The Brown European Bear. 47 



den, without any particular food : but if we consider M * 

 being at rest, losing little by perspiration, and never re- 

 tiring to his winter quarters before he is properly fat- 

 tened, his abstinence will cease to be wonderful. When 

 tamed, this animal appears mild, and obedient to his 

 master ; he may be taught to wait" upright, to dance, to 

 lay hold of a pole with his paws, and perform various 

 tricks to entertain the multitude, who are highly 

 pleased to see the awkward movements of this rugged 

 creature, which it seems to suit to the sound of an 

 instrument, or to the voice of its leader. The discipline 

 Bears undergo in teaching them to dance is so severe, 

 that they never forget it ; and an amusing story is told 

 of a gentleman who was pursued by a Bear, and who, 

 when in despair he turned and raised his stick against 

 his assailant, was astonished to see the Bear rear itself 

 on its hind legs, and begin to dance. It had escaped 

 from captivity, and had been taught to dance when a 

 stick was held up by its keeper. But to give the Bear 

 this kind of education, it must be taken when young, 

 and accustomed early to restraint and discipline, as 

 an old Bear will not suffer constraint without discover- 

 ing the most furious resentment: neither the voice 

 nor the menaces of his keeper have any effect upon 

 him ; he growls equally at the hand that is held out to 

 feed, and that which is raised to correct him. The 

 female Bears bring forth two or three young, and are 

 very careful of their offspring. The fat of the Bear is 

 reckoned very useful in rheumatic complaints, and for 

 anointing the hair : his fur affords comfort to the inha- 

 bitants of cold climates, and ornaments to those of 

 warm. It was anciently supposed, that the young Bear, 

 when first brought forth, was merely an unformed mass, 

 till its mother licked it into shape; and hence the 

 expression, " he wants licking into shape," was fre- 

 quently employed by the old dramatists, when speaking 

 of an awkward, clownish man. 



The Brown Bear was at one time common in the 

 British islands. " Many years ago it has been swept 

 away so completely, that we find it imported for bait- 

 ing, a sport in which our nobility, as well as the com- 



