
+company with those of many well-known domestic animals, as the ox, the
+goat, and the hog. _These skulls were similarly fractured._ As it is
+evident that _their_ demolition was produced by the butcher's pole-axe,
+why not that of the elk-skulls?
+
+"At the first cursory glance, it may appear somewhat strange that the
+skulls of the males should invariably have been found entire, and that
+even the recent discovery at Lough Gur should form no exception.
+
+"I do not, however, find any difficulty here. In the first place, we may
+fairly suppose that males, like our bulls, were not equally prized as
+food. In the second place, the size, as well as the position of the
+antlers, would render it next to an impossibility to give the desired
+blow with the pole-axe. In the third place, the greater strength and
+thickness of the skull would almost to a certainty render the blow
+unavailing; and in the fourth place, supposing the females domesticated,
+and the occasional tenants of sheds and other buildings, we may well
+imagine that the males were excluded from such buildings by the enormous
+size of their antlers. Perhaps a few only of the males, as in our
+cattle, were suffered to become adult, one male sufficing for many
+females. Perhaps the males were allowed free range, the females only
+being permitted at stated seasons to accompany them. In fine, the more
+we investigate probabilities, the more we reason from present experience
+and knowledge, the less difficulty shall we find in the way of believing
+the gigantic deer of Ireland an animal coeval with man and subservient
+to his uses."[27]
+
+In a communication subsequently made to the _Zoologist_ by Mr
+Richardson, he gives the following additional evidence:--"In the
+collection of the late Mr Johnston, of Down, which had been left by his
+uncle, an attorney, and in which everything was labelled with the
+accuracy and precision of that profession, is a small brass spear, with
+a piece of wood still in the socket, with a label, stating it to have
+been found in a marl-pit, among the bones of a deer. An excise-officer
+told me that he saw, found in a marl-pit, at Mentrim in Meath, the
+skeleton of a deer, and a man, and a long knife: the latter, I believe,
+is rather a short sword, now, I think, in the collection of Mr Petrie,
+of Dublin, who told me that some such tradition had accompanied it into
+his possession.... Dr Martin informs me that on the banks of the river
+Suir, near Portland, Waterford, and on nearly every farm, are found,
+near springs, spaces of frequently seventy feet in diameter, consisting
+of stones, broken up as if for roads, and lying together in a mass.
+These stones were evidently purposely broken, and all much of one size,
+and are charred. These spaces are many feet in depth. The tradition
+respecting them is current among the peasantry, that here in olden time,
+a great deer was killed and baked in these stone-pits, the stones having
+been previously heated like a kiln, and they also distinguish the animal
+as the 'Irish Elk.' These places are called in Irish by a name
+signifying the 'Buck's Den.'"
+
+[Illustration: SPEARING THE ANCIENT ELK.]
+
+From all these testimonies combined, can we hesitate a moment in
+believing that the Giant Deer was an inhabitant of Ireland since its
+colonisation by man? It seems to me that its extinction cannot have
+taken place more than a thousand years ago. Perhaps at the very time
+that Caesar invaded Britain the Celts in the sister isle were milking and
+slaughtering their female elks, domesticated in their cattlepens of
+granite, and hunting the proud-antlered male with their flint arrows and
+lances. It would appear, that the mode of hunting him was to chase and
+terrify him into pools and swamps, such as the marl-pits then were;
+that, having thus disabled him in the yielding bogs, and slain him, the
+head was cut off, as of too little value to be worth the trouble of
+dragging home; that the under jaws and tongue were cut off; and that
+frequently the entire carcase was disjointed on the spot, the best parts
+only being removed. This would account for the so frequent occurrence of
+separate portions of the skeleton, and especially of skulls, in the
+bog-earth. No doubt so large an animal would not long survive in a state
+of freedom, after an island so limited in extent as Ireland became
+peopled throughout; and supposing the females to have been
+domesticated, it is quite conceivable that the difficulty or even danger
+of capturing or domesticating the males, may have caused the species
+soon to become extinct in captivity, when it no longer continued to
+exist in a wild state. Thus we may perhaps account for the certainly
+remarkable fact that no native Irish name has been recognised as
+belonging to it;--remarkable, because the Irish tongue is particularly
+rich in distinctive names for natural objects. There exists a very
+curious ancient poem in that language which professes to enumerate the
+whole fauna of the island. It is founded on the legend that Fian
+MacCumhaill was made prisoner by Cormac MacArt, king of Erinn; that the
+victor promised to give him freedom on condition that, as a ransom, a
+pair of each wild animal found in Ireland were brought before him on the
+green of Tara. Cailte MacRonain, the foster-brother of the captive
+general undertook the task, and succeeded in bringing the collection
+before the king within a twelvemonth; and in the poem, he is supposed to
+narrate to St Patrick the detail and result of his enterprise. Of this
+poem, which is considered to be as early as the ninth century, the
+reader may like to see the following translation by Mr Eugene Curry,
+containing the zoological portion:--
+
+      "I then went forth to search the lands,
+        To see if I could redeem my chief,
+      And soon returned to noble Tara,
+        With the ransom that Cormac required.
+
+      "I brought with me the fierce _Geilt_,[28]
+        And the tall _Grib_[29] with talons,
+      And the two Ravens of Fid-da-Beann,
+        And the two Ducks of Loch Saileann.
+
+      "Two Foxes from Sliabh Cuilinn,
+        Two Wild Oxen[30] from Burren,
+      Two Swans from the dark wood of Gabhran,
+        And two Cuckoos from the wood of Fordrum.
+
+      "Two _Toghmalls_[31] from Fidh-Gaibhle,
+        Which is by the side of the two roads,
+      And two Otters after them,
+        From the brown-white rock of Dobhar.
+
+      "Two Gulls from Tralee hither,
+        Two _Ruilechs_[32] from Port Lairge (Waterford),
+      Four _Snags_[33] from the River Brosna,
+        Two Plovers from the rock of Dunan.
+
+      "Two _Echtachs_[34] from the lofty Echtghe,
+        Two Thrushes from Letter Longarie,
+      Two _Drenns_[35] from Dun Aife,
+        The two _Cainches_[36] of Corraivte.
+
+      "Two Herons from the hilly Corann,
+        The two _Errfiachs_[37] of Magh Fobhair,
+      The two Eagles of Carrick-na-Cloch,
+        Two Hawks from the wood of Caenach.
+
+      "Two Pheasants from Loch Meilge,
+        Two Water-hens from Loch Eirne,
+      Two Heath-hens from the Bog of Mafa,
+        Two Swift Divers from Dubh Loch.
+
+      "Two _Cricharans_[38] from Cualann,
+        Two Titmice from Magh Tualang,
+      Two Choughs from Gleann Gaibhle,
+        Two Sparrows from the Shannon.
+
+      "Two Cormorants from Ath Cliath,
+        Two _Onchus_[39] from Crotta Cliach,
+      Two Jackdaws from Druim Damh,
+        Two _Riabhogs_[40] from Leathan Mhaigh.
+
+      "Two Rabbits from Dumho Duinn,
+        Two wild Hogs from circular Cnoghbha,
+      Two _Peatans_[41] from Creat Roe,
+        Two wild Boars[42] from green-sided Tara.
+
+      "Two Pigeons out of Ceis Corann,
+        Two Blackbirds out of Leitir Finnchoill,
+      Two black Birds (?) from the strand of Dabhan,
+        Two Roebucks from Luachair Deaghaidh.
+
+      "Two _Fereidhins_[43] from Ath Loich,
+        Two Fawns from Moin mor,
+      Two Bats out of the Cave of Cnoghbha,
+        Two Pigs[44] from the lands of Ollarbha.
+
+      "Two Swallows out of Sidh Buidhe,
+        Two _Iaronns_[45] from the wood of Luadraidh,
+      Two _Geisechtachs_[46] from Magh Mall,
+        Two charming Robins from Cnamh Choill.
+
+      "Two Woodcocks from Coillruadh,
+        Two Crows from Lenn Uar,
+      Two _Bruacharans_[47] from Sliabh-da-Ean,
+        Two Barnacle-Geese from Turloch Bruigheoil.
+
+      "Two _Naescans_[48] from Dun Daighre,
+        Two Yellow-ammers from the brink of Bairne,
+      Two _Spireogs_[49] from Sliabh Cleath,
+        Two Grey Mice from Limerick.
+
+      "Two Corncrakes from the Banks of Shannon,
+        Two Wagtails from the brinks of Birra,
+      Two Curlews from the Harbour of Galway,
+        Two _Sgreachogs_[50] from Muirtheimhne.
+
+      "Two _Geilt Glinnes_[51] from Glenn-a-Smoil,
+        Two Jackdaws from great Ath Mogha,
+      Two fleet _Onchus_[52] from Loch Con,
+        Two Cats out of the Cave of Cruachain.
+
+      "Two Goats from Sith Gabhran,
+        Two Pigs[53] of the Pigs of Mac Lir,
+      A Ram and Ewe both round and red,
+        I brought with me from Aengus.
+
+      "I brought with me a Stallion and a Mare,
+        From the beautiful stud of Manannan,
+      A Bull and a white Cow from Druim Cain,
+        Which were given me by Muirn Munchain."
+
+No _known_ allusion occurs in this poem to the Giant Deer.[54] First,
+however, we must remember that no small number of the animals mentioned
+are quite unrecognisable; and that of those names to which an
+explanation is given, many are probably incorrectly rendered. Secondly,
+if it could be absolutely shewn that no allusion exists to that fine
+beast, it would not at all disprove its existence a thousand years
+before. Supposing that the _Megaceros_ became extinct soon after the
+colonisation of Ireland, and that this was several centuries before the
+Christian era, the distinctive name by which it had been known might
+well have died out and become extinct also, among a people unacquainted
+with letters. Or if a dim tradition of the animal and of its name still
+lingered here and there, it might well be omitted from a catalogue which
+professed to give the creatures actually collected in a living state at
+a given period. It would have been interesting to have been able to
+identify the Great Elk, but its introduction would have been a glaring
+anachronism.
+
+The enumeration of nearly a hundred and sixty quadrupeds and birds
+either indigenous to or naturalised in Ireland at so early a period,
+possesses, I say, a peculiar interest.
+
+If the editor's suggestion is correct, that the _Echtach_ was a bovine
+animal, then we have three distinct mentions of this family in the
+poem,--the Wild Oxen, the Echtachs, and the Bull and White Cow. The
+second and third of these were probably domesticated animals; the first
+one expressly "Wild." Now at least five distinct species of Oxen are
+known to have inhabited Europe and the British Isles during the later
+periods of the Tertiary era, which have been named respectively, _Bison
+priscus_, _Bos primigenius_, _frontosus_ and _longifrons_, and _Ovibos
+moschatus_. Of these, skulls of _Bos frontosus_ and _B. longifrons_ have
+been dug up in some numbers in Ireland. Some of these bear, in the
+perforation of the forehead, evident proof of having been slaughtered
+_secundum artem_, and therefore of having been domesticated. But one
+large skull of the _longifrons_ type, now in the Museum of the Royal
+Irish Academy, has a cut in the forehead, into which can be accurately
+fitted several of the narrow bronze "celts," or arrow-heads so
+frequently dug up in Ireland; a pretty fair proof that this animal was
+killed by the hunter's arrow, and was therefore wild.
+
+No bovine animals of the true taurine race are now known to exist in an
+aboriginally wild state; but at the epoch of our earliest historical
+knowledge of central and western Europe it was far otherwise. Caesar,
+describing, under the name of _Urus_, certain wild oxen of the great
+Hercynian forest, says, "These Uri are little inferior to elephants in
+size, but are bulls in their nature, colour, and figure. Great is their
+strength, and great their swiftness, nor do they spare man or beast when
+once they have caught sight of him. These, when trapped in pitfalls, the
+hunters unsparingly kill. The youths, exercising themselves by this sort
+of hunting, are hardened by the toil, and those among them who have
+killed most, bringing with them the horns, as testimonials, acquire
+great praise. But these Uri cannot be habituated to man, nor made
+tractable, not even when taken young. The great size of the horns, as
+well as the form and quality of them, differs much from those of our
+oxen."
+
+It is probable that this race extended widely over Europe, and even into
+Asia. Herodotus mentions Macedonian wild oxen, with exceedingly large
+([Greek: hypermegathia]) horns; and Philip of Macedon killed a wild bull
+in Mount Orbela, which had made great havoc, and produced much terror
+among the inhabitants; its spoils he hung up in the Temple of Hercules.
+The Assyrian artists delighted to sculpture on the royal bas-reliefs of
+Nineveh the conquest of the wild bull by the prowess of their Nimrod
+monarchs, and the figures, in their minute anatomical characters, well
+agree with the descriptions and remains of the European _Urus_. The
+large forest that surrounded ancient London was infested with _boves
+sylvestres_ among other wild beasts, and it is probable that these were
+_Uri_. The legendary exploit of Guy, Earl of Warwick, in freeing the
+neighbourhood from a terrible dun cow, whether historically true or not,
+shews the existence of formidable wild bovines in the heart of England,
+and the terror they inspired among the people. The family of Turnbull,
+in Scotland, are traditionally said to owe their patronymic to a hero
+who turned a wild bull from Robert the Bruce, when it had attacked him
+while hunting.
+
+What has become of the terrible Uri which lived in Europe at the
+commencement of the Christian era? Advancing civilisation has rooted
+them out, so that no living trace of them remains, unless the
+cream-white breed which is preserved in a semi-wild state in some of our
+northern parks be their representatives; or, as is not improbable, their
+blood may still circulate in our domestic oxen.
+
+Yet there is no doubt of the identity of a species found abundantly in
+Britain in the Tertiary deposits, and named by Owen _Bos primigenius_,
+with the Urus of Caesar. This fossil bull was as certainly contemporary
+in this island with the elephant, and the hyena, and the baboon, and,
+strange to say, with the reindeer, and the musk-ox, too--thus combining
+a tropical, a temperate, and an arctic fauna in our limited island at
+the same period! What a strange climate it must have been to suit them
+all!
+
+Professor Nilsson, who has paid great attention to fossil oxen, mentions
+a skull of this species which must have belonged to an animal more than
+twelve feet in length from the nape to the root of the tail, and six
+feet and a half in height. Again, the skull of a cow in the British
+Museum, figured by Professor Owen, measures thirty inches from the crown
+to the tips of the jaws! What a beast must this have been! Would not the
+slaughter of such a "Dun Cow" as this in single combat have been an
+exploit worthy of a doughty earl?
+
+That this ancient fossil bull was really contemporary with man in
+Scandinavia is proved by evidence which is irrespective of the question
+of its identity with Caesar's Urus. For one of Professor Nilsson's
+specimens "bears on its back a palpable mark of a wound from a javelin.
+Several celebrated anatomists and physiologists, among whom," he says,
+"I need only mention the names of John Mueller, of Berlin, and Andreas
+Retzius, of Stockholm, have inspected this skeleton, and are unanimous
+in the opinion that the hole in question upon the backbone is the
+consequence of a wound, which, during the life of the animal, was made
+by the hand of man. The animal must have been very young, probably only
+a calf, when it was wounded. The huntsman who cast the javelin must have
+stood before it. It was yet young when it died, probably not more than
+three or four years old."
+
+We may, then, assume as certain that the vast _Bos primigenius_ of
+Western Europe lived as a wild animal contemporaneously with man; and as
+almost certain (assuming its identity with the _Urus_) that it continued
+to be abundant as late as the Christian era.
+
+The _Bos frontosus_ is a middling-sized bovine. "Its remains," says
+Professor Nilsson, "are found in turf-bogs in Southern Scandinavia, and
+in such a state as plainly shews that they belonged to a more ancient
+period than that in which tame cattle existed in Sweden. This species
+lived in Scandinavia contemporaneously with the _Bos primigenius_, and
+the _Bison Europaeus_.... If ever it was tamed, and thereby in the course
+of time contributed to form some of the tame races of cattle, it must
+have been the small-horned, often hornless, breed, which is to be found
+in the mountains of Norway, and which has a high protuberance between
+the setting-on of the horns above the nape."
+
+This species occurs in a fossil state in some numbers in Ireland; it has
+also been found in England. It is by some supposed to be the origin of,
+or, at least, to have contributed blood to, the middling Highland races
+with high occiput, and small horns.
+
+There is more certainty of the co-existence of the small _B. longifrons_
+with man. Some of the evidence I have already adduced. "Within a few
+years," says a trustworthy authority, "we have read in one of the
+scientific periodicals,--but have just now sought in vain for the
+notice,--of a quantity of bones that were dug up in some part of
+England, together with other remains of what seemed to be the relics of
+a grand feast, held probably during the Roman domination of Britain,
+for, if we mistake not, some Roman coins were found associated with
+them. _There were skulls_ and other remains of _Bos longifrons_ quite
+undistinguishable in form from the antique fossil, whether wild or
+domesticated, which, of course, remains a question."[55]
+
+Professor Owen conjectures that this species may have contributed to
+form the present small shaggy Highland and Welsh cattle,--the kyloes and
+runts; and a similar breed in the northern parts of Scania may have had
+a similar origin.
+
+In the _Bison priscus_, the fossil remains of which occur in many parts
+of Europe, and more sparsely in Great Britain,[56] we have an example of
+a noble animal, which, contemporary with all those which have been
+engaging our attention, survives to the present hour, but is dying out,
+and would have long ago been extinguished, probably, but for the
+fostering influence of human conservation. For the species is considered
+as absolutely identical with the _Bison Europaeus_ of modern zoology, the
+Bison or Wisent of the Germans, the Aurochs of the Prussians, the Zubr
+of the Poles, that formidable creature, which is maintained by the Czar
+in an ever-diminishing herd in the vast forests of Lithuania,[57] and
+which, perhaps, still lingers in the fastnesses of the Caucasus. This,
+the largest, or at least the most massive of all existing quadrupeds,
+after the great Pachyderms, roamed over Germany in some numbers as late
+as the era of Charlemagne. Considerably later than this it is reckoned
+among the German beasts of chase, for in the _Niebelungen Lied_, a poem
+of the twelfth century, it is said,
+
+      "Dar nach schlouch er schiere, einen wisent und einen elch,
+      Starcher ure viere, und einen grimmen schelch."
+
+      "After this he straightway slew a bison and an elk,
+      Of the strong uri four, and a single fierce schelch."[58]
+
+It is a formidable beast, standing six feet high at the shoulders, where
+it is protected by a thick and profuse mane. Specimens have been known
+to reach a ton in weight. It manifests an invincible repugnance to the
+ox.
+
+There are several other animals of note which, like the Bison, were once
+common inhabitants of these islands, but have long been extinct here,
+though more genial circumstances have preserved their existence on the
+continent of Europe. Of the great Cave Bear, no evidence of its period
+exists, that I know of, except that which may be deduced from the
+commixture of its remains with those of other animals of whose recent
+date we have proof. But there is another kind of Bear, whose relics in a
+fossil state are not uncommon in the Tertiary deposits, viz., the common
+Black Bear (_Ursus arctos_) of Europe.
+
+This savage animal must have early succumbed to man. The "Triads"[59]
+mention bears as living here before the Kymri came. The Roman poets knew
+of their existence here: Martial speaks of the robber Laureolus being
+exposed on the cross to the fangs of the _Caledonian_ Bear; and Claudian
+alludes to British bears. The Emperor Claudius, on his return to Rome
+after the conquest of this island, exhibited, as trophies, combats of
+British bears in the arena. In the Penitential of Archbishop Egbert,
+said to have been compiled about A.D. 750, bears are mentioned as
+inhabiting the English forests, but they must have gradually become
+rare, for the chase-laws of Canute, at the beginning of the eleventh
+century, are silent about them. In Doomsday Book, we find incidental
+notice of this animal, for the city of Norwich is said to have been
+required to furnish a bear annually to Edward the Confessor, together
+with "six dogs for the bear,"--no doubt for baiting him. This seems to
+have been the latest trace on record of the bear in Britain; unless the
+tradition may compete with it, which states that one of the Gordon
+family was empowered by the king of Scotland to carry three bears' heads
+on his banner, as a reward for his prowess in slaying a fierce bear.
+
+In Ireland it seems to have become extinct even yet earlier. Bede
+says the only ravenous animals in his day were the wolf and the fox;
+Donatus, who died in A.D. 840, distinctly says it was not a native
+of the island in his time; and Geraldus Cambrensis does not enumerate
+it as known in the twelfth century. Neither is it included in the
+ransom-beasts of Cailte's collection. Yet a native Irish name for the
+bear--Mathghambain--occurs in an old glossary[60] in the Library of
+Trinity College, Dublin; and the late Wm. Thomson says that a tradition
+is current of its having once been an Irish animal; and it is associated
+with the wolf as a native beast in the stories handed down from
+generation to generation to the present time.
+
+The wolf, however, survived in both islands to a much later era. In the
+days of the Heptarchy it was a terrible pest; King Edgar commuted the
+punishment of certain offences into a requisition for a fixed number of
+wolves' tongues; and he converted a heavy tax on one of the Welsh
+princes into an annual tribute of three hundred wolves' heads. These
+laws continued to the time of Edward I., when the increasing scarcity of
+the animal doubtless caused them to fall into disuse. Mr Topham, in his
+Notes to Somerville's "Chase," says, that it was in the wolds of
+Yorkshire that a price was last set on a wolf's head. The last record of
+their occurring in formidable numbers in England is in 1281; but for
+three centuries after this, the mountains and forests of Scotland
+harboured them; for Hollinshed reports that in 1577 the wolves were very
+troublesome to the flocks of that country. Nor were they entirely
+destroyed out of this island till about a century afterwards, when the
+last wolf fell in Lochaber, by the hand of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel.
+In Ireland the last wolf was slain in 1710.
+
+Thus here we are able to lay our finger on the exact dates when a large
+and rapacious species of animal actually became extinct so far as the
+British Isles are concerned. And if the species had been confined in its
+geographical limits, as many other species of animals are, to one group
+of islands, we should know the precise date of its absolute extinction.
+
+The Beaver was once an inhabitant of British rivers. Its remains are
+found in Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, and elsewhere, associated
+with the other Mammalia of the fresh-water deposits and caves, but not
+in any abundance. No record of its actual existence, however, in these
+counties exists, nor anywhere else but in Wales and Scotland, whose
+mountain streams and rugged ravines afforded it shelter till after the
+Norman Conquest. It was very rare even then, and for a hundred years
+before; for the laws of Howel Dda, the Welsh king, who died in 948, in
+determining the value of peltry, fix the price of the beaver's skin at a
+hundred and twenty pence, when the skins of the stag, the wolf, the fox,
+and the otter, were worth only eightpence each, that of the white weasel
+or ermine at twelvepence, and that of the marten, at twenty-four pence.
+The appropriate epithet of Broad-tail (Llostllyddan) was given it by the
+Welsh. Giraldus Cambrensis, who travelled through Wales in 1188, gives,
+in his Itinerary, a short account of the beaver, but states that the
+river Teivy in Cardiganshire, and one other river in Scotland, were the
+only places in Great Britain, where it was then found. In all
+probability it did not long survive that century, for no subsequent
+notice of it as a British animal is extant. Tradition, however, still
+preserves the remembrance of its presence in those indelible records,
+names of places. "Two or three waters in the Principality," says
+Pennant, "still bear the name of _Llyn yr afangc_,--the Beaver Lake....
+I have seen two of their supposed haunts: one in the stream that runs
+through Nant Francon; the other in the river Conwy, a few miles above
+Llanrwst; and both places, in all probability, had formerly been crossed
+by beaver-dams."
+
+If, as naturalists of the highest eminence believe, there is specific
+difference between the beaver of Europe and that of America, then we may
+say that our species is fast passing away from the earth. A few colonies
+yet linger along the banks of the Danube, the Weser, the Rhone and the
+Euphrates, but they consist of few individuals, ever growing fewer; and
+the value of their fur exciting cupidity, they cannot probably resist
+much longer the exterminating violence of man.
+
+The causes which led to the extinction of these animals in our islands
+are then obvious, and are thus playfully touched by the late James
+Wilson:--"The beaver might have carried on business well enough, in his
+own quiet way, although frequently incommoded by the love of peltry on
+the part of a hat-wearing people; but it is clear that no man with a
+small family and a few respectable farm servants, could either permit a
+large and hungry wolf to be continually peeping at midnight through the
+keyhole of the nursery, or allow a brawny bruin to snuff too frequently
+under the kitchen door (after having hugged the watch-dog to death) when
+the servant-maids were at supper. The extirpation then of at least two
+of these quondam British species became 'a work of necessity and mercy,'
+and might have been tolerated even on a Sunday, (between sermons,)
+especially as naturalists have it still in their power to study the
+habits of similar wild beasts, by no means yet extinct, in the
+neighbouring countries of France and Germany."[61]
+
+Perhaps the example of recent extinction most popularly known is that of
+the Dodo, a very remarkable bird, which about two centuries ago existed
+in considerable abundance, in the isles of Mauritius, Bourbon, and
+Rodriguez. It was a rather large fowl, incapable of rising from the
+ground, by reason of the imperfect development of its wings, of massive,
+uncouth figure, predisposed to fatness, and noted for the sapidity of
+its flesh. Two skulls and two unmatched feet of this strange bird are
+preserved in European museums; and these shew that its nearest
+affinities were with the pigeon-tribe, of which we know some species of
+terrestrial habits, but none approaching this bird in its absolute
+confinement to the earth.
+
+In the reports of numerous voyagers who visited these islands from the
+end of the fifteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, we have
+many accounts of the appearance and habits of this bird, evidently
+sketched from the life. Some of the descriptions, as also the figures by
+which they are illustrated, are quaint enough; as, for example, that
+graphic sketch hit off by old Sir Thomas Herbert, who saw the bird in
+his travels in 1634:--
+
+     "The Dodo," he says, "comes first to our description. Here and in
+     Dygarrois (and nowhere else that I c^d ever see or heare of) is
+     generated the Dodo. (A Portuguize name it is, and has reference to
+     her simplenes) a bird which for shape and rareness might be call'd
+     a Ph{oe}nix (wer't in Arabia); her body is round and extreame fat,
+     her slow pace begets that corpulencie; few of them weigh lesse than
+     fifty pound: better to the eye than the stomack: greasie appetites
+     may perhaps commend them, but, to the indifferently curious,
+     nourishment, but prove offensive. Let's take her picture: her
+     visage darts forth melancholy, as sensible of nature's injurie in
+     framing so great and massive a body to be directed by such small
+     and complementall wings, as are unable to hoise her from the
+     ground, serving only to prove her a bird; which otherwise might be
+     doubted of: her head is variously drest, the one halfe hooded with
+     downy blackish feathers; the other perfectly naked; of a whitish
+     hue, as if a transparent lawne had covered it; her bill is very
+     howked and bends downwards, the thrill or breathing place is in the
+     midst of it; from which part to the end, the colour is a light
+     greene mixt with a pale yellow; her eyes be round and small, and
+     bright as diamonds; her cloathing is of finest downe, such as ye
+     see in goslins; her trayne is (like a China beard) of three or
+     foure short feythers; her legs thick, and black, and strong; her
+     tallons or pounces sharp; her stomack fiery hot, so as stones and
+     yron are easilie digested in it; in that and shape, not a little
+     resembling the Africk oestriches: but so much, as for their more
+     certain dyfference I dare to give thee (with two others) her
+     representation."[62]
+
+It is pretty certain that a living specimen was about the same time
+exhibited in England. Sir Hamon L'Estrange tells us distinctly that he
+_saw_ it. His original MS. is preserved in the British Museum, and with
+some blanks caused by the injury of time, of no great consequence, reads
+as follows:--
+
+     "About 1638, as I walked London streets, I saw the picture
+             of a strange fowl hong out upon a cloth.
+             vas and myselfe with one or two more Gen. in
+     company went in to see it. It was kept in a chamber, and was a
+     greate fowle somewhat bigger than the largest Turky Cock and so
+     legged and footed but stouter and thicker and of a more erect
+     shape, coloured before like the breast of a yong Cock Fesan and on
+     the back of dunn or deare coulour. The keeper called it a Dodo and
+     in the ende of a chimney in the chamber there lay an heap of large
+     pebble stones whereof hee gave it many in our sight, some as bigg
+     as nutmegs and the keeper told us shee eats them conducing to
+     digestion and though I remember not how farre the keeper was
+     questioned therein yet I am confident that afterwards shee cast
+     them all agayne."[63]
+
+It is probable that this very specimen passed into the museum of
+Tradescant, who, in the Catalogue of "The Collection of Rarities
+preserved at Lambeth," dated 1656, mentions the following: "Dodar from
+the Island Mauritius: it is not able to flie being so bigg." Willoughby
+the ornithologist, a most unexceptionable testimony, says that he saw
+this specimen in Tradescant's museum: it is mentioned also by
+others;--as by Llhwyd in 1684, and by Hyde in 1700. It passed, with the
+rest of the Tradescant Collection, to Oxford, and thus became part of
+the Ashmolean Museum,--and being in a decayed condition, was ordered to
+be destroyed by the authorities, who had no apprehension of its value,
+in 1755. The skull and one foot, however, were preserved, and are still
+in the Museum at Oxford. Remains of the Dodo have been dug up in the
+Mauritius, and are in the Paris Museum, and in that of the Zoological
+Society of London. The bird certainly does not exist there now, nor in
+either of the neighbouring islands.
+
+In the British Museum there is a fine original painting, once the
+property of George Edwards, the celebrated bird painter, representing
+the Dodo surrounded by other minor birds and reptiles. Edwards states
+that "it was drawn in Holland, from a living bird brought from St
+Maurice's Island, in the East Indies. It was the property of Sir Hans
+Sloane at the time of his death, and afterwards becoming my property, I
+deposited it in the British Museum as a great curiosity."
+
+Professor Owen has discovered another original figure of this
+interesting form in Savary's painting of "Orpheus and the Beasts," at
+the Hague. The figure, though small, displays all the characteristic
+peculiarities, and agrees well with Edwards' painting, while evincing
+that it was copied from the living bird.
+
+It is possible that there were two species of Dodo; which would explain
+certain discrepancies in the descriptions of observers. At all events we
+have here one, if not more, conspicuous animal absolutely extinguished
+within the last two hundred years.
+
+Just about a century ago a great animal disappeared from the ocean,
+which, according to Owen, was contemporary with the fossil elephant and
+rhinoceros of Siberia and England. Steller, a Russian voyager and
+naturalist, discovered the creature, afterward called _Stelleria_ by
+Cuvier, in Behring's Straits; a huge, unwieldy whale-like animal, one of
+the marine pachyderms, allied to the Manatee, but much larger, being
+twenty-five feet long, and twenty in circumference. Its flesh was good
+for food, and from its inertness and incapacity for defence, the race
+was extirpated in a few years. Steller first discovered the species in
+1741, and the last known specimen was killed in 1768. It is believed to
+be quite extinct, as it has never been met with since.
+
+Nearly a century ago, Sonnerat found in Madagascar, a curious animal,
+(_Cheiromys_,) which in structure seems to connect the monkeys with the
+squirrels. So rare was it there that even the natives viewed it with
+curiosity as an animal altogether unknown to them; and, from their
+exclamations of astonishment rather than from its cry, the French
+naturalist is said to have conferred upon it the name of Aye-aye, by
+which it is now known. _Not a specimen, as I believe, has been seen
+since Sonnerat's day_, so that, if not actually obliterated, the species
+must be on the verge of extinction.
+
+Species are dying out in our own day. I have already cited the
+interesting case of the Moho, that fine Gallinule of New Zealand, of
+which a specimen--probably the last of its race,--was obtained by Mr
+Walter Mantell; and that of the Kaureke, the badger-like quadruped of
+the same islands, which was formerly domesticated by the Maoris, but
+which now cannot be found.
+
+The Samoa Isles in the Pacific recently possessed a large and handsome
+kind of pigeon, of richly-coloured plumage, which the natives called
+_Manu-mea_, but to which modern naturalists have given the name of
+_Didunculus strigirostris_. It was, both by structure and habit,
+essentially a ground pigeon, but not so exclusively but that it fed, and
+roosted too, according to Lieut. Walpole, among the branches of tall
+trees. Mr T. Peale, the naturalist of the U. S. Exploring Expedition,
+who first described it, informs us that according to the tradition of
+the natives, it once abounded; but some years ago these persons, like
+more civilised folks, had a strong desire to make pets of cats, and
+found, by means of whale-ships, opportunities of procuring a supply; but
+the consequence of the introduction of "pussy,"--for under this familiar
+old-country title were the exotic tabbies introduced--was the rapid
+diminution of the handsome _Manu-mea_. Pussy did not fancy yams and
+taro--the vegetable diet on which the natives regaled--and took to the
+woods and mountains to search for something better. There she met with
+the feeble-winged _Didunculus_ scratching the soft earth for seeds, and
+with a purr and a mew soon scraped acquaintance with the stranger. Pussy
+declared she loved him well, and so she did--too well, in fact; she felt
+"as if she could eat him up,"--_and did_. The news soon spread among the
+tabbies that there were sweet birds in the woods, and the result is the
+almost total disappearance of poor _Manu-mea_. Like the Dodo, it has
+ceased to be, but at the hand of a more ignominious foe. The Samoan may
+truly say to his former pet, "_Cecidisti, O Manu-mea, non manu mea, sed
+ungue felino_." So rare had the bird become, that during the stay of the
+Expedition only three specimens could be procured, and of these two were
+lost by shipwreck. I do not know whether another has been met with
+since. Probably they are all gone; for that was twenty years ago.
+
+When Norfolk Island,--that tiny spot in the Southern Ocean since so
+stained with human crime and misery--was first discovered, its tall and
+teeming forests were tenanted by a remarkable Parrot with a very long
+and slender hooked beak, which lived upon the honey of flowers. It was
+named _Nestor productus_. When Mr Gould visited Australia in his
+researches into the ornithology of those antipodeal regions, he found
+the Nestor Parrot absolutely limited to Philip Island, a tiny satellite
+of Norfolk Island, whose whole circumference is not more than five
+miles in extent. The war of extermination had been so successful in the
+larger island that, with the exception of a few specimens preserved in
+cages, not one was believed to survive. Since then its last retreat has
+been harried, and Mr J. H. Gurney thus writes the dirge of the last of
+the Nestors:--
+
+"I have seen the man who exterminated the _Nestor productus_ from Philip
+Island, he having shot the last of that species left on the island; he
+informs me that they rarely made use of their wings, except when closely
+pressed; their mode of progression was by the upper mandible; and
+whenever he used to go to the island to shoot, he would invariably find
+them on the ground, except one, which used to be sentry on one of the
+lower branches of the _Araucaria excelsa_, and the instant any person
+landed, they would run to those trees and haul themselves up by the
+bill, and, as a matter of course, they would there remain till they were
+shot, or the intruder had left the island. He likewise informed me that
+there was a large species of hawk that used to commit great havoc
+amongst them, but what species it was he could not tell me."[64]
+
+I have before mentioned that Professor Owen had recognised the species
+in fossil skulls from New Zealand, associated with remains of
+_Dinornis_, _Palapteryx_, and _Notornis_. Thus it appears that the
+long-billed Parrot is an ancient race, whose extreme decrepitude has
+just survived to our time;--that it first became extinct from New
+Zealand, then from Norfolk Island, and lastly from Philip Island. Peace
+to its ashes!
+
+Mr Yarrell, in his "History of British Birds,"[65] commences his account
+of one of them in these words:--"The Great Auk is a very rare British
+Bird, and but few instances are recorded of its capture. The natives in
+the Orkneys informed Mr Bullock, on his tour through these islands
+several years ago, that only one male had made its appearance for a long
+time, which had regularly visited Papa Westra for several seasons. The
+female, which the natives call the queen of the Auks, was killed just
+before Mr Bullock's arrival. The king or male, Mr Bullock had the
+pleasure of chasing for several hours in a six-oared boat, but without
+being able to kill him, for though he frequently got near him, so expert
+was the bird in its natural element that it appeared impossible to shoot
+him. The rapidity with which he pursued his course under water was
+almost incredible. About a fortnight after Mr Bullock had left Papa
+Westra, this male bird was obtained and sent him, and at the sale of his
+collection, was purchased for the British Museum, where it is still
+carefully preserved."
+
+This fine bird, which was larger than a goose, is believed to be
+extinct. Mr Bullock's specimen was taken in 1812; another was captured
+at St Kilda in 1822, another was picked up dead near Lundy Island in
+1829, and yet another was taken in 1834, off the coast of Waterford.
+
+On the north coast of Europe the bird is equally rare; not more than
+two or three, at the utmost, having been procured during the present
+century. During that period, however, it has haunted one or two
+breeding-rocks on the south coast of Iceland, in some abundance. In the
+years 1830 and 1831, as many as twenty-seven were obtained there, and
+from that time till 1840, about ten more. The last birds obtained on the
+Iceland coast were a pair, which were shot on their nest in 1844. The
+last taken in any locality, so far as is known, was one shot in 1848, by
+a peasant, on the Island of Wardoe, within the Arctic Circle.
+
+Two centuries ago, the Great Auk was not uncommon on the shores of New
+England; and, off the great fishing-banks of Newfoundland, it appears to
+have been very abundant. "Its appearance was always hailed by the
+mariner approaching that desolate coast as the first indication of his
+having reached soundings on the fishing-banks. During the sixteenth and
+seventeenth centuries these waters, as well as the Iceland and Faroe
+coasts, were annually visited by hundreds of ships from England, France,
+Spain, Holland, and Portugal; and these ships actually were accustomed
+to provision themselves with the bodies and eggs of these birds, which
+they found breeding in myriads on the low islands off the coast of
+Newfoundland. Besides the fresh birds consumed by the ship's crew, many
+tons were salted down for further use. In the space of an hour, these
+old voyagers tell us, they could fill thirty boats with the birds. It
+was only necessary to go on shore, armed with sticks to kill as many as
+they chose. The birds were so stupid that they allowed themselves to be
+taken up, on their own proper element, by boats under sail; and it is
+even said that on putting out a plank it was possible to drive the Great
+Auks up and out of the sea into boats. On land the sailors formed low
+enclosures of stones, into which they drove the Penguins [or Auks], and,
+as they were unable to fly, kept them there enclosed till they were
+wanted for the table."
+
+"In 1841, a distinguished Norwegian naturalist, (too early, alas! lost
+to science,) Peter Stuwitz, visited Tunk Island, or Penguin Island,
+lying to the east of Newfoundland. Here, on the north-west shore of the
+island, he found enormous heaps of bones and skeletons of the Great Auk,
+lying either in exposed masses or slightly covered by the earth. On this
+side of the island the rocks slope gradually down to the shore; and here
+were still standing the stone fences and enclosures into which the birds
+were driven for slaughter."[66]
+
+It is just possible that the bird may yet haunt the inaccessible coast
+of East Greenland, but ships sailing between that country and Iceland
+never meet with it at sea. Nor did Graah observe it during his toilsome
+researches east of Cape Farewell. The numerous fishing craft that every
+season crowd the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador forbid the notion
+that it yet lingers there; for the great market-value set upon the bird
+and its eggs for collections would prevent its existence there from
+being overlooked. The numerous Polar voyages of discovery, and the
+annual fleets of whalers, would certainly have discovered it, if it
+still haunted the more northern regions. It is possible that a few
+isolated individuals may still survive; but it is the habit of the bird,
+as of most sea-fowl, to breed in society in bare seaward rocks, and the
+circumstance that no breeding station is known to be now frequented by
+the Great Auk renders it but too probable that it also must be classed
+among the species that were.
+
+The interest attached to this now extinct bird has induced some
+correspondents of the _Zoologist_ to attempt an enumeration of the
+specimens, both of the bird and of its eggs, (which from their great
+size, as well as from their rarity, have always had a value with
+collectors,) known to be preserved in cabinets. The result is that
+English collections contain 14 birds and 23 eggs; those of continental
+Europe, 11 birds and 20 eggs; the United States, 1 bird and 2 eggs:--the
+total being 26 birds and 45 eggs.
+
+It would appear that the rock off the south of Iceland which was the
+chief breeding resort of the Great Auk, and which from that circumstance
+bore the name or "Geir-fulga Sker," sank to the level of the sea during
+a volcanic disturbance in or about the year 1830. "Such disappearance of
+the fit and favourable breeding-places of the _Alca impennis_," observes
+Professor Owen, "must form an important element in its decline towards
+extinction." One might think that there would be rocks enough left for
+the birds to choose a fresh station; but really we do not know what are
+the elements of choice in such a case: some peculiarities exist which
+make one particular rock to be selected by sea-fowl, when others
+apparently to us as suitable are quite neglected; but we do not know
+what they are. Possibly when Geir-fulga Sker sank, there was no other
+islet fit to supply the blank. Possibly, too, the submersion took place
+during the breeding season, drowning the eggs or young. If this was the
+case, it would indeed be "a heavy blow and great discouragement" to the
+dwindling Alcine nation.
+
+Mr Darwin speaks of a large wolf-like Fox (_Canis antarcticus_) which at
+the time of his voyage was common to both the Falkland Islands, but
+absolutely confined to them. He says, "As far as I am aware, there is no
+other instance in any part of the world, of so small a mass of broken
+land, distant from a continent, possessing so large an aboriginal
+quadruped peculiar to itself. Their numbers have rapidly decreased; they
+are already banished from that half of the island which lies to the
+eastward of the neck of land between St Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound.
+Within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly
+settled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the Dodo, as
+an animal which has perished from the face of the earth."[67]
+
+The Musk Ox (_Ovibos moschatus_), a long-haired ruminant, resembling
+what you would suppose a cross between a bull and a sheep might
+be,--formerly an inhabitant of Britain with the Elephant and the Hyena,
+but now found only on the polar margins of North America,--is becoming
+very scarce; and it is probable that before long its last representative
+will leave its bones with those of the lamented Franklin and his
+companions.
+
+From the more perishable character of vegetable tissues we have far less
+data for determining the extinction of plant species; but analogy
+renders it highly probable that these also have died out, and are dying
+in a corresponding ratio with animals. I am not aware that a single
+example can be adduced of a plant that has certainly ceased to exist
+during the historic era. But Humboldt mentions a very remarkable tree in
+Mexico, of which it is believed only a single specimen remains in a
+state of nature. It is the Hand-tree (_Cheirostemon platanoides_), a
+sterculaceous plant with large plane-like leaves, and with the anthers
+connected together in such a manner as to resemble a hand or claw rising
+from the beautiful purplish-red blossoms. "There is in all the Mexican
+free States only one individual remaining, one single primeval stem of
+this wonderful genus. It is supposed not to be indigenous, but to have
+been planted by a king of Toluca about five hundred years ago. I found
+that the spot where the Arbol de las Manitas stands is 8825 feet above
+the level of the sea. Why is there only one tree of the kind? Whence did
+the kings of Toluca obtain the young tree, or the seed? It is equally
+enigmatical that Montezuma should not have possessed one of these trees
+in his botanical gardens of Huaxtepec, Chapoltepec, and Iztapalapan,
+which were used as late as by Philip the Second's physician, Hernandez,
+and of which gardens traces still remain; and it appears no less
+striking that the Hand-tree should not have found a place among the
+drawings of subjects connected with Natural History, which Nezahual
+Coyotl, king of Tezcuco, caused to be made half a century before the
+arrival of the Spaniards."
+
+There is an example of this interesting plant growing in one of the
+conservatories at Kew, but I do not know whence it was obtained. It has
+been asserted that it grows wild in the forests of Guatemala.
+
+Leaving plants out of consideration from lack of adequate data, we find
+that a considerable number of species of animals have certainly ceased
+to exist since man inhabited the globe. There have been, doubtless, many
+others that have shared the same fate, which we know nothing about. It
+is only within the last hundred years that we have had anything
+approaching to an acquaintance with the living fauna of the earth; yet,
+during that time some seven or eight creatures we know have been
+extinguished. Fully half of these,--the Auk, the Didunculus, the
+Notornis, and the Nestor,--within the last ten years! It would really
+seem as if the more complete and comprehensive an acquaintance with the
+animals of the world became, the more frequently this strange phenomenon
+of expiring species was presented to us. Perhaps it is not extravagant
+to suppose that--including all the invertebrate animals, the countless
+hosts of insects, and all the recondite forms that dwell in the recesses
+of the ocean--a species fades from existence every year. All the
+examples that have been given were either Mammalia or Birds, (_the
+Colossochelys_ only excepted:) now these, though the most conspicuous
+and best known, are almost the least populous classes of living beings.
+There is no reason whatever for concluding that the law of mortality of
+species does not extend to all the other classes, vertebrate and
+invertebrate, in an equal ratio, so that my estimate will appear, I
+think, a very moderate one. Yet it is a startling thought, and one which
+the mind does not entertain without a measure of revulsion, that the
+passing of every century in the world's history has left its fauna
+_minus_ a hundred species of animals that were denizens of the earth
+when it began. I was going to say "left the fauna so much _poorer_;" but
+that I am not sure of. The term would imply that the blanks are not
+filled up; and that, I repeat, I am not sure of. Probability would
+suggest that new forms are continually created to supply the lack of
+deceased ones; and it may be that _some_, at least, of the creatures
+ever and anon described as new to science, especially in old and
+well-searched regions, may be newly called into being, as well as newly
+discovered. It may be so, I say; I have no evidence that it is so,
+except the probability of analogy; we know that the rate of mortality
+among _individuals_ of a species, speaking generally, is equalled by the
+rate of birth, and we may suppose this balance of life to be paralleled
+when the unit is a species, and not an individual. If the Word of God
+contained anything either in statement or principle contrary to such a
+supposition, I would not entertain it for a moment, but I do not know
+that it does. I do not know that it is anywhere implied that God created
+no more after the six days' work was done. His Sabbath-rest having been
+broken by the incoming of sin, we know from John v. 17, that He
+continued to work without interruption; and we may fairly conclude that
+progressive creation was included as a part of that unceasing work.
+
+I know not whether my readers will take the same concern as I do in this
+subject of the dying-out of species, but to me it possesses a very
+peculiar interest. Death is a mysterious event, come when and how it
+will; and surely the departure from existence of a species, of a type of
+being, that has subsisted in contemporary thousands of individuals, for
+thousands of years, is not less imposingly mysterious than that of the
+individual exemplar.
+
+We do not know with any precision what are the immediate causes of death
+in a species. Is there a definite limit to life imposed at first? or is
+this limit left, so to speak, to be determined by accidental
+circumstances? Perhaps both: but if the latter, what are those
+circumstances?
+
+Professor Owen says:--"There are characters in land animals rendering
+them more obnoxious to extirpating influences, which may explain why so
+many of the larger species of particular groups have become extinct,
+whilst smaller species of equal antiquity have survived. In proportion
+to its bulk is the difficulty of the contest which the animal has to
+maintain against the surrounding agencies that are ever tending to
+dissolve the vital bond, and subjugate the living matter to the
+ordinary chemical and physical forces. Any changes, therefore, in such
+external agencies as a species may have been originally adapted to exist
+in, will militate against that existence in a degree proportionate to
+the size which may characterise the species. If a dry season be
+gradually prolonged, the large mammal will suffer from the drought
+sooner than the small one; if such alteration of climate affect the
+quantity of vegetable food, the bulky herbivore will first feel the
+effects of stinted nourishment; if new enemies be introduced, the large
+and conspicuous animal will fall a prey while the smaller kinds conceal
+themselves and escape. Small quadrupeds, moreover, are more prolific
+than large ones. Those of the bulk of the mastodons, megatheria,
+glyptodons, and diprotodons, are uniparous. The actual presence,
+therefore, of small species of animals in countries where larger species
+of the same natural families formerly existed, is not the consequence of
+degeneration--of any gradual diminution of the size--of such species,
+but is the result of circumstances which may be illustrated by the fable
+of 'the Oak and the Reed;' the smaller and feebler animals have bent and
+accommodated themselves to changes to which the larger species have
+succumbed."[68]
+
+"We do not steadily bear in mind," remarks Mr Darwin, "how profoundly
+ignorant we are of the condition of existence of every animal; nor do we
+always remember that some check is constantly preventing the too rapid
+increase of every organised being left in a state of nature. The supply
+of food, on an average, remains constant; yet the tendency in every
+animal to increase by propagation is geometrical; and its surprising
+effects have nowhere been more astonishingly shewn, than in the case of
+the European animals run wild during the last few centuries in America.
+Every animal in a state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species
+long established, any _great_ increase in numbers is obviously
+impossible, and must be checked by some means. We are nevertheless
+seldom able with certainty to tell in any given species, at what period
+of life, or at what period of the year, or whether only at long
+intervals, the check falls; or again, what is the precise nature of the
+check. Hence probably it is, that we feel so little surprise at one, of
+two species closely allied in habits, being rare and the other abundant
+in the same district; or again, that one should be abundant in one
+district, and another, filling the same place in the economy of nature,
+should be abundant in a neighbouring district, differing very little in
+its conditions. If asked how this is, one immediately replies that it is
+determined by some slight difference in climate, food, or the number of
+enemies: yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and
+manner of action of the check! We are, therefore, driven to the
+conclusion that causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine
+whether a given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers.
+
+"In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through
+man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it becomes
+rarer and rarer, and is then lost; it would be difficult to point out
+any just distinction between a species destroyed by man or by the
+increase of its natural enemies. The evidence of rarity preceding
+extinction, is more striking in the successive tertiary strata, as
+remarked by several able observers; it has often been found that a shell
+very common in a tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even long
+been thought to be extinct. If, then, as appears probable, species first
+become rare and then extinct--if the too rapid increase of every
+species, even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit,
+though how and when it is hard to say--and if we see, without the
+smallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one
+species abundant, and another closely-allied species rare in the same
+district--why should we feel such great astonishment at the rarity being
+carried a step further to extinction? An action going on, on every side
+of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely be carried a little
+further, without exciting our observation. Who could feel any great
+surprise at hearing that the Megalonyx was formerly rare compared with
+the Megatherium, or that one of the fossil Monkeys was few in number
+compared with one of the now living Monkeys? and yet, in this
+comparative rarity, we should have the plainest evidence of less
+favourable conditions for their existence. To admit that species
+generally become rare before they become extinct--to feel no surprise at
+the comparative rarity of one species with another, and yet to call in
+some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to
+exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that sickness in the
+individual is the prelude of death--to feel no surprise at sickness--but
+when the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through
+violence."[69]
+
+Geographical distribution is an important element in this question of
+extinction. A species that is spread over a wide region is far more
+likely to survive than one which is confined to a limited district; and
+extraneous influences acting prejudicially will exterminate a species
+which is confined to an island much sooner than if it had a continent to
+retire upon. We have seen how the _Nestor_ Parrot became extinct in New
+Zealand, while it survived in Norfolk Island, because the former was
+colonised by the Maori race, while the latter remained in its virginity.
+But how quickly did the poor Parrot succumb as soon as man set his foot
+on Norfolk and Philip Islands! And how brief was the lease of life
+accorded to the _Didunculus_, when once the "Pussies" found their way to
+the little Samoa isles!
+
+Very many islands have a fauna that is to a great extent peculiar to
+themselves. I know that, in Jamaica, the Humming-birds, some of the
+Parrots, some of the Cuckoos, most of the Pigeons, many of the smaller
+birds, and, I think, all of the Reptiles, are found nowhere else. Nay,
+more, that even the smaller islands of the Antilles have each a fauna of
+its own, unshared with any other land;--its own Humming-birds, its own
+Lizards and Snakes; its own Butterflies and Beetles, its own Spiders,
+its own Snails, its own Worms. How likely are some of these very limited
+species to become extinguished! By the increasing aggressions of
+clearing and cultivating man; by slight changes of level; even by
+electric and meteoric phenomena acting very locally. I find that, in
+Jamaica, many of the animals peculiar to the island are not spread over
+the whole surface, limited as that is, but are confined to a single
+small district. In some cases, the individuals are but few, even in that
+favoured locality; how easily we may conceive of a season drier than
+ordinary, or wetter than ordinary, or a flood, or a hurricane of unusual
+violence, or a volcanic eruption, either killing outright these few
+individuals, or destroying their means of living, and so indirectly
+destroying them by starvation. And then the species has disappeared!
+
+The common Red Grouse, so abundantly seen during the season hanging at
+every poulterer's and game-dealer's shop in London, is absolutely
+unknown out of the British Isles. It could not live except in wide,
+unenclosed, uncultivated districts; so that when the period arrives that
+the whole of British land is enclosed and brought under cultivation, the
+Grouse's lease of life will expire. We owe it to our hard-worked members
+of Parliament to hope that this condition of things may be distant.
+
+[1] See my _Omphalos_,--_passim_.
+
+[2] The gradual but constant elevation of the bed of the Baltic, and the
+subsidence of that of the Pacific Ocean, are examples on a large scale.
+
+[3] Gen. x. 5.
+
+[4] _Chlamydotherium_, _Euryodon_, _Glossotherium_, _&c._
+
+[5] Owen _On the Mylodon_.
+
+[6] Perhaps the most complete and the most magnificent skeleton of this
+animal ever discovered, was exhumed in 1849 at Killowen, in Co. Wexford.
+It was buried _only four feet below the surface_, between the vegetable
+mould and plastic clay. The roots of the black willow and German rush
+had entwined themselves round the bones, and some seeds, ascertained to
+be those of the wild cabbage, were found in the same bed. The dimensions
+of the skeleton were as follows:--Height, 12-1/2 feet to the tips of the
+horns, 7 feet to the top of the pelvis; expanse of horns 11 feet in a
+chord, or 13 feet 6 inches along the curve; palm of the antlers 2 feet 7
+inches long by 1 foot 5 inches broad, some of the snags 2 feet 6 inches
+long; the face 1 foot 10-1/2 inches in length.
+
+[7] _Annals of Nat. Hist._ xv.
+
+[8] _Hist. Animals_, xvi. 17.
+
+[9] _Nat. Hist._ ix. 10.
+
+[10] _On the Mammoth or Fossil Elephant, &c._ London, 1819.
+
+[11] _Testimony of the Rocks_, p. 97.
+
+[12] See vol. i. p. 361, _supra_.
+
+[13] Latrobe's _Mexico_, p. 192.
+
+[14] _Nat. Voyage_, ch. v.
+
+[15] _Nat. Voy._ ch. viii.
+
+[16] _Compts Rendus_, Jan. 27, 1851.
+
+[17] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, Jan. 27, 1852.
+
+[18] "_The_ Humming-bird." Rather a vague mode of speaking, by a
+zoologist, of a genus which numbers more than three hundred species,
+varying in size from that of a swallow to that of a humble-bee. But
+probably he means one of the minuter species.
+
+[19] _Proc. Zool. Soc._, Nov. 7, 1850.
+
+[20] In the _Times_ of Feb. 21, 1861.
+
+[21] _Proc. Roy. Soc._, X. xxxv. 50.
+
+[22] _Ibid._ IX. xxix. 133.
+
+[23] Because comparatively few readers, and especially the critics, will
+take the trouble to ascertain what an author really means if he attempt
+argumentation, generally supposing him to be proving something else than
+he propounds to himself, it may be needful to say, that I am not
+touching the question of the time required for the formation of the
+stratified rocks in general, but solely for that of the later Tertiary
+deposits.
+
+[24] _Reports of Analysis_, by Apjohn.
+
+[25] Hart _On the Fossil Deer_.
+
+[26] _Zoologist_, for 1846: Preface, p. 10.
+
+[27] Mr Newman, _op. cit._ x.
+
+[28] _Geilt._--According to O'Reilly, this word means "a wild man or
+woman,--one living in woods,"--a maniac. It may, however, have been
+figuratively applied to some very fierce or untameable creature, either
+quadruped or bird, which inhabited the woods. But that the _Simiae_, or
+monkey tribe, were not likely to have at any time inhabited so cold a
+country, one would have seen in the term an exceedingly apt expression
+for "the wild man of the woods." (Note by Translator.)
+
+But, I venture to remind the reader, there was a veritable ape found in
+Britain during the very era of the Giant Deer, and of many of the now
+extant animals. I refer to the _Macacus pliocaenus_ (Owen) of the
+fresh-water deposits. Is it not just possible that the _Geilt_ of
+Ireland, the first-named animal in the poem, may have been this species?
+A _Macacus_ still lingers in Europe, though the elephants and
+hippopotamuses have long deserted us.
+
+[29] _Grib._--Probably the Osprey.
+
+[30] These Wild Oxen are worthy of notice.
+
+[31] The _Toghmall_ was a bird kept as a pet. "When Cuchulain slung a
+stone at Queen Meave he killed the Toghmall that was sitting on her
+shoulder."
+
+[32] _Ruilech._--Unknown.
+
+[33] _Snag._--Probably the Crane, or one of the Heron tribe.
+
+[34] _Echtach._--From a legend attached to the locality, there is a
+possibility that these were a peculiar breed of horned cattle.
+
+[35] _Drenn._--Probably the Wren.
+
+[36] _Cainche_--Unknown.
+
+[37] _Errfiach._--Unknown.
+
+[38] _Cricharan._--Possibly the Squirrel, or the Marten.
+
+[39] Mr Curry says, "In the dictionaries _Ormchre_ is the term for a
+leopard, but that animal did not exist in Ireland." But the caves of
+Britain shew that very formidable _Felidae_ roamed here in the Later
+Tertiary Era.
+
+[40] _Riabhog._--The "cuckoo's waiting-maid," a little bird, is still so
+called in the west of Ireland. In England the wryneck (_Yunx torquilla_)
+bears this office, and also in Wales, where Pennant says it is called
+_Gwas y gog_, which means the same thing.
+
+[41] _Peatans._--Conjectured to be Leverets.
+
+[42] What is the difference between wild Boars and wild Hogs? The
+ransom, too, was to consist of a male and a _female_ of each kind of
+_wild_ animals.
+
+[43] _Fereidhin._--Unknown.
+
+[44] See note [42] _supra_.
+
+[45] _Iaronn._--Unknown.
+
+[46] _Geisechtachs._--"Screamers;"--perhaps Peacocks. But is it likely
+that the Peacock and the Pheasant (_vide supra_) were imported from the
+East so early?
+
+[47] _Bruacharan._--Unknown.
