HABITS OF GAME 3000 YEARS AGO. 175 



of night before the wild beasts issue from their lairs ; 

 and they are gone again to their inaccessible haunts in 

 the thickets, long before the faintest tinge of dawn 

 comes to awaken the busy world of Nature from its 

 nocturnal slumber. 



In such districts the habits of the forest game become 

 almost purely nocturnal, and very little is to be done 

 by day, except as we have observed, when a sports- 

 man is in a position to command the services of 

 beaters. 



The records of antiquity show that the habits of 

 wild beasts have in this respect remained unchanged 

 throughout historic time: as a sketch of just such 

 another nightly drama of the forest, handed down to 

 us in the Psalms of David, very clearly proves ; wherein 

 the words of Scripture run as follows 



"He appointed the moon for seasons: 



The Sun knoweth his going down. 

 Thou makest it darkness, and it is night: 



Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. 

 The young lions roar after their prey, 



And seak their meat from God. 

 The sun ariseth: they gather themselves together, 



And lay them down in their dens." * 



Nothing is more striking in the economy of Nature 

 than this uniformly strict conservatism, like "the law 

 of the Medes and Persians which altereth not," but 

 glides on smoothly throughout the ages, changeless 

 and unchanged and we may just remark while glanc- 

 ing at these facts, that the cry every now and again 



* Psalm civ, verses 19 to 22 (written about B.C. 1050). 



