the volume is magnificently got up ; and 

 we may say that it is splendidly illustrated 

 by no fewer than 390 fine engravings on 

 wood. Some twenty years ago the price 

 would have been at least five guineas, in- 

 stead of that number of shillings. Again, 

 Ave repeat — Mr. Bohn is a patriot, whose 

 love for the moral intellect of the public is, 

 we should imagine, far greater than his zeal 

 for his own interests. We could not say 

 more — it would be unjust to say less. By 

 the aid of this now extensive series of 

 " Libraries," we hope, without injuring 

 the worthy proprietor, to give our readers 

 many a treat of savory mental fare. 



Anecdotes of the Habits and Instincts of Ani- 

 mals. By Mrs. R. Lee, Author of " The 

 African Wanderer," &c. — Grant and 

 Griffiths. 



We have taken occasion, recently, to de- 

 precate the publication of any anecdotes 

 connected with animals that are not strictly 

 consistent with truth. We feel quite sure 

 that science suffers from it, and that the pub- 

 lic faith is shaken by it : so that persons are 

 reluctant to believe what really is true. 

 This volume is filled with anecdotes to 

 "amuse children," and, perhaps, "children 

 of a larger growth." It will " amuse" them, no 

 doubt, and so it has us. Without offering 

 further comment, we subjoin a few speci- 

 mens by way of " examples," leaving the 

 public to judge between our few remarks, 

 and the "facts" stated. We thought we 

 knew something about the " instinct " of 

 animals ; but the annexed cases puzzle us : — 



"Instinct" of a Eat. — u Bats are nocturnal 

 in their habits, and like to live in sub- 

 terranean, or mysterious abodes. They are 

 found in islands lying in the midst of the 

 ocean, till the moment of their discovery to us 

 supposed not to have been visited by man, and 

 yet the question still remains unsettled, whether 

 the differences which exist in rats were caused by 

 locality, or whether they were so from the be- 

 ginning. There is now no known spot free from 

 the Norway rat, and the greater the number, of 

 course the more impudent they become. In 

 Ceylon, I am told, where they are innumerable, 

 they perch on the top of a chair, or screen, and 

 sit there till something is thrown at them, at 

 which they slowly retreat. A noise is heard in 

 the verandah close by you, and you see a party 

 of rats disputing with a dog for the possession 

 of some object. A traveller in Ceylon saw his 

 dogs set upon a rat, and making them relinquish 

 it, he took it up by the tail, the dogs leaping after 

 it the whole time ; he carried it into his dining- 

 room, to examine it there by the light of the 

 lamp, during the whole of which period it remained 

 as if it were dead; limbs hanging, and not a 

 muscle moving. After five minutes he threw it 

 among the dogs, who were still in a state of great 

 excitement; and to the astonishment of all pre- 



sent, it suddenly jumped upon its legs, and ran 

 away so fast that it baffled all its pursuers I " 



The following also is a very strikingly 

 curious, if 



" True" Anecdote op a (so-called) Dog: — 

 " Two ladies, friends of a near relative of my 

 own, from whom I received an account of the 

 circumstance, were walking in Regent-street, and 

 were accosted by a man who requested them to 

 buy a beautiful little dog, covered with long, white 

 hair, which he carried in his arms. Such, things 

 are not uncommon in that part of London, and 

 the ladies passed on without heeding him. He 

 followed, and repeated his entreaties, stating, 

 that as it was the last he had to sell, they should 

 have it at a reasonable price. They looked at 

 the animal ; it was really an exquisite little crea- 

 ture, and they were at last persuaded. The man 

 took it home for them, received his money, and 

 left the dog in the arms of one of the ladies. A 

 short time elapsed, and the dog, which had been 

 very quiet, in spite of a restless, bright eye, began 

 to show symptoms of uneasiness, and as he ran 

 about the room exhibited some unusual move- 

 ments, which rather alarmed the fair purchasers. 

 At last, to their great dismay, the new dog ran 

 squeaking up one of the window curtains, so 

 that when the gentleman returned home a few 

 minutes after, he found the ladies in consterna- 

 tion, and right glad to have his assistance. He 

 vigorously seized the animal, took out his pen- 

 knife, cut off its covering, and displayed a large 

 rat to their astonished eyes, and, of course, to its 

 own destruction." (Fact!) 



We subjoin two other extracts : — 

 The Eat and the Serpent. — " One after- 

 noon, the commandant of Bathurst was quietly 

 reading, when he heard a violent squeaking 

 and hissing in the room below him, which 

 was even with the ground, and contained stores . 

 He took the key, and followed by his servants 

 armed with sticks went to ascertain the cause. 

 On opening the door they beheld a rat and a 

 venomous serpent engaged in mortal combat. 

 Nothing could be more beautiful than the action 

 of both animals ; the rat had retreated for a mo- 

 ment, and stood with flashing eyes ; the head of 

 the serpent was reared to receive a fresh attack; 

 again and again they closed and separated, but 

 the reptile, although much bitten, gained the 

 victory; the rat fell, foamed at the mouth, 

 swelled to a great size, and died in a very few 

 minutes. The serpent glided away, but was 

 afterwards discovered in her nest with several 

 young ones, in a crack of the store-room wall, 

 close to a staircase, which we were in the habit 

 of descending dailv, and where, in fact, I had 

 often seen the serpents' heads peeping out, and 

 had waited till they were withdrawn." 



"Want" op Instinct in the Eat. — " One 

 evening, when at Bathurst, St. Mary's, I was 

 sitting at work in an upper room, and in the 

 midst of the stillness, heard something breath- 

 ing close to me. There was no other person in 

 the chamber except my child, who was asleep 

 in bed. Although startled, I did not move, but 

 casting my eyes round I saw a huge rat, sitting 

 upon the table at my elbow, watching every move- 



