NOTE-BOOK OF A NATURALIST. 389 



he first knew it, was called by his father ' the old toad ;' 

 and Mr. Arscott, fils, answers for a knowledge of it for 

 thirty-six years. How long would it have lived ? 



Ay, that is the question, which a mischievous devil of 

 a tame raven — those ravens are certainly supremely 

 diabolical — took care shoidd not be answered ; for he 

 dabbed one of the poor toad's eyes out with his horny 

 beak, after kenning it, as if to satisfy himself, like one of 

 Homer's heroes, where he could plant his dab so as to 

 do it most mischief, as it came out one fine evening from 

 the hole which its kind master had caused to be made 

 for it under the third step, when he ' new-laid the steps ;' 

 and, at the same time, otherwise maltreated the poor 

 sweltering pet, so that it was never the same toad again. 

 The story is extant, and written in choice English, in the 

 Appendix to Pennant's British Zoology, to which the 

 reader is referred for the interesting details, which, while 

 they show that the kind and observing narrator was 

 ignorant of some things that modern science has made 

 manifest, indicate the honest truth of his narrative. 



Well ; it had frequented the steps before the hall-door 

 some years before he became acquainted with it. His 

 father, who admired its size — which was of the largest 

 the son ever met with — paid it a visit every evening. 

 He himself constantly fed it, and brought it to be so 

 tame, that it always came to the candle, and looked up 

 as if expecting to be taken up and brought upon the 

 table, where he always fed it with insects of all sorts. 

 It was fondest of flesh maggots, which he kept in bran. 

 It would follow them, and when within a proper distance, 

 would fix its eye, and remain motionless for near a 

 quarter of a minute, as if preparing for the stroke, ' which 

 was an instantaneous throwing its tongue at a great dis- 

 tance upon the insect, which stuck to the tip by a gluti- 

 nous matter ;' and he adds, most truly, ' the motion is 

 quicker than the eye can follow.' 



