AND LOWER EGYPT. 3C1 



tinues he, " is a species of wild pig, very pretty, 

 " and easily tamed, the hair of which is bristled 

 " like a porcupine *." Thus is this rat trans- 

 formed into a little pig, Sec. &c. ; it must be ad- 

 mitted that such authorities as these have very 

 little weight in natural history. 



This species of tortoise is to be found only in the 

 Upper Nile, to which crocodiles are confined. To 

 convey an idea of the advantage with which this 

 th'irse of the Egyptians and Nubians wages war 

 with the crocodile, I shall relate an observation, 

 certified to me by persons of Thebai's, of undoubted 

 veracity on other occasions. It is, that they have 

 been in a situation to remark, that out of fifty 

 young crocodiles, the produce of one hatching, 

 seven only had escaped the th'irse. To this ani- 

 mal, therefore, Egypt is particularly indebted for a 

 very sensible decrease of a species of reptiles, as 

 hideous from their form, as dangerous from the fe- 

 rocity of their disposition. On this account, it 

 would have merited, by a juster claim than the 

 mongouste, to be the god of the ancient Egyp- 

 tians, and the wonder of travellers who publish. 



But this valuable race of testaceous animals must 

 likewise have its enemies ; for it is not multiplied 

 to the degree that it ought to be, considering the 

 fecundity of the genus. May not the mangouste 



* Deicript. de l'Egypte, partic ii, page 33 et 34. 



herself 



