OSTRICHES. 127 



which it is much assisted by the Motion of its Wings 

 and Tail : And when it runs, it wounds itself with the 

 Spurs which it has on its Legs. It is bred in the dry 

 Desarts, where there is no Water, and lays t^ or twelve 

 Eggs together in the Sand, some as lai'ge as a great 

 Bowl, and some less. They say this Bird hath so little 

 Memory that as soon as she hath made an End of 

 laying her Eggs, she forgets the Place where she left 

 them ; so that when the Hen comes to a Place where 

 there are Eggs, let them be her own or not, she sets 

 abrood upon them, and hatches them ; and as soon as 

 the Chickens are hatched, they immediately run about 

 the Country, to look for Meat; and they are so nimble, 

 when they are little, before their Feathers grow, that 

 'tis impossible to overtake them." 



One is inclined to think that the old author, Marmol, 

 from whose " History of Africa " the above passage is 

 quoted, cannot have written from any very accurate 

 acquaintance with the Dark Continent ; at any rate, it 

 is not likely that he ever saw an ostrich, or he would 

 have known that it possesses no spurs. 



It is a strange fact that the most savage ostrich, if 

 he comes up and finds you between himself and his 

 nest, does not, as would naturally be supposed, rush to 

 defend his eggs, and, if possible, kick you to death, but 

 is instantly changed into the most abjectly submissive 

 of creatures. " 'Umble " as Uriah Heep, he squats at 

 your feet; making a peculiar rattling noise with his 

 wings, biting the ground, snapping his bill, closing his 

 eyes, and looking the very embodiment of imbecility 



