34 
L A C E R T A. 
of the Egyptian monarchs. Eat, fach has been the change 
of fentiments, and the progrefs of reafon, that, in the fame 
country where thefe animals were worfhipped two and 
three thoufand years ago, a reward is now given for their 
deftruftion. 
The following obfervations refpeding this animal are 
given in the Moniteur by citizen Frank, one of the phy- 
licians of the army of the ealt, during the late expedition 
into Egypt. “In Europe, when Egypt and the Nile hap¬ 
pen to become the fubjed of converfation, the danger of 
being devoured by crocodiles is frequently mentioned. 
It does not feem to be generally known that this amphi¬ 
bious animal is never feen in that part of the Nile which 
flows through Lower Egypt, and that it is even neceflary 
to afcend the Thebaid a confiderable way before any of 
them can be feen. I never faw a crocodile until I had 
pafied beyond Girzeh. In hot weather, and when the 
Nile is low, the crocodile rifes from the bottom in order 
to bafk upon the dry fand-banks, which are then pretty 
numerous. It was in the months o ' April and May that 
I travelled in the Said. The crococ ile very rarely repofes 
himfeif upon the fides of, the river, except in fpots which 
are difficult of accefs and little frequented. In general 
he does not go more than ten paces from the water; the 
flighted nolle wakes him ; and upon no occafion was I 
able to get within mulket-ffiot of one. Befides, as the 
fcales of this animal are extremely hard, it is almoft im- 
poffible to kill him, unlefs the ball happen to pierce ex¬ 
actly under the humerus. At Dendera, I met with a ki- 
achef who took a Angular pleafure in hunting the croco¬ 
dile. I faw him kill feven in fuccefiion, which were 
placed on a terrace before his houfe, and the noife made 
by each would at fome diftance be taken for the report of 
a cannon. When the natives happen to ffioot, or catch 
one by means of a fnare, they exprefs as much fatisfadion 
as we do in Europe at killing a wolf. Among the nu¬ 
merous crocodiles which I oblerved in afcending and de¬ 
fending the Nile, I faw none above from eight to ten 
feet in length. Profper Alpinus fpeaks of a crocodile 
thirty yards long; but it Ihould be remarked that this au— 
thor never was in Egypt, and he was moft probably de¬ 
ceived by a falfe account. The celebrated Norden fays 
that he faw fome of fifty feet; but, in my opinion he was 
likewife deceived; for I met with no perfon in the coun¬ 
try who had ever feen them of that length. 
“ As to the danger of being devoured by this animal, it 
is infinitely lefs than is generally imagined. He feems in 
general afraid of man, for he avoids inhabited places. 
Hence he is more frequently feen the nearer one approaches 
the catarads. The careleliiiefs with which the inhabitants 
and their children amufe themfelves in the Nile, and walk 
along the banks, proved to me that they had no fear of 
the crocodile. If, however, a favourable occafion offers, 
this cunning animal falls, by furprife, upon a fheep, goat, 
afs, or fometimesa child, with which he inftantly plunges 
to the bottom of the river. At one fpot only, where the 
women were accuftomed to fill their water-pitchers, I 
law a femicircular fence of ruffies, intended to prevent 
the crocodile from doing mifchief. It was erected in 
confequence of one of them having torn the brealt of a 
woman, as file was (looping to fill her pitcher. 
“ I have another and a very Angular obfervation to 
make with refped to the crocodile. It is, that when he 
repofes out of the water, he is almoft always furrounded 
by a variety of large birds, among which I have conftantly 
diflinguiffied the pelican. What a ftrange connection 
between animals fo different in their nature ! It is a 
known fad that the white heron has a Angular fympathy 
for buffaloes and oxen. Does a like fympathy fubAft 
between thefe birds and the crocodile, and particularly 
between the pelican and that animal ?” 
