DAllWIN AND DELUSION. 11 



it is unusual or incxplicaljlc ; but I do not deal in 

 tlioories, and I never believe, or take as trutli, any- 

 thing solely because I am told it. 



I do not accej)t, on mere assertion, such mis- state- 

 ments as that gorillas frighten lions by their roar, 

 or the story of that Abyssinian troop of baboons, 

 the old males of which hurried down from their 

 rocks to rescue others of their tribe which were 

 attacked by dogs, and who ^^ roared so fearfully 

 that their assailants preci^utately retreated." 



It is too much to say that ''all animals cherish 

 an invariable love for their offspring which nothing 

 can interfere with, and which overcomes all 

 rougher or more cruel inclinations," for my ex- 

 perience shows me that the sow, the ferret, the 

 doe-rabbit, and even the mouse, on very slight 

 provocation, will murder and eat their young. 



If it is true that the swallows and house martins, 

 to which Darwin alludes, leave their young to 

 perish in deserted nests when the period for 

 migration arrives, this shows tliat they are not so 

 considerate in tlieir maternal love as a quotation 

 in the work before me supposes. 



I perfectly agree with the assertion in ^^age 192, 

 Chap. VI., that '' the faces of many of Mr. 



