146 OUT OF DOOMS, 



MY TOADS. 



' The toad,' observes an old and quaint writer, ' is 

 the most noble kind of frog, most venomous, and re- 

 markable for courage and strength,' such qualities being 

 evidently indicative of nobility in the mind of the 

 narrator. So among the Hindoos the cobra is honoured 

 as the creature of highest caste next to the Brahmin, 

 and an old and very vicious Hoonuman is deeply re- 

 spected as a very high caste monkey ; and so, throughout 

 all Oriental nations, the surest road to respect is to insult 

 their chiefs and thrash the people in general, giving no 

 reason for either proceeding. In the present case, how- 

 ever, there are but little grounds for the respect that 

 our author evidently entertained for the toad, as, after 

 a long and somewhat intimate acquaintance with this 

 batrachian, I have found his venom impotent, have 

 never witnessed any display of his courage, and think 

 his strength to be, bulk for balk, inferior to that of a 

 frog. Still the toad is a respectable animal enough, 

 and to those who will wisely discard the prejudice 

 attached to its name, a very curious and interesting 

 animal. Ever since I used to potter up and down our 



