1 82 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



passed before— but which it had now crossed so expeditiously 

 that it must have gone by a route leading the most directly 

 to Gibraltar." 



The Trained The ass like many other animals is capable 

 Ass. of being trained to perform many tricks, advan- 

 tage of which seems to have been taken long before our time, 

 as the following quoted by Captain Brown will show. John 

 Leo, in a book printed as early as 1556, says, "when the 

 Mahometan worship was over, the common people of Cairo 

 resorted to the foot of the suburbs called Bed-Elloch to see 

 the exhibition of stage-players and mountebanks, who teach 

 camels, asses, and dogs to dance. The dancing of the ass 

 is diverting enough; for after he has frisked and capered 

 about, his master tells him, that the Soldan, meaning to build 

 a great palace, intends to employ all the asses in carrying 

 mortar, stones, and other materials; upon which the ass falls 

 down with his heels upwards, closing his eyes, and extending 

 his chest, as if he were dead. This done, the master begs 

 some assistance of the company, to make up the loss of the 

 dead ass ; and having got all he can, he gives them to know 

 that truly his ass is not dead, but only being sensible of his 

 master's necessity, played that trick to procure some pro- 

 vender. He then commands the ass to rise, who still lies in 

 the same posture, notwithstanding all the blows he can give 

 him, till at last he proclaims, by virtue of an edict of the 

 Soldan, all are bound to ride out next day upon the come- 

 liest asses they can find, in order to see a triumphal show, 

 and to entertain their asses with oats and Nile water. These 

 words are no sooner pronounced, than the ass starts up, 

 prances, and leaps for joy. The master then declares, that 

 his ass has been pitched upon by the warden of his street, 

 to carry his deformed and ugly wife; upon which the ass 

 lowers his ears, and limps with one of his legs, as if he were 

 lame. The master, alleging that his ass admires handsome 

 women, commands him to single out the prettiest lady in 



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