144 WILD ANIMALS. 



King Svend, of Denmark, in the year 1060, had a bear pre- 

 sented to him by an Icelander, named Audun, who procured it by 

 going to Greenland and giving all his property in exchange for the 

 animal. The king gave him in reward an honourable maintenance 

 for Ufe, and he also discharged his chamberlain for having tried 

 to extort money from Audun before permitting him to be 

 admitted to the presence of the king. 



The bear that King Henry III. possessed, and kept in the 

 Tower, referred to on page 6, was a polar bear, and as there is 

 no record of one having been brought to these shores previously, 

 it is a fair assumption that this animal Was the first of his species 

 ever seen in England. He was certainly highly prized by. the 

 monarch, and considered a curiosity by the people, who were 

 taxed for his support; the sheriffs of London being ordered to 

 see that fourpence a day was forthcoming for that purpose, and 

 also that he was supplied with a muzzle and a strong rope long 

 enough to permit him to swim and fish in the Thames — an enjoy- 

 ment that probably would be of little service to his successors of 

 the present day, even if they could be so indulged, either for 

 bodily refreshing purposes or for food supply. 



Queen Elizabeth owned two white bears, and the old his- 

 torian ' states that in April, 1559, " The queen, in great pomp, 

 rode from the Spittal through the city, attended by 1000 men in 

 coats of mail, with corselets, morrice pikes, and ten large pieces 

 of ordnance, with drums, flutes, and morrice dancers, and twa 

 white bears in a cart.*' The reason of this particular display is 

 not given. 



And here let a lover of animals enter a plea against unnecessary 

 cruelty. Polar bears are very active beasts, and the oflEicers of the 

 Zoological Society, recognizing this, have wisely and humanely 

 portioned off an extra large cage for their specimen ; but in some 

 perambulating menageries that still exist in various parts of the 

 world, they are kept cooped up in so small a space that exercise be- 

 comes impossible, and constitutes gross cruelty. Such a case was 

 noticeable in a collection of wild animals, bearing a well-known 

 name, that was lately exhibiting in the north of London. Here this 

 ' See Maitland's " History of London.'' 



