THE MOLE, 
3 
ground and sit at the end of them, but forms a complicated 
subterranean dwelling-place, with chambers, passages, and other 
arrangements of wonderful completeness. It has regular roads 
leading to its feeding-grounds ; establishes a system of com- 
munication as elaborate as that of a modern railway, or to be 
more correct, as that of the subterranean network of metropolitan 
sewers ; and is an animal of varied accomplishments. 
It can run tolerably fast, it can fight like a bulldog, it can 
capture prey under or above ground, it can swim fearlessly, and 
it can sink wells for the purpose of quenching its thirst. It is, 
indeed, a most interesting animal, and our comparatively small 
knowledge of its habits gives promise of much that is yet to be 
made known. 
Take the Mole out of its proper sphere, and it is as awkward 
and clumsy as the sloth when placed on level ground, or the 
seal when brought ashore. Replace it in the familiar earth, and 
it becomes a different being, — full of life and energy, and actuated 
by a fiery activity which seems quite inconsistent with its dull 
aspect and seemingly inert form. The absence of any external 
indication of eyes communicates a peculiar dulness to the crea- 
ture’s look, and the peculiar formation of the fore limbs gives 
an indescribable awkwardness to its gait. 
I have always taken much interest in this animal, and have 
watched many of its habits, as far as can be done under the 
very untoward circumstances that always must exist when the 
animal to be watched is essentially subterranean in its habits. 
The Mole cannot develop its nature unless it is buried below 
the surface of the ground, and when it is there, we cannot see 
it. Many marine and aquatic animals can be tolerably watched 
by placing them in the aquarium ; but when they take to 
burrowing, they put an effectual stop to investigation. 
We all know that the Mole burrows under the ground, and 
that it raises those little hillocks with which we are so familiar, 
but we do not generally know the extent or variety of its tunnels, 
or that the animal works upon a regular system, and does not 
burrow here and' there at random. How it manages to form its 
