of trees, to surprize the rein-deer and other animals as they pass; waiting with great patience the occurrence of its prey, and darting on it with unerring aim. Its flesh is tough and unsavoury; but the animal is hunted on account of its skin, which shines with a peculiar lustre and reflects the light like damasked silk.

10. The common or brown bear is a heavy looking animal, not naturally voracious, but very fierce when he is attacked and wounded. Of all coarse furs, that of the bear is the most valuable: its skin is used for all the purposes of strong leather. Its flesh is considered a savoury and excellent food-the fat is employed as a remedy for swellings and rheumatism-and an oil prepared from it is adopted as a means of making the hair grow. It is a solitary animal, inhabiting the most retired parts of the forest and passing the winter in a state of repose and abstinence. It may be rendered tame, though not without some difficulty; and is often taught, by a cruel mode of education, such as setting its feet upon heated plates of iron, to dance, and to perform various tricks, to entertain the multitude. The polar or great white bears, are savage and powerful animals, and abound in the Polar Sea, where they are seen on the sea shore, and often on ice floats several leagues from land. Their usual food consists of seals, fish, and the carcases of whales; but, when on land, they prey on deer and other animals. In winter they retire and bed themselves deep in the snow, where they continue, till the return of the sun, in a state of torpidity.

11. The feline tribe of animals, of which the cat is the smallest, and the lion and tiger are the largest and strongest, are most ferocious hunters of their prey, which they go in search of chiefly during the night,

and which they seize by surprize, lying in wait till it comes within their reach, and then suddenly springing on it at a single leap. They run swiftly, and climb readily, and have sharp and formidable claws, which they can hide or extend at pleasure. Though varying in size and colour, they are nearly allied in form and disposition, being equally fierce, ravenous, and artful. A lion of the largest size is eight or nine feet from the muzzle to the root of the tail, which last is of itself about four feet long. The height of the larger specimens is four or five feet; but the lioness is, in all its dimensions, about one fourth less than the lion, and wants the mane. The lion is of a tawny or yellowish colour: he is a native of the hottest parts of Asia, but abounds more in the interior of Africa, exercising his reign over the weaker quadrupeds. His form and gait are bold and majestic. The structure of his frame, and his astonishing movements, bespeak a singular combination of bones, nerves, and muscles, destined to act with wonderful effect in pursuing and destroying the creatures on which he feeds. Notwithstanding his portly dimensions, he is so far from appearing clumsy or unwieldy, that he may justly be regarded as a model of strength joined to agility, indicating, as it were, that he is king of quadrupeds. When provoked, he erects his mane, darts fire from his eyeballs, contracts the muscles of his cheeks and forehead into hideous wrinkles, shows his formidable teeth, and exhibits a spectacle of savage grandeur which beggars description. As he puts his mouth to the ground when he roars, the sound is equally propagated to a considerable distance on all sides, so that it is impossible to discover the precise spot whence it issues. This circumstance increasing the alarm, the frightened animals fly back

wards and forwards, and, in the dark, they often run to the very place from which the noise proceeds and which they are so anxious to avoid. Like the tiger and other carnivorous animals, the lion has a fetid breath. His habitation is usually in the thickest part of the forest; and he is seldom seen by day, as too much light incommodes him; but, on the approach of night, he quits his den and prowls about for prey, roaring hideously, and terrifying most animals within his hearing. A single stroke of his paw will break a horse's neck-the sweep of his tail will throw a strong man on the ground; and he can carry off, with apparent ease, a middle-sized ox, or even a buffalo when lightened of its entrails. He does not openly attack any animal, unless provoked or oppressed with hunger; but, in the latter case, he is said to fear no danger and to be repelled by no resistance. His courage, however, is greater or less according to the success with which he is accustomed to employ his force. In those regions, the exclusive empire of which has been resigned to him by man, he is the most formidable of living beings. There he becomes familiar with conquest, and in course haughty and intrepid; having never experienced the power of man, instead of betraying fear at the sight of him, he boldly attacks him. Wounds irritate but do not terrify him; nor is he dismayed at the sight of numbers. A single lion of the desert has been known to attack a whole caravan ; and if, after a violent and obstinate conflict, he found himself weakened, he would retreat fighting, and still presenting his front to the enemy; but, when acquainted with man and the power of his resources, he loses his natural fortitude, and is so conscious of inferiority, that, in populous districts, he has been seen to fly before women and children. His

usual method of taking his prey, is to spring or throw himself on it with one vast bound from the place of his concealment, to the distance of 18 or 20 feet. When enraged or goaded by famine, he rears his mane and beats his tail against his back and sides, and then it is extremely hazardous to approach him; but when the mane and tail are at rest, and the animal is in a placid mood, travellers may generally pass pretty near to him, in perfect safety. The female, though weaker, and for the most part more timid than the male, is more ferocious than he, in defence of her young; knowing no danger, but destroying every animal that comes in her way, and carrying it reeking to her offspring. When attacked in their presence, she seems to be insensible to her own wounds, and fights with fury ungovernable, till she either save her progeny or perish in the conflict,

12. The tiger is a native of Asia, chiefly frequenting the hot climates of India and the Indian islands, lurking in jungles and thickets, from which it issues to spread its ravages all around, attacking the flocks and herds, unterrified by the sight or resistance of man, and closing even with the lion in such fierce encounters, that the combatants have been known to fall together. So prodigious is its muscular strength, that it is capable of carrying off a dead buffalo, of nearly double the weight of a common ox. The prevailing colour of the body of the tiger is a deep tawny, or orange yellowthe face, throat, and lower part of the belly, are nearly white-and the whole is traversed by numerous long black stripes, forming a bold and striking contrast with the ground colour. He is thus possessed of a beautiful form, with a most ferocious, cruel, and untameable disposition. In his native wilds, he frequents the banks of rivers and streams, where he conceals himself from

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view, and springs on his prey with a tremendous roar-if he miss his aim, he is apt, like the lion, to shrink away without repeating the attempt; but, if he succeed, he carries off his victim and tears it in pieces, after having first plunged his head into the body, and quaffed large draughts of blood, his thirst for which is not easily allayed. The rage of the tigress, when robbed of her young, knows no bounds; but, braving every danger, she will pursue the plunderer to the seashore, or into the gates of cities; and when the hope of recovering her offspring is lost, she expresses her grief and indignation by the most fearful howlings.

13. The panther, the leopard, and the ounce, resemble the tiger in their manners and disposition-their bodies are also marked in a certain degree like his (except that they are spotted, while his body is streaked), and, on account of their furs, the skins of these animals are

all very valuable. The lynx is another of the same rapacious tribe, about the size of a moderately large dog, and is noted for its clear and brilliant eyes. Its sight is remarkably quick, and it perceives its prey at a great distance. It resembles the cat, but in a state of captivity refuses to be tamed. It resides in the northern forests, feeding on ermines, weasels, and squirrels, which it hunts and pursues on the tops of the trees; or, watching among the branches, the approach of the hare, fallow-deer, and other animals, it darts suddenly on them, seizing them by the throat and sucking their blood, after which it abandons them and goes in quest of fresh game.

14. The wild cat is larger and stronger than the domestic kind, and has a much longer fur. It is partial to hilly and wooded tracts, where it preys on birds, hares, mice, and a variety of other animals, which it