colour, which varies considerably from black to white, from the darkest brown to a light hazel tint, has been reckoned a good sign to judge of his strength and other qualities.

The Horse feeds upon grass, either fresh or dry, and corn; is liable to many diseases, and often comes suddenly to his end. In the state of nature, he is a gregarious animal, and even in domesticity, his debased situation of slavery has not entirely erased his love of society and friendship, for horses have been known to pine at the loss of their masters, their stable fellows, and even at the death of a dog which had been bred near the manger. Virgil in his beautiful description of this noble animal, seems to have imitated Job:

"The fiery courser, when he hears from far
The sprightly trumpets, and the shouts of war
Pricks up his ears, and trembling with delight
Shifts place, and paws, and hopes the promis'd fight.
On his right shoulder his thick mane reclin'd,
Ruffles at speed, and dances in the wind.
His horny hoofs are jetty black and round,
His chine is double; starting with a bound,
He turns the turf and shakes the solid ground.
Fire from his eyes, clouds from his nostrils flow;
He bears his rider headlong on the foe.

DRYDEN, GEOR. III.

THE ASS the donkey

Is a beast of burden, undoubtedly very serviceable to mankind. Of greater strength comparatively than most animals of his size, he bears fatigues with patience, and hunger with apparent cheerfulness. A bundle of dried herbs, a thistle on the road, will suffice him for his daily meal, and he compensates with the clear and pure water of a neighbouring brook (on the choice of which he is particularly nice) the want of a better fare. Our treatment of this very useful animal is both wanton and cruel, and most ungrateful, considering the great services he renders us at a little expense. His ears, which are of an uncommon length, are generally mutilated, and he is thus deprived by man of that which nature had intended for ornament and use. He is generally of a dun colour, and wears the form of a cross on his back and shoulders. Antiquity had a great regard for this animal. Jacob, in his prophecy, compares his son Issachar, and Homer the great Ajax, to an Ass. Whether he is a degenerated species from the Zebra, or some other wild creatures, whose original race has entirely disappeared from the sur

face of the globe, through the slavish habits of domesticity, remains still to be decided; he lives nearly to the same age as the horse; and his female's milk has often proved a good remedy against consumptions. We cannot deny, however, that he is often found very stupid, sluggish, and obstinate.

Is of a mixed nature, resulting from the union of the Ass and the Mare, inheriting from his male parent the long ears and cross on the back, and small legs and elegance of shape from his mother. Sure and steady-footed, he walks the Alps and the Pyrenees, between tremendous precipices, to the great astonishment of his drivers; seems to be fond of being adorned with handsome trappings; and lives generally longer than either of the species he arises from. He is in general unfit to create offsprings, according to the law of nature, who recoils from the addition of any new animal to her established stock. The Mule surpasses the Ass in unaccountable obstinacy, as well as he does in strength.

Is a well known quadruped, who makes use of his tusks in seizing his prey, but embraces it with his paws, and squeezes it to death against his breast. Bears are found in several parts of the world; some of them live upon acorns, herbaceous food, and on honey; others on fish, flesh, and even carrion. The brown Bear of the Alps and Switzerland, though illshaped and uncouth, is often dragged along our streets, and made an amusing show to the gazing multitude.

We have, however, to congratulate mankind, that the stern and ferocious entertainment of bear-baiting is entirely gone out of fashion. The Bear is a great sleeper, and passes the whole winter in his den without any food; but if we consider his being at rest, losing little by perspiration, and never retiring before he is properly fattened, his abstinence will cease to be so wonderful. The American Bear is of a glossy black. The frozen regions of Greenland, Iceland, &c. offer a white species of the same animals, which are sometimes thirteen feet in length. They live entirely on fish; though they can eat flesh, when it comes in their way. The female Bears bring forth one or two

young, and are very jealous of their offspring This animal has given name to two of the most conspicuous constellations near the northern pole, from the fable of Calisto, a nymph of Diana, who was seduced by Jupiter. The fat of the bear is reckoned very useful in rheumatic complaints, and for anointing the hair; his fur affords comfort to the inhabitants of cold countries, and ornaments to those of milder cli

THE ANT-BEAR OR ANT-EATER,

Is nearly as big as a pretty large dog, with soft brown hair, a small mouth, a long cylindrical tongue, which is generally folded in the mouth, and supplies the want of teeth. The snout is, comparatively to the body, longer than in any other quadruped, being equal to a third part of his length; he feeds on ants, and catches them by laying his glutinous tongue across the path frequented by them, and drawing it back when a sufficient number has been cntangled in its viscosity. The Ant-Eaters are naturally dull, slothful, and timid, and live in Africa, Asia, and America. There are several species of