age by whom they are pursued from one rivulet to another, but are more than equal to him in providing against the intensity of cold and the occurrence of

want.

Some insects form nests for their young; others have methods still more curious for their protection. Thus the ichneumon-fly deposites its eggs in the body of a caterpillar with the point of its sting. These become maggots, which feed upon the live body of the caterpillar that matured them. The sphinx genus of insects are less cruel, depositing theirs only in spiders and caterpillars that are already dead. The ox-fly lays its eggs in the hides of oxen; another species in the nostrils of sheep; and another upon the manes and hair of horses, which the horse licking, takes into its stomach, where they become bots, and not unfrequently cause the animal's death. The chegoe of the West Indies deposites its eggs under the human skin; and, unless the bag is removed, mortification frequently ensues.

Animal Affinities.-Animals of different genera resemble each other not unfrequently in the attitudes they respectively assume. The leech, when touched, rolls itself into a spherical form. The gallyworm also rolls itself up like a ball: so does the oniscus armadillo; and the domesticus dermestes, when in the least alarmed, draws its feet under its abdomen, and its head beneath its thorax, and seems to be dead. Thus these insects have an affinity in manners with the hedgehog and the three-banded armadillo. The latter is armed with a shell that is almost invulnerable; but, when pursued by hunters, it coils itself up and rolls down the steepest precipices, leaving the hunter, while lamenting its escape, to admire its courage. The drumfish of Peru, in the same manner, if alarmed, inflates itself till it is round, when none of its enemies can either bite or swallow it; its size preventing the latter and its shape the former.

Curious affinities may be also traced in the language of animals. The Hindustan antelope chews the cud like a lama, lies down and rises up like a camel, croaks like a raven, and, at a certain time of the year, has a rattling in its throat like the deer. The eared owl of Brazil sports and frolics like a monkey; leonine seals roar like angry bulls; the female lows like a calf, and the young ones bleat like sheep; while the raven fowls like a hawk, fetches and carries like a dog, steals like a jay, whistles like a boy, and speaks like a man.

Similarities may be observed, too, in the separate parts of particular animals. Thus the camelopard has horns like a deer, and a neck in some measure like a camel; it is spotted like a leopard, and has a tongue and ears like a cow. The Nhu antelope has the mane of a horse, the head of a heifer, and its hind parts resemble those of a mule. The barbyrousa of Boura has the shape of a stag, a nose and tail like a boar, feet like those of a goat, the legs of a roebuck, and hair like that of a greyhound.

Some animals bear resemblances to each other in having striking olfactory partialities and antipathies. The olfactory power of the reindeer is so great that he can discover where the lichen rangiferinus lies, though buried under the snow. When he comes to a spot where it is concealed, he smells it and digs for it. Several ostriches lay their eggs in one nest. If they are touched by any one, they are sure to discover it on their return by the smell: they break the eggs, and never again lay in the same nest. Even insects possess the olfactory sense. Bees and flies love the perfume of flowers; ants hate cajeput oil; and cockroaches have a deadly aversion to camphor.

Some animals are peculiarly sensitive to particular sounds. Horses become animated at the sound of trumpets and at the cry of dogs in the chase; elephants delight in music; the camel, when fatigued

with a long journey over the deserts, will revive in an instant when its master sings loudly or plays upon a musical instrument. Bees are soothed by timbrels; and mullets are attracted to the hooks of the negroes in Africa by clappers, which the waves knock against pieces of wood to which they are attached.

