300 THE COMMON HARE. 



the cud* till evening: in the leaves also of that 

 vine he found a favourite repast. I had not long 

 habituated him to this taste of liberty, before 

 he began to be impatient for the return of the 

 time when he might enjoy it. He would invite me 

 to the garden, by drumming on my knee, and by 

 a look of such expression as it was not possible to 

 misinterpret. If this rhetoric did not immediately 

 succeed, he would take the skirt of my coat be- 

 tween his teeth, and pull at it with all his force. 

 Thus, Puss might be said to be perfectly tamed; the 

 shyness of his nature was done away ; and, on the 

 whole, it was visible by many symptoms, which I 

 have not room to enumerate, that he was happier 

 in human society, than when shut up with his 

 natural companions. 



" Not so Tiney; upon him the kindest treatment 

 had not the least effect. He too was sick, and in 

 his sickness had an equal share of my attention ; 

 but if, after his recovery, I took the liberty to 

 stroke him, he would grunt, strike with his fore- 

 feet, spring forward, and bite. He was, however, 

 very entertaining in his way. Even his surliness 

 was matter of mirth ; and in his play, he preserved 

 such an air of gravity, and performed his feats in 

 such a solemnity of manner, that in him too I had 

 an agreeable companion. 



* See the description of the HARE TRIBE. 



" Bess 