+
+[48] _Naescan._--The Snipe may be meant.
+
+[49] The term _Spireog_ is still used in the locality referred to, and
+signifies the Sparrowhawk. It has, however, somewhat of a Saxon sound.
+
+[50] _Sgreachog._--Conjecturally, Screech-owl; or Jay.
+
+[51] _Geilt Glinne._--See note [28] on p. 58.
+
+[52] The _Onchu_ has been mentioned before. See note [39] on p. 59.
+There were several kindred _Felidae_ in the Pliocene period. May the word
+refer to two of these bearing the same name, but the one distinguished
+by the term _fleet_?
+
+[53] "_Pigs_" again! This is the fourth time. "Wild Hogs, wild Boars,
+Pigs, and yet Pigs." From the prominence thus given to the grunting race
+in the ransom, one is tempted to conclude that "'Twas the Pig that paid
+the rint," then, as now!
+
+[54] Mr Wilde, in an interesting paper "On the Unmanufactured Animal
+Remains belonging to the Royal Irish Academy," read before the Academy
+on the 9th and 25th of May, 1859, to which I am indebted for the
+foregoing poem, cites the following legend, which we might have referred
+to the _Megaceros_, but that he appears to consider the animal in
+question the Red Deer or Stag:--"On another occasion St Patrick and his
+retinue, with Cailte MacRonain, came to the house of a rich landholder
+who lived in the southern part of the present County of Kildare, near
+the river Slaney. The farmer complained to Cailte that although he sowed
+a great quantity of corn every year, it yielded him no profit, on
+account of _a huge wild Deer_ which every year came across the Slaney
+from the west when the corn was ripe for cutting, and, rushing through
+it in all directions, trampled it down under his feet. Cailte undertook
+to relieve him, and he sent into Munster for his seven deer-nets, which
+arrived in due time. He then went out and placed his men and his hounds
+in the paths through which the great deer was accustomed to pass, and he
+set his deer-nets upon the cliffs, passes, and rivers around, and when
+he saw the animal coming to the Ford of the Red Deer on the river
+Slaney, he took his spear and cast a fortunate throw at him, driving it
+the length of a man's arm out through the opposite side; and 'The Red
+Ford of the Great Deer' is the name of that pass on the Slaney ever
+since; and they brought him back to Drom Lethan, or 'The Broad Hill,'
+which is called 'The Broad Hill of the Great Wild Deer.'"
+
+[55] The Editor of "The Indian Field;" in the _Zoologist_, p. 6427.
+
+[56] The Welsh "Triads," supposed to have been compiled in the seventh
+century, say that "the Kymri, a Celtic tribe, first inhabited Britain;
+before them were no men here, but only bears, wolves, beavers, and oxen
+with high prominences." Were these Bisons?
+
+[57] See Vol. i, 203, _supra_.
+
+[58] This is the more interesting because it includes the _Urus_ as well
+as the "_Schelch_," which latter, though the meaning of the word is not
+certain, some are disposed to identify with the Giant Deer of Ireland.
+
+[59] See note [56] on p. 68.
+
+[60] M.S. H. ii. 13.
+
+[61] _Blackwood's Magazine_, January 1849.
+
+[62] "Travels," 4th ed., 1677.
+
+[63] Sloane MSS., No. 1839.
+
+[64] _Zoologist_, p. 4298.
+
+[65] _British Birds_, iii. 477, (Ed. 2.)
+
+[66] Dr Charlton, in the _Trans. Tyneside Nat. Hist. Soc._
+
+[67] _Nat. Voy._, ch. ix.
+
+[68] Lecture; reported in the _Athenaeum_ for May 21, 1859.
+
+[69] _Nat. Voyage_, ch. viii.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+THE MARVELLOUS.
+
+
+The vulgar mind is very prone to love the marvellous, and to count for a
+prodigy every unusual phenomenon, every occurrence not perfectly
+accountable on any hypothesis which is familiar to them. The poetical
+period of history in every country is full of prodigies; for in the dawn
+of civilisation the physical laws of nature are little understood, and
+multitudes of natural phenomena are either referred to false causes, or,
+being unreferrible to any recognised cause, are set down as mere
+wonders. It is the province of science to dispel these delusions, to
+expose the undiscovered, but by no means undiscoverable, origins of
+unusual events, and thus to be continually narrowing the limits of the
+unknown. These limits, however, have not even yet quite reached the
+minuteness of a mathematical point; and there are a few marvels left for
+the indefatigable rummagings of modern science to explain.
+
+Perhaps the predominant tendency of uneducated minds in the present day
+is rather to attribute effects to _false_ causes, than to leave them
+without any assignable cause. It is much easier for an unreasoning
+person to say that Tenterden steeple is the cause of Goodwin Sands, than
+to leave Goodwin Sands quite unaccounted for; or to say, the plant-lice
+suddenly appear crowding the rose-twigs, "the east wind has cast a
+blight," or "it is something in the air," than "I do not know how to
+account for their appearance." To a reflecting person, indeed, who
+weighs forces, the east wind appears as incompetent to the production of
+living animals as the tall tower to the origination of a sand-bank; and
+this, though he might be able to suggest nothing a whit more competent.
+What should he do in such a case? Manifestly this--test the actual
+existence and conditions of the phenomenon; see that it really has
+occurred; and, if the fact cannot be denied, admit it as a fact, and
+wait further light as to its causation.
+
+I do not by any means presume to declare the universal "why and because"
+of every familiar or unfamiliar occurrence: I leave that to more
+pretentious philosophers; smiling occasionally in my sleeve at the
+egotism which cannot see its own _non-sequiturs_. But still less can I
+consent to set aside every phenomenon which I cannot explain, with the
+common resource,--"Pooh! pooh! there must be some mistake!" Rather would
+I say, "There must still be some ignorance in me: near as I have reached
+to the summit of the ladder of knowledge, there must be still one or two
+rongs to be mounted before I can proclaim my mastery of all, absolutely
+_all_, the occult causes of things. Therefore, till then I must be
+content with the lowlier task of patiently accumulating evidence."
+
+At various times and in various places popular superstition has been
+excited by the occurrence of what have been called showers of blood. The
+destruction of cities and of kingdoms has been, according to historians,
+preceded by this awful omen. Yet this has been explained by a very
+natural and accountable phenomenon. In the year 1553, the hedges and
+trees, the stones of the pathway, and the clothes of many persons, were
+sprinkled copiously with drops of red fluid, which was supposed to be
+blood, till some observant person noticed the coincident appearance of
+unusual swarms of butterflies, and marked that the coloured drops
+proceeded from them. Again, at Aix la Chapelle in 1608, the same awful
+appearance occurred, especially on the walls of a particular churchyard.
+M. Peiresc, an able naturalist, residing at Aix, traced the phenomenon
+here to the same cause. Just before, he had found a large chrysalis,
+which he had enclosed in a box, in order to identify the species to
+which it belonged. A few days after, hearing a rustling, he opened the
+box, and discovered a beautiful butterfly evolved from the pupa, which
+had left upon the floor of its prison a large red stain. He saw that the
+character of this deposit agreed exactly with that of the ominous drops
+abroad, and remarking an unusual abundance of the same kind of
+butterfly, he conceived that he had revealed the cause of the terrific
+phenomenon. He was confirmed in this belief by the circumstance that the
+supposed blood-drops were not found in the streets of the town, nor upon
+the roofs of the houses, where they must have occurred had they fallen
+from the sky; and, moreover, that it was rare to see any on the exposed
+parts of stones, walls, &c.; but rather under the protection of angles,
+and in slight cavities--which agrees well with the habits of the insects
+in question. No doubt this was the true explanation of the phenomenon,
+but it does not say much for the powers of observation which could have
+attributed it to blood, for the colour is by no means that of blood,
+especially _dried_ blood, but much more crimson; and the earthy deposit,
+resembling chalk, which copiously remains after the fluid part has
+evaporated, would in a moment convince any one who was in the habit of
+comparing things which differ, that, whatever the substance was, blood
+it certainly was not.
+
+I myself not long ago met with an appearance which bore a much closer
+resemblance to drops of blood than this, and which yet was referrible to
+a widely different origin. In the neighbourhood of Ashburton, in Devon,
+a quarter of a mile or so from the town, there is a shallow horse-pond,
+the bottom of which consists of an impalpable whitish mud, much indented
+with hoof-holes and other irregularities. In these, the water being
+dimly clear from settlement, I observed what looked exactly like blood,
+in numerous patches, the appearance being as if two or three drops of
+blood had fallen in one spot, half-a-dozen in another, and so on. The
+colour was true, and even when I alighted, and looked carefully on the
+spots, they had just that curdled appearance that drops of blood assume
+when they fall into still water. But there appeared on minute
+examination a constant intestine motion in each spot, which caused me to
+bring my eye closer, when I discovered that I had been egregiously
+deceived. Each apparent drop of blood was formed of a number of slender
+worms, about as thick as a hog's bristle, and an inch and a half long,
+of a red hue, which protruded the greater part of their length from the
+mud, in a radiating form, each maintaining a constant undulatory
+movement. There were more or fewer centres of radiation, the circles
+frequently interrupted by, and merging into, others, just as drops of
+blood crowded together would do. On the slightest disturbance the little
+actors shrank out of sight into the soft mud; but by scooping up a
+little of this I contrived to get a number of them into a phial, which,
+as the sediment settled, were seen at the bottom playing as if in their
+pond. On examination of the specimens with a microscope I found them to
+be minute Annelids, such as I have described, apparently of the genus
+_Lumbriculus_ of Grube, with two rows of bristle-pencils, and two
+bristles in a pencil. The body was transparent and colourless, and the
+red hue was given by the great and conspicuous longitudinal
+blood-vessels, and by the lateral connecting vessels, which viewed
+sidewise took the form of loops. The animals soon died in captivity, but
+I kept some for three or four days alive.
+
+I have elsewhere referred to the curious phenomenon of crimson snow, and
+to the uncertainty which still hangs over its cause. I have lately met
+with another explanation, which seems sufficiently guaranteed to be
+depended on, though, as the red snow occurs in places where this cause
+cannot operate, it only shews that similar results may be produced by
+diverse agencies. A certain resemblance between the facts and those
+adduced by M. Peiresc will warrant my quoting them. Mr Thomas Nicholson,
+in a visit to Sowallik Point, in Prince Regent's Inlet, thus describes
+what he saw:--"The summit of the hill forming the point is covered with
+huge masses of granite, while the side, which forms a gentle declivity
+towards the bay, was covered with crimson snow. It was evident, at first
+view, that this colour was imparted to the snow by a substance lying on
+the surface. This substance lay scattered here and there in small masses
+bearing some resemblance to powdered cochineal, surrounded by a lighter
+shade, which was produced by the colouring matter being partly dissolved
+and diffused by the deliquescent snow. During this examination our hats
+and upper garments were observed to be daubed with a substance of a
+similar red colour; and a moment's reflection convinced us that this was
+the excrement of the little Auk, myriads of which bird were continually
+flying over our heads, having their nests among the loose masses of
+granite. A ready explanation of the origin of the red snow was now
+presented to us, and not a doubt remained in the mind of any of us that
+this was the correct one. The snow on the mountains of higher elevation
+than the nests of these birds was perfectly white; and a ravine at a
+short distance, which was filled with snow from top to bottom, but which
+afforded no hiding-place for these birds to form their nests, presented
+an appearance uniformly white."[70]
+
+After all, however, real _bona fide_ rain does sometimes descend, which,
+if not blood-red, is at least red. "M. Giovanni Campani, Professor of
+Chemistry at the University of Siena, has just published a letter,
+addressed to Professor Matteucci, on a most singular phenomenon which
+occurred at Siena in December last. On the 28th of that month, about
+seven A.M., the inhabitants of the northwestern part of the city
+witnessed with surprise the curious phenomenon of a copious fall of rain
+of a reddish hue, which lasted two hours; a second shower of the same
+colour occurred at eleven A.M., and a third at two P.M., but that of the
+deepest red fell the first time. But what adds to the strangeness of the
+occurrence is that it was entirely confined to that particular quarter
+of the town, and so nicely was the line drawn that the cessation of the
+red colour was ascertained in one direction to be at about two hundred
+metres from the meteorological observatory, the pluviometer of which
+received colourless rain at exactly the same time. The temperature
+during the same interval varied between 8 deg. and 10 deg. Centigrade
+(46 and 50 Fahrenheit). The wind blew from the S.W. at the beginning of
+the phenomenon, and afterwards changed to W.S.W. None of the rural
+population in the immediate vicinity of Siena remarked the occurrence,
+so that most probably the rain that fell round the town was colourless.
+The same phenomenon, strange to say, recurred in exactly the same
+quarter of the town on the 31st of December, and again on the 1st of
+January, the wind being W.N.W., and the temperature respectively 35 and
+39.42 deg., Fahrenheit. Each time, however, the red colour diminished
+in depth, its greatest strength having at no time exceeded that of weak
+wine and water. A similar occurrence is recorded as having taken place
+in 1819 at Blankenburg, when MM. Meyer and Stopp found the water to
+contain a solution of chloride of cobalt. Professor Campani, who is now
+engaged, in conjunction with his colleague, Professor Gabrielli, in
+analyzing the red water collected, has ascertained that in this instance
+it contains no chloride of cobalt, and, moreover, that the colour must
+be owing to some solution, since the water has deposited no
+sediment."[71]
+
+The occasional occurrence of large masses of water stained of a vivid
+red hue, and for the most part suddenly, and without any ostensible
+cause, has not unreasonably been recorded as a prodigy, rivalling one of
+the plagues of Egypt--the turning of the waters into blood.
+
+"I remember," says Mr Latrobe, "the report reaching Neufchatel, through
+the medium of the market-people passing from the one lake to the other,
+(some time during the winter,) that the waters of the lake of Morat had
+suddenly become the colour of blood, though I could meet with no one
+whose testimony was sufficiently clear and unequivocal to establish the
+fact. This, joined to my not having the leisure then to go and see for
+myself, caused the matter to slip from my memory entirely, till I found
+myself in the neighbourhood. Here the circumstance was fully confirmed
+to me in a manner not to be questioned; and having since met with a
+paper, written by M. de Candolle, of Geneva, on the subject, I shall
+take what is there stated as my best guide in mentioning the facts as
+they occurred:--
+
+"It appears that this singular phenomenon began to excite the attention
+of the inhabitants of Morat as early as November last year, and that it
+continued more or less observable during the whole of the winter.
+
+"Mr Trechsel, a gentleman resident at Morat, to whom M. de Candolle
+applied, on hearing the report, for information and specimens of the
+colouring matter, stated--That during the early hours of the day no
+extraordinary appearance was observable in the lake; but that a little
+later, long parallel lines of reddish matter were seen to extend along
+the surface of the water, at some short distance from the banks. This,
+being blown by the wind towards the more sheltered parts of the shore,
+collected itself about the reeds and rushes, covering the surface of the
+lake with a light foam; forming as it were different strata of various
+colours, from greenish black, grey, yellow, and brown, to the most
+delicious red. He adds, that this matter exhaled a pestiferous odour
+during the day, but disappeared at the approach of night. It was further
+observed, that during tempestuous weather it vanished altogether. Many
+small fishes were seen to become intoxicated while swimming amongst it,
+and after a few convulsive leaps, to lie motionless on the surface.
+
+"The naturalists of Geneva decided, from the specimens sent, that it
+was an animal substance, which, if not the _Oscillatoria subfusca_,[72]
+was nearly allied to it.
+
+"Soon after the beginning of May it disappeared entirely. It is not
+known that this phenomenon has appeared before in the lake of Morat
+within the memory of man. Tradition states the same to have happened the
+year preceding the great battle."[73]
+
+A few years ago, in one of my tanks of sea-water, there occurred a
+phenomenon much like this. Patches of a rich crimson-purple colour
+formed here and there on the surface, which rapidly grew on all sides
+till they coalesced. If allowed to be a few days undisturbed, the entire
+surface of the water became covered with a pellicle of the substance,
+which spread also over the stones and shells of the bottom, and the
+sides of the vessel. It could be lifted in impalpable laminae on sheets
+of paper. I found it difficult to keep it within bounds, and impossible
+to get quite rid of it, till, after some months, I lost it by the
+accidental breaking of the vessel. Under the microscope, this proved an
+_Oscillatoria_, which I could not identify with any of the described
+species in Harvey's _Phytologia_: the filaments creeping and twining
+with the peculiar vermicular movements of the genus.
+
+Blood-like waters are sometimes produced by a rapid evolution of
+infusorial animalcules. Of these the most effective are _Astasia
+haematodes_, and _Euglena sanguinea_; both of them minute spindle-shaped
+creatures of a pulpy substance, and sanguine hue. They are produced
+occasionally in incalculable numbers, increasing with vast rapidity by
+means of spontaneous division. Ehrenberg suggests that the miracle of
+blood-change performed on the Nile and on all other collections of water
+in Egypt by Moses (Exod. vii. 17-25) may have been effected by the
+agency of these animalcules. Of course it would require Divine power as
+much to educe uncounted millions of animalcules at the word of command,
+as to form real blood, so that no escape from the presence of Deity
+would be gained by admitting the supposition; but the words of the
+inspired narrative seem to render it untenable.
+
+To return to showers. "If it should rain cats and dogs,"--is a phrase
+which is in many mouths; but probably no one has heard it transferred
+from the subjunctive to the indicative mood. Why not, however, if it
+rains snails, frogs, fishes, and feathers? That these animals and animal
+products are really poured down from the atmosphere, I can adduce some
+evidence; the value of which my readers may weigh when they have heard
+the pleadings.
+
+In that venerable newspaper, _Felix Farley's Journal_, for July 1821,
+there was "an account of a wonderful quantity of snail-shells found in a
+piece of land of several acres near Bristol, that common report says
+fell in a shower." This shell-storm attracting much attention at the
+time, Mr Wm. Baker, of Bridgewater, asked information from the Curator
+of the Bristol Institution, who thus cleared up the mystery:--"The
+periwinkles are indeed wonderful. They descended, forsooth, in a heavy
+rain-like shower on the field of Mr Peach, as a due punishment for his
+disrespect to the virtues of our late queen. The shower was so intense,
+that the umbrella of an old lady passing by was broken to pieces, and
+the fragments lifted in the air by the whirlwind, which picked up all
+the periwinkles on the neighbouring hills, and dropped them three inches
+thick on Mr Peach's field! But you know the story of 'The Three Black
+Crows;' and thus the whole is reduced to no periwinkle rain, no
+whirlwind; but turns out to be our old friend _Helix virgata_, making
+its annual pilgrimage in search of a mate, and occurring one in almost
+every square inch in the field in question."
+
+Provincial newspapers seem to have a special power of reporting such
+natural history facts, which rarely survive investigation. The _Stroud
+Free Press_, for May 23, 1851, tells us that "an extraordinary scene was
+witnessed at Bradford, about twelve miles from Bristol, on Saturday
+week, when that village was visited by a heavy shower of snails. They
+might have been gathered by bushels." Mr J. W. Douglas, the eminent
+entomologist, immediately asked some pertinent questions anent the
+shower; but whether it was that the witnesses were grieved at his
+profanely comparing such prodigies to Professors Morison and Holloway's
+cures, or whether they had no more definite intelligence to communicate,
+_certes_ echo answered not.
+
+We fear we must give up snails. But frogs! everybody knows that toads
+and frogs fall from the sky. According to travellers in tropical
+America, the inhabitants of Portobello assert that every drop of rain is
+changed into a toad; the more instructed, however, believe that the
+spawn of these animals is raised with the vapour from the adjoining
+swamps, and being driven in the clouds over the city, the ova are
+hatched as they descend in rain. 'Tis certain that the streets after a
+night of heavy rain are almost covered with the ill-favoured reptiles,
+and it is impossible to walk without crushing them.[74] But heretic
+philosophers point to the mature growth of the vermin, many of them
+being six inches in length, and maintain that the clever hypothesis just
+mentioned will scarcely account for the appearance of these.
+
+In the _Leeds Mercury_ for June 1844, there occurred the following
+statement:--"In the course of the afternoon of Monday last, during the
+prevalence of rather heavy rain, the good people of Selby were
+astonished at a remarkable phenomenon. It was rendered forcibly
+apparent, that, with the descent of the rain, there was a shower of
+another description, viz. a shower of frogs. The truth of this was
+rendered more manifest by the circumstance that several of the frogs
+were caught in their descent by holding out hats for that purpose. They
+were about the size of a horse-bean, and remarkably lively after their
+aerial but wingless flight. The same phenomenon was observed in the
+immediate neighbourhood."
+
+The editor of the _Zoologist_ immediately asked for confirmation of the
+stated facts, from resident persons of science; but notwithstanding the
+circumstantiality of the account, and especially the reported actual
+capture of the little sprawlers in hats, no one replied to the demand,
+and we are compelled to conclude that the report would not bear critical
+investigation.
+
+Yet incredulity may be pushed too far even here. For, in the continental
+journals many more such statements occur than in those of this country,
+and some of them vouched by apparently indisputable authority. If my
+readers will refer to _L'Institut._ tom. ii. (1834) pp. 337, 346, 347,
+353, 354, 386, 409; tom. iv. (1836) pp. 221, 314, 325; tom. vi. (1838)
+p. 212, they will find mention made of this phenomenon,--showers of
+toads. In two or three of these cases, the toads were not only observed
+in countless numbers on the ground, during, and after, heavy storms of
+rain, but were seen to strike upon the roofs of houses, bounding thence
+into the streets; they even fell upon the hats, umbrellas, and clothes
+of the observers, who were out in the storm, and, in one instance, were
+actually received into the outstretched hand.[75]
+
+Much more recently, namely, early in 1859, the newspapers of South Wales
+recorded a shower of fish in the Valley of Aberdare. The repeated
+statements attracted more notice than usual, and the Rev. John Griffith,
+the vicar of the parish, communicated the following results of his
+inquiries to the _Evening Mail_:--
+
+"Many of your readers might, perhaps, like to see the facts connected
+with this phenomenon. They will be better understood in the words of the
+principal witness, as taken down by me on the spot where it happened.
+This man's name is John Lewis, a sawyer in Messrs Nixon and Co.'s yard.
+His evidence is as follows:--'On Wednesday, February 9, I was getting
+out a piece of timber for the purpose of setting it for the saw, when I
+was startled by something falling all over me--down my neck, on my head,
+and on my back. On putting my hand down my neck I was surprised to find
+they were little fish. By this time I saw the whole ground covered with
+them. I took off my hat, the brim of which was full of them. They were
+jumping all about. They covered the ground in a long strip of about
+eighty yards by twelve, as we measured afterwards. That shed (pointing
+to a very large workshop) was covered with them, and the shoots were
+quite full of them. My mates and I might have gathered bucketfuls of
+them, scraping with our hands. We did gather a great many, about a
+bucketful, and threw them into the rain-pool, where some of them now
+are. There were two showers, with an interval of about ten minutes, and
+each shower lasted about two minutes or thereabouts. The time was eleven
+A.M. The morning up-train to Aberdare was just then passing. It was not
+blowing very hard, but uncommon wet, just about the same wind as there
+is to-day (blowing rather stiff), and it came from this quarter
+(pointing to the S. of W.). They came down with the rain in "a body,
+like."' Such is the evidence. I have taken it for the purpose of being
+laid before Professor Owen, to whom, also, I shall send to-morrow, at
+the request of a friend of his, eighteen or twenty of the little fish.
+Three of them are large and very stout, measuring about four inches. The
+rest are small. There were some--but they are since dead--fully five
+inches long. They are very lively.--Your obedient servant,
+
+                                        "JOHN GRIFFITH,
+                              "Vicar of Aberdare and Rural Dean.
+          "VICARAGE, ABERDARE, _March 8_."
+
+The specimens which were forwarded to Professor Owen were exhibited in a
+tank at the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park: they consisted of
+minnows (_Leuciscus phoxinus_) and Smooth-tailed sticklebacks
+(_Gasterosteus leiurus_.) A _savant_ thus endeavoured to "enlighten" the
+uninitiated on the matter:--"On reading the evidence it appears to me
+most probably only a practical joke of the mates of John Lewis, who seem
+to have thrown a pailful of water with the fish in it over him, and he
+appears to have returned them to the pool from which they were
+originally taken. The fish forwarded are very unlike those taken up in
+whirlwinds in tropical countries, and we must make allowance for
+unintentional exaggerations of quantity, &c., in an account given a
+month after the event had occurred."
+
+This "appears to me" a beautiful example of critical acumen. My readers
+will do well to look at it for a moment; as they may thus learn how to
+sift the grain of truth out of the bushel of chaff. _Reverenter
+procedamus!_
+
+The main (is it not the only?) objection to the honest sawyer's
+statement is that "the fish are very unlike those taken up in whirlwinds
+in tropical countries." That is, that, seeing the phenomenon occurs in
+Great Britain, it is most unfortunate that the fishes are British
+species. Now, in India, when such things occur, it is always _Indian_
+species that are taken up; _ergo_, it ought to be Indian species _here_.
+But these are "very unlike" the Indian fishes; _ergo_, it is manifestly
+a humbug.
+
+Then, does it not strike one as palpably probable, when once one's dull
+intellect has been "enlightened" by the brilliant suggestion,--that the
+worthy sawyer who had a pail of water soused upon him, thought it was a
+heavy shower of rain? _Very_ heavy, no doubt; indeed he says it was
+"uncommon wet." To be sure, he thought there were _two_ showers, each
+lasting about two minutes, with an interval of ten minutes between them;
+but this little error might be easily made, for doubtless a bucket of
+water poured on one's head might well be equivalent to two showers of
+rain, or even ten, for that matter. To be sure, moreover, there was a
+considerable quantity of fish:--"The whole ground was covered with them:
+they were jumping all about: they covered the ground in a long strip of
+about eighty yards by twelve, _as we measured_ afterwards: the shed was
+covered with them, and the shoots were quite full of them.... My mates
+and I might have gathered bucketfuls of them: we did gather about a
+bucketful." Yes, yes: but all were originally in the pail of water
+thrown over you, John. How stupid you were, not to perceive _that_! How
+there was room for any water at all in the pail, seeing there were so
+many fish, you say you don't know; but that is your stupidity, John!
+There _must_ have been room for water, for it was "uncommon wet;" and
+the water was in the pail, for the Doctor says so. Uncommon fishy, too,
+I should think; but let that pass. Where the mates collected the pail of
+live fishes for their pleasant and profitable hoax, and how, and
+when,--the sceptic might wonderingly ask; but a hoax it was. _Ipse
+dixit._
+
+However, the verdict did not obtain universal assent; and an excellent
+and well-known naturalist, Mr Robert Drave, residing in the vicinity,
+ventured modestly to indicate a dissent. "I think actual fact will
+excuse the otherwise apparently unbecoming assumption in me, of opposing
+such high authority by a contrary opinion, for from information
+_obtained from many sources, and very careful and minute_ inquiry, I am
+quite convinced that a great number of fish did actually descend with
+rain _over a considerable tract of country_. The specimens I obtained
+_from three individuals_, resident some distance from each other, were
+of two species, the common minnow and the three-spined stickleback; the
+former most abundant, and mostly very small, though some had attained
+their full size."[76]
+
+If now we look to other lands, we shall find that the descent of fishes
+from the atmosphere, under conditions little understood, is a phenomenon
+which rests on indubitable evidence. Humboldt has published interesting
+details of the ejection of fish in large quantities from volcanoes in
+South America. On the night between the 19th and 20th of June, 1698, the
+summit of Carguairazo, a volcano more than 19,000 feet in height, fell
+in, and all the surrounding country for nearly thirty-two square miles
+was covered with mud and fishes. A similar eruption of fish from the
+volcano of Imbaburu was supposed to have been the cause of a putrid
+fever which raged in the town of Ibarra seven years before that period.
+
+These facts are not inexplicable. Subterraneous lakes, communicating
+with surface-waters, form in deep cavities in the declivities, or at the
+base of a volcano. In certain active stages of ignition, these internal
+cavities are burst open, and their contents discharged through the
+crater. Humboldt ascertained that the fishes in question belonged to a
+curious and ill-favoured species of the _Siluridae_,--the _Pimelodes
+Cyclopum_.
+
+Showers of fishes, however, do occur, which cannot be connected with
+volcanic agency. Dr Buist, in an interesting paper published in the
+_Bombay Times_ in 1856, has collected a number of authentic examples of
+this phenomenon. The author, after enumerating the cases just cited, and
+others of similar character, in which fishes were said to have been
+thrown out from volcanoes in South America, and precipitated from clouds
+in various parts of the world, adduces the following instances of
+similar occurrences in India:--"In 1824," he says, "fishes fell at
+Meerut, on the men of her Majesty's 14th Regiment, then out at drill,
+and were caught in numbers. In July 1826, live fish were seen to fall on
+the grass at Moradabad during a storm. They were the common _Cyprinus_,
+so prevalent in our Indian waters. On the 19th of February 1830, at
+noon, a heavy fall of fish occurred at the Nokulhatty factory, in the
+Daccah Zillah; depositions on the subject were obtained from nine
+different parties. The fish were all dead; most of them were large; some
+were fresh, others were rotten and mutilated. They were seen at first in
+the sky, like a flock of birds, descending rapidly to the ground; there
+was rain drizzling, but no storm. On the 16th and 17th of May, 1833, a
+fall of fish occurred in the Zillah of Futtehpoor, about three miles
+north of the Jumna, after a violent storm of wind and rain. The fish
+were from a pound and a-half to three pounds in weight, and of the same
+species as those found in the tanks in the neighbourhood. They were all
+dead and dry. A fall of fish occurred at Allahabad, during a storm in
+May 1835; they were of the chowla species, and were found dead and dry
+after the storm had passed over the district. On the 20th of September
+1839 after a smart shower of rain, a quantity of live fish, about three
+inches in length, and all of the same kind, fell at the Sunderbunds,
+about twenty miles south of Calcutta. On this occasion it was remarked
+that the fish did not fall here and there irregularly over the ground,
+but in a continuous straight line, not more than a span in breadth. The
+vast multitudes of fish, with which the low grounds round Bombay are
+covered, about a week or ten days after the first burst of the monsoon,
+appear to be derived from the adjoining pools or rivulets, and not to
+descend from the sky. They are not, as far as I know, found in the
+higher parts of the island. I have never seen them, though I have
+watched carefully, in casks collecting water from the roofs of
+buildings, or heard of them on the decks or awnings of vessels in the
+harbour, where they must have appeared had they descended from the sky.
+One of the most remarkable phenomena of this kind occurred during a
+tremendous deluge of rain at Kattywar, on the 25th of July 1850, when
+the ground around Rajkote was found literally covered with fish; some of
+them were found on the top of haystacks, where probably they had been
+drifted by the storm. In the course of twenty-four successive hours
+twenty-seven inches of rain fell, thirty-five fell in twenty-six hours,
+seven inches in one hour and a-half, being the heaviest fall on record.
+At Poonah, on the 3d of August 1852, after a very heavy fall of rain,
+multitudes of fish were caught on the ground in the cantonments, full
+half a mile from the nearest stream. If showers of fish are to be
+explained on the assumption that they are carried up by squalls or
+violent winds, from rivers or spaces of water not far away from, where
+they fall, it would be nothing wonderful were they seen to descend from
+the air during the furious squalls which occasionally occur in June."
+
+Sir E. Tennent adds the following examples:--"I had an opportunity, on
+one occasion only, of witnessing the phenomenon which gives rise to this
+popular belief. I was driving in the cinnamon gardens near the fort of
+Colombo, and saw a violent but partial shower descend at no great
+distance before me. On coming to the spot, I found a multitude of small
+silvery fish from one and a half to two inches in length, leaping on the
+gravel of the high road, numbers of which I collected and brought away
+in my palankin. The spot was about half a mile from the sea, and
+entirely unconnected with any watercourse or pool.
+
+"Mr Whiting, who was many years resident at Trincomalee, writes me that
+he 'had been often told by the natives on that side of the island that
+it sometimes rained fishes; and on one occasion (he adds) I was taken by
+them, in 1849, to a field at the village of Karrancotta-tivo, near
+Batticaloa, which was dry when I passed over it in the morning, but had
+been covered in two hours by sudden rain to the depth of three inches,
+in which there was then a quantity of small fish. The water had no
+connexion with any pond or stream whatsoever.' Mr Cripps, in like
+manner, in speaking of Galle, says: 'I have seen in the vicinity of the
+fort, fish taken from rain-water that had accumulated in the hollow
+parts of the land that in the hot season are perfectly dry and parched.
+The place is accessible to no running stream or tank; and either the
+fish, or the spawn from which they were produced, must of necessity have
+fallen with the rain.'"[77]
+
+Mr J. Prinsep, the eminent secretary to the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
+found a fish in the pluviometer at Calcutta, in 1838.[78]
+
+It is a highly curious fact that the pools, reservoirs, and tanks in
+India and Ceylon are well provided with fish of various species, though
+the water twice every year becomes perfectly evaporated, and the mud of
+the bottom becomes converted into dust, or takes the condition of baked
+clay, gaping with wide and deep clefts, in which not the slightest sign
+of moisture can be detected. This is the case with temporary hollows in
+the soil, which have no connexion with running streams or permanent
+waters, from which they might be supposed to receive a fresh stock of
+fish.
+
+Two modes of accounting for this strange phenomenon have obtained
+currency. The one is that received by those Europeans who are content
+with any solution of a difficulty, without too closely testing it; viz.,
+that the fishes fall with the rains from the air. The actual occurrence
+of such showers rests, as we have just seen, on good evidence; but,
+admitting the fact, it must be a rare phenomenon, whereas the presence
+of fish in the new-made pools is universal. Again, if the rains brought
+them in such abundance as to stock all the pools, an equal number would
+fall on the dry ground, which is not pretended to be the case. The other
+accepted solution is that which has received the sanction of Mr Yarrell,
+who observes--"The impregnated ova of the fish of one rainy season are
+left unhatched in the mud through the dry season, and from their low
+state of organisation _as ova_, the vitality is preserved till the
+occurrence and contact of the rain and the oxygen of the next wet
+season, when vivification takes place from their joint influence."[79]
+
+This may be fully allowed, yet it does not meet the exigences of the
+case. Sir E. Tennent and others have shewn that it is not young fishes
+just escaped from the egg which appear in the new-formed pools, but
+full-grown fishes, fit for the market; a fact well known to the
+Singalese fishermen, who resort to the hollows as soon as the monsoon
+has brought rain; and they invariably take in these pools, which a day
+or two before were as dry as dust, plenty of fishes fully grown, a foot
+or eighteen inches long, or longer.
+
+Neither of these hypotheses, then, will account for the fact: and we
+must admit that the fishes of these regions have the instinct to burrow
+down in the solid mud of the bottom, at the approach of the dry season,
+and the power of retaining life, doubtless in a torpid condition, until
+the return of the periodic rains, as Theophrastus long ago observed.[80]
+
+The _Lepidosiren_, a very remarkable genus of animals from Africa and
+South America, affords a curious illustration of this power. It is
+altogether a highly singular creature, and has attracted a great deal of
+notice because its organisation belongs to two types: it is, so to
+speak, placed midway between the great classes of Reptiles and Fishes,
+the characters which identify it with either being almost equally
+balanced. Professor Owen and other eminent physiologists regard it as a
+fish, while Professor Bischoff, with others equally learned, consider it
+an Amphibian reptile.
+
+It is the habits of this strange creature, however, which induce me to
+notice it here. An inhabitant of rivers and ponds, which are swollen by
+periodic rains, and subject to entire or partial desiccation by long
+droughts, it is liable to be left by the retreating waters, exposed to
+the burning sun, under which it would presently die, but for a special
+provision.
+
+The animal has the instinct to bury itself in the mud of the bottom, on
+the approach of the droughts, penetrating to a depth of several feet.
+There it coils itself into a ball, with the tail folded over the nose,
+but so as to leave the nasal apertures uncovered; and, probably by its
+wrigglings, it forms a cavity or chamber in the clay, which becomes
+lined with a membranous slough thrown off from its body. Meanwhile the
+water evaporates, the mud dries, bakes, and cracks under the torrid heat
+of the dry season, thus allowing air to penetrate down to the retreat of
+the torpid mud-fish, in sufficient quantity for its very sluggish
+respiration. Here it lies inactive for five or six months, until the wet
+season again sets in, and the returning floods cover the old beds,
+soften the baked clay, revivify the imprisoned animal, and restore it to
+liberty and aquatic locomotion.
+
+To meet these strange conditions of life, the _Lepidosiren_ is furnished
+with a twofold apparatus for respiration; the one aquatic, consisting
+of gills, ordinarily contained in a branchial chamber, (but in one
+species, at least, external,) suited for the separation of oxygen from
+the water, and the other aerial, consisting of true lungs, closely
+resembling those of serpents, though manifestly only a modification of
+the well-known swim-bladder of many fishes,--by means of which the
+animal breathes atmospheric air, during its periodic captivity.
+
+The same emergency is met by other species in another way. It does not
+appear that the _Lepidosiren_ has the power of voluntarily forsaking the
+water, or of travelling on land, notwithstanding its twofold
+respiration; but some of the fishes of the tropics certainly resort to
+this mode of evading the fatal contingency of being baked out by the
+evaporating power of the periodical dry season.
+
+Theophrastus, the contemporary of Aristotle, mentions fishes found in
+the Euphrates which in the dry seasons leave the vacant channels and
+crawl over the ground in search of water, moving along by fins and
+tail.[81] Pallegoix gives three kinds of fish in Siam, which leave the
+tanks and channels and travel through the grass;[82] and Sir John
+Bowring states that in ascending the river Meinam to Bangkok, he was
+amused with the sight of fish leaving the stream, gliding over the wet
+banks, till they disappeared among the trees of the jungle.[83] The
+_Hydragyrae_ of Carolina in like manner leave the drying pools, and seek
+the nearest water in a straight line, though at a considerable distance.
+And Sir R. Schomburgk tells us that certain species of _Dora_ in Guiana
+have the same habit, and are occasionally met with in such numbers in
+their terrestrial travels that the negroes fill baskets with them.[84]
+
+These fishes, provincially called Hassars, project themselves on their
+bony pectoral fins, aiding their advance by the elastic spring of the
+tail exerted sidewise, proceeding in this manner nearly as fast as a man
+can walk. The strong scaly bands which envelop the body facilitate the
+march, in the same way as the transverse plates (_scuta_) on the belly
+of serpents, which take hold of the ground, as the ribs perform the
+office of feet. The Indians know that these fishes have the power of
+carrying a supply of water in a reservoir, for the keeping of the gills
+in a moist condition. If they fail in finding water, they are said to
+burrow in the still soft mud, and pass the dry season in torpidity like
+the _Lepidosiren_.
+
+The common eel is well known to have this habit of travelling with us; I
+well remember my surprise, when a boy, at finding an eel in a grassy
+meadow one dewy summer evening, at a considerable distance from water.
+Since then I have seen a small species of _Antennarius_, running quickly
+to and fro on the surface of the great beds of floating sea-weed in the
+Gulf stream, progressing by means of its pectorals and ventrals quite
+out of water, with the utmost facility.
+
+[Illustration: THE CLIMBING PERCH.]
+
+The most celebrated example of this faculty, however, is the climbing
+perch (_Anabas scandens_) of India. The vagaries of this little fish
+have been recorded from the earliest times, and numerous modern
+witnesses have borne record to its powers. Mr E. Layard once encountered
+several travelling along a hot dusty gravel-road in the mid-day sun.[85]
+Daldorf, a Danish zoologist of reputation, asserts that he has seen this
+species in the act of climbing palm-trees, effecting its ascent by means
+of fins and tail, with the aid of its spinous gill-covers. There is,
+however, some doubt whether he was not under mistake in this, though the
+fact of its crawling up the banks and living out of water is abundantly
+known.
+
+On the coasts of Ceylon, according to its accomplished historian,--on
+the rocks which are washed by the surf, there are multitudes of a
+curious little fish, (_Salarias alticus_,) which possesses the faculty
+of darting along the surface of the water, and running up the wet
+stones, with the utmost ease and rapidity. By aid of its pectoral and
+ventral fins and gill-cases, it moves across the damp sand, ascends the
+roots of the mangroves, and climbs up the smooth face of the rocks in
+search of flies; adhering so securely as not to be detached by repeated
+assaults of the waves. These little creatures are so nimble, that it is
+almost impossible to lay hold of them, as they scramble to the edge, and
+plunge into the sea on the slightest attempt to molest them. They are
+from three to four inches in length, and of a dark-brown colour, almost
+indistinguishable from the rocks they frequent.[86]
+
+In all these cases probably, the power of sustaining a protracted
+privation of water depends on a peculiar structure of the pharynx, which
+is divided by membranous plates into cells which the fish can fill at
+pleasure with water, and by ejecting small portions at a time can
+moisten its gills, and thus preserve the filaments of these organs in a
+fit condition to maintain the circulation and oxygenation of the blood.
+These labyrinthal water-chambers are particularly numerous and
+complicated in the _Anabas_ just mentioned. This, however, has no
+analogy with the lung of the _Lepidosiren_.
+
+[70] _Mag. Nat. Hist._, ii. 322.
+
+[71] From the _Times_ of Jan. 24, 1861.
+
+[72] The _Oscillatoria_ is a genus of _plants_; it is a microscopic
+_Alga_ of wire-like form belonging to the great Confervoid family,
+having the remarkable peculiarity of spontaneous and apparently
+voluntary motion.
+
+[73] Latrobe's _Alpenstock_, p. 12.
+
+[74] Seemann's _Isthmus of Panama_.
+
+[75] I am indebted for this note to the Rev. Leonard Jenyns. See his
+edition of White's _Selborne_, (1843) p. 66.
+
+[76] _Zoologist_, pp. 6541, 6564.
+
+[77] _Ceylon_, i. 211.
+
+[78] _Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal_, vi. 465.
+
+[79] _Brit. Fishes_, i. xxvii. Aristotle had long before given the same
+explanation.
+
+[80] _De Pisc. in siceo degent._
+
+[81] _De Piscibus._
+
+[82] _Siam_, i. 144.
+
+[83] _Emb. to Siam_, i. 10.
+
+[84] _Fishes of Guiana_, i. 113.
+
+[85] _Annals N. H._, _May 1853_.
+
+[86] Tennent's _Ceylon_, ii. 498.
+
+
+
+
+III.
+
+MERMAIDS.
+
+
+According to Berosus there came up from the Red Sea, on the shore
+contiguous to Babylonia, a brute creature named Oannes, which had the
+body of a fish, above whose front parts rose the head of a man; it had
+two human feet, which projected from each side of the tail; it had also
+a human voice and human language. This strange monster sojourned among
+the rude people during the day, taking no food, but retiring to the sea
+again at night; and continued for some time, teaching them the arts of
+civilised life. Other ancient authors, as Polyhistor and Apollodorus,
+allude to the same tradition; and we gather that the portrait of the
+learned stranger (not painted _from the life_, we may presume,
+considering the condition of the people when he appeared, unless we may
+suppose it to have been the effort of one of his pupils in the pictorial
+art under his instruction) was preserved at Babylon to the historic
+period.
+
+In an elaborate sculpture of the later Assyrian period, discovered by M.
+Botta at Khorsabad, a maritime expedition is portrayed, and the sea
+around the ships is filled with various marine animals, and among them
+the compound mythic forms of winged bulls and bull-lions, in which the
+Assyrians delighted, together with a figure composed of the body and
+tail of a fish extended horizontally, and the perpendicular trunk and
+foreparts of a man, crowned with the sacred cap, possibly representing
+the traditional Oannes.
+
+The god Dagon of the Philistines, and the goddess Atergatis of the
+Syrians were worshipped under the same combination of the human and
+piscine forms, and the Tritons of classical mythology perpetuated the
+idea.
+
+It is curious that in almost all ages and in almost all countries there
+should have prevailed a belief in the actual living existence of
+creatures like this. Was the mythological symbol the origin of the
+persuasion? Or is there any marine animal uniting so much of the general
+form of the fish with that of man as to have given the conception of the
+idol? A naturalist of deserved eminence has maintained, on purely
+scientific grounds, that such an animal must exist,--that the laws of
+nature absolutely require such a being; and though the amount of force
+which his reasoning, possesses will be estimated differently according
+as we reject or accept the hypothesis of the circularity of the great
+plan of nature, we may as well see what he has to say for a marine
+primate,--be he man or ape, mermaid or mermonkey.
+
+"There is yet," says Mr Swainson, "another primary type necessary to
+complete the circle of the quadrumanous animals, and it is that which we
+have elsewhere distinguished as the natatorial; but of such an animal we
+have only vague and indefinite accounts. It will be seen that,
+throughout the whole class of quadrupeds, the aquatic types are
+remarkably few, and in general scarce; and that they contain fewer forms
+or examples than any other, and are often, in the smaller groups,
+entirely wanting. To account for this is altogether impossible; we can
+only call attention to the fact, as exemplified in the aquatic order of
+_Cetacea_, in that of the _Ferae_, in the _Pachydermata_, in the circle
+of the _Glires_, and in all the remaining natatorial types of the
+different circles of quadrupeds. We do not implicitly believe in the
+existence of mermaids as described and depicted by the old writers--with
+a comb in the one hand and a mirror in the other; but it is difficult to
+imagine that the numerous records of singular marine animals, unlike any
+of those well known, have their origin in fraud or gross ignorance. Many
+of these narratives are given by eye-witnesses of the facts they vouch
+for--men of honesty and probity, having no object to gain by deception,
+and whose accounts have been confirmed by other witnesses equally
+trustworthy. Can it be supposed that the unfathomable depths of ocean
+are without their _peculiar_ inhabitants, whose habits and economy
+rarely, if ever, bring them to the surface of the watery element? As
+reasonably might a Swiss mountaineer disbelieve in the existence of an
+ostrich, because it cannot inhabit his Alpine precipices, as that we
+should doubt that the rocks and caverns of the ocean are without animals
+destined to live in such situations, and such only. The natatorial type
+of the _Quadrumana_, however, is most assuredly wanting. Whatever its
+precise construction may or might have been, it would represent and
+correspond to the seals in the circle of the _Ferae_, or rapacious
+quadrupeds; while a resemblance to the _Simiadae_, or monkeys, must be
+considered an essential character of any marine animal which is to
+connect and complete the circular series of types in the _Quadrumana_."
+
+Mr Swainson absolutely excludes Man from the zoological circle, on
+grounds which few naturalists are disposed to think sufficient; else we
+might suggest that man himself is the natatorial type of the _Primates_.
+Taking this author's own selection[87] of the characters which mark the
+natatorial types of animals, for our guide, we find that the largest
+size, the smallest fore-limbs, the most obtuse muzzle, the most
+carnivorous appetite, and the most natatory habits (for I do not know
+that the Apes, or the Sapajous, or the Lemurs, or the Bats, ever take to
+the water voluntarily, whereas savage Man is always a great swimmer),
+belong to Man, and so, _Swainsonio ipso judice_, constitute _him_ the
+true aquatic primate. But if so, we do not want a merman or mermonkey;
+nay, we should not know where to insert him in the zoological circle if
+we found him; he would be awkwardly _de trop_.
+
+But yet nature _has_ an awkward way of mocking at our impossibilities;
+and it _may be_ that green-haired maidens with oary tails lurk in the
+ocean caves, and keep mirrors and combs upon their rocky shelves.
+Certainly the belief in them is very widely spread, and occasionally
+comes to us from quarters where we should hardly have looked for it. A
+negro from Dongola assured Prince Puckler Muskau that in the country of
+Sennaar there was no doubt that Sirens (mermaids) still existed, for
+that he himself had seen more than one.[88]
+
+In my boyhood I well recollect being highly excited by the arrival in
+our town, at fair-time, of a "show," which professed to exhibit a
+mermaid, whose portrait, on canvas hung outside, was radiant in feminine
+loveliness and piscine scaliness. I fondly expected to see the very
+counterpart within, how disposed I did not venture to imagine, but alive
+and fascinating, of course. Had I not seen her picture? I joyfully paid
+my coppers, but oh! woful disappointment! I dimly saw, within a dusty
+glass case, in a dark corner, a shrivelled and blackened little thing
+which might have been moulded in mud for aught I could see, but which
+was labelled, "MERMAID!" So great was my disgust, so bitter my feelings
+of shame and anger at having been so grossly taken in, that I did not
+care to observe what might have been noteworthy in it. I read afterwards
+that it was a very ingenious cheat; the trunk and head of a monkey had
+been grafted on to the body and tail of a large salmon-like fish, and
+the junction had been so cleverly effected, that only a very close
+examination detected the artifice. It professed to have been brought
+from China, but possibly was an importation even thither, if Steinmetz
+is correct. According to this writer, "A Japanese fisherman contrived to
+unite the upper half of a monkey to the lower half of a fish, so neatly
+as to defy ordinary inspection. He then gave out that he had caught the
+creature alive in his net, but that it had died shortly after being
+taken out of the water; and he derived considerable pecuniary profit
+from his cunning in more ways than one. The exhibition of the
+sea-monster to Japanese curiosity paid well; but yet more productive was
+the assertion that the half-human fish, having spoken the few minutes it
+existed out of its native element, had predicted a certain number of
+years of wonderful fertility, and a fatal epidemic, the only remedy for
+which would be possession of the marine prophet's likeness. The sale of
+these pictured mermaids was immense. Either this composite animal, or
+another, the offspring of the success of the first, was sold at the
+Dutch factory, and transmitted to Batavia, where it fell into the hands
+of a speculating American, who brought it to Europe, and here, in the
+years 1822-3, exhibited his purchase as a real mermaid at every capital,
+to the admiration of the ignorant, the perplexity of the learned, and
+the filling of his own purse. Indeed, the mermaids exhibited in Europe
+and America, to the great profit of the enterprising showmen, have all
+been of Japanese manufacture."[89]
+
+This, however, will not account for the frequent reports of the living
+creatures having been seen, and unbelievers have to form some other
+hypothesis. In the tropical seas the cow-whales, uncouth marine
+_pachydermata_, have been assumed to be the originals of these stories.
+Megasthenes reported that the sea which washed Taprobane, the modern
+Ceylon, was inhabited by a creature having the appearance of a woman;
+and AElian improves the account by stating that there are whales having
+the form of satyrs. 'Tis true the Manatee and the Dugong are rather
+mer-swine than mer-maids; but there is something in the bluff round head
+which may remind a startled observer of the human form divine. Sir
+Emerson Tennent considers that this rude approach to the human outline,
+and the attitude of the mother while suckling her young, pressing it to
+her breast with one paw, while swimming with the other, the head of both
+being held perpendicularly above water, and then, when disturbed,
+suddenly diving and displaying her broad fin-like tail,--these, together
+with her habitual demonstrations of strong maternal affection, may
+probably have been the original from which the pictures of the mermaid
+were portrayed, and thus that earliest invention of mythical physiology
+may be traced to the Arab seamen and to the Greeks, who had watched the
+movements of the Dugong in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
+
+The early Portuguese settlers in India had no doubt that true mermen
+were found in those seas; and the annalist of the exploits of the
+Jesuits narrates that seven of these monsters, male and female, were
+captured at Manaar in 1560, and carried to Goa, where they were
+dissected by Demas Bosquez, physician to the Viceroy, and "their
+internal structure found to be in all respects conformable to the
+human." Making allowance for the very limited acquaintance which the
+worthy physician was likely to have made with human anatomy by actual
+autopsy, this statement goes for little:--the real resemblance, assuming
+them to have been Dugongs, was about the same as that presented by the
+hog, whose inwards are popularly believed by our own country people to
+be in very close accordance with those of "Christians."
+
+Sir E. Tennent has embellished his book with a very taking portrait of
+the mermaid on the Dugong hypothesis; shewing two females, each holding
+a baby [is it right to say _merbaby_?], emerging from the sea-wave; they
+do look, to be sure, sufficiently human, but the well-known monogram of
+our clever friend Wolf in the corner of the cut suggests shrewd doubts
+that the portraits were not "_ad viv_."
+
+It is, perhaps, among the Scandinavian races that the belief in the
+merman has reached its culminating point. So many particulars are
+inculcated concerning the mode and conditions of life of these submarine
+beings, that the most intimate relations appear to have subsisted
+between the terrestrial and the aquatic peoples. According to the creed
+of the Norsemen, there exists, far beneath the depths of the ocean, an
+atmosphere adapted to the breathing organs of beings resembling in form
+the human race, endowed with surpassing beauty, with limited
+supernatural powers, but liable to suffering, and even to death. Their
+dwelling is in a vast region, situate far below the bottom of the sea,
+which forms a canopy over them, like the sky over us, and there they
+inhabit houses constructed of the pearly and coralline productions of
+the ocean. Having lungs not adapted to a watery medium, but formed for
+breathing atmospheric air, it would be impossible for them to pass
+through the volume of waters that separates our world from theirs, if it
+were not that they possess the power of entering the skin of some marine
+animal, whose faculties they thus temporarily acquire, or of changing
+their own form and structure so as to suit the altered condition through
+which they are to travel. The most ordinary shape they assume is, as
+everybody knows, that of man (that is, their own proper form) from the
+waist upward, but below that of a fish. Whether they now breathe by
+gills or lungs, the anatomists, it seems, have not yet determined; we
+must presume the former alternative, since else it is not apparent what
+they have gained by their piscine metamorphosis of tail; though where
+the branchiae are situate we are a little at a loss to imagine. These,
+however, are matters which doubtless the scientific world will one day
+determine: it seems certain that they do thus acquire an amphibious
+nature, so as not only to exist submerged in the waters, but to land on
+the shores of our sunny world, where they frequently doff their fishy
+half, resume their proper human form, and pass muster while they pursue
+their investigations here.[90]
+
+Unfortunately, but one of these resources can ever be availed of by any
+individual mer-man or -maid, nor can any "son or daughter of the ocean
+borrow more than one sea-dress of this kind for his own particular use;
+therefore if the garb should be mislaid on the shores he never can
+return to his submarine country and friends. A Shetlander, having once
+found an empty seal-skin on the shore, took it home and kept it in his
+possession. Soon after, he met the most lovely being who ever stepped on
+the earth, wringing her hands with distress, and loudly lamenting, that,
+having lost her sea-dress, she must remain for ever on the earth. The
+Shetlander, having fallen in love at first sight, said not a syllable
+about finding this precious treasure, but made his proposals, and
+offered to take her for better or for worse, as his future wife! The
+merlady, though not, as we know, much a woman of the world, very
+prudently accepted the offer! I never heard what the settlements were,
+but they lived very happily for some years, till one day, when the
+green-haired bride unexpectedly discovered her long-lost seal-skin, and
+instantly putting it on, she took a hasty farewell of everybody, and ran
+towards the shore. Her husband flew out in pursuit of her, but in vain!
+She sprang from point to point, and from rock to rock, till at length,
+hastening into the ocean, she disappeared for ever, leaving the worthy
+man, her husband, perfectly planet-struck and inconsolable on the
+shore!"[91]
+
+Nor are there lacking in the rocky cliffs of our own northern islands
+fit lodgings for these sea kings and queens. The gifted pen of Sir
+Walter Scott has sketched one of these from his own observation:
+"Imagination can hardly conceive anything more beautiful than the
+extraordinary grotto discovered not many years since upon the estate of
+Alexander MacAllister, Esq. of Strathaird [in Skye]. The first entrance
+to this celebrated cave is rude and unpromising: but the light of the
+torches with which we were provided, was soon reflected from the roof,
+floor, and walls, which seemed as if they were sheeted with marble,
+partly smooth, partly rough with frostwork and rustic ornaments, and
+partly seeming to be wrought into statuary. The floor forms a steep and
+difficult ascent, and might be fancifully compared to a sheet of water,
+which, while it rushed whitening and foaming down a declivity, had been
+suddenly arrested and consolidated by the spell of an enchanter. Upon
+attaining the summit of this ascent, the cave opens into a splendid
+gallery, adorned with the most dazzling crystallizations, and finally
+descends with rapidity to the brink of a pool, of the most limpid water,
+about four or five yards broad. There opens beyond this pool a portal
+arch, formed by two columns of white spar, with beautiful chasing upon
+the sides, which promises a continuation of the cave. One of our sailors
+swam across, for there is no other mode of passing, and informed us (as
+indeed we partly saw by the light he carried) that the enchantment of
+MacAllister's cave terminates with this portal, a little beyond which
+there was only a rude cavern, speedily choked with stones and earth. But
+the pool on the brink of which we stood, surrounded by the most fanciful
+mouldings, in a substance resembling white marble, and distinguished by
+the depth and purity of its waters, might have been the bathing grotto
+of a naiad. The groups of combined figures projecting or embossed, by
+which the pool is surrounded, are exquisitely elegant and fanciful. A
+statuary might catch beautiful hints from the singular and romantic
+disposition of those stalactites. There is scarce a form or group on
+which active fancy may not trace figures or grotesque ornaments, which
+have been gradually moulded in this cavern by the dropping of the
+calcareous water hardening into petrifactions. Many of these fine groups
+have been injured by the senseless rage for appropriation of recent
+tourists; and the grotto has lost, (I am informed,) through the smoke of
+torches, something of that vivid silver tint which was originally one of
+its chief distinctions. But enough of beauty remains to compensate for
+all that may be lost."[92]
+
+But these tales are the _nugae canorae_ of the naturalist. Once more,--Is
+there any substratum of truth underlying these fancies? or must they be
+unhesitatingly dismissed to the region of fable? Certainly, if there
+were not two or three narratives which have an air of veracity and
+dependableness, bearing out the belief to some slight extent, I should
+not have noticed it here.
+
+How simple and circumstantial is this story told by old Hudson, the
+renowned navigator! a man whose narrative is more than usually dry and
+destitute of everything like, not only imagination, but even an
+imaginative aspect of ordinary circumstances. On the 15th of June, when
+in lat. 75 deg., trying to force a passage to the pole near Nova Zembla, he
+records the following incident: "This morning one of our company
+looking overboard saw a mermaid; and calling up some of the company to
+see her, one more came up, and by that time she was come close to the
+ship's side, looking earnestly on the men. A little after, a sea came
+and overturned her. From the navel upward, her back and breasts were
+like a woman's, as they say that saw her; her body as big as one of us;
+her skin very white; and long hair hanging down behind, of colour black.