Denon’s remarks may be added in confirmation of the 
above, that the crocodile is not fo very formidable as is 
generally fuppofed: “In my wanderings on the banks of 
she Nile, 1 have feen a great number of all fizes, from 
three to twenty-fix or twenty-eight feet in length ; many 
officers worthy of credit affured me that they met with 
one no lefs than forty feet long. They are by no means 
fo ferocious as is pretended ; their favourite reforts are 
the low ifiands of the river, where they are feen balking 
in the fun (the moft intenfe heat of which appears highly 
grateful to them) by numbers at a time, alleep and mo- 
tionlefs as fo many logs of wood, furrounded by birds, 
who appear totally unmindful of them. What is the 
food of thefe large animals ? Many ftories are related of 
them, but we have not yet had an opportunity of verify¬ 
ing a fingle one. Daring even to imprudence, our fol- 
diers fet them at defiance; even I myfelf bathed daily in 
the Nile ; for the tranquil nights that I thus obtained 
rendered me regardlefs of dangers which we had not as 
yet verified by a fingle fad. If the crocodiles had de¬ 
voured a few of the carcaffes which the war left at their 
difpofal, fuch a food, it might be imagined, would only 
excite their appetite, and engage them to purfue when 
alive fo favourite a prey; and yet we were never once at¬ 
tacked by them, nor did we ever meet with a fingle cro¬ 
codile at a diftance from the water. Hence it appears 
probable that they find in the Nile itfelf a fufficient quan¬ 
tity of eafily-procurable food, which they digelt (lowly, 
being, like theJizard and ferpent, cold-blooded and of an 
inactive Itomach. Befides, having in the Egyptian part 
of the Nile no enemies but each other and man, they 
would be truly formidable, if, covered as they are with an 
almoft impenetrable defenfive armour, they were alert and 
fkilful in making ufe of thofe which nature has given 
them for attack.” 
The crocodile of the Nile is reprefented on Plate I. fig. i. 
Fig. 2 is the head of a young crocodile from Seba, with 
the mouth open, to (how the interior; aa, the upper jaw j 
b, the throat; cc, one half of the tongue as fixed to the under 
jaw, in its natural (late; dd, the other half, with the mem¬ 
brane turned back at e; fffi the lower jaw; g, the palate. 
From the defcription we have given, we think it will 
be eafy to prove that the crocodile is the leviathan of the 
Tcripture. Job fpeaks of the leviathan in the manner fol¬ 
lowing : Canjl thou draw out leviathan with an hook ? or his 
tongue with a cord which thou lettejl down ? Job xli. i. “ Is 
the crocodile one of thole fifn which is to be caught by a 
hook, and faftened by the tongue, or Itrung through the 
mouth and gills, to be led up and down as one 
pleafes ?” He alks this as of a thing impofiible, which 
no one could attempt without great temerity. Hero¬ 
dotus, lib. ii. cap. 70. relates a way of taking the cro¬ 
codile with a hook ; but this probably was not invented 
in the time of Job. They threw a hook baited with hog’s 
fleffi into the Nile. The fifliermen Hood on the fhore, 
where they made a pig cry : the crocodile immediately 
came forward, and fwallowed the fleffi with the hook. 
The fifhermen drew it on-fliore, threw mud into its eyes, 
(which are very fmall in proportion to the reft of the bo¬ 
dy,) and killed it. We have already noticed a mode of 
catching the crocodile by means of a live fheep writhing 
in torture. Canjl thou put a hook into his noje , or bore his 
jaw through with a thorn ? as they did beads of fervice, 
fuch as camels and buffaloes which were guided in this 
manner, and direded at pleafure. “ Is the crocodile one 
of thofe gentle and tradable animals ?” Lay thine hand upon 
him ; remember the battle ; do no more ; or according to the 
Hebrew, “ Lay thine hand upon him, and never think of 
the battle.” Behold , the hope of him is in vain ; Jhall not one 
be caft down even at the fgkt of him? Heliodorus, a very an¬ 
cient author, tells of one Artimedorus, who, lighting by 
chance on a crocodile that was fleeping on the fands, was 
fo feared, that he inftantly loft both his underftanding 
and memory. Job continues, None isfo fierce that dare Jhr 
him up. It would be very great rafhnels to attempt it; 
neverthelefs the inhabitants of Tentyrus deltroyed croco¬ 
diles wherever they could find them. Who can dificover the 
face of his garment ? or who can come to him with his double 
bridle? The crocodile Ueeps in the day-time on the Amd, 
3 with 
