220 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



of Paris in 1818. It was five weeks old when it was received 

 there, and its only food was milk. Its proportions, three 

 months after this period, were as follows, in French measure : 



The head from occiput to muzzle, ft. 7 in. 



Body from occiput to buttocks, 1 ft. 4 in. 



Its height in front, - - - 1 ft. 1 in. 



In the hinder part, - - - 1 ft. in. 6 lines. 

 Its whole body was covered with a crisp and very thick hair, 

 excepting the muzzle and paws, of a very uniform umber- 

 brown. No trace of white hairs was visible. The organs of 

 sense and motion, in this young animal, were already con- 

 formed, similarly to those of adult Bears. It differed in 

 nothing from the Alpine Bear just described, and even re- 

 sembled it in disposition. Though young, on its first arrival 

 at the French menagerie, and forced by its weakness to obe- 

 dience, it evinced no small degree of malice ; and always 

 attempted to bite when it met with any opposition. Since 

 that period, the wickedness of its disposition increased. 



This young Bear was particularly fond of sucking its paws, 

 during which operation it always sent forth a uniform and 

 constant murmur, something like the sound of a spinning- 

 wheel. This appeared to be an imperious want with it, 

 and it was surprising to observe the ardour with which 

 it commenced the operation, and the enjoyment which it 

 seemed to derive from it. The belief, which once so gene- 

 rally obtained, that these animals, during the season which 

 they pass without eating, and surrounded by snows, support 

 themselves by sucking their paws, seems not utterly with- 

 out foundation. In truth, every natural action must have 

 a tendency to some useful end, though it has not been ob- 

 served that the Bear extracts anything from its paws by the 

 act of suction. After all, it is more probable that Bears 

 lick their paws, as cats do, from a love of cleanliness, or 

 merely in consequence of some pleasing sensation which 

 nature has attached to the act, for inexplicable reasons, 

 rather than for sustenance. 