+In her going down they saw her tail, which was like the tail of a
+porpoise, and speckled like a mackerel. Their names that saw her were
+Thomas Hilles and Robert Rayner."[93]
+
+Whatever explanation be attempted of this apparition, the ordinary
+resource of seal or walrus will not avail here. Seals and walruses must
+have been as familiar to these Polar mariners as cows to a dairy-maid.
+Unless the whole story was a concerted lie between the two men,
+reasonless and objectless,--and the worthy old navigator doubtless knew
+the character of his men,--they must have seen, in the black-haired,
+white-skinned creature, some form of being as yet unrecognised.
+
+Steller, a zoologist of some repute, who examined the natural history of
+the Siberian seas, reports having seen, near Behring's Straits, a
+strange animal, which he calls a Sea-ape. "It was about five feet long,
+with a head like a dog's; the ears sharp and erect, and the eyes large;
+on both lips it had a kind of beard; the form of the body was thick and
+round, but tapering to the tail, which was bifurcated, with the upper
+lobe longest; the body was covered with thick hair, grey on the back,
+and red on the belly. Steller could not discover any feet or paws. It
+was full of frolic, and sported in the manner of a monkey, swimming
+sometimes on one side of the ship and sometimes on the other, and
+looking at it with seeming surprise. It would come so near the ship that
+it might be touched with a pole; but if any one stirred, it would
+immediately retire. It often raised one third of its body above the
+water, and stood upright for a considerable time; then suddenly darted
+under the ship, and appeared in the same attitude on the other side;
+this it would repeat for thirty times together. It would frequently
+bring up a sea plant, not unlike a bottle-gourd, which it would toss
+about and catch again in its mouth, playing numberless fantastic tricks
+with it."
+
+There is nothing in this description which would exclude it from
+well-recognised zoological classification. It is highly probable that it
+was one of the seal tribe, but of a species, perhaps a genus, not yet
+identified. All analogy would suggest that fore-paws must have been
+present in an animal with a dog-like head, and clothed with hair; but
+they were perhaps small,--smaller even than in other _Phocadae_, and may
+have been so concealed in the long hair, or held so closely pressed to
+the body, as not to be visible. The only other difficulty is in the
+posterior extremity. This is described by Steller in terms that imply a
+true piscine tail, expanded in a direction vertical to the plane of the
+body, and of that peculiar form called _heterocercal_, which
+distinguishes the cartilaginous families of Fishes, the Sharks and Rays.
+But the animal was indubitably a Mammal; and therefore we may almost
+with certainty assume that, if the body terminated in a natatory
+expansion, it would be, as in the whales, and manatees, a horizontal
+expansion, and not a vertical one. But if the strange creature was
+indeed, as I conclude, of the Phocine type, we have only to suppose the
+tail, which is usually very small in this family, to have been so
+greatly developed, as to exceed the united hind feet, which may have
+been small, and the appearance, seen momentarily, and in the wash of the
+waves, might well seem that of a heterocercal tail.
+
+Captain Weddell, well known for his geographical discoveries in the
+extreme south of the globe, relates the following story: "A boat's crew
+were employed on Hall's Island, when one of the crew, left to take care
+of some produce, saw an animal whose voice was even musical. The sailor
+had lain down, and about ten o'clock he heard a noise resembling human
+cries; and as daylight in these latitudes never disappears at this
+season, he rose and looked around; but, on seeing no person, returned to
+bed; presently he heard the noise again; rose a second time, but still
+saw nothing. Conceiving, however, the possibility of a boat being upset,
+and that some of the crew might be clinging to some detached rocks, he
+walked along the beach a few steps, and heard the noise more distinctly,
+but in a musical strain. Upon searching round he saw an object lying on
+a rock a dozen yards from the shore, at which he was somewhat
+frightened. The face and shoulders appeared of human form, and of a
+reddish colour; over the shoulders hung long green hair; the tail
+resembled that of the seal, but the extremities of the arms he could not
+see distinctly. The creature continued to make a musical noise while he
+gazed about two minutes, and on perceiving him it disappeared in an
+instant. Immediately when the man saw his officer, he told this wild
+tale, and to add weight to his testimony, (being a Romanist,) he made a
+cross on the sand which he kissed, as making oath to the truth of his
+statement. When I saw him, he told the story in so clear and positive a
+manner, making oath to its truth, that I concluded he must really have
+seen the animal he described, or that it must have been the effects of a
+disturbed imagination."[94]
+
+The _green_ hair in this description is the most suspicious element; it
+is so exactly that attributed to the poetical mermaids, and so entirely
+without precedent in the whole range of known zoology,--that, if taken
+literally, I fear it would condemn the narrative. But among the
+Antarctic seals, both golden yellow fur, and black fur, are found; and
+if hairs of these two colours were about equally intermingled, the
+result would be an olive-green, as we see in some of the monkeys; and
+then some allowance must doubtless be made for imagination, in one
+little accustomed to precise observation, and "somewhat frightened"
+withal. I should say, with little hesitation, that this creature was of
+the seal family, only that the seaman's daily habits brought him into
+the most familiar contact with various kinds of seals; and, unless the
+animal in question had differed notably from such as he was acquainted
+with, he would not have been so affected by the phenomenon. In such
+stories, the sorts of creatures familiar to the observation of the
+narrator, and the amount of surprise produced in his mind by the
+stranger,--must always be carefully estimated, as important elements in
+the formation of our judgment.
+
+To come nearer home, Pontoppidan records the appearance of a merman,
+which was deposed to on oath by the observers: "About a mile from the
+coast of Denmark, near Landscrona, three sailors, observing something
+like a dead body floating in the water, rowed towards it. When they came
+within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared as at first, for it had
+not stirred; but at that instant it sunk, and came up almost immediately
+in the same place. Upon this, out of fear, they lay still, and then let
+the boat float, that they might the better examine the monster, which,
+by the help of the current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned
+his face and stared at them, which gave them a good opportunity of
+examining him narrowly. He stood in the same place for seven or eight
+minutes, and was seen above the water breast high. At last they grew
+apprehensive of some danger, and began to retire; upon which the monster
+blew up his cheeks, and made a kind of lowing noise, and then dived from
+their view. In regard to his form, they declare in their affidavits,
+which were regularly taken and recorded, that he appeared like an old
+man, strong-limbed, with broad shoulders, but his arms they could not
+see. His head was small in proportion to his body, and had short curled
+black hair, which did not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his
+head, and he had a meagre face, with a black beard; about the body
+downwards this merman was quite pointed like a fish."[95]
+
+But the most remarkable story that I know of in recent times, is that
+adduced by Dr Robert Hamilton, in his able History of the Whales and
+Seals, in the _Naturalist's Library_, he himself vouching for its
+general truth, from personal knowledge of some of the parties: "It was
+reported that a fishing-boat, off the island of Yell, one of the
+Shetland group, had captured a mermaid by its getting entangled in the
+lines!! The statement is, that the animal was about three feet long, the
+upper part of the body resembling the human, with protuberant mammae like
+a woman; the face, the forehead, and neck, were short and resembling
+those of a monkey; the arms, which were small, were kept folded across
+the breast; the fingers were distinct, not webbed; a few stiff long
+bristles were on the top of the head, extending down to the shoulders,
+and these it could erect and depress at pleasure, something like a
+crest. The inferior part of the body was like a fish. The skin was
+smooth, and of a grey colour. It offered no resistance, nor attempted to
+bite, but uttered a low plaintive sound. The crew, six in number, took
+it within their boat, but superstition getting the better of curiosity,
+they carefully disentangled it from the lines, and a hook which had
+accidentally fastened in its body, and returned it to its native
+element. It instantly dived, descending in a perpendicular direction.
+
+"After writing the above, (we are informed) the narrator had an
+interview with the skipper of the boat and one of the crew, from whom he
+learned the following additional particulars. They had the animal for
+three hours within the boat; the body was without scales or hair; was of
+a silvery grey colour above, and white below, like the human skin; no
+gills were observed; nor fins on the back or belly. The tail was like
+that of the dog-fish: the mammae were about as large as those of a woman;
+the mouth and lips were very distinct, and resembled the human.
+
+"This communication was from Mr Edmonston, a well-known and intelligent
+observer, to the distinguished Professor of Natural History in the
+Edinburgh University, and Mr E. adds a few reflections, which are so
+pertinent, that we shall avail ourselves of them. That a very peculiar
+animal has been taken, no one can doubt. It was seen and handled by six
+men, on one occasion, and for some time, not one of whom dreams of a
+doubt of its being a mermaid. If it were supposed that their fears
+magnified its supposed resemblance to the human form, it must at all
+events be admitted that there was some ground for exciting these fears.
+But no such fears were likely to be entertained; for the mermaid is not
+an object of terror to the fisherman; it is rather a welcome guest, and
+danger is to be apprehended only from its experiencing bad treatment.
+The usual resources of scepticism, that the seals and other sea-animals,
+appearing under certain circumstances, operating on an excited
+imagination, and so producing ocular illusion, cannot avail here. It is
+quite impossible that, under the circumstances, six Shetland fishermen
+could commit such a mistake."[96]
+
+There is, no doubt, much in this account which signally distinguishes it
+from all other statements with which it can be compared, except that of
+Hudson's sailors, with which it well coincides. The protuberant mammae,
+resembling those of a woman; the human, or at least simian face,
+forehead, and neck, and especially the mouth and lips; the distinct
+unwebbed fingers; the erectile crest of bristles; the nature of the
+surface,--without scales or hair; the colour; and the tail,--like that
+of a fish;--are all very remarkable points; and unless we conclude the
+entire story to be a lie, a mere barefaced hoax,--must necessarily
+indicate a creature of which scientific zoology knows absolutely
+nothing.
+
+It is observable that, here again, the tail is said to have been piscine
+and heterocercal, "like that of the dog-fish:" while the naked skin, and
+the colour--silvery grey above and white below,--will well agree with
+the characteristics common to the smaller _Squalidae_.
+
+It is a pity that an account like this, avouched by six witnesses, was
+not thoroughly sifted. I have no doubt that, if a person tolerably
+conversant with zoology, and accustomed to the habit of
+cross-examination, had examined these six eye-witnesses _separately_,
+making full notes of what each could remember to have observed, and had
+then checked each deposition by all the others, a mass of testimony
+would have been accumulated that would in an instant have convinced any
+candid inquirer what measure of truth lay in the story. Points in which
+the whole six, or even three or four, agreed, might unhesitatingly have
+been set down as correct: suggestive questions, (not, however,
+suggesting the sort of answer,) as, "Had the creature so and so, or so
+and so?" could not have received the same reply from all the deponents,
+without being worthy of credence: even the points on which they would
+have differed might themselves have been instructive to an intelligent
+inquirer. I do not know that any such precautionary measures were
+resorted to in this case, and the tale must remain as we get it; but I
+make these observations for the purpose of suggesting, in the event of
+any similar occurrence, the advantage of _separate_ examination in
+getting at the truth. On a review of the whole evidence, I do not judge
+that this single story is a sufficient foundation for believing in the
+existence of mermaids; but, taken into combination with other
+statements, it induces a strong suspicion that the northern seas may
+hold forms of life as yet uncatalogued by science.
+
+[87] _Geog. and Classif. of Animals_, 249.
+
+[88] _Egypt and Mehemet Ali_, ii. p. 322.
+
+[89] _Japan and her People_, p. 193.
+
+[90] See Hibbert's _Shetland Islands_, p. 566.
+
+[91] Miss Sinclair's _Shetland_.
+
+[92] Notes to _The Lord of the Isles_.
+
+[93] _Hudson the Navigator_, by Asher, Voy. ii.
+
+[94] _Voyage towards the South Pole_, p. 143.
+
+[95] Pontoppidan's _Nat. Hist. of Norway_, p. 154.
+
+[96] _Edinburgh Magazine_, vol. xiii.
+
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+THE SELF-IMMURED.
+
+
+Turning from reputed beings of which the very existence is the subject
+of doubt, let us consider one or two well-known and homely creatures,
+about which a certain degree of romantic interest hovers, because
+conditions of life are attributed to them by popular faith, which the
+general verdict of science denies.
+
+One of the most remarkable examples in this category of _dubitanda_, is
+the oft-repeated case of Toads and similar animals found inclosed within
+the solid wood of living trees, or even within blocks of stone, with no
+discernible communication with the external air, or at least no aperture
+by which they could have entered their prison, yet, in every instance,
+alive. That insuperable difficulties stand _a priori_ in the way of our
+believing in such conditions, no one familiar with animal physiology can
+deny; for, as Mr Bell observes, to believe that a Toad inclosed within a
+mass of clay, or other similar substance, shall exist wholly without air
+or food, for hundreds of years, and at length be liberated alive and
+capable of crawling, on the breaking up of the matrix,--now become a
+solid rock,--is certainly a demand upon our credulity which few will be
+ready to answer.
+
+Yet, after all, it is a question that must not be decided _a priori_: it
+must rest upon evidence. It may be that here, too, fact is stranger than
+fiction; and we must not shut our eyes and ears to concurrent credible
+testimony, if it happen to bear witness to facts which we cannot account
+for. Truth will certainly be upon us, even though, ostrich-like, we
+thrust our head into a bush, and maintain that we cannot see it.
+
+The learned historian of British Reptiles speaks with his characteristic
+candour upon the point. He admits that the many concurrent assertions of
+credible persons, who declare themselves to have been witnesses of the
+emancipation of imprisoned Toads, forbid us hastily to refuse our
+assent, or at least to deny the possibility of such a circumstance;
+while he demands better and more cautious evidence to authorise our
+implicit faith in these asserted facts.[97]
+
+The ordinary mode of accounting for the phenomena, supposing them to be
+narrated in good faith, is that the animal "fell into the hollow where
+the men were at work, and was taken up by them in ignorance of the mode
+in which it had come there," or that "it may have hidden in the hollow
+of a tree during the autumn and winter, and on the return of spring
+found itself so far inclosed within its hiding-place as to be unable to
+escape." This latter suggestion would be more worthy of attention were
+the winter season the period in which, in our climate, periodical
+additions are made to the living wood, so as to narrow the entrance, or
+in which augmentations of bulk occurred to Toads, so as to prevent them
+from getting out where they got in;--but unfortunately the reverse of
+both suppositions is true. As to the former suggestion, while it may
+possibly serve to dismiss a few of the published statements, there are
+others which it would be absurd to explain thereby.
+
+True to its principles of never shutting the door to the investigation
+of any natural history subject, the _Zoologist_ has, during the eighteen
+years of its existence, been a medium for collecting and preserving
+facts bearing on this question. The pages of this periodical form an
+invaluable storehouse to the philosophic naturalist, who wishes to
+pursue his science undeterred by the ridicule of sciolism or the frown
+of authority. Let us search its treasures, then, expecting to find
+stories of diverse grades of credibility, of which the editor wisely
+leaves his readers to judge for themselves.
+
+In May 1844, the Rev. J. Pemberton Bartlett of Kingston, in Kent, an
+experienced naturalist, mentions the following fact as having just come
+under his own notice:--"Only a few weeks since, in cutting down a
+fir-tree here, the workman discovered, completely imbedded in the
+centre, a Toad, which had doubtless been there some years, as the tree
+had completely grown over it; it must have been kept alive by absorbing
+the moisture of the tree. It was not in a completely torpid state, and
+after being exposed to the air a few hours, it crawled in true toad-like
+style. The age of the tree in which it was found was, as far as I could
+judge from the number of circles, about twenty-five years."[98]
+
+In reply to an inquiry whether he himself saw the Toad, and counted the
+timber-rings, Mr Bartlett favours me with the following note:--
+
+                              "EXBURY PARSONAGE, NEAR SOUTHAMPTON,
+                                    _February 22, 1861_.
+
+"DEAR SIR,-- ... _I_ quite believe that Toads _do_ live in stone, but I
+have found it very difficult to get the facts from eye-witnesses. The
+imbedded Toad in the fir-tree, mentioned by me in the _Zoologist_, I
+saw, and, as stated there, I counted the rings of the tree. I believe it
+to have been the common Toad; but it looked rather more flabby, and not
+quite so round in its proportions, as toads generally do; in fact,
+instead of being 'puffed up' as they commonly are, it was considerably
+_down in the mouth_, from its close imprisonment! The cavity in which it
+was fixed appeared to have been originally a crack or fissure in the
+side of the tree; whether caused by decay, or made by a nuthatch or some
+other bird, I cannot say. The wound appeared to have healed, as the bark
+had apparently closed over it. The question now arises, Was the Toad
+_young_ when it got into the hollow? and did it grow after it became a
+prisoner? Or had it come to years of discretion, when it took that
+unfortunate step, or rather crawl, into the cavity where it was so long
+to be imprisoned? And _why did_ it remain there so quietly, while the
+bark gradually grew over its prison-house? The answer that I should
+give to the first of these questions would be, that probably it had
+arrived at a state of _toadhood_ when it took refuge in the tree, and
+_did not_ grow afterwards. My theory why it remained ensconced there so
+quietly is this, that probably it might have been accustomed for some
+time to take refuge by day in this hole, from whence it would set out on
+its nocturnal rambles, and probably 'not go home till morning;' that on
+some occasion, 'when daylight did appear,' it returned to its accustomed
+haunt, and there squatted, winking and puffing, after its night's
+exploits, as toads are wont to do; that, on that luckless day, some
+felled tree or trees were laid up against the fir-tree that contained
+its abode, and that the tree or trees remained there till the bark
+closed so as to prevent its escape. What makes this idea the more
+probable is that the place where the fir-tree grew had, for probably
+years, been used as a place to store felled timber, as it was used for
+that purpose at the time I saw the Toad.
+
+"After the discovery of this Toad in the fir-tree, I tried several
+experiments on Toads, by burying them in closely-sealed flower-pots, at
+a depth of nearly three feet. I much regret that I cannot find my notes
+on the subject; but I remember perfectly the main facts of one. The Toad
+was placed in a flower-pot, with another turned over it, and well
+cemented together--the two holes in both pots being also closely
+cemented up. It was buried between two and three feet deep in the
+garden. At the end of three months I took it up, and weighed the Toad,
+and found it had lost a very little in weight. This I did again at the
+end of three months more; it was then quite lively, and had lost again
+but little in weight. I replaced it as before, and on taking it up the
+third time, I found the pots had, probably the cement not having been
+dry when buried, slipped on one side, and the moisture had got in, and
+consequently the poor Toad was dead, as well as buried! Now, surely if a
+Toad could live _six months_ hermetically _sealed_ in a flower-pot,
+without air or food--why not a much longer time?...--Believe me, yours
+faithfully,
+
+                                        "J. PEMBERTON BARTLETT."
+
+The Rev. W. J. Bree of Allesley, also an excellent zoologist, alluding
+to some queries by Mr E. Newman, communicated the following facts:--"I
+quite agree with you that the statements about Toads found in solid
+stone are mostly very unsatisfactory. One instance of the kind I have
+seen, as briefly stated, _Mag. Nat. Hist._, ix. 316. The Toad appeared
+to me neither more nor less than our common species, although I
+certainly did not examine it scientifically. The stone was the new red
+sandstone of geologists; and was brought up, as I was told, some yards
+from below the surface. I understood the Toad, and the two portions of
+stone in which it was found inclosed, were deposited in some medical
+museum at Birmingham. The animal would not have been discovered but for
+an accident: the workmen were carting the stone away, and the block
+containing the Toad happened to be placed on the top of a great load,
+and accidentally fell from the cart to the ground, and, breaking by the
+fall, brought to light the incarcerated reptile, which, I conclude, was
+somewhat injured by the fall, as there was a fresh wound on one side of
+the head, and it appeared to be blind of one eye. The Toad died, I was
+informed, the second day after it was discovered, partly, in all
+probability, in consequence of the injury. When I say the block of stone
+was _solid_, this statement requires some qualification: the two parts
+of the stone fitted together exactly, and quite close, except where the
+cavity was in which the Toad lay; but from this cavity there was
+evidently a flaw on one side towards the extremity, and a discolouring
+of the substance of the sandstone, so that although the two portions
+fitted together, they might not have been (on one side of the cavity)
+very firmly united. This circumstance, perhaps, may detract from the
+value of the example; nevertheless, it is unaccountable how the animal
+could have got into the position in which it was found: it is not
+conceivable, I think, that it should have been there ever since the
+first formation of the rock, and there certainly appeared to be no means
+by which it could have entered the rock in its present state, even
+admitting (what we know to be the fact) that Toads have the power of
+getting in and out of a very small orifice."
+
+The author of the next account, signed "E. Peacock," is unknown to me;
+and it does not appear whether he speaks from personal observation or
+not. He says, "A few days ago, two labourers, employed at a stone quarry
+at Frodingham, near Brigg, Lincolnshire, found, at a depth of five feet
+below the surface of the ground, and between two blocks of stone (lias),
+a living Toad: the interstice between the stones was filled with yellow
+clay, and there did not appear the least possible aperture by which
+anything could have passed."[99]
+
+Even from remote India we have reports of the same phenomenon. A
+correspondent from Serampore sends the _Zoologist_ the following:--"Last
+Wednesday, Feb. 7, 1849, on severing the branch of a tree, apparently of
+the tamarind species, I found a Toad in the centre of the wood, entirely
+excluded from light and air. The appearance of the animal was rather
+extraordinary. The body seemed full of air, and the skin soft and puffy,
+and of a light yellowish colour, with the exception of the extremities
+of the feet, which were hard and dark. The creature when exposed to the
+air seemed rather uncomfortable, and drew in its head just like a turtle
+when alarmed. It was thrown into a tank, when the water around, to the
+space of about a foot on either side, became perfectly white, like milk.
+It jumped out of the water immediately, apparently not liking the
+coldness. I did not have opportunity of observing it further, which I
+regret, as the animal got concealed in the long grass on the side of the
+tank, and was thus lost. The general supposition as to the mode by which
+animals get inclosed within trees, is their taking shelter in the cavity
+of a tree when very young, and the growth of the tree filling up the
+cavity, and thus imprisoning the animal. But this supposition, if true
+in the present case, makes the circumstance now related the more
+extraordinary. The tree is an old one, upwards of fifty feet high, and
+having a trunk more than three feet in diameter; and the height from the
+ground at which the Toad was found was about twelve feet. We must
+suppose the Toad to have got into the tree when within a foot from the
+ground: how many years old then must the animal be?"
+
+The mention of the whitening of the water in which the Toad was immersed
+is to my mind a strong corroboration of the veracity of the preceding
+narrative. It is not a circumstance at all likely to occur to a mere
+inventor, as it does not in the least bear on the question of
+incarceration, and there is no attempt to explain it. I have
+occasionally seen fluids rendered partially opaque by the outflow of a
+milky secretion from animals immersed in them, as in the case of the
+curious _Peripatus_ of Jamaica, which, when put alive into spirits,
+discharges a considerable quantity of white fluid, which diffuses in the
+alcohol. The Toad was probably distinct from our common English species,
+but we know that the latter secretes a yellow acrid fluid in some
+abundance in the follicles of its skin, and this might be poured out
+under the excitement of alarm or anger.
+
+In the summer of 1851, the Academie des Sciences was interested
+(according to the public papers) with this question. In digging a well
+at Blois, in June of that year, "some workmen drew up from about a yard
+beneath the surface a large flint, weighing about fourteen pounds, and
+on striking it a blow with a pickaxe, it split in two, and discovered,
+snugly ensconced in the very centre, a large Toad. The Toad seemed for a
+moment greatly astonished, but jumped out, and rather rapidly crawled
+away. He was seized and replaced in the hole, when he settled himself
+down very quietly. The stone and Toad, just as they were, were sent to
+the Society of Sciences at Blois, and became immediately the subject of
+curious attention. First of all, the flint, fitted together, with the
+Toad in the hole, was placed in a cellar, and imbedded in moss. There it
+was left for some time. It is not known if the Toad ate, but it is
+certain that he made no discharge of any kind. It was found that if the
+top of the stone were cautiously removed in a dark place he did not
+stir, but that if the removal were effected in the light, he immediately
+got out and ran away. If he were placed on the edge of the flint, he
+would crawl into his hole, and fix himself comfortably in. He gathered
+his legs beneath his body; and it was observed that he took especial
+care of one of his feet, which had been slightly hurt in one of his
+removals. The hole is not one bit larger than the body, except a little
+where the back is. There is a sort of ledge on which his mouth reposes,
+and the bones of the jaws are slightly indented, as if from long resting
+on a hard substance. Not the slightest appearance of any communication
+whatsoever between the centre and the outside of the stone can be
+discovered, so that there is no reason to suppose that he could have
+drawn any nourishment from the outside. The committee, consisting of
+three eminent naturalists, one of whom has made Toads his peculiar
+study for years, made no secret of their belief that the Toad had been
+in that stone for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years; but how he could
+have lived without air, or food, or water, or movement, they made no
+attempt to explain. They accordingly contented themselves with proposing
+that the present should be considered another authentic case, to be
+added to the few hundreds already existing, of Toads being found alive
+imbedded in stone, leaving it to some future savant to explain what now
+appears the wonderful miracle by which Nature keeps them alive so long
+in such places. But the distinguished M. Majendie suggested that it was
+just possible that an attempt was being made to hoax the Academy, by
+making it believe that the Toad had been found in the hole, whereas it
+might only have been put in by the mischievous workmen after the stone
+was broken. Terrified at the idea of becoming the laughing-stock of the
+public, the Academy declined to take any formal resolution about the
+Toad, but thanked the committee for its very interesting communication;
+and so the subject dropped."
+
+This statement does not, to be sure, bear about it that character of
+precision which should mark the report of a scientific body, nor is it
+verified by authority; but the terror ascribed to L'Academie at the idea
+of being hoaxed, and the instant quashing of the inquiry, are so true to
+nature, so accurately characteristic of our august associations of
+savans, that I cannot help believing the story.
+
+Here is another, which has the air of a _bona fide_ account, though I
+have no knowledge of the writer, nor does he himself seem to pretend to
+personal autopsy of the discovery.
+
+On Monday last, September 20, while some workmen were engaged in getting
+iron ore at a place called Paswick, in the north of this county,
+[Derby,] they came upon a solid lump of ore, which, being heavier than
+two men could lift, they set to work to break with their picks, when, to
+their surprise, in a cavity near the centre of the stone, they found a
+Toad alive. The cavity was much larger than the Toad, being nearly six
+inches in diameter, and was lined with crystals of what I suppose to be
+carbonate of lime. The stone was about four yards from the surface of
+the ground; it is now in the possession of Mr Haywood of Derby, by whose
+men it was found; but unfortunately the Toad was not preserved after its
+death, which took place almost immediately on its exposure to the
+atmosphere.[100]
+
+_Audi alteram partem._ Mr Plant of the Salford Museum tells us, both in
+sorrow and in anger, a story, doubtless more amusing to us who read it
+than to him, of his adventures among the toad-finders. When geologising
+in the neighbourhood of Chesterfield, a quarryman, whom he had invited
+to share a bottle of porter, informed him in confidence that Toads
+inclosed in stone were plentiful thereabout. "He said he had often found
+them, and that he knew a stone before it was broken that would contain a
+Toad; giving me long and circumstantial accounts of the whole
+phenomenon: and, to convince me of the truth of his statement, he took
+me to the quarry (a carboniferous sandstone) that I might see the stones
+out of which he said the Toads had been released. I examined the stones
+and the whole quarry very attentively, and listened to the emphatic
+testimony of other miners present. After complying in an agreeable
+manner to their remark that the day was warm, and the water of the
+quarry not much in favour, I made a simple proposal of this nature:--I
+promised to pay to any one of them the sum of twenty shillings for the
+next stone in which they found a Frog or Toad when the stone was broken
+in two. They should catch the Frog if he bolted out of the hole, replace
+him, and fit the stones together again, afterwards despatching it to me
+in that condition. I further promised to pay the sum of forty shillings
+to any one of them who should procure me a stone, unbroken, in which he
+considered a Toad or Frog was imprisoned, if, on breaking it myself,
+such turned out to be the case. These conditions were to remain in force
+for twelve months; and as the means of conveyance to my address, which I
+gave them, would occasion little or no trouble, the offer was readily
+accepted by the miners; who also, to express their confidence in soon
+being able to supply the order, proposed that it would be all safe if I
+advanced a little cash on account; which however I resolutely declined
+doing. And now what will the credulous believers in these 'Toads in
+stone' who read the _Zoologist_ say, when they learn that I visited the
+quarry twice during the twelve months, in order to fetch the Toads
+which never came by rail? I always found the men there blasting tons of
+new rock, splitting stones for every building purpose, yet dry-throated
+and sullen; for, alas! most unaccountably during that long twelve months
+they found plenty of holes--not Toad holes--in the sandstone, but the
+reptiles had been banished as effectually as ever they were from the
+Emerald Isle."[101]
+
+[Illustration: TOAD IN A HOLE.]
+
+This was disheartening, certainly: and we do not wonder that Mr Plant
+became "a total disbeliever in these 'simple tales.'" Still, it is just
+possible, that immured Toads may exist, though Mikey of the Chesterfield
+quarry, in hope of the advance, did brag a little too confidently of the
+commonness of the occurrence. That, within one twelvemonth, within the
+limits of one quarry, no such Toad turned up, even under the stimulus of
+the proffered forty shillings, can scarcely be admitted to be absolutely
+conclusive proof of the negative, at least not to us who were not placed
+in the painful position of _gullees_. Mr Arthur Hussey of Rottingdean
+justly remarks, when presenting some evidence _per contra_, that we
+should not think the innocence of a culprit was established by his
+asserting, when sundry witnesses affirmed they saw him commit the
+offence he was accused of,--that he could produce ten times the number
+who would swear they _did not_ see him.
+
+"During the summer of 1846," writes Mr Hussey, "in the formation of a
+railroad, about half a mile from Pontefract, in Yorkshire, the works
+were carried a 'depth of four feet through a rock betwixt lime and
+sandstone, about the junction of the two formations:' the rock being so
+firm as to require blasting. 'It is entirely free from beds of any kind,
+or what the workmen term "backs," running up it,' but therein are 'an
+infinite number of small nodules of a harder quality, entirely
+crystallised in the interior.' After blasting, the labourers were much
+surprised to find among the fragments several of these nodules, each one
+containing a Frog, as many as seven having been counted after one
+'shot.'
+
+"These were not casually seen when exposed, and then disregarded, but
+were examined in their stone prisons through very minute holes, some
+even preserved in that state for a long period. For example, the relator
+states of one specimen, 'I kept this Toad in a cellar for about five
+months, during which time it ate nothing, and was without light, the
+hole in the stone being covered with a piece of clay, and the whole kept
+moist and cool with water.' Of another he says, 'The Frog lived only
+about a week, as I kept it in a place which I think was too warm for it,
+and also not sufficiently dark and quiet. When the Frogs were disturbed
+by the shots, their first desire seemed to be to get under shelter of
+some stone, or into their old holes again, shewing thereby that sight
+was not wanting, and bodily activity was perfect as far as could be
+seen. One thing struck me as singular with regard to the Frog I
+kept--its fresh, plump, and healthy appearance, its skin being soft and
+transparent. One day, when I was holding my finger over the hole in the
+stone, it pushed its head between my finger and the sides of the hole,
+and drew its whole body after it on to the table, where it appeared more
+like a skeleton than any living animal I have ever seen, but by degrees
+it extended itself to its former dimensions.'
+
+"Of the above curious occurrence my only knowledge is derived from the
+account written to a distant friend, of which the substance has now been
+extracted. The writer is an utter stranger, but he was officially
+employed in the operations which resulted in the discoveries; and my
+information leads me to believe his report deserving of confidence, for
+which reason I have not hesitated to offer this abstract for publication
+in the _Zoologist_."[102]
+
+The Rev. Alfred Charles Smith, an excellent and genial naturalist,
+favours us with another case, introducing it incidentally in
+illustration of the general habit he is denouncing of wantonly
+destroying animal life:--"As an instance of this thoughtless cruelty, I
+must give an account that has just come to my notice. Some labourers
+were pulling down an old wall, in the thickness of which they found one
+of those phenomena--so frequently heard of and so unsatisfactorily
+accounted for--a Toad completely imbedded in stone and mortar. 'There
+was no doubt,' said the labourer who described it, 'that he had been
+there for a great number of years, for there was no hole or chink by
+which he could have entered or left the place of his long sojourn.'
+'Well,' said the listener to his account, 'but are you sure that the
+Toad was alive when you found it?' 'No doubt of that, sir,' said the
+man, 'for he crawled out of his round hole and was moving away, when I
+knocked him on the head with my pickaxe.'
+
+"So here was this poor harmless creature, whose long incarceration in
+his gloomy dungeon might have excited compassion in his favour, suddenly
+released from his prison, only to be slain by his liberator!"[103]
+
+The next is from the _Caledonian Mercury_. Newspaper zoology is
+proverbially untrustworthy, and the editor of the _Zoologist_, who
+reprints the paragraph, kindly adds a caveat for the benefit of his
+readers,--"_Nimium ne crede Mercurio!_" But, nevertheless, let us look
+at it: alone it would stand for little, but, remember, in such questions
+as this the evidence is cumulative. "There is at present to be seen at
+Messrs Sanderson and Sons, George Street, Edinburgh, an extraordinary
+specimen of natural history--a Frog which had been discovered alive in
+freestone rock. A few months ago, while some colliers in the employ of
+Mr James Nasmyth (lessee of Dundonald Colliery, in Fife, the property of
+R. B. Wardlaw Ramsay, Esq. of Whitehill), were engaged in taking out the
+pavement of the seam coal, which was freestone, they discovered a cavity
+in which a Frog was lying. On touching it the Frog jumped about for some
+time, and a bucket of water being procured, it was put into it, and
+taken to the surface. On reaching it, the animal was found to be dead.
+It was at the depth of forty-five fathoms, or ninety yards from the
+surface, in a perpendicular line of strata, consisting of alternate
+layers of coal and freestone, with ironstone, and about four hundred
+yards from the outcrop surface. The Frog seems to have much of the same
+character as the present species. It is very attenuated, which cannot be
+wondered at, considering its domicile for so many ages, its original
+existence being of course considered contemporaneous with the formation
+of the freestone rock in which it was contained."[104]
+
+Now, again, we get the statement of a careful working naturalist, Mr
+Thomas Clark of Halesleigh. He cannot, indeed, give personal authority
+for what he records; but the confidence of such a man in his informant
+is an element not without its value. "March 25, 1859. In the early part
+of this month, two live Toads were dug out from the bottom of a bed of
+stiff brick clay, in the neighbourhood of Bridgewater, at the depth of
+fourteen feet from the surface of the ground; a third was killed by the
+spade before they were observed. This bed of clay rests on peat, and the
+Toads were found at the junction of the two beds, in a small domed
+cavity, about the size of the crown of a man's hat. On being exposed to
+the air, they uttered a squeaking cry, resembling that of a rat, but in
+about a minute they seemed reconciled to their new destiny, and moved
+freely about. They were kept in a jar for a few days, and then placed at
+liberty in a garden, where I suppose they are still living. The living
+ones were about two inches in length, but narrow in proportion, and of
+a rather lighter colour than Toads usually are; the one which was killed
+was very much larger. The clay under which they were buried had been
+gradually dug out from the surface since about the beginning of the
+year, but the last five feet of depth was not dug till the day on which
+they were discovered. After about two feet of the surface, the clay is
+very close and adhesive, and far too moist to admit of cracks being
+formed in it, even in the driest summers."[105]
+
+To this communication inserted in the _Zoologist_, Mr Newman added a
+note asking the name of any scientific man who was present at the
+exhumation. Mr Clark replies:--"I am unable to give such a name, further
+than as the intelligent foreman of the brickyard, Thomas Duddridge, (who
+witnessed the exhumation by one of the labourers of the yard,) may be
+entitled to the appellation; but no one, however high his scientific
+attainments, could be more careful than he was to give me correct
+information, or more exact in his statements; and if, after minute
+inquiry, I had not been fully satisfied of the correctness of his
+account, I should not have sought to occupy the pages of the _Zoologist_
+with its recital. On shewing him the notice in the _Zoologist_, he said
+it was impossible for anything to be more correct; and he added, that
+the little cavity which the Toads occupied was quite smooth in every
+part, apparently by their long-continued movements,--as smooth, to use
+his own illustration, as the inside of a China bowl."[106]
+
+Numerous experiments have been made with a view to test the possibility
+of these reputed facts. If Toads do so commonly become voluntarily or
+accidentally immured, and remain without light, food, or even air, for
+many years, and yet survive, let us put some Toads into similar
+circumstances, keep them shut up, and, after the lapse of a sufficient
+interval, examine them, and see whether they are alive or dead.
+"_Experimentum faciemus in corpore vili_," as the village doctor said to
+his assistant over the sick traveller.
+
+_Probatum est!_ Besides the case mentioned in Mr Bartlett's letter
+(_ante_, p. 149), the late Dr Buckland, in November 1825, instituted a
+series of careful experiments, which are thus narrated by himself:--"In
+one large block of coarse oolitic limestone, twelve circular cells were
+prepared, each about one foot deep and five inches in diameter, and
+having a groove or shoulder at its upper margin fitted to receive a
+circular plate of glass, and a circular slate to protect the glass: the
+margin of this double cover was closed round and rendered impenetrable
+to air and water by a luting of soft clay. Twelve smaller cells, each
+six inches deep and five inches in diameter, were made in another block
+of compact siliceous sandstone, viz., the Pennant Grit of the coal
+formation near Bristol; these cells also were covered with similar
+plates of glass and slate, cemented at the edge by clay. The object of
+the glass covers was to allow the animals to be inspected, without
+disturbing the clay so as to admit external air or insects into the
+cell. The limestone is so porous that it is easily permeable by water,
+and probably also by air; the sandstone is very compact.
+
+"On the 26th of November 1825, one live Toad was placed in each of the
+above-mentioned twenty-four cells, and the double cover of glass and
+slate placed over each of them, and cemented down by the luting of clay.
+The weight of each Toad in grains was ascertained and noted by Dr
+Daubeny and Mr Dillwyn at the time of their being placed in the cells;
+that of the smallest was 115 grains, and of the largest 1185 grains. The
+large and small animals were distributed in equal proportion between the
+limestone and sandstone cells.
+
+"These blocks of stone were buried together in my garden beneath three
+feet of earth, and remained unopened until the 10th of December 1826, on
+which day they were examined. Every Toad in the smaller cells of the
+compact sandstone was dead, and the bodies of most of them so much
+decayed that they must have been dead some months. The greater number of
+those in the larger cells of porous limestone were alive. No. 1, whose
+weight when immured was 924 grains, now weighed only 698 grains. No. 5,
+whose weight when immured was 1185 grains, now weighed 1265 grains. The
+glass cover over this cell was slightly cracked, so that minute insects
+might have entered: none, however, were discovered in this cell; but in
+another cell whose glass was broken, and the animal within it dead,
+there was a large assemblage of minute insects; and a similar assemblage
+also on the outside of the glass of a third cell. In cell No. 9, a Toad
+which when put in weighed 988 grains, had increased to 1116 grains, and
+the glass cover over it was entire; but as the luting of the cell within
+which this Toad had increased in weight was not particularly examined,
+it is probable there was some aperture in it by which small insects
+found admission. No. 11 had decreased from 936 grains to 652 grains.
+
+"When they were first examined in December 1826, not only were all the
+small Toads dead, but the larger ones appeared much emaciated, with the
+two exceptions above mentioned; we have already stated that these
+probably owed their increased weight to the insects which had found
+access to the cells, and become their food.
+
+"The death of every individual of every size in the smaller cells of
+compact sandstone, appears to have resulted from a deficiency in the
+supply of air, in consequence of the smallness of the cells, and the
+impermeable nature of the stone; the larger volume of air originally
+inclosed in the cells of the limestone, and the porous nature of the
+stone itself, (permeable as it is slowly by water, and probably by air,)
+seem to have favoured the duration of life to the animals inclosed in
+them without food.
+
+"It should be noticed that there is a defect in these experiments,
+arising from the treatment of the twenty-four Toads before they were
+inclosed in the blocks of stone. They were shut up and buried on the
+26th of November, but the greater number of them had been caught more
+than two months before that time, and had been imprisoned all together
+in a cucumber frame placed on common garden earth, where the supply of
+food to so many individuals was probably scanty, and their confinement
+unnatural, so that they were in an unhealthy and somewhat meagre state
+at the time of their imprisonment. We can therefore scarcely argue with
+certainty from the death of all these individuals within two years, as
+to the duration of life which might have been maintained had they
+retired spontaneously, and fallen into the torpor of their natural
+hibernation in good bodily condition.
+
+"The results of our experiments amount to this: all the Toads, both
+large and small, inclosed in sandstone, and the small Toads in the
+limestone also, were dead at the end of thirteen months. Before the
+expiration of the second year all the large ones also were dead; these
+were examined several times during the second year through the glass
+covers of the cells, but without removing them to admit air; they
+appeared always awake, with their eyes open, and never in a state of
+torpor, their meagreness increasing at each interval in which they were
+examined, until at length they were found dead; those two also which had
+gained an accession of weight at the end of the first year, and were
+then carefully closed up again, were emaciated and dead before the
+expiration of the second year.
+
+"At the same time that these Toads were inclosed in stone, four other
+Toads of middling size were inclosed in three holes, cut for this
+purpose on the north side of the trunk of an apple-tree; two being
+placed in the largest cell, and each of the others in a single cell.
+The cells were nearly circular, about five inches deep and three inches
+in diameter; they were carefully closed up with a plug of wood, so as to
+exclude access of insects, and apparently were air-tight; when examined
+at the end of a year, every one of the Toads was dead, and their bodies
+were decayed.
+
+"From the fatal result of the experiments made in the small cells cut in
+the apple-tree and the block of compact sandstone, it seems to follow
+that Toads cannot live a year excluded totally from atmospheric air;
+and, from the experiments in the larger cells within the block of
+oolitic limestone, it seems also probable that they cannot survive two
+years entirely excluded from food; we may therefore conclude that there
+is a want of sufficiently minute and accurate observation in those so
+frequently recorded cases, where Toads are said to be found alive within
+blocks of stone and wood, in cavities that had no communication whatever
+with the external air. The fact of my two Toads having increased in
+weight at the end of the year, notwithstanding the care that was taken
+to inclose them perfectly by a luting of clay, shews how very small an
+aperture will admit of insects sufficient to maintain life. In the cell
+No. 5, where the glass was slightly cracked, the communication though
+small was obvious, but in the cell No. 9, where the glass cover remained
+entire, and where it appears certain, from the increased weight of the
+inclosed animal, that insects must have found admission, we have an
+example of these minute animals finding their way into a cell to which
+great care had been taken to prevent any possibility of access.
+
+"Admitting, then, that Toads are occasionally found in cavities of wood
+and stone with which there is no communication sufficiently large to
+allow the ingress and egress of the animal inclosed in them, we may, I
+think, find a solution of such phenomena in the habits of these
+reptiles, and of the insects which form their food. The first effort of
+the young Toad, as soon as it has left its tadpole state and emerged
+from the water, is to seek shelter in holes and crevices of rocks and
+trees. An individual which, when young, may have thus entered a cavity
+by some very narrow aperture, would find abundance of food by catching
+insects, which, like itself, seek shelter within such cavities; and may
+soon have increased so much in bulk as to render it impossible to get
+out again through the narrow aperture at which it entered. A small hole
+of this kind is very likely to be overlooked by common workmen, who are
+the only people whose operations on stone and wood disclose cavities in
+the interior of such substances.
+
+"In the case of Toads, Snakes, and Lizards, that occasionally issue from
+stones that are broken in a quarry, or in sinking wells, and sometimes
+even from strata of coal at the bottom of a coal-mine, the evidence is
+never perfect to shew that the reptiles were entirely inclosed in solid
+rock. No examination is ever made until the reptile is first discovered
+by the breaking of the mass in which it was contained, and then it is
+too late to ascertain, without carefully replacing every fragment, (and
+in no case that I have seen reported has this ever been done,) whether
+or not there was any hole or crevice by which the animal may have
+entered the cavity from which it was extracted. Without previous
+examination it is almost impossible to prove that there was no such
+communication. In the case of rocks near the surface of the earth, and
+in stone quarries, reptiles find ready admission to holes and fissures.
+We have a notorious example of this kind in the Lizard found in a
+chalk-pit, and brought alive to the late Dr Clark. In the case also of
+wells and coal-pits, a reptile that had fallen down the well or shaft,
+and survived its fall, would seek its natural retreat in the first hole
+or crevice it could find, and the miner dislodging it from this cavity,
+to which his previous attention had not been called, might in ignorance
+conclude that the animal was coeval with the stone from which he had
+extracted it.
+
+"It remains only to consider the case (of which I know not any
+authenticated example) of Toads that have been said to be found in
+cavities within blocks of limestone, to which, on careful examination,
+no access whatever could be discovered, and where the animal was
+absolutely and entirely closed up with stone. Should any such case ever
+have existed, it is probable that the communication between this cavity
+and the external surface had been closed up by stalactitic incrustation,
+after the animal had become too large to make its escape. A similar
+explanation may be offered of the much more probable case of a live Toad
+being entirely surrounded with solid wood. In each case, the animal
+would have continued to increase in bulk so long as the smallest
+aperture remained by which air and insects could find admission; it
+would probably become torpid as soon as this aperture was entirely
+closed by the accumulation of stalactite or the growth of wood. But it
+still remains to be ascertained how long this state of torpor may
+continue under total exclusion from food and from external air: and,
+although the experiments above recorded shew that life did not extend
+two years in the case of any one of the individuals which formed the
+subjects of them, yet, for reasons which have been specified, they are
+not decisive to shew that a state of torpor, or suspended animation, may
+not be endured for a much longer time by Toads that are healthy and well
+fed up to the moment when they are finally cut off from food, and from
+all direct access of atmospheric air.
+
+"The common experiment of burying a Toad in a flower-pot covered with a
+tile, is of no value unless the cover be carefully luted to the pot, and
+the hole at the bottom of the pot also closed, so as to exclude all
+possible access of air, earthworms, and insects. I have heard of two or
+three experiments of this kind, in which these precautions have not been
+taken, and in which at the end of a year the Toads have been found alive
+and well.
+
+"Besides the Toads inclosed in wood and stone, four others were placed
+each in a small basin of plaster of Paris, four inches deep and five
+inches in diameter, having a cover of the same material carefully luted
+round with clay; these were buried at the same time and in the same
+place with the blocks of stone, and on being examined at the same time
+with them in December 1826, two of the Toads were dead, the other two
+alive, but much emaciated. We can only collect from this experiment,
+that a thin plate of plaster of Paris is permeable to air in a
+sufficient degree to maintain the life of a Toad for thirteen months.
+
+"In the 19th Vol., No. I, p. 167, of _Sillimans American Journal of
+Science and Arts_, David Thomas, Esq. has published some observations on
+Frogs and Toads in stone and solid earth, enumerating several authentic
+and well-attested cases. These, however, amount to no more than a
+repetition of the facts so often stated and admitted to be true, viz.,
+that torpid reptiles occur in cavities of stone, and at the depth of
+many feet in soil and earth; but they state not anything to disprove the
+possibility of a small aperture, by which these cavities may have had
+communication with the external surface, and insects have been admitted.
+
+"The attention of the discoverer is always directed more to the Toad
+than to the minutiae of the state of the cavity in which it was
+contained."
+
+The importance of these experiments, the care with which they were
+instituted, the deserved reputation of the experimenter, and the
+philosophic character of his inferences, will, I trust, apologise for
+the extent of this quotation. I do not think, however, that the question
+is settled by them; and I will venture to make one or two comments on
+the facts and on the observations.
+
+Dr Buckland allows that the circumstances of the incarceration of his
+Toads were not natural. This seems to me an element of more importance
+than he attributes to it. They were shut up while in active life, after
+having been confined for two months on scanty food;--"So that they were
+in an _unhealthy and somewhat meagre_ state at the time of their
+imprisonment." We do not know what conditions, what natural provisions
+precede torpidity and are essential to it; but possibly there are some,
+which in these cases were compulsorily precluded by human interference.
+It is stated that the animals that survived to the second year were
+always found awake when examined,--"_never in a state of torpor_." But
+Toads that had hid themselves would have been torpid during the winter
+months; and thus we have a sufficient proof that a natural condition of
+body had been by some means prevented. The experiment would be much more
+fair to the Toad, and much more conclusive to me, if the animal were
+inclosed during the depth of its winter-sleep, care being taken to
+handle it as little as possible.
+
+As it was, however, _most of the Toads_ inclosed in the limestone
+_survived upwards of thirteen months_. This surely is a very remarkable
+fact. Take the case of No. 9. Here was a Toad, nearly full grown, which
+had been shut up in a stone cell, covered with a plate of glass
+carefully luted down all round, so as to exclude air, buried under three
+feet of earth, so as to exclude the smallest gleam of light; yet, at the
+expiration of thirteen months, the cell being examined in winter, when
+normally all Toads ought to be sound asleep, this Toad was wide awake,
+not in the least emaciated, but so thriving in its strange dungeon as
+actually to have made 128 grains of flesh! to have actually increased in
+weight at the rate of 12-1/2 per cent.!
+
+Dr Buckland says, "It is probable there was some aperture in the luting
+by which small insects found admission." But this is altogether a
+_petitio principii_: it absolutely begs the question at issue. Are not
+these insects entirely gratuitous? The luting was, of course, carefully
+laid on: there could be no drying to cause contraction, buried as it was
+in the earth; the glass was uninjured; no orifice was detected; and yet,
+forsooth, it must be assumed that "small insects found admission." Then,
+too, consider the problem. It is not the possibility that a
+microscopically minute insect or two may have managed in some
+inscrutable way to insinuate themselves, but insects sufficient to
+support this large Toad for thirteen months, and to make it at the end
+of that time 128 grains heavier than it was when first inclosed! There
+is the fact, as stated by this careful observer; and I am sure his
+hypothesis of intrusive insects will not account for it.
+
+I might make similar remarks on No. 5. The glass was "_slightly_
+cracked." No insects were discovered in it; nor is any perceptible
+orifice alluded to; yet this Toad had increased from 1185 grains to 1265
+grains. The "_slight_ crack" in the glass makes this example less
+remarkable at first sight than the other; but in reality it is equally
+inscrutable. Insects, however minute, do not pass through glass merely
+cracked; but the requirement is the admission of insects enough to make
+an increase of flesh of 80 grains' weight, besides maintaining the waste
+of the Toad during thirteen months. Where, in each case, was the
+excrement corresponding to such an augmentation? An insect-diet, as
+every naturalist knows, leaves a very considerable residuum of
+indigestible, incorruptible, chitinous matter: the f{oe}cal remains of
+an insect-diet sufficient to keep an adult Toad in condition for
+thirteen months, and leave him 128 grains heavier than at first, would
+form no inconsiderable or inconspicuous mass. Yet the silence of the
+observer on so conclusive an evidence proves that it was utterly
+wanting.
+
+The Toads which survived longest were the largest specimens. Perhaps it
+requires a condition of peculiar vigour to bear the incarceration. Even
+these were all dead before two years had elapsed. But then it must be
+remembered that they had been disturbed: they had been taken out,
+handled, and weighed, and replaced; and during the second year they had
+been examined "several times." Air, it is true, was not admitted in
+these later examinations; but _light was_; and it may be that the
+absence of all external stimulus (and light is a potent one) is
+indispensable to the prolongation of vitality under conditions so
+abnormal.
+
+No one supposes that incarceration in solid rock is an ordinary event in
+the life of even a Toad. However it occur,--granting that it may
+occur,--it must surely be a rare accident happening to an individual
+here and there, from which millions of Toads are exempt. We may
+reasonably suppose, too, that not one in a hundred so accidentally
+incarcerated would survive, the accident in the majority of cases
+proving fatal. If we bear in mind these not unreasonable presumptions,
+we shall not hastily decide that all the recorded discoveries of Toads
+immured are proved false and impossible, because we have not succeeded
+in finding a case of longevity out of four-and-twenty Toads, many of
+them little ones, which we took and violently immured at our pleasure.
+
+To my own mind these interesting experiments are far more corroborative
+than contradictory of the popular belief. The amazing fact remains, that
+an adult vertebrate air-breathing animal can certainly live, and
+increase in size, shut up in a stone cell, debarred from light and air
+and food, for a period between one and two years! What have we parallel
+to this in the whole range of natural history? _C'est le premier pas qui
+coute._ After the first year has passed so auspiciously, why may not a
+second? a third? and so indefinitely--under circumstances peculiarly
+favouring? It is by no means certain that there are not such favouring
+circumstances, because we cannot precisely predicate what they are. And
+if we admit the reported cases to be--only a few of them--true, we
+cannot evade the conclusion, that the longevity of these imprisoned
+Toads must be immense, incalculable. For a Toad that emerges when a
+block of stone is split up, from a matrix that fits (say somewhat
+roughly, if you please) its form and size, must have been there ever
+since the stone was in a soft state, how long soever that may have
+been. Nor does it in the least affect the question, that there may have
+been some minute crack in the matrix through which insects, sufficient
+to support life, entered. This circumstance, I say, if satisfactorily
+proved, would not touch the question of time. And surely it is a marvel
+of colossal magnitude that a vertebrate animal should have maintained
+its life shut up in a mass of stone ever since the deposition of the
+matter in a solid form, even though we be able to eliminate from it the
+element of total abstinence during the entire period.
+
+But facts are upon record which prove the possibility of Toads surviving
+a protracted incarceration, effected by man, and therefore without their
+will. In 1809, on opening a gap in a wall at Bamborough, in
+Northumberland, for the passage of carts, a Toad, which had been
+incarcerated in the centre of a wall, was found alive, and set at
+liberty. A mason, named George Wilson, when building this wall, sixteen
+years before, had wantonly immured the animal, in a close cavity formed
+of lime and stone, just sufficient to contain it, and which he plastered
+so closely as seemingly to prevent the admission of air. When
+discovered, it seemed at first, as must naturally be supposed, in a very
+torpid state; but it soon recovered animation and activity, and, as if
+sensible of the blessings of freedom, made its way to a collection of
+stones, and disappeared.[107]
+
+Mr F. W. L. Ross of Broadway House, near Topsham, an acute and
+experienced naturalist, narrates the following circumstances:--"In the
+year 1821, I was residing in the country, and in my court-yard was a set
+of stone steps for mounting on horseback. These being useless to me, I
+desired they might be removed. On taking them down, the lowest step, a
+coarse red conglomerate, measuring about three feet in length, ten
+inches in depth, and about fourteen in width, was raised by a heavy bar.
+It had been well bedded in mortar, in which, while soft, a Toad had been
+evidently placed, as there was no appearance of any way by which it
+could have found ingress or egress, the mould or cast being as perfect
+as if taken in plaster. On the removal of the stone, the Toad remained
+torpid for a few minutes, when it seemed to revive, and then crept out.
+From the owners of the property I ascertained that the steps had been
+placed there forty-five years before, and, to the best of their
+knowledge, had never been moved.
+
+"The second account is from a clergyman, and originated in my informing
+him of the above. He caused a pit to be dug in his garden, six feet
+deep; at the bottom was laid a slate, on which a full-sized Toad was
+placed, with an inverted flower-pot over it. The hole and edges were
+well luted with clay; the pit was then filled in, and on that day twelve
+months reopened, when the Toad was found alive, and as well as when
+inclosed in its living tomb. If, therefore, it could exist in such a
+state for twelve months, it is not impossible that it might do so for a
+much longer period."[108]
+
+These curious facts derive confirmation and augmented interest from
+some apparently parallel conditions observed of other animals, widely
+removed in the organic scale from the Reptilia, and that on both sides.
+Some glimpses of an indefinitely protracted torpidity in Wasps are given
+to us in a communication from an eminent entomologist, Mr G. Wailes of
+Newcastle, to the Entomological Society of London, and published in
+their "Proceedings" of March 5, 1860. These Rip Van Winkles of the
+insect race choose, it seems, the tops of loftiest mountains for going
+to their long sleep. Who knows what might be found if a clever
+insect-hunter were to go stone-turning on the peaks of Ararat? Read the
+following, young enterprising entomologists! and set out.
+
+"It is very evident that we have a great deal yet to learn about the
+Social Wasps, and therefore the following remarks as to _Vespa vulgaris_
+may be interesting. Ever since 1829 I have, at intervals, searched the
+summit of Skiddaw (3022 feet) for specimens of _Leistus montanus_, and
+on every occasion have taken out from underneath the loose fragments of
+the slate perfectly torpid females of this Wasp, with the wings, legs,
+antennae, &c., precisely in the state in which we find them during winter
+in the lower lands. Not unfrequently I have met with dead specimens
+which seemed to have perished in the same dormant state, and been there
+for a year or two at least. Mr Smith, in his catalogue of the British
+Vespadae, under this species, states that Mr Wollaston found the female
+abundant under stones on the extreme summit of Gribon Oernant, near
+Llangollen, in September 1854, adding, 'probably hybernating for the
+winter,' but had evidently forgotten my writing to him on the subject.
+My visits to the mountain have extended from the latter end of June to
+the latter end of August, and therefore it necessarily follows that
+either these specimens of the female Wasp were those of the previous
+year, or that this sex appears much earlier in the season than has
+hitherto been supposed. But in either case the question arises, why are
+they torpid during these the hottest months of the year? It is quite
+true that the temperature of the altitude is below that of the plains,
+especially during the night, and I have myself been enveloped in falling
+sleet and snow more than once, both in June and August, though, as a
+rule, the Cumberland mountains seldom have a thick covering of snow, and
+often only a few inches once or twice in the winter. Still, the
+temperature of ordinary mountains always approaches that of the plains
+in summer, and, one would have expected, was in Britain at least
+sufficiently high to rouse these Wasps in their winter quarters, when
+every other insect under the same stones was active and stirring, and
+the air so warm and bright that _Larentia salicata_ and _Crambus
+furcatillus_ were sporting in the mid-day sun above them. Such, however,
+was not the case, and when turned out of their snug, dry quarters, they
+allowed themselves to be handled and put into pill-boxes just as they do
+in winter. We may therefore ask, when are these sleepers to awake? for
+as the ground temperature reaches its maximum during the months in which
+I have met with them, and Mr Wollaston has found them in a similar
+state in September, when a declining temperature has set in, we must
+conclude that for that year all prospect of their subsequent issue from
+their retreats through the influence of heat is barred. Can this be
+called hybernation, as it is usually understood? Or is there some other
+cause of torpidity besides mere cold? Or are we to conclude that when
+once put to sleep in these lofty regions, they wake no more unless
+kindly removed into a milder clime by a stray entomologist, when, as I
+have always noticed, they become as active as those of the warm
+lowlands?"[109]
+
+Mr Westwood, in the conversation that ensued on this communication,
+suggested that these female Wasps had been the founders of colonies in
+the preceding spring, and, after performing their maternal duties, had
+retired to die in the situations in which they were found by Mr Wailes.
