FACULTIES OF THE MIND. 269 



leaving the nest for many days, the mothers apparent- 

 ly keep them clean, by licking off all moisture and fecal 

 matter, so that you shall find the hair of their bed always 

 dry, as well as the straw beneath and around. When at- 

 tempted to be reared from birth without a mother, it is 

 extremely difficult, if not impossible, to keep them dry. 



e. In each species protecting Its own offspring from dan- 

 ger. This is chiefly accomplished by fighting in their de-, 

 fence against the threatening foe. Even those animals, as 

 the common hen and sheep, which, in general, protect their 

 own lives by flight, will, in defence of their young, brave 

 every danger, and exhibit a degree of courage, amounting 

 to a total disregard to their own safety. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, they employ stratagems to lead the foe to a distance, 

 We have seen the common partridge actually strike at a 

 pointer, who had, by accident, rushed unperceived by the 

 old birds, into the middle of a covey. The ordinary de-, 

 vice which she employs is to run off, with her wings hanging 

 down, as if she had been wounded, to entice the dog to follow 

 her, and leave her young in safety. We have seen'equally in- 

 teresting examples of the display of the same instinct of feign- 

 ing lameness, to lead an obtruder from the young, in the com- 

 mon wild duck, ringed plover, golden plover, and arctic gull. 

 t When accidents prevent the young from reaching the 

 period when they can provide lor their own wants, we ob- 

 serve the parents in a state of painful uneasiness, and ex-. 

 pressing their grief in sounds which they seldom utter on 

 other occasions. 



In the human species, this instinctive affection continues 

 to operate during the whole of life. In the inferior ani- 

 mals, on the other hand, the feeling which binds the 

 parent to the offspring, ceases, when the latter have become 

 capable of supplying their own wants, and securing their 

 own enjoyments. With many animals, indeed, this in- 



