THE CIVET. 
193 
stone, and repeat this operation till he 
broken the shell. Ancient writers have 
f'^en gone so far as to assert that, when the 
’'^^neumon finds a crocodile asleep on the 
^^ore, he will boldly enter the mouth of the 
^'^ormous animal, kill his enemy by devour- 
his entrails, and then eat his way out of 
belly of the monster. It is scarcely ne- 
'^^ssary to contradict so palpable a fable. 
THE CIVET. 
This is the largest species of the weasel 
’*id, measuring about two feet from nose to 
and the tail about fourteen inches. The 
^*'ound colour of the body is a yellowish gray, 
*''^i'ked with large dusky spots, disposed in 
on each side, and sometimes intermixed 
''"fih a rusty tinge. The hair, which stands 
along the top of the back like a sort of 
^OL. II. o 