+But with all due deference to so great an authority, is not this another
+example of those "explanations" which are thrown off without a due
+consideration of the exigencies of the case in hand--explanations which
+really explain nothing? For though this hypothesis might account for
+Wasps found under such conditions in June, it will not do for the
+September findings. Insects that had performed the end of their
+existence and had retired to die in June, would not live through July
+and August, and be found alive in September. Besides, Mr Wailes
+distinctly affirms, that _they always become active_ when removed to a
+milder clime, which is proof positive that they had not retired to die.
+Mr Smith's hypothesis, that they are "probably hybernating for the
+winter," will not account for their torpidity in June and July. Mr
+Westwood's hypothesis, that they are moribund individuals after their
+spring work, will not explain their vitality till September, and their
+revivification when removed.
+
+But these are insects; and the difference between vertebrate and
+invertebrate life is so vast that, after all, the possibilities of the
+latter may not have much bearing on those of the former. What, then,
+shall we say to an indefinite prolongation of life under like dreary
+conditions in--_Bats_? _Bats_, which are true vertebrata; and no
+amphibia grovelling at the bottom of the vertebrate ladder, where the
+dim flame of spinal life is just glimmering in the socket, but
+_Mammalia_, and those of nearly the highest type;--_Bats_, which Linnaeus
+associated with _Homo sapiens_ himself in his first Order _Primates_!
+Can _these_ live for years shut up from light and food and air? these
+great-chested, well-lunged, warm-blooded, aerial quadrupeds?
+"Impossible! I would not believe it, if----" Stay! make no rash vows;
+but read, weigh, and judge. Remember,--both the following statements are
+by clergymen, each of whom is a well-known, careful, experienced
+naturalist.
+
+"A very curious instance," says Mr Pemberton Bartlett, "of the great
+length of time that a Bat can remain in a state of torpidity, came under
+my notice about three weeks since; and as I believe instances of the
+kind are but rarely observed, perhaps an account of the facts of the
+case may not prove uninteresting. Upon opening a vault in Bishopsbourne
+church, the bricklayer observed a large Bat clinging to the wall.
+Thinking it a curious thing to find a Bat in a vault which he knew had
+not been opened for twenty years, in the evening he sent it to me by his
+boy, who, when he arrived at the door, was tempted to open the basket to
+look at the inmate, when most unfortunately it made its escape, and
+flitted into a leaden spout which was placed against the house, from
+whence I was unable to recover it. Upon learning the particulars of its
+discovery, I made a careful search about the vault, but was unable to
+trace any hole or crack through which the smallest Bat could have crept.
+The bricklayer also informed me that there was no place where a Bat
+could have entered, in the part where he opened the vault, as the
+entrance was bricked up, and over the steps was a slab which fitted
+close. If, indeed, it had been possible for a Bat to have got between
+this, the brickwork at the entrance would most effectually have
+prevented it from finding an asylum in the vault. The natural inference
+therefore is, that the Bat must have got into the vault when it was last
+opened, and consequently had been entombed since the year 1823! It was
+most unfortunate that I was unable to decide what species it was; but,
+from the bricklayer's description, I think it must have been
+_Vespertilio Pipistrellus_. When first taken out of the vault it was in
+a torpid state, but the effects of the air may be imagined from its
+taking the first opportunity to escape in the evening; it flew,
+however, far more 'leaden winged' than ever bats are wont to fly, which
+was by no means marvellous, when we consider it had been out of practice
+for twenty-one years."[110]
+
+The next account, by the Rev. A. C. Smith, of Yatesbury Rectory, Calne,
+is one of peculiar interest. The narrator actually witnessed the
+discovery. His investigation was pursued with the cautious care, and his
+statement is made with the precision, which belong to science; and the
+details are so full, and his remarks so appropriate, that though the
+story is somewhat long, I cannot bring myself to abridge it. It bears
+date, Feb. 18, 1854. Of course, the reader will note how these two
+narratives yield each other mutual corroboration.
+
+"While effecting some repairs in the pavement of the aisle of my church,
+a short time since, the masons found it necessary to remove some bricks
+from the solid wall of an adjacent vault, in order the better to adjust
+an iron bar intended to support the superincumbent flagstone. It seems
+that one or two bricks being removed, and several large and handsome
+coffins being exposed to view, curiosity tempted one of the workmen to
+reach his hand in with a lighted candle, in order to see the names and
+dates on the coffins; the result of which investigation shewed that the
+last coffin was placed there in 1748. During this search I entered the
+church, just in time to witness the extreme surprise, and the no little
+consternation, of the man, whose hand had suddenly come in contact with
+a Bat, suspended from the roof of the vault. The Bat was soon brought
+to light; and, in its half-torpid state, placed in my hand. We then
+proceeded to make a very minute examination of this vault with a lighted
+candle, in order to discover, if possible, by what means the Bat could
+have penetrated to its resting-place: but, although our search was very
+careful and long continued, we failed to discover the smallest crack or
+crevice in which a pin could be thrust. The roof was an arch of brick,
+surmounted by flagstones; the sides were solid masonry, bearing no
+appearance internally of decay; and the position of the vault was very
+near the centre of the church: so that I was much puzzled to account for
+the occurrence of the Bat in a place apparently hermetically sealed for
+above a hundred years; and knew not how to combat the opinion of the
+workmen, that it must have been entombed there alive since the year
+1748.
+
+"I now proceeded to institute inquiries regarding the vault in which the
+Bat was found. The marble monument above, recorded the names of an old
+Wiltshire family long since extinct in these parts, and the dates of the
+three coffins below, corroborating the statement of the brass plate,
+that the individual last buried died A.D. 1748. Several old men in the
+parish remembered an adjacent vault being opened, when they were boys,
+nearly sixty years since: but all positively denied that the vault in
+question had ever been opened in their lives: and one, a very old man,
+formerly clerk, and whose then residence abutted on the churchyard, was
+very emphatic on this point. So that I am constrained to believe that
+the vault has remained untouched since it received its last occupant, a
+hundred and six years ago: and I am the more convinced of this from the
+excessive freshness of the last coffin, the brass plate and nails of
+which are as bright, and its whole appearance as new, as if it had been
+placed there but yesterday, which would not have been the case had the
+external air been admitted at any time since the vault was closed.
+
+"During the time of the examination of the vault, the Bat was held in my
+hand, and above an hour must have elapsed since its capture before I was
+enabled to take it to the Rectory, and place it under an inverted glass:
+by this time the warmth of my hand had considerably revived it, and it
+wandered round its prison, snuffing about with its curious nose, and
+standing up, and trying to hook itself on to the smooth glass, which
+baffled all its attempts. As it obstinately refused to eat small pieces
+of chopped meat, with which I tempted it to break its fast, which may
+have continued a hundred and six years, and after which I should have
+imagined it to be ravenous; and as it lay on its side, apparently in a
+dying state, humanity urged me to give it a chance of life, by restoring
+it to liberty, and I accordingly carried it to the garden, where I
+placed it upon the turf, and watched its movements. At first it clung to
+the blades of grass, and shivered a good deal; presently it fluttered
+along the ground; soon it rose upon the wing, though in an awkward
+manner, and although it sank several times, as if about to fall to the
+ground, and as if it had not found the use of its wings, (which might
+have been a little stiff for want of exercise, if they had been closed
+above a hundred years), it passed behind a clump of trees and I saw it
+no more; and then I began to regret, when too late, that I had not made
+more efforts to keep it alive and watch its recovery. I know little of
+the different species of Bats, but, from its diminutive size, and
+extremely long ears, I should imagine it to be the _Vespertilio auritus_
+of Gilbert White.
+
+"Now, if the hypothesis be deemed absurd that the Bat had been immured
+in the vault since 1748, how then are we to account for its presence
+there? For although I am aware that a Bat, and especially one of the
+smallest species, would creep through a very small crack or crevice, yet
+the evidence of my own senses, after a very close examination, convinces
+me that not even the smallest crack existed between the bricks of the
+vault; and I think the evidence no less conclusive that the vault has
+remained untouched for a great number of years. Again, notwithstanding
+the disbelief of some, it is very generally acknowledged that Toads do
+occasionally exist in blocks of stone and in timber; and the material in
+which they are inclosed having gradually formed around them, they must
+necessarily have been entombed, in some well-authenticated cases, for a
+very long period of time. Why then, I ask, should we deny that to be
+possible with the Bat, which we so readily concede to be an occurrence
+by no means unusual with the Toad? I own, that, taking all these things
+into account, and finding no other possible solution for the mystery, I
+came to the conclusion, after mature deliberation, that the Bat had
+been entombed in the vault since it last was opened in the year 1748.
+That impression has increased upon longer reflection, and has been
+further strengthened almost into certainty, from the perusal of a very
+interesting and very similar case, recorded by the Rev. J. P. Bartlett
+in an early volume of the _Zoologist_ (_Zool._, 613.)[111] That
+gentleman states, that on opening a vault which had been closed for
+twenty-one years, a Bat was discovered in a torpid state; that he
+himself made a very careful search about the vault, and was unable to
+discover any crack through which the smallest Bat could have crept; that
+the vault was surrounded with brickwork; the entrance was bricked up,
+and over the steps was placed a close-fitting slab; and that he could
+come to no other conclusion than that the Bat had been inclosed there
+for twenty-one years. I confess that I quite agree in opinion with Mr
+Bartlett, and believe that the Bat discovered in the vault in
+Bishopsbourne church crept in on the occasion of its last opening: and
+so in the like manner with the one found in my own church; for although
+there is unquestionably a vast difference between twenty-one and a
+hundred and six years, yet, if we can establish the fact of a Bat
+remaining torpid for the shorter period, I find no difficulty in
+understanding that a sleep which would endure so long as that did, might
+be protracted to a far longer period. It is most probable that many will
+differ from me in opinion, and perhaps some will ridicule the idea: if
+they can discover any other probable or even possible means of
+accounting for the presence of the Bat in the vault, exclusive of a
+crack or chink in it, or of its having been opened within the memory of
+living man, both of which views I firmly oppose, I shall feel greatly
+obliged by their stating their opinions in the _Zoologist_: meanwhile I
+hold to my belief, that the Bat had been there for not less than _one
+hundred and six years_!"[112]
+
+[97] Bell's _Brit. Rept._ (1839), 112.
+
+[98] _Zoologist_, 614.
+
+[99] _Zool._, 1879.
+
+[100] _Zool._, 3632.
+
+[101] _Zool._, 3808.
+
+[102] _Zool._, 3848.
+
+[103] _Zool._, 3904.
+
+[104] _Zool._, 5959.
+
+[105] _Zool._, 6537.
+
+[106] _Ibid._, 6565.
+
+[107] Richardson's _Borderer's Table Book_, iii. 92.
+
+[108] _Zool._, 3266.
+
+[109] _Zool._, 6941.
+
+[110] _Zool._, 613.
+
+[111] See page 183, _ante_.
+
+[112] _Zool._, 4245.
+
+
+
+
+V.
+
+HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWS.
+
+
+What becomes of our swallows in the winter? They migrate, you reply,
+to a warmer parallel. That is true, no doubt; though there have not
+been wanting naturalists of respectable name who have maintained that
+none of them ever leave the country. No doubt, however, they do migrate;
+but is this true of the entire body, or only of a portion? That the
+whole hirundinal population--swifts, swallows, martins, and
+bank-martins--disappear from view, every one knows; for who ever saw any
+of the tribe wheeling and traversing through the sky in the frosts of
+January or February? But so do the Bats and the Butterflies. Now, the
+Bats hybernate with us, concealing themselves in crevices, caves, hollow
+trees, unused buildings, and similar places; so do the house-flies; so
+do the butterflies, some species at least, and many other insects. Do
+the Swallows hybernate? That they do is a very old opinion; and those
+homely but wide-spread rhymes that record so many accepted facts in
+popular natural history, record _this_ as a fact. Our rustic children
+sing--
+
+      "The bat, the bee, the butterfly,
+        The cuckoo and the swallow,
+      The corn-crake and the wheat-ear,
+        They all sleep in the hollow."
+
+Local variations--what we may call _lectiones variae_--exist; for
+example, in the south-east of our island, the third line runs,
+
+      "The corn-crake and the _nightingale_."
+
+In the north of Europe an opinion has long prevailed that the Swallows
+not only hybernate in a state of torpidity, but, like the frogs and
+toads, retire to the bottoms of pools to spend that dreary season. In
+Berger's "Calendar of Flora," published in the _Am{oe}nitates
+Academicae_, vol. iv., he puts down as the phenomenon proper to the 22d
+of September, "_Hirundo submergitur_," talking, as Gilbert White
+remarks, as familiarly of the Swallows going under water, as he would of
+his poultry going to roost at sunset. Klein, and even Linnaeus himself,
+adopted this strange opinion, which was considered to rest upon good
+testimony, and that not only of the illiterate and unobservant.
+Etmuller, who was Professor of Anatomy and Botany at Leipsig in the
+middle of the seventeenth century, says, "I remember to have found more
+than a bushel would hold of Swallows closely clustered among the reeds
+of a fish-pond under the ice, all of them to appearance dead, but with
+the heart still pulsating." And Derham, the acute author of
+"Physico-theology," citing this statement, adds, "We had at a meeting of
+the Royal Society, February 12, 1713, a further confirmation of Swallows
+retiring under water in the winter from Dr Colas, a person very curious
+in these matters, who, speaking of their way of fishing in the northern
+parts by breaking holes and drawing their nets under the ice, saith,
+that he saw sixteen Swallows so drawn out of the Lake of Lamrodt, and
+about thirty out of the king's great pond in Rosneilen; and that at
+Schlehitten, near a house of the Earl of Dohna, he saw two Swallows just
+come out of the waters, that could, scarcely stand, being very wet and
+weak, with their wings hanging on the ground; and that he observed the
+Swallows to be often weak for some days after their appearance."[113]
+
+The Academy of Upsal received the winter submersion of the Swallows as
+an undoubted fact, and even Cuvier admits as "well authenticated, that
+they fall into a lethargic state during winter, and even that they pass
+that season at the bottom of marshy waters."[114] One would think that a
+zoological statement which Linnaeus and Cuvier accepted, must be fact;
+yet it remains utterly improbable. In Germany, a reward of an equal
+weight in silver was publicly offered to any one who should produce
+Swallows found under water, but we are assured that no one was found to
+claim the money.
+
+We may safely dismiss the notion of submersion till better
+authenticated; but that of torpidity is still open to examination.
+Statements to the effect that quantities of Swallows in a death-like
+condition have been found in hollow trees, holes in cliffs, banks, &c.,
+are even more common than those of their submersion; and they seem to
+obtain credence in all the temperate or cold regions where the Swallows
+are found. It is hard to think that a persuasion so widely diffused can
+be wholly groundless.
+
+Peter Collinson, the friend and correspondent of Linnaeus, communicated
+to the Royal Society the following statement by M. Achard:--"In the
+latter end of March I took my passage down the Rhine to Rotterdam. A
+little below Basel, the south bank of the river was very high and steep,
+of a sandy soil, sixty or eighty feet above the water.
+
+"I was surprised at seeing, near the top of the cliff, some boys tied to
+ropes, hanging down doing something. The singularity of these
+adventurous boys, and the business they so daringly attempted, made us
+stop our navigation, to inquire into the meaning of it. The waterman
+told us they were reaching the holes in the cliffs for Swallows or
+Martins, which took refuge in them, and remained there all the winter,
+until warm weather, and then they came abroad.
+
+"The boys being let down by their comrades to the holes, put in a long
+rammer, with a screw at the end, such as is used to unload guns, and,
+twisting it about, drew out the birds. For a trifle I procured some of
+them. When I first had them, they seemed stiff and lifeless; I put one
+of them in my bosom, between my skin and shirt, and laid another on a
+board, the sun shining full and warm upon it; and one or two of my
+companions did the like. That in my bosom revived in about a quarter of
+an hour; feeling it move, I took it out to look at it; but perceiving it
+not sufficiently come to itself, I put it in again; in about another
+quarter, feeling it flutter pretty briskly, I took it out, and admired
+it. Being now perfectly recovered, before I was aware, it took its
+flight; the covering of the boat prevented me from seeing where it went.
+The bird on the board, though exposed to a full sun, yet, I presume from
+a chilliness of the air, did not revive so as to be able to fly."[115]
+
+On this account I may observe that Collinson would hardly have been the
+medium of this communication, unless he had been satisfied of the
+probity of his correspondent. The time was "the latter end of March," a
+fortnight at least before the arrival of the Sand Martin--the earliest
+of our migrants; and the whole enterprise of the boys, and the
+familiarity of the waterman with the circumstance, as well as their
+assertions, shew that they, at least, had no doubt about this being a
+case of hybernation. Yet the repeated exploration of the Sand Martin's
+burrows in this country, in winter, has produced no birds.
+
+White of Selborne, who was very much interested in the solution of this
+question, mentions two instances--both, however, on hearsay evidence. A
+clergyman assured him that, when he was a boy, some workmen, in pulling
+down the battlements of a tower, early in spring, found two or three
+Swifts _among the rubbish_, which appeared dead, but revived in the
+warmth. The other account was that of the fall of a portion of the cliff
+near Brighton in winter, when many persons found Swallows among the
+rubbish; but here even White's informant did not see the birds, but was
+merely told of them.[116]
+
+Bishop Stanley, in his "Familiar History of Birds," has collected some
+stories which appear circumstantial enough, if we could be quite sure
+they were authentic; on which point the good bishop seems to give the
+weight of his own character, since he observes that they are "cases
+which have come to our knowledge, on the most respectable authority."
+
+"On the 16th of November 1826, a gentleman residing near Loch Awe, in
+Scotland, having occasion to examine an out-house, used as a cart-shed,
+saw an unusual appearance upon one of the rafters which crossed and
+supported the thatched roof. Upon mounting a ladder, he found to his
+astonishment that this was a group of Chimney-swallows (_Hirundo
+rustica_) which had taken up their winter quarters in this exposed
+situation. The group consisted of five, completely torpid: and none of
+the tribe to which they belonged had been seen for five or six weeks
+previously: he took them in his hand, as they lay closely and coldly
+huddled together, and conveyed them to his house, in order to exhibit
+them as objects of curiosity to the other members of his family. For
+some time they remained to all appearance lifeless; but the temperature
+of the apartment into which they were carried being considerably raised
+by a good turf fire, they gradually evinced symptoms of reanimation; and
+in less than a quarter of an hour, finding that they were rather rudely
+handled, all of them recovered, so as to fly impatiently round the room,
+in search of some opening by which they might escape. The window was
+thrown up, and they soon found their way into the fields, and were never
+seen again. A similar circumstance, though, from the place of its
+discovery it must refer probably to Sand Martins, was related by a
+gentleman who found two Swallows in a sand-bank at Newton, near
+Stirling, quite dormant.
+
+"Again, about half-a-dozen Swallows were found a few years ago, in a
+torpid state, in the trunk of a hollow tree, by a countryman, who
+brought them to a respectable person, by whom they were deposited in a
+desk, where they remained forgotten till the following spring, when, one
+morning, on hearing a noise, he opened the desk, and found one of them
+fluttering about: the others also began to shew signs of life, and upon
+being placed out of doors in the sun, speedily arranged their plumage,
+took wing, and disappeared.
+
+"On the 2d of November 1829, at Loch Ransa, in the island of Arran, a
+man, while digging in a place where a pond had been lately drained off,
+discovered two Swallows in a state of torpor; on placing them near the
+fire, they recovered. One unfortunately escaped, but the other was kept
+by the man, for the purpose of shewing it to some scientific persons."
+
+In North America there is a curious species of Swift, (_Acanthylis
+pelasgia_,) which associates in immense flocks to roost in chimneys and
+hollow trees. It is the popular belief that these birds spend the winter
+in a torpid condition in their roosting trees. Williams, in his "History
+of Vermont," speaks of a large hollow elm which had been for many years
+appropriated to this purpose. A farmer resident close to the tree was
+persuaded that it was the winter dwelling-place of the Swifts, and
+avoided felling it on that account. About the 1st of May, he always saw
+them come out of it in large numbers, about the middle of the day, and
+in a short time return. Then, as the weather grew warmer, they came
+forth in increased multitudes in the morning, and did not return till
+night. A similar account was given of another tree: the first appearance
+of the Swifts in spring was always their emergence from its hollow
+trunk, and their last, in September, was their ingress. Yet Wilson, the
+great ornithologist of America, argues, not without some heat, yet with
+considerable force, that such a belief is erroneous. Erroneous,
+certainly, the supposition that the whole body of the Chimney-swifts so
+hybernate; but whether a few do or do not, his arguments do not quite
+conclude.
+
+The rustic quatrain, quoted in the outset of this disquisition, mentions
+the Corncrake, as associated with the Swallow in this winter-sleep,--"in
+the hollow." It is curious that two modern instances are on record of
+hybernating Corncrakes, though this is certainly as migratory a species
+with us as the _Hirundinidae_. A farmer at Aikerness in Orkney, about
+midwinter, in demolishing a mud-wall, found a Corncrake in the midst of
+it. It was apparently lifeless; but being fresh to the feel and smell,
+it was placed in the warmth. In a short time it began to move, and in a
+few hours was able to walk about, and lived for two days in the kitchen;
+when refusing all food, or rather, none that suited it being then
+obtainable, it died.[117]
+
+"The second case occurred at Monaghan, in Ireland, where a gentleman,
+having directed his labourers, in winter, to remove a large heap of
+manure, that had remained undisturbed for a great length of time,
+perceived a hole, which was supposed to have been made by rats; it
+penetrated to a great depth, but at its termination, instead of rats,
+three Corncrakes were discovered, as if placed there with the greatest
+care, not a feather being out of its place, and apparently lifeless. The
+birds on examination were, however, considered to be in a torpid state,
+and were placed near a fire in a warm room. In the course of a short
+time a tremulous motion was observed in one of their legs, and soon
+after a similar motion was noticed in the legs and wings of the whole,
+which at length extended itself to their whole bodies, and finally the
+birds were enabled to run and fly about the room."[118]
+
+Daines Barrington, the correspondent of Gilbert White and of Pennant,
+was a firm believer in the winter sleep of Swallows with us. He
+mentions, on the authority of Lord Belhaven, that numbers of Swallows
+had been found in old dry walls and in sandhills near his lordship's
+seat in East-Lothian; not once only, _but from year to year_, and that
+when they were exposed to the warmth, they revived. He says, however, he
+cannot determine the particular species.[119]
+
+The same naturalist mentions many other instances in which they have
+been reported to be found, but he cannot give his personal voucher for
+the truth of the statements.
+
+"As first in a decayed hollow tree, that was cut down near Dolgelly, in
+Merionethshire; secondly, in a cliff near Whitby, in Yorkshire, where,
+in digging out a fox, whole bushels of Swallows were found in a torpid
+condition; thirdly, the Rev. Mr Conway, of Lychton, Flintshire, a few
+years ago, between All Saints' and Christmas, on looking down an old
+lead mine in that county, observed numbers of Swallows clinging to the
+timbers of the shaft, seemingly asleep, and on flinging some gravel on
+them they just moved, but never attempted to fly or to change their
+place."[120]
+
+In some communications to the _Zoologist_ for 1845, by the late Mr F.
+Holme, of Oxford, I find the following statement:--"On the hybernation
+of this species (the House-swallow) I was told many years since, by old
+Wall, then keeper of the Kildare Street Museum, in Dublin, ... that
+after a heavy snow, in the winter of 1825-26, on going into the
+_mansarde_ to see whether the snow had melted through, he found four
+Chimney-swallows perched close together on a cross-beam, with their
+heads under their wings; but on approaching his hand to them they flew
+off, and escaped into the open air."[121]
+
+Again, Mr J. B. Ellman of Battel, says, "There is a farmer named Waters,
+residing at Catsfield, (adjoining parish,) who informs me he has
+frequently (some years ago) dug Swallows out of banks in winter, while
+widening the ditches in the brooks," &c.[122]
+
+It is unfortunate that most of these and similar discoveries were "some
+years ago;" and that, instead of increasing in frequency with the
+increase of scientific research and communication, they strangely become
+more rare. The same remark applies to the following statement: it is
+minute enough, and circumstantially precise; but, unfortunately, it was
+"fifteen years ago." The communicator is Edward Brown Fitton, Hastings,
+under date September 8, 1849:--
+
+"A labourer named William Joyce, who is now employed in excavating part
+of the East Hill for the foundation of a house, told me yesterday, that,
+in the month of December, about fifteen years ago, while he was working
+for Mr William Ranger, who had the contract for cutting away the 'White
+Rock,' which used to stand between this place and St Leonard's, the men
+found an immense quantity of Swallows in a cleft of the rock. The birds
+were clinging together in large 'clots,' and appeared to be dead, but
+were not frozen together, the weather being rather warm for the season,
+nor were they at all putrid or decayed. The men carried out at least
+_three railway-barrows_ full of birds, which were buried with the mould
+and rubbish from the cliff as it was wheeled away. Some people from the
+town carried away a few of the birds to 'make experiments with,' but
+Joyce never heard any more of them. He mentioned the names of four
+persons now in Hastings, who were then his fellow-labourers, and says,
+that forty or fifty of Mr Ranger's men were on the spot when the birds
+were found, and can confirm what he says, both as to the finding and the
+very great quantity of the birds. There are many crevices in the seaward
+surface of the cliffs about here, which apparently penetrate the cliff
+for several yards. The birds were found about ten feet from the surface
+of the rock facing the sea, and not very high up."[123]
+
+There is yet another class of facts to be adduced, which has an
+important bearing on the subject. At first sight, these facts appear
+less conclusive than the asserted discoveries of the birds, because less
+direct; but I am inclined to attach more value to them, because they are
+attested by so many and so unexceptionable witnesses. I mean the sight
+of Swallows at large in these islands during the winter months. Let us
+see some examples.
+
+White of Selborne records several cases: thus, in 1773, twenty or thirty
+House-martins were playing in the air all day on the 3d of
+November,[124] after having disappeared from the 22d of October. In
+1772, he saw three House-swallows gliding by on the sea-shore at
+Newhaven, on the 4th of November.[125] On another occasion, (the year
+not being recorded,) he saw, on a sunny morning, a House-martin flying,
+at Oxford, on the 20th of November.[126] On the 26th of November 1768,
+one of his neighbours saw a Martin hawking briskly after flies.[127] And
+a very respectable gentleman assured him that on a remarkably hot day,
+either in the last week in December or the first week in January, he
+espied three or four Swallows in the moulding of a window of Merton
+College, Oxford.[128]
+
+Colonel Montagu remarks that "there are a variety of instances of the
+Swallow and Martin having been seen flying in the months of November and
+December, roused probably from a state of torpidity by an unusual warmth
+of the air;"[129] and Captain H. W. Hadfield, commenting on this,
+affirms that he has "more than once had ocular proof of their presence
+during the winter months."[130] Yarrell gives examples of the late
+appearance of the Swift. One was seen by Mr Blackwall on the 20th of
+October 1815; a second in Perthshire on the 8th of November 1834; and a
+third in Devonshire, by the Rev. Mr Cornish, on the 27th November
+1835.[131] In considering these cases, it is needful to bear in mind
+that the Swift migrates from this country annually from the 1st to the
+15th of August.
+
+Mr C. R. Bree mentions the following case, which I record, not because
+it was particularly late, but because the state of the season, and some
+other circumstances which he remarks on are interesting:--"On the 25th
+of October 1848, some workmen being engaged on the roof of my house, I
+was surprised by the appearance of three Swallows flying about the men.
+I had not seen one since the beginning of the month. By the side of the
+edge of the gable-end of the house the plaster was broken away, forming
+a hole, which led under the roof. While watching the birds, which came
+occasionally quite close to my face, I saw first one, then another,
+alight upon the ledge of the gable-end, near the hole. Now, I thought, I
+am to settle the question of hybernation: but I was disappointed. Though
+I watched them for several hours--though I sent the workmen to another
+part of the house, yet, although they frequently settled about the hole,
+they never entered it. They were evidently young birds, and had been
+disturbed. One of them rested upon the chimney, and appeared weak and
+dull. I lost sight of them during the day; but the following morning,
+the weather being warm, I saw several flying about high up in the air.
+There is some mystery about these things. Why have these late
+appearances been more remarked this year than other years? How did the
+birds obtain food during the three weeks of bitter cold weather when
+they were not seen in October?"[132]
+
+On the 10th of December 1843, a specimen of the Swallow, _an adult bird,
+not a young of the season_, (an important circumstance,) in full plumage
+and good condition, was shot at Goole, in the West Riding, and was sent
+to Mr R. J. Bell, of Derby, a good ornithologist,[133] who records the
+fact. In 1852, that excellent naturalist, Mr Hewitson, of Oatlands, saw
+two Chimney-swallows at Eshar on the 18th of November, and on the 21st
+had four martins about his house.[134] In 1855, Mr E. Vernon Harcourt
+reports the occurrence of several Martins skimming about at Uckfield on
+the 23d of November; and on the 6th of December several Chimney-swallows
+about the house at Hastings.[135] In the same season flocks of Martins
+were hawking vigorously, in the vicinity of Penzance, to the 28th of
+November, as witnessed by Mr E. H. Rodd.[136] Captain Hadfield again,
+writing in 1856, gives extracts from his journals, whereby he records
+having seen Swallows and Martins as late as November 3, 1841, December
+2, 1842, November 13, 1852, November 22, 1853, November (about the
+middle) 1854, and November 24 (Swallows) and December 2 (Martins) 1855.
+Of the last-mentioned occurrence he gives the following interesting
+note:--"Dec. 2, 4 P.M. Observed eight Martins flying round the garden,
+and occasionally alighting on the perpendicular face of the wall of a
+house near my garden gate, to which they would cling for a few seconds,
+and then, dropping off, whirl round, returning to the same spot,
+seemingly quite unconscious of my presence and that of several others:
+they seemed bent on effecting an entrance under the eaves of the house,
+by a small opening they had discovered near a water-pipe that had been
+carried through the wall: they were, I believe, all young birds of the
+season, as they appeared small, their tails being also shorter than in
+the adults; they were weak on the wing, but that may have arisen from
+their being benumbed by the cold, the thermometer standing at 44 deg. only
+at the above hour. There had been a bright sun during the greater part
+of the day, but I had observed a white frost in the morning. I conclude
+that these late birds were merely seeking a roosting-place for the
+night, and not a place of concealment for the winter, although I might
+have been excused, according to Cuvier, White, &c., had I thought they
+were taking up their winter quarters; but I have not sufficient faith in
+the theory to induce me to unslate a part of the roof to seek for them,
+which might be done, however, at a trifling cost, provided permission
+were obtained."[137]
+
+It is rather a pity that the observer had not confidence enough to
+induce him to make the investigation which he suggests.
+
+Mr William Bree mentions as many as fifteen or twenty Martins and
+Swallows sporting in the air near Temple Balsall on the 18th November
+1846, adding that he has frequently seen individuals much later, but
+never recollects to have seen so great a number together at that late
+period. And, finally, Mr J. Johnston, jun., reports that he saw, in the
+afternoon of 18th January 1837, three Swallows dipping and hawking as in
+summer, near Wakefield.[138]
+
+There is less evidence of the appearance of these birds before the
+ordinary time of arrival of the migrants. But White, when a boy,
+observed a Swallow for a whole day together on a sunny warm Shrove
+Tuesday, which day could not fall out later than the middle of March,
+and often happened early in February.[139] And Mr Samuel Gurney, jun.,
+together with several other persons, saw either a Martin or Swallow, on
+the 27th of March 1844.[140]
+
+If this last occurrence had stood alone, it would have been of slight
+importance; for Yarrell mentions a single Swallow as having been seen by
+a fisherman near the Eddystone as early as the 4th of April; and
+Sand-martins, even as far north as Carlisle, before the end of March. It
+is just possible that these may have been stragglers of the great army
+of migrants, arriving some ten or fifteen days before their time; but
+considering the whole great array of evidence, I rather believe that
+these too were hybernants, who had been prematurely awakened from
+torpidity by unusually warm days.
+
+The accounts of _Hirundines_ having been found in a somnolent state in
+winter may or may not be true; though the great number of such
+statements in various and distant countries makes the indiscriminate
+rejection of them even more difficult than the acceptance. But still
+there remains the undeniable fact that it is quite an ordinary thing for
+birds of this family, including all our four common species, to be seen
+with us through November and December, and occasionally in
+January;--that is, for two or three months after the great body of
+migrants have left the country. No one, I suppose, pretends that
+migration of Swallows takes place in December or January; therefore it
+is manifest that a certain number--more or fewer--remain. What becomes
+of them? We certainly see them only occasionally: where are they on the
+days on which they do not appear,--days extending to several consecutive
+weeks? If they had not been torpid during those weeks, if the more
+active functions of life had not been suspended, would they not
+certainly have been starved? But the specimen shot on the 10th December,
+and examined by Mr Bell, was in good condition, which is consistent with
+but one alternative; either it had been well fed throughout the
+preceding six weeks, or it had been hybernating. But the former
+supposition implies that it had been habitually on the wing during that
+period, as Swallows feed only on the wing; which could not have been the
+case without its being noticed and recorded.
+
+It is common to say that these occasional winter Swallows are the later
+broods of young, which, being too infantile to migrate, are compelled to
+linger in the country of their nativity, and becoming lethargic from the
+advancing cold, at length die before the spring. But when this
+hypothesis is looked at, it seems hardly tenable. In many of the
+instances recorded, the specimens seen even late into the winter, are
+represented as gaily and vigorously hawking for flies, or sweeping over
+the water as in summer. This does not look like poor deserted orphans
+starved with the cold, retiring to die; but birds in health, temporarily
+awakened from normal slumber by an unusual temperature, and instantly
+ready for a full use of their faculties. However, to settle the point by
+fact, Mr Bell distinctly states that his specimen of December 10th was
+"an adult bird, _not_ a young bird of the season."
+
+If it should be asked why they do not appear in January or February, as
+well as November and December, the answer is obvious. The winter's
+lethargy of hybernating warm-blooded vertebrates is much more readily
+interrupted in the earlier part of the season than in the middle and
+latter part. And this is natural; for the more intense cold of January
+benumbs and suspends the vital functions far more completely, and the
+_coma_ so superinduced is sufficiently deep to resist the counteracting
+influence of a few warm days, even though the temperature should be as
+high as on those earlier days that awakened them, or even higher.
+
+The aggregate evidence, then, seems to leave no room for reasonable
+doubt, that a certain number of our _Hirundinidae_,--few, indeed, as
+compared with the vast migrant population, but still considerable,
+looked at _per se_,--for some reason or other, evade the task of a
+southward flight, and remain, becoming torpid, occasionally betrayed
+into a temporary activity, and resuming their active life, about the
+same time, or occasionally a little _before_ the time, of the arrival of
+their congeners from abroad. It is, however, desirable for the absolute
+settlement of the question, that specimens, actually discovered in a
+lethargic condition, should come under the observation of competent
+scientific naturalists, _open to conviction_, who would leave them _in
+situ_, keeping an eye on them from time to time till the return of warm
+weather in spring. It is not enough to take them into a warm room, and
+to shew that they revive in such circumstances: we want to know
+positively whether they will be resuscitated normally and naturally by
+the vernal warmth, and come forth spontaneously to sport, and wheel, and
+skim, and soar, and stoop, and hawk, and twitter,--among their travelled
+fellows. Who will undertake to decide the point in this manner? He will
+have achieved a name in science.
+
+[113] _Phys. Theol._, vii., Note _d_.
+
+[114] _Regne Anim._, (Griffith's Ed.,) vii. 61.
+
+[115] _Phil. Trans._, 1763.
+
+[116] _Letter_ x.
+
+[117] Stanley's _Fam. Hist. of Birds_, p. 263.
+
+[118] _Edin. Journ._, viii.
+
+[119] In Pennant's _Brit. Zool._
+
+[120] _Brit. Zool._, App.
+
+[121] _Zool._, 1136.
+
+[122] Ibid., 2302.
+
+[123] _Zool._, 2590.
+
+[124] _Letter_ xxxviii.
+
+[125] Ibid. xii.
+
+[126] Ibid. xi.
+
+[127] Ibid. xxxi.
+
+[128] _Letter_ xxiii.
+
+[129] _Orn. Dict._, Introd., xxvii.
+
+[130] _Zool._, 5364.
+
+[131] _Brit. Birds_, ii. 264.
+
+[132] _Zool._, 2455.
+
+[133] Ibid., 565.
+
+[134] Ibid., 3753.
+
+[135] _Zool._, 4945.
+
+[136] Ibid., 4945.
+
+[137] _Zool._, 4995.
+
+[138] Ibid. 1639.
+
+[139] _Letter_ xviii., 2d ser.
+
+[140] _Zool._, 565.
+
+
+
+
+VI.
+
+THE CRESTED AND WATTLED SNAKE.
+
+
+About the middle of the last century there existed in Amsterdam a Museum
+of natural history, which, though accumulated by the zeal and industry
+of a private individual, far exceeded in extent and magnificence any
+collection then in the world. It had been gathered by Albert Seba, a
+wealthy apothecary in the Dutch East India Company's service, who
+fortunately published an elaborate description of its contents. This
+great work, "_Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri accurata
+Descriptio_,"--in four volumes folio, published from 1734 to 1765,--is
+even now remarkable for the accuracy and beauty of its copious
+engravings, which still are referred to as authorities, though the
+descriptions are devoid of scientific value. Many of these figures and
+descriptions, about whose reality no shadow of doubt exists, are those
+of creatures which are altogether unknown to modern science, and some of
+them are highly curious.
+
+Serpents seem to have been a special hobby of Seba's; and he has
+delineated a vast number of species. Among them are two[141] about which
+a singular interest hangs. They are of rather small size; the one pale
+yellow, marked with oval reddish spots, the other reddish, with five
+green transverse bands. The head in each case has a horny-pointed
+muzzle, and the cheeks are furnished with depending wattles of a
+coral-red hue.
+
+From the expressions of wonder with which Seba introduces his
+descriptions of these animals, it is evident that they were no ordinary
+forms. He does not know whether to call them Eels or Serpents, the
+critical characters, which in our day would instantly determine this
+point, being then scarcely heeded. He calls them "marine," but whether
+on any other evidence than the pendent processes of the cheeks, which he
+calls "fins," does not appear. But no fish known to naturalists will
+answer to these representations. The pointed head, indeed, resembles in
+some respects that of _Mur{oe}na_, but this genus of fishes is altogether
+destitute of pectoral fins, while the vertically-flattened tail, and the
+long dorsal and anal fins confluent around the extremity of the body in
+_Mur{oe}na_, are totally unlike these figures. These and all similar fishes
+are, moreover, destitute of visible scales; but in these the scaling is
+decidedly serpentine, and the second, in particular, has large
+symmetrical plates across the belly, while the head in both is shielded
+with broad plates like a Colubrine Snake. The tail is drawn out to a
+long conical point, without the slightest appearance of compression or
+of bordering fins. In one figure there is seen a little projecting point
+at the edge of the lower belly, which at first sight suggests the idea
+of the anal hook of a _Boa_, but which, by comparison with other
+figures, we discover to be intended to represent the projection of the
+pre-anal scale. The very minuteness of this character makes it valuable:
+its value was doubtless unheeded by the artist, who merely drew what he
+saw; it is, however, a very decisive mark of distinction between a
+serpent and a fish.
+
+Seba records that he had received these Serpents from the Island of St
+Domingo. This was at that time a flourishing French colony, and its
+natural productions were far better known to Europe than they now are.
+When I visited the neighbouring island of Jamaica in 1845-46, I heard
+accounts of a wonderful animal occasionally seen in the eastern
+districts of the island, which was reported as a Snake with a cock's
+comb and wattles, and which crowed like a cock. A good deal of mystery
+attached to this strange Serpent.
+
+It was appropriated to a very remarkable and peculiar character of
+scenery:--A wild mountain-region, formed of white limestone, abounding
+in narrow glens, bounded by abrupt precipices, and permeated by
+whispering streams that frequently pour in slender cascades over the
+rocks. The limestone rock rises in abrupt terraces, wall above wall, and
+its entire surface is most singularly honeycombed, "as if wrought by a
+graving tool into rough diamond-points," alternating with smooth and
+rounded holes of various sizes, from that of a hazel-nut upward. In many
+of these hollows lie the small land-shells of the country, bleached
+perfectly white, like the stone itself, of the genera _Helix_,
+_Cyclostoma_, _Helicina_, _Cylindrella_, _Achatina_, &c., many of them
+perfect, but many more in fragments. They exactly resemble fossil shells
+_in situ_, but the species are absolutely identical with those that
+crawl over the shrubs and trees in the same region. In very many cases
+the dead shells accurately fit the hollows in the rock, whose interior
+is impressed with the form and sculpturing of the shell in
+_intaglio_:--a most curious and interesting fact, as it points to the
+very recent formation of the region, the stone bearing evident tokens of
+having been in a plastic condition when the shells were enveloped in it.
+Out of the hollows of the rock, their roots fast grasping the
+sharp-edged projections and tooth-like points of stone, and twining
+through the tortuous cavities, and insinuating their fibrils into every
+minute hollow where water may lodge, grow many tall trees of various
+kinds, interlaced with climbers, and hung with festoons of _lianes_,
+that resemble long and twisted cords, thrown from one to another, or
+depending from the branches towards the ground. The noble Agave, or what
+we in England call the American Aloe, here throws out its broad, fleshy,
+spine-edged leaves, and lifts its tall flower-stalk loaded with the
+candelabra-like branches of bloom; and numerous thick _Cacti_, some
+erect and massive, others whip-like, long and trailing, give a peculiar
+aspect to the vegetation. Great tufts of _Orchide{oe}_,--the lovely
+_Broughtonia_, with its thick ovate leaves, and racemes of elegant
+crimson flowers, the _Brasavola_, with long leaves resembling
+porcupine-quills in form, and blossoms of virgin white, the _Oncidium_,
+with its yellow and red flowers, like a score of painted butterflies
+dancing in every breath, and many others,--crowd the forks or droop from
+the twisted boughs of the trees.
+
+This formation of honeycombed limestone is full of caverns, many of
+which lead into one another in chains, and which have invested the
+region with a sort of superstitious mystery. Runaway slaves and outlaws
+have availed themselves of the facilities which its ravines and
+inaccessible fastnesses afford, to defy capture; and during the
+rebellion of the Maroons, it attained a considerable notoriety. There is
+one estate about eight miles from Kingston, in the immediate vicinity of
+which the famous hero, Three-fingered Jack, made his head-quarters. It
+is a district of wild torrents and waterfalls of the most romantic
+character; "the imagination of no painter of theatrical spectacles can
+surpass the wild wonders of the mountain-hold of the _real_
+Three-fingered Jack. Part of the road by which you ascend the falls is a
+subterranean passage; and caverns are entered by simple crevices which
+seem mere chinks in the irregular surface of the rock, all which natural
+peculiarities account for the mysterious disappearances which the
+mountain hero was enabled to enact from his pursuers."
+
+It was at this spot I first heard reliable tidings of the strange
+Crested Snake. A medical gentleman of reputation informed me that he had
+seen, in 1829, a serpent of about four feet in length, but of unwonted
+thickness, dull ochry in colour with well-defined dark spots, having on
+its head a sort of pyramidal helmet, somewhat lobed at the summit, of a
+pale red hue. The animal, however, was dead, and decomposition was
+already setting in. He informed me that the negroes of the district were
+well acquainted with it; and that they represented it as making a noise,
+not unlike the crowing of a cock, and as being addicted to preying on
+poultry.
+
+Nor is it in Jamaica alone that the Crested Snake is known. In the
+island of St Domingo, whence Seba received his curious specimens, my
+friend Mr Hill heard reports of it. A Spanish gentleman whom he was
+visiting in Hayti, told him that he had seen it, and begged him to note
+it among the remarkable things of the country. It was in that far east
+of the island, known as the ancient Caciquedom of Higuey, where the
+Indians were of a more warlike disposition than their meek brethren of
+the centre and west, and where the cruelties perpetrated upon them by
+their Spanish invaders reached such a superhuman pitch of diabolism,
+that even Las Casas says he almost feared to repeat them. The limestone
+mountains are here of exactly the same description as those in Jamaica,
+and the scenery assumes exactly the same romantic character. My friend's
+Spanish informant had seen the serpent with mandibles like a bird, with
+a cock's crest, with scarlet lobes or wattles; and he described its
+habits,--perhaps rather from common fame than from personal
+observation,--as a frequenter of hen-roosts, into which it would thrust
+its head, and deceive the young chickens by its imitative physiognomy,
+and by its attempts to crow, like their own Chanticleer. "Il canta como
+un Gallo;" was the report in Hayti, just as in Jamaica.
+
+I was much interested in this mysterious reptile, and mentioned in the
+public papers my wish to possess a specimen. A gentleman of the
+vicinity, Mr Jasper Cargill, was so desirous to oblige me that he
+offered a sovereign for one; but though several persons were prompt to
+promise the capture, no example was forthcoming.
+
+After my return from Jamaica, the occurrence of two specimens found came
+under the notice of my friend, but neither of them was preserved. Mr
+Cargill had informed him that some years before, when visiting Skibo, in
+St George's, an estate of his father's, in descending the mountain-road,
+his attention was drawn to a snake of a dark hue, that erected itself
+from amid some fragments of limestone-rock that lay about. It was about
+_four feet long_, and unusually _thick-bodied_. His surprise was greatly
+increased on perceiving that it was _crested_, and that from the side of
+the cheeks depended some _red-coloured flaps_, like gills or wattles.
+After gazing at him intently some time, with its head well erect, it
+drew itself in, and disappeared among the fragmentary rocks.
+
+The son of this gentleman met with another specimen under the following
+circumstances, as detailed to me by my friend:--"It was, I think, on
+Easter Eve, the 30th of March last, [1850,] that some youngsters of the
+town came running to tell me of a curious snake, unlike any snake they
+had ever seen before, which young Cargill had shot, when out for a day's
+sport among the woodlands of a neighbouring penn. They described it as
+in all respects a serpent, but with a very curious shaped head, and with
+wattles on each side of its jaws. After taking it in hand and looking at
+it, they placed it in a hollow tree, intending to return for it when
+they should be coming home, but they had strolled from the place so far
+that it was inconvenient to retrace their steps when wearied with
+rambling; but they had lost no time in relating the adventure to me,
+knowing it would interest me much, particularly as young Cargill's
+father had thought it a snake similar to the one he had seen at Skibo,
+in St George's, or to the crested serpent for a specimen of which, when
+in St Thomas's in the East, he had offered the sum of twenty shillings.
+The youth that shot the snake fell ill on the following morning with
+fever, and could not go back to the woodlands to seek it, but he sent
+his younger brother who had been with him; but although he thought he
+rediscovered the tree in which his brother had placed it, he could not
+find the snake. He conjectured that the rats had devoured it in the
+night. When this adventure was related to me, another youth, Ulick
+Ramsay, a godson of mine, who came with the young Cargills to tell me of
+their discovery, informed me that not long previously, he had seen in
+the hand of the barrack-master-serjeant at the barracks in Spanish Town,
+a curious snake, which he, too, had shot among the rocks of a little
+line of eminences near the railway, about two miles out, called
+Craigallechie. It was a serpent with a curious shaped head, and
+projections on each side, which he likened to the fins of an eel, but
+said they were close up to the jaws. Here are, unquestionably, two of
+the same snakes with those of Seba's Thesaurus, taken near Spanish Town,
+and both about the honeycombed rocks that protrude through the plain of
+St Catherine's in detached ridges and cones and hummocks, being points
+of the greater lines of limestone, which have been covered by the
+detritus of the plains, leaving masses of the under-rocks here and there
+uncovered. These are the spots frequented, too, by the _Cyclura_; and
+are continuations of our Red Hills--a country that so much resembles the
+terraced cliffs and red-soil glens of Higuey.
+
+It is remarkable that I have heard nothing more of this serpent of
+renown, this true Basilisk, from that time till now; though I have no
+doubt my Jamaica friends, who had become much interested in the matter,
+would have communicated the specimen to me if any one had been obtained.
+There is, however, sufficient evidence to assume the existence of such a
+form in the greater Antilles, whether Seba's figures be identical with
+it or not.
+
+[141] _Op. cit._; vol. ii. pl. 40.
+
+
+
+
+VII.
+
+THE DOUBTFUL.
+
+
+A very curious and unaccountable habit is attributed to some Reptiles,
+which, though asserted by many witnesses, at different times and in
+distant countries, has not yet received the general assent of men of
+science. White of Selborne, in one of his charming letters to Pennant,
+has the following note:--"Several intelligent folks assure me that they
+have seen the Viper open her mouth and admit her helpless young down her
+throat on sudden surprises, just as the female Opossum does her brood
+into the pouch under her belly, upon the like emergencies. Yet the
+London viper-catchers insist on it, to Mr Barrington, that no such thing
+ever happens."[142]
+
+The evidence of the London viper-catchers goes for no more than it is
+worth; those whom Mr Barrington applied to,--how many and of what
+experience I know not,--had not met with such a case. But negative
+evidence is of little weight against positive. At the same time, others
+of the same fraternity affirm the fact. There is, as Mr Martin observes,
+no physiological reason against the possibility of the young maintaining
+life for a brief period within the stomach of the parent. A swallowed
+frog has been heard, by Mr Bell, to cry several minutes after it had
+been swallowed by a snake; and the same excellent authority has seen
+another frog leap out of the mouth of a snake which had swallowed it,
+taking advantage of the fact that the latter gaped, as they frequently
+do, immediately after taking food.
+
+Mr Martin says he has conversed with several who had been assured by
+gamekeepers and gardeners that the swallowing of the young by vipers had
+been witnessed by them.[143] And Mr Blyth, a zoologist of established
+reputation, observes,--"I have been informed of this by so many credible
+eye-witnesses, that I cannot hesitate in yielding implicit credence to
+the fact. One man particularly, on whose word I fully rely, tells me
+that he has himself seen as many as thirteen young vipers thus enter the
+mouth of the parent, which he afterwards killed and opened for the
+purpose of counting them."[144]
+
+Mr E. Percival, writing to the _Zoologist_, under date "64
+Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, Oct. 17, 1848," narrates the following
+facts:--"When in Scotland, last autumn, I saw what at the time satisfied
+me that vipers really possessed this faculty, though the evidence was
+scarcely as conclusive as might have been wished. Walking along a sunny
+road, I saw a viper lying on the parapet. She had apparently just been
+killed by a blow from a stick. Five or six young ones, about four inches
+long, were wriggling about their murdered parent, and one was making its
+way out of her mouth, at the time when I approached. Whether this was
+the first time the young ones had seen the light, or whether they were
+only leaving a place of temporary refuge, I leave to more experienced
+observers than myself to determine."[145]
+
+This communication brought out the following from the late Mr John
+Wolley:--"Mr Percival's interesting note (_Zool._, 2305) on this subject
+reminds me of a very similar anecdote, told me several years ago by a
+gentleman who is an accurate observer, and who has had long experience
+in all kinds of sports. He one day shot a viper, and almost immediately
+afterwards it was surrounded by young ones, in what appeared to him the
+most mysterious manner. But here the grand link was wanting which Mr
+Percival has supplied,--the young ones were not seen to come out of
+their mother's mouth. I may be allowed to mention an anecdote, told me
+in 1842, by an illiterate shepherd of Hougham, near Dover: he met me
+catching vipers, and, on my entering into conversation with him, he
+volunteered--without any allusion of mine--to tell this curious story.
+One day his father came suddenly upon a viper surrounded by her young,
+she opened her mouth and they all ran down her throat; he killed her,
+and leaving her on the ground, propped her mouth open between two pieces
+of stick; presently the young ones crawled out: on the slightest alarm
+they retreated back again,--and this they did repeatedly for several
+days, during which time many people came to see it.[146] The young which
+White of Selborne cut out of the old female, and which immediately
+threw themselves into attitudes of defiance, had probably not then seen
+the daylight for the first time. Mr Bell, in a note in Bennett's edition
+of White's 'Selborne,' mentions the wide-spread belief in this alleged
+habit of the viper; but appears to consider the fact not proved.
+Accounts of similar habits in foreign viviparous snakes, common report,
+and, above all, Mr Percival's observation, leave no doubt on my mind
+about the matter."
+
+The most recent case on record that I have met with, is the following,
+communicated to the _Zoologist_[147] for last December, by the Rev.
+Henry Bond, of South Petherton:--
+
+"Walking in an orchard near Tyneham House, in Dorsetshire, I came upon
+an old adder basking in the sun, with her young around her; she was
+lying on some grass that had been long cut, and had become smooth and
+bleached by exposure to the weather. Alarmed by my approach, I
+distinctly saw the young ones run down their mother's throat. At that
+time I had never heard of the controversy respecting the fact, otherwise
+I should have been more anxious to have killed the adder, to prove the
+case. As it was, she escaped while I was more interested in the
+circumstance I witnessed than in her destruction."
+
+Exactly the same thing is told of the North American Rattlesnake. Hunter
+says, that when alarmed, the young ones, which are eight or ten in
+number, retreat into the mouth of the parent, and reappear on its
+giving a contractile muscular token that the danger is past.[148]
+
+M. Palisot de Beauvois asserts that he saw a large rattlesnake which he
+had disturbed in his walks immediately coil itself up and open its jaws,
+when in an instant five small ones that were lying by it rushed into its
+open mouth. He concealed himself, and watched the snake, and in a
+quarter of an hour saw her discharge them. He then approached a second
+time, when the young ones rushed into the parent's mouth more quickly
+than before, and the animal immediately moved off, and escaped. The
+phenomenon is said to have been observed in regard to some of the
+venomous snakes of India, but I cannot now refer to details.
+
+Confirmation of a reported fact is sometimes derived from collateral
+evidence, and such is not wanting in the present case. The phenomenon is
+not confined to serpents; it has been observed in their near relatives,
+the lizards. Mr Edward Newman, while guarding the subject with a
+philosophical caveat, furnishes his readers with the following highly
+interesting and germane statement:--"1st, My late lamented friend,
+William Christy, jun., found a fine specimen of the common scaly lizard
+with two young ones. Taking an interest in everything relating to
+Natural History, he put them into a small pocket vasculum to bring home;
+but when he next opened the vasculum the young ones had disappeared, and
+the belly of the parent was greatly distended; he concluded she had
+devoured her own offspring; at night the vasculum was laid on a table,
+and the lizard was therefore at rest: in the morning the young ones had
+reappeared, and the mother was as lean as at first. 2d, Mr Henry
+Doubleday, of Epping, supplies the following information:--A person
+whose name is English, a good observer, and one, as it were, brought up
+in Natural History, under Mr Doubleday's tuition, once happened to set
+his foot on a lizard in the forest, and while the lizard was thus held
+down by his foot, he distinctly saw three young ones run out of her
+mouth. Struck by such a phenomenon, he killed and opened the old one,
+and found two other young ones in her stomach, which had been injured
+when he trod upon her. In both these instances the narrators are of that
+class who do know what to observe, and how to observe it; and the facts,
+whatever explanation they may admit, are not to be dismissed as the
+result of imagination or mistaken observation."[149]
+
+It is remarkable that all the serpents to which the phenomenon is
+attributed are ovo-viviparous. Our common lizard, to which the facts
+just narrated doubtless belong (_Zootoca vivipara_), has the same
+property, which, however, appears to be by no means common among the
+Saurian races. This coincidence, while it would afford a handle to the
+deniers of the stated facts, in the assumption that the emergence of the
+living young from the abdomen, or their presence within it, has given
+rise to the notion--may have an essential significance and connexion
+with the phenomenon itself, on the hypothesis of its truth. That
+endowment, whatever it be, which enables the young to live and breathe
+in the abdominal cavity of the mother before birth, may render it easier
+for them than for others not so endowed to survive a temporary
+incarceration within the stomach after birth. Mr Newman does not know
+how to believe that a young and tender animal can remain in the strongly
+digestive stomach of a viper and receive no injury; but he has forgotten
+to take into the account the well-ascertained power that living tissues
+have the power of resisting the action of chemical re-agents that would
+instantly take effect upon them when dead. The walls of the stomach
+itself are not corroded by the gastric-juice which is rapidly dissolving
+the piece of meat within it. If the young animals can do without air for
+a while in their snug retreat, I do not think they would need fear the
+digestive operation. Air, I should suppose, _must_ be excluded from the
+stomach, unless the parent have the power of swallowing air voluntarily,
+for the emergency; but perhaps a cold-blooded animal like a reptile,
+with a sluggish circulation and respiration, might do with very much
+less fresh air than a mammal under similar conditions.
+
+The proposed _rationale_ of those who reject these statements,--that
+female vipers in the last stage of pregnancy have been opened, and have
+given freedom to living and active young, and that careless and
+unscientific observers have leaped to the conclusion that their young
+must have entered by the mouth,--will not stand before the testimony
+distinctly given by witnesses, who have actually seen the young retreat
+into the mouth, and have then found them within the body. No doubt the
+subject needs further investigation by careful and unprejudiced
+naturalists; but the positive evidence already adduced on the testimony
+of so many deponents, warrants our accepting the phenomenon as a normal
+habit of certain species of Saurians and Ophidians, though it may be
+somewhat rarely resorted to, and that whatever physical difficulties may
+seem to stand in the way of its _a priori_ probability--difficulties
+which perhaps depend on our ignorance, and which will disappear before
+the light of advancing knowledge.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The entomologists have fallen most ungallantly foul of Madame Merian, a
+lady who resided in Surinam nearly two hundred years ago, and devoted
+her attention to the native entomology, painting insects in a very
+admirable manner. She is set down as a thorough heretic, not at all to
+be believed, a manufacturer of unsound natural history, an inventor of
+false facts in science.
