64 
SALAMANDER. 
and the sufferings of the salamander prolonged : 
thus has a trifling circumstance in the natural his- 
tory of this creature, been magnified into an ability 
to live in the midst of fire, and a power to quench 
it at pleasure. 
The salamander is found in several parts of Eu- 
rope, and generally inhabits moist and shady places: 
the cold, damp parts of thick woods, on elevated 
situations, or the sides of springs, seem particularly 
congenial to its nature. When the winter ap- 
proaches, and the cold begins to set in, they retire 
in great numbers to their hiding-places, crowding 
together into the hollows of old trees, under the 
roots of hedges, or into subterranean retreats, where 
they remain, rolled up, till the spring returns and 
once more tempts them to come forth. The ground 
colour of the salamander is a deep shining black, 
variegated with large patches of bright orange co- 
lour. Two large glands are situated on each side of 
the head, towards the neck ; and there are several 
open pores in different parts of the body, through 
which the before-mentioned milky fluid is exuded. 
The feet are entirely destitute of claws, and of 
course the animal is not, like other lizards, formed 
for climbing trees, but is doomed to crawl for ever 
upon the ground, and that in such a slow and lan- 
guid manner that it seldom ventures far from its re- 
treat. When we meet with an animal, like the 
salamander, the greater part of whose life is spent 
in holes, or under damp stones, in the most gloomy 
recesses it can meet with ; who shuns the sun, and 
