HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 517 



a smaller or internal ear, common to almost all the 

 Bat kind : the upper part of the body is of an ash 

 colour, the belly whitish. They vary in size ; the 

 largest are above three inches and a half long from 

 the nose to the end of the tail ; the extent of the 

 wings is above fourteen. 



This kind is very common in France, and is the 

 last of seven distinct species described by M. Buifon 

 as natives of that country. These are all equally 

 harmless, diminutive, and obscure; shunning the 

 light, and endeavouring to conceal themselves in 

 holes and caverns. They never come out, but 

 during the night, in quest of food ; and return at 

 day-break to their dreary habitations. But under 

 the influence of a warmer climate, the Bat as- 

 sumes a very different character, and possesses 

 powers which render it formidable to mankind, and 

 a scourge to those countries where it is found. 

 Some of them are as large as a well-grown pul- 

 let ; and so numerous, that they frequently darken 

 the air as they fly. They are fond of blood, and 

 will attack men whom they find asleep ; they are 

 said to introduce their sharp pointed tongues into 

 a vein, sucking the blood till they are satiated, 

 without awakening the sufferer. 



The ancients had an imperfect knowledge of these 

 animals ; and from their aptness to convert every 

 object of terror into an imaginary being, it is prob- 

 able they had conceived the idea of Harpies, from 

 the cruelty, voracity, and disgusting deformity of 

 these creatures. 



These monsters inhabit Madagascar, and all the 

 islands of the Indian Ocean : they likewise have 

 been found in New Holland, the Friendly Isles, 

 the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. 



