THE COMMON FROG. 99 



number with faith in imprisoned reptiles, such as 

 the toad in the coal of the Great Exhibition, or the 

 frog celebrated in the Gainsborough Nexus in the 

 following paragraph : — 



A few days ago a very fine live frog was discovered imbedded 

 in a large block of stone, at the Lady Lee stone-quairies, near 

 Worksop, Nottinghamshire, now occupied by Mr. J. Ellis. The 

 block was eleven feet below the surface, and the frog on being 

 liberated, jumped about quite cheerfully, and on being placad in 

 a pond of water, swam with great dexterity. It is supposed the 

 prisoner must have been confined from one to two thousand 

 years. The block of stone had the impression of the frog very 

 distinctly marked where it had lain for such a long period.* 



We had well-nigh forgotten to associate with 

 these the " true and particular account " of 



Sir Froggy who would a wooing go, 

 Whether his mother would let him or no. 



The climbing powers of frogs attracted the atten- 

 tion of the Kev. C. A. Johns, of Winchester, and 

 in a letter recently published, he gives the following 

 instances : — 



Three several instances proving that they can and do climb, 

 have fallen under my own notice. These are already recorded 

 io print. A fourth came under my notice on the 27th of October 

 last (1863). I was digging for pupae at the base of a large 

 willow-tree in the valley of the Itchen, near Winchester, with 

 some young friends, when one of the party exclaimed, " Look 

 at this frog climbing up the tree ! " I quickly ran round to the 

 other side of the tree, and saw, not one only, but five or six 

 young frogs, from one to two feet from the ground, climbing up 

 the rugged bark, and using their front and hind feet just as a 



* Retford and (ramsborougk Nervst, March 11th, 1865. 



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