OF N A T U R E. loi 



the fquirrel, and thefe laft have feet given 

 them fit for climbing. 



Befides myriads of fifhes, the caftor^ the 

 fea calf^ and others inhabit the water, that they 

 may there be fed, and their hinder feet are fit 



for 



* afpeft, when it looks at any man who (hould be tempted 



* to hurt it, that it is impoflible not to be touched with 



* compaflion ; befides that at the fame time it (beds tears, 



* and upon the whole perfuades one, that a creature fo de- 



* fencelefs, and of fo unhappy a body ought not to be tor- 



* mented. To make an experiment of this, the above- 



* mentioned father procured one of thefe animals to be 



* brought to our college at Carthagena. He put a long 



* pole under his feet, which it feized upon \txy firmly, and 



* would not let it go again .The animal therefore thus voluntari- 



* ly fufpended was placed between two beams along with the 



* pole, and there it remained without meat, drink, or fleep, 



* forty days ; its eyes being always fixed on people that 



* looked at it, who were fo touched, that they could not 



* forbear pitying it. At laft being taken down they let loofe 



* a dog on it, which after a little while the Sloth feized with 



* his feet, and held him four days, till he dyed of hunger. 



* This was taken from the month of the father. They add, 



* continues Kircher, that this creature makes no noife but 



* at night, but that very extraordinary. For by interrup- 



* tions, that laft about the length of a figh or femipaufe 



* it goes thro* the fix vulgar intervals of mufic ut, re, mi, 

 < fa, fol, la. La, fol, fa, mi, re, ut, afcending and defcend- 



* ing, and thefe perfealy in tune So that the Spaniards, 

 « when they firft got pcfTcftion of this coaft, and heard thefe 



H 3 * notes, 



