,14 oti animal instinct. Match '^r 



feed, and then seizes upon some defencelefs indi- 

 vidual, before it be aware, and carries it off in safety. 



The gregarious instinct operates so strongly on alt 

 animals of this clafs, as to induce any creature of 

 that kind easily to afsociate with others of a different 

 clafs, if it be accustomed to do it from its youth. As 

 the most ferocious animals, in being tamed, lose a 

 sense of their own natural powers, and become gen- 

 tle and timid, so the most timid animals, when 

 tamed, lose all sense of fear, and often become pert 

 and mischievous. A hare can be made thus to afsoci- 

 with a dog, a mouse with a cat, or any other animah- 

 of the same kind, without fliewiug the least sense of 

 dan-er. And if it be naturally endowed with any 

 offensive powers, it exercises those indifferently on 

 its native enemies as on others. No animal is more 

 afraid of another than a flieep is of a dog, yet the 

 following case, which I am afsured from good au- 

 thority happened actually not long ago in this neigh- 

 bourhood, serves to ftiOAV that the case may be 

 easily reversed. 



A nobleman in Scotland who kept a pack of hounds,, 

 happened to have about the liouse a tame ram lamb. 

 When young, it was so pleasing and innocent, that it 

 was a favourite of every person. It used to range 

 at large, to go into the stables, and among the 

 hounds, all of which were taught to respect it. 

 They thus became familiar with each otlier ; Willie^ 

 so the pet fheep was called, grew at length strong, 

 and somewhat unmanageable ; it, therefore, became 

 necefsary to put him up into some place of confine- 

 ment, when the servants were not at hand to protect 



