266 HIS MODE OF PROGRESSION. 



He is now reassured. He recommences his manoeuvres, 

 pushing before him every little pebble which he meets with. 

 For this purpose he employs his elongated snout, exactly as a 

 pig grubs among the uncleanness of his sty. But his next 

 movements are not of a porcine character. With feet broad 

 as battledores, the mole, while manoeuvring with his nose, 

 quietly pushes aside every clod which threatens to obstruct 

 his progress. These sidelong, abrupt, and jerking movements 

 remind you of those of a dog, seeking with his paws to enlarge 

 the opening of the burrow wherein a rabbit has taken refuge. 

 The mole has thus the habit of a hunting-dog; and, to complete 

 the resemblance, he stops at intervals in his scratching, and 

 shakes the dust off his head. One is quite surprised to see a 

 little mammal executing the movements we are wont to regard 

 as peculiar to an animal much larger than he is. 



The beetle quits in affright the heap of stones where it had 

 hoped to find an asylum; it now crosses our path, holding 

 itself erect, with a menacing air, and its tail armed with a 

 forked barb. The mole follows in close pursuit : who would 

 have believed he could run so quickly? Let us bar his 

 passage, and study him at our leisure. 



The first thing we remark is his glossy hair, which is softer 

 to the touch than the finest velvet. Where are his eyes? 

 Blow aside the hair which covers his face. There they are, 

 and they resemble miniature pearls of a shining black. 



How could Aristotle say that the mole had no eyes ? To 



