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sleek, rich, dappled coats, towering swan-like necks, lofty heads, and large brilliant eyes, worthy of Juno herself, and full of a noble expression, such as Edwin Landseer alone could give. The sweep of their vision is most extensive; for they can see before them, below them, and behind them, without turning the head. What an idea does it convey of the power of modification, when we recollect that the number of neck-bones in the elephant and in the giraffe are exactly similar! Can we wonder at the emotion with which Le Vaillant saw the first traces of a giraffe, or at the ecstacy -was it not mingled with pity-with which he was possessed when the first lay extended at his feet? He had before him an animal whose very existence was at that time questioned and treated by many as a fable. What a magnificent spectacle must it be to see a herd of these splendid creatures (and we know those who have seen them by forties and fifties at a time) browsing on the mimosas with their long flexible tongues so beautifully adapted for the purpose. We had not intended to give any extracts from either The Transactions' or 'The Proceedings,' but we cannot deny our readers a sight of the little memoir addressed to the Secretary by M. Thibaut, who thus describes the mode in which he became possessed of these beautiful specimens:

Having learnt, on my arrival at Malta, that you were desirous of information on the subject of the four giraffes which you have intrusted to my care, I regard it as a duty to transmit to you a short statement, by which you will become aware of the difficulties that I encountered in obtaining and preserving for the Society these interesting animals, which are now, I hope, altogether out of danger.

'Instructed by Colonel Campbell, His Majesty's Consul General in the Levant, and desirous of rendering available for the purposes of the Zoological Society the knowledge which I had acquired by twelve years' experience in travelling in the interior of Africa, I quitted Cairo on the 15th of April, 1834. After sailing up the Nile as far as Wadi Halfa (the second cataract), I took camels, and proceeded to Debbat, a province of Dongolah, where, on the 14th of July, I started for the descent of Kordofan.

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Being perfectly acquainted with the locality, and on friendly terms with the Arabs of the country, I attached them to me still more by the desire of profit. All were desirous of accompanying me in my pursuit of the giraffes, which, up to that time, they had hunted solely for the sake of its flesh, which they eat, and of its skin, from which they make bucklers and sandals. I availed myself of the emulation which prevailed among the Arabs, and as the season was far advanced and favourable, I proceeded immediately to the south-west of Kordofan.

It was on the 15th of August that I saw the first two giraffes. A rapid chase, on horses accustomed to the fatigues of the desert, put

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us in possession, at the end of three hours, of the largest of the two: the mother of one of those now in my charge. Unable to take her alive, the Arabs killed her with blows of the sabre, and, cutting her to pieces, carried the meat to the head-quarters, which we had established in a wooded situation; an arrangement necessary for our own comforts and to secure pasturage for the camels of both sexes which we had brought with us in aid of the object of our chase. We deferred until the morrow the pursuit of the young giraffe, which my companions assured me they would have no difficulty in again discovering. The Arabs are very fond of the flesh of this animal. I partook of their repast. The live embers were quickly covered with slices of the meat, which I found to be excellent eating.

'On the following day, the 16th of August, the Arabs started at daybreak in search of the young one, of which we had lost sight not far from our camp. The sandy soil of the desert is well adapted to afford indications to a hunter, and in a very short time we were on the track. We followed with rapidity and in silence, cautious to avoid alarming the creature while it was yet at a distance from us. Unwearied myself, and anxious to act in the same manner as the Arabs, I followed them impatiently, and at nine o'clock in the morning I had the happiness to find myself in possession of the giraffe. A premium was given to the hunter whose horse had first come up with the animal, and this reward is the more merited as the laborious chase is pursued in the midst of brambles and thorny trees.

Possessed of this giraffe, it was necessary to rest for three or four days, in order to render it sufficiently tame. During this period an Arab constantly holds it at the end of a long cord. By degrees it becomes accustomed to the presence of man, and takes a little nourishment. To furnish milk for it I had brought with me female camels. It became gradually reconciled to its condition, and was soon willing to follow, in short stages, the route of our caravan.

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This first giraffe, captured at four days' journey to the south-west of Kordofan, will enable us to form some judgment as to its probable age at present, as I have observed its growth and its mode of life. When it first came into my hands, it was necessary to insert a finger into its mouth in order to deceive it into a belief that the nipple of its dam was there then it sucked freely. According to the opinion of the Arabs, and to the length of time that I have had it, this first giraffe cannot, at the utmost, be more than nineteen months old. Since I have had it, its size has fully doubled.

