. THE ASS. 439 



yond his strength, he shows it by lowering his head 

 and bending down his ears. If greatly abused, he 

 will frequently open his mouth and draw back his 

 lips in a disagreeable manner. Most of his motions 

 are like those of the Horse. He walks, trots, and 

 gallops ; and he can also run with tolerable swift- 

 ness for a small distance, but he is soon fatigued by 

 any great exertion of speed, 



The voice of these animals is called braying; and 

 it is a most harsh and discordant noise. When an 

 Ass begins to bray, it often happens, that if there 

 are any others within hearing, they also immedi- 

 ately exert their voices. This habit was, in several 

 instances, a serious inconvenience to our army in 

 Egypt, when much harassed by the siege of Alex- 

 andria. Besides the Camels and Horses, there were 

 a great number of Asses employed in conveying 

 forage for the subsistence of the troops. During 

 the nights, when the soldiers, wearied by the fa- 

 tigues of the day, were enjoying the few hours of 

 repose that could be allowed them, one of these 

 animals would frequently begin; and, soon after- 

 wards, a serenade of at least a thousand such voices 

 would sound through the whole camp. Vexatious 

 as the noise might be, there was, notwithstanding, 

 something extremely ludicrous in such a concert, in 

 which, occasionally, all the numerous other animals 

 around, both birds and beasts, joined their efforts. 

 When the Asses were at last conveyed to Rosetta, 

 it was to the great joy of every person belonging 

 to the troops. 



Gg 4 Neglected 



