232 Habits of the Chameleon. 
and rarely has the tedium of a protracted voyage been more 
effectually or advantageously dispelled than by the varied 
studies which he, durmg the whole progress, unweariedly 
pursued. 
We have seen the lone wanderer irresistibly impelled, by 
the contemplation of Nature in her grandest yet most savage 
form, to penetrate the parched deserts of Africa; and, in 
search of all-captivating novelty, discarding the primary in- 
stinct of the mind, to approach even the ruthless tiger’s lair, 
as though unconscious of danger : but our Caley was destnee 
to less hazardous shores ; it was his fate to be wafted to more 
temperate climes; and, while exploring the flowery prairies 
surrounding Botany Bay, instead of encountering the Mauri- 
tanian lion, he felt no fear but that of scaring away the timid 
kangaroo. 
Thus did this extraordinary man attain the summit of his 
ambition: yet what could have been more adverse than such 
a birth, than such a parentage, and, we might almost add, 
than such an education! But true genius, iP accompanied 
with discretion, surmounts all impediments. 
How satisfactorily Mr. Caley justified the confidence placed 
in him is well known. Indeed, it appears by his letters from 
Paramatta, Sydney, and other stations in the colony of New 
South Wales, that, as the illimitable field of Nature > expanded 
before his enraptured gaze, proportionally did his powers of 
observation become enlarged. No branch of natural history 
seems to have been neglected: and the extensive collection of 
quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles, in 1818 purchased by the 
Linnean Society, and still constituting the most splendid por- 
tion of that museum, will remain a lasting monument of his 
successful efforts. 
But having already, in some degree, fulfilled the intention 
proposed, and being reluctant farther to trespass on your 
valuable pages, I conclude by subscribing my self, 
Sir, yours, very respectfully, 
WILuiAM WITHERING. 
Wick House, Feb. 10. 1830 
Art. UI. On the Habits of the Chameleon. By Henry Sticut, 
Esq. M.R.C.S., Honorary Librarian to the Portsmouth Philo- 
sophical Institution. 
Sir, 
In your last Number (p. 188.), your ingenious correspond- 
ent J. H. Davies gives a short description of the chameleon. 
Now, the animal “thus spoken of was sent with a smaller one 
