132 THE BAT. 



?een in clouds darkening the air, and devouring whole 

 orchards of ripe fruit. Nothing is safe from their de- 

 predations; every species of domestic animals hecome 

 their prey ; and, if they cannot find sufficient to satisfy 

 their hunger, they will even attack the human race. — 

 Their din, or howling, is both shrill and loud, and may 

 be heard at the distance of a couple of miles ; and, 

 when echoing through the forests, during the stillness 

 of night, impress the mind with horror at the sound. 



An animal not so formidable in size, but still more 

 mischievous in its pursuits, is the American vampyre, 

 which, instead of confining itself to woods and forests, 

 prefers the cheerfulness of cities and towns, and, after 

 sunset, appear in such immense numbers as to form a 

 perfect canopy over the streets. These creatures are 

 no less a pest to the human than they are to the animal 

 race; for as the inhabitants of those warm climes are 

 obliged to sleep with their windows open, the vam- 

 pyres enter, and if they happen to find a person sleep- 

 ing, with any part of their bodies uncovered, they in- 

 stantly fasten upon them, and begin sucking their 

 blood, which they have the power of doing without 

 inflicting any acute pain ; and if they should not pro- 

 videntially happen to awake, their slumbers would 

 assuredly terminate in death. 



CHAP. XV. 



OF AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS. 



ALTHOUGH historians may endeavour to arrange 

 each animal in its separate class, there are some inter- 

 mediate tribes between the terrestrial and the aquatic, 

 which it is difficult to attach to any rank, because they 



