ANTELOPE. 



There is another instance drawn from the 

 same subject : the disciple raised to life 

 at Joppa was supposed to have been call- 

 ed Tabitha, i. e. Dorcas, or the antelope, 

 from the beauty of her eyes; and to this 

 day one of the highest compliments that 

 can be paid to female beauty, in the eastern 

 regions, is JKne el Czazel, ' You have the 

 eyes of an antelope.' Some species of an- 

 telopes form herds of two or three thou- 

 sands, while others keep in troops of five 

 or six. They generally reside in hilly 

 countries, though some inhabit plains : 

 they often brouse like the goat, and feed 

 on the tender shoots of trees, which gives 

 their flesh an excellent flavour. This is 

 to be understood of those which are taken 

 in the chace ; for those which are fatten- 

 ed in houses are far less delicious. The 

 flesh of some species are said to taste of 

 musk, which perhaps depends on the 

 qualities of the plants they feed upon." 

 This preface (says Mr. Pennant) was 

 thought necessary, to point out the dif- 

 ference in nature between this and the 

 goat kind, with which most systematic 

 writers have classed the antelopes : but 

 the antelope forms an intermediate ge- 

 nus, a link between the goat and the deer ; 

 agreeing with the former in the texture 

 of the horns, which have a core in them, 

 and are never cast ; and with the latter 

 in elegance of form and swiftness. 



The Common Antelope. The Ante- 

 lope, properly so called, abounds in Bar- 

 bary, and in all the northern parts of Afri- 

 ca. It is somewhat less than the fallow- 

 deer: its horns are about sixteen inches 

 long, surrounded with prominent rings al- 

 most to the top, where they are twelve 

 inches distant from point to point. The 

 horns of the antelope are remarkable for 

 a beautiful double flexion, which gives 

 them the appearance of the lyre of the 

 ancients. The colour of the hair on the 

 back is brown, mixed with red; the belly 

 and inside of the thighs white ; and the 

 tail short 



The Striped Antelope, is a beautiful, 

 tall gazelle, inhabiting the Cape of Good 

 Hope ; has long, slender shanks : its horns 

 are smooth, twisted spirally, with a pro- 

 minent edge or rib following the wreaths; 

 they are three feet nine inches long, of a 

 pale-brown colour, close at the base, and 

 at the points round and sharp. The colour 

 of this animal is a rusty brown ; along 

 the ridge of the back there is a white 

 stripe mixed with brown ; from this are 

 eight or nine white stripes pointing down- 

 wards ; the forehead and the fore part of 

 the nose are brown ; a white stripe runs 



from the corner of each eye, and meets 

 just above the nose; upon each cheek-bone 

 there are two small white spots ; the in- 

 ner edges t)f the ears are covered with 

 white hair, and the upper part of the neck 

 is adorned with a brown mane, an inch 

 long ; beneath the neck, from the throat 

 to the breast, are some long hairs hang- 

 ing down ; the breast and belly are grey ; 

 the tail is two feet long, brown above, 

 white beneath, and black at the end. 



The Gnu, the Hottentot name for a sin- 

 gular animal, which, with respect to its 

 form, is between the horse and the ox. 

 It is about the size of a common galloway, 

 the length of it being somewhat above five 

 feet, and the height rather more than 

 four. This animal is of a dark brown co- 

 lour : the tail and mane of a light grey ; 

 the shag on the chin and breast, and the 

 stiff hairs which stand erect on the fore- 

 head and upper part of the face, are black; 

 the curvature of the horns is singular ; 

 and the animal is represented in the figure 

 in the attitude of butting, to give an idea 

 of their form and position. The legs of 

 the gnu are small ; its hair is very fine ; 

 and it has a cavity beneath each eye, like 

 most of the antelope kind. 



The Chevrotain and Meminna. - The 

 Chevrotain, or little Guinea Deer, is the 

 smallest of all the antelope kind, the least 

 of all cloven-footed quadrupeds, and, we 

 may add, the most beautiful. Its legs at 

 the smallest part are not much thicker 

 than a tobacco-pipe ; it is not more than 

 seven inches in height, and about twelve 

 from the point of the nose to the insertion 

 of the tail ; its ears are broad, and its 

 horns, which are straight, and scarcely two 

 inches long, are black and shining as jet ; 

 the colour of the hair is a reddish brown ; 

 in some a beautiful yellow, Very short and 

 glossy. These elegant little creatures are 

 natives of Senegal and the hottest parts of 

 Africa ,- they are likewise found in India, 

 and in many of the islands belonging to 

 that vast continent. In Ceylon, there is 

 an animal of this kind, called Meminna, 

 which is not larger than a hare, but per- 

 fectly resembling a fallow-deer. It is of a 

 grey colour; the sides and haunches are 

 spotted and barred with white ; its ears 

 are long and open ; and its tail short. 

 None of these small animals can subsist 

 but in a warm climate. They are so ex- 

 tremely delicate, that it is with the utmost 

 difficulty they can be brought alive into 

 Europe, where they soon perish. They 

 are gentle, familiar, most beautifully form- 

 ed, and their agility is such, that they will 



