16 OUT OF DOOMS. 



specimen has lived for about three years in the tank 

 which it now occupies, and has grown, though slightly, 

 in that time ; thus affording a singular contrast to the 

 specimen at the Crystal Palace, which attained a length 

 of nearly a yard in the same time, though not nearly 

 so large when first brought to England. But then the 

 Crystal Palace animal got into tlie large hot-water 

 basin and there lived a despotic life, feeding ad libitum 

 on gold fish until he was captured and his depredations 

 stopped, and on frogs afterwards. Should the reader 

 pay a visit to the Zoological Gardens, as I trust soon 

 will be the case, let him look well at the mud-fish, the 

 Gordian knot of systematic zoology. 



On my way to the lions I looked in at the wombat's 

 cage, and there saw to my surprise that the animal, 

 though a native of Australia, was lying curled up in 

 one corner of the enclosure fast asleep, with the ther- 

 mometer marking eight degrees below freezing point, 

 and the wind blowing in keen and cutting blasts. The 

 bars of the enclosure being open and of iron afforded no 

 protection whatever, but would rather have the effect 

 of chilling a creature that was pressed against them. 

 The seals were naturally indifferent to the cold, and 

 darted about in the water, or flounced their way over 

 the rim of their bath, as if enjoying the icy coldness of 

 their home. They ran some very good races after fish, 

 driving up the water before them like the bows of two 

 fast steam-boats, and had quite a struggle for the last 

 fish. The otter, too, cared nothing about the tempera- 



