A JANUARY DAY AT REGENTS PARK. 19 



freezing waters of their proper home. This is one of 

 the few northern animals whose fur retains its white 

 hue throughout its life, experiencing no change in 

 winter or summer. The coat of the ermine and the 

 arctic fox alters from its dark summer tints to its 

 snowy winter hue ; not, I imagine, to aid in conceal- 

 ment by assimilating the colour of the animal with 

 that of the ground, but because the pure white hue is 

 endowed with some wondrous power of resisting the 

 effects of cold. 



I wonder whether polar bears when wild are in the 

 habit of taking exercise in the fashion in which these 

 specimens indulge ? Do they always walk forward for 

 six paces, and retire backwards over precisely the same 

 ground, with as much accuracy as if they had been 

 volunteer riflemen practising the back-step ? It can 

 hardly be too troublesome for them to turn round, and 

 they have ample room for the purpose, being able 

 if they choose to indulge in quite a promenade, unre- 

 stricted by the narrow limits in which those unfor- 

 tunate lions and tigers are confined. 



I pity those active and restless creatures with all 

 my heart. I wish they had more appropriate residences, 

 and am sure that if they were only permitted to ex- 

 ercise their limbs as intended by their Maker, they 

 would be healthier, live longer, and display their won- 

 derful powers in a more perfect manner. There are, 

 of course, some difficulties attendant upon the construc- 

 tion of an enclosure sufficiently large to give ample 



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