222 OCCASIONAL NOTES. 



one of the servants came to me with the information that poor Lion was in a 

 fit. I went and saw the poor fellow. He was sitting up frothing at the mouth ; 

 his eyes staring wildly, and his head working up and down violently. He 

 was unconscious of everybody and everything. I conveyed him to a river 

 close by, and washed his head well, which had the effect of speedily bring- 

 ing him round. When he was recovered, he came out of the water and fol- 

 lowed me ; and, to my great surprise, began jumping up to me, licking my 

 hands, and showing many other unmistakable signs of gratitude, for the 

 service I had rendered him. I must confess, I was somewhat alarmed at his 

 sudden attachment to me, fearing it was the effect of his malady, as he had 

 never fondled me in this manner before. My fears, however, were ground- 

 less ; for ever since the event, his attachment to me has been unabated. It 

 was but yesterday, as I was passing through the house, he saw me coming ; 

 and the poor fellow scarcely knew how to contain himself, he seemed so 

 much delighted at my presence. And then, as on other occasions, I was 

 compelled to tie him up, to jjrevent him from following me about, regardless 

 of " who calls." He is about twenty years old, and is nearly deaf, — not, I 

 believe, from old age, but owing to his excessive fondness for diving, when- 

 ever he takes a plunge into the water. He is the pet of the house, and is 

 privileged each day to take a walk with one or other of his amiable young 

 mistresses ; and it is a privilege he certainly is deserving of, possessing, as 

 he does, those two noble virtues, which we do not always find blended in 

 the " lord of creation," namely, geatitude and fidelity. 



The Snow Bunting {Plectrophanes nivalis) and Shokt-Eaked Owl {Strix 

 hrachyotos) were shot, a few weeks since, at Eichford Comb, Somerset, and are 

 now in the possesion of Mr. Hooper, Taxidermist, of this city. They are very 

 fine and highly coloured birds, and uncommonly scarce in our neighbourhood. 



The Painted Lady {Cynthia Cardui) and Red Admiral [Vanessa Atalanta). 

 What I stated respecting those two flies, in The Naturalist, vol. iv. page 

 172, holds equally good this season. I was noticing it to some friends, and 

 they told me that they have not seen a single fly of either sort this year. 

 But the Peacock ( Vanessa lo.) and the Small Tortoise Shell {Vanessa Urticai) 

 have appeared in thousands ; for not a day have I been abroad, since I first 

 observed them, without seeing them in dozens ; and indeed I have counted 

 as many as nine Small Tortoise Shells pitched upon the flowers of one Fox- 

 glove plant. And the Peacocks have been almost as numerous. However, 

 I am soriy to s&y that others of the rarer sorts have been as scarce as the 

 abve were numerous. 



St. Ciithlert-street, Wells, 1854. 



