UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 233 



any species of antelope, all of which are remark- 

 ably deficient in strength, and naturally timid. 

 She found in some book, that the derivation of 

 the Scripture name Reem, both in the Hebrew 

 and the Ethiopic, implies erectness ; and though 

 the rhinoceros is by no means a very erect 

 animal, yet his horn certainly is so, as it stands 

 perpendicular to the face ; and in that respect, it 

 differs from the horns of all other animals. " The 

 upright direction of the horn," Mary said, " as 

 well as the power and fierceness of the rhinoceros, 

 would equally justify the metaphor in the 

 Psalms, " my horn shalt thou exalt like the 

 horn of a unicorn." 



Caroline then brought forward her authorities 

 to prove, that in Abyssinia the name of the rhi- 

 noceros signifies the beast with the horn, implying 

 that it has but one; whereas, in Nubia, the 

 name expresses horn upon horn. But as the 

 Septuagint translates the word reem into mono- 

 ceros or unicorn, we may suppose that if the 

 rhinoceros had always two horns, the writers of 

 the Septuagint, who probably must have seen the 

 animal at Alexandria, at the exhibition given by 

 Ptolemy Philadelphia, would not have called it 

 monoceros. 



We proceeded with our gleanings to my uncle, 

 who seemed pleased with our industry. He 

 observed, that notwithstanding the translation in 

 the Septuagint, it was not quite certain that the 



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