880 LETTER LIX. 



eighteen feet, and yet its jaws opened to the terrible 

 width of fifteen inches and a half; so that it was com- 

 pletely able to swallow a man. The Jesuits, by this 

 dissection, made the important discovery, that the ac- 

 counts we often hear of the crocodile being unable to 

 turn itself readily, or to pursue its prey otherwise 

 than by a direct course, are not to be depended on for 

 their accuracy; for they found no less than sixty-two 

 joints in the back-bone, which, though very closely 

 united, seemed to have sufficient play to enable the 

 animal to bend like a bow to either side, and conse- 

 quently to wheel round without any great difficulty. 

 The skin is defended by a suit of armour, composed 

 of large scales, disposed like parallel girdles, and al- 

 most impenetrable to a musket ball, so that the belly 

 is the most vulnerable part. The general colour of 

 the crocodile is a dark ash-coloured brown on the up- 

 per part, and a whitish citron on the belly ; the sides 

 being speckled with large spots of both these colours. 



Such is the figure and conformation of this terrible 

 animal, which, under the name of the crocodile* or 

 the alligator, abounds in the Nile, the Niger, the 

 Ganges, and other great rivers of Africa, and the 

 warmer parts of Asia and America. In upper tEgypt, 

 and in the Niger, they are extremely destructive, ly- 

 ing in wait whole hours, and even days, at the edge 

 of the water, quite motionless, resembling the trunk 

 of an old tree, until some animal come to drink. 



This formidable creature spares neither man, nor 

 the fiercest quadruped that comes within its reach. 

 It seizes its victim with a spring, and instantly drags 

 it into the water, and if the captive happen to escape, 

 it pursues with greater celerity than might be ex- 

 pected from its conformation. The strength of the 

 crocodile is amazingly great, and, as its scaly coat of 

 mail is impenetrable; its offensive arms are irresisti- 

 ble; and escape, rather than contest, can alone afford 

 security against its attacks. 



Frequent combats happen between this creature 

 and the tyger, one of the fiercest and most terrible of 

 fill quadrupeds. Tygers frequently go down to the 



