BATRACHIA. 65 



his strong partiality for warmth, as, during the 

 winter seasons, he regularly (and contrary to the 

 cold-blooded tendency of his nature) came out of 

 his hole in the evening, and directly made for the 

 hearth in front of a good kitchen fire, where he would 

 continue to bask and enjoy himself until the family 

 retired to rest. There happened to be at the same 

 time a favourite old domestic cat, and a sort of inti- 

 macy or attachment existed between these two incon- 

 gruous inmates : the Frog frequently nestling under 

 the warm fur of the cat, whilst the cat appeared 

 extremely jealous of interrupting the comforts and 

 convenience of the Frog. This curious scene was 

 often witnessed by many besides the family."* 



We the more willingly repeat such narratives as 

 this, because we would fain root out from the minds, 

 especially of the young, the groundless prejudice 

 which associates with these creatures everything that 

 is ugly, unclean, and disgusting. In too many parts 

 of our " enlightened " country, the innocent and 

 useful Frog is persecuted wherever it is seen, stoned 

 and beaten to death to gratify that vitiated and 

 brutalized appetite which can find a Satanic delight 

 in the agonies of the defenceless and unoffending. 

 " Yet who," says Lacepede, " can regard with dis- 

 gust a being whose form is light, whose movements 

 are nimble, and whose attitudes are graceful ? Let 

 us not deprive ourselves of an additional source of 

 pleasure ; and in our walks through the smiling 

 fields, let us not regret that the banks of the rivu- 

 lets are adorned by the colours of these harmless 

 * Br. Rep. p. 98. 



