KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



265 



from the earliest times. The first is well 

 founded ; the last fabulous, but the fable has 

 been fortified by the power possessed by the 

 reptile of living in apparently good health 

 for a long time — many weeks — without 

 visibly taking any sustenance. 



In the stomach of one dissected by Hassel- 

 quist, he found the remains of various 

 insects, — tipulce, coccinellce, and butterflies ; 

 and, in its droppings, he found part of an 

 entire ear of barley, which he characterises 

 justly as very singular.* He kept one alive 

 for a considerable time, and applied himself 

 to observations on its habits. 



He could never see that it assumed the 

 color of any painted object presented to its 

 view, though he made many experiments 

 with all kinds of colors, on different things — 

 flowers, cloth, paintings, &c. Its natural 

 color was iron-grey, or black mixed with a 

 little grey. This it sometimes changed, and 

 became entirely of a brimstone yellow. 

 That was the color which he saw it most 

 frequently assume, with the exception of the 

 hue first mentioned. He had seen it change 

 to a darker yellow, approaching somewhat to 

 a green, sometimes to a lighter; at which 

 time it was more inclined to a white than a 

 yellow. He did not observe that it assumed 

 any more colors ; such as red, blue, purple, 

 &c. ; and, for that reason, was inclined to 

 believe that all which has been said concern- 

 ing the changing and shifting of colors in 

 the animal, consisted only in this — that on 

 certain occasions it changes the dark color, 

 which seems to be natural to it, into yellow 

 of various shades. 



He observed that his reptile more par- 

 ticularly did it on two occasions : one was, 

 when he exposed it to the hot beams of the 

 sun ; and the other, when he made it angry 

 by pointing at it with his finger. "When it 

 was changing from black to yellow, the soles 

 of its feet, its head, and the bag under its 

 throat, began first to alter — an alteration 

 which was afterwards continued over the 

 whole body. He saw it several times speckled, 

 or marked with large spots of both colors 

 over the whole body, which gave it an elegant 

 appearance. "When it was an iron grey color, 

 it extended its sides or ribs and hypo- 

 chondria,which made the skin sit close to the 

 body, and it appeared plump and handsome; 

 but, as soon as it turned yellow, it con- 

 tracted those parts, appearing thin, empty, 

 lean, and ugly ; and the nearer it approached 

 in color to white, the emptier and uglier it 

 seemed ; but it appeared worse, in regard to 

 shape, when it was speckled. 



* The presence of the grain may be accounted 

 for by the presence of an insect on it, when the 

 chameleon, with the tip of its adhesive tongue, 

 may have brought away the grain with its natural 

 prey. 



Hasselquist kept this creature alive from 

 the 8th of March to the 1st of April, without 

 affording it an opportunity of taking any 

 food. This is much to be regretted, because, 

 in its native climate, there can be little doubt 

 that, from its vivacity, it would have fed 

 freely, and the powers of abstinence of the 

 animal had been tested again and again. 

 Notwithstanding its fast, it was nimble and 

 lively during the greater part of the time, 

 climbing up and down in its cage, fond of 

 being near the light, and constantly rolling 

 its eyes. At last Hasselquist could plainly 

 perceive that the victim waxed lean and 

 suffered from hunger ; but the Swede was 

 obdurate, though he saw that it could no 

 longer hold fast by the bars of its cage, from 

 which it fell through weakness, when a 

 turtle, a thirse probably, which was kept in 

 the same room, bit it, and hastened its 

 death . 



Before I came to the resolution induced by 

 the death of poor Binny, my tame beaver, a 

 friend gave me a living chameleon, which 

 remained with me nearly two months. It 

 was winter, and every precaution was adopted 

 to make the poor reptile as comfortable as 

 possible. It lived in a wicker cage, to the 

 bars of which it clung with feet and tail ; 

 but, after it had been with me a few days, it 

 would leave the cage and establish itself on the 

 ornamental work of the iron fender before 

 the fire. Soon it began to recognise me. 

 surveying me with a knowing roll of its 

 singular optics, opened in the centre of the 

 shagreen-like globes of the eyes. It then 

 would leave the bars of the cage for my hand, 

 the warmth of which seemed to comfort it, 

 and would remain in it till I transferred it to 

 the warm fender, which was its favorite post. 

 Clinging with its feet and tail, with one eye 

 directed backwards towards me, and with 

 the other forwards, scanning the fire as if it 

 were looking for the faces of other chameleons 

 in it, the creature would remain motionless 

 for hours, enjoying the genial temperature. 



During the whole time it was with me it 

 never took any nourishment, though meal- 

 worms and other insects were procured for 

 it. "When they were presented, it would 

 roll its eye and bring it to bear upon them ; 

 but neither Mrs. M.. the good old housekeeper, 

 who was so fond of Binny, nor myself, ever 

 saw it take one, nor was one ever missed 

 from among those presented to it. The 

 housekeeper was at her wits' end what to do 

 for it, till at last she became pacified, fully 

 believing that it fed upon air ; for, notwith- 

 standing its abstinence, it did not apparently 

 fall away. But it was distressing to watch 

 its strict fast day after day, and yet day 

 after day I hoped this long fast would be 

 broken, and did not like to abandon it. I 

 was the more anxious to get it to feed, 



