310 
The Animal-Lore of Shakspeare’s Time . 
We read, in the early travels, that the Moors antici¬ 
pated the recent fashion of having purses made of croco¬ 
dile skin, and no doubt they turned the scaly coat of 
the destructive reptile to good account in many ways. 
In a pageant on the occasion of Lord Mayor Garway’s- 
procession, about 1600, a crocodile made what was prob¬ 
ably its first appearance in public, and formed a part of 
the show, heralded by a black man, who represented the 
river Nile. We have no record as to whether this- 
particular crocodile was alive or stuffed. 
“ The Lizard is a kind of loving creature,' 
Ihzard. Especially to man he is a friend: 
This property is given him by nature, 
From dangerous beasts poore man he doth defend:: 
For being sleepy he all sence forsaketh, 
The lizard bites him till the man awaketh. ,, 
(Chester, Love's Martyr , p. 114.)' 
This friendly relation between the lizard and man has 
been noticed by Reginald Scot.* 
In Henry VI. we find two references to the venomous 
properties of the poor little lizard, but as the play is 
doubtful they cannot be quoted as proving Shakspeare’s 
ignorance on this point. The lizard is, however, in 
other places classed with noxious creatures. Thersites 
exclaims:— 
a To be a dog, a mule, a cat, a fitchew, a toad, a lizard, an owl, a 
puttock, or a herring without a roe, I would not care; but to be Mene- 
laus! I would conspire against destiny.” (Troilus and Cressida , v. 1,67.) 
It is somewhat curious that an animal of such retiring 
habits, and living in regions so remote, as 
Chameleon. Chameleon, should have had so much 
attention bestowed upon it. Accounts of the chameleon 
are in the main fabulous, and derived in great measure 
from Pliny. Du Bartas (p. 50) declares that— 
*-See page 251. 
