The Toad.] OF ORKNEY. 155 



ty over this poor creature, who is perhaps no farther blame- 

 able than in having but an ordinary outside ; hard fate ! that 

 its features should be its ruin ; but in this respect it is not sin- 

 gular. It seems odd that mankind should take pleasure alike 

 in destroying the most horrid and the most beautiful pieces of 

 the creation. 



Mr Pennant, in his British Zoology, has been at great pains 

 to vindicate this creature from the character it has long la- 

 boured under, of being poisonous, and with arguments and 

 proofs has set this matter almost out of dispute, and, indeed, 

 as he well observes, its unhappy deformity seems to be the 

 only reason for suspecting harm from it. Of all the lugubrous 

 stories I have heard with regard to the toad, I never could 

 get one fixed to time and place, or even persons, all of them 

 hearsays ; and however unjust it is to be condemned upon 

 hearsay, this seems to have been the fate of this animal. It 

 is certain that, added to its deformity, nature has thrown 

 it into a class of animals, many of whom are confessedly dan- 

 gerous ; but these are all furnished with proper weapons of 

 offence, and x the manner and reason of their doing harm is 

 easily traced ; this, however, is not the case with the toad. 

 I have not heard from any acquainted with dissections, that 

 he is furnished with the fangs of the viper, or the pretended 

 stings of other serpents ; it furnishes a meal for many other 

 animals, who would be as ready to be affected by this sup- 

 posed poison as man. In a word, we may consider this rep- 

 tile as harmless, and affirm there is no venomous creature above 

 an insect in the Orkneys. 



