156 Chameleons. 



Among the many amusing and interesting 

 accounts of these animals which are to be found 

 scattered up and down the literature of natural 

 history, certainly neither the least amusing nor 

 interesting is " The Anatomical Description of a 

 Camelion," to be found in certain " Memoirs for a 

 Natural History of Animals/' containing the 

 anatomical description of several creatures dis- 

 sected by the Eoyal Academy of sciences at Paris, 

 done into English by a fellow of the R.S., and 

 published by order of the Council of the Royal 

 Society in 1701. A work which, though probably 

 little known, appears to have held its own for 

 many years as the great authority on the subject 

 with which it treats, as we find Dr. Brookes, in 1763 

 boldly plagiarising it. The writer had evidently 

 carefully observed a chameleon, which he tells us 

 was an "Egyptian one, which is the greatest of 

 all," both in life and by dissection after death, the 

 result of his observations being that he wrote an 

 extremely interesting treatise containing much 

 excellent matter. Many of his remarks and 

 deductions, however, are very quaint, and of 

 these alone, rather than of his facts, we propose 

 to treat. Asa preface, he says that " there is 

 scarce any animal more Famous than the Camelioii, 

 its admirable Properties have ever been the sub- 

 ject as well of Natural as Moral Philosophy. 

 The changing of its colour, and the particular 

 manner of feeding which is attributed to it, have 

 in all Ages given great Admiration and Exercise 



