QUADRUPEDS. 
His chine is double ; starting with a bound, 
He turns the turf and shakes the solid ground. 
Fire from his eyes, clouds from his nostrils flow ; 
He bears his rider headlong on the foe. 
101 
THE ASS. (Equus Asinus.} 
THE Ass is a beast of burden, and undoubtedly very ser- 
viceable to mankind. Of greater strength than most 
animals of his size, he bears fatigue with patience, and 
hunger with apparent cheerfulness. A bundle of dried 
herbs, a thistle on the road, will suffice him for his daily 
meal, and he compensates with the clear and pure water 
of a neighbouring brook (in the choice of which he is 
particularly nice,) the want of a better fare. It is pro- 
bable the Ass was originally a native of Arabia, and other 
parts of the East: the deserts of Libya and Numidia, and 
many parts of the Archipelago, contain vast herds of wild 
Asses, which run with such amazing swiftness, that even 
the fleetest horses of the country can hardly overtake 
them. In the time of Elizabeth, we are informed, there 
were no Asses in this country. Our treatment of this 
very useful animal is both wanton and cruel, and most 
ungrateful, considering the great services he renders us at 
a little expense. The ears of the Ass are of an uncom- 
mon length ; and he is of a greyish or a dun colour, with 
