66 THEBEt, OR Jan. I2> 



fco-«'els of the earth, chaces its prey with the fame avi- 

 dity, as the lion, or the wolf, or the bear, upon its 

 furface -, and that the worm flies whh die fame degree 

 of eagernefs, from its greedy purfucr, as the ftag in the 

 foreft, or the hare among the ftubble. 



One damp cloudy day, as I was ftanding in the gar- 

 den, contemplating fome of the beautiful produdTtiorrs 

 of the vegetable tribe, I faw the earth near me begin 

 to be heaved up by the working of a mole, and imme-i 

 diately directed my attention to that objeft. I could 

 foon perceive that the mole was working with an un- 

 ufual degree of agility, which ftill more commanded my 

 attention. It wag not long before I perceived the head 

 of an earth-worm penetrate the mould witli a furprifing 

 degree of rapidity — nearly half its body came above 

 the earth at the firfl: pufh, and at the fecond, it freed 

 itfelf from the mould entirely, and ran off along the fur- 

 face with a degree of agility I never had feen this ani- 

 mal exert till then. The mole too purfued ftill : but 

 on coming near the furface, immediately defifted^ 

 and retired, as I fuppofed, difappointed, from the chace: 

 my imagination at leaft made me conclude this was the 

 cafe. I leave the reader to draw -^hat conclufions hi 

 thinks natural from this fa£t. 



Having had my attention thus awakened with regard 

 to this phenomenon, I have been, fince that time, on 

 the M-atch, in fimilar cafes, to fee if I could obfen'e 

 the like, and had 07ie opportunity of obfers'ing a fimi- 

 lar mole-chace at a future period. I ftate thefe fac^s, 

 of the exactitude of which I am certain, that your 

 readers may take notice if any of them ever remarked 

 any of the fame kind. Whether the inference I draw 

 from it be jufl or not, I leave every one to judge for 

 liimfelf : But if it (hoiild be admitted that the niolcf 

 can thus purfue its prey at a difiance, we fhould be 

 forced, I thhik, to conclude, that it diftinguifhes its 

 t raft by the Ic^nti-' like' a fpaniel or hound; but by* 



