WOLVES. 135 



woman, also in Russia, and is related by the same 

 gentleman. 4 A woman, accompanied by three of her 

 children, was one day in a sledge, when they were pur- 

 sued by a number of wolves. She put the horse into a 

 gallop, and drove towards her home with the utmost 

 speed. She was not far from it; but the ferocious 

 animals gained upon her, and were on the point of rush- 

 ing on to the sledge. For the preservation of her own 

 life and that of the remaining children, the poor, frantic 

 creature cast one of them to her bloodthirsty pursuers. 

 This stopped their career for a moment ; but, after de- 

 vouring the poor child, they renewed the pursuit, and 

 a second time came up with the vehicle. The mother, 

 driven to desperation, resorted to the same horrible 

 expedient, and threw another of her offspring to her 

 ferocious assailants. The third child was also sacrificed 

 in the same way, and soon after the wretched being 

 reached her home in safety. Here she related what had 

 happened, and endeavoured to palliate her own conduct 

 by describing the dreadful alternative to which she had 

 been reduced. A peasant, however, who was among 

 the bystanders, and heard the recital, took up an axe, 

 and with one blow cleft her skull in two, saying at 

 the same time, " that a mother who could thus sacri- 

 fice her children for the preservation of her own life, 

 was no longer fit to live." The man was committed 

 to prison, but the Emperor subsequently granted him 

 a pardon.' 



The tame wolf at the Jardin des Plantes is described 

 by M. Frederic Cuvier in the following manner: 

 ' This animal was brought up as a young dog, became 

 familiar with every person whom he was in the habit of 

 seeing, and in particular followed his master everywhere, 



