80 



A NEW HISTORY OF 



whilst a fifth lying betwixt these, and occupying a 

 space of twenty-three degrees and a half, on each 

 side of the equator, is wonderfully warm and 

 fertile ; and it goes by the name of the torrid zone. 



He who ventures into the dreary regions of 

 frost and snow, should he be a naturalist, will see, 

 that no animal can remain there with impunity, 

 when food becomes deficient. Away, the famished 

 creature goes elsewhere, in search of fresh supplies. 

 It is then, that, undeviating instinct acts her part, 

 and unerringly shews the tract which must be 

 followed; whether through the yielding air; or in 

 the briny wave ; or on the solid ground. 



Thus, w r hen " Boreas, blustering railer," an- 

 nounces the approach of winter, we find that 

 shoals of fish glide regularly to the south, and 

 flocks on flocks of migratory wild fowl forsake 

 their cold abode ; whilst the quadrupeds, with here 

 and there, a solitary exception, all turn their faces 

 to the south, and leave the roaring storms behind 

 them. 



But man, by having been endowed with reason, 

 can carry food, and make his shelter, whichever 

 way he bends his steps ; braving the howling 

 blast. 



Still, with every possible precaution, an awful 

 death may sometimes be his lot. Thus, Sir John 



