CHAMELEON. 555 



spine to the middle of the back: others appeared on the ribs, fore 

 legs, and tail. All these spots were of an Isabella colour, through 

 the mixture of a pale \ellovv with which the granules were tinged, 

 and of a bright red, which is the colour of the bottom of the skin 

 which is visible between the granules : the rest of the skin not en- 

 lightened by the sun, and which was of a paler grey than ordinary, 

 resembled a cloth made of mixed wool ; some of the granules 

 being greenish, others of a minime-grey, and others of the usual 

 blueish grey, the ground remaining as before. When the sun did 

 not shine, the first grey appeared again by little and little, and 

 spread itself all over the body, except under the feet, which con- 

 tinued of the same colour, but a little browner ; and when, being in 

 this state, some of the company handled it, there immediately 

 appeared on its shoulders and fore legs several very blackish spots 

 about the size of a ringer nail, and which did not take place when 

 it was handled by those who usually took care of it. Sometimes it 

 was marked with brown spots, which inclined towards green. We 

 afterwards wrapped it up in a linen cloth, where having been two 

 or three minutes, we took it out whitish; but not so white as that 

 of which Aldrovaudus speaks, which was not to be distinguished 

 from the linen on which it was laid. Ours, which had only changed 

 its ordinary grey into a very pale one, after having kept this colour 

 some time, lost it insensibly. This experiment made us question 

 the truth of the Chameleon's taking all colours but white; as Theo- 

 phrastus and Plutarch report ; for ours seemed to have such a dis- 

 position to retain this colour, that it grew pale every night; and 

 when dead, it had more white than any other colour ; nor did we 

 find that it changed colour all over the body, as Aristotle reports; 

 for when it takes other colours than grey, and disguises itself, to 

 appear in masquerade, as Lilian pleasantly says, it covers only cer- 

 tain parts of the body with them. Lastly, to conclude the experi- 

 ments relative to the colours which the Chameleon can take, it was 

 laid on substances of various colours, and wrapped up therein ; but 

 it took not them as it had done the white ; and it took that only the 

 tirst time the experiment was made, though it was repeated several 

 times on different days. 



u In making these experiments, we observed that there were a 

 great many places of its skin which grew brown, but very little at a 

 time : to be certain of which we marked with small specks of ink 



