004 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Proof of sagacity. 



attire, shuffling away on the first sprinkling, and 

 running its head up in a corner. 



" If attended to, it becomes an excellent wea- 

 ther-glass, for as sure as it walks elate, and as it 

 were on tip-toe, feeding with great earnestness, 

 in a morning, so sure it will rain before night: it 

 is totally a diurnal animal, and never attempts to 

 stir out after it becomes dark. 



" The tortoise, like other reptiles, has an arbi- 

 trary stomach, as well as lungs, and can refrain 

 from eating, as well as breathing, for a great part 

 of the year. 



" I was much taken with its sagacity, in dis- 

 cerning those that do it kind offices; for as soon 

 as the good old lady comes in sight, who has 

 waited on it for more than thirty years, it hob- 

 bles towards its benefactress, w r ith an awkward 

 alacrity, but remains inattentive to strangers. 

 Thus, not only ' the ox knoweth his owner, and 

 the ass his master's crib/ but the most abject 

 and torpid of beings, distinguishes the hand that 

 feeds it, and is touched with the feelings of gra- 

 titude. This creature not only goes under the 

 earth from the middle of November to the mid- 

 dle of April, but sleeps great part of the summer; 

 for it goes to bed, in the longest days, at four in 

 the afternoon, and often does not stir in the morn- 

 ing till late. Besides, it retires to rest for every 

 shower, and does not move at all in wet days." 



This animal is said to live to a most extraordi- 



