Iq6 0« the fajcinatlng Faculty afcribed io 



can be feen. Different kinds of birds, which come to reft 

 themfelves upon the reeds, niillakiiig the fiflr's bill for a reed, 

 or dry piece of wood, perch upon il alfo. He then opens his 

 mouth, and generally makes an inmiediate prey of the mif- 

 guided bird. 



This (lory is related by a very refpeAnble writer, father 

 Charlevoix, who adds a circnrnftance which I muft not omit 

 lo mention, efpecially as it wovdd feem to fliow that there 

 is fomc hidden (we will call it a fajcinatlng) virtue in the 

 car's bill. The Indians fay, that the fliarp teeth which are 

 diitributcd along the edges of this inftrument are a *' fove- 

 reit-n remedy againft the head-ach, and that pricking with 

 one of thefc teeth where the pain is Iharpeft, takes it away 

 indantly */' 



But to be ferious : As mod, if rrot all, animals are fur- 

 niilied with an organ of hearing, lb it is not improbable that 

 different founds, particidarly the founds of mufical inftru- 

 ments, have fomething charming or attraftive to certain fpe- 

 cies of animals. Paffmg by the (lories that are told of the 

 trichecbits manatus, or fea-cow, the common moufe, and 

 fome other animals, I will here mention a fait related by 

 Dr. Odier on a very refpeftable authority, and I relate it the 

 more confidently becaufc it has been confirmed to me byfe- 

 veral perfons of credit. The iguana t of the Weft Indies is 

 (aid to be fo fond of mufic, that at the found of an inftrument 

 this utdy looking lizard becomes almoll molionlefs, and is 

 eafily taken by a noofe %. ^ 



But I muft return to Mr. Blumenbach. " I Know," fays 



'• A Voyage to Noith America, vol. i. pages 117 and 11 3. Englifh 

 tranflaiion. 



f Lacerta ii);uana of Linna;iis. 



+ See Epiftola I'hyfioloijica, Inaus^uralis, de Elemeutariis iVTuficae Senfa- 

 tionibus, Nota 32, Edinb'ngi 1770. It were much to be wilhed .that 

 Ibmc int;en'ovis man would favour us with a mciTioir cnnceining the in- 

 fluence "of mufic upon dirllrcnt nnimals. Some intcrtfting materials for 

 fuch a work are to he found fcattcred tlirough a number of writers both 

 antient and modern. But new materials mlj^ht readily he collefted, fmce 

 it would not be a difficult taflt to make expcnments. Much curious phy- 

 fiolouical knowledge would refult from fuch an inquiry : and I greatly 

 miftake if the inquiry would not Ibmcwhat tend to diminifh the quantity 

 of our prejudices againft aninials tliat are unqucftionably innocent. Should 

 jr have this effcft, liow great would be the eain to a bcnevolejit mind ! 

 Hurtured among prtjudijcs of diffcreijt kinds, we are at once miferablc 

 and unjuft. 1 muft contefs that I have dropped fome of my prejudices 

 a"-amft the amphibia (See a Memoir, &:c. p. 45, note) fmce I have learned 

 that the iguana is pleafed with the nftilic of the Wtft Indians; and that 

 a little garden lizard liftened, *' with a breathlels attention," to the found 

 of a lady's piano-forte. — For a very intcrtfting inftauct ot this kind.^bc 

 the Analytical Review for January 17S9. 



