HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 237 



bright bay, obscurely marked with dusky spots ; on 

 its face there are black stripes, pointing downward 

 toward the nose ; on each side of the upper lip it 

 has three rows of small black spots, with long 

 whiskers issuing from them ; each cheek is marked 

 with long black stripes, of a circular form, proceed- 

 ing from the corners of the eyes ; the under part of 

 the body, and insides of the legs, are white; the in- 

 side of each fore leg is marked on the upper part 

 with two black bars ; its tail, which is short, is 

 marked with bars of a dusky colour, and at the end 

 with one of a deep black ; the tip and under side 

 are white. 



The Lynxes of our days must be very different 

 animals from those which have been described by 

 poets as drawing the chariot of Bacchus ; for, 

 besides the impracticability of training these ani- 

 mals to the yoke, we find that the Lynx is not 

 an inhabitant of India, nor of any of the warmer 

 countries of Asia, conquered by that hero It 

 prefers cold to even temperate climates, and is 

 common in the forests of the northern parts of 

 Europe, Asia, and America. 



The ancients seem to have given the name of 

 Lynx to an animal which existed only in imagina- 

 tion, and may be ranked with their other ideal 

 monsters and prodigies the Sphynx, the Pegasus, 

 and the Unicorn. Its sight was said to penetrate 

 the most opaque bodies, and its urine to be con- 

 verted into a precious stone. 



