THIRD JOURNEY. 



139 



tuberances upon it, such, as stones, or roots of grass, &c, 

 this just suits the sloth, and he moves his fore-legs in 

 all directions, in order to find something to lay hold of ; 

 and when he has succeeded, he pulls himself forward, 

 and is thus enabled to travel onwards, but at the same 

 time in so tardy and awkward a manner, as to acquire 

 him the name of sloth. 



Indeed his looks and his gestures evidently betray 

 his uncomfortable situation ; and as a ,sigh every now 

 and then escapes him, we may be entitled to conclude 

 that he is actually in pain. 



Some years ago I kept a sloth in my room for several 

 months. I often took him out of the house and placed 

 him upon the ground, in order to have an opportunity 

 of observing his motions. If the ground were rough, 

 he would pull himself forwards, by means of his fore- 

 legs, at a pretty good pace ; and he invariably imme- 

 diately shaped his course towards the nearest tree : but 

 if I put him upon a smooth and well-trodden part of 

 the road, he appeared to be in trouble and distress, 

 His favourite abode was the back of a chair ; and after 

 getting all his legs in a line upon the topmost part of 

 it, he would hang there for hours together, and often, 

 with a low and inward cry, would seem to invite me to 

 take notice of him. 



The sloth, in its wild state, spends its whole life in 

 trees, and never leaves them but through force, or by 

 accident. An all-ruling Providence has ordered man to 

 tread on the surface of the earth, the eagle to soar in 

 the expanse of the skies, and the monkey and squirrel 

 to inhabit the trees : still these may change their relative 

 situations without feeling much inconvenience : but the 

 sloth is doomed to spend his whole life in the trees; and 



