THE MOLE. 
7 
How the Mole assumes this peculiar attitude I cannot con- 
ceive. I have often seen it engaged in eating, and have sketched 
the creature while so employed ; but, when the Mole has been 
dead, I have been unable to place it in the proper attitude, 
though anxious to do so in order that the artist might be able 
to make his drawing properly. 
From seeing the animal eat, I can readily conceive the fury 
with which it must be animated when it fights, and can perfectly 
appreciate the truth of the assertion, that it has been observed 
to fling itself upon a small bird, to tear its body open, and to 
devour it while still palpitating with life. 
Nothing short of this fiery energy could sustain an animal in 
the lifelong task of forcing itself through the solid earth ; and 
it may well be imagined that when two male Moles of equal 
strength happen to meet, the combat must be of the most 
furious kind. 
To those who are accustomed only to look at animals from 
their own stand-point, these battles may appear too insignifi- 
cant to attract attention ; but to the eye of a naturalist, who 
instinctively identifies himself with the nature of the animals 
which he is observing, these combats lose all their insignificance, 
and even partake in some degree of the sublime. Size is only 
of relative importance ; and, in point of fact, a battle between 
two Moles is as tremendous as one between two lions, if not 
more so, because the Mole is more courageous than the lion, 
and, relatively speaking, is far more powerful and armed with 
weapons more destructive. 
On looking over the list of burrowing mammalia, the observer 
cannot but be struck with the wonderful manner in which they 
emerge from the earth with unsoiled fur. This capability is the 
more remarkable in the animal now under consideration, because 
it is continually engaged in making new tunnels, and is not 
content merely to pass up and down a passage already excavated. 
The sides of the passages, which are popularly known as the 
high roads, are by degrees worn quite smooth by the attrition 
of the Mole’s body, so that in them there is little danger of 
injury accruing to the fur. But that an animal should be able 
