290 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS [Qua 



Purpose a Destroyer of Pain. 



When the mind is intently set on using the muscle, it 

 scarcely perceives anything but what it wishes. Infuriated 

 madmen in their violence will inflict deadly injuries on them- 

 selves without feeling ; and the soldier in the warmth of the 

 fray, when comes "the tug of war," is unconscious of his 

 wounds ; and the brutal pugilist in the ring bears bruising like 

 an ass. u. 



Quarrel-mongers. 



The Dayal (Gopsychus saularis) in India is constantly caged, 

 both for the sake of its song and for another quality its 

 pugnacity. Fighting the tame birds, according to Mr. 

 Hodgson, is a favourite amusement of the rich ; and he adds, 

 that no game-cocks can contend with more energy and per- 

 severance than these little birds. The same author states that 

 the professional bird-keepers take advantage of this pugnacious 

 disposition in their pets to make them instrumental in the 

 capture of their wild brethren. During the spring it appears the 

 male birds are continually challenging each other, and as soon as 

 one has uttered his note of defiance it is answered by another, 

 and these altercations usually end in. a battle. The bird-.keeper 

 accordingly carries a tame male on his hand to the nearest 

 garden or grove, when the bird at his bidding utters his challenge, 

 and if this is answered by a wild, bird, the tame one is imme- 

 diately slipped, and a desperate combat commences, in the course 

 of which the man easily secures the wild bird, the tame one 

 actually assisting in the act by holding his opponent with his 

 bill and claws. It is worthy ^of notice that these birds, like 

 many human beings, possess this horrible pugnacity notwith- 

 standing the fact that they are wonderfully musical. Musical 

 noises evidently have nothing whatever to do with the existence 

 or non-existence of harmony in the character. A woman's voice 

 may, like a bird's, be beautifully melodious, yet her disposition 

 may be monstrously harsh and unpleasant. It is also to be 

 observed, in connection with the Dayal, that like all pugnacious 

 creatures it easily becomes a mere tool in the hands of quarrel- 

 mongers. Whenever birds, the lower animals, or human beings 



