206 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



description of its triumphal march from Bordeaux to the Capital 

 " A deputation from each large town through which she passed," 

 says Mrs. Bowdich, "formed of the municipal authorities, 

 met her; and one of the most learned savants went all the 

 way from the Jardin des Plantes, to accompany her on 

 her march. 'La giraffe,' however, did not appreciate these 

 honours, and was often impatient under the etiquette imposed 

 on her. On one occasion she broke loose from her cavalcade, 

 keeper and all, and dashing among the horsemen, scattered 

 them right and left, some on and some off their steeds. A 

 dignified mayor lay in the dust, and by his side rolled the 

 painstaking savant who had performed so long a journey in 

 her service. The enthusiasm did not abate when she reached 

 her destination. Thirteen thousand more than the usual 

 weekly number passed over the Pont d'Austerlitz alone; and 

 as the public curiosity did not but increase for six weeks, 

 steps were obliged to be taken to prevent the multitude from 

 pressing upon her. Her love for roses was very great; and 

 she eagerly snatched them from those who carried or wore 

 them, to their great astonishment ; for few could calculate on 

 the distance which she could reach." Mr. Gordon Gumming 

 describes a herd of ten giraffes which he saw moving together 

 along an African valley, forming an imposing spectacle. 

 Hollow- ^ e come now to a family of great importance 

 Horned to the human race, the family which includes 

 Buminants. among its members the Ox and the Sheep. 

 These are grouped as hollow-horned ruminants, this one 

 touch of nature making the whole family kin. The hollow- 

 horned ruminants are divided into numerous sub-families, 

 of which the Ox, the Antelope, the Sheep, and the Goat are 

 .the best known representatives. The horn by which the 

 family is characterised, comprises a hollow horny sheath which 

 covers a bony core, and which, except in one case, unlike 

 the horns of the stag, which are shed annually, is permanent 

 Sir Victor Brooke divides the family of the Bovidae into 



