o.3. 



Anecdote of the Ass. 



97 



Anecdote of the Ass, &c. 

 !Vb make the following extracts from the first Vol. 

 "Jesse's Gleanings in Natural History," which have 

 sn kindly placed upon our table, and from which we 

 rpose occasionally to enrich and diversify our col- 

 ins. It is so engrossing and delightful a book, that 



almost fear to take it up, lest it should too long 

 rtivate us from severer duties. The author and his 

 yects, present themselves with strong claims to the 

 niration of such as long to leave " the crowd, the 

 m, the shock of men," and go forth into the wide 

 ds and forests, where they can hold "converse 

 th nature's charms and view her stores unrolled." 

 ise was remarkable for the closeness of his obser- 

 tion on all that was passing, as well as for that pe- 

 iar adaptation of feeling, which enabled him to de- 

 bt in every evidence of enjoyment in animated na- 

 e, and to luxuriate in contemplation of every thing 

 it was beautiful around him. The form of a leaf, 

 a flower, little facts and circumstances in theecono- 



of Providence, had irresistible charms for him, and 

 srved like others more prominent, to show the per- 

 t and beautiful manner in which every thing has 

 m created." The hinge in the wing of an insect, as 

 tainly manifests benevolence of purpose, as do the 

 jle proportions of the elephant. Reflections of this 

 id awakened the best feelings of our author. The 

 learns and glances of nature," left sunny recollec- 

 ns on his mind, which, to use his own language, 

 in only be appreciated by those who have felt them." 



divest the mind of his reader of that " sullenness 

 linst nature," which Milton, in one of his happiest 

 ods, 6o beautifully speaks of and so delicately re- 

 ives; and to leave it thoroughly impressed with 

 ;se " sunny recollections," was one of the avowed 

 ects of the writer; and it appears to us he has suc- 

 ded admirably. The gleanings were chiefly written 

 th a view to "portray the character of animals, 

 I to endeavour to excite more kindly feelings fo- 

 rds them." That there "will be a fearful day of 

 koning for those who have inflicted wanton and 

 necessary pain on those objects which were given 

 a bountiful Providence to be used, and not abused," 

 i author thinks " no one can entertain a doubt." 

 fhe circumstances related below, show an instinc- 

 e sagacity, which cannot fail to interest the younger 

 •tion at least, of our readers.— Ed. 



The following anecdote was related to me 

 Edward Hawke Locker, Esq., one of the 

 vernors of Greenwich hospital, the cir- 

 mstance having happened while he was 

 the Mediterranean. It is also mentioned 

 a note in Messrs. Kirby and Spence's En- 

 nnology, who state that they had it from 

 eutenant Alderson, of the Royal Engi- 

 ers, who was personally acquainted with 

 e facts. 



In March, 1816, an ass, the property of 

 iptain Dundas, R.N., then at Malta, was 

 ipped on hoard the Ister frigate, Captain 

 >rrest, bound from Gibraltar for that island. 

 ie vessel having struck on some sands off 

 e Point de Gat, at some distance from the 



shore, the ass was thrown overboard, to give 

 it a chance of swimming to land — a poor 

 one, for the sea was running so high, that a 

 boat which left the ship was lost. A few 

 days afterwards, however, when the gates 

 of Gibraltar were opened in the morning, 

 the ass presented himself for admission, and 

 proceeded to the stable of Mr. Weeks, a 

 merchant, which he had formerly occupied, 

 to the no small surprise of that gentleman, 

 who imagined that, from some accident, the 

 animal had never been shipped on board the 

 Ister. On the return of this vessel to re- 

 pair, however, the mystery was explained ; 

 and it turned out that Valiante (so the ass 

 was called) had not only swam safely to 

 shore, but without guide, compass, or tra- 

 velling map, had found his way from Point 

 de Gat to Gibraltar, a distance of more than 

 two hundred miles, which he had never 

 traversed before, through a mountainous and 

 intricate country, intersected by streams, 

 and in so short a period, that he could not 

 have made one false turn. His not having 

 been stopped on the road was attributed to 

 the circumstance of his having been former- 

 ly used to whip criminals upon, which was 

 indicated to the peasants, who have a super- 

 stitious horror of such asses, by the holes in 

 his ears, to which the persons flogged were 

 tied. 



I have also been assured that a favourite 

 cat, belonging to a nobleman, and who had 

 been conveyed to his country-seat more than 

 an hundred miles from London, found her 

 way back to his house in town. Nothing 

 can be more extraordinary than the way hi 

 which bees find their way back to their 

 hive. Place it amongst hundreds of others, 

 exactly similar in outward appearance, or 

 at the top of a house in London, or concealed 

 in the thickest wood, and the bee will regain 

 it without the slightest apparent difficulty. 

 Huber says they fly to it with an extreme 

 rapidity, and as straight as a ball from a 

 musket. Nothing can show more forcibly 

 the wonderful instinct which has been given 

 to these insects, by the Creator. If they ex- 

 perienced any difficulty in finding their 

 homes, how much time would be lost, and 

 how inadequate would all their labours and 

 industry be, to furnish a sufficient store of 

 honey to exist upon during the winter ! I 

 have always observed, that when a fresh 

 hive has been brought to my garden from a 

 distant place, tbe bees employ themselves 

 on first leaving it, not in collecting honey, 

 but in making themselves acquainted with 

 all the neighbouring objects, and these ob- 

 jects may possibly serve to guide them to 

 their respective homes. Some naturalists 

 are of opinion that this recognition of home 



