THE eOAI. 



him — catch hold of his heard. The lion then indeed hecomet 

 a lamh, and a very submissive lamb indeed, pitifully bleat- 

 ing for mercy as you haul him akmg. Wflliam Howitt 

 tells a story of a great he-goat that was the terror of the 

 hamlet in which he residied. One day as he took his morning 

 walk he encountered an old woman, and as she was not nimble 

 enough to get out of the way he coolly tumbled her into the 

 mud. Such an outrage was not to be tolerated by the male 

 inhabitants of the hamlet, so one more doughty than the 

 rest went after the impudent brute and smote him on tiie 

 head with a pole with which he was armed. King Hircus, 

 however, took the blow no more to heart than though a nut 

 had been filliped at him, but at once making a dash at his 

 assailant served him as he had served the old woman — ^worse, 

 for in her case he had merely shoved her out of his way and 

 passed on, but in the case of the pole-bearer he first knocked 

 him down, and then jumped on him, and there he took his 

 stand till his owner came up the street, and seizing the bully 

 by the beard, led him home meek as a kitten. 



It has been a disputed point whether the goat and the 

 chamois are identical. Appearances, however, are directiy 

 opposed to the supposition. The frontal bone of the goat, 

 just before the horns, is convex, while in the chamois it is con^ 

 cave. The horns of the goat recede, while those of the chamois 

 advance. One has a beard, the other has none. Above all, 

 although on the mountain herds of goats are constantly wan- 

 dering about near the haunts of the chamois, no one instance 

 is known of a she-goat having brought forth young which were 

 a cross between the two breeds. Indeed, it has been observed, 

 that although the two animals never wage war, they scrupu- 

 lously avoid each other's society. 



Such, then, is the goat — taie him or leave him. If you 

 think him worthy to be included in your army of pets he "wUl 

 cost you very little trouble ; he wiU eat just such food as the 

 pony eats, he will sleep in the pony's stable. He may save 

 the pony's life should the stable catch fire, and wiU always 

 serve as a pleasant companion for it. By constantly observing 

 him you may avoid going abroad on the eve of a storm, and so 

 save incalculable sums by preserving your clothes — to say 

 aoihing of physic and gruel to cure your cold. Added to 

 tnese advantages, if you should meet with a sturdy great- 

 bearded old fellow of moderately good temper, there is no 

 reason why he should not be put to draw a light chaise and 