+
+Among other things, she speaks of a large hemipterous fly, which has in
+consequence of her reports been named _Fulgora lanternaria_. This insect
+has the head produced into a large inflated proboscis more than an inch
+in length, which is said to carry an intense luminosity within its
+transparent walls, as a candle is carried within a lantern. The fair
+observer says that the first discovery which she made of this property
+caused her no small alarm. The Indians had brought her several of these
+insects, which by daylight exhibited no extraordinary appearance, and
+she enclosed them in a box until she should have an opportunity of
+drawing them, placing it upon a table in her lodging-room. In the middle
+of the night the confined insects made such a noise as to awake her, and
+she opened the box, the inside of which, to her great astonishment,
+appeared all in a blaze; and in her fright letting it fall, she was not
+less surprised to see each of the insects apparently on fire. She soon,
+however, divined the cause of this unexpected phenomenon, and
+re-enclosed her brilliant guests in their place of confinement. She adds
+that the light of one of these Fulgorae is sufficiently bright to read a
+newspaper by: and though the tale of her having drawn one of these
+insects by its own light is without foundation, she doubtless might have
+done so if she had chosen.
+
+This circumstantial and apparently truthful statement has brought no
+small odium on the fair narrator. Other naturalists who have had
+opportunities of seeing the insect in its native regions strongly deny
+its luminosity. The inhabitants of Cayenne, according to the French
+Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, aver that it does not shine at all;
+and this is confirmed by M. Richard, a naturalist, who reared the
+species. The learned and accurate Count Hoffmansegg states that his
+insect collector Herr Sieber, a practised entomologist of thirty years'
+experience, who during a sojourn of several years in Brazil took many
+specimens of the _Fulgora lanternaria_, never saw a single one which was
+in the slightest degree luminous. There is a kindred species in China,
+_F. candelaria_, very common in those glazed boxes of insects which the
+Chinese sell to mariners; this also has been supposed to emit light, but
+Dr Cantor assures us that he has never observed the least luminosity in
+this species.
+
+Thus it would seem that the obloquy which has fallen upon the ingenious
+lady is not altogether undeserved, and that for the sake of a telling
+story, she has been indeed "telling a story." But we may imagine her
+offended ghost looking round and saying, "All these gentlemen merely say
+they have _not_ seen the light; now I say I have: is there no one who
+will verify my statement?"
+
+M. Lacordaire,--an authority on South American insects second to none,
+says that he himself indeed never saw a luminous _Fulgora_ all the time
+he was collecting in Brazil and Cayenne, and that most of the
+inhabitants of the latter country, when questioned on the subject,
+denied the fact, yet _that others of the natives as distinctly affirmed
+that it is luminous_. He asks whether it is not possible that the light
+may be confined to one sex, and thus the conflicting testimony be
+reconciled; and gives it as his opinion that the point is rather one
+which requires more careful observation, than one which we can consider
+absolutely decided.[150]
+
+Again, the Marquis Spinola, in an elaborate paper on this tribe,
+published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of France,[151]
+strenuously contends that the remarkable development of the frontal
+portion of the head in the whole race is luminous. And finally, a friend
+of Mr Wesmael assured him that he had himself seen the American
+_Fulgora_ luminous while alive.[152]
+
+It may help to sustain our faith in the veracity of Madame Merian, to
+know that there is some reason for attributing occasional luminosity to
+well-known English insects, of which hundreds, and even thousands, have
+been taken without manifesting a trace of the phenomenon. Mr Spence, in
+his interesting Letter on Luminous Insects,[153] adduces the following
+evidence:--Insects "may be luminous which have not hitherto been
+suspected of being so. This seems proved by the following fact: A
+learned friend has informed me, that when he was curate of Ickleton,
+Cambridgeshire, in 1780, a farmer of that place, of the name of
+Simpringham, brought to him a mole-cricket (_Gryllotalpa vulgaris_,
+Latr.), and told him that one of his people seeing a _Jack-o'-lantern_,
+pursued it, and knocked it down, when it proved to be this insect, and
+the identical specimen shewn to him.
+
+"This singular fact, while it renders it probable that some insects are
+luminous which no one has imagined to be so, seems to afford a clue to
+the, at least, partial explanation of the very obscure subject of _ignes
+fatui_, and to shew that there is considerable ground for the opinion
+long ago maintained by Ray and Willughby, that the majority of these
+supposed meteors are no other than luminous insects. That the large
+varying lambent flames mentioned by Beccaria to be very common in some
+parts of Italy, and the luminous globes seen by Dr Shaw cannot be thus
+explained, is obvious. These were probably electrical phenomena;
+certainly not explosions of phosphuretted hydrogen, as has been
+suggested by some, which must necessarily have been momentary. But that
+the _ignis fatuus_ mentioned by Derham as having been seen by himself,
+and which he describes as flitting about a thistle, was, though he seems
+of a different opinion, no other than some luminous insect, I have
+little doubt. Mr Sheppard informs me that, travelling one night between
+Stamford and Grantham on the top of the stage, he observed for more than
+ten minutes a very large _ignis fatuus_ in the low marshy grounds, which
+had every appearance of being an insect. The wind was very high:
+consequently, had it been a vapour it must have been carried forward in
+a direct line; but this was not the case. It had the same motion as a
+_Tipula_, flying upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards,
+sometimes appearing as settled, and sometimes as hovering in the air.
+Whatever be the true nature of these meteors, of which so much is said
+and so little known, it is singular how few modern instances of their
+having been observed are on record. Dr Darwin declares, that though in
+the course of a long life he had been out in the night, and in the
+places where they are said to appear, times without number, he had never
+seen anything of the kind; and from the silence of other philosophers of
+our own times, it should seem that their experience is similar."
+
+A paper by Mr R Chambers on the subject adduces the additional
+testimony of facts observed by good naturalists, as Dickson and
+Curtis the eminent botanists, and Stothard the painter and entomologist,
+by his own father Mr A. Chambers, and by Joseph Simpson, a fisherman
+living near Boston, all of which strongly corroborate the probability
+that some, at least, of the _ignes fatui_ are produced by luminous
+insects.[154] Mr Main narrates the case of a farmer who stated
+that he had pursued a Will-o'-the-wisp, and coming up with it had
+knocked it down, when it proved to be an insect "exactly like a
+Maggy-long-legs"--that is, the common Crane-fly (_Tipula oleracea_), the
+very insect with which Mr Sheppard had compared the motions of the
+luminous flame observed by him.[155] Mr Spence argues that while gaseous
+emanations may be a cause of stationary _ignes fatui_, the same cause
+will not explain those which flit along from place to place; and that
+these are probably luminous insects, however rarely they may have come
+under the notice of entomologists. "A very strong argument for the
+possibility of some flying insects being occasionally luminous (in
+England) is afforded by the facts ... of luminous caterpillars having
+been within these few years observed for the first time since entomology
+has been attended to, and that by observers every way competent. If
+caterpillars so very common as those of _Mamestra oleracea_ may
+sometimes, though so rarely, be luminous, and if, as Dr Boisduval
+suggests, and is very probable, this appearance was caused by disease,
+it is obvious that flying insects may be also occasionally (though
+seldom) luminous from disease--a supposition which will at once explain
+the rarity of the occurrence, and the circumstance that insects of such
+different genera, and even orders, are said to have exhibited this
+phenomenon."[156]
+
+These highly curious facts should make observers cautious in strongly
+denying statements made by others of phenomena, when they themselves
+have not been so fortunate as to witness them, even though they may
+think their opportunities to have been as favourable as those of the
+_soi-disant_ observer.[157]
+
+But we have not yet dismissed Madame Merian. If acquitted of falsehood
+here, she stands arraigned on a second charge of similar character.
+
+In most tropical countries there are found hideous hairy spiders of
+monstrous size and most repulsive appearance; short-legged, sombre-hued,
+ferocious marauders of the night, that by day lurk in obscure retreats
+under stones, or in burrows in the earth.
+
+Guiana produces a formidable species of this sort (_Mygale avicularia_),
+which measures three inches in length, and whose feet--though the genus
+is, as I have said, comparatively short-limbed--cover an area some
+eight or ten inches in diameter. Madame Merian has exquisitely figured
+the tragical end of a tiny humming-bird, surprised by one of these
+monsters on her eggs; the petite bird overthrown under the fangs of the
+sprawling spider, one of whose feet is in the nest. It was on the
+authority of this lady that Linnaeus gave the name of _avicularia_ to the
+species. Later naturalists have scouted the whole story. Mr MacLeay, who
+resided in Cuba, says that there are indeed there huge spiders, allied
+to our garden spider, which make a geometric net, strong enough to
+embarrass small birds; but that these do not attempt to catch such prey,
+and never molest birds at all. On the other hand, he avers that the
+Cuban _Mygale_, an allied species to that of Guiana, makes no web, and
+has no power of injuring birds. He put this to the test of experiment;
+for having maimed a humming-bird, he thrust it into the _Mygale's_ hole,
+which, instead of seizing the victim, retreated as in fear out of his
+den. This Mr MacLeay supposes to be conclusive; but a moment's
+reflection will shew how equivocal is the evidence. The spider may not
+have been hungry; or he may have been taken aback by the sudden
+intrusion; or he might not choose to take prey that he had not stolen
+upon and slaughtered _suo more_; or he may have muttered in the
+Arachnidan language,--
+
+      "Timeo Danaos, et dona ferentes."
+
+Because a wolf will cower down in the corner of his lair (even a tiger
+has been known to do so)--when a man suddenly enters his presence, and
+will manifest the most abject fear, would it be philosophical to
+ridicule the tales told of wolves pursuing and devouring men by night?
+
+M. Langsdorff asked the people of Brazil if the Caranquexeira, or the
+great _Mygale_ of that country, fed upon humming-birds, when they
+answered him, with bursts of laughter, that it only gratified its maw
+with large flies, ants, bees, wasps, beetles, &c.; an answer which the
+traveller verified by his own personal experience.[158] If M. Langsdorff
+means, which of course he does, that he learned by personal observation
+that the spider _ordinarily_ feeds on insects, that fact is indubitable,
+and never has been doubted; but if he means that he had experience that
+it eats _only_ such prey, which is the question at issue, it is plain
+that this experience proves no more than that he never witnessed such a
+fact.
+
+Percival, in his account of Ceylon, observes:--"There is an immense
+spider here, with legs not less than four inches long, and having the
+body covered with thick black hair." This was doubtless the _Mygale_ of
+the island. "The webs which it makes are strong enough to entangle and
+hold even small birds, which form its usual prey." Alluding to this
+statement, Sir Emerson Tennent says:--
+
+"As to the stories told of the _Mygale_ catching and killing birds, I am
+satisfied, both from inquiry and observation, that, at least in Ceylon,
+they are destitute of truth, and that (unless in the possible case of
+acute suffering from hunger) this creature shuns all description of food
+except soft insects and annelides." And yet he immediately adds:--"A
+lady at Marandan, near Colombo, told me that she had, on one occasion,
+seen a little house-lizard (_gecko_) seized and devoured by one of these
+ugly spiders."[159] Does he not, then, credit his informant? Or are
+lizards included in the category of "soft insects and annelides?"
+
+Against this incredulity, resting on no better than negative evidence,
+one might adduce collateral proof from analogy. There _are_ spiders
+which feed on vertebrate animals, and there _are_ spiders whose webs
+catch birds. The large and beautiful _Nephila claripes_ of tropical
+America weaves strong threads of yellow silk in the paths of the woods,
+converging to a web quite strong enough to arrest a bird of weak flight.
+It must have been a species allied to this, but certainly, I think, not
+the same, of which Dr Walsh speaks in his "Travels in Brazil." "Among
+the insects is an enormous spider, which I did not observe elsewhere. In
+passing through an opening between some trees, I felt my head entangled
+in some obstructions, and on withdrawing it, my straw hat remained
+behind. When I looked up I saw it suspended in the air, entangled in the
+meshes of an immense cobweb, which was drawn like a veil of thick gauze
+across the opening, and was expanded from branch to branch of the
+opposite trees as large as a sheet ten or twelve feet in diameter. The
+whole of this space was covered with spiders of the same species but
+different sizes; some of them, when their legs were expanded, forming a
+circle of six or seven inches in circumference.[160] They were
+particularly distinguished by bright spots. The cords composing the web
+were of a glossy yellow, like the fibres of silkworms, and equally
+strong."
+
+There is a creature found in the tropical parts of both hemispheres,
+called _Solpuga_, which though not exactly a spider, is yet so closely
+allied to that family as to be in some measure responsible for its
+misdoings. It is about as large as the _Mygale_, and, with sufficient
+general resemblance to it to warrant its being popularly considered a
+spider, it has much the same habits and appetites. Captain Hutton, in a
+most interesting memoir, describes the details of an Indian species
+under the name of _Galeodes vorax_. Among many other details, he
+says--"This species is extremely voracious, feeding at night upon
+beetles, flies, and even large lizards; and sometimes gorging itself to
+such a degree as to render it almost unable to move. A lizard, three
+inches long, _exclusive of tail_, was entirely devoured; the spider
+sprung at it, and made a seizure immediately behind the shoulder, never
+quitting its hold until the whole was consumed. The poor lizard
+struggled violently at first, rolling over and over in its agony, but
+the spider kept firm hold, and gradually sawed away with its double jaws
+into the very entrails of the victim. The only parts uneaten were the
+jaws and part of the skin, although the lizard was at least five inches
+long from nose to extremity of tail. After this meal, the spider
+remained gorged and motionless for about a fortnight, being much
+swollen and distended.
+
+"A young sparrow, about half grown, was placed under a bell-glass with a
+_Galeodes_; the moment the luckless bird moved, the spider seized him by
+the thigh, which he speedily sawed off, in spite of the sparrow's
+fluttering; and then as the poor bird continued to struggle in pain, the
+savage seized him by the throat, and soon put an end to his sufferings
+by cutting off the head. It did not, however, devour the bird, nor any
+part of it, but seemed satisfied with having killed it.
+
+"On another occasion, I gave it a large garden-lizard, which was
+instantly seized by the middle of the body; the lizard, finding that it
+could not shake off its adversary, turned its head, and bit the
+_Galeodes_ on the leg, which obliged it immediately to quit its hold and
+retreat.
+
+"On another occasion my friend, Dr Baddeley, confined one of these
+spiders in a wall-shade with two young musk rats (_Sorex Indicus_), both
+of which were killed by it."[161]
+
+In an expedition to the Kurruckpoor Hills, south of Monghyr, Captain
+Sherwill found upon the summit of Maruk, a table-topped hill of 1100
+feet elevation, several of the gigantic webs of the Epeira spider, some
+of which measured (including the guy-ropes) from ten to twelve feet in
+diameter, the reticulated portion being about five feet, in the centre
+of which the spider, of a formidable size and very active, sits waiting
+for prey. "The webs," he says, "from their great strength, offered a
+sensible resistance when forcing our way through them. In the web of
+one of the spiders we found a bird entangled, and the young spiders,
+about eight in number, feeding upon the carcase. The bird was, with the
+exception of its legs and beak, entirely enveloped in the web, and was
+much decomposed; the entwined web had completely pinioned the wings of
+the bird, so as to render its escape impossible. The bird was about the
+size of a field-lark, and was near the centre of the web; the old spider
+was about a foot above the bird: we secured, measured, and bottled him.
+Its dimensions were six inches across the legs, and it was armed with a
+formidable pair of mandibles."[162]
+
+It is clear, then, that there is nothing absurd or contrary to
+probability in the statement that spiders attack, overcome, and devour
+birds. But Madame Merian is here again favoured with direct witnesses to
+sustain her good faith. M. Moreau de Jonnes expressly mentions, on his
+own authority, that the South American Mygale climbs the branches of
+trees to devour the young of humming-birds. But the most satisfactory
+statement is made by Mr H. W. Bates, who has recently returned from the
+interior of Brazil after many years spent in studying the entomology of
+that vast region. No one will deny his competency as a witness. "Now I
+will relate to you," he says, "what I saw in the month of June 1849, in
+the neighbourhood of Cameta. I was attracted by a curious movement of
+the large gray-brown Mygale on the trunk of a vast tree: it was close
+beneath a deep crevice or chink in the tree, across which this species
+weaves a dense web, open for its exit and entrance at one end. In the
+present instance the lower part of the web was broken, and two pretty
+small finches were entangled in its folds; the finch was about the size
+of the common siskin of Europe, and I judged the two to be male and
+female; one of them was quite dead, but secured in the broken web; the
+other was under the body of the spider, not quite dead, and was covered
+in parts with the filthy liquor or saliva exuded by the monster. I was
+on my return from a day's excursion by land at the time, with my boxes
+full of valuable and delicate insects, and six miles from my house, and
+therefore could not have brought the specimens home, even if I had
+wished, which I did not, as the spider was a very common species, easily
+to be procured nearer home. The species I cannot name; I sent several
+fine specimens, stuffed, to London, in 1851; it is wholly of a
+gray-brown colour, and clothed with coarse pile. Doubtless you will
+immediately know the exact species to which I refer.
+
+"If the Mygales did not prey upon vertebrated animals, I do not see how
+they could find sufficient subsistence.
+
+[Illustration: BIRD-EATING SPIDER.]
+
+"On the extensive sandy campos of Santarem, so bare in vegetation, there
+are hundreds of the broad slanting burrows of the large stout species,
+(that fine one, dark brown with paler lines down the legs, of which I
+sent specimens in 1851.) The campos, I know, from close research, to be
+almost destitute of insects, but at the same time to swarm with small
+lizards, and some curious ground finches of the Emberiza group (one of
+which has a song wonderfully resembling our yellow bunting of
+England), besides which, vast numbers of the _Caprimulgidae_ and ground
+doves lay their eggs on the bare ground.
+
+"I believe this species of Mygale feeds on these animals and their eggs
+at night. Just at the close of day, when I have been hurrying home, not
+liking to be benighted on the pathless waste, I have surprised these
+monsters, who retreated within the mouths of their burrows on my
+approach."[163]
+
+[142] _Brit. Rept._, 51.
+
+[143] _Penny Cyclop._, xxvi. 348.
+
+[144] Loudon's _Mag. Nat. Hist._ for 1837, p. 441.
+
+[145] _Zool._, 2305.
+
+[146] Ibid., 2355.
+
+[147] _Zool._, 7278.
+
+[148] _Captivity among the Indians._
+
+[149] _Zool._, 2269.
+
+[150] _Introd. a l'Entom._, ii. 143.
+
+[151] _Op. cit._, viii. 163.
+
+[152] _Westwood's Mod. Classif. Ins._, ii. 430.
+
+[153] _Introd. to Entom._ Lett. xxv.
+
+[154] _Mag. Nat. Hist._, New Ser., i. 353.
+
+[155] Ibid., i. 553.
+
+[156] Dr Boisduval, one hot evening in June, found caterpillars on grass
+which diffused a phosphorescent light; he thought them to be those of
+_Mamestra oleracca_--one of the most abundant of our moths--but they
+seemed larger than common; and whether owing to want of care in the
+rearing or to a condition of disease--which may, indeed, have been the
+cause of their luminosity--none of them attained the chrysalis state,
+and so the species was not absolutely decided.
+
+[157] _Introd. to Entom._, _loc. cit._
+
+[158] _Exped. into Int. of Brazil._
+
+[159] Tennent, _Ceylon_, ii. 226.
+
+[160] Probably we should read "diameter" for "circumference." A spider
+whose legs cover an area of six inches _in circumference_ is by no means
+rare even in England.
+
+[161] _Journ. Asiat. Soc._
+
+[162] _Proc. Entom. Soc._, November 1, 1852.
+
+[163] _Proc. Entomol. Soc._, July 2, 1855.
+
+
+
+
+VIII.
+
+FASCINATION.
+
+
+It is a notion of long standing and widely diffused, that certain
+predaceous animals have a power, which, however, they only occasionally
+exert, of paralysing the creatures on which they prey, so as utterly to
+take away the faculty of flight, and even, in some circumstances, of
+drawing them, as if by an irresistible influence, to their known and
+dreaded destruction. This fascinating power has been most generally
+attributed to serpents, and is supposed to reside in a peculiar glare
+and fixity of the eyes, which appear to mesmerise the victims. If the
+gaze be interrupted, _on either part_, though but for a moment, it is
+supposed that the spell is broken. Is there any such power? or is it
+merely one of the many myths with which popular natural history is still
+burdened, and which it is the province of real science to explode? Let
+us gather together a few of the facts on which the opinion rests.
+
+I am not sure whether I ought to reckon as such the following statement,
+for I do not know the value of the authority on which it rests. It is,
+however, sufficiently curious.
+
+Dr Bird, a somewhat appropriate authority in this case, mentions an
+incident which happened in America. "Two boys lighted by chance upon a
+large black snake; upon which one of them resolved to ascertain whether
+the snake, so celebrated for its powers, could fascinate him. He
+advanced a few steps nearer the snake, and made a stand, steadily
+looking on him. When the snake observed him in that situation, he raised
+his head with a quick motion, and the lad says, that at that instant
+there appeared something to flash in his eyes, which he could compare to
+nothing more similar than the rays of light thrown from a glass or
+mirror when turned in the sun-shine; he said it dazzled his eyes; at the
+same time the colours appeared very beautiful ... he felt as if he was
+in a whirlpool, and that every turn brought him nearer to the centre.
+His comrade seeing him approach nearer to the snake, immediately ran and
+killed it."[164]
+
+There is, however, better authority than this for the belief in
+serpent-mesmerism. Professor Kalm states of the Rattlesnake of North
+America, that it will frequently lie at the bottom of a tree on which a
+squirrel is seated. The snake fixes his eyes upon the little animal, and
+from that moment it cannot escape: it begins a doleful outcry, runs up
+the tree a little way, comes down again, then goes up, and afterwards
+comes still lower. The snake continues at the bottom of the tree, with
+its eyes fixed on the squirrel; and its attention is so entirely taken
+up, that a person accidentally approaching may make a considerable
+noise, without so much as the snake's turning about. The squirrel comes
+lower, and at last leaps down to the snake, whose mouth is already wide
+open for its reception. The little animal then, with a piteous cry, runs
+into its jaws and is swallowed.
+
+Catesby, though he says he never saw the phenomenon himself, reports the
+same thing on the testimony of many witnesses, who all agreed that the
+animals, particularly birds and squirrels, no sooner spy the snake than
+they skip from spray to spray, hovering and approaching gradually nearer
+their enemy, regardless of any other danger; but with distracted
+gestures and outcries descend, though from the top of the loftiest
+trees, to the mouth of the snake, who, opening his jaws, takes them in
+and in an instant swallows them.[165]
+
+More recently Acrell tells the same story, as unquestionable. He
+declares that as the snake, who is the most indolent of all serpents,
+lies under the shade of a tree, opening his jaws a little, he fixes his
+brightly-glittering eyes on any bird or squirrel which is in it. The
+squirrel, uttering a mournful and feeble cry, leaps from bough to bough,
+as if seeking to escape, but presently, as if struck with the
+fascination, he comes down the tree, and flings himself, with a spring,
+into the very jaws of his enemy. A mouse, shut up with a rattlesnake in
+an iron box, at first sat in one corner, the snake opposite to it. The
+reptile fixed its terrible eye on the little trembler, which at length
+threw itself into the mouth of the serpent.[166]
+
+Lawson affirms that _he has seen_ the phenomenon actually take place
+with a squirrel and a rattlesnake.[167]
+
+I said that the belief is widely spread. We have seen it in North
+America; we will now look at it in Africa.
+
+Captain Forbes incidentally mentions a case analogous to these. Passing
+through some high grass at Ahomey, he observed, within an inch of his
+leg, a small lizard, with its eyes fixed. It did not move at his
+approach. At the same moment a cobra darted at it, and before he could
+raise his stick, bore the victim away. The captain naturally enough was
+occupied with his own narrow escape, and simply narrates the facts
+without comment; but the fixity of the gaze, and the motionlessness of
+the lizard, were not a little remarkable.[168]
+
+Mr Ellis, in his charming volume on Madagascar and the Cape, makes the
+following observations:--[169]
+
+"In a country abounding, as Africa does, with serpents, I expected to
+hear many anecdotes respecting them; and, conversing on one occasion
+with Mr Pullen, a farmer who has lived many years in the country, and
+seemed to have paid rather more than usual attention to this species of
+reptile, he said he once saw a mouse running in a field, and that,
+coming in sight of a snake, though at a considerable distance, it
+instantly stopped. The snake fixed its eye on the mouse, which then
+crept slowly towards the snake, and, as it approached nearer, trembled
+and shrieked most piteously, but still kept approaching until quite
+close, when it seemed to become prostrate, and the snake then devoured
+it. On another occasion he had watched a snake capture a mouse in the
+same manner; but, as it was retreating, he followed, and struck it on
+the back with a stick, when it opened its mouth, and the mouse escaping,
+ran for some distance, then fell down; but after a minute recovered and
+ran away. Another time he said he watched a snake in the water, which
+had fixed its eye on a frog sitting amongst the grass on the bank. The
+frog, though greatly alarmed, seemed unable to stir, until Mr Pullen
+gradually pushed a rush growing near so that it intervened between the
+eye of the snake and its intended victim, when the frog, as if suddenly
+liberated, darted away. Mr Pullen's ideas were in accordance with the
+popular notion, that the snake has the power of exercising some mesmeric
+or other influence through the steady fixing of its eye, and that
+whatever intercepts this gaze breaks, as it were, the charm, and sets
+the prisoner free."
+
+A most important witness on this matter is Dr Andrew Smith, the learned
+zoologist of South Africa, who thus soberly throws the weight of his own
+thoroughly competent and most conclusive personal observations into the
+affirmative scale. In his interesting account of the Boomslange, a
+serpent of considerable size found in that region, he says:--
+
+"As this snake, _Bucephalus capensis_, in our opinion, is not provided
+with a poisonous fluid to instil into wounds which these fangs may
+inflict, they must consequently be intended for a purpose different to
+those which exist in poisonous reptiles. Their use seems to be to offer
+obstacles to the retrogression of animals, such as birds, &c., while
+they are only partially within the mouth; and, from the circumstance of
+these fangs being directed backwards, and not admitting of being raised
+so as to form an angle with the edge of the jaw, they are well fitted to
+act as powerful holders when once they penetrate the skin and soft parts
+of the prey which their possessors may be in the act of swallowing.
+Without such fangs escapes would be common; with such, they are rare.
+
+"The natives of South Africa regard the _Bucephalus capensis_ as
+poisonous; but in their opinion we cannot concur, as we have not been
+able to discover the existence of any glands manifestly organised for
+the secretion of poison. The fangs are enclosed in a soft, pulpy sheath,
+the inner surface of which is commonly coated with a thin glairy
+secretion. This secretion possibly may have something acrid and
+irritating in its qualities, which may, when it enters a wound, occasion
+pain and even swelling, but nothing of greater importance.
+
+"The _Bucephalus capensis_ is generally found upon trees, to which it
+resorts for the purpose of catching birds, upon which it delights to
+feed. The presence of a specimen in a tree is generally soon discovered
+by the birds of the neighbourhood, who collect around it, and fly to and
+fro, uttering the most piercing cries, until some one, more
+terror-struck than the rest, actually scans its lips, and, almost
+without resistance, becomes a meal for its enemy. During such a
+proceeding the snake is generally observed with its head raised about
+ten or twelve inches above the branch round which its body and tail are
+entwined, with its mouth open and its neck inflated, as if anxiously
+endeavouring to increase the terror which it would almost appear it was
+aware would sooner or later bring within its grasp some one of the
+feathered group.
+
+"Whatever may be said in ridicule of fascination, it is nevertheless
+true that birds, and even quadrupeds, are, under such circumstances,
+unable to retire from the presence of certain of their enemies; and,
+what is even more extraordinary, unable to resist the propensity to
+advance from a situation of actual safety into one of the most imminent
+danger. This I have often seen exemplified in the case of birds and
+snakes; and I have heard of instances equally curious, in which
+antelopes and other quadrupeds have been so bewildered by the sudden
+appearance of crocodiles, and by the grimaces and contortions they
+practised, as to be unable to fly or even to move from the spot towards
+which they were approaching to seize them."[170]
+
+It may have been the Boomslange to which Le Vaillant alludes, who says
+that he saw, on the branch of a tree, a species of shrike, trembling as
+if in convulsions; and at the distance of nearly four feet, on another
+branch, he beheld a large species of snake, that was lying with
+outstretched neck, and fiery eyes, gazing steadily at the poor animal.
+The agony of the bird was so great, that it was deprived of the power of
+moving away; and when one of the party killed the snake, the shrike was
+found dead upon the spot, and that entirely from fear; for on
+examination it appeared not to have received the slightest wound. The
+same traveller informs us, that a short time afterwards he observed a
+small mouse, in similar agonising convulsions, about two yards distant
+from a snake, whose eyes were intently fixed upon it; and on frightening
+away the reptile, and taking up the mouse, it expired in his hand.[171]
+
+In a record, by Mr D. T. Evans, of some experiments with Venomous
+Serpents, made at the Zoological Gardens, mainly with a view to test the
+efficacy of a reputed remedy for their bite,--_Simaba cedron_--and which
+were pursued with the utmost philosophic care, we find the following
+interesting particulars:--"The attitudes and movements of the serpent
+intending to bite were very striking and beautiful. In the first place,
+he made, with the posterior half of his body, a bold curve, having a
+strong prehensile 'purchase' on the floor of the cage, so as to secure a
+steady fulcrum for the rapid dart made at the time of the bite. The
+upper half of the body was raised some ten inches or a foot, the neck
+strongly arched, and the head, bent at nearly right angles with the
+neck, was poised directly opposite the prey. In such position the
+serpent remained a greater or lesser time (sometimes as long as twenty
+minutes) according to circumstances. During this interval, the slightest
+motion of the animal before him was followed by an instantaneous and
+correspondent movement of the head and neck of the serpent. The purpose
+seemed to be that of aim-taking, for the eyes were intently fixed upon
+the prey; but I am by no means sure that the snake, knowing that the
+latter cannot escape him, does not derive pleasure from this prolonged
+and intent gaze. At all events, in one experiment, where the head of a
+rattlesnake so engaged was sideways to the glass of the cage, and near
+it, I observed, and called attention to the fact, a remarkable
+vermicular motion along the course of the poison-gland to the opening of
+the angle of the mouth, which we thought might afford him pleasure, and
+this continued until the snake struck his prey.
+
+"So far the Serpents. I now proceed to describe the peculiarities shewn
+by the animals on which we experimented. Some philosophers have denied
+innate ideas to man; these and some others have furthermore denied an
+instinctive apprehension of danger in animals. They say that of itself,
+as born, the hare has no dread of the hound: that its fear is acquired
+of experience. I concur in neither of these opinions, and think the
+latter altogether refuted by the conduct of the animals exposed to
+serpents in these experiments. Not one of the guinea-pigs or rabbits
+(which were all something under their full growth) had ever seen a
+serpent; yet when introduced to the cage they shewed unequivocal
+symptoms of distress and fear. In some instances they actually screamed
+before they were struck. They generally shewed restlessness at first,
+but when the serpent, intending to strike, poised himself in front, they
+became for a time, if not altogether, motionless. Is there such a thing
+as 'fascination?' If by this is meant a pleasurable paralysis of the
+animal's powers, I think it more than doubtful; but a deprivation of
+the power of motion from terror may, perhaps, take place. All, however,
+that I speak to is a perfectly motionless condition of snake and prey,
+lasting several minutes."[172]
+
+Nor are there wanting examples of the same power exercised by the common
+Snake of our own country. I content myself with the following two, both
+of very recent record:--
+
+"Up the hill above Tyneham," writes the Rev. Henry Bond, last August,
+"towards the sea, I was struck by the shrill cry and fluttering
+agitation of a common hedge-sparrow, in a whitethorn bush. Regardless of
+my presence, its remarkable motions were continued, getting, at every
+hop from bough to bough, lower and lower down in the bush. Drawing
+nearer, I saw a common snake coiled up, but having its head erect,
+watching the sparrow; the moment the snake saw me it glided away, and
+the sparrow flew off with its usual mode of flight."[173]
+
+This anecdote brings out another by Mr John Henry Belfrage, of Muswell
+Hill:--"When proceeding down the avenue here one morning, at a turn in
+the path I saw a robin, which appeared to me spell-bound, so much so as
+to allow a much closer approach than is usual even with that boldest of
+the feathered tribe. On going nearer I perceived what I took to be the
+cause, in a large common snake, which was lying coiled up on one side of
+the path, with its head a little raised. My appearance broke the spell,
+and the robin flew away; at the same time, the snake dropped its head
+and assumed a perfectly inert appearance."[174]
+
+A writer in the _Journal of the Indian Archipelago_ thus reports the
+mesmeric faculty exercised upon a certainly somewhat unlikely
+subject:--"On approaching an almost dry drain, I saw a snake slowly
+extending his coils, raising his head, and steadfastly gazing on what I
+saw to be an eel of about a foot in length. The eel was directly
+opposite to the snake, and glance seemed to meet glance, when the snake,
+having the requisite proximity, darted on the eel and caught it about an
+inch behind the head, and carried it off; but the captor was soon
+himself a captive, for with a blow on his head I secured both."[175]
+
+The mystery is, as usual in such cases, attempted to be explained away.
+Man does not like mystery; scientific man least of all: it is humbling
+to the pride of science to be obliged to confess that there exists
+anything unaccountable to the initiated. Mr W. C. L. Martin thus
+"explains" the statements of Dr A. Smith, and all such accounts:--"There
+is nothing mysterious in all this; the snake does not _mesmerise_ its
+prey, but merely so terrifies it as to stupify it; besides, the victim
+may feel an impulse similar to that which urges many nervous persons on
+the edge of a precipice, or top of a lofty tower, to throw themselves
+down headlong, and which we have heard such describe as resisted with
+difficulty; so may the panic-struck bird feel an impulse to rush into
+danger which it might escape by flight."[176]
+
+And again:--"Fear, amounting to panic, solicitude for its young, and
+efforts to drive away the dreaded intruder, leading the bird to venture
+too closely to the snake for its own safety, produce the results
+erroneously attributed to the Reptile's fancied power of fascination by
+its glance, or by some mystic property."[177]
+
+Dr Barton, of Philadelphia, who, at the close of the last century,
+published a memoir on the fascinating powers attributed to certain
+serpents, advocated the same views. He considered that in almost every
+instance the supposed power was exerted on birds at the particular
+season of nidification, and that the whole hypothesis originated in the
+[Greek: storge] which prompts them to protect their eggs or young. No
+doubt _some_ of the instances which have been reported as examples of
+fascination are capable of such an explanation, but surely not all; and
+the fallacy, here again, as in so many parallel cases, lies in the
+advocating of some theory which will cover a certain number of the
+facts, and the ignoring of all such as will not be so accounted for. Is
+it to be supposed that Dr A. Smith could not distinguish between the
+condition of involuntary paralysis of the faculties which he says he has
+_often_ seen, and the insane boldness of nesting birds? Had the mice,
+seen by Mr Pullen, had the frog, young ones to protect? Or the squirrel
+mentioned by Kalm? or the mouse seen by Le Vaillant? or the eel in the
+drain? But what is the value of a hypothesis,--so far as its claims to
+solve this question are concerned,--which will not touch these cases?
+When Mr Martin denies that there is anything mysterious in the matter,
+and in the same sentence admits that "the victim may feel an impulse to
+rush into the danger which it might escape," he just yields the whole
+point. I venture to affirm that this _is_ something mysterious,
+something totally unaccountable. I ask _what_, and _whence_, and _why_,
+this strange impulse that overcomes the first of all instincts, the
+prime law of self-preservation?
+
+It does not explain the cause of the phenomenon, though it possibly
+helps us to determine its proper seat, to learn that fascination belongs
+to other animals besides the serpent tribes. We shall perhaps not err if
+we conclude that the peculiarity resides not in the object, but in the
+subject; that it is a mental emotion capable of being excited by objects
+having little in common except the death-terror which they excite. I
+have no doubt that it is a phase of extreme terror; the singularity of
+the phenomenon consists in the reversal of ordinary instinctive laws
+which it induces. My readers will probably be interested in the details
+of some cases in which the exciters of the emotion were animals other
+than serpents. Here is one, apparently related with care and
+truthfulness, though anonymous, in which the fascinator was as unlikely
+as can be well imagined to excite, and the fascinatee to feel, the
+emotion:--
+
+"One evening, being seated in a room at Garrackpore, the window of which
+was open, and the ceiling on one side sloped downwards towards the
+window, my attention was attracted by a butterfly which chanced to fly
+into the room. I observed its motions for a minute or two, when I
+thought there was something that appeared unnatural in them, and the
+insect began to dart to and fro in one direction, occasionally, however,
+varying its flight about the room. I looked up to see what it could
+possibly be at, and instantly observed an ordinary-sized lizard on the
+cloth of the upper ceiling. I had not even then the most distant idea of
+what was really going on; but seeing the butterfly dart every now and
+then at the lizard, I supposed it in play, till its motions became less
+quick and animated. The lizard remained all this time immovable, but at
+last suddenly shifted its ground to the sloping part of the ceiling. The
+motions of the butterfly became still more languid, until at length, to
+my utter surprise, I saw the lizard open its mouth, and the butterfly
+flew directly into it. The lizard was about half a minute swallowing it,
+wings and all. Until the last act of this curious scene, though I well
+knew the lizard's object, I supposed it would probably make a leap at
+the butterfly, yet had no idea of its succeeding, and expected to see
+the butterfly fly away. Had I had an idea of the cause, I should have
+broken the charm.
+
+"From that moment I never had the least doubt of the power of
+fascination: that power I conceive to be _terror_, which, if the object
+was sufficiently terrible, I believe would act equally on man or any
+other creature."[178]
+
+Still more strange is it to hear of scorpions fascinating blue-bottle
+flies! "On my arrival" says Mr Robert Hunter, "at Nagpur, in Central
+India, in 1847, I requested that the first scorpion found in the house
+might be allowed to live for a few minutes, that I might have an
+opportunity of observing its form and movements. In that part of India
+one has rarely to wait long for such a visitant, and on an early evening
+my colleague, the Rev. Mr Hislop, announced that there was a scorpion on
+the wall. A lamp was set down on the floor, and we took convenient
+stations for noting what might pass. Just then a large fly, of the genus
+Musca, made its appearance, and soon became aware of the presence of the
+scorpion. A strong fury seemed to seize it, irresistibly impelling it to
+an insane attack on the terrible occupant of the wall: it flew at it
+with all the little force it could muster, the scorpion meanwhile
+stretching out its lobster-like claw to catch it as it came. At the
+first charge, the fly rebounded from the crustaceous integument of its
+adversary, having done no more damage than if a child were to apply its
+hand to the well-mailed body of a cuirassier. It seemed amazed at its
+own audacity; and in a state of great apparent agitation wheeled round,
+and taking precipitately to flight, soon put two or three yards of safe
+space between itself and its formidable but wingless foe. We now
+forcibly hoped 'the better part of valour' might be allowed to prevail.
+But no! the tiny creature stood--it ventured to look--there glared still
+in view the malignant form. What could the poor animal do but make a
+second brilliant onset, in which it again eluded the outstretched claw
+of its enemy, and, as before, was successful in effecting a retreat?
+'Surely,' we mused, 'no further knight-errantry will be attempted: the
+most exacting would consider this enough.' But we were mistaken. Again
+and again did the fly return to the combat, till in an unguarded moment
+it flew exactly into the open claw, which closing, rendered escape
+impossible. The generosity of a Mouravieff was scarcely to be looked for
+in the scorpion, which, as will be readily believed, lost no time in
+devouring its gallant captive. Possibly the fly may have been partly
+dazzled by the glare of the lamp. But undoubtedly it was in the main
+fascination, induced by the sight of the dread figure on the wall, that
+impelled it to begin the unequal contest, which could terminate only in
+the loss of its life."[179]
+
+After these cases, I fear my readers would see but little of the
+romantic in stories of stoats mesmerising hares and rabbits, or foxes
+paralysing pullets. The former are common enough,--the wretched hare
+creeping along with a bewildered look, as if its back were broken, or
+screaming in helpless immobility. I will confine myself to a single
+narrative furnished by Mr Henry Bond, to whom this chapter is already
+indebted for one case. As he was walking on the hillside above West
+Creech Farm, in Penbeck, Somerset, last August, where the down is
+scattered with very low furze-bushes, his attention was arrested by a
+cry of distress. It proceeded from a rabbit which was cantering round in
+a ring, with a halting gait. He watched it for some minutes; but, as
+the circle became smaller, and the rabbit more agitated, he perceived a
+stoat turning its head with the rabbit's motion, and fixing its gaze
+upon it. He struck a blow at the stoat, but missed it; its attention was
+thus withdrawn from its intended victim, which instantly ran away with
+great vigour in a straight direction.[180]
+
+This is a remarkably good case; the circular movement of the rabbit; the
+ever-diminishing circle; the rotation of the stoat; the fixity of its
+gaze; the liberation of the rabbit the moment the stoat was disturbed;
+and the instant recovery of its faculties on the breaking of the
+spell;--all these are circumstances of the highest interest in a case
+avouched by so good a naturalist as Mr Bond.
+
+Mr J. H. Gurney reports the account of a respectable gamekeeper, who,
+being much annoyed by the nightly visits of a fox to the poultry, could
+not imagine how Reynard managed to effect his purpose, as they roosted
+on a large spreading oak. One morning, however, just as day was dawning,
+he heard a great noise among the poultry, and, looking out of the
+window, saw a fox running round and round under the place where they
+sat, and soon observed that the fowls began to fall from the tree in
+great confusion. The fox immediately seized his victim, and the mystery
+was so far solved. A day or two afterwards the fox, a very large male,
+was killed in an adjoining paddock, and no further assaults were made
+upon the poultry.
+
+In this case the result was possibly effected by vertigo; the birds,
+bewildered and amazed in the dim light, followed with their eyes the
+course of the sly depredator, as he ran swiftly in a circle beneath,
+until the frequent turning of their heads made them giddy and unable to
+keep their balance. _But how did the fox know that such a result would
+follow?_
+
+The same gentleman gives, from his own observation, a case that is more
+to the point. Here a bird is the mesmeric practitioner. "I once saw a
+golden eagle which appeared entirely to fascinate a rabbit that was put
+into the large cage in which the eagle was kept. As soon as the rabbit
+was introduced, the eagle fixed his eye upon it, and the rabbit intently
+returned the gaze, and began going round the eagle in circles,
+approaching nearer each time, the eagle meanwhile turning on his axis
+(as it were) on the block of wood upon which he was seated, and keeping
+his eye fixed upon that of the rabbit.
+
+"When the rabbit had approached very near to the bottom of the eagle's
+perch, it stood up on its hind legs, and looked the eagle in the face;
+the eagle then made his pounce, which appeared at once to break the
+charm, and the rabbit ran for its life, but it was too late for it to
+escape the clutch of the eagle, and the instant death which followed
+that tremendous squeeze."[181]
+
+I am not sure how far a parallelism exists between this animal
+fascination by the eye, and that attraction which fire is well known to
+possess for many creatures. Shelley sings of
+
+      "The desire of the moth for the star,"
+
+as if it were a romantic passion for that which is bright and beautiful.
+This is, of course, a poet's aspect; the insect-collector, who wants to
+fill his cabinet--"my friend the weaver," who nightly pursues his
+"untaxed and undisputed game"--well knows that the glare of his
+bull's-eye lamp will attract the moths by thousands on a damp night in
+June. The little flitting atoms pass and repass across the field of
+light, suddenly flashing into full radiance, and in an instant relapsing
+into the darkness, unless his gauze net is too rapid for them. I have
+often sat reading late at night with a candle in the window, and
+observed with interest how many insects of all orders will soon
+congregate on the outside; now and then some large moth coming up with a
+dull _thud_, or a great mailed beetle dashing against the glass with a
+crash that makes one look sharply up to see whether he has not cracked
+the pane. In Jamaica I have taken many valuable beetles and other
+insects around the candle-shades at an open window, which were not met
+with in any other way.
+
+So in Alabama, where it is customary in balmy autumn evenings for the
+family to sit in the yard under the broad sheltering trees, by the
+flickering light of the yard-fire. This fire is lighted at dusk on an
+iron tripod breast-high, and kept up till bed-time. It is the duty of a
+negro urchin to keep it constantly bright with splints of pine, so as to
+maintain a perpetual blaze, as the object is to illuminate the yard and
+its contiguous offices. The little "nigger" nods, of course, but the
+loud scolding voice of master, mistress, or overseer, or any one else,
+rates him, and rouses him to duty, as soon as the flame falls. It is
+pleasant to sit and watch the effect of the light, either transmitted
+through or reflected from the quivering leaves of the surrounding trees,
+the blaze now rising brightly and playing in tongue-like flickering
+spires, now sinking and dying to a ruddy glow, then suddenly reviving
+under the frightened watchfulness of the sable minister, who plays the
+part of vestal virgin at this altar.
+
+Large insects often play around this fire. Beetles "wheel their drony
+flight" in buzzing circles round for a few turns, and are gone; and
+moths come fluttering about, and often scorch their plumy wings. I have
+taken some very fine Sphinges and other moths thus; and the only
+specimen I ever saw of that very curious insect the Mole-cricket alive
+(a species distinct from, but very closely allied to, our European
+insect) was one that suddenly dashed into the ashes of the
+light-stand--a curious and interesting circumstance, when connected with
+the opinion that I have before alluded to, that the _Gryllotalpa
+Europaea_ is one of the producers of the _Ignis fatuus_.
+
+Birds also are attracted by light at night. I have read of a Titmouse
+that was seen fluttering around a gas-lamp in the suburbs of London, and
+would not be driven away; it at length made its entrance into the lamp
+through the orifice at the bottom, and continued to flit around and
+across the jet. In 1832, a Herring-gull struck one of the mullions of
+the Bell Rock Light-house with such force, that two of the polished
+plates of glass, measuring about two feet square, and a quarter of an
+inch in thickness, were shivered to pieces, and scattered over the floor
+in a thousand atoms, to the great alarm of the keeper on watch, and the
+other inmates of the house, who rushed instantly to the light-room. The
+gull was found to measure five feet between the tips of the wings. In
+his gullet was a large herring, and in his throat a piece of plate-glass
+of about one inch in length.
+
+Dr Livingstone gives some curious examples of the attractive power of
+fire over various creatures in South Africa, which he attributes to a
+sort of fascination. "Fire," he says, "exercises a fascinating effect on
+some kinds of toads. They may be seen rushing into it on the evenings
+without ever starting back on feeling pain. Contact with the hot embers
+rather increases the energy with which they strive to gain the hottest
+parts, and they never cease their struggles for the centre, even when
+their juices are coagulating and their limbs stiffening in the roasting
+heat. Various insects also are thus fascinated; but the scorpions may be
+seen coming away from the fire in fierce disgust, and they are so
+irritated as to inflict at that time their most painful stings."[182]
+
+[164] _Peter Pilgrim._
+
+[165] _Hist. of Carolina._
+
+[166] _Amaenit. Acad._
+
+[167] _Hist. of Carolina._
+
+[168] _Dahomey and the Dahomans._
+
+[169] _Visits to Madagascar_, 231.
+
+[170] _Zoology of South Africa_--Reptilia.
+
+[171] _Oiseaux d'Afrique._
+
+[172] _Times_ Newspaper, November 9, 1852.
+
+[173] _Zoologist_, 7273.
+
+[174] _Zoologist_, 7382.
+
+[175] Quoted in the _Zoologist_, 2397.
+
+[176] _Pict. Museum_, ii. 107.
+
+[177] _Reptiles_, (Rel. Tr. Soc.,) 206.
+
+[178] _Bengal Sporting Mag._ for Oct. 1836; cited in the _Zoologist_,
+5070.
+
+[179] _Zool._, 5214.
+
+[180] _Zool._, 7273.
+
+[181] _Zool._ 4049, 4050.
+
+[182] _Travels_, 144.
+
+
+
+
+IX.
+
+SERPENT-CHARMING.
+
+
+From the day when the solemn doom was pronounced,--"I will put enmity
+between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed," the
+serpent-form has begotten revulsion and dread in the human breast. And
+deservedly; for a venomous serpent is a terrible enemy: the direful
+venom of sin injected by "that old serpent, the Devil," is well
+symbolised by the most potent of all lethic agencies,--the poison of the
+rattlesnake or the cobra.
+
+And yet in all ages there have been persons in the countries where the
+most venomous snakes abound, who have professed, and have been believed
+to enjoy, an absolute immunity from their bites, and even to exercise
+some inexplicable power over them, whereby their rage is soothed, and
+they are rendered for the time gentle and harmless. The Holy Scriptures
+repeatedly allude to this ancient art. The Magicians of Egypt, who
+turned their rods into serpents, are supposed to have had recourse to a
+secret known, it is said, to the modern conjurors of the same country,
+who, by pressing the nape of the neck of the cobra with their fingers,
+throw it into a sort of catalepsy, by which its whole body becomes rigid
+like a rod, and from which it is relieved by suddenly throwing it on the
+ground. Aaron's rod was a veritable rod before and after the
+transaction, but changed into a serpent by Divine miraculous energy:
+theirs were serpents made to assume the appearance of rods for the
+moment by a cunning device.
+
+Other and more direct allusions, however, occur to the art of
+serpent-charming. Thus the obduracy of the wicked is compared to "the
+deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of
+charmers, charming never so wisely."[183] And the Aseverity of the
+Chaldean invaders is depicted under this imagery:--"Behold, I will send
+serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they
+shall bite you, saith the LORD."[184]
+
+Among the ancient Romans the Psylli, a people of Africa, and the Marsi,
+a German tribe who had settled in Italy, were reputed to have the power
+of charming serpents, and to be endowed with immunity from the results
+of their venom. Celsus, however, maintains that this power consisted in
+an acquaintance with the fact, now well known, that animal poisons are
+hurtful only when mingled with the blood. They may therefore be taken
+into the mouth with perfect impunity. With reference to so great an
+authority, however, there is more in the art and mystery of
+serpent-charming than this.
+
+When Lucian describes the Babylonian magician as walking abroad, and
+calling to him all the serpents that were near, with certain ceremonies,
+such as the utterance of sacred words from an ancient book, lustrations
+made with sulphur and a torch, and solemn marchings in a circle, and
+when he asserts that the venomous reptiles, _nolentes volentes_,
+presented themselves harmless at his feet,--he describes a scene which
+is sufficiently familiar to European travellers in Egypt and India. And
+so, when Silius Italicus speaks of Atyr, instructed how to disarm
+serpents of their dire venom, and to lull to sleep the terrible
+water-snakes with his magic touch, he refers, whether truly or falsely,
+to something of a more potent character than the feat by which Queen
+Philippa saved the life of her royal husband.
+
+Immunity from the poison of serpents, and serpent-charming, are two
+things. The former, so far as it depends on the natural law already
+mentioned, scarcely comes within the province of this work. But is there
+not an innate immunity residing in some persons, and even in some
+peoples, by which, without the operation of any recognised natural law,
+or even any effort, they are securely protected either against the bites
+of venomous serpents, or, at least, against the fatality which is the
+ordinary result of being bitten?
+
+The Psylli, according to Pliny, were so characteristically endowed with
+this immunity, that they made it a test of the legitimacy of their
+children; for they were accustomed to expose their new-born babes (only
+in doubtful cases, we may suppose) to the most venomous serpents they
+could find; assured that if their paternity was pure Psyllic, they would
+be quite unharmed. Of this tribe was the ambassador Hexagon, who,
+boasting of his power before the Roman consuls, submitted to the
+crucial test which they suggested, of being inclosed in a vessel
+swarming with poisonous reptiles, which, says the legendary story, hurt
+him not.
+
+The same historian tells us that the Psylli, who formerly inhabited the
+vicinity of the Greater Syrtis,--that is, the modern Tripoli and
+Barca,--were conquered and almost exterminated by the Nasamones, who
+possessed their land; but that a remnant fled to some distant region. It
+is not improbable that the present inhabitants of Sennaar, on the south
+of Egypt, may be the lineal descendants of these same Psylli; for, since
+Egypt was densely peopled and highly cultivated, a barbarous tribe could
+scarcely have made good their footing there; and as on the other side
+was the Great Desert of the Sahra, and on the north the sea, there was
+no resource open to them but to creep along the desert edge of Egypt
+till they found a thinly-inhabited land sufficiently savage to enable
+them to form a settlement. The first region of this character that they
+could possibly find would be Nubia; and there it is most interesting to
+know that there exists a people at the present time, pretending to the
+same powers as the old Psylli. Bruce, whose testimony, at first much
+impugned, has come to be received with confidence, avouches that all the
+black people in the kingdom of Sennaar, whether Funge or Nuba, are
+perfectly armed against the bite of either scorpion or viper. They take
+the _Cerastes_--a little asp with two horns, of the most deadly
+venom--into their hands at all times, put them into their bosoms, and
+throw them at one another as children do balls, without ever irritating
+them by this usage so much as to make them bite. One day when the
+traveller was sitting with the brother of the prime minister of Sennaar,
+a slave of his brought a _Cerastes_, which he had just taken out of a
+hole, and was using with every sort of familiarity. Bruce expressed his
+suspicion that the teeth had been drawn, but was assured that they were
+not, both by the slave and by his master, who, taking the viper from
+him, wound it round his arm, and at the traveller's desire, ordered the
+servant to accompany him with it to his residence. Here Bruce, to test
+the power of the serpent, took a chicken by the neck, and made it
+flutter; the seeming indifference of the snake immediately gave place to
+eagerness, and he bit the fowl with great signs of anger, which died
+almost immediately. Bruce considers that the indifference was only
+seeming towards the man,--that it was indeed powerlessness, for he
+constantly observed that, however lively the snake was before, yet upon
+being seized by any of the blacks, it seemed as if taken with sudden
+sickness and feebleness, frequently shut its eyes, and never turned its
+mouth towards the arm of the person who held it.
+
+How exactly this account agrees with the words of Silius,
+
+      "---- _tactuque_ graves _sopire_ chelydros."
+
+The Nubian traveller informs us that the Arabs--meaning apparently the
+Moslem blacks--have not this secret naturally, but that from infancy
+they acquire an exemption from the mortal consequences attending the
+bites of all venomous reptiles by chewing a certain root, and washing
+themselves (it is not _anointing_) with an infusion of certain plants in
+water. This is by no means improbable; and it were much to be desired
+that the root and the plants were obtained and identified, that their
+preventive powers might be tested by competent men of science. In all
+probability they would be found to belong to the Quassia tribe, the
+natural order _Simarubaceae_, plants of the tropical regions of both
+continents, whose juices are of an intense bitterness. An infusion of
+the chips of _Quassia amara_ and of _Simaruba amara_ is found to be an
+effectual poison to flies; and the Brazilian Indians use an infusion of
+_Simaruba versicolor_ as a specific against the bite of serpents, and
+use it with great effect in the pediculous diseases which are so common
+among that people.
+
+It was a plant of this order, _Simaba cedron_, on which experiments were
+made a few years ago, at the Zoological Gardens, just before the
+lamentable death, by the bite of the Cobra, of poor Gurling, who,
+indeed, assisted in them. Mr Squire, the eminent chemist, was desirous
+of testing the powers of this plant, which, dried and reduced to powder,
+is in high repute among the Indians of South America as a serpentifuge.
+Dr Quain and Mr Evans concurred in this desire; and, with the permission
+of the Zoological Society of London, a series of experiments, of much
+interest, if not very conclusive in their results, were performed at the
+Gardens, on the 8th July 1852.
+
+The trials were made only on small animals, but in each case the alleged
+remedy proved inefficacious. The experimenters, however, think that it
+would be unsafe to reject the _Simaba cedron_ as an antidote because it
+here failed, inasmuch as death followed so rapidly that there was small
+opportunity for its action. It is not until it shall have been tried and
+have failed upon stronger animals, that, in the face of the experience
+of the Indians in hot climates, it should be repudiated. The remedy was
+applied in the form of an infusion poured down the throat of the bitten
+animal as quickly as possible after the stroke, and of the moistened
+powder applied to the wound. It seems to me worthy of consideration
+whether, in the light of what Bruce says of the Nubians, a washing of
+the body with the infusion, or an imbibition of it, or both, _before_
+the serpent's attack, might not be more efficacious as a preventive
+either of the bite or of its results, than its administration afterwards
+as a cure. Whatever be the substance with which the Nubians wash
+themselves, it seems to communicate to the body some quality, perhaps of
+odour, which repels and sickens serpents. Now, this may reside in the
+intense bitterness of the _Simarubaceae_; and it would be worth while to
+try whether a rattlesnake or a puff-adder would strike a guinea-pig that
+had just been bathed in an infusion of the _Simaba_, or to which a dose
+of the same had just been administered, and if so, whether the bite then
+would be fatal. Even if these experiments yielded no positive result, it
+would still be open to consider whether the lapse of time, or a long
+sea-voyage, or exposure to our moist climate, may not have deprived the
+powdered root of the plant of antitoxic properties which it may have
+possessed when freshly prepared in its native region.
+
+Tschudi, whose researches into the natural history of Peru are replete
+with interesting and valuable information, has some observations on the
+native remedies for serpent-bites which I will cite, prefacing the
+extract with a graphically terrible picture from his pen of the venomous
+reptiles themselves:--
+
+"The serpents are to be feared; and, on approaching them, it is not easy
+to decide at the first view whether they belong to a poisonous or
+innoxious species. In the forests, where the fallen leaves lie in
+thick moist layers, the foot of the hunter sinks deep at every step.
