CO Mfr) tf/V 

 TORTOISE. 135 



walled court belonging to the house where I now am visiting, 

 retires under ground about the middle of November, and comes 

 forth again about the middle of April. When it first appears in 

 the spring it discovers very little incli- 

 nation towards food ; but in the height 

 of summer grows voracious : and then 

 as the summer declines its appetite de- 

 clines ; so that for the last six weeks 

 in autumn it hardly eats at all.* Milky 

 plants, such as lettuces, dandelions, 

 sowthistles, are its favourite dish. Tortoise. 



In a neighbouring village one was kept till by tradition it was 

 supposed to be a hundred years old. An instance of vast lon- 

 gevity in such a poor reptile ! 



* The habits of this curious creature seem to have attracted a great deal off Mr. White's atten- 

 tion. He was in the habit of having it weighed frequently, immersing it in water, and trying 

 all manner of experiments upon it. On one occasion it made its escape, and was missing for 

 some time, but was afterwards found in a field, and brought back to the garden where for many 

 winters it had buried itself. The reader will peruse with {pleasure the following supposititious 

 letter from this animal to a Miss Mulso, for which we are indebted to Mr. Jesse's Gleanings. 

 The letter was found among Mr. White's MSS., and in his own handwriting. 



MOST RESPECTED LADY, YOUR letter gave me great satisfaction, being the first that ever I 

 was honoured with. It is my wish to answer you in your own way, but 1 could never make a 

 verse in my life, so you must be content with plain prose. 



Having seen but little of this great world, conversed but little, and read less, 1 feel myself 

 much at a loss how to entertain so intelligent a correspondent. Unless you will let me write about 

 myself, my answer will be very short. Know, then, that I am an American, and was born in 

 the year 1734, in the province of Virginia, in the midst of a savannah that lay between a large 

 tobacco plantation and a creek of the sea. Here I spent my youthful days among my relations 

 with much satisfaction, and saw around me many venerable kinsmen, who attained to great ages 

 without any interruption from distempers. Longevity is so general among our species that a 

 funeral is quite s. rare occurrence. I can just remember the death of my great-great-grandfather, 

 who departed this life in the 160th year of his age. Happy should I have been in the enjoyment 

 of my native climate and the society of my friends had not a sea-boy, who was wandering about 

 to see what he could pick up, surprised me as I was sunning myself under a bank, and, whipping 

 me into hU wallet, carried me aboard his ship. The circumstances of our voyage w re not 

 worthy of recital ; 1 only remember that the rippling of the water against the sides of ou vessel 

 as we sailed along was a very lulling and composing sound, which served to sooth my s mbers 

 as I lay in the hold. We had a short voyage, and came to anchor on the coast of Eng nd, in 

 the harbour of Chichester. In that city my kidnapper sold me for half-a-crown to a ountry 

 gentleman who came up to attend an election. I was immediately packed in a basket, and arried, 

 slung by the servant's side, to their place of abode. As they rode very hard for forty mi s, and 

 as I had never been on horseback before, I found myself somewhat giddy with my air jaunt. 

 My purchaser, who was a great humourist, after showing me to some of his neighbours, and 

 giving me the name of Timothy, took little further notice of me, so 1 fell under the care of his 

 lady, a benevolent woman, whose humane atteution extended to the meanest of her retainers. 

 With this gentlewoman I remained almost forty years, living in a little walled-in court in the 

 front of her house, and enjoying much quiet, and as much satisfaction as 1 could expect without 

 society, which I often languished after. At last the good old lady died at a very advanced age, 

 such as even a tortoise would call a great age, and 1 then became the property of her nephew. 

 This man, my present master, dug me out of my winter retreat, and, packing me in a deal box, 

 jumbled me eighty miles in a post-chaise to my present abode. I was sore shaken by this expe- 

 dition, which was the worst journey I ever experienced. In my present situation I enjoy many 

 advantages, such as the range of an extensive garden affording a variety of sun and shade, and 



