322 TRAVELS IN 
In the condudt of this little animal, there is fomething that 
approaches to what philofophers have been pleafed to deny to 
the brute part of the creation. Having obferved .a neft of honey, 
it immediately flies in fearch of fome human creature, to whom, 
by its fluttering, and whiftling, and chirping, it communicates 
the difcovery. Every one here is too well acquainted with the 
bird to have any doubts as to the certainty of the information. 
It leads the way directly towards the place, flying from bufh to 
bufh, or from one ant-hill to another. When clofe to the neft, 
it remains ftill and filent. As foon as the perfon, to whom the 
difcovery was made, fhall have taken away the honey, the In- 
dicator flies to feaft on the remains. By the like conduct it is 
alfo faid to indicate, with equal certainty, the dens of lions, 
tygers, hyaenas, and other beafts of prey and noxious animals. 
In the difcovery of a bee's neft, felf-intereft is concerned ; but 
in the latter inftance, its motives muft proceed from a different 
principle. That involuntary and fpontaneous agent, which is 
fuppofed to guide and diredt the brute creation, and which 
man, unable to inveftigate the nice fhades of caufe and effed: 
that no doubt govern all their actions, has refolved into one 
general moving power called Inftin6t, is perhaps lefs a blind 
impulfe of nature than a ray of reafon. The chain of rational 
faculties from man, the topmoft link, to the meaneft reptile, 
may, perhaps, with equal propriety, be fuppofed to exift, as that 
which more apparently is obferved to connect their exterior 
forms. If it be inftin£t that in Europe caufes the fhynefs of 
birds at the approach of man, the fame inftin£t inftruds them 
to be fo bold in India and China, where they are not molefted, 
as 
