NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS. 



CHAPTER I. 



" Out of the ground uprose,' 

 As from his lair, the wild beast, where he wons 

 In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den, 

 Among the trees ; in pairs they rose, they walk'd, 

 The cattle in the fields and meadows green." MILTON. 



IN taking a survey of the animal kingdom, there is opened to 

 the view an extensive field for observation, in which curiosity 

 may have an ample range, and receive continual gratification 

 without finding its source exhausted. Before entering on the 

 individual description of the different species of quadrupeds, it 

 may be requisite to exhibit them in a general view. 



If we descend by regular gradations, from man, the master- 

 piece of the terrestrial world, we must, for many reasons, assign 

 to the quadruped part of .the creation the second rank. Whether 

 we direct our attention to the structure of their bodies, or their 

 various and wonderful instincts, to their ability to render us ser- 

 vice, or their power to injure us, we cannot but consider them 

 as prominent and interesting objects of curiosity. The internal 

 conformation in quadrupeds is strikingly analogous to that of 

 man ; and the general anatomy of the monkey race bears so 

 great a resemblance to that of the human species, that it re- 

 quires some skill in physiology to make the discrimination. 

 Their instincts seem also sometimes to approximate to the rea- 

 soning faculty, and to exhibit an appearance of something like 

 the human passions. Some of them seem to imitate, or even to 

 rival us, in our most tender affections. What human attach- 

 ment can exceed that of the dog to his master ? He accompa- 

 nies him with constancy, guards his property with attention and 

 fidelity, and defends his person with courage and zeal. lie is 

 eager to obtain his caresses, and docile in obeying his commands. 

 If he has the misfortune to incur his displeasure, he seeks every 

 means to be restored to his favour : he testifies emotion and 

 anxiety at his absence, and is transported with joy at his return. 

 Among mankind friendship cannot be more energetically ex- 

 pressed, but is often accompanied with less sincerity. In a num- 

 ber of other quadrupeds, the operations of instinct are equally 

 remarkable and striking. The mischievous cunning of the 



B 



