62 THE ANTELOPES. 



of the antelope, without entering into any details of their charac- 

 teristics or qualities. Indeed, the most laborious naturalist must 

 leave something imperfect. The beauties of the creation, both 

 in the conformation of animals and the disposition of inanimrte 

 matter, are innumerable, and the ever-varying forms of Nature 

 baffle discrimination, and exhaust description. 



Other naturalists have added descriptions of the other ani- 

 mals of the antelope kind, which have been described by natu- 

 ralists ; it will, in this compendium, suffice to mention the names 

 as the reebok, the grysbok, the klipspringer, the gnu, the steen- 

 bok, and the nanguer. We shall only remark, that 



THE COMMON ANTELOPE, 



Which abounds in all the northern part of Africa, is some- 

 what less than the fallow deer ; that its horns, which are remark- 

 able for a beautiful double flexion, are about fifteen inches long, 

 and surrounded with prominent rings almost to the top, where 

 they are about a foot distant from point to point, and that its 

 colour is brown, mingled with red on the back, and white on the 

 belly and inside of the thighs. The Barbary antelope, which is 

 also very common, not only in the northern parts of Africa, but 

 also in Syria and Mesopotamia, seems only to be a variety of the 

 last-mentioned animal, to which it bears a striking resemblance. 



THE CHEVROTAIN, OR LITTLE GUINEA DEER, 



Cannot, however, be omitted, as it is not only the smallest, 

 but also the most beautiful of all the antelope kind, and indeed 

 of all cloven-footed quadrupeds. It is no larger than a half- 

 grown cat, but in its shape it is elegant beyond description. Its 

 fore-legs, at the smallest part, do not much exceed the thickness 

 of a tobacco-pipe : its horns are straight, scarcely two inches 

 long, and of a shining jet black. The colour of some of these 

 elegant little animals, is a reddish brown, of others, a beautiful 

 yellow, and their hair is short and exceeding glossy. These 

 handsome little creatures are natives of Senegal, and other hot 

 parts of Africa. They are also found in India, as well as in 

 Ceylon, and many other of the oriental islands ; but they can 

 subsist only in a hot climate, and are too delicate to be kept alive 

 in Europe. 



These are only a few of the varieties of the gazelle kind, of 

 which the ramifications and subdivisions are almost innumerable. 

 They are, however, sufficient to excite an admiration of the un- 

 limited power, incomprehensible wisdom, and diffusive goodness 

 of the great Creator, displayed in the prolific energy of Nature. 



