became tame under kind treatment, and was led about a garden by a string which was 

 tied round its waist. 



After a while, as it was kept in a stable, it contracted a strong friendship for a horse, 

 and was always to be found sitting upon the horse's back. If a visitor entered, it would 

 growl and run about the horse in a very excited manner, sometimes sitting between his 

 ears, and then running along his neck and lying on his back, and playing all kinds of 

 similar antics. The horse seemed quite pleased with his curious little friend, and per- 

 mitted the Marten to run over him as much as it pleased. 



Unfortunately, this strange friendship was of very short standing, for the poor Mar- 

 ten contrived to get into a trap, and was found in the morning quite dead. When in 

 captivity, it was fed on meat, birds, or even on bread and milk. It always preferred to 

 receive the birds before they were killed, and could not endure any disturbance while 

 engaged in its meal. 



The Marten is a good swimmer, as well as an excellent leaper and climber, and has 

 been often seen to swim across a tolerably wide river when it has been hard pressed in 

 the chase. 



Both the Pine and the Beech Martens are said to be very lively in a state of domes- 

 tication, if they are rightly managed and carefully tended. They are among the most 

 graceful of animals ; and whether they are running, climbing, leaping, or moving in 

 any way, all their actions are full of quick and easy grace. They are the more fitted for 

 a state of domestication by being free from the very offensive scent which is given forth 

 by many of the Mustelidae, and which makes several of those otherwise pleasing 

 creatures objects of utter dislike and abhorrence. There is, indeed, a very perceptible 

 odor in these creatures, which is caused by the substance that is secreted in a kind of 

 pouch which is placed near the insertion of the tail, but it is not offensive in its charac- 

 ter, and to many persons is even agreeable. On this account, the Pine and Beech Mar- 

 tens are distinguished by the title of Sweet Martens, in contradistinction to the Pole- 

 cat, which is termed the Foul-Marten, or Foumart, on account of the peculiarly unpleas- 

 ant odor which is exhaled from its person. 



Even in captivity, its agility is so great that, while it is engaged in its graceful antics, 

 its shape can hardly be discerned. It is more watchful at night than in the daytime, 

 but will often awake from its slumbers during the hours of light, and recreate itself 

 with a little exercise. Although it is an essentially carnivorous animal, it will often eat 

 various vegetable substances, when it is deprived of freedom, and very probably does 

 so when it is at large in its native woods ; a supposition which is strengthened by the 

 partially herbivorous character of its molar teeth. It is said to be fond of nuts, which 

 it strips of their shells while they are still hanging on the tree, leaving the shattered 

 fragments adherent to the branches. So sharp are its teeth, and so powerful its 

 jaws, that one of these animals has been known to gnaw its way through the wooden 

 door of the room in which it was confined, and to make its escape through the 

 orifice. 



The Martens are nearly banished from the more cultivated English counties, but still 

 linger in some numbers among the more rocky and wooded portions of Great Britain. 

 In Carnarvon and Merionethshire they are still tolerably numerous, and are frequently 

 hunted by hounds, as if they were foxes or other lawful game. 



ONE of the most highly valued of the Weasels is the celebrated SABLE, which pro- 

 duces the richly tinted fur that is in such great request. Several species of this animal 

 are sought for the sake of their fur. They are very closely allied to the Martens that 

 have already been described, and are supposed by some zoologists to belong to the 

 same species. Besides the well-known Martes Zibellina, a North American species is 

 known, together with another which is an inhabitant of Japan. These two creatures, 

 although they are very similar to each other in general aspect, can be distinguished 

 from each other by the different hue of their legs and feet : the American Sable being 

 tinged with white upon those portions of its person, and the corresponding members 

 of the Japanese Sable being marked with black. 



The Sable is spread over a large extent of country, being found in Siberia. 



