ORDER CARNASSIER. 341 



tamed, but they retain, in their domesticated state, charac- 

 ters exclusively peculiar to themselves, and derived, unques- 

 tionably, from the peculiarities of their cerebral structure. 



The Wolf, which forms the subject of our present essay, 

 is a striking proof of the truth on which we have been just 

 insisting, and shows how much the character of Carnivorous 

 animals varies, according to the circumstances under which 

 it is developed. Submitted by the inscrutable fiat of nature 

 to the domination of sanguinary appetites, intelligent to 

 discover, and powerful to enforce the means of their grati- 

 fication, we behold them in a state of nature, attacking 

 every thing which has life, and spreading hatred and con- 

 sternation around. But as the animals which are their des- 

 tined prey are provided with activity to fly, sagacity to 

 elude, and not unfrequently with strengh and courage to re- 

 sist, so they, in their turn, must have the power of appre- 

 ciating various circumstances, and of accommodating them- 

 selves to different situations. They must know when to 

 employ force, and when to make use of stratagem ; at what 

 periods audacity will best serve their purpose, and when to 

 assume the semblance of timidity. Thus, different faculties 

 are summoned into play, and as the necessity of love exists 

 in all beings endowed with sensibility, and which re-pro- 

 duce by sexual union, it is sufficient to place the most fero- 

 cious animals where they shall have no appetites to satisfy 

 by violence, no enemies to combat or fear, where they shall 

 have benefits to receive, and security to enjoy, almost, in 

 appearance, to change their very nature, and to produce 

 within them the kindliest sentiments of gratitude, of con- 

 fidence, and of affection. 



Experience confirms what reasoning would have led us 

 to conclude. There is no Carnivorous animal which can- 

 not be tamed by proper treatment, and which will not, to a 

 certain degree, become affectionate and familiar, to those 

 who attend and feed it. But this disposition is evinced in 



