( \ssi:i,I.'S POPULAR NATURAL HTSTOKV. 



'T would quite remove my cough, you hJiy, 

 And drive my old complaints away. 

 It cured yourself I grant it true 

 But then, 'twas mother'i milt to you ! " 



According to Pliny anil Juvenal, Popprea made a kind of paste with ass's milk, which she applied to 

 her face to make it fair ; and it is said she used to bathe in it unadulterated, as a preservation of 

 beauty. ^ 



THE MULE. 



THIS hybrid race are usually the progeny of the horse and the ass. The sagacity, strength, and sure- 

 uess of foot of those of Chamouni and other parts of Savoy, are truly wonderful. The paths which 

 they ascend or descend with ease, are steeper than any staircase, sometimes with ledges of rock, two or 

 three feet high, instead of steps. In such dangerous passes the mule needs no rein to guide him, but 

 will pick his own way, aud find out the best path, far better than his rider can direct him. Often has 

 he been seen, as Rogers says : 



" Shunning the loose stone on the precipice 



Snorting suspicion while with sight, smell, touch, 



Trying, detecting, where the surface smiled ; 



And with deliberate courage, sliding down, 



Where, in his sledge, the Laplander hath turu'il 



With looks aghast." 



At other times the mule has to traverse a narrow ledge of the mountain, with mi abyss on one wide, and 

 a wall of rock on the other j and here he invariably walks on the very verge of the precipice. This 

 habit is derived from his being accustomed to carry large packages of merchandise, which, if allowed 

 to strike against the rock on one side, would destroy his balance and jostle him overboard. 



The ascent of Mount Etna is still made wholly or partially with mules. Mr. J. F. Hardy ways, 

 in describing his ascent : " We came to our first snow, all of which, by-the-bye, is the property of his 

 lordship, the Bishop of Catania, who is said to make a goodly income by the sale of an article, which 

 is the universal summer luxury of the Sicilian population. It lay scattered about in large patches, 

 filling up the hollows of the grass slopes, and partially concealing the banks of lava, which were very 

 broken and irregular, and which gave some trouble to our beasts. Vociferation, however, and kicking 

 will always arouse a Sicilian mule to super-brutal efforts ; and the style in which my beast, who was 

 leading, took each inawvais pas was highly creditable. Leaping and climbing almost with the steadi- 

 ness and agility of a goat, he seemed as much at home among snow and lava as on a high road ; but 

 all mules have not the same legs ; and the difficulties of some inferior animals in the caravan, who 

 hesitated to follow his brilliant example, warned us, about 12h. 45m., that it was time to think of 

 picketing the beasts, and trusting to our own exertions for the rest of the ascent." On his descent, 

 Mr. Hardy says : " After more than once mistaking some black lumps of lava for the mules, I at last 

 caught sight of them kicking and devouring one another's tails, as is their wont." 



The mule is of great use in South America. The traveller meets frequently with a path only 

 fourteen or fifteen inches broad ; the ridge of the mountain, along which the road runs, is covered with 

 a short, slippery turf, aud the slopes on each side are steep, so that, should he stumble, he might slide 

 down to the depth of seven or eight hundred feet. Nevertheless, the flanks of the mountain arc 

 declivities rather than precipices ; and the mules are so sure-footed that they inspire the greatest 

 confidence. 



Their habits are identical with those ol the beasts of burden in Switzerland and the Pyrenees. 

 In proportion as a country is wild, the instinct of domestic animals improves in address and sagaeity. 

 N\ lien tin; mules feel themselves in danger, turning their heads to the right aud to the left, there is a 

 motion of their ears as if they reflected on the decision they ought to take. Their resolution i.s slow, 

 but always just, if it be spontaneous; that is, if it be not thwarted or hastened by the imprudence of 

 the traveller. On tin; frightful roads of the Andes, during journeys of six or seven months across 

 mountains fun-owed by torrents, the intelligence of beasts of burden is truly astonishing. Thus the 

 mountaineers are heard to say, " I will not give you the mule whose step is the init the one 



that is most intelligent (la nuts rational)." 



