THE WOLF. 91 
cunning, and, when he has succeeded in running them 
down, finds little difficulty in rendering them his prey. 
To effect this purpose with the greater certainty he 
frequently unites himself with a numerous train of his 
fellows, who are however bound together by no other 
tie than the common object of their pursuit; and when 
this is once attained immediately separate and proceed 
each to his own retreat, whence they again emerge to 
reunite in the common cause whenever the necessary 
stimulus is supplied. In inhabited countries he seldom 
ventures to show himself openly or in packs, but sleeps 
away the greater part of the day in the shelter of the 
forest, and only prowls abroad by night when impelled 
by the cravings of his appetite. ‘The sheep-cote and the 
farm-yard become then the scenes of his ravages; and 
such is his ingenuity, and so great the rapidity of his 
motions, that he will frequently carry off his prey almost 
before the eyes of the shepherd, although the warning 
voice of the watchful dog had given timely notice of the 
approach of the marauder. His ferocity is sometimes 
carried to such a pitch that he becomes dangerous to 
man; and when hard pressed by famine, to which in 
spite of all his skill in the chase and his sagacity im 
the pursuit of meaner rapine he is by no means a 
stranger, he will fall at unawares upon the solitary and 
unprotected traveller, or, prowling about the habitation 
of the villager, carry off from it his unsuspecting and 
defenceless children. 
Happily for England this formidable beast has long 
been extirpated from its woods; but the comparative 
extent of his domain has been thereby but little reduced. 
It may be roughly stated as comprehending the whole 
