SINGLE-HORNED RHINOCEROS. 201 



The first specimen of the common or Indian 

 Rhinoceros ever imported into Europe since the 

 time of the Romans, is supposed to have been that 

 which was presented to Emanuel, king of Portu- 

 gal, in the year 1513. It gave rise to the first 

 figure of the Rhinoceros by Albert Durer; but it 

 is concluded, and not without good reason, that he 

 never saw the animal himself, but received from 

 .some correspondent the drawing from which he 

 executed his figure, which evidently appears to 

 have been decorated with fictitious folds, plaits, 

 scales, and scollopings, and, besides the horn on the 

 nose, has a smaller one situated on the back of 

 the neck. This figure of Albert Durer's has been 

 frequently copied in works on natural history, and 

 occurs in Gesner, Aldrovandus, &c. &c. The other 

 figures of the Rhinoceros, afterwards published, 

 though free from Albert Durer's errors, were still 

 faulty; and it was not till the year 1743 that a 

 faithful representation of this animal was presented, 

 to the public. This appeared in the Philosophi- 

 cal Transactions, and the figure was executed un- 

 der the superintendance of Dr. Parsons, an ex- 

 cellent zoologist of that period. The celebrated 

 Edwards also, in the first volume of his " Glean- 

 ings of Natural History," published a beautiful 

 representation of the same specimen. The ani- 

 mal, however, was but young, and the horn, of 

 course, but in its first approach towards elonga- 

 tion. The figure in the Count de Buffon's Natu- 

 ral History seems to have been the next authentic 

 representation, and appears to have been some- 



