II ON ANIMAL LIFE 75 
gallops under the influence of a false alarm 
many times in a day. ‘Those who have 
crouched at night by the side of pools in the 
desert, in order to have a shot at the beasts 
that frequent it, see strange scenes of animal 
life; how the creatures gambol at one moment 
and fight at another; how a herd suddenly 
halts in strained attention, and then breaks 
into a maddened rush as one of them becomes 
conscious of the stealthy movements or rank 
scent of a beast of prey. Now this hourly life- 
and-death excitement is a keen delight to 
most wild creatures, but must be peculiarly 
distracting to the comfort-loving temperament 
of others. The latter are alone suited to 
endure the crass habits and dull routine of 
domesticated life. Suppose that an animal 
which has been captured and _half-tamed, 
received ill-usage from his captors, either as 
punishment or through mere brutality, and 
that he rushed indignantly into the forest 
with his ribs aching from blows and stones. 
If a comfort-loving animal, he will probably 
be no gainer by the change, more serious 
alarms and no less ill-usage awaits him: he 