+Multitudes of venomous Amphibia are hatched in the half-putrescent
+vegetable matter; and he who inadvertently steps on one of these
+animals may consider himself uncommonly fortunate if he can effect
+his retreat without being wounded. But it is not merely in these places,
+which seem assigned by nature for their abode, that loathsome reptiles
+are found: they creep between the roots of large trees, under the
+thickly-interwoven brushwood, on the open grass-plats, and in the maize
+and sugar-cane fields of the Indians; nay, they crawl even into their
+huts, and most fortunate is it for the inhabitants of those districts
+that the number of the venomous, compared with the innoxious reptiles,
+is comparatively small. Of the poisonous serpents, only a few kinds are
+known whose bite is attended with very dangerous consequences. The
+minamaru or jergon (_Lachesis picta_, Tsch.) is, at most, three feet
+long, with a broad, heart-shaped head, and a thick upper lip. It haunts
+the higher forests, while in those lower down his place is filled by his
+no less fearful relative, the flammon, (_Lachesis rhombeata_, Prince
+Max.,) which is six or seven feet in length. These serpents are usually
+seen coiled almost in a circle, the head thrust forward, and the fierce,
+treacherous-looking eyes glaring around, watching for prey, upon which
+they pounce with the swiftness of an arrow; then, coiling themselves up
+again, they look tranquilly on the death-struggle of the victim. It
+would appear that these Amphibia have a perfect consciousness of the
+dreadful effect of their poisonous weapon, for they use it when they are
+neither attacked nor threatened, and they wound not merely animals fit
+for their food, but all that come within their reach. More formidable
+than the two snakes just described, but happily much less common, is the
+brown ten-inch-long viper (_Echidna ocellata_, Tsch.). It is brown, with
+two rows of black circular spots. The effect of its bite is so rapid
+that it kills a strong man in two or three minutes. So convinced are the
+natives of its inevitably fatal result, that they never seek any remedy:
+but immediately on receiving the wound lay themselves down to die. In
+the montanas of Pangoa this viper abounds more than in any other
+district: and never without apprehension do the cholos undertake their
+annual journey for the coca harvest, as they fear to fall victims to the
+bite of this viper. The warning sound of the rattlesnake is seldom
+heard in the hot montanas, and never in the higher regions.
+
+"Nature, who in almost all things has established an equilibrium,
+supplies the natives with remedies against the bite of the serpent. One
+of the cures most generally resorted to is the root of the amarucachu
+(_Polianthes tuberosa_,[185] Linn.), cut into slips and laid upon the
+wound. Another is the juice of the creeping plant called vijuco de huaco
+(_Mikania huaco_,[186] Kunth), which is already very widely celebrated.
+
+"This latter remedy was discovered by the negroes of the equatorial
+province Choco. They remarked that a sparrow-hawk, called the _huaco_,
+picked up snakes for his principal food, and when bitten by one it flew
+to the vejuco and ate some of the leaves. At length the Indians thought
+of making the experiment on themselves, and when bitten by serpents they
+drank the expressed juice of the leaves of the vejuco, and constantly
+found that the wound was thereby rendered harmless. The use of this
+excellent plant soon became general, and in some places the belief of
+the preservative power of the vejuco juice was carried so far that men
+in good health were inoculated with it. In this process some spoonfuls
+of the expressed fluid are drunk, and afterwards some drops are put into
+incisions made in the hands, feet, and breast. The fluid is rubbed into
+the wounds by fresh vejuco leaves. After this operation, according to
+the testimony of persons worthy of credit, the bite of the poisonous
+snake fails for a long time to have any evil effect. Beside the two
+plants mentioned above, many others are used with more or less
+favourable results. The inhabitants of the montana also resort to other
+means, which are too absurd to be detailed here: yet these medicines are
+often of benefit, for their operation is violently reactive. They
+usually produce the effect of repeated emetics and cause great
+perspiration. There is much difference in the modes of external
+treatment of the wound, and burning is often employed. I saw an Indian
+apply to his wife's foot, which had been bitten, a plaster consisting of
+moist gunpowder, pulverised sulphur, and finely-chopped tobacco mixed up
+together. He laid this over the wounded part, and set fire to it. This
+application in connexion with one of the nausea-exciting remedies taken
+inwardly had a successful result.
+
+An English officer, engaged in the wars which freed the South American
+republics from the Spanish dominion, thus speaks of a plant which is
+probably the same _Mikania_. His account is curiously confirmatory of
+the accuracy of Bruce:--
+
+"Among the many medicinal and poisonous plants growing on the banks of
+the Orinoco, one of the most singular is a species of _vejuco_, which,
+when properly administered, proves a powerful preservative from the
+effects of poisonous serpents. It even appears to deprive these reptiles
+either of their power or inclination to use their fangs. Some of the
+leaves and small branches are pounded, and applied in that state as a
+cataplasm to both arms; the skin having been previously scarified freely
+above the elbows. This species of inoculation is repeated, at stated
+intervals; the juice of the bruised plant, diluted with water, being
+also occasionally drunk. Several soldiers, belonging to General Tedeno's
+division, had undergone this treatment, and frequently made the
+advantage they had thus acquired useful on a march. They were thereby
+enabled to take shelter in deserted huts, which we dared not enter on
+account of the snakes always lurking in such places; although these men
+could bring them out in their hands, without sustaining any injury. As
+they had been for some time in our company, we could ascertain that they
+had not any snakes in their possession concealed for the purpose of
+deception. Besides, they could have little or no inducement to practice
+an imposition upon us, as they neither asked for, nor expected, any
+reward for exhibiting their skill in destroying these reptiles."[187]
+
+According to Captain Forbes, the negroes of Dahomey employ a grass, or
+grass-like herb, with success. One of his hammock-men had been bitten by
+venomous snakes repeatedly, but, his father being a doctor, he had
+escaped injury. Walking one day through some long grass, the captain,
+pointing to the bare legs of his servant, asked if there was not danger.
+"None," said he; "my father picks some grass, and if on the same day the
+decoction is applied, the wound heals at once."[188]
+
+Some animals, especially those which prey upon serpents, seem to be
+proof against their bites. The Ichneumons or Mangoustes of Africa and
+Asia have long been celebrated for their immunity, and veritable stories
+have been narrated of their having recourse to some herb, when bitten,
+after which they successfully renewed the attack. Percival, in his
+account of Ceylon, relates that a Mangouste placed in a close room where
+a venomous serpent was, instead of darting at it, as he would ordinarily
+have done, ran peeping about anxiously seeking some way of escape; but
+finding none it returned to its master, crept into his bosom, and could
+by no means be persuaded to face the snake. When, however, both were
+removed out of the house into the open field, the Mangouste instantly
+flew at the serpent, and soon destroyed it. After the combat the little
+quadruped suddenly disappeared for a few minutes, and again returned.
+Percival concludes, not unreasonably, that during its absence, it had
+found the antidotal herb, and eaten of it. The natives state that the
+Mangouste resorts on such occasions to the _Ophiorhiza mungos_, whose
+root is reputed a specific for serpents' bites. This is a Cinchonaceous
+plant, so intensely bitter that it is called by the Malays by a name
+which signifies earth-gall.[189]
+
+Captain Forbes in his interesting account of Dahomey, alludes to these
+combats, which he says he has witnessed in India. He says that the
+serpent (Cobra) has usually the advantage at first, but the Mangouste
+retreating, devours some wild herb, returns and presently conquers.
+
+Sir Emerson Tennent inclines to refer the immunity of the Mangouste to
+an inherent property. He remarks that the mystery of its power has been
+"referred to the supposition that there may be some peculiarity in its
+organisation which renders it _proof against_ the poison of the serpent.
+It remains for future investigation to determine how far this conjecture
+is founded in truth; and whether in the blood of the Mongoos there
+exists any element or quality which acts as a prophylactic. Such
+exceptional provisions are not without precedent in the animal economy:
+the hornbill feeds with impunity on the deadly fruit of the _Strychnos_;
+the milky juice of some species of _Euphorbia_, which is harmless to
+oxen, is invariably fatal to the zebra; and the tsetse fly, the pest of
+South Africa, whose bite is mortal to the ox, the dog, and the horse, is
+harmless to man and the untamed creatures of the forest."[190]
+
+Our own hedgehog possesses the privilege of being unharmed by the venom
+of the viper, as is manifest in its frequent contests with it. Mr Slater
+has frequently seen combats between these animals, which always
+terminated in favour of the hedgehog. The latter seemed perfectly
+regardless of the many bites it received on the snout.[191]
+
+To return to Bruce's statements. After describing the little horned
+viper of Egypt, the _Cerastes_, and its insidious manner of creeping
+towards its victim with its head averted, till within reach, when it
+suddenly springs and strikes, he goes on to say: "I saw one of them at
+Cairo crawl up the side of a box, in which there were many, and there
+lie still as if hiding himself, till one of the people who brought them
+to us came near him, and though in a very disadvantageous posture,
+sticking, as it were, perpendicularly to the side of the box, he leaped
+near the distance of three feet, and fastened between the man's
+forefinger and thumb, so as to bring the blood. The fellow shewed no
+signs of either pain or fear, and we kept him with us full four hours,
+without his applying any sort of remedy, or seeming inclined to do so.
+
+"To make myself assured" (adds Bruce) "that the animal was in its
+perfect state, I made the man hold him by the neck, so as to force him
+to open his mouth and lacerate the thigh of a pelican, a bird I had
+tamed, as big as a swan. The bird died in about thirteen minutes, though
+it was apparently affected in fifty seconds; and we cannot think this
+was a fair trial, because a very few minutes before it had bit the man,
+and so discharged part of its virus, and it was made to scratch the
+pelican by force, without any irritation or action of its own.
+
+[Illustration: SNAKE-CHARMING.]
+
+"I will not hesitate to aver," he adds, "that I have seen at Cairo (and
+this may be seen daily without trouble or expense) a man, who came from
+above the catacombs, where the pits of the mummy-birds are kept, who has
+taken a Cerastes with his naked hand from a number of others lying at
+the bottom of the tub, has put it upon his bare head, covered it with
+the common red cap he wears, then taken it out, put it in his breast,
+and tied it about his neck like a necklace, after which it has been
+applied to a hen and bit it, which has died in a few minutes;. and, to
+complete the experiment, the man has taken it by the neck, and beginning
+at its tail, has ate it, as one would do a carrot or a stock of celery,
+without any seeming repugnance."[192]
+
+A few years earlier than Bruce, Hasselquist, an enthusiastic young
+naturalist, and one of the pupils of Linnaeus, had visited the East. He
+paid much attention to the subject, and records his judgment that there
+is no delusion in serpent-charming, but that certain persons do really,
+in whatever way they effect it, fascinate serpents. "They take the most
+poisonous vipers with their bare hands, play with them, put them in
+their bosoms, and use a great many more tricks with them, as I have
+often seen. The person I saw on the above day had only a small viper,
+but I have frequently seen them handle those that are three or four feet
+long, and of the most horrid sort. I inquired _and examined_ whether
+they cut out the viper's poisonous teeth: but _I have seen with my own
+eyes they do not_: we may therefore conclude, that there are to this day
+Psylli in Egypt; but what art they use is not generally known. Some
+people are very superstitious; and the generality believe this to be
+done by some supernatural art, which they obtain from invisible beings;
+I do not know whether their power is to be ascribed to good or evil; but
+I am persuaded that those who undertake it use many superstitions."
+
+Subsequently we find some details of interest. "Now was the time (July)
+to catch all sorts of snakes to be met with in Egypt, the great heats
+bringing forth these vermin. I therefore made preparation to get as many
+as I could, and at once received four different sorts, which I have
+described and preserved in _aqua vitae_. These were the Common Viper, the
+Cerastes of Alpin, the Jaculus, and an Anguis Marinus. They were brought
+me by a Psylle, who put me, together with the French consul, Sironcourt,
+and all the French nation present, in consternation.
+
+"They gathered about us to see how she handled the most poisonous and
+dreadful creatures alive and brisk, without their doing or offering to
+do her the least harm. When she put them into the bottle where they were
+to be preserved, she took them with her bare hands, and handled them as
+our ladies do their laces. She had no difficulty with any but the
+_Viperae officinales_, which were not fond of their lodging. They found
+means to creep out before the bottle could be corked. They crept over
+the hands and bare arms of the woman, without occasioning the least fear
+in her; she with great calmness took the snakes from her body, and put
+them into the place destined for their grave. She had taken these
+serpents in the field with the same ease she handled them before us;
+this we were told by the Arab who brought her to us. Doubtless this
+woman had some unknown art which enabled her to handle those creatures.
+It was impossible to get any information from her, for on this subject
+she would not open her lips."
+
+He thus sums up the results of his investigations. "The circumstances
+relating to the fascination of serpents in Egypt stated to me, were
+principally:--
+
+"1st.--That the art is only known to certain families, who propagate it
+to their offspring.
+
+"2d.--The person who knows how to fascinate serpents, never meddles with
+other poisonous animals; such as scorpions, &c. There are different
+persons who know how to fascinate these animals; and they again never
+meddle with serpents.
+
+"3d.--Those that fascinate serpents eat them both raw and boiled, and
+even make broth of them, which they eat very commonly amongst them; but
+in particular they eat such a dish when they go out to catch them. I
+have been told that serpents, fried or boiled, are frequently eaten by
+the Arabians, both in Egypt and Arabia, though they know not how to
+fascinate them, but catch them either alive or dead.
+
+"4th.--After they have eaten their soup, they procure a blessing from
+their scheik, who uses some superstitious ceremonies, and, amongst
+others, spits on them several times with certain gestures."
+
+The blessing of the priest, Hasselquist pronounces correctly enough to
+be mere superstition; we may fairly conclude that the eating of the
+snakes is also irrelevant,--both of these circumstances being calculated
+to increase popular wonder only, and to lead the observers from the true
+scent, which probably is the employment of preventive simples.
+Hasselquist had been told of a plant with which the charmers anointed
+or rubbed themselves before they touched the serpents; but, as no such
+plant was produced to him, he regarded it as fabulous. We have seen
+reason, however, to conclude that the real key to the mystery lies
+there.[193]
+
+The ancients believed that the human spittle was so fatal to serpents
+that much of the secret of charming lay in the knowledge of this fact.
+Of course this would make Psylli of all men; but there may be this
+measure of truth in the supposition, that the natural exudations of a
+human body which has been bathed or rubbed with a penetrating
+alexipharmic, may be so impregnated with the odour, as to be peculiarly
+repellent of the snake. Denham describes a scene of snake-charming in
+which the spittle played an important part. A juggler brought him in a
+bag two venomous snakes, which he set at liberty, beginning to beat a
+little drum. They immediately reared themselves on their tails, moving
+in a sort of dance. The juggler played various tricks with them,
+sometimes wreathing them round his neck, coiling them in his bosom, or
+throwing them among the people. On pointing his finger at their mouth,
+they immediately raised themselves in attitude to spring forward and
+strike; but after having exasperated them to the utmost, _he had only to
+spit in their face_, to make them retreat quite crest-fallen. From his
+description these seem to have been of the genus _Naia_, upwards of six
+feet long, and very venomous. The fangs, he says, had been extracted;
+but still, to guard against all possible injury, the fellow who played
+tricks with them had a large roll of cloth wound round the right
+arm.[194]
+
+The influence of music on the serpents seems to be universally assumed
+as a part of the professional snake-charmer's success. The ancient
+Psylli who were employed to prevent the Roman camp from being troubled
+with venomous serpents, marched around it, chanting mystic songs.[195]
+Johnson describes the very clever snake-catchers of India as pretending
+to draw them from their holes by a song, and by playing a plaintive tune
+on an instrument somewhat resembling an Irish bagpipe.[196] He says,
+indeed, that this is all delusion; but Forbes, in his "Oriental
+Memoirs," allows its reality. A learned native of India assured Sir
+William Jones that he had frequently seen the most venomous and
+malignant snakes leave their holes upon hearing notes from a flute,
+which, as he supposed, gave them peculiar delight.
+
+The Egyptian snake-charmer assumes an air of mystery, strikes the walls
+with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a clucking noise with his
+tongue, and says, "I adjure you, by God, if ye be above, or if ye be
+below, that ye come forth; I adjure you by the most great Name, if ye be
+obedient, come forth, and if ye be disobedient, die, die, die!"[197] The
+late Dr W. A. Bromfield, in some extracts from his letters published in
+the _Zoologist_,[198] confirms this:--"The chief actor was a
+fine-looking man, with a handsome and intelligent, but peculiar cast of
+countenance. He carried a stick in his hand, with which, on entering
+each apartment, he struck the wall several times, uttering, in a low,
+measured tone, a form of exorcism in Arabic; adjuring and commanding the
+serpent--which he declared, immediately on the door being thrown open,
+was lurking in the walls or ceiling--to come forth. Presently, the
+reptile would be seen emerging from some hole or corner, with which
+every room, even in the better class of Egyptian houses, abounds; on
+which the enchanter would draw the unwilling serpent towards him, with
+the point of the stick, and when within reach put it in the bag he
+carried about with him for that purpose."
+
+Chateaubriand has drawn a graphic picture of the power of music on the
+American Rattlesnake. The serpent happening to enter the encampment of
+his party in Canada, a Canadian who could play on the flute, advanced,
+by way of diversion, with his magic pipe, against it. On his approach
+the haughty reptile curled itself into a spiral line, flattened its
+head, inflated its cheeks, contracted its lips, displayed its envenomed
+fangs, and its bloody throat; its double tongue glowed like two flames
+of fire; its eyes were burning coals; its body, swollen with rage, rose
+and fell like the bellows of a forge; its dilated skin assumed a dull
+and scaly appearance; and its rattle, which sounded the denunciation of
+death, vibrated with extreme velocity. The Canadian now began to play
+upon his flute: the serpent started with surprise, and drew back its
+head. In proportion as it was struck with the magic effect, its eyes
+lost their fierceness, the vibrations of its tail became slower, and the
+sound which it emitted gradually became weaker and ceased. The folds of
+the fascinated Serpent became less perpendicular upon their spiral line,
+expanded by degrees, and sunk one after another upon the ground, forming
+concentric circles. The colours recovered their brilliancy on its
+quivering skin; and, slightly turning its head, it remained motionless
+in the attitude of attention and pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian
+advanced a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes.
+The Reptile inclined its variegated neck, opened a passage with its head
+through the high grass, and began to creep after the musician, stopping
+when he stopped, and following him again as soon as he moved forward. In
+this manner, to the astonishment both of Europeans and natives, he was
+led out of the camp; and it was unanimously decreed, that the life of a
+creature so sensible of the concord of sweet sounds should be
+spared.[199]
+
+Some allowance in the colouring of this picture, which must be allowed
+to be beautifully painted, may possibly be made to the poetical
+imagination of the narrator, for Chateaubriand could not tell a story
+without embellishing it _suo more_. We may, however, accept the main
+facts, confirmed as they are by the experience of other observers in
+other countries.
+
+Mr Gogerly, a missionary of some standing in India observes that some
+persons who were incredulous on the subject, after taking the most
+careful precautions against any trick or artifice being played, sent a
+charmer into the garden to prove his powers;--the man began to play upon
+his pipe, and proceeding from one part of the garden to another, for
+some minutes stopped at a part of the wall much injured by age, and
+intimated that a serpent was within. He then played quicker, and his
+notes were louder, when almost immediately a large Cobra di Capello put
+forth its hooded head, and the man ran fearlessly to the spot, seized it
+by the throat, and drew it forth. He then shewed the poison fangs, and
+beat them out; afterwards it was taken to the room where his baskets
+were left, and deposited among the rest. The snake-charmer, observes the
+same writer, applies his pipe to his mouth, and sends forth a few of his
+peculiar notes, and all the serpents stop as though enchanted; they then
+turn towards the musician, and approaching him within two feet raise
+their heads from the ground, and bending backwards and forwards, keep
+time with the tune. When he ceases playing, they drop their heads and
+remain quiet on the ground.
+
+The _Penny Magazine_ for April 1833, contains the following very precise
+and circumstantial narrative, communicated by a gentleman of high
+station at Madras:--"One morning, as I sat at breakfast, I heard a loud
+noise and shouting among my palankeen-bearers. On inquiry, I learned
+that they had seen a large hooded snake, and were trying to kill it. I
+immediately went out, and saw the snake creeping up a very high green
+mound, whence it escaped into a hole in an old wall of ancient
+fortification; the men were armed with their sticks, which they always
+carry in their hands, and had attempted in vain to kill the reptile,
+which had eluded their pursuit, and in his hole had coiled himself up
+secure, whilst we could see his bright eyes shining. I had often desired
+to ascertain the truth of the report, as to the effect of music upon
+snakes. I therefore inquired for a snake-catcher. I was told there was
+no person of the kind in the village; but after a little inquiry, I
+heard there was one in a village distant about three miles. I
+accordingly sent for him, keeping a strict watch over the snake, which
+never attempted to escape, whilst we, his enemies, were in sight. About
+an hour elapsed, when my messenger returned bringing a snake-catcher.
+This man wore no covering on his head, nor any on his person, excepting
+a small piece of cloth round his loins; he had in his hands two baskets,
+one containing tame snakes, the other empty: these and his musical pipe
+were the only things he had with him. I made the snake-catcher leave his
+two baskets on the ground, at some distance, while he ascended the mound
+with his pipe alone. He began to play: at the sound of the music the
+snake came gradually and slowly out of his hole. When he was entirely
+within reach, the snake-catcher seized him dexterously by the tail and
+held him thus at arm's length; whilst the snake, enraged, darted his
+head in all directions, but in vain: thus suspended, he has not the
+power to round himself, so as to seize hold of his tormentor. He
+exhausted himself in vain exertions; when the snake-catcher descended
+the bank, dropped him into the empty basket, and closed the lid: he then
+began to play, and after a short time, raised the lid of the basket; the
+snake darted about wildly, and attempted to escape; the lid was shut
+down again quickly, the music always playing. This was repeated two or
+three times; and in a very short interval, the lid being raised, the
+snake sat on his tail, opened his hood and danced quite as quietly as
+the tame snakes in the other basket, nor did he attempt again to escape.
+This, having witnessed with my own eyes, I can assert as a fact."
+
+Experienced and skilful as these men are, however, they do not
+invariably escape with impunity. Fatal terminations to these exhibitions
+of the psyllic art now and then occur, for there are still to be found
+"deaf adders, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming
+never so wisely." In Madras, a few years ago, a noted serpent-charmer
+chanced one morning to get hold of a Cobra of considerable size, which
+he got conveyed to his home. He was occupied abroad all day, and had not
+time to get the dangerous fangs extracted from the Serpent's mouth. This
+at least is the probable solution of the matter. In the evening he
+returned to his dwelling, considerably excited with liquor, and began to
+exhibit tricks with his snakes to various persons who were around him at
+the time. The newly-caught Cobra was brought out with the others, and
+the man, spirit-valiant, commenced to handle the stranger like the rest.
+But the Cobra darted at his chin, and bit it, making two marks like pin
+points. The poor juggler was sobered in an instant. "I am a dead man,"
+he exclaimed. The prospect of immediate death made the maintenance of
+his professional mysticism a thing of no moment. "Let the creature
+alone," said he to those about him, who would have killed the Cobra; "it
+may be of service to others who are of my trade. To me it can be of no
+more use. Nothing can save me." His professional knowledge was but too
+accurate. In two hours he was a corpse! The narrator saw him a short
+time after he died. His friends and brother jugglers had gathered around
+him, and had him placed on a chair in a sitting position. Seeing the
+detriment likely to result to their trade and interests from such a
+notion, they vehemently asserted that it was not the envenomed bite
+which had killed him. "No, no; he only forgot one little word--one small
+portion of the charm." In fact, they declared that he was not dead at
+all, but only in a sort of swoon, from which, according to the rules of
+the cabalistic art, he would recover in seven days. But the officers of
+the barracks, close to which the deceased had lived, interfered in the
+matter. They put a guard of one or two men on the house, declaring that
+they would allow the body to remain unburied for seven days, but would
+not permit any trickery. Of course the poor serpent-charmer never came
+to life again. His death, and the manner of it, gave a severe blow, as
+has been already hinted, to the art and practice of snake-charming in
+Madras.
+
+Roberts also mentions the instance of a man who came to a gentleman's
+house to exhibit tame snakes, and on being told that a Cobra, or Hooded
+Snake was in a cage in the house, was asked if he could charm it; on his
+replying in the affirmative, the Serpent was released from the cage,
+and, no doubt, in a state of high irritation. The man began his
+incantations, and repeated his charms, but the Snake darted at him,
+fastened upon his arm, and before night he was a corpse.
+
+These failures, rare and abnormal as they confessedly are, do not by any
+means disprove the reality of snake-charming; they certainly shew that
+the men believe in their own powers. It may be, as some Europeans have
+maintained, that in India, the exhibitors usually practise upon tame
+snakes, from which they have already extracted the fangs, or even
+eradicated the poison sacs,--an operation performed without difficulty
+by making an incision beneath and behind each eye. Or it may be that the
+power of music over these reptiles is ordinarily relied on, and that in
+rare instances this fails. I have myself taken fierce and active
+lizards, in Jamaica, by a noose of string, while whistling a lively
+tune. As soon as the whistling commenced, the lizard would become still
+on the trunk or the branch of a tree, and so remain unmoved, with a
+sleepy look all the while I was searching up the string, preparing the
+noose, and presenting it to him, giving just a backward glance of his
+eye, as the noose slipped over his head, the whistling going on
+vigorously all the time, of course, till the cord being jerked tight, he
+suddenly found himself dangling in the air at the end of a stick, and
+began to wriggle and writhe, and scratch and bite furiously.
+
+One thing seems clear from these accidents. The Indian _samp-wallahs_ do
+not use any infusion or unguent to stupefy and disarm their snakes, as
+do those of Ethiopia. If these men just mentioned had been so protected
+they would not have been killed, however rash or pot-valiant they might
+have been. Indeed the accounts of Bruce and others of the African
+professors of the psyllic art, and the phenomena of the serpents acted
+upon, differ greatly from descriptions of parallel exhibitions in India,
+and suggest diverse modes of explanation.
+
+A dozen years ago there were a couple of oriental Psylli performing at
+the Zoological Gardens. Mr Brodcrip has given a very graphic sketch of
+their performance as he saw it in the Reptile House. The two Arabs took
+up their position on the floor, the company standing in a semicircle at
+a respectful distance.
+
+"The old Arab said something to the young one, who stooped down ... and
+took out a large deal-box, drew off the cover, thrust in his hand and
+pulled out a large long _Naia haje_ (the Egyptian species of Cobra).
+After handling it and playing with it a little while, he set it down on
+the floor, half squatted close to it, and fixed his eyes on the snake.
+The serpent instantly raised itself, expanded its hood, and turned
+slowly on its own axis, following the eye of the young Arab, turning as
+his head, or eye, or body turned. Sometimes it would dart at him, as if
+to bite. He exercised the most perfect command over the animal. All this
+time the old Arab stood still, pensively regarding the operation; but
+presently he also squatted down, muttering some words, opposite to the
+snake. He evidently affected the reptile more strongly than his more
+mercurial relative, though he remained motionless, doing nothing that I
+could see but fixing his eyes upon the snake, with his face upon a level
+with the raised head of the serpent, which now turned all its attention
+to him, and seemed to be in a paroxysm of rage. Suddenly it darted
+open-mouthed at his face, furiously dashing its expanded whitish-edged
+jaws into the dark hollow cheek of the charmer, who still imperturbably
+kept his position, only smiling bitterly at his excited antagonist. I
+was very close, and watched very narrowly; but though the snake dashed
+at the old Arab's face and into it more than twice or thrice with its
+mouth wide open, I could not see the projection of any fang.
+
+"Then the old Arab, who, it was said, had had the gift of charming
+serpents in his family for a long series of years, opened another box,
+and took out four or five great lizards, and provoked the Naia with
+them, holding them by the tails in a sort of four-in-hand style. Then
+the youth brought out a Cerastes, which I observed seemed overpowered,
+as if, as the country people say, something had come over it. He placed
+it on the floor; but this serpent did not raise itself like the Naia,
+but, as the charmer stooped to it, moved in a very odd, agitated manner,
+on its belly, regarding him askant. I thought the serpent was going to
+fly at the lad, but it did not. He took it up, played with it, blew or
+spit at it, and then set it down apparently sick, subdued, and limp. He
+then took it again, played with it a second time, gathered it up in his
+hand, put it in his bosom, went to another box, drew the lid, and
+brought out more snakes, one of which was another Naia, and the others
+of a most venomous kind.
+
+"Now there were two Naias, with heads and bodies erect, obeying,
+apparently, the volition of the charmers. One of the snakes bit the
+youth on the naked hand, and brought blood; but he only spat on the
+wound and scratched it with his nail which made the blood flow more
+freely. Then he brought out more lizards of a most revolting aspect. By
+this time the floor of the reptile house, that formed the stage of the
+charmers, began to put one in mind of the incantation-scene in _Der
+Freischutz_, only that the principal performers looked more like the
+Black Huntsman and one of his familiars than Max and Caspar, and the
+enchanters' circle was surrounded with fair ladies and their
+well-dressed lords, instead of the appalling shapes which thronged round
+the affrighted huntsman at the casting of the charmed bullets.
+
+"The Arabs, holding the snakes by the tails, let their bodies touch the
+floor, when they came twisting and wriggling on towards the spectators,
+who now backed a little upon the toes of those who pressed them from
+behind. Sometimes the charmers would loose their hold, when the
+serpents, as if eager to escape from their tormentors, rapidly advanced
+upon the retreating ring; but they always caught them by the tails in
+time, and then made them repeat the same advances. I kept my position in
+front throughout, and had no fear, feeling certain that Mr Mitchell,
+and those under whose superintendence this highly amusing and
+instructive establishment is so well conducted, would not have permitted
+the exhibition to take place, if there had been the least danger.
+Besides this, I observed that the charmers only used their own serpents,
+which they had, I presume, brought with them; and I confess that the
+impression upon my mind was, that they had been rendered innoxious by
+mechanical means."[200]
+
+This last assumption the narrator subsequently found to be indubitably
+true. What is said of the _Cerastes_, however, looks more like the
+effect of something detrimental to the snake in the lad's odour, or in
+his spittle. Of course no confidence can be placed in their statements,
+but it is noteworthy that they both claimed to belong to a race over
+whom snakes have no morbific power,--Psylli, in fact, of many
+generations.
+
+Dr Davy asserts that in India, however, the poison fangs are _not_
+extracted. He tells us that he has himself examined the snakes exhibited
+(which are always Cobras) and have found the fangs uninjured. He
+attributes the power of the charmers to their agility and courage,
+founded on an intimate acquaintance with the habits and disposition of
+the reptiles. The learned Doctor acting on this persuasion, says that he
+has himself repeatedly irritated these serpents with impunity. They can
+be readily appeased when irritated, by the voice and by gentle movements
+of the hand in a circle, and by stroking them on the body.
+
+A very curious subject, closely connected with serpent-charming, is the
+power of extracting venom from a wound inflicted by reptiles, attributed
+to the "snake-stone," which the Hindoos and Cingalese usually carry with
+them. Captain Napier thus describes it:--
+
+"These people generally have for sale numbers of _snake-stones_, which
+are said to be equally an antidote against the bite of the serpent and
+the sting of the scorpion. For the former I have never seen it tried:
+and to prove its efficacy with the latter, the samp-wallah generally
+carries about in small earthen vessels a number of these animals, one of
+which he allows to wound him with his sting. The snake-stone, which is a
+dark, shining, smooth pebble, about the size and shape of a French bean,
+on being applied to the wound, instantly adheres to it, and by a power
+of suction appears to draw out the poison, which is supposed to be
+contained in the small bubbles which, on the immersion of the stone into
+a glass of water are seen in great numbers to rise to the surface.
+
+"My first idea on beholding the samp-wallah allow himself to be stung by
+the scorpion was that the latter had by some means been rendered
+harmless. However, not wishing voluntarily to put this to the test by
+personal experience, I purchased some of the stones, resolved on the
+very first opportunity to try their efficacy. Shortly after this,
+happening to be marching up the country with a detachment, we pitched
+our camp on some very stony ground, in clearing which one of the English
+soldiers happened to be bit [stung] in the hand by a large scorpion. As
+soon as I heard of this circumstance, I sent for the sufferer, who
+appeared to be in great pain, which he described as a burning sensation
+running all the way up his arm to the very shoulder.
+
+"I applied one of the snake-stones to the puncture; it adhered
+immediately, and during about eight minutes that it remained on the
+patient, he by degrees became easier; the pain diminished, gradually
+coming down from the shoulder, until it appeared entirely confined to
+the immediate vicinity of the wound. I now removed the stone; on putting
+it into a cup of water, numbers of small air-bubbles rose to the
+surface, and in a short time the man ceased to suffer any inconvenience
+from the accident."[201]
+
+It is scarcely needful to say that the emission of bubbles is a most
+ordinary phenomenon, and could have not the slightest connexion with the
+alexipharmic power of the stone, whether real or imaginary. Any one may
+see exactly the same thing on dropping a bit of new flower-pot, or a
+very dry brick into water, or any other substance heavier than the
+fluid, which is at the same time dry and porous. It results from the air
+which is contained in the pores of the material, which on immersion is
+displaced by the heavier water, and rises in oozing bubbles to the
+surface.
+
+Sir Emerson Tennent has some observations of much value on these
+"stones," as well as on cognate matters, which my readers may like to
+see, and with which I close this subject:--
+
+"On one occasion, in March 1854, a friend of mine was riding, with some
+other civil officers of the government, along a jungle-path in the
+vicinity of Bintenne, when they saw one of two Tamils, who were
+approaching them, suddenly dart into the forest and return, holding in
+both hands a _cobra di capello_ which he had seized by the head and
+tail. He called to his companion for assistance to place it in their
+covered basket, but in doing this, he handled it so inexpertly that it
+seized him by the finger, and retained its hold for a few seconds, as if
+unable to retract its fangs. The blood flowed, and intense pain appeared
+to follow almost immediately; but, with all expedition, the friend of
+the sufferer undid his waistcloth, and took from it two snake-stones,
+each of the size of a small almond, intensely black and highly polished,
+though of an extremely light substance. These he applied one to each
+wound inflicted by the teeth of the serpent, to which the stones
+attached themselves closely, the blood that oozed from the bites being
+rapidly imbibed by the porous texture of the article applied. The stones
+adhered tenaciously for three or four minutes, the wounded man's
+companion in the meanwhile rubbing his arm downwards from the shoulder
+towards the fingers. At length the snake-stones dropped off of their own
+accord; the suffering appeared to have subsided; he twisted his fingers
+till the joints cracked, and went on his way without concern. Whilst
+this had been going on, another Indian of the party who had come up
+took from his bag a small piece of white wood, which resembled a root,
+and passed it gently near the head of the cobra, which the latter
+immediately inclined close to the ground; he then lifted the snake
+without hesitation, and coiled it into a circle at the bottom of his
+basket. The root, by which he professed to be enabled to perform this
+operation with safety, he called the _Naya-thalee Kalinga_ (the root of
+the snake-plant,) protected by which he professed his ability to
+approach any reptile with impunity. In another instance, in 1853, Mr
+Lavalliere, the District Judge of Kandy, informed me that he saw a
+snake-charmer in the jungle, close by the town, search for a _cobra di
+capello_, and, after disturbing it in its retreat, the man tried to
+secure it, but, in the attempt, he was bitten in the thigh till blood
+trickled from the wound. He instantly applied the _Pamboo-Kaloo_ (or
+snake-stone), which adhered closely for about ten minutes, during which
+time he passed the root which he held in his hand backwards and forwards
+above the stone, till the latter dropped to the ground. He assured Mr
+Lavalliere that all danger was then past. That gentleman obtained from
+him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw him repeatedly afterwards
+in perfect health. The substances which were used on both these
+occasions are now in my possession. The roots employed by the several
+parties are not identical. One appears to be a bit of the stem of an
+_Aristolochia_; the other is so dry as to render it difficult to
+identify it, but it resembles the quadrangular stem of a jungle vine.
+Some species of _Aristolochia_, such as the _A. serpentaria_ of North
+America, are supposed to act as a specific in the cure of snake-bites;
+and the _A. Indica_ is the plant to which the ichneumon is popularly
+believed to resort as an antidote when bitten; but it is probable that
+the use of any particular plant by the snake-charmers is a pretence, or
+rather a delusion, the reptile being overpowered by the resolute action
+of the operator, and not by the influence of any secondary appliance,
+the confidence inspired by the supposed talisman enabling its possessor
+to address himself fearlessly to his task, and thus to effect by
+determination and will, what is popularly believed to be the result of
+charms and stupefaction."
+
+The writer then alludes to the facts mentioned by Bruce, which I have
+before adduced; and proceeds:--
+
+"As to the snake-stone itself, I submitted one, the application of which
+I have been describing, to Mr Faraday, and he has communicated to me, as
+the result of his analysis, his belief that it is 'a piece of charred
+bone which has been filled with blood perhaps several times, and then
+carefully charred again. Evidence of this is afforded, as well by the
+apertures of cells or tubes on its surface as by the fact that it yields
+and breaks under pressure, and exhibits an organic structure within.
+When heated slightly, water rises from it, and also a little ammonia;
+and, if heated still more highly in the air, the carbon burns away, and
+a bulky white ash is left, retaining the shape and size of the 'stone.'
+This ash, as is evident from inspection, cannot have belonged to any
+vegetable substance, for it is almost entirely composed of phosphate of
+lime. Mr Faraday adds that 'if the piece of matter has ever been
+employed as a spongy absorbent, it seems hardly fit for that purpose in
+its present state; but who can say to what treatment it has been
+subjected since it was fit for use, or to what treatment the natives may
+submit it when expecting to have occasion to use it?'"
+
+Sir E. Tennent supposes that the animal charcoal may be sufficiently
+absorbent to extract the venom from the recent wound together with a
+portion of the blood, before it has had time to be carried into the
+system. If this be so the process is analogous to that of sucking a
+poisoned wound, already referred to.[202]
+
+What the author means by a jungle vine I do not exactly know, but
+conjecture that it may be one of the _Bignoniaceae_, the woody climbing
+species of which have in general their stem divided into lobes arranged
+in a quadrangular manner. I am not aware that any species of this order
+is an antidote to animal poisons, but many have powerful medicinal
+properties, and abound in bitter juices. The whitewood of Jamaica
+(_Bignonia leucoxylon_) enjoys a reputation as a remedy for the poison
+of the Manchineel (_Hippomane mancinella_) which is so virulent that
+persons are reported to have been killed by its volatile emanations,
+when accidentally sleeping under its shade, and a drop of its juice
+falling on the skin burns it like fire, and produces an ulcer difficult
+to heal. The value of the _Aristolochia_ has been already referred to;
+and on the whole I am disposed to attach more importance to the use of
+vegetable specifics by the Ceylonese operators than the learned author
+whom I have just quoted. The subject is a highly curious one, and well
+worthy of minute investigation by able and unprejudiced men of science,
+willing to receive unscientific information and suggestions, in various
+parts of the world, particularly in the intertropical regions of both
+hemispheres.
+
+[183] Psalm lviii. 4, 5.
+
+[184] Jer. viii. 17.
+
+[185] This is the Tuberose, a liliaceous plant, so commonly cultivated
+in our conservatories. It is generally stated to be a native of the East
+Indies, but the one spoken of by Tschudi, with a Peruvian name, must
+certainly be an indigenous plant of the country.
+
+[186] The genus _Mikania_ of Willdenow is one of the tubuliflorous
+_Asteraceae_. _M. guaco_ Humboldt mentions, under the name of Vijuco del
+Guaco, as being highly esteemed in South America as a valuable antidote
+against the bite of serpents. "Guaco" and "huaco" are the same word, the
+intensity of the aspirate varying among different peoples. The power of
+this _Mikania_ is denied in the most positive terms by Hancock, who
+suspects that the real Guaco antidote is some kind of _Aristolochia_.
+The word "Vijuco" or "Bejuco," in Tropical America, signifies any
+climbing plant, and is equivalent to our florist word "creeper."
+
+_Eupatorium ayapana_, belonging to the same order as _Mikania_, is a
+valuable repellent of the poison of venomous snakes. For this purpose it
+is used in Brazil. A quantity of the bruised leaves, which are to be
+frequently changed, is laid on the scarified wound, and some spoonfuls
+of the expressed juice are from time to time administered to the
+patient, till he is found to be free from the symptoms, especially the
+dreadful anxiety which follows the wounds of venomous reptiles. _E.
+perfoliatum_ has a very similar action, and _Mikania opifera_ is
+employed in the same way.--(_Lindley's Veg. Kingd._, p. 707.) These
+facts tend to confirm the accuracy of Tschudi and Humboldt against
+Hancock.
+
+[187] _Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela_, vol. i., p. 43.
+
+[188] _Dahomey and the Dahomans._
+
+[189] Several of the _Aristolochieae_--plants generally having a very
+bitter taste, and a strong, pungent, disagreeable smell--are valuable
+alexipharmics. There is a plant very common in Jamaica, where it is
+called snake-withe, trailing over the stone fences, which I suspect to
+be an _Aristolochia_, and perhaps _A. trilobata_; it is employed as a
+sudden and potent sudorific, and as an antidote to serpent-bites in
+other countries, for in Jamaica there is no venomous reptile. The _A.
+anguicida_ of Carthagena is described by Jacquin as fatal to serpents.
+He says that the juice of the root chewed and introduced into the mouth
+of a serpent so stupefies it that it may be for a long time handled with
+impunity: if the reptile is compelled to swallow a few drops, it
+perishes in convulsions. The root is also reputed to be an antidote to
+serpent-bites. "It is not a little remarkable," observes Dr Lindley,
+"that the power of stupefying snakes, ascribed in Carthagena to
+_Aristolochia anguicida_, should be also attributed to _A. pallida_,
+_longa_, _b{oe}tica_, _sempervirens_ and _rotunda_; which are said to be
+the plants with which the Egyptian jugglers stupefy the snakes they play
+with."
+
+[190] _Ceylon_, i., 147.
+
+[191] "On the Habits of the Viper in Silesia:" _Zoologist_, p. 829.
+
+[192] _Trav. to the Sources of the Nile, passim._
+
+[193] _Travels in the Levant, passim._
+
+[194] _Discov. in Africa_, ii., p. 292.
+
+[195] _Lucan's Pharsalia._
+
+[196] _Ind. Field Sports._
+
+[197] _Mod. Egyptians._
+
+[198] _Zool._, 6400.
+
+[199] _Beauties of Christianity._
+
+[200] _Note-book of a Naturalist_, 202.
+
+[201] Napier's _Scenes and Sports_, vol. ii., p. 227.
+
+[202] Tennent's _Ceylon_.
+
+
+
+
+X.
+
+BEAUTY.
+
+
+Very much of the delight with which we pursue natural history is surely
+due to the almost constant recognition of the beautiful. I do not know
+that I could say with the poet,--
+
+      "A thing of beauty is a joy _for ever_;"
+
+but certainly it is a joy as long as it endures; and the naturalist
+finds an endless recurrence of things of beauty. Birds, insects, shells,
+zoophytes, flowers, sea-weeds, are all redundant of beauty; and all the
+classes of natural objects, though not in an equal degree, nor
+manifestly in every individual object, yet possess it as a prominent
+element. Indeed, from the profusion with which loveliness is sown
+broadcast over the works of God, I have often thought, though it is not
+directly revealed, that a sense of the beautiful and a complacency in
+it, altogether independent of fitness for certain ends, or the uses
+which may be subserved, is an attribute of the Holy One Himself, and
+that our perception of it is the reflection of His--a part of that image
+of God in which man was created, and which sin has not wholly
+obliterated. I know that God may have clothed His works with beauty for
+other admiring eyes than man's; and that it is probable that the holy
+angels may be far more conversant with creation than we are with all our
+researches,--that the ten thousand times ten thousand flowers which are
+"born to blush unseen" by _man_, may be seen and admired by "ten
+thousand times ten thousand" angels,[203] and thus the tribute of praise
+for their perfection may be ever ascending before Him whose hands made
+them for His glory. We may allow this; and yet with reverence presume
+that His own pure eyes look upon the lilies' array with a delight in
+their mere loveliness, infinitely greater than that which men, or even
+angels, take in it, seeing it is written,--"for thy pleasure they are,
+and were created."
+
+I remember being struck, and somewhat awed, too, with a thought of this
+kind, once, when, pushing my way through a very dense and tangled
+thicket in a lone and lofty mountain region of Jamaica, sufficiently
+remote from the dwellings of man to render it probable that no civilized
+human foot had penetrated thither before. I suddenly came upon a most
+magnificent terrestrial orchid in full blossom. It was _Phajus
+Tankervilliae_,--a noble plant, which from the midst of broad leaves
+growing out of a mass of green bulbs, had thrown up its stout
+blossom-stems to the height of a yard or more, crowned with the
+pyramidal spike of lily-like flowers, whose expanding petals of pure
+white on one side and golden brown on the other, and trumpet-lip of
+gorgeous purple seemed, to my ravished gaze, the very perfection of
+beauty. For ages, I thought, that beauteous flower had been growing in
+that wild and unvisited spot, every season "filling the air around with
+beauty," and had in all probability never met a single human gaze
+before. Had, then, all that divinely-formed loveliness been mere waste
+for those generations? I asked myself; and I immediately replied, No:
+the eye of God himself hath rested on it with satisfaction, and the Lord
+hath taken pleasure in this work of His hands.
+
+I shall not make this chapter an essay on the sublime and beautiful, nor
+seek to analyse the sense of beauty. It is enough that it is an appetite
+of our being, and that most abundantly in nature, on every side, there
+is the material of its gratification. So abundantly, indeed, that it
+were easy to expand the few pages which I propose to devote to the
+subject into a volume, or a dozen volumes, and yet leave untouched vast
+treasures of the beautiful in natural history. I must content myself and
+my readers with the selection of a few of the more prominent objects in
+which this sense is gratified, and with a discrimination of two or three
+distinct phases or conditions of existence which contribute, each in its
+measure, to give delight to the eyes.
+
+[Illustration: ANTELOPES.]
+
+Among Quadrupeds, there is perhaps less of beauty, strictly considered,
+than in most other classes of animals. Elegance of form, however, which
+is one phase of it, is seen in the lithe and active squirrel, the pretty
+petaurist, and many other of the smaller beasties, and is found in
+perfection in the deer and antelopes. Who that has seen a pet fawn
+coming to be caressed by a fair girl, but must have had his sense of the
+beautiful gratified? Mark the freedom and grace of every motion! See
+how it stretches out its pretty meek face and taper neck towards the
+hand; its extreme timidity causing its whole body and every limb to
+start on the slightest stir from the beholders, while on the least
+approach it bounds away in the exuberant playfulness of its little
+heart, then stops, and turns, and gazes, and stretches out its neck
+again! See when it trots or walks, how high it lifts its little slender
+feet, bending its agile limbs as if motion itself were a pleasure! See,
+as it stands, with one fore-foot bent up, the hoof nearly touching the
+belly; the long graceful ears moving this way and that, now thrown
+forwards, now backwards, now erected, to catch the slightest
+sound,--what a picture of fairy grace it is! There is beauty, too, in
+the soft, full liquid eye of these animals,--the "bright, black eye" of
+the "dear gazelle," which in the East is the very ideal of female
+loveliness. Its melting gaze seems full of tenderness, so that we cannot
+look without loving it.
+
+Nor is beauty of colour wholly wanting. How rich is the tawny fur of the
+tiger, dashed with its black streaks! And the brighter yellow of the
+leopard and the jaguar, studded all over with rosettes of black spots!
+We forget the ferocity of the savage in its beautifully-painted coat.
+The zebra, too,--with the fine contrast of those bands of richest sable
+on the cream-coloured ground, now bold and broad, as on the rounded
+body, now running in fine parallel but irregularly-waved lines, as on
+the face,--is a beautiful quadruped; and a herd of them galloping
+wantonly over a South African plain, must be a sight worth seeing
+indeed.
+
+When we come to Birds, however, beauty is not the exception, but the
+rule. The form of a bird is almost always graceful; the rounded
+swellings and undulations of outline, and the smoothness of the plumage
+give pleasure to the eye, even when there is no attractiveness of hue.
+One has almost a difficulty in naming an inelegant bird. But when, as in
+a thousand instances, brilliancy of colouring is combined with elegance
+of shape and smoothness of plumage, we must be charmed. Is not our own
+little goldfinch, is not the pert chaffinch that comes up to our very
+feet for a grain or a crumb, a pretty object? But the tropical
+birds,--we must look at them if we wish to know what nature can do in
+the way of adornment. We should go to the flats on the embouchure of the
+Amazon, and see the rosy spoonbills, in their delicate carnation dress,
+set off by the lustrous crimson of their shoulders and breast-tufts,
+feeding by hundreds on the green mud, or watch the gorgeous ibises, all
+clad in glowing scarlet with black-tipped wings, when, in serried ranks,
+a mile in length, like the vermillion cloud of morning, they come to
+their breeding-place,--a truly magnificent sight.[204]
+
+The first of the Parrot tribe that I ever had an opportunity of seeing
+in its native freedom was the beautiful Parrakeet of the Southern
+States. Eighty or a hundred birds in one compact flock passed me flying
+low, and all nearly on the same plane; and, as they swept by, screaming
+as they went, I fancied that they looked like an immense shawl of green
+satin, on which an irregular pattern was worked in scarlet and gold and
+azure. The sun's rays were brilliantly reflected from the gorgeous
+surface, which rapidly sped past like a splendid vision.
+
+The Cock of the Rock is a fine South American bird of the richest orange
+colour, crowned with a double crest of feathers edged with purple. Mr
+Wallace describes his search for it on the Rio Negro, and his admiration
+of its beauty. Some time he sought in vain, for it is a rare bird, till
+the old Indian who was his guide suddenly caught him by the arm, and,
+pointing to a dense thicket, whispered in a low tone, "Gallo!" Peering
+through the foliage, the naturalist caught a glimpse of the magnificent
+bird, sitting amidst the gloom, and shining out like a mass of brilliant
+flame. As it is easily alarmed and very wary, it required some following
+and perseverance before he shot it. One of his Indians descended into
+the deep rocky glen into which it fell, and brought it to him. "I was
+lost," he says, "in admiration of the dazzling beauty of its soft downy
+feathers; not a spot of blood was visible, not a feather was ruffled,
+and the soft, warm, flexible body set off the fresh swelling plumage in
+a manner which no stuffed specimen can approach."[205]
+
+There is something exquisitely pleasing to the eye in the delicate
+painting of the soft plumage in most of the Goatsuckers and their
+allies. Entirely destitute of brilliant hues as they are, the
+combinations of warm browns, and cool greys, interchanged with black and
+white, and the manner in which these are softened, and blended, and
+minutely pencilled, produce an effect that is peculiarly charming.
+
+In the Trogons of the tropical regions we see elegance of form combined
+with the most gorgeous colouring. Green and gold, crimson, scarlet,
+orange, and black, are the hues of these birds, which hide themselves in
+the deep dark recesses of the Amazonian and Indian forests. That species
+called the Resplendent is the noblest of the race, whose magnificence
+was so well appreciated by the ancient Mexican emperors, that none but
+members of the royal family were permitted to adorn themselves with its
+flowing plumes. The whole upper parts of this bird, its fine coronal
+crest of erectile plumes, its shoulder-hackles, or long lance-shaped
+feathers, that droop over the sides, and the elongated tail-coverts
+which hang down beyond the tail to a length of three feet or more,
+curving elegantly under the bird, as it sits on a branch, are of the
+richest golden green, shining with a satiny radiance. The under parts
+are of a splendid scarlet, and the tail feathers are white, with broad
+black bars.
+
+More enchanting than mere colour, however rich and glowing this may be,
+is the fine metallic reflection which we see on the plumage of many
+tropical birds. The Rifle-bird of Australia might be seen sitting on a
+tree, and be passed by with contempt as a mere crow, while the eye was
+attracted to a more gaily-hued parrot by its side. But viewed close at
+hand, in the full blaze of the sun, the darker-plumaged bird is seen to
+exceed the other by far, in gorgeous glory, and to be not unworthy of
+the specific title of _Paradiseus_, by which it is known to naturalists.
+The body generally is of a deep velvet black, but it reflects a purple
+flush on the upper parts, and the feathers of the under parts are edged
+with olive-green. The crown of the head, and the whole throat, are
+clothed with scale-like feathers of the brightest emerald-green, which
+blaze with a gemmeous lustre in certain lights, and make the most vivid
+contrast with the velvet of the body. The tail displays its two middle
+feathers of the same lustrous green, while the bordering ones are deep
+black.
+
+The vast and little-known island of Papua contains some specimens of the
+feathered race of surpassing glory. The _Epimachi_, or Plume-birds, take
+a prominent place in this category. They are remarkable for the erectile
+scale-like feathers of the sides and shoulders, which form large
+fan-shaped tufts, standing out from the body in a very striking manner.
+Speaking of the superb Epimachus, Sonnerat, its describer, thus
+writes:--"As if to add to the singularity of this bird, nature has
+placed above and below its wings feathers of an extraordinary form, and
+such as one does not see in other birds; she seems, moreover, to have
+pleased herself in painting this being, already so singular, with her
+most brilliant colours. The head, the neck, and the belly are glittering
+green; the feathers which cover these parts possess the lustre and
+softness of velvet to the eye and touch; the back is changeable violet;
+the wings are of the same colour, and appear, according to the lights in
+which they are held, blue, violet, or deep black; always, however,
+imitating velvet. The tail is composed of twelve feathers, the two
+middle feathers are the longest, and the lateral feathers gradually
+diminish; it is violet, or changeable blue above, and black beneath. The
+feathers which compose it are as wide in proportion as they are long,
+and shine above and below with the brilliancy of polished metal.
+
+"Above the wings the scapularies are very long and singularly formed;
+their points being very short on one side, and very long on the other.
+These feathers are of the colour of polished steel, changing into blue,
+terminated by a large spot of brilliant green, and forming a species of
+tuft or appendage at the margin of the wings.
+
+"Below the wings spring long curved feathers, directed upwards; these
+are black on the inside, and brilliant green on the outside. The bill
+and feet are black."[206]
+
+The same author, in referring to the brilliant metallic hues of this and
+other birds, takes occasion to notice the iridescent effect which is
+produced by the different angle at which light falls on the feathers.
+The emerald-green, for instance, will often fling out rays of its two
+constituent primary colours, at one time being blue-green, at another
+gold-green, while in certain lights all colour vanishes, and a
+velvet-black is presented to the eye. The ruby feathers of several birds
+become orange under certain lights, and darken to a crimson-black at
+other times.
+
+[Illustration: MOURNING THE DEAD CUCKOO.]
+
+This change of hue is analogous to the well-known iridescent
+changeableness of the nacre which lines various shells, and is owing to
+the structure of its surface reflecting the light in different rays,
+according to the angle at which it falls upon the feathers.
+
+Another species, a native of the same teeming region, the Twelve-thread
+Epimachus, glows, with equal lustre, in the richest violet and emerald,
+but somewhat diversely arranged. The long, elegant depending tail is
+here reduced to ordinary dimensions, but, as if to compensate for this
+inferiority, the Twelve-thread is adorned with an expanding dress of the
+purest snowy white, composed of long silky plumes that spring from
+behind and below the wings, so soft and so loosely webbed as to wave
+gracefully in the slightest breeze. From these tufts project long and
+very slender shafts, unwebbed, and as fine as threads, curling
+elegantly, six on each side.
+
+The little Sun-birds of India and Africa, and the still tinier
+Humming-birds of the New World are conspicuous for the metallic radiance
+of their plumage. Take for an example of the former the Fire-tailed
+Sun-bird of Nepal. The crown and forehead are brilliant steel-blue,
+while the neck, the back, and the rump are of the richest scarlet,
+diversified by a broad patch of bright yellow across the middle of the
+back. The central feathers of the tail are lengthened, and are bright
+scarlet, while the lateral feathers are edged with the same rich hue on
+brown. The breast is golden yellow or orange, flushed with crimson in
+the centre, and the rest of the inferior parts are olive-green. Most of
+those gorgeous colours have a silky or metallic lustre, and blaze out
+under the tropical sunlight with amazing brightness.
+
+Exquisite ornaments are these to an Indian garden, where they delight in
+the flowering plants and shrubs. They creep to and fro about the stalks
+and twigs, clinging by their little purple feet, and rifling the tubular
+corollas of the honeyed blossoms, whence doubtless they gather many
+minute insects, licked up with the nectar, by the aid of their curiously
+pencilled tongue.
+
+For that peculiar charm which resides in flashing light combined with
+the most brilliant colours, the lustre of precious stones, there are no
+birds, no creatures, that can compare with the Humming-birds. Confined
+exclusively to America,--whence we have already gathered between three
+and four hundred distinct species, and more are being continually
+discovered,--these lovely little winged gems were to the Mexican and
+Peruvian Indians the very quintessence of beauty. By these simple people
+they were called by various names signifying "the rays of the sun," "the
+tresses of the day-star," and the like. Their glittering scale-like
+plumage was employed to make, at the cost of immense time, patience, and
+labour, the radiant mantles in which the emperors and highest nobles
+appeared on state occasions, as well as to form by a sort of mosaic,
+those embroidered pictures which so attracted the admiration of the
+Spanish conquerors. The Mexican priests adopted the tiny birds into
+their mythology: they taught that the souls of those warriors who died
+in defence of the gods, were conducted by Toyamiqui, the wife of the
+god of war, straight to the mansion of the sun, and there transformed
+into humming-birds.
