76 
The Animal-Tore of Shakspeare s Time. 
There is a delightful vagueness in the description of 
this animal’s colour. It is a pity that the worthy arch¬ 
bishop’s accuracy was not on a par with his credulity. 
The description given by Grieve, in his History of Kam- 
schatka, 1764 (p. 99), of the wolverine deserves quota¬ 
tion, although of a more recent date, as showing the high 
value set by the natives upon the animal:— 
“ There is a creature of the weasel kind, called the glutton, whose 
furr is so greatly esteemed above all others, that when they - would 
describe a man most richly attired, they say that he is cloathed with 
the furr of the glutton. The women of Kamtschafka dress their heire 
with the white claws of this animal, and reckon them a very great 
ornament. However, the Kamtschadales kill so few of them that 
they not only have not enough for exportation, but even import some 
from Jakutski at a very great price. They put the greater value upon 
the furr of the glutton the whiter and yellower it is, although every¬ 
where else this sort is despised ; nay, they esteem it so much, that they 
say the heavenly beings wear no other garments than of this furr.” 
The general colour of the wolverine is a rich brown, 
deepening in parts to black; the young ones are much 
lighter, of a pale cream yellow. It is only the claws 
that are white, but they form a striking contrast with the 
jet black fur of the paws. Marvellous stories are told of 
the insatiate appetite of the glutton, but after making 
due allowance for exaggeration it must be admitted that 
its voracity entitles it to the name, “ the vulture of 
quadrupeds.” 
The Otter was in these times a denizen of most of the 
rivers in the north and west of England. 
Otter ° 
Fuller, in his Worthies of England (vol. 2, 
p. 573, ed. Mchols, 1811), writes :— 
“ Plenty of these in Brecknock-meer ; a creature that can dig and 
dive, resident in the two elements of earth and water. The badger, 
where he bites, maketh his teeth to meet; and the otter leaves little 
distance between them. He is as destructive to fish as the wolf to 
sheep. See we here, more is required to make fine flesh than to have 
fine feeding; the flesh of the otter, from his innate rankness, being 
nought, though his diet be dainty.” 
