383 LETTER LIX. 



kind, in being viviparous, whereas all the others are 

 oviparous. 



THE CHAMELEON 



is an animal of which the head is about two, the body 

 four, and the tail five inches long. In form, it. not a 

 little resembles the crocodile; but the thickness of its 

 body varies considerably at different times, as it pos- 

 sesses the faculty of blowing itself up from one inch to 

 two in depth; and this power of inflation and con- 

 traction is not confined to the body, but also extends 

 to the legs and the tail. 



The colour of this animal is its most remarkable pe- 

 culiarity. The salamander has not been a more dis- 

 tinguished subject of ignorant misrepresentation, than 

 the chameleon has been of philosophical enquiry. 

 The surface of its skin is unequal, but soft; and when 

 the creature is at rest in the shade, the eminences ap- 

 pear of a blueish grey, and the intermediate spaces of 

 a pale red and yellow. When viewed in different 

 lights, it assumes every tint that can possibly be ima- 

 gined ; and no two spectators could ever agree con- 

 cerning its true colour. From this circumstance it 

 derives its celebrity, and on this account has, in all 

 ages, been introduced by moral writers as the emblem 

 of a fickle and inconstant mind. 



There are several species wf lizards in Great Bri- 

 tain; that which is the most common is the eft, in 

 some provinces called the newt, and. in others the 

 askar. The same prejudices are entertained against 

 this animal as against the toad; but -both are equally 

 inoffensive; and however disgusting their figure may 

 appear to us>, the ail-wise Creator has undoubtedly, 

 for some wise and good purpose* given them a place 

 in the system of animated nuture. 



I am, most respectfully, 



Dear Sir, 



Your's, &c. 



