Ill 



THE SERVICE OF TAILS 



A TAiL,^ properly speaking, is a prolongation of 

 the backbone behind (or beyond) the pelvic arch, 

 which supports the hinder limbs. 



Sometimes this prolongation is the larger half 

 of the entire length of the spinal column, as in 

 some reptiles and a few mammals, — the acme 

 being reached by one of the African pangolins 

 {Manis tricuspis), whose tail is nearly twice as 

 long as its body, and contains forty-nine caudal 

 vertebrae, the largest number known among mam- 

 mals ; sometimes it is extremely short, or altogether 

 abortive, as among frogs and in our own case, for 



1 To the light-minded a better title would be A Tale of Tails, or 

 something of that miserable sort — perhaps A Caudal Lecture — 

 instead of the words at the head of the page. That would be a 

 pun of the most brutal kind, as obvious and headlong as one of the 

 bulls of Bashan. A pun should not come gradually bulging out 

 towards one's intelligence — looming up slowly before the mind 

 like a light-house in a fog. It should appear unexpectedly at your 

 elbow, startling, yet not affrighting you, after the manner of the 

 Cheshire Cat. Not on the lookout, you do not at once perceive 

 the allusion, but an instant later the essence of wit encased in the 

 quibble declares itself, as certain candies, disappointing and flavor- 

 less at first, presently disclose a liquid centre of sweets to the 

 surprised palate. 



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