156 WILD ANIMALS. 



for it was recommended by Dioscorides, the Greek physician of the 

 first century; also by Galen, the medical author of the second 

 century, and even before these writers, Pliny mentions it in his 

 "Natural History," "as being very useful in preventing the hair 

 from falling oflF." 



An amusing article on the " advertising system," in the Edin- 

 burgh Review for 1843, states that the first English vendor of bear's 

 grease cautioned his customers " to wash their hands in warm 

 water after using it, to prevent them from assuming the hirsute 

 appearance of a paw." Perhaps this was the enthusiastic tradesman 

 mentioned by Mr. Samuel "Weller in "Master Humphrey's Clock:" — 



" His whole delight was in trade. He spent all his money in 

 bears, and run in debt for 'em besides ; and there they wos a-growl- 

 ing away down in the front cellar all day long, and inefiectually 

 gnashing their teeth, vile the grease of their relations and friends 

 wos being retailed in gallipots in the shop above, and the first-floor 

 winder was ornamented with their heads; not to speak o' the 

 dreadful aggrawation it must have been to 'em to see a man always 

 a-walkin' up and down the pavement outside, with the portrait of 

 a bear in his last agonies, and underneath, in large letters, ' Another 

 fine animal was slaughtered yesterday at Jenkinson's ! ' How- 

 s'ever, there they wos, and there Jenkinson wos, till he wos took 

 very ill with some inward disorder, lost the use of his legs, and 

 wos confined to his bed, where he laid a very long time ; but sich 

 wos his pride in his profession even then, that wenever he wos 

 worse than usual the doctor used to go downstairs and say, 

 ' Jenkinson's very low this mornin' ; we must give the bears a 

 stir;' and as sure as ever they stirred 'em up a bit, and made 'em 

 roar, Jenkinson opens his eyes, if he wos ever so bad, and calls 

 out ' There's the bears ! ' and rewives again." 



This species was at one time common in the British Isles, and 

 large numbers were exported to Eome for exhibition and combat 

 in the amphitheatres. It was one of the Welsh beasts of 

 chase ; and Pennant is the authority for the statement that it 

 infested the mountainous parts of Scotland up to the year 1057. 



Among the Kamtchatkans the brown bear is almost a neces- 

 sity, for they put its skin to divers uses and rely upon its capture 



