180 BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 



hearth-rug, where he appeared greatly to enjoy the 

 warmth. The long-eared bats showed great attachment 

 to each other, and became very familiar with their host; 

 but the Barbastelle remained sullen and apart. At length, 

 it appeared that he was persecuted by his companions, 

 one of whom was seen to give him a severe bite 

 on the back of the neck. This occasioned his im- 

 mediate removal to another box ; but it probably 

 hastened his death, which happened about a week after- 

 wards. 



Bats have been long regarded with prejudice. The 

 poet and the painter have alike derived from them 

 images of terror. And yet, whatever feelings they may 

 awaken by predatory habits in other lands, it should be 

 remembered that in our own climate they are at once 

 innocent and amusing. Their time of appearance and 

 activity fully comport with the season that invites 

 to tranquillity ; and amid the calmness of a summer's 

 evening they are often regarded with considerable in- 

 terest. As, too, all the European species of bats feed 

 wholly on insects, which they catch during their flight, 

 they are doubtless of great use to mankind. They 

 devour numbers of night-flying moths, the caterpillars 

 of which would injure our fields, orchards, and gardens. 



