LECTURE II. 53 



application of a certain degree of heat, the animal 

 gradually recovers from its torpor, and the circu- 

 lation of the blood becomes visible. 



The general appearance of the Bat, together 

 with its nocturnal flight, must be confessed to 

 excite the idea of something hideous and dismal^ 

 and for this reason the ancients consecrated it to 

 Proserpine, and supposed it to be one of the inha- 

 bitants of her dusky regions : and it cannot fail 

 to occur to the recollection of every one, that 

 painters, in their representations of fiends and 

 demons, usually exhibit them with the leathern 

 wings of the Bat. It is also equally evident, that 

 the fabulous Harpies of the ancients must have 

 originated from a similar source ; the larger Bats 

 of India and Africa, by a little poetical exaggera- 

 tion of their manners, answering extremely well 

 to the general description of those monsters. 



1 knovv not Avhether it may be worth while to 

 mention the celebrated experiments of Spalian- 

 zani, respecting a supposed additional sense or 

 faculty in Bats, enabling them, when deprived of 

 sight, to avoid any obstacles as readily as when 

 they retained their power of vision. These expe- 

 riments are cruel, and perhaps do not lead to 