Characters of Men traced in Animals.-We may even recognise human characteristics in animals. Thus in the jay we may trace the airs of a petulant girl; the magpie has all the restlessness, flippancy, vanity, and intrusion of the beau. The selfish we may compare to the one-horned rhinoceros, since it is incapable either of gratitude or attachment; the intemperate to the rougette bat, intoxicating itself with the juice of the palm-tree; a man easy of forgiveness to the Cape antelope: fierce when assailed, yet taking food within a minute, even from the hand which struck it; while a man who derives his enjoyment from his family seems animated with the same spirit as the antelope of Scythia, which will seldom eat unless surrounded by its mate and her little ones. Envious men and calumniating women we might liken to serpent-eaters, such as the porcupine, the deer of Afghaunistan, the ciconia of the Arctic regions, and the secretary bird. Indian antelopes, like old men, sequester themselves and become solitary in age. The green maccaw is a perfect emblem of a jealous wife. If its master caress a dog, a cat, a bird, or even a child, nothing can exceed its anxiety and fury; nor will it be appeased till he forsakes the new favourite and returns to it.

Some men resemble the great bat of Java. This bat, when hurt and unable to revenge the injury, wreaks its vengeance on its own wounded limb. The Japanese, out of revenge to others, in the same spirit, not unfrequently rip open their own bodies. Other men are like the tavoua parrot of Guinea.

This parrot is one of the most beautiful of its tribe, but is the most ferocious in its intentions, when it exhibits a disposition to caress. Wise men some

times appear blind, and then the fool supposes them unable to see. But he is ignorant that some birds, by means of the nictitating membrane, cover their eyes without shutting their eyelids. Obstinate men may read their characters in that of the Arctic puffin and of the Lapland mouse. The former seizes the end of a bough thrust into its hole, and will not let go till it is drawn out and killed. The latter descend in vast bodies from the mountains, and will not, in their progress, move out of a direct line for anything. They have eyes, and yet they run against stones, rocks, and animals, and bite and contend with every object that they meet. They pass rivers and cross lakes, and, when they arrive at the sea, plunge in and are lost. Men who are solitary from bad passions resemble the tenebrio beetle, which is so unsocial that two of them are scarcely ever seen together. How many men are there who resemble the larus arcticus? This bird never fishes itself, but lives upon fish caught by other birds, which it purThey drop their prey from fear, and the larus seizes it before it falls into the water.

sues.

ADORATION OF ANIMALS.

ANIMALS have even been raised by the folly and impiety of mankind to the rank of deities. "It is better," says Lord Bacon, "to have no opinion of God at all, than-such an opinion as is unworthy of him; for the one is merely unbelief, the other is contumely."

The Pyramids are the tombs of bulls. In a sar cophagus found in the second Pyramid by Belzoni were discovered bones which at first were supposed

to be those of King Cephrenes; but, upon a scientific survey, they proved to be those of an animal belonging to the bos genus. Hence it has reasonably been supposed that the Pyramids were erected, not for the interment of kings, but for the deposition of Apis. Belzoni also believed that the most magnificent of the tombs at Thebes was destined for the same purpose. How far human folly has gone, and can yet go, may be estimated by the following facts: Herodotus asserts, and from him Strabo, that the first temples in Egypt were for the reception of the insects, fishes, reptiles, birds, and quadrupeds that the inhabitants worshipped. Swine were adored in Crete, weasels at Thebes, rats and mice in Troas, porcupines in Persia, and some writers even assure us that the Thessalians and Arcanians dedicated bullocks to ants and flies. The custom of worshipping animals prevailed also among the Egyptians, Syrians, Scythians, Hindus, Chinese, Tonquinese, Tibetians, and Siberians, Greeks, Romans, and Celts.

Some of the Malabarese adore the Pondicherry eagle, the most rapacious of birds. In Madura they venerate the ass, and suppose the whole race to be animated with the souls of their nobility. The inhabitants of Benin regard certain animals as mediators between them and the Deity; and the natives of Siam and Pegu believe white elephants to have the souls of their deceased monarchs residing in them. The Sandwich Islanders earnestly entreated the Europeans not to injure their ravens: “They are Eatoos of deceased chiefs," said they. In many islands of the South Seas the owl is venerated; in Mexico the lapwing; storks in Morocco; bulls in Benares. The serpent was worshipped by the Lithuanians, the Samogitians, the Africans of Mozambique, and the natives of Calicut. In Surinam this reptile is still held sacred, and its visits are regarded as highly fortunate: its colours are resplendently