2 6o ZOOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 



as sportsmen express it. Frederick the Great found 

 one consolation in the vandalism of the Russian in- 

 vaders, it exasperated his men ; and a bona fide fast 

 seems to produce a similar effect. In the Rhamadan 

 season strict Moslems eat only every other day, and 

 Burckhardt advises strangers to approach them on those 

 other days : starving, instead of improving their temper, 

 puts them into an aggressive mood. The famished an- 

 chorites of the Nitrian Desert were dreaded like so 

 many wild beasts ; " maceration," as they call it, may 

 have answered its purpose in subduing some other pro- 

 pensities, but it certainly excited their combativeness ; 

 and I have often wondered if it would not be a good 

 plan for a commanding officer on the eve of a battle to 

 order a general fast-day, with a promise of double rations 

 after the Te Deum. The well-fed Medes were beaten 

 by the starved Persians, six Roman generals by Sparta- 

 cus with his hungry outlaws, the Visigoths by the Sara- 

 cens, the Austrians by the Sans-Culottes. The heroes 

 of the Crimea were perhaps too outrageously starved, 

 but the feat of Balaklava would hardly have been 

 achieved by a full brigade ; and I cannot help thinking 

 that even the efficiency of our Dixie mamelukes had 

 something to do with the deficiencies of their commis- 

 sariat. 



In North America, too, " dog-fights in a ring" are 

 still very popular, and more frequent than Mr. Bergh 

 may imagine. But the most passionate devotees of the 