+
+In the gorgeous forest glooms of the mountainous parts of Jamaica, and
+especially in the sunny glades which here and there break their
+uniformity, where the ever-verdant foliage rises upon all sides of the
+open space like a wall, covered with the most elegant and fragrant
+flowers, I have been charmed by the familiar fearlessness and lustrous
+splendour of these little creatures. Here sitting down on a prostrate
+log in the shadow, I have watched them sipping all around, flitting to
+and fro, coming and going, every moment disappearing in the sombre
+shade, or suddenly flashing out, with a whirr like that of a
+spinning-wheel, into the bright sunshine. Bold and unsuspecting, they
+might be seen exploring bush after bush, and coming, while I remained
+motionless, even within arm's length of me, busily rifling all the
+blossoms in rapid succession, regularly quartering the surface of some
+favourite shrub, so as to lose none, and of course, in their zeal,
+frequently probing the same flower again and again. Sometimes it would
+be the Mango, suspending himself on whirring pinions in front of the
+flowers, his broadly-expanded tail-feathers of the richest violet, his
+body plumage all green and gold, and his cheeks and throat blazing, in
+the changing light, with the radiance now of the ruby, now of the
+amethyst, now of the sapphire, and now becoming for an instant the most
+intense black. But much more commonly on these occasions was I visited
+by the elegant Long-tail, whose slender form, black velvet crest,
+emerald bosom, and long tail-plumes, distinguish it as one of the
+_principes_ of this patrician race. This lovely little gem would be
+hovering about, half-a-dozen visible at the same moment, threading the
+projecting branches, now probing here, now there, one moment above a
+flower and bending down to it, the next hanging below it, and thrusting
+up its crimson beak to kiss its nectar-tube from beneath, the cloudy
+wings on each side vibrating with a noise like that of a factory wheel,
+and its entire throat, breast and belly clothed in scaly plumage of the
+richest green, contrasted finely with the velvety black of all beside.
+This scaly plumage would flash brilliantly back the sun's light, like a
+noble emerald in the crown of a king; then, by the slightest possible
+turn of the bird, it would become black, all the light being absorbed;
+then, on another movement, it would seem a dark rich olive, and in an
+instant flame forth again with emerald effulgence, over which olive and
+black clouds were momentarily passing and repassing.
+
+The phenomenon of this changing lustre is worthy of more careful
+attention than it has received. In such Humming-birds as I have
+examined,--and possibly it may be a general rule,--the iridescence of
+those portions of the plumage that are changeable is splendid in the
+ratio of the acuteness of the angle formed by the incident ray and the
+reflected one. Thus the scaly plumage of the neck of the Mango appears
+to advantage in a room with a single window, only when the beholder
+stands with his back to the light, and has the bird before him and
+facing him. Then the perpendicular band down the throat and breast,
+which seems composed of the richest black velvet, is bounded on each
+side by a broad band of glowing crimson, mingled with violet. It is not
+the _entire_ plumage of even a Humming-bird that displays these
+refulgent gleams: some of the brilliant hues are permanent, not
+changeable colours; such as the golden greens which adorn the back and
+wing-coverts in so many species; in which the colour is subject to
+little change, and the only effect produced by the alteration of the
+angle of the light is the transforming the tips of the feathers into the
+appearance of burnished gold.
+
+Wilson[207] has remarked that the plumage of the Indigo finch
+(_Fringilla cyanea_) in certain lights appears of a rich sky-blue and in
+others of a vivid verdigris green, so that the same bird, in passing
+from one place to another before your eyes, seems to undergo a total
+change of colour. When the rays of light so fall on the plumage that the
+angle of the incident and reflected ray is acute, the colour is green,
+when obtuse, blue. I have myself noticed exactly the same thing in the
+brilliant changeable colour of insects,--as, for instance, the
+_Cicindelae_ of America, and the Emerald Virgin Dragonfly (_Agrion
+Virginica_.)
+
+To return, however, to our Humming-birds, of which my readers will like
+to have one or two more described,--_la creme de la creme_, the very
+_elite_ of this lovely little fairy population. If we were to cross the
+Atlantic to Brazil, track up the mighty Amazon some thirty days' sail,
+and a distance of a thousand miles, we should come to the mouth of the
+Rio Negro, where a remarkable change in the appearance of the water
+indicates a totally different region. Instead of the muddy water of the
+Amazon, resembling pea-soup, that of the Negro is intensely dark, but
+clear and limpid, every ripple sparkling like crystal. The land becomes
+high, and the river, some four miles wide, passes between lofty cliffs,
+crowned with the rich green walls of the primeval forest. The country is
+far more attractive than that on the Amazon; instead of a dead level,
+swampy and intersected by sluggish _igaripes_, or shallow ponds,
+overhung by impenetrably tangled thickets, and full of venomous flies,
+here are gentle hills, and tiny brooks of sparkling water, and a
+comparatively open forest, with bright clear glades in which the
+traveller may recline without persecution from the flies,--these pests
+being unknown on the "black waters." The ground is covered by evergreens
+of different species and exquisite forms, and many kinds of elegant
+ferns are growing in the valleys. There are few lianes or spinous briers
+stretching from tree to tree, obstructing free passage, but a thousand
+lesser vines drape the low tree tops with myriads of flowers, new and
+attractive to the visitor. Everywhere the forest is intersected by
+paths, some made by the inhabitants in their frequent rambles, others by
+wild animals that come to the water to drink; and along these the eager
+naturalist can readily pass to the feeding trees of many beautiful and
+peculiar birds.
+
+Here are wont to haunt many varieties of the richly-hued trogons,
+unknown to the lower regions; and at any hour their plaintive note may
+be heard at intervals, as they sit moodily, singly or in pairs, on the
+branches, with the long tail outspread and drooping, watching for
+passing insects. Cuckoos of several kinds, their plumage glancing red in
+the subdued light, flit noiselessly through the woods, searching for
+caterpillars. Purple jays, in large flocks, alight on some berry-bearing
+tree, chattering and gesticulating, but shy and alert,--ready to start
+at the snapping of a twig. Motmots and chatterers in gayest
+hues,--scarlet, violet and blue,--are abundant. Goatsuckers, in
+exquisitely-blended and pencilled tones of colour, start from some shady
+glen where they are dozing away the day hours, and, flying a short
+distance on soft winnowing pinions, rest again, and seem to fall asleep
+in an instant. Showy manikins and tanagers of the brightest tints are
+flaunting in every bush: pigeons and doves of soberer hues are cooing
+their gentle complainings in the taller trees; and guans and curassows
+are marching with stately pace in the paths, picking here and there some
+delicate morsel; or running with loud harsh cry, with outstretched neck
+and rapid stride, as they detect approaching danger.[208]
+
+Still, conspicuous above all are the Humming-birds, which, revelling in
+this region of the sun, are buzzing around the blossoming shrubs like
+insects. And pre-eminent among these is the Fiery Topaz, a name that
+attempts to express what neither title, nor description, nor coloured
+figure can adequately express,--its gemmeous magnificence and lustre.
+One of the first ornithologists of the age, the Prince of Canino, has
+assigned to the species the honour of being "_inter Trochilides
+pulcherrimus_." Description, however, I must give, for want of anything
+better, since, even if I possessed a living specimen, I could not
+exhibit its living radiance to all my readers: therefore, pray pay
+attention to the details, and imagine. The general hue of this imperial
+atom is a blazing scarlet, in fine contrast with which the head and
+lower part of the throat are deep velvet-black. The gorget of the throat
+is emerald green, with a cloud of delicate crimson in the centre. The
+lower part of the back, the rump and the upper tail-coverts are of that
+beautiful bronzed green which changes to orange gold, so frequently seen
+in this tribe; while the wing-quills and tail are purplish black, except
+the middle pair of feathers in the latter, which are very slender,
+project to a great length, and cross each other; these are green with a
+purple gloss.
+
+Among the hundreds of species of this very lovely tribe that swarm in
+the intertropical regions of South America, I will select one more for
+its surpassing beauty. It is the Bar-tailed Comet. We must look for it
+in the temperate and equable valley of the Desaguedero, which leads out
+of Lake Titicaca, the largest sheet of water on the South American
+continent, and famous in Peruvian tradition, as the scene where Mango
+Capac and Mama Ocollo surprised the barbarous aborigines by their first
+appearance. On one of the charming islets of this quiet lake, the two
+august strangers were seen, clothed in garments; and, declaring that
+they were the children of the sun long prophesied of, proceeded to teach
+their simple subjects the arts of civilisation, and to establish a
+regular government. We must search for our tiny Comet, too, in the
+cultivated plains that surround the Cerro of Potosi, that singular cone
+sixteen thousand feet in height, which is wholly composed of silver, and
+which is estimated to have yielded, during the three hundred years that
+have elapsed since the Indian exposed the solid silver, when he
+accidentally tore up a shrub by the roots,--the sum of two hundred
+millions of pounds sterling. The districts around, and specially the
+environs of the town of Chuquisaca, are adorned with a profusion of
+gardens and orchards, in which many European trees and flowers grow, as
+well as those of the tropics, the climate possessing the charms of many
+regions. In the shrubberies of the city, and in the gardens of the
+Indian cottages, as well as the slopes of the surrounding mountains,
+where the native groves and forests grow undisturbed, the brilliant
+Bar-tail may be seen during the summer months; but, as soon as the
+chilling winds of April tell of coming winter, the charming visitor
+becomes scarce, and flitting northward finds in the forests of Lower
+Peru the mild and balmy air which he loves. When the trees are in
+blossom, and particularly the apple-trees, which have been introduced
+from Europe, and are largely cultivated in orchards, the males may be
+seen shooting in and out among the foliage, like glowing coals of fire,
+chasing each other with shrill chirpings, and with surprising
+perseverance and acrimony. The fields of maize, and pulse, and other
+leguminous plants which are cultivated in the plains, receive a fair
+share of his attention; and the nopaleries, or cactus-gardens, where the
+cochineal insect is reared for those most valuable crimson and scarlet
+dyes, which far outshine the vaunted productions of ancient Tyre. The
+blossom of the nopal is itself one of the most splendid of flowers. It
+begins to open as the sun declines, and is in full expanse throughout
+the night, shedding a delicious fragrance, and offering its brimming
+goblet, filled with nectareous juice, to thousands of moths, and other
+crepuscular and nocturnal insects. When the moon is at the full in those
+cloudless nights whose loveliness is known only in the tropics, the
+broad blossom is seen as a circular disk nearly a foot in diameter, very
+full of petals, of which the outer series are of a yellowish hue,
+gradually paling to the centre, where they shine in the purest white.
+The numerous recurving stamens surround the style which rises in the
+midst like a polished shaft, the whole glowing in its silvery beauty
+under the moonbeams, from the dark and matted foliage, and diffusing its
+delicious clove-like fragrance so profusely that the air is loaded with
+it for furlongs round.
+
+Other species of Cactus and Cereus, some with yellow, and some with
+pink, and some with rich crimson blossoms,--the pride of our
+conservatories,--sprawl profusely in these gardens; and here the
+Bar-tail flaunts all day long sipping the nectar, and picking up myriads
+of minute insects which the blossoms attract, and which lodge in the
+honeyed recesses.
+
+But it is time that the reader should know what sort of a bird this
+Bar-tailed Comet is. Attend, then, while I describe his ball-dress, more
+lustrous than any fair lady ever wore at Almack's. The head, neck, upper
+part of the back, and a considerable portion of the under surface, are
+light green, with reflections of burnished gold on the cheeks and
+forehead. The lower back is of a deep crimson. The throat flames like an
+emerald. The tail is the chief feature, the feathers being broad, and
+greatly lengthened, in regular graduation from the central ones to the
+outmost pair, which are double the length of the entire bird besides.
+The form of the tail is widely forked, its outline having a double
+curve, somewhat lyre-shaped. The tail-coverts are ruddy brown; and the
+feathers themselves are of the richest and most glowing fire-colour,
+incomparably lustrous; each feather being broadly tipped with velvety
+black. The graduation of the feathers throws these terminal black tips
+to a considerable distance from each other, and their alternation with
+the intermediate spaces of the fiery glow has an inconceivably charming
+effect, as the bird makes its rapid evolutions through the air, and
+whisks about among the flowers, with a velocity which the eye of the
+beholder can scarcely follow. It is very fond of certain long
+trumpet-shaped pendent blossoms, into which it penetrates so far, that
+nothing of it can be seen except the tips of its radiant forked tail
+projecting from the tube.
+
+Another family of birds that is conspicuous for gorgeous beauty is that
+of the Pheasants. Our own familiar species, which is said to have been
+brought long ages ago from the banks of the Phasis in Colchis, by Jason
+in the Argo,--
+
+      "Argiva primum sum transportata carina,"[209]--
+
+is a very splendid bird, and is well painted in a few lines by
+Pope;--who speaks of his
+
+                              "Glossy varying dyes,
+      His purple crest and scarlet-circled eyes;
+      The vivid green his shining plumes unfold,
+      His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold."[210]
+
+But besides this, there are Indian and Chinese species which excel it in
+glory. There are the richly-pencilled Gold and Silver Pheasants, and the
+noble Reeves' and Amherst Pheasants, with their extraordinary
+long-barred tail plumes. The last named is a bird of unusual
+magnificence.
+
+Then there is the splendid Fire-back of Sumatra and Java, which is
+adorned with a crest of slender stalked feathers, each expanding into a
+disk with spreading barbs. The head, neck, breast, and belly of this
+rare bird are of deep steel-blue, very lustrous, the lower part of the
+back fiery orange-red or flame-colour, varying in intensity according to
+the incidence of the light, and passing like a zone of fire round the
+body, though less brilliant on the abdomen; the rump and tail-coverts
+broad and truncate, bluish-green, each feather tipped by a paler bar.
+The tail is erect and arched, somewhat like that of the common cock,
+its middle feathers are pure white, and all the rest black, with green
+reflections. The legs and feet, which are scarlet, and the skin of the
+face, purple, complete the toilet of this magnificent oriental.
+
+What shall we say to the Argus Pheasant, the bird of Malacca with the
+magnificent pinions? How fine a sight must it be to see this noble fowl
+displaying his coxcombery in the presence of his admiring hens,
+strutting to and fro with his long tail feathers spread and erected, and
+his broad wings expanded and scraping the ground far on each side! The
+colours, it is true, are sober browns, varied with black and white; but
+how exquisitely are these arranged! Perhaps no brilliancy of tint would
+more charm the eye than the row of ocellated spots,--each a dark
+circular disk surrounded by concentric circles,--that runs along the
+centre of each of the enormously-developed secondary wing-quills.
+
+To come back to colour and metallic refulgence. We must not overlook the
+Monal, or Scaly Impeyan of the Himalaya chain. This fowl, which is
+little less than a turkey, looks as if clothed in scale armour of
+iridescent metal, of which the specific hues can scarcely be indicated,
+so changeable are they; green, steel-blue, crimson, purple, and
+golden-bronze,--all of the utmost intensity of colour, and of dazzling
+refulgence, adorn this bird, set off by a broad square patch of pure
+white in the middle of the back, while the crown of the head carries a
+drooping crest of naked-shafted, broad-tipped, green feathers. This
+splendid fowl is as hardy as the turkey or pheasant, and will probably
+before long be domesticated in British preserves, to which it would be a
+noble addition, being perhaps exceeded by nothing in nature for
+refulgence.
+
+In the same regions are found the Polyplectrons, or Pheasant Peacocks,
+birds of the same family. Look at one of these in detail, the Crested
+Polyplectron of the Sunda Isles. It much resembles a peacock in contour,
+the head and neck black, with steely reflections, relieved by a long
+stripe of white arching over each eye, and a broad patch of the same on
+the ears. The forehead and crown carry a crest of tall feathers capable
+of erection, and making a fine ornament. The whole under parts are
+velvet black; the back and rump warm brown, with paler wavy bands and
+lines. The coverts and secondary feathers of the wings are of the
+richest blue, each feather tipped with velvety black. But the tail is
+the grand display. It is a true tail, not a train of superincumbent
+feathers as in the peacock, the quill-feathers being of great length and
+breadth, and the whole capable of being widely expanded into an enormous
+rounded fan. The individual feathers are brown, pencilled and sprinkled
+with pale buff,--a pretty ground, on each of which is painted two large
+oval eye-spots of the most brilliant metallic blue or green, according
+to the light, contained within encircling double rings of black and
+white. These refulgent eyes are so set that they constitute two curved
+bands placed at some distance apart, running across the tail, and when
+this organ is expanded they impart to it a most regal appearance.
+
+Last, but not least, in this distinguished tribe, there is the familiar
+Peacock, a proverb of splendour in raiment from the remote antiquity of
+Aristophanes and Aristotle to Mr Hollingshead, who lashes the sumptuary
+tendencies of our modern ladies under the title of "Peacockism."[211]
+The true Peacock, however, the genuine bird, may at least plead that no
+milliners' bills of L3000 are ever proved against him in Bankruptcy
+Courts.
+
+I am not going to be so impertinent as to describe in detail the plumage
+of a bird so well known as the Peacock. Who does not know his empurpled
+neck so elegantly bridled, his aigrette of four-and-twenty
+battledore-feathers, his pencilled body-clothing, and, above all, his
+grand erectile train with its rows of eyelets? Who has not admired the
+lustre and beauty of those eyelets,--the kidney-like nucleus of deepest
+purple, the surrounding band of green, widening in front and filling the
+notch of the pupil, the broad circle of brown, and the narrow black ring
+edged with chestnut, and then the decomposed barbs of the feather,
+gilded green, all presenting the effulgence of burnished metal, or
+rather the glitter and glow of precious gems, flashing in the varying
+light? One can hardly imagine the splendour of the scene described by
+Colonel Williamson, as seen by him in the Jungleterry District in India,
+when, being engaged shooting these beautiful fowl, he estimates that not
+fewer than twelve or fifteen hundred Peafowl of various sizes were
+within sight of him for nearly an hour. "Whole woods were covered with
+their beautiful plumage, to which the rising sun imparted additional
+brilliancy. Small patches of plain among the long grass, most of them
+cultivated, and with mustard then in bloom, which induced the birds to
+feed, increased the beauty of the scene."
+
+In the preceding volume I have spoken of the gorgeous beauty of the
+Birds of Paradise, and have quoted the description given by Lesson of
+his rapt feelings when, on first seeing a specimen in the forests of
+Papua, he could not shoot from emotion. A chapter on animal beauty
+cannot pass over this magnificent family, though to my own taste there
+is something in the refulgent radiance of the Humming-birds and
+Pheasants which is superior to anything seen in the Paradise-birds. The
+latter, or some of them at least, give me the idea of being
+over-dressed, particularly that one called the Superb, whose singular
+forked gorget and shoulder-cape, gorgeous as these adornments are, with
+their lustrous violet and green flushes, are somewhat inelegant in form.
+Yet some of them are softly beautiful;--
+
+      "So richly deck'd in variegated down,
+      Green, sable, shining yellow, shading brown,
+      Tints softly with each other blended,
+      Hues doubtfully begun and ended;
+      Or intershooting, and to sight
+      Lost and recover'd, as the rays of light
+      Glance in the conscious plumes touch'd here and there.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+      "This the Sun's Bird, whom Glendoveers might own,
+      As no unworthy partner in their flight
+      Through seas of ether, where the ruffling sway
+      Of nether air's rude billows is unknown:
+      Whom sylphs, if e'er for casual pastime they
+      Through India's spicy regions wing their way,
+      Might bow to as their lord."[212]
+
+[Illustration: PEACOCK-SHOOTING.]
+
+The Emerald Paradise, the best known of the family, seems to have been
+in the poet's eye; and certainly the combination of form and colour in
+this species is very charming. The rich chocolate of the upper parts,
+and the delicate lemon-yellow of the neck, contrast well with the
+gemmeous green lustre of the front, when the velvety plumage flashes and
+gleams in the sunlight. And the numerous soft floating plumes that arch
+out from the flanks to a great distance on all sides are exquisite in
+loveliness. "Even in the absolute quiet of a stuffed skin under a glass
+case," as Mr Wood remarks, "these plumes are full of astonishing beauty,
+their translucent golden-white vanelets producing a most superb effect
+as they cross and recross each other, forming every imaginable shade of
+white, gold and orange, and then deepening towards their extremities
+into a soft purplish red."
+
+Mr G. Bennett, who saw a living specimen in an aviary at Macao,
+describes these long, elegant, loose-barbed plumes as occupying a good
+deal of the bird's own attention and care. "One of the best
+opportunities of seeing this splendid bird in all its beauty of action
+as well as display of plumage, is early in the morning, when he makes
+his toilet: the beautiful sub-alar plumage is then thrown out and
+cleaned from any spot that may sully its purity, by being passed gently
+through the bill; the short chocolate wings are extended to the utmost,
+and he keeps them in a steady flapping motion as if in imitation of
+their use in flight, at the same time raising up the delicate long
+feathers over the back, which are spread in a chaste and elegant manner,
+floating like films in the ambient air. In this position the bird would
+remain for a short time, seemingly proud of its heavenly beauty, and in
+raptures of delight with its most enchanting self; it would then assume
+various attitudes, so as to regard its plumage in every direction."[213]
+
+Passing over all other classes of animate existence, I shall say a few
+words on the surpassing loveliness which is displayed by many of the
+Insect tribes. The nursery prejudice, that these creatures are worthy
+only to be trodden under foot, as things repulsive and disgusting, is
+certainly decaying, though it retains its hold still in some minds. A
+glance through an entomological cabinet would prove how unjust are such
+notions. If brilliant hues, polished surface, sculptured chasings,
+graceful forms, and lively motions can command admiration, these are
+displayed by Insects to a degree which we should in vain look for in any
+other class of creatures. We need not speak of simple colours; these
+occur in profusion, of all hues, of all shades of intensity, and of the
+very highest degrees of brightness; combined too, in the most elegant
+manner, and very frequently, particularly in the _Lepidoptera_,
+presenting that peculiar charm which results from the association of
+tints that are complemental to each other.
+
+Words are always felt to be too poor to describe the refulgence of the
+hues of many of the feathered tribes;--the metallic gloss of the Trogons
+and the oriental _Gallinaceae_, the gem-like flashings of the
+Humming-birds and the Birds of Paradise. Perhaps it would be deemed
+extravagant to assert, that these glories can be _excelled_ by the tiny
+races I am now discussing; but equalled, _most fully equalled_, they
+assuredly are. To possess the glow of burnished metal upon the most
+varied hues, is, in the order _Coleoptera_, a common thing. Most of the
+_Eumolpidae_ are remarkable for this; of which I may instance _Chrysochus
+fulgidus_, a beetle from Bombay. The _Buprestidae_ have long been
+celebrated, for the same reason; and portions of their bodies have been
+used in the toilet of ladies, in association with diamonds and rubies.
+
+Many of the _Chlamydae_ blaze with golden-crimson, purple, and the most
+fiery orange. The species of the small genus _Eurhinus_ seem to send
+forth the coloured flames of the pyrotechnic art. The _Longicornes_
+display the same beauties, associated with gigantic size. _Cheloderus
+Childreni_, for example, a large beetle from Columbia, is equal to any
+_Buprestis_ for the radiance of the green, crimson, purple, blue,
+scarlet, and gold, that are all at the same time flaming from its
+singularly-sculptured surface.
+
+But there are impressions conveyed by the reflection of light from the
+bodies of many beetles, which far exceed the metallic fulgor of which I
+have been speaking, beautiful as it is. I cannot hope to describe them
+intelligibly; I know of no combination of words which will give an idea
+of them. I mean the soft, almost velvety radiance of some of the
+_Goliathi_; of many of the _Cetoniae_, as the genus _Eudicella_, for
+instance; and of not a few of the _Phanaei_, in the former two, the hue
+is generally green; in the latter, this colour is associated with other
+hues, most glowing, yet of an indescribable softness. I cannot imagine
+anything of this sort more charming than the soft golden and orange hue
+upon the green of the magnificent _Phanaeus imperialis_.
+
+Others again, as _Hoplia farinosa_, a little chafer from Southern
+Europe, and many of the weevil tribe (_Curculionidae_), are covered with
+scales of vivid splendour, but so minute, and so closely set, that the
+whole surface reflects one soft but rich lustre of tints, differing
+according to the species. We would instance, of these, the noble species
+of the genus _Cyphus_. Others of the same great family, on a dark but
+still richly-coloured ground, have the minute scales clustered in spots
+or bands, forming regular patterns in much variety; and in these they
+reflect rainbow hues, as if a sunbeam decomposed through a prism had
+been solidified and pulverised; or if viewed through a lens, looking
+like powdered gems, each individual scale changing its hues with the
+slightest motion of the eye. Among these we may mention _Hypsonotus
+elegans_, _Cyphus spectabilis_, _Entimus splendidus_, and _E.
+imperialis_, commonly known as diamond beetles; and the elegantly-shaped
+genus _Pachyrhynchus_, of which the _P._ _gemmatus_, from the
+Philippine Islands, is, perhaps, the most lovely of all earthly
+creatures.
+
+And if we look at the _Lepidoptera_, the order more especially under
+review, we feel that beauty belongs to them rather as an essence than as
+an accident. Their broad fan-like wings have an airy lightness and grace
+to which the painter and the poet pay homage, when they endow the sylphs
+and loves of their fancy with butterfly pinions.
+
+They are clothed with minute scales, which are the vehicle of their
+colours, somewhat resembling in this respect the beetles last spoken of;
+but they have beauties peculiar to themselves. Fine combinations and
+contrasts of colours are too much the rule in this order to need
+specification; and these are often shaded and blended with a downy
+softness, as in the Sphinges and Moths. As illustrious examples, I will
+mention the _Gynautocera_, a group of Oriental Moths approaching in some
+points the Butterflies, as exhibiting the most brilliant hues in bands
+and clouds, but softly blended and mingled, with exceeding chasteness
+and beauty.
+
+Many species of the genus _Catagramma_, a group of Butterflies marked on
+the inferior surface of the fore-wings with scarlet and black, and on
+that of the hind with singular concentric circles of black on a white
+ground, have on the superior surface the metallic lustre common in the
+beetles, the wings being of golden green or blue. The genus _Urania_ has
+this radiance still more conspicuous; while the inferior surface of some
+of the _Theclae_, as _T. imperialis_, _T. Actaeon_, _T. Endymion_, &c., is
+covered with the most rich and varied metallic hues, as if powdered
+with gold, copper, and silver filings. Some Butterflies, as several of
+our native _Fritillaries_, and more vividly an American species,
+(_Argynnis passiflorae_,) one from New Zealand, (_Argyrophenga
+antipodum_,) and the beautiful _Paphia Clytemnestra_, have spots of
+burnished silver on their inferior surface; and several of our own
+moths, as the genus _Plusia_, are so spotted on the upper surface.
+Others display a lustre between that of silver and that of pearl, as
+several species of _Charaxes_ on one, and the magnificent _Morpho
+Laertes_ on both surfaces. But of this sort of beauty, perhaps nothing
+can excel the gemmeous green, changing to azure, of _Papilio Ulysses_,
+or that of _Apatura (?) laurentia_; or, above all, of some of the great
+Brazilian _Morphos_. The blaze of silvery azure that flashes from _M.
+Adonis_, _M. Cytheris_, and _M. Menelaus_, is indescribable; the eyes
+are pained as they gaze upon it; yet there is said to be an unnamed
+species from the emerald mountains of Bogota, of which a single specimen
+is in a private cabinet in London, which is far more lustrous than
+these.
+
+The change from one hue to another produced by the play of light in
+altering the angle of its reflection, has always been much admired; and
+this occurs in great perfection, and with much diversity, in the lovely
+insects of the _Lepidopterous_ order.
+
+Some of the genus _Haetera_, (as _H. piera_, and _H. esmeralda_,) and
+many of the _Heliconiadae_, as _Hymenitis diaphana_, &c., have the wings
+nearly or quite destitute of the ordinary scaly clothing, presenting
+only a transparent membrane of great delicacy; over which the light
+plays with a beautiful iridescence. _Papilio Arcturus_ and some allied
+species, are of a golden-green, changing to blue, or to glowing purple.
+Very many of the _Nymphalidae_ are distinguished for a flush of
+surpassing richness, that in one particular light gleams over the
+surface. Our own _Apatura Iris_, commonly known as the purple emperor,
+is a native example of this beauty, and still more _A. namoura_; but
+especially the species of the genus _Thaumantis_, as well as _Morpho
+Martia_, and _M. Automedon_. _Diadema bolina_ also displays a purple
+flush over and around the white spots, which is exquisitely beautiful.
+In general this glow is found only in the male, but in the lovely
+_Epiphile chrysitis_ it is common to the female.
+
+In _Colias Electra_ a warm purple glow plays over the surface in a
+strong light, which is the more singularly beautiful, because the
+permanent colour which is thus suffused is a rich golden orange. There
+is, however, a species (_C. Lesbia_) of which only a single specimen is
+known, and that is in fragments, in the Banksian Collection, which is in
+this respect vastly superior to the former. In all these cases, the
+playing gleam is more or less empurpled; in _Paphia Portia_, however, it
+may be called crimson.
+
+But still more exquisitely beautiful than any of these is the fine
+opalescence that irradiates some butterflies in the changing beam. There
+is a white butterfly from Senegal (_Anthocharis Ione_) allied to our
+common garden whites, marked at the tips of the wings with a spot of
+violet, surrounded by black. In a certain aspect, there plays over this
+spot a violet opalescence of exceeding richness. And to mention no more,
+(for, indeed, we know not that we could mention anything to surpass
+this,) the carnation spots on the black wings of _Papilio Anchises_, _P.
+AEneas_, _P. Tullus_, &c., are at intervals flushed with a violet
+opalescence, so brilliant, that we know no other object to compare with
+it.
+
+In contemplating such objects, we cannot help concurring in the
+sentiments expressed by the pious Ray:--"Quaeri fortasse a nonnullis
+potest, quis Papilionum usus sit? Respondeo, Ad ornatum universi, et ut
+hominibus spectaculo sint: ad rura illustranda velut tot bracteae
+inservientes. Quis enim eximiam earum pulchritudinem et varietatem
+contemplans mira voluptate non afficiatur? Quis tot colorum et schematum
+elegantias naturae ipsius ingenio excogitatas et artifici penicillo
+depictas curiosis oculis intuens, divinae artis vestigia eis impressa non
+agnoscat et miretur?" And I may add, since such exquisite traces of
+loveliness remain in a world which Satan has spoiled and sin defiled,
+what must have been its glory when He who made it could take complacency
+in beholding it, and in the minutest details could pronounce it "very
+good!"
+
+The Rev. James Smith of Monquhitter thus alludes to the exquisite beauty
+of some South American butterflies. One or two of the species I have
+already alluded to, but even these can yield additional themes of
+admiration. "I hold," he says, "that there are hues and shades of
+colour which are positively beautiful in themselves, and independently
+of all associations whatever; and to look upon which merely as patches
+of colour, affords a gratification of no mean description. And for the
+truth of such an opinion, I know not where I should obtain a stronger
+and a more pleasing proof, than from the _Lepidoptera_ to which I have
+alluded. The patch, for instance, which is on the posterior wings of the
+_Haetera Esmeralda_, and which may be characterised as a compound of
+carmine and of the deepest blue dotted with two spots of vermilion, will
+in itself, and irrespectively of association, communicate a pleasure to
+every eye which looks upon it. The band of silver blue on the wing of a
+large _Morpho_; the deep tone, to speak in pictorial phrase, of the
+black in the _Papilio Sesostris_, finer even than the finest velvet of
+Genoa; the rich dark orange on _Epicilia Ancaea_; the blue, shining in
+one unnamed species like polished steel, in another (_Thecla_) with a
+radiant clearness, which ultramarine itself could not surpass; the
+satin-like golden green, the pearly lustrous white, and the deep shining
+emerald ribbons in _Urania Boisduvalii_; the crimson lines and spots
+deeper and clearer than blood, in a species to which no name is
+attached, of _Papilio_; the small spangles of silver with which the
+under surface of one of the least among them (_Cupido_) is, as it were,
+incrusted; the iridescent and delicate violet with which, on the same
+surface, a particular species of _Haetera_ is, so to speak, washed over,
+in a way which calls to our remembrance the 'scumbling' given by
+Rembrandt as the finishing touch to his finest productions; all these,
+and many more, possess a beauty which I contend, in opposition to the
+doctrine of Alison and Jeffrey, is absolute in itself; which is
+altogether irrespective of association; and which the most skilful of
+human pencils would find it impossible completely and properly to
+copy."[214]
+
+I must apologise to fair readers for alluding to Spiders--"nasty
+spiders!"--in a chapter on beauty; but prejudice must not make us shut
+our eyes to glories even among these. In the tropical species there is
+often metallic splendour and brilliance of colour. In my "Naturalist's
+Sojourn in Jamaica," my friend Mr Hill has written some very interesting
+observations on the web of a certain Spider, and on the relations of its
+structure with that of the Spider itself; but I allude to it now because
+of the elegance of the creature, the _Epeira argentata_ of Fabricius.
+The upper surface of the body is of a glistening satiny or silvery
+whiteness, the belly yellow, spotted with black, and the legs marked
+with alternate rings of the same contrasted hues.
+
+In the same island I was familiar with another species, (_Nephila
+clavipes_,) remarkable for the length and strength of its silken cords.
+The body, which is lengthened, is studded with round white spots, each
+encircled with a black border, on a rich greenish brown ground,
+reminding one of the characteristic markings of the Tragopans among
+birds. The cephalothorax is shining black, its lustre half concealed by
+a clothing of short silvery down: the legs are very long, and have a
+remarkably elegant appearance from having a bunch of black hair set
+around the extremity of the first and second joints, like the bristles
+of a bottle-brush.
+
+I fortify my own verdict with the observations of a brother naturalist
+on the Spiders of Borneo, presuming that those which he alludes to
+appear to belong to the genus _Gastracantha_, of which I have seen
+species in Jamaica.
+
+"The spiders, so disgusting in appearance in many other countries, are
+here of quite a different nature, and are the most beautiful of the
+insect tribe; they have a skin of a shell-like texture, furnished with
+curious processes, in some long, in others short, in some few, in others
+numerous; but are found, of this description, only in thick woods and
+shaded places: their colours are of every hue, brilliant and metallic as
+the feathers of the humming-bird, but are, unlike the bright colours of
+the beetle, totally dependent on the life of the insect which they
+beautify, so that it is impossible to preserve them."[215]
+
+It is possible that this beauty might be less evanescent if the animals
+were preserved in spirit or other antiseptic fluid. A writer in the
+_Zoologist_ (p. 5929) mentions the fact that the iridescence of certain
+beetles (_Cassida_) which is peculiarly splendid and metallic, and which
+disappears immediately on the insects' becoming dry, is perpetuated in
+its original loveliness when the specimens are preserved in spirit, even
+after the lapse of several years.
+
+The tropical species of this genus are far finer and richer than our
+little English kinds, though these are pretty. I was much delighted by
+the brilliance of some of the Jamaican species, and Sir Emerson Tennent
+thus speaks of them in Ceylon:--
+
+"There is one family of insects, the members of which cannot fail to
+strike the traveller by their singular beauty, the _Cassidadae_, or
+tortoise beetles, in which the outer shell overlaps the body, and the
+limbs are susceptible of being drawn entirely within it. The rim is
+frequently of a different tint from the centre, and one species which I
+have seen is quite startling from the brilliancy of its colouring, which
+gives it the appearance of a ruby inclosed in a frame of pearl; but this
+wonderful effect disappears immediately on the death of the
+insect."[216]
+
+If we turn to the vegetable world, what a profusion of beauty do we
+find! Exquisite are the tiny Mosses, when the fogs and rains of winter,
+so inimical to other vegetation, have quickened them into verdure and
+fruit. How they spread along the hedgerow banks in soft fleeces of vivid
+emerald, and shoot up their slender stalks, each crowned with its tiny
+urn, and wearing its fairy nightcap! Beautiful are the tiny dark-green
+feather-like leaves of the Forkmoss crowded on the clayey bank;
+beautiful the wild sprays of the plumy Hypnum; and beautiful the little
+round velvet cushions of Tortula, that grow on every old wall-top.
+
+      "The tiny moss, whose silken verdure clothes
+      The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise,
+      Like fairy urns, on stalks of golden sheen,
+      Demand our admiration and our praise,
+      As much as cedar kissing the blue sky
+      Or Krubul's giant-flower. God made them all,
+      And what _He_ deigns to make should ne'er be deem'd
+      Unworthy of our study."
+
+Exquisite too are the Ferns, in their arching fronds, so richly cut in
+elegant tracery. See a fine crown of the Lady Fern in a shaded
+Devonshire lane, and confess that grace and beauty are triumphant there.
+And in the saturated atmosphere of the tropical islands, where these
+lovely plants form a very large proportion of the entire vegetation, and
+some of them rise on slender stems thirty or forty feet in altitude,
+from the summit of which the wide-spreading fronds arch gracefully on
+every side, like a vast umbrella of twinkling verdure, through whose
+filagree work the sunbeams are sparkling,--what can be more charming
+than Ferns?
+
+The queenly Palms, too, are models of stately beauty. Linnaeus called
+them _vegetabilium principes_; and, when we see them in some noble
+conservatory of adequate dimensions, such as the glass palm-house at
+Kew, crowded side by side, with their crowned heads, and lofty stature,
+and proud, erect bearing, we are involuntarily reminded of the monarchs
+of many kingdoms met in august conclave.
+
+      "Lo! higher still the stately palm-trees rise,
+        Chequering the clouds with their unbending stems,
+      And o'er the clouds, amid the dark-blue skies,
+        Lifting their rich unfading diadems.
+          How calm and placidly they rest
+          Upon the heaven's indulgent breast,
+      As if their branches never breeze had known!
+          Light bathes them aye in glancing showers,
+          And Silence, 'mid their lofty bowers,
+      Sits on her moveless throne."
+
+Are the Grasses worthy of mention for their beauty? Surely, yes. Many of
+them display a downy lightness exquisitely lovely, as the common
+Feather-grass. The golden panicles of the great Quake-grass, so
+curiously compacted and hanging in stalks of so hair-like a tenuity as
+to nod and tremble with the slightest motion, how beautiful are these!
+And the satiny plumes of the Pampas-grass projecting from the clump of
+leaves form a fine object. But the Bamboos, those great arborescent
+Grasses of the tropics, form a characteristic feature of the vegetation
+of those regions, of almost unexampled magnificence. I have seen them in
+their glory, and can sympathise with the philosophical Humboldt in the
+powerful effect which the grandeur of the Bamboo produces on the poetic
+mind. It is an object never to be forgotten, especially when growing in
+those isolated clumps, that look like tufts of ostrich-plumes magnified
+to colossal dimensions. A thousand of these noble reeds standing in
+close array, each four or five inches in the diameter of its stem, and
+rising in erect dignity to the height of forty feet, and all waving
+their tufted summits in diverging curves moved by every breeze,--form,
+indeed, a magnificent spectacle. Growing in the most rocky situations,
+the Bamboo is frequently planted in Jamaica on the very apex of those
+conical hills which form so remarkable a feature in the landscape of the
+interior, and to which its noble tufts constitute a most becoming crown.
+
+Mr Ellis thus describes the elegance of these magnificent Grasses in
+Madagascar:--
+
+"The base of the hills and the valleys were covered with the Bamboo,
+which was far more abundant than during any former part of the journey.
+There were at least four distinct varieties: one a large growing kind,
+erect nearly to the point; a second smaller, seldom rising much above
+twenty feet in height, bushy at the base, and gracefully bending down
+its tapering point. A third kind rose in single cane, almost without a
+leaf, to the height of thirty feet or more; or, bending over, formed a
+perfectly circular arch. I also saw a Bamboo growing as a creeper, with
+small short joints, feathered with slender leafy branches at every
+joint, and stretching in festoons from tree to tree along the side of
+the road, or hanging suspended in single lines from a projecting branch,
+and swinging gently with the passing breeze. The appearance of the
+Bamboo when growing is exceedingly graceful. Sometimes the canes, as
+thick as a man's arm at the base, rise forty or fifty feet high, fringed
+at the joints, which are two or three feet apart, with short branches of
+long, lance-shaped leaves. The smaller kinds, which abound most in this
+region, are still more elegant; and the waving of the canes, with their
+attenuated but feathery-looking points, bending down like a plume, and
+the tremulous quivering, even in the slightest breeze, of their long,
+slender leaves, present ever-varying aspects of beauty; and, combined
+with the bright-green colour of the Bamboo-cane and leaf, impart an
+indescribable charm to the entire landscape."[217]
+
+Glorious in loveliness are the _Musaceae_, the Plantains and Bananas of
+the hot regions. Humboldt calls the Banana "one of the noblest and most
+lovely of vegetable productions;" and truly its enormous, flag-like
+leaves of the richest green, permeated by nervures running transversely
+in exactly parallel lines, and arching out in every direction from the
+succulent, spongy, sheathed stem, command our admiration, apart from the
+beauty of their flowers, or the importance of their fruit.
+
+In a description of a mountain scene in Tahiti, drawn with graphic power
+by Charles Darwin, the Banana forms a prominent element:--"I could not
+look on the surrounding plants without admiration. On every side were
+forests of Banana; the fruit of which, though serving for food in
+various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the ground.... As the evening
+drew to a close, I strolled beneath the gloomy shade of the Bananas up
+the course of the stream. My walk was soon brought to a close, by coming
+to a waterfall between two and three hundred feet high; and again above
+this there was another.... In the little recess where the water fell, it
+did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown. The thin edges of
+the great leaves of the Banana, damp with spray, were unbroken, instead
+of being, as is so generally the case, split into a thousand shreds.
+From our position, almost suspended on the mountain-side, there were
+glimpses into the depths of the neighbouring valleys: and the lofty
+points of the central mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the
+zenith, hid half the evening sky. Thus seated, it was a sublime
+spectacle to watch the shades of night gradually obscuring the last and
+highest pinnacles."[218]
+
+This scene must have been one of surpassing sublimity and loveliness.
+Few doubtless have ever beheld anything that can be compared with it.
+But perhaps many have felt--I have, often,--that there are occasions in
+which the sense of the beautiful in nature becomes almost painfully
+overpowering. I have gazed on some very lovely prospects, bathed perhaps
+in the last rays of the evening sun, till my soul seemed to struggle
+with a very peculiar undefinable sensation, as if longing for a power to
+enjoy, which I was conscious I did not possess, and which found relief
+only in tears. I have felt conscious that there were elements of
+enjoyment and admiration there, which went far beyond my capacity of
+enjoying and admiring; and I have delighted to believe, that, by and by,
+when, in the millennial kingdom of Jesus, and, still more, in the
+remoter future, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the
+earth--the "_new_ earth,"--shall be endowed with a more than
+paradisaical glory, there will be given to redeemed man a greatly
+increased power and capacity for drinking in, and enjoying the augmented
+loveliness. Doubtless the risen and glorified saints, sitting with the
+King of kings upon His throne, will have the senses of their spiritual
+bodies expanded in capacity beyond what we can now form the slightest
+conception of; and as all then will be enjoyment of the most exquisite
+kind, and absolutely unalloyed by interruption or satiety,--the eye will
+at length be satisfied with seeing, and the ear be satisfied with
+hearing. "_I shall be satisfied_, when I awake up with thy likeness."
+
+It is in _Flowers_ that the beauty of the vegetable world chiefly
+resides; and I shall now therefore select a few examples from the
+profusion of lovely objects which the domain proper of Flora presents to
+us.
+
+That very curious tribe of plants, the _Orchideae_, so remarkable for the
+mimic forms of other things, that its blossoms delight to assume, is
+also pre-eminent in gorgeous beauty. Take the _Sobraliae_,--terrestrial
+species from Central America, where they form extensive thickets,
+growing thrice the height of man, with slender nodding stems, and
+alternate willow-like leaves, and terminal racemes loaded with
+snow-white, pink, crimson, or violet flowers.[219] Imagine the crushing
+through "thickets" of the lovely _S. macrantha_! The large lily-like
+blossoms of this species are eight inches long, and as many wide, of the
+richest purple crimson, and of the most elegant shape conceivable, with
+the lip so wrapped round the column as to appear funnel-shaped, bordered
+by an exquisitely-cut fringe.
+
+I have before alluded to _Phajus Tankervilliae_, that rich lily-like
+spike of blossom which I stumbled on in the midst of a dense thicket in
+the mountains of Jamaica. Another terrestrial genus of great elegance is
+_Cypripedium_, of which we have one native species, _C. calceolus_, the
+yellow lady's slipper,--one of the most charming, but the rarest and
+most difficult of propagation, of British plants. But this is far
+excelled in beauty by many of the exotic species; as, for example, the
+exquisite _C. barbatum_ from Malacca. The very foliage is princely; for
+the nervures and cross-veins form a network pattern of dark green upon
+the light green area of each broad leaf. The blossom rears up its noble
+head erect, with its standard-petal of white, striped with green and
+purple, the wing-petals studded with purple tubercles along their edges,
+and the lip or slipper-shaped petal of a dark purple hue.
+
+My readers may have occasionally noticed a little plant, in the most
+recherchees stove-houses, of so much delicacy and preciousness that it
+is invariably kept under a bell-glass. I mean the _Anaectochilus
+setaceus_. It belongs to this tribe, and is a terrestrial species,
+growing about the roots of the trees in the humid forests of Ceylon. Its
+exquisite loveliness has attracted the attention of even the apathetic
+Cingalese, who call it by the poetical epithet of _Wanna Raja_, or king
+of the forest. It does not appear to possess any peculiar attractiveness
+in its blossoms,--indeed, I have never seen it in flower; but its
+leaves, which grow in opposite pairs, are elegantly heart-shaped, of a
+deep rich greenish-brown hue, approaching to black, of a surface which
+resembles velvet, reticulated all over with pale golden veins, which,
+being numerous and minute, have a very charming appearance, somewhat
+like the pale network on black patches which we see in the wings of some
+dragon-flies.
+
+The epiphyte Orchids are also magnificent in beauty. One of the
+handsomest genera is _Dendrobium_, containing many species, mostly
+natives of Southern Asia and the great islands. Perhaps the finest of
+all is _D. nobile_, of which the sepals and petals are greenish-white,
+tipped with rich purple, and the downy tube-like lip is of the same
+regal hue in the interior, with a pale yellow margin.
+
+By the side of this you may set the lovely _Huntleya violacea_, one of
+the discoveries of Sir R. Schomburgk in the interior of Guiana. Its
+broad wavy petals of the softest richest violet, "vary in intensity from
+deepest sapphire to the mild iridescence of opal." This fine flower has
+a melancholy interest from its being associated with the death of Sir
+Robert's friend and fellow-servant, Mr Reiss. The gorgeous scenes of
+tropical vegetation in which the plant was found, and the sad accident,
+are thus depicted by the accomplished traveller:--
+
+"I discovered the _Huntleya violacea_ for the first time in October
+1837, then on my ascent of the river Essequibo. The large cataract,
+Cumaka Toto, or Silk Cotton Fall, obliged us to unload our corials, and
+to transport the luggage overland, in order to avoid the dangers which a
+mass of water, at once so powerful and rapid, and bounded by numerous
+rocks, might offer to our ascent. While the Indians were thus occupied,
+I rambled about one of the small islands, which the diverging arms of
+the river formed in their descent, and the vegetation of which had that
+peculiar lively appearance which is so characteristic of the vicinity of
+cataracts, where a humid cloud, the effects of the spray, always hovers
+around them. Blocks of syenite were heaped together; and while their
+black shining surface contrasted strongly with the whitish foam of the
+torrent, and with the curly waves beating against the rocky barriers--as
+if angry at the boundary which they attempted to set to the incensed
+element--their dome-shaped summits were adorned with a vegetation at
+once rich and interesting. _Heliconias_, _Tillandsias_, _Bromelias_,
+_Ferns_, _Pothos_, _Cyrtopodiums_, _Epidendrums_, _Peperomias_, all
+appeared to struggle for the place which so small a surface afforded to
+them. The lofty mountains, Akaywanna, Comute, or Taquia, and Tuasinki,
+recede and form an amphitheatre, affording a highly interesting scene,
+and no doubt the most picturesque of that part of the river Essequibo.
+
+"I was attracted by a number of _Oncidium altissimum_ which covered one
+of the rocky piles, and astonished me by their long stems and bright
+colour of their flowers, when my attention was more powerfully attracted
+by a plant, the appearance of which, although different from the
+pseudo-bulbous tribe, proclaimed, nevertheless, that it belonged to that
+interesting family, the _Orchideae_. The specimens were numerous; and
+clothed almost, with their vivid green, the rugged and dark trunks of
+the gigantic trees, which contributed to the majestic scene around me.
+It was not long before I discovered one of these plants in flower. It
+was as singular as it was new to me;--the sepals and petals of a rich
+purple and velvet-like appearance; the helmet, to which form the column
+bore the nearest resemblance, of the same colour; the labellum striated
+with yellow.
+
+"In the sequel of my expeditions, I found it generally in the vicinity
+of cataracts, where a humid vapour is constantly suspended, and where
+the rays of the sun are scarcely admitted through a thick canopy of
+foliage. I traced the _Huntleya_ from the sixth parallel of latitude to
+the shady mountains of the Acaria chain near the equator; but in its
+fullest splendour it appeared at one of the small islands among the
+Christmas cataracts in the river Berbice. There is a melancholy
+circumstance connected with the plant, which its appearance never fails
+to recall to my memory. Their singular beauty at this spot induced my
+friend, Mr Reiss, who accompanied me as a volunteer during the
+unfortunate expedition up the river Berbice, to draw and paint it on the
+spot. He was yet occupied with this task when the last of our canoes was
+to descend the dangerous cataract. He arose from his occupation,
+desirous to descend with the Indians in the canoe, although against my
+wish, but he persisted. The canoe approached the fall; it upset; and, of
+thirteen persons who were in it at the time, he was the only one who
+paid the rash attempt with his life. He is now buried opposite that
+island, the richest vegetable productions of which it was his last
+occupation to imitate on paper and in colours."[220]
+
+We might linger long on these flowers of strange loveliness, but space
+compels us to forsake them and to turn to some other examples in the
+wide range of Flora's domains. How glorious a sight must be the sheeted
+Rhododendrons of the Himalaya peaks, on whose lofty elevations Dr Hooker
+found these fine plants in great prominence, "clothing the
+mountain-slopes with a deep-green mantle, glowing with bells of
+brilliant colours; of the eight or ten species growing here, [on the
+Zemir, in Sikkim, twelve thousand feet above the sea,] every bush was
+loaded with as great a profusion of blossoms as are their northern
+congeners in our English gardens!"[221]
+
+The noblest of the genus is that which is dedicated to Lady Dalhousie.
+It is an epiphyte, being always found growing, like the Orchids, among
+mosses and ferns, upon the trunks of large trees, especially oaks and
+magnolias, at an elevation of from seven to ten thousand feet. In this
+particular, in the fragrance of its noble white blossoms, in its slender
+habit, in the whorled arrangement of its branches, and in the length of
+time during which it continues in flower in its native regions, viz.,
+from April to July, it differs from all its fellows of the same genus
+that inhabit northern India.
+
+The flowers are four inches in length and four in diameter, with a broad
+trumpet lip. Their colour is pure white, assuming a delicate rosy tinge
+as they become old, and sometimes becoming spotted with orange. They
+have an odour which resembles that of the lemon.
+
+Of this and the following species Dr Hooker writes from Dorjiling, seven
+thousand feet above the sea:--"On the branches of the immense
+purple-flowered magnolia, (_M. Campbellii_,) and those of oaks and
+laurels, _Rhododendron Dalhousiae_ grows epiphytally, a slender shrub
+bearing from three to six white lemon-scented bells, four and a half
+inches long and so many broad, at the end of each branch. In the same
+woods the scarlet Rhododendron (_R. arboreum_) is very scarce, and is
+outvied by the great _R. argenteum_, which grows as a tree, forty feet
+high, with magnificent leaves twelve to fifteen inches long, deep green
+wrinkled above and silvery below, while the flowers are as large as
+those of _R. Dalhousiae_ and grow more in a cluster. I know nothing of
+the kind that exceeds in beauty the flowering branch of _R. argenteum_,
+with its wide-spreading foliage and glorious mass of flowers."[222]
+
+The latter, which is nearly equal to _R. Dalhousiae_ in the size of its
+blossoms, and perhaps superior to it in other respects, is another
+white-flowered species. It is, as described above, a tree with large
+massive leaves of a silvery tint beneath. When young, they are
+exquisitely beautiful, being encased in long flesh-coloured cones of
+large scales, of very ornamental appearance. The flowers are three
+inches long, forming a compact globose head.
+
+They secrete a large quantity of honey, which is said to be poisonous,
+as is also that of _R. Dalhousiae_.
+
+The grandeur and beauty of the same genus are celebrated by Mr Low, as
+he saw the species growing in Borneo, where too their parasitic
+character struck him, as it had done Dr Hooker:--
+
+"Perhaps the most gorgeous of the native plants are the various species
+of the genus _Rhododendron_, which here assume a peculiar form, being
+found epiphytal upon the trunks of trees, as the genera of the tribe
+_Orchidace{oe}_. This habit, induced probably by the excessive moisture of
+the climate, is not, however, confined to the Ericaceous plants, but
+also prevails with the genera _Fagria_, _Combretum_, and many others,
+usually terrestrial; the roots of the Rhododendrons, instead of being,
+as with the species [which are] inhabitants of cold climates, small and
+fibrous, become large and fleshy, winding round the trunks of the forest
+trees; the most beautiful one is that which I have named in compliment
+to Mr Brooke. Its large heads of flowers are produced in the greatest
+abundance throughout the year: they much exceed in size those of any
+known species, frequently being formed of eighteen flowers, which are of
+all shades, from pale and rich yellow to a rich reddish salmon-colour;
+in the sun, the flowers sparkle with a brilliancy resembling that of
+gold dust.
+
+"Four other species which I discovered are very gorgeous, but of
+different colours, one being crimson and another red, and the third a
+rich tint between these two: of the fourth I have not yet seen the
+flowers."[223]
+
+Take an example from another order. The Lightning-tree of Madagascar
+rises before us in the graphic pages of Mr Ellis:--
+
+"But the most magnificent objects were the fine trees of _Astrapaea
+Wallichii_, or _viscosa_. The name of this Malagasy plant was derived
+from the word for lightning, on account of the brilliancy of its
+flowers; and Sir Joseph Paxton and Dr Lindley have thus spoken of _A.
+Wallichii_:--'One of the finest plants ever introduced. And when loaded
+with its magnificent flowers, we think nothing can exceed its grandeur.'
+I had seen a good-sized plant growing freely at Mauritius, but here it
+was in its native home, luxuriating on the banks of the stream, its
+trunk a foot in diameter, its broad-leaved branches stretching over the
+water, and its large, pink, globular, composite[224] flowers, three or
+four inches in diameter, suspended at the end of a fine down-covered
+stalk, nine inches or a foot in length. These, hanging by hundreds along
+the course of the stream, surpassed anything of the kind I had seen, or
+could possibly have imagined. I frequently met with the _Astrapaea_
+afterwards, but always growing near the water, and its branches
+frequently stretching over a lake or river."[225]
+
+The Leguminous or Papilionaceous order presents many plants of striking
+beauty, both in foliage, which is often of extreme lightness and
+elegance, and also in blossom. They are among the gayest and most
+graceful of plants in all regions. The magnificent vegetation of the
+Mauritius contains one of notable glory, the Flamboyant, thus noticed by
+Ellis:--
+
+"Conspicuous beyond all the rest is the stately and gorgeous _Poinciana
+regia_, compact-growing and regular in form, but retaining something of
+the acacia habit, rising sometimes to the height of forty or fifty feet,
+and, between the months of December and April, presenting, amidst its
+delicate pea-green pinnated leaves, one vast pyramid of bunches of
+bright, dazzling scarlet flowers. Seen sometimes over the tops of the
+houses, and at others in an open space, standing forth in truly regal
+splendour, this is certainly one of the most magnificent of trees. Its
+common name is _mille fleurs_, or _flamboyant_."[226]
+
+I have had the delight of seeing the _Poinciana pulcherrima_ in Jamaica,
+where it goes by the name of Flower-feuce, or sometimes, the "Pride of
+Barbadoes." It is, when in flower, a gorgeous mass of scarlet and
+orange, and it seemed to me the most magnificent thing in its way, that
+I had ever seen. It does not, however, attain the dimensions of its
+antipode, rarely exceeding those of a large shrub.
+
+I know not what the Burmese tree is, which is alluded to in the
+following extracts from letters which I have received from my esteemed
+friend, Captain G. E. Bulger, of the 10th Regiment:--
+
+"I shall be exceedingly obliged by your telling me whether you are
+familiar with the tree known in the West Indies and South America as the
+'Bois Immortel;' and whether you think the leaf herewith sent belongs to
+it.
+
+"During the cool season in Burmah, the forest presents a gorgeous sight,
+from the multitude of scarlet blossoms which a large kind of tree puts
+forth; and I am strongly inclined to think that this splendid ornament
+of the jungles is, at all events, allied to the Bois Immortel of the
+Western World.
+
+"The tree I speak of begins to flower about the middle of December, at
+which time the leaves commence to wither and drop off. By the end of
+January, when it is in full bloom, there is hardly a leaf remaining, but
+it continues one mass of scarlet blossom until March. The flower is
+shaped like that of the pea.
+
+"If you can enlighten me on this point I shall be indeed very much
+obliged."
+
+I was compelled to confess my ignorance even of the South American
+beauty, and my friend thus replied:--
+
+"I first read of the 'Bois Immortel' in 'Waterton's Wanderings,' and I
+subsequently saw a coloured representation of the tree in Mr Gould's
+magnificent work on Humming-Birds. I think the specific name was also
+given in that work, but it is some time ago, and I have almost forgotten
+what it was like. Since I saw these two works, I have heard officers
+speak of the splendour of the South American forests during the season
+of 'Le Bois Immortel,' and have heard more than one say that they
+believed nothing on earth could be more magnificent than 'matchless
+Trinidad' when these trees are in full bloom. The autumnal beauty of the
+North American woods is, doubtless, familiar to you, and I question very
+much whether there is anything richer or more lovely to be found even in
+South America."
