The Brown European Bear. 47 
den, without any particular food : but if we consider his 
being at rest, losing little by perspiration, and never re- 
tiring to his winter quarters before he is properly fat- 
tened, his abstinence will cease to be wonderful. When 
tamed, this animal appears mild and obedient to his 
master ; he may be taught to walk upright, to dance, to 
lay hold of a pole with his paws, and perform various 
tricks to entertain the multitude, who are highly 
pleased to see the awkward movements of this rugged 
creature, which it seems to suit to the sound of an 
instrument, or to the voice of its leader. The discipline 
Bears undergo in teaching them to dance is so severe, 
that they never forget it ; and an amusing story is told 
of a gentleman who was pursued by a Bear, and who, 
when in despair he turned and raised his stick against 
his assailant, was astonished to see the Bear rear itself 
on its hind legs, and begin to dance. It had escaped 
from captivity, and had been taught to dance when a 
stick was held up by its keeper. But to give the Bear 
this kind of education, it must be taken when young, 
and accustomed early to restraint and discipline, as 
an old Bear will not suffer constraint without discover- 
ing the most furious resentment : neither the voice 
nor the menaces of his keeper have any effect upon 
him ; he growls equally at the hand that is held out to 
feed, and that which is raised to correct him. The 
female Bears bring forth two or three young, and are 
very careful of their offspring. The fat of the Bear is 
reckoned very useful in rheumatic complaints, and for 
anointing the hair : his fur affords comfort to the inha- 
bitants of cold climates, and ornaments to those of 
warm. It was anciently supposed, that the young Bear, 
when first brought forth, was merely an unformed mass, 
till its mother licked it into shape; and hence the 
expression, " he wants licking into shape," was fre- 
quently employed by the old dramatists, when speaking 
of an awkward, clownish man. 
The Brown Bear was at one time common in the 
British islands. " Many years ago it has been swept 
away so completely, that we find it imported for bait- 
ing, a sport in which our nobility, as well as the com- 
