86 



became restive, stood still and pricked up his ears in a startled manner. 

 Just then a deer crossed the road a lew yards in front of the horse. The 

 poor animal was tired, its tongue was hanging out, and its panting could 

 be heard quite distinctly. The howling of wolves was then heard close 

 at hand, and after a few seconds eleven of those ferocious forest sleuth- 

 hounds rushed across the road on the track of the deer. What a 

 glorious chance for a sure eye, a steady hand, and a good repeating rifle. 

 Although a keen sportsman, the worthy Doctor was armed only with 

 what modern pathological science regards as the most killing weapon 

 of the Faculty, his lancet. 



Roman history, at least tradition, tells us that Romulus and Remus, 

 the founders of the ancient city of the Seven Hills, were suckled and 

 reared by a she wolf. If this story be true, the foster mother of those 

 distinguished sons of the Tiber, in her nature, was not all wolf. This 

 incident has been partially paralleled by the story of Androcles and 

 the Lion, and that of Mabdonata and the Puma. All three of 

 these interesting incidents are highly creditable to the character of the 

 brute creation. 



It is certain that the ancient Romans inherited none of the charac- 

 teristic cowardice which fine drawn physiological science might trace to 

 the source of their ancestors' early sustenance. Nevertheless the blood- 

 thirsty instincts of the lupine race were amply exemplified by the 

 humane and gentle rule of many of the Roman Emperors, notably Nero, 

 Caligula, Galba, and Vitellius. Patriotically ferocious selfishness was 

 also conspicuous in the too often misjudged character of Brutus; whose 

 treason against the purest instincts of humanity, in my opinion, was 

 only surpassed by the atrocious turpitude of Judas Iscariot ! 



The old wolf foster-mother of the founders of Rome, may have 

 polluted some of the rivulets of Italian blood. You may search in vain 

 amongst the Knights of the Stiletto, and the wretched organs-grinders of 

 to-day, for a single heroic counterpart of those stalwart Roman warriors 

 who carried off the Sabine women and bore the victorious eagles of 

 Julius Caesar through ancient Gaul and Britain ! 



In the history of British America the instances are very rare in- 

 deed in which wolves are authentically reported to have attacked human 

 beings. Emboldened by numbers, and stimulated into audacity by 



