23 



one is placed as a sentinel, sitting on an ele- 

 vated rock, while the others amuse themselves 

 in the fields below; and no sooner does he per- 

 ceive a man, an eagle, a dog, or any other 

 enemy, than he informs the rest by a kind of 

 whistle, and is himself the last to take refuge 

 in the cell. These animals run much swifter up 

 hill than down ; they climb trees, and run up 

 the clefts of rocks, with great ease : indeed, it is 

 ludicrously said of the Savoyards, who are the 

 general chimney-sweepers of Paris, that they 

 have learned their trade from the Marmot. 



THE LAND TORTOISE. 



This animal is often domesticated, especially 

 in gardens. We shall select the account of a 

 tame tortoise, given by the Reverend Mr. White 

 of Selborne, as a pleasing specimen of the man- / 



ners x)f these animals in a state of captivity. 

 This one had been in possession of a lady 

 for upwards of thirty years. It regularly 

 retired below ground about the middle of No- 

 vember, and did not emerge till the middle of 

 April. Its appetite was voracious in the middle 

 of summer, but it ate very little in spring and 