+
+Even the humblest orders of plants have the element of beauty bestowed
+on them with no niggard hand. Who would have expected, among the
+_Chenopodeae_, and, above all, in the lowly little Saltworts, to find
+such a glowing scene as Mr Atkinson describes?--
+
+"We were now on a heavy sandy steppe--part of the Sackha Desert, which
+extends into the Gobi--and vegetation was so very scant, that even the
+steppe grass had disappeared. The _Salsola_ was growing in a broad belt
+around the small salt lakes, its colour varying from orange to the
+deepest crimson. These lakes have a most singular appearance when seen
+at a distance. The sparkling of the crystallised salt, which often
+reflected the deep crimson around, gave them the appearance of diamonds
+and rubies set in a gorgeous framework. I rode round several times,
+admiring their beauty, and regretting that it was impossible to stay and
+visit a large lake, which I observed, ten or fifteen versts distant,
+surrounded with green, orange, and crimson."[227]
+
+The microscope, too, will bring out beauties in flowers which the
+unassisted eye is incompetent fully to recognise. If we take a scarlet
+Geranium, or a purple Heartsease, the eye is delighted with the
+brilliancy of the colouring; but on placing a petal of either on a slip
+of glass, under a pretty high magnifying power, and reflecting the full
+rays of the sun through the object, the rich gorgeousness of the hue,
+the sparkling gem-like radiance of the surface, and the
+exquisitely-regular form of the round cells, with their clear
+interstices, form a spectacle of glorious beauty that almost surpasses
+the conception of one who has not seen it.
+
+I shall close this chapter, which might easily have been expanded into a
+volume, with a reference to an humble and minute plant, whose fairy
+loveliness, combined with an almost unkillable hardiness of
+constitution, has won for it a place in every garden, however
+unpretending, and however ungenial in its locality,--the London-pride.
+This exquisite little Saxifrage, general favourite as it is, requires
+the microscope to bring out its beauties to advantage, but under a good
+instrument you cannot fail to be charmed with it. I have one before me
+at this moment, and will describe what I see.
+
+First, I notice, on a cursory glance, that the whole plant is clothed
+with tiny hairs; I take one of the flower-stalks and examine these with
+a power of three hundred diameters. Each now becomes a stem of
+glass-like clearness, tapering upwards to a point, where it bears a
+richly crimson cup, and in this is seated a globule of colourless
+glass, just as an acorn sits in its shell. The multitude of these
+organs--glandular hairs, the botanist calls them--standing up side by
+side, rising to varying heights, and displaying various degrees of
+development, is a very pleasing sight.
+
+I turn to an unopened bud, putting on a lower power, and viewing it as
+an opaque object, with reflected light by the aid of the Lieberkuhn.
+Here are the parting sepals of the calyx, painted with rose-pink and
+pea-green, and studded all over with the knobbed hairs just noticed; the
+coloured surface is rough with granules, but it is the roughness of
+glass, for every knob gleams and sparkles with light. The corolla, a
+little white ball, displays its petals smoothly folded over each other,
+and their surface has the same appearance of granular glass as that of
+the calyx.
+
+But now let me examine this blossom just expanded this morning,--the
+very first of the season, by the way. I must have a low power for this,
+eighty diameters, or so. Oh, how exquisite! The little saucer of five
+oval petals, each of snowy whiteness, bearing its bow of lovely crimson
+specks, with a spot of gamboge-yellow for the chord, and the whole
+sparkling with glassy points as before. The pale red germen in the
+centre, rising into two points of snow, their rosy tips pressed close
+together, as if the twins were kissing. The ten stamens, five short
+alternating with five long ones, and each bearing its pretty
+kidney-shaped anther of pale scarlet. No; all are not kidney-shaped; for
+here is one which has burst, and the grains of red pollen are seen
+covering its rough purple surface; and here is one stamen from the
+point of which the anther has gone, leaving only two or three
+pollen-grains adhering. Behind all, I see the sepals of the calyx,
+peeping out between the petals, and forming a fine dark background for
+them, and for the longer filaments.
+
+And now I say to my readers, one and all,--you may not have the
+opportunity to examine the glorious tropical Orchids, or the gorgeous
+Flamboyant, but go and pluck a flower of the London-pride, and you will
+have before your eyes such a production of Divine handiwork as may well
+excite the admiration and adoration of an angel.
+
+[203] Rev. v. 11.
+
+[204] Edwards's _Voyage up the Amazon_, 194.
+
+[205] _Travels on the Amazon and Negro_, 222.
+
+[206] _Voy. a la Nouv. Guinee._
+
+[207] _Amer. Ornith._
+
+[208] Edwards's _Voy. up the Amazon_, 143.
+
+[209] _Martial_, xiii. 72.
+
+[210] _Windsor Forest._
+
+[211] See _Good Words_ for April 1861.
+
+[212] _Wordsworth_.
+
+[213] _Wanderings in N. S. Wales_, &c., ii. 43.
+
+[214] _Zool._, 3060.
+
+[215] Low's _Sarawak_, 87.
+
+[216] Tennent's _Ceylon_, i. 250.
+
+[217] Ellis's _Visit to Madagascar_, 313.
+
+[218] _Nat. Voyage_, ch. xviii.
+
+[219] Poeppig.--_Nov. Gen. et Sp._, i. 54.
+
+[220] Lindley's _Sertum Orchid._; pi. xxvi.
+
+[221] _Himal. Journ._, ii. 58.
+
+[222] _Himal. Journals_, i. 126.
+
+[223] Low's _Sarawak_, 65.
+
+[224] The writer by this term doubtless alludes to the panicles or heads
+_compounded_ of many individual flowers; for the plant does not belong
+to the order _Compositae_, but to _Byttneriaceae_.
+
+[225] Ellis's _Madagascar_, p. 390.
+
+[226] Ellis's _Visits to Madagascar_, 57.
+
+[227] Atkinson's _Siberia_, 472.
+
+
+
+
+XI.
+
+PARASITES.
+
+
+Vast as is this round world on which we live, its surface is not nearly
+large enough for all the living creatures which are ordained to inhabit
+it. Multitudes of animals do not walk on the ground, or swim in the
+waters, or fly in the air, but find the scene of their abode on or in
+the bodies of other animals. Multitudes of plants do not grow out of the
+soil, but attach themselves to other plants, and draw their sustenance
+and support thence. Nay, there are parasites upon parasites, and this,
+according to Hood, in an infinitely descending series.
+
+      "Great fleas have little fleas
+        Upon their backs to bite 'em;
+      And little fleas have lesser fleas;
+        And so _ad infinitum_."
+
+Perhaps the poet's imagination ran a little ahead of his science here;
+but the idea of an _infinite_ succession of parasites, like nests of
+pill-boxes, is surely a funny one. There is nothing funny, however, in
+the thought "that even man," who was made in the image of God, "bears
+about in his vital organs various forms of loathsome creatures, which
+riot on his fluids, and consume the very substance of his tissues while
+ensconced where no efforts of his can dislodge them, no application
+destroy them. So it is; and few physical facts are better calculated to
+humble man, and stain the pride of his glory, than to feel that he may
+at any moment be nourishing a horrid tape-worm in his alimentary canal,
+or that his muscles may be filled with millions of microscopic
+_trichinae_.
+
+I will not dwell on these; though, if I were writing a book of pure
+science, there is a wondrous array of facts of the most striking and
+interesting character, connected with the structure, the metamorphoses,
+and the habits, of the Entozoic Worms, which I might present to my
+readers. It is more pleasant to consider other facts, perhaps not less
+marvellous, which, as they do not come quite so home to our personal
+feelings, will not excite horror and disgust in our minds.
+
+The _economy_ of creation is remarkable. He who, by His divine
+manipulation converted five loaves and two small fishes into a hearty
+meal for five thousand men, besides women and children, and who could,
+with the same ease have made them a hundred times as much, said, when
+the meal was over, "Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost." And,
+when He spread the earth with life, though His resources were infinite,
+He ordained that one object, itself healthfully enjoying life, and
+fulfilling its own proper ends of being, should be a microcosm, on which
+another range of life should find its sphere, and on which it should
+disport, as on an independent world. I have often admired, in the
+gorgeous tropical forests, what a wilderness of vegetation a single
+tree supports; what numbers of orchids and wild pines spring out of the
+forks, what creepers and lianes hang and twine about its branches, what
+elegant ferns cluster on the horizontal limbs, what snake-like cacti
+creep from bough to bough, what mosses, and jungermanniae crowd in every
+crevice, what many-coloured lichens stud the rugged bark! And then
+animal life is swarming in all this great field of parasitic vegetation.
+Reptiles and birds, snails and slugs, insects and millepedes, and
+spiders and worms nestle by thousands in such prolific situations, so
+that a great old tropical tree, one of the giant figs or cotton-trees,
+is a very museum in itself.
+
+And in my wanderings along the sea-edge here at home how often have I
+been amazed at the diverse population, plant and animal, which crowds a
+single oar-weed, or tangle! The stem fringed with delicate red-weeds, as
+the minute _Rhodymeniae_, and _Polysyphoniae_, and _Callithamnia_; the
+tortuous roots studded with Anemones, with _Flustrae_ and _Lepraliae_, and
+multitudes of other _Polyzoa_, with tiny Polypes of many kinds, with
+Barnacles and Limpets, and sheltering small Crustacea, and Mites, and
+Annelids by scores.
+
+Mr Darwin has an interesting passage on this subject, evoked by the
+profusion of parasitic life on the long sea-weed of Cape Horn
+(_Macrocystis_). "The number of living creatures" he remarks, "whose
+existence intimately depends on the Kelp is wonderful. A great volume
+might be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of
+sea-weed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the
+surface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a white
+colour. We find exquisitely delicate structures, some inhabited by
+simple hydra-like polypi, others by more organised kinds, and beautiful
+compound Ascidiae. On the leaves also, various patelliform shells,
+Trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some bivalves are attached. Innumerable
+crustacea frequent every part of the plant. On shaking the great
+entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttle-fish, crabs of all
+orders, sea-eggs, star-fish, beautiful Holuthuriae, Planariae, and
+crawling nereidous animals of a multitude of forms, all fall out
+together. Often as I recurred to a branch of the kelp, I never failed to
+discover animals of new and curious structure. In Chiloe, where the kelp
+does not thrive very well, the numerous shells, corallines, and
+crustacea are absent; but there yet remain a few of the Flustraceae, and
+some compound Ascidiae; the latter, however, are of different species
+from those in Terra del Fuego: we here see the fucus possessing a wider
+range than the animals which use it as an abode. I can only compare
+these great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere, with the
+terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions.
+
+"Yet if in any country a forest was destroyed, I do not believe nearly
+so many species of animals would perish as would here, from the
+destruction of the kelp. Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous
+species of fish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter:
+with their destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the
+otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly, the
+Fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land, would
+redouble his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps cease to
+exist."
+
+I have alluded to the epiphytic plants which are so abundant in the
+tropics, and which add so greatly to the gorgeousness of the forests
+there. The most remarkable, or, at all events, the best known, of these
+are the _Orchideae_, to which, as I have already had occasion more than
+once to speak of them, I shall do little more than refer here. These
+establish themselves in the forks, upon the greater limbs, and even in
+the roughnesses of the bark of the trunk, adhering by their long,
+interlaced roots, which look like knotted whip-cord, and forming their
+bunches of psuedo-bulbs, whence their succulent, thick, but elegant
+leaves project,--a great tuft of verdure; and their fantastic
+flower-scapes wave in the air or droop with their weight of gorgeous
+bloom. Thus they derive their nourishment from the humid atmosphere
+alone, being dependent on the friendly tree only for support and
+elevation. Humidity seems essential to the vigour of these and most
+other forms of parasitic vegetation. In the deep shady, gloomy forests
+of Java, which constitute the zone of vegetation around the base of the
+mountains, these plants abound, where the air is heavy and damp with the
+vapours that cannot ascend, and where the density of the foliage is
+almost frightful; where heat, moisture, and a most extraordinarily deep
+and rich vegetable soil combine to produce wood of a fungus-like
+softness, and an inconceivable abundance of twining plants and
+epiphytes. In those forests, more especially where huge fig-trees
+constitute the principal part of the timber, intermingled with the most
+tropical forms of vegetation, such as _Sterculiaceae_, _Sapindaceae_, and
+_Artocarpeae_, tufts of _Orchideae_ attain a vast size and luxuriance, in
+company with Aroideous and Zinziberaceous plants.[228] In Demerara, Mr
+Henchman found masses of _Oncidium altissimum_ and _Maxillaria Parkeri_
+of wide dimensions, and so densely growing as to defy any attempt at
+intrusion; and on the Spanish main he saw the _Epidendrum_ known as the
+"Spread Eagle" clasping enormous trees, and covering them from the top
+to the bottom.
+
+The fig-trees, which are among the most gigantic of the tropical
+forest-trees, and which support an immense profusion of epiphytes, are
+themselves frequently parasitic and epiphyte in their early condition.
+It is not uncommon in Jamaica to see a network of roots partially
+embracing the trunk of some great tree, far up its column, and gradually
+creeping round and downward. I have seen an old wall so covered,
+presenting a very curious spectacle. The roots of a wide-spreading fig
+growing out of the summit of the wall, had spread over its perpendicular
+surface, down to the earth, all in the same plane, clinging to the wall;
+the chief roots were as thick as a man's leg, but subordinate roots had
+proceeded from one to another, anastomosing in all directions (if I may
+use such a term), so as to make a most elaborate network of a multitude
+of meshes of various angular forms and sizes. These cross-roots were _at
+each extremity_ united with the larger roots, and looked as if the whole
+network had been skilfully carved out of one solid plank of wood, by
+cutting out the areas or meshes, and rounding the component bars; the
+very bark that covered the whole was continuous, where the roots united,
+as if they had been always integrally one.
+
+The only mode in which I can account for this singular phenomenon is the
+following hypothesis:--The seed of the tree was originally deposited on
+the summit of the wall, beneath the eaves. As it germinated, the roots
+ran down towards the earth, some perpendicularly, some diagonally; but
+all creeping along the surface of the wall, no roots having shot out
+from its perpendicular. As these roots increased, they sent out side
+rootlets, which, still running on the face of the wall, by and by came
+in contact with another of the primary roots. Then, instead of creeping
+_over_ it, as the roots of other trees would have done, the soft tip of
+the rootlet actually united with the substance of the root at the point
+of contact, the fibres of the two becoming interlaced, and their united
+surfaces gradually becoming covered with a common bark. The repetition
+of this process had produced the very curious wooden net which I have
+attempted to describe.
+
+A still more remarkable example of this parasitic mode of growth I have
+seen in the same island. By the side of a mountain road was a large
+fig-tree, the base of whose trunk was about thirty feet from the
+ground. Thence it reared itself up pillar-like towards the heavens, and
+spread abroad its vast horizontal array of branches across the road.
+From the same point there descended to the earth a hollow cone of roots,
+interwoven and anastomosed, especially at the upper parts, in the same
+manner as those of the boiling-house wall, but forming towards the
+bottom only three or four flattened irregular columns. Into the area
+inclosed by this network of roots a person might enter, for it was about
+six feet wide, and, looking up, behold the base of the trunk eight or
+ten yards above his head.
+
+The explanation of this curious phenomenon depends upon the tendency
+just mentioned. On this site once stood a large tree of some other
+species, probably a cotton-tree (_Eriodendron_), or some other
+soft-timbered kind. The little scarlet berry of a Fig-tree was carried
+by some vagrant Banana-bird or Pigeon to its boughs, and there devoured.
+After the little truant had finished his morsel, he perhaps wiped his
+beak against the rough bark of the trunk, beside the branch on which he
+was seated. Some of the minute seeds, enveloped in mucilage, were thus
+left on the tree, which the rain presently washed down into the broad
+concavity of the forks, where, among moss and rotten leaves, it soon
+germinated and grew. The roots gradually crept down the trunk of the
+supporting tree, closely clinging to its bark, and by their
+interlacement at length formed a living case, enveloping it on every
+side, and penetrating the earth around its base. The growth of these,
+and also of the inclosed tree, daily induced a tighter and tighter
+pressure on the latter, which at length arrived at such a degree as to
+stop the circulation of the sap between the bark and the wood. Death, of
+course, was the result, and speedy decay reduced the supporting tree to
+a heap of mouldering dust: while the parasite, now able to maintain its
+own position by its hollow cone of roots, increased in size and
+strength, and overtopped its fellows of the forest;--_a tree standing
+upon stilts_.
+
+A few years ago I was struck with the appearance of an East Indian
+species of the same genus in one of the conservatories at Kew. Three
+shoots had run up the wall, clinging so close, that the leaves looked as
+if they were actually glued to the bricks, one over the other, in the
+most regular manner. Yet, on examination, I saw that the leaves did not
+adhere at all; the only support was that of the tiny rootlets which
+proceeded laterally from each stem, which the leaves concealed. The
+appearance of the whole was so curious, with the pale growing bud
+peeping out from beneath the topmost leaf, that I was greatly attracted
+by it. The base of the plant was in a pot, but the attendant informed me
+that this connexion was about to be cut off, by severing each shoot at
+the point where it first seized the wall. The leaves above this point,
+by their superior size and vigour, shewed that the plant was already
+independent of its pot, and that it was capable of supporting itself,
+like a proper air-plant, by imbibition from the atmosphere alone,
+needing nothing more than support in its upright position, which it
+obtained from the wall by its clinging aerial rootlets.
+
+Every one who has wandered in a primeval forest of the tropics, whether
+in the eastern or the western hemisphere, has been struck by the
+inconceivable profusion of the climbers and twiners with which the trees
+are laced together. They are found from the thickness of a warship's
+cable to that of pack-thread; the stronger ones often uncouthly twisted
+together, and binding tree to tree. They are of the orders
+_Malpighaceae_, _Apocyaneae_, _Asclepiadeae_, _Bignoniaceae_, &c., and often
+are adorned with the most brilliant flowers.
+
+I have before cited descriptions of these wonderful lianes, as they
+occur in the forests of South America; my readers may like to peruse Sir
+Emerson Tennent's graphic sketch of those of Ceylon:--
+
+"It is the trees of older and loftier growth that exhibit the rank
+luxuriance of these wonderful epiphytes in the most striking manner.
+They are tormented by climbing plants of such extraordinary dimensions
+that many of them exceed in diameter the girth of a man; and these
+gigantic appendages are to be seen surmounting the tallest trees in the
+forest, grasping their stems in firm convolutions, and then flinging
+their monstrous tendrils over the larger limbs till they reach the top,
+whence they descend to the ground in huge festoons, and, after including
+another and another tree in their successive toils, they once more
+ascend to the summit, and wind the whole into a maze of living network
+as massy as if formed by the cable of a line-of-battle ship. When, by
+and by, the trees on which this singular fabric has become suspended
+give way under its weight, or sink by their own decay, the fallen trunk
+speedily disappears, while the convolutions of climbers continue to grow
+on, exhibiting one of the most marvellous and peculiar living mounds of
+confusion that it is possible to fancy. Frequently one of these creepers
+may be seen holding by one extremity the summit of a tall tree, and
+grasping with the other an object at some distance near the earth,
+between which it is strained as tight and straight as if hauled over a
+block. In all probability the young tendril had been originally fixed in
+this position by the wind, and retained in it till it had gained its
+maturity, where it has the appearance of having been artificially
+arranged as if to support a falling tree."[229]
+
+Leaving the vegetable world, we may find some very curious examples of
+parasitism among Insects. Every one who has paid the slightest attention
+to this class of animals is aware that there are slender flies called
+_Ichneumons_, whose grubs are hatched and reared in the bodies of other
+insects. Many of these have the ovipositor greatly lengthened, and
+projecting like a very slender needle from the extremity of the abdomen.
+In some species, this needle-like organ is three or four times the
+entire length of the body; and this great longitude is intended to reach
+the pupae of wasps and similar insects which inhabit deep holes. The
+needle itself is well worthy of study. It is not simple, but composed
+of two pieces forming a sheath, which open and reveal a central finer
+filament, furnished at its tip (in _Pimpla manifestator_, for example)
+with saw-like teeth. With this instrument, which possesses great
+elasticity and flexibility, the insect works, as a carpenter with his
+brad-awl, boring through the clay, with which the wasp has closed up the
+hole that contains her grub, until the tip of the ovipositor reaches the
+soft body of the insect. Into this it pierces, and deposits an egg, and
+is withdrawn. The slight puncture is scarcely felt by the grub, which
+continues to eat and grow; the inserted egg, however, presently hatches,
+and produces the ichneumon-grub, which begins to feed on the fat of the
+wasp-grub, instinctively avoiding the vital parts, until the latter has
+attained nearly its full size, and is ready to pass into the pupa state;
+when, its vigour being gone, it fails to accomplish the metamorphosis,
+the insidious intruder, now also full grown, taking its place, and by
+and by issuing from the hole a perfect Ichneumon.
+
+How often has the enthusiastic young entomologist been subjected to sore
+disappointment by the parasitic habits of these _Ichneumonidae_! He has
+obtained some fine caterpillar, a great rarity, and by dint of much
+searching of his Westwood or his Stainton, feels quite certain that it
+is the larva of some much-prized butterfly. He ascertains its leaf-food;
+which it eats promisingly; all goes on encouragingly. Surely it cannot
+be far from the pupa state now! When some morning he is horrified to
+behold, instead of the chrysalis, a host of filthy little grubs eating
+their way out of the skin of his beautiful caterpillar, or covering its
+remains with their tiny yellow cocoons.
+
+Some of these parasites are so minute that their young are hatched and
+reared in the _eggs_ of other insects. Bonnet found that the egg of a
+butterfly, itself no bigger than the head of a minikin pin, was
+inhabited by several of the stranger grubs; for out of twenty such eggs,
+he says, "a prodigious quantity" of the grubs were evolved.
+
+A very interesting tribe of insects, so diverse from all other known
+forms as to constitute an order among themselves, that of the
+_Strepsiptera_, passes its youth in the bodies of certain wild bees. Mr
+Kirby's account of his first detection of one of these, though often
+quoted, is so interesting that I must cite it afresh. "I had previously
+observed," he remarks, "upon bees something that I took to be a kind of
+mite (_Acarus_), which appeared to be immovably fixed just at the
+inosculations of the dorsal segments of the abdomen. At length, finding
+three or four upon an _Andraena nigroaenea_, I determined not to lose the
+opportunity of taking one off to examine and describe; but what was my
+astonishment when, upon my attempting to disengage it with a pin, I drew
+forth from the body of the bee a white fleshy larva, a quarter of an
+inch in length, the head of which I had mistaken for an acarus (_bee
+louse_)! After I had examined one specimen, I attempted to extract a
+second; and the reader may imagine how greatly my astonishment was
+increased, when, after I had drawn it out but a little way, I saw its
+skin burst, and a head as black as ink, with large staring eyes and
+antennae, consisting of two branches, break forth, and move itself
+quickly from side to side. It looked like a little imp of darkness just
+emerged from the infernal regions. My eagerness to set free from its
+confinement this extraordinary animal may be easily conjectured. Indeed,
+I was impatient to become better acquainted with so singular a creature.
+When it was completely disengaged, and I had secured it from making its
+escape, I set myself to examine it as accurately as possible; and I
+found, after a careful inquiry, that I had got a nondescript, whose very
+class seemed dubious."
+
+Mr Newman, in an essay of much value,[230] has shewn that the larvae of
+this tribe of insects are born alive, that they attach themselves to the
+abdomens of wild bees, nestling among the hair, and that they are thus
+introduced into the nest of the bee. Here it is somewhat uncertain how
+they are sustained at first, for at this time the bee-grubs are not
+hatched; probably they remain without food for some days, or devour a
+portion of the pollen and honey stored up. As soon, however, as the
+bee-grub is hatched, the Stylops-larva undergoes a metamorphosis, sheds
+its six legs, and becomes a footless maggot; it pierces the soft skin of
+the bee-grub, and feeds on its juices, till its maturity, as the
+Ichneumon on the body of the caterpillar.
+
+When the perfect bee emerges in the following spring, it bears the
+full-grown Stylops, protruding from the rings of its abdomen. The latter
+is in pupa, all the organs being distinct and separate, but wrapped
+together, and inclosed in separate pellicles; very soon, it emerges, as
+described by Kirby, and escapes, leaving a great unsightly cavity in the
+body of the bee. This is the male: the female never escapes, but lays
+its eggs on the bee in which it has been reared, and then dies.
+
+In the spring we frequently see among herbage a great uncouth beetle of
+a dark blue-black hue, with short wing-cases and long, heavy body, which
+discharges drops of yellow fluid when handled, and is therefore called
+the Oil-beetle (_Meloee proscarabaeus_). The early stages of this beetle
+have much affinity with those of the _Stylops_. The beetle lays a number
+of yellow eggs in a hole in the earth; these produce little active
+six-footed larvae, resembling lice, which crawl to the summit of
+dandelion and other flowers in the sunshine, and await the visit of a
+bee. On the arrival of one, the active grub immediately clings to its
+body, and is carried to the nest, not, however, to introduce itself
+parasitically into the body of the bee-grub, but to feed on the
+provision which the parent bee has stored up for its own young. Thus it
+becomes very fat, and grows to a size much larger than that of the
+full-grown bee-grub, having early dropped its six long clinging legs,
+which, having performed their proper function in catching hold of a bee,
+are no longer needed. It changes to a perfect beetle in autumn, lies in
+the bee's nest all the winter, and emerges in the spring.
+
+The large jelly-like Medusae which in summer are seen floating around our
+coasts, driving themselves along by alternate contractions and
+expansions of their umbrella, are frequently infested by little
+creatures of widely different organisation, Crustaceans belonging to the
+genera _Hyperia and Metoecus_. On the beautiful _Chrysaora_ of the
+southern coast I have seen the _Metoecus medusarum_, a little shrimp
+about half-an-inch in length, with enormous lustrous green eyes, which
+takes up his residence in the cavities of the sub-umbrella,--dwelling in
+them as in so many spacious and commodious apartments, of which he takes
+possession, evidently without asking leave of the landlord, or paying
+him even the compliment of a peppercorn rent. Here he snugly ensconces
+himself, and feels so much at home, that he is not afraid to leave his
+dwelling now and then, to take a swim in the free water, returning to
+his chamber after his exercise; and here he rears his numerous family,
+which, in the form of tiny white specks, very much unlike their parents
+in shape, stud the membranes of the jelly-fish.
+
+But, what is stranger still, Mr M'Cready has recently discovered in the
+harbour of Charleston in North America, a _Medusa_ which is parasitic
+upon another _Medusa_. _Cunina octonaria_ does not swim freely in the
+water, but inhabits the cavity of the bell of _Turritopsis nutricula_.
+"Not only does the latter furnish a shelter and dwelling-place for the
+larvae during their development; it also serves as their nurse, by
+allowing the parasites, whilst adhering by their tentacles, to draw
+nourishment out of its mouth by means of a large proboscis. In point of
+fact, the relation between them is of so unprecedented a nature, that
+the author may well be excused for having at first taken the impudent
+parasite for the gemmiparous progeny of the sheltering Medusa. The
+youngest state of this parasitic Medusa observed by the author formed a
+ciliated body of clavate form, adhering to the cavity of the bell by
+means of the slender stalk in which it terminated. The first change
+consists in the emission, from the thick end, of two slender flexible
+tentacles, and in the formation of a central cavity by liquefaction. At
+this stage of development, the author frequently observed gemmation
+taking place at the thicker end, sometimes frequently repeated.
+Subsequently the number of tentacles becomes doubled. These bend
+together over the clavate extremity, and are then employed, instead of
+the thin end of the body, in adhering to the cavity of the sheltering
+Medusa. The thin extremity then acquires a mouth, and may be recognised
+as a stomachal peduncle, which is employed, as above indicated, in
+obtaining nourishment. The morphological nature of the proboscis becomes
+still more distinct when, after the lapse of some little time, an
+annular fold makes its appearance immediately under the tentacles, which
+is recognisable from its form, and from the formation in it of (eight)
+otolithic capsules, as the first indication of the future bell.
+Simultaneously with the otolithic capsules, four rudimentary tentacles
+make their appearance between the four tentacles. The Medusa remains in
+this stage of development for a long time. The bell gradually becomes
+more freely developed, and at last, by the reduction and entire
+disappearance of the stomachal peduncle, becomes the most essential part
+of the Medusa, after it has left its previous dwelling-place in the bell
+of the _Turritopsis_. The bell nevertheless retains for some time its
+earlier lobed form and unequal tentacles."[231]
+
+More remarkable even than this association is the fact that certain true
+Fishes habitually reside in the stomachs of star-fishes. This
+circumstance, which had been observed in the Oriental Archipelago by MM.
+Quoy and Gaimard, and by Dr Bleeker, has recently been confirmed by Dr
+Doleschall, who has written a very interesting Memoir on it.
+
+This learned naturalist states that the fact of the connexion between
+the fish and the star-fish is well known to most of the fishermen in
+Amboyna, and that he was able to obtain a sufficiency of specimens for
+examination; but as the star-fishes (and with them the fishes) speedily
+died in confinement, he was unable to make continuous observations upon
+them in a living state. Of the results of his observations he gives the
+following summary:--
+
+"The fish stands to the star-fish in a definite relation which cannot be
+the object of observation. Why the little fish should always seek the
+stomachal cavity of one and the same species of star-fish, and not that
+of various species, is a mystery. It is well known that Crustaceans of
+the genus _Pagurus_ inhabit the empty shells of Mollusca; but we find
+on the shore the same species of _Pagurus_ in the shells of the most
+various genera and species.
+
+"I have never met with _Oxybeles gracilis_, on the contrary, in any
+other species of star-fish than _Culcita discoidea_. The fish was
+described by Bleeker under the above name in 'Natuurkundig Tijdschrift,'
+vii., p. 162. The author proceeds to state that neither he nor any one
+else in Amboyna has ever captured the fish under other circumstances, or
+while swimming freely in the sea; but upon this Dr Bleeker remarks that
+many of his specimens of _Fierasfer Brandesii_, and all those of
+_Fierasfer (Oxybeles) gracilis_ and _F. lumbricoides_, were obtained by
+him along with other fishes, and were probably taken while swimming
+freely in the sea.
+
+"Upon the habits of _Oxybeles gracilis_ the author goes on to say that
+it is certain that this animal passes the greater part of its existence
+in the stomach of the star-fish, rarely shewing itself outside of this,
+and then probably at night. That it does come out occasionally, appears
+from the fact that in two cases the author observed the fish with a
+portion of its body outside the cavity of the star-fish, and in the act
+of creeping in.
+
+"The same observations shewed that the fish, in returning to its
+concealment, passes along the furrow of the lower surface of one of the
+arms leading to the mouth of the star-fish, which is wide enough, when
+the tentacles are retracted, to leave room for the passage of the
+slender body of the _Oxybeles_. This fact likewise proves that the
+_Oxybeles_ does not get into the stomach of the _Culcita_ by accident.
+
+"If a living _Culcita_ be cut in two, the fish is seen moving freely in
+the cavity of its body. If it be taken out, it immediately seeks the
+shade. If the two halves of the _Culcita_ (still alive) be placed in the
+water, the fish will soon be seen to draw towards them, in order to get
+into the cavity of the star-fish. When exposed to the light, it is
+uneasy, and its iris contracts excessively. The author never found two
+fishes in the same star-fish.
+
+"In most of the fishes examined by him, the author found the stomach
+empty; it was full only in one. The contents of the stomach had the
+appearance of a lump of fat, and consisted of half-digested muscle.
+Under the microscope, striated muscular fibres could be detected, and
+the author thinks that they belonged to the muscles of a fish. This
+circumstance proves that _Oxybeles_ does not feed upon the chyle of the
+star-fish, but that its nourishment is analogous to that of other
+fishes. Whether it seizes upon the fishes taken by the star-fish for its
+own nourishment must be determined by further investigations.
+
+"The author's observations establish--
+
+"1. That _Oxybeles gracilis_ is not a true parasite.
+
+"2. That it passes the greater part of its life in the stomach of
+_Culcita discoidea_, as is also indicated by the unusually pale colour
+of the fish.
+
+"3. That, however, it can come out, either to seek nourishment, or for
+the purpose of reproduction.
+
+"4. That it returns to the mouth along the furrow on the ventral surface
+of the arms.
+
+"5. That it is very sensitive to light.
+
+"6. That it feeds upon other animals.
+
+"In fresh water the animals live for about half-an-hour. The pigment
+upon the peritoneum exhibits under the microscope the most beautiful
+stellate forms. The fish possesses a swimming-bladder."[232]
+
+Some very curious instances of parasitism occur, in which one kind of
+creature compels or induces another creature to labour for its special
+benefit. Indeed, in all cases, the parasite is benefited by the
+functions of the supporter; but, in the cases I refer to, the slavery is
+more special and more apparent.
+
+There is a large species of Crab (_Dromia_) found in the West Indies,
+which is invariably found covered with a dense mass of sponge. The
+sponge is found to have grown in such a manner as to fit every
+prominence and cavity of the crab, exactly as if a plastic material had
+been moulded on it, yet it is not adherent to it, but is merely held in
+position by the hindmost pair of feet, which in this genus of crabs, are
+turned upwards, and apparently serve no other purpose than that of hooks
+to hold on the sponge _in situ_.
+
+On our own shores we are familiar with the Hermit crabs making use of
+various kinds of univalve shells as houses to protect their softer
+hindparts; but in many of these cases there is a third party in the
+transaction, which is made to work for the crab's especial advantage.
+The shell of the mollusk is sometimes covered with a sort of fleshy
+polype-mass (_Hydractinia echinata_), which is parasitic on the shell.
+The shell, however, being tenanted also by the active crab, the polype,
+as it grows, moulds itself on the crab's body, and thus extends the
+dimensions of its house, so that it has no necessity either to enlarge
+its dwelling by the absorption of part of the interior shell-wall, or to
+leave this shell and search for one of ampler size, as other
+Hermit-crabs are obliged to do who have not the advantage of so
+accommodating a fellow-lodger. "One can understand," says Dr Gray, "that
+the Crab may have the instinct to search for shells, on which the coral
+[polype] has begun to grow; but this will scarcely explain why we never
+find the [polype] except on shells in which Hermit-crabs have taken up
+their residence."[233]
+
+Small Annelids and Crustaceans not unfrequently burrow into the stony
+walls of corals; but Dr Gray records a much more uncommon case, from the
+Guilding collection. "It is an expanded coral, which forms a thin
+surface on the top of another coral, and is furnished with a number of
+small, depressed, horizontal cases, opening with an oblong mouth. Some
+of these contain within them a small, free, crustaceous animal, a
+_Cymothoa_, which nearly fits the case; and it is evident that, by their
+moving backwards and forwards on the surface, they have caused the
+animal of the coral to form one of these cases for the protection of
+each specimen."[234]
+
+The manner in which this result is obtained is thus explained--"The
+animals which form their habitation in corals, appear to begin their
+domicile in the same way as the barnacles before referred to; they take
+advantage of the soft and yielding nature of the animals which form the
+corals, &c., and taking up a lodgement in their body, all they have to
+do is to keep a clear passage in it, either by the moving backwards and
+forwards, the exertion of their limbs, or the ingress or egress of water
+to and from their bodies, and in time, as the coral is secreted by the
+animal, it will form a wall round them; but if, by any accident, the
+parasite animal should not keep a passage from the coral to the surface
+of the body of the animal clear, which it must be constantly induced to
+do, since by this means it procures food, the coral animal will in a
+very short time close over it and bury it alive in the mass of the
+coral; and this, from the number of these animals, of all sizes and in
+different stages of growth, which are to be found in the substance of
+the large and massive corals, must often be occurring. Thus the Italian
+romance is often literally fulfilled in nature."
+
+Certain birds are parasitic, in this sense, that they compel or induce
+other birds to perform the labour of incubation and of rearing their
+young. The Rhea or Ostrich of South America is parasitical on its own
+species; the females laying each several eggs in the nests of several
+other females, and the male ostrich taking all the cares of incubation.
+More familiar examples, however, occur in our own Cuckoo, and in the
+Cowpen birds (_Molothrus_ _pecoris_ and _M. niger_) of North and South
+America. "These fasten themselves," as has been remarked by Mr Swainson,
+"on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into
+life, whose food they live upon, and whose death would cause theirs
+during the period of infancy."
+
+The habit, at least in the case of the European Cuckoo, is so well
+known, that I need not do more than merely allude to the fact, that the
+female seeks for the nests of other insect-eating birds, always much
+smaller than itself, and deposits its own eggs,--a single egg in each;
+that this stranger egg is hatched by the foster-mother with all care,
+and the young bird is nurtured with all tenderness even at the expense
+of its own proper eggs and young, which in general are sacrificed in the
+course of the process. Every schoolboy knows these facts, but few
+perhaps have ever suspected the existence of a romantic feeling of love
+and fealty in the little bird towards the cuckoo herself, prompting the
+rendering of the service required as a coveted honour. Yet a naturalist
+has communicated to Mr Yarrell some facts which certainly look this way;
+and because they are indubitably the very romance of natural history, I
+cite them, leaving my readers to judge of their value.
+
+"As you have contributed," writes Mr W. C. Newby of Stockton, "so much
+to the information and amusement of the numerous class of readers who
+take an interest in subjects of natural history, I consider it my duty
+to communicate first to you, what appears to me a new fact in the
+habits and character of that general favourite the cuckoo.
+
+"An egg of this bird was brought to me on the 6th instant, which had
+been taken from the nest of the yellow bunting, at a short distance from
+this town, and the boy who got the egg gave the following account,
+which, I think, may be relied on. When bird-nesting the previous
+Saturday, he found a nest of the gold spink (a local name for the yellow
+bunting) with the young birds just hatched. On visiting the nest the
+following day, he flushed the old bird, having seen her sitting on it,
+but the young birds were all excluded, and were lying dead near; and to
+his surprise, a single egg--the one he brought to me--occupied the place
+of the callow brood. He took away the egg (which is now in my
+possession) so that it is impossible to corroborate the statement in any
+degree. The above circumstance was first named to me by Tom Green, a
+well-known character and naturalist in this town, whom I have always
+found to be accurate in his observations on birds, and by him I was
+referred to the boy. On my objecting to Green that the accident appeared
+incredible, because unnatural, and contrary to strong parental instinct,
+he replied, "Ay, sir, but little birds are mightily ta'en up with a
+cuckoo; they'll awmost dee out for them;" and he related the following
+fact which came under his own observation. When out with his gun,
+collecting birds to stuff, (animal-preserving being one of his many
+trades), he shot at and wounded a cuckoo, which, after flying some
+distance, fell upon a hedge with its wings outstretched: the attendant
+bird, which in this case was one of the pipits, continued in the flight
+of its patron after the shot, and when Green approached, he found it
+sitting on the body of the dead cuckoo.[235]
+
+"It has been supposed by some, that small birds follow the cuckoo for
+the sake of annoyance, mistaking it for a sparrow-hawk, to give public
+notice of a pirate abroad, and to warn all peaceful subjects of the air
+against a common danger. But this is clearly not so, for the flight and
+cries clearly distinguish the feelings in the two cases. The attendance
+on the cuckoo is at a distance, silent and respectful; but in the other
+we have a sort of hue and cry raised, as it were, against a felon, and
+which is kept up from place to place, if not to the shame, at least to
+the discomfiture of the culprit.
+
+"The cuckoo is certainly a favourite with them; as Green says, 'they,
+(the lesser birds,) are mightily ta'en up with it;' but to what it owes
+its influence with its parasites I leave to you and other philosophical
+naturalists to determine: I am content to relate, in simple terms, an
+interesting fact."
+
+There is so much analogy with these cuckoo-proceedings in the habits of
+Ants, that, although these cannot correctly be designated as parasites,
+the details of their manners will not be wholly out of place, in winding
+up this chapter. I refer to the propensity manifested by certain species
+of ants to make slaves of the workers of another species, leading them
+into captivity and compelling them to labour for the benefit of the
+marauders. Strangely enough, the parallel between the human and the
+formican slave-trade holds to this further extent that, so far as we
+know, the kidnappers are red or pale-coloured ants, and the slaves, like
+true _niggers_, are black.
+
+The slave-hunting expeditions are planned and executed with the utmost
+skill and courage. "When the red ants are about to sally forth on a
+marauding expedition, they send scouts to ascertain the exact position
+in which a colony of negroes may be found; these scouts, having
+discovered the object of their search, return to the nest, and report
+their success. Shortly afterwards the army of red ants marches forth,
+headed by a vanguard which is perpetually changing; the individuals
+which constitute it, when they have advanced a little before the main
+body, halting, falling into the rear, and being replaced by others: this
+vanguard consists of eight or ten ants only.
+
+"When they have arrived near the negro colony, they disperse, wandering
+through the herbage and hunting about, as if aware of the propinquity of
+the object of their search, yet ignorant of its exact position. At last
+they discover the settlement, and the foremost of the invaders rushing
+impetuously to the attack, are met, grappled with, and frequently killed
+by the negroes on guard; the alarm is quickly communicated to the
+interior of the nest; the negroes sally forth by thousands, and the red
+ants rushing to the rescue, a desperate conflict ensues, which, however,
+always terminates in the defeat of the negroes, who retire to the inmost
+recesses of their habitation. Now follows the scene of pillage; the red
+ants, with their powerful mandibles, tear open the sides of the negro
+ant-hill, and rush into the heart of the citadel. In a few minutes each
+of the invaders emerges, carrying in its mouth the pupa of a worker
+negro, which it has obtained in spite of the vigilance and valour of its
+natural guardians. The red ants return in perfect order to their nest,
+bearing with them their living burdens. On reaching the nest the pupae
+appear to be treated precisely as their own, and the workers, when they
+emerge, perform the various duties of the community with the greatest
+energy and apparent good will; they repair the nest, excavate passages,
+collect food, feed the larvae, take the pupae into the sun-shine, and
+perform every office which the welfare of the colony seems to require;
+in fact, they conduct themselves entirely as if fulfilling their
+original destination."[236]
+
+[228] Reinwardt.
+
+[229] Tennent's _Ceylon_, i. 104.
+
+[230] "Affinities of the Stylopites," in _Zool._, 1792.
+
+[231] Wiegmann's _Archiv._, 1860, _Bericht_, p. 169.
+
+[232] _Ann. Nat. Hist._ for April, 1861.
+
+[233] _Zool._, 204.
+
+[234] _Ibid._, 205.
+
+[235] _Zool._, 2589.
+
+[236] Newman, _Hist. of Insects_, 50.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+ON THE SEA-SERPENT.
+
+
+Since the publication of my former volume, which concluded with an
+examination of the evidence for the existence of this unrecognised
+animal, two other important testimonies have been brought under my
+notice. The first of these is that of an officer of high literary
+reputation, the Consular representative of Great Britain lately residing
+at Boston, in the United States, who thus gives his personal testimony
+and that of his lady to the appearance of the monster:--
+
+"On a Sunday afternoon in the middle of August, above a hundred persons,
+at that time in and about the hotel, were called on to observe an
+extraordinary appearance in the sea, at no great distance from the
+shore. Large shoals of small fish were rushing landwards in great
+commotion, leaping from the water, crowding on each other, and shewing
+all the common symptoms of flight from the pursuit of some wicked enemy.
+I had already more than once remarked this appearance from the rocks,
+but in a minor degree; and on these occasions I could always distinguish
+the shark, whose ravages among the "manhaidens" was the cause of such
+alarm. But the particular case in question was far different from those.
+The pursuer of the fugitive shoals soon became visible; and that it was
+a huge marine monster, stretching to a length quite beyond the
+dimensions of an ordinary fish, was evident to all the observers. No
+one, in short, had any doubt as to its being the sea-serpent, or one of
+the species to which the animal or animals so frequently before seen
+belonged. The distance at which this one was, for ten minutes or a
+quarter of an hour, visible, made it impossible to give a description of
+its apparent dimensions so accurate as to carry conviction to the
+sceptical. For us who witnessed it, it was enough to be convinced that
+the thing was a reality. But one of the spectators, Dr Amos Binney, a
+gentleman of scientific attainments, drew up a minute account of it,
+which is deposited in the archives of one of the Philosophical Societies
+of Boston. I was and am quite satisfied that on this occasion I had a
+partial and indistinct but positive view of this celebrated nondescript.
+But had the least doubt rested on my mind, it would have been entirely
+removed by the event of the day following the one just recorded. On that
+day, a little before noon, my wife was sitting, as was her wont, reading
+on the upper piazza of the hotel. She was alone. The gentlemen,
+including myself and my son, were, as usual, absent at Boston, and the
+ladies were scattered about in various directions. She was startled by a
+cry from the house of "The sea-serpent! The sea-serpent!" But this had
+been so frequent, by the way of joke, since the event of the preceding
+day, and was so like "The wolf, the wolf!" of the fable, that it did not
+attract her particular attention for a moment or two, until she observed
+two women belonging to the family of the hotel-keeper running along the
+piazza towards the corner nearest the sea, with wonder in their eyes,
+and the cry of "The serpent, the serpent! He is turning, he is turning!"
+spontaneously bursting from their lips. Then my wife did fix her looks
+in the direction they ran; and sure enough she saw, apparently quite
+close beyond the line formed by the rising ground above the rocks, a
+huge serpent, gliding gracefully through the waves, having evidently
+performed the action of turning round. In an instant it was in a
+straight line, moving rapidly on; and after coasting for a couple of
+minutes the north-west front of the hotel, and (as accurately as the
+astonished observer could calculate) looking as it stretched at full
+length in the water about the length of the piazza, that is to say,
+about ninety feet; it sank quietly beneath the surface, and was seen no
+more.
+
+"The person who was thus so lucky as to get this unobstructed view, is
+one so little liable to be led astray by any imaginary impulse, that I
+reckon on her statement with entirely as much confidence as if my own
+eyes had demonstrated its truth."--_Grattan's Civilised America_, p. 39.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The second testimony is contained in the following communication with
+which I have been favoured by Mr Cave:--
+
+                              35, WILTON PLACE, _April 29, 1861_.
+
+SIR,--On reading your interesting "Romance of Natural History" it
+occurred to me that I could supply some corroborative evidence of the
+existence of the sea serpent. On looking up my old journals, I found it
+was slighter than I imagined; but, such as it is, I give it almost
+verbatim from my diary.
+
+I was in Jamaica the year after you were, and have often regretted that
+we were not there together, as I might have shewn you parts of the
+island which you missed, and have been, perhaps, the cause of a few more
+pages to your very pleasant journal of a naturalist there.--Believe me,
+faithfully, yours,
+
+                                        STEPHEN CAVE,
+                                    M.P. for Shoreham.
+
+    Philip H. Gosse, Esq.
+
+
+_Extract from a Journal written during a Voyage to the West Indies in
+1846._
+
+_Thursday, Dec. 10._--Off Madeira, on board R.M.S. "Thames."--"Made
+acquaintance with a Captain Christmas of the Danish navy, a proprietor
+in Santa Cruz, and holding some office about the Danish Court. He told
+me he once saw a sea-serpent between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. He
+was lying-to in a gale of wind, in a frigate of which he had the
+command, when an immense shoal of porpoises rushed by the ship, as if
+pursued; and, lo and behold! a creature with a neck moving like that of
+a swan, about the thickness of a man's waist, with a head like a horse,
+raised itself slowly and gracefully from the deep, and seeing the ship
+it immediately disappeared again, head foremost, like a duck diving. He
+only saw it for a few seconds; the part above the water seemed about 18
+feet in length. He is a singularly intelligent man, and by no means one
+to allow his imagination to run away with him."
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+AEpyornis, 38.
+
+America, early condition of, 8, 32.
+
+Ant-eaters, 9.
+
+Antidotes to poison, 268, 272, 276, 298, 300.
+
+Ants, slave-hunting, 384.
+
+Apteryx, egg of, 38.
+
+Argus pheasant, 323.
+
+Auk, great, 82.
+
+Australia, early condition of, 12.
+
+Aye-aye, 78.
+
+
+Bamboo, elegance of, 340.
+
+Bananas in Tahiti, 342.
+
+Barbadoes Pride, 353.
+
+Bats, immured, 183, 185.
+
+Bear, black, 70.
+
+Bear, cave, 15, 69.
+
+Beauty, Divine appreciation of, 302
+  --in quadrupeds, 304
+  --in birds, 306
+  --in beetles, 329
+  --in butterflies, 331
+  --in plants, 338
+  --in flowers, 344.
+
+Beaver in Britain, 72.
+
+Beetles, splendour of, 329, 337.
+
+Birds, colossal, of Australia, 13, 34.
+
+Bison of Europe, 68.
+
+Blood rain, 98, 102
+  --waters, 99, 103
+  --snow, 100.
+
+Bois Immortel, 354.
+
+Britain, early condition of, 13, 44.
+
+Butterflies, splendour of, 331.
+
+Bruce on serpent-charming, 266, 277.
+
+
+Cave in Skye, 134.
+
+Changeable colours, 315.
+
+Climbers of tropical forests, 368.
+
+Climbing perch, 123.
+
+Cock of the rock, 307.
+
+Corals, parasitic, 380.
+
+Corncrake, torpidity of, 198.
+
+Cowpen bird, 381.
+
+Crabs, parasitic habits of, 379.
+
+Crane-fly, luminous, 231.
+
+Creation progressive, 89.
+
+Cuckoo, habits of, 381.
+
+
+Deer, elegance of, 304.
+
+Deposition, rate of geologic, 47.
+
+Dinothere, 5, 14.
+
+Dodo, 74.
+
+Drift, remains in, 44.
+
+
+Eagle fascinates rabbit, 259.
+
+Eel, wanderings of, 122.
+
+Eggs, fossil, 37, 38.
+
+Elephant of Siberia, 6, 20.
+
+Elk, Irish, 14, 49-57, 61.
+
+Entozoic worms, 360.
+
+Europe, early condition of, 3.
+
+Extinction of species, 1, 81, 88.
+
+
+Fascination in serpents, 242
+  --in lizards, 255
+  --in scorpion, 256
+  --in stoats, 257
+  --in fox, 258
+  --in eagle, 259.
+
+Fig-trees, parasitic, 364.
+
+Fire attracts insects, 260
+  --birds, 261
+  --toads, 262.
+
+Fishes, showers of, 109-117
+  --torpidity of, 118
+  --travelling, 121
+  --parasitic, 376.
+
+Flamboyant, 353.
+
+Fleas _ad infinitum_, 359.
+
+Flints, fossil, 44.
+
+Fox of Falkland, 86
+  --fascinating poultry, 258.
+
+Frogs, showers of, 108.
+
+
+Galeodes, account of, 237.
+
+Goatsuckers, 307.
+
+Grouse, 95.
+
+Guiana, scenery in, 346.
+
+
+Hand-tree of Mexico, 87.
+
+Hasselquist on serpent charming, 279.
+
+Hedgehog, immunity of, 277.
+
+Hyena, cave, 16.
+
+Humming birds, elegance of, 312
+  --mango, 313
+  --long-tail, 314
+  --fiery topaz, 317
+  --comet, 318, 321.
+
+
+Ibis, scarlet, 306.
+
+Ichneumon-flies, 369.
+
+Impeyan, scaly, 323.
+
+Ireland, animals of, 57.
+
+
+Kangaroo, giant, 13.
+
+Kaureke, 42.
+
+
+Lantern-fly, 227.
+
+Lepidosiren, 119.
+
+Lightning-tree of Madagascar, 352.
+
+Lizard swallowing its young, 224
+  --fascinates butterfly, 255.
+
+London-pride, microscopic beauty of, 356.
+
+Luminosity of fulgora, 227
+  --of mole-cricket, 230
+  --of crane-fly, 231
+  --of caterpillars, 232.
+
+
+Machairode, 15.
+
+Macrauchen, 11, 33.
+
+Mammoth, 6, 14, 20.
+
+Man, fossil relics of, 44.
+
+Mangouste and snake, 275.
+
+Manu-mea, 79.
+
+Marvels, vulgar love of, 96.
+
+Mastodon, 7, 14, 26, 30.
+
+Medusae, parasites of, 374
+  --parasitic, 374.
+
+Megathere, 9, 33.
+
+Mermaids, 125
+  --zoological necessity of, 126
+  --exhibitions of, 129
+  --Norse legends of, 132
+  --narratives of, 136, 139, 141, 142.
+
+Moa, 34.
+
+Mole-cricket luminous, 230.
+
+Music, power of, on Serpents, 284.
+
+Musk-ox, 86.
+
+Mylodon, 9, 32.
+
+
+Nestor Parrot, 80.
+
+Nile valley, geology of, 46.
+
+Norfolk Island, parrot of, 80.
+
+Notornis, capture of, 41.
+
+
+Oil-beetle, habits of, 373.
+
+Orchideae, beauty of, 344
+  --parasitic habits of, 363.
+
+Ostrich, American, 381.
+
+Oxen, ancient, of Ireland, 63
+  --of Britain, 65, 67
+  --of Scania, 66.
+
+
+Paradise-birds, 326.
+
+Parasitic vegetation, 361
+  --insects, 369
+  --medusae, 374
+  --fish, 376
+  --crabs, 379
+  --polype, 380
+  --birds, 381.
+
+Parrakeet, Carolina, 306.
+
+Parrot, long-beaked, 80.
+
+Peacock, 325.
+
+Perch, climbing, 123.
+
+Pheasants, 322.
+
+Plants, alexipharmic, 268, 272, 276, 298, 300.
+
+Plume-birds, 309.
+
+Polyplectrons, 324.
+
+Potosi, scenery of, 319.
+
+Psylli, 265.
+
+
+Rhinoceros of Siberia, 6, 19.
+
+Rhododendrons of India, 349
+  --of Borneo, 351.
+
+Rifle-bird, 308.
+
+Rio Negro, scenery of, 316.
+
+
+Saltwort, beauty of, 355.
+
+Scelidothere, 9, 32.
+
+Scenery, remarkable, in Jamaica, 213.
+
+Scorpion fascinates fly, 256.
+
+Sea-serpent, Mr Grattan's evidence, 387
+  --Mr Cave's evidence, 389.
+
+Serpent-charming, 263-294.
+
+Serpent, crested, 211
+  --fascinating powers of, 242.
+
+Serpents of Peru, 270.
+
+Showers of blood, 98
+  --snails, 106
+  --frogs, 107
+  --fishes, 109.
+
+Sivathere, 5.
+
+Snails, showers of, 106.
+
+Snake-stones, 294.
+
+Snow, red, 100.
+
+Species, extinction of, 1.
+
+Spiders, bird-eating, 233
+  --webs of, 236, 238
+  --beauty of, 336.
+
+Spoonbill, 306.
+
+Star-fish, parasite of, 376.
+
+Stelleria, 78.
+
+Stoats fascinating rabbits, 257.
+
+Strepsiptera, 371.
+
+Stylops, habits of, 371.
+
+Sun-birds, 311.
+
+Swallows, torpidity of, 191-202
+  --submersion of, 192
+  --winter appearance of, 202-209.
+
+
+Tahiti, scenery in, 342.
+
+Tartary, scenery in, 355.
+
+Tertiary geography, 3, 12, 14.
+
+Tiger, beauty of, 305.
+
+Toads, showers of, 107
+  --in stones, 146, 190
+  --in trees, 148, 153
+  --in mortar, 161, 178, 179
+  --experiments on, 165, 179
+  --attracted by fire, 262.
+
+Tortoise, colossal, 6, 17.
+
+Toxodon, 12, 32.
+
+Travelling fishes, 121.
+
+Trogon, resplendent, 308.
+
+
+Urus, 64.
+
+
+Venom of serpents, experiments on, 249.
+
+Viper swallowing its young, 220.
+
+
+Wasps, sleep of, 180.
+
+Wolf, 71.
+
+
+Zebra, beauty of, 305.
+
+
+
+
+BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+By the same Author.
+
+
+First Series. Third Edition, post 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth,
+
+THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WOLF.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+I. TIMES AND SEASONS.
+
+II. HARMONIES.
+
+III. DISCREPANCIES.
+
+IV. MULTUM E PARVO.
+
+V. THE VAST.
+
+VI. THE MINUTE.
+
+VII. THE MEMORABLE.
+
+VIII. THE RECLUSE.
+
+IX. THE WILD.
+
+X. THE TERRIBLE.
+
+XI. THE UNKNOWN.
+
+XII. THE GREAT UNKNOWN.
+
+
+"This is a charming book.... Every lover of nature, every lover of the
+marvellous, every lover of the beautiful, every soul that can feel the
+charm of true poetry, must be deeply grateful to Mr Gosse for an
+intellectual treat of the highest order.... This 'Romance of Natural
+History' will be one of the best gift-books which can be procured for
+the season of Christmas and the New Year."--_Daily News._
+
+
+
+
+Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth,
+
+LIFE IN ITS LOWER, INTERMEDIATE, AND HIGHER FORMS:
+
+OR, MANIFESTATIONS OF THE DIVINE WISDOM IN THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
+ANIMALS.
+
+BY P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S.
+
+
+Complete in 4 vols., crown 8vo, 16s. cloth gilt,
+
+OUR CHRISTIAN CLASSICS:
+
+READINGS FROM THE BEST DIVINES.
+
+By JAMES HAMILTON, D.D.
+
+DEDICATED TO THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON.
+
+
+Extending from the Reformation to the close of the eighteenth century,
+it is the object of this series to give the reader a comprehensive view
+of that very various and noble Christian literature by which our country
+has been signalised above all others, with biographical and critical
+notices of the more distinguished authors.
+
+
+
+
+Complete in 6 vols., crown 8vo, price L1, 4s. in cloth,
+
+EXCELSIOR:
+
+HELPS TO PROGRESS IN RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND LITERATURE.
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY CAREFUL DRAWINGS ON WOOD.
+
+
+As, besides continuous papers on such subjects as Zoology, Meteorology,
+British Mining, the Fine Arts, the Human Frame, Church History, English
+Letter-Writers, &c., these volumes contain numerous contributions in the
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+Arts, Tales, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Scriptural Evidences, and
+Christian Ethics, it is believed that they will be found a welcome
+acquisition amongst those who, in their search for amusement, do not
+lose sight of instruction. More especially is it respectfully submitted
+that, combining so much sound information with the liveliness of a
+miscellany, they would find an appropriate place in the bookcase of the
+Schoolroom and in the Village Library, as well as on the shelf beside
+the Parlour-fire.
+
+
+LONDON: JAMES NISBET & CO., BERNERS STREET.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance of Natural History, Second
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