The first run of the giraffe is exceedingly rapid. The swiftest horse, if unaccustomed to the desert, could not come up with it unless with extreme difficulty. The Arabs accustom their coursers to hunger and to fatigue; milk generally serves them for food, and gives them power to continue their exertion during a very long run. If the giraffe reaches a mountain, it passes it with rapidity; its feet, which are like those of a goat, endow it with the dexterity of that animal; it bounds over ravines with incredible power; horses cannot, in such situations, compete with it. The

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The giraffe is fond of a wooded country. The leaves of trees are its principal food. Its conformation allows of its reaching their tops. The one of which I have previously spoken as having been killed by the Arabs measured twenty-one French feet in height from the ears to the hoofs. Green herbs are also very agreeable to this animal; but its structure does not admit of its feeding on them in the same manner as our domestic animals, such as the ox and the horse. It is obliged to straddle widely; its two fore-feet are gradually stretched widely apart from each other, and its neck being then bent into a semicircular form, the animal is thus enabled to collect the grass. But on the instant that any noise interrupts its repast, it raises itself with rapidity, and has recourse to immediate flight.

The giraffe eats with great delicacy, and takes its food leaf by leaf, collecting them from the trees by means of its long tongue. It rejects the thorns, and in this respect differs from the camel. As the grass on which it is now fed is cut for it, it takes the upper part only, and chews it until it perceives that the stem is too coarse for it. Great care is required for its preservation, and especially great cleanliness.

It is extremely fond of society, and is very sensible. I have observed one of them shed tears when it no longer saw its companions or the persons who were in the habit of attending to it.

'I was so fortunate as to collect five individuals at Kordofan; but the cold weather of December, 1834, killed four of them in the desert on the route to Dongolah, my point of departure for Bebbah. One only was preserved: this was the first specimen that I obtained, and the one of which I have already spoken. After twenty-two days in the desert, I reached Dongolah on the 6th of January, 1835.

Unwilling to return to Cairo without being really useful to the Society, and being actually at Dongolah, I determined on resuming the pursuit of giraffes. I remained for three months in the desert, crossing it in all directions. Arabs in whom I could confide accompanied me, and our course was through districts destitute of everything. We had to dread the Arabs of Darfour, of which country I saw the first mountain. We were successful in our researches. obtained three giraffes, smaller than the one I already possessed. Experience suggested to me the means of preserving them.

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Another trial was reserved for me; that of transporting the animals, by bark, from Wadi Halfa to Cairo, Alexandria, and Malta. Providence has enabled me to surmount all difficulties. The most that they suffered was at sea, during their passage, which lasted twenty-four days, with the weather very tempestuous.

'I arrived at Malta on the 21st of November. We were there detained in quarantine for twenty-five days, after which, through the kind care of Mr. Bourchier, these valuable animals were placed in a good situation, where nothing is wanting for their comfort. With the view of preparing them for the temperature of the country to which they will eventually be removed, I have not thought it advisable that

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they should be clothed. During the last week the cold has been much greater than they have hitherto experienced; but they have, thanks to the kindness of Mr. Bourchier, everything that can be desired.

These four giraffes, three males and one female, are so interesting and so beautiful, that I shall exert myself to the utmost to be of use to them. It is possible that they may breed; already I observe in them some tendency towards mutual attachment. They are capable of walking for six hours a day without the slightest fatigue.'

This letter was written at Malta some months ago; and now here they are, all alive and well, with their attendant Nubians. If that in the possession of our French neighbours should die, an event, we regret to find, not unlikely to happen, the Zoological Society will be the sole European proprietors of living specimens of this rare and delicate species. The council deserve credit for the judgment and liberality manifested in the attainment of this difficult object, nor is less praise due to M. Thibaut for the zeal, skill, and perseverance with which he has seconded their views. Our limits will not permit us to enter into any antiquarian details on the subject of the giraffe or xariffa. The first shown at Rome seems to have made its appearance in the dictatorship of Cæsar.* But afterwards the animal was exhibited in the Roman circus. The third Gordian possessed ten at one time. It seems to have disappeared from Europe for some centuries; and fable, as is usual in such cases, was busy with it. It is pleasant to look upon these, the realities, after turning to some of the old books of travels. Thus, in Purchas, the animal is described as 'a beast not often seene, yet very tame, and of a strange composition, mixed of a libard, harte, buffe, and camell; and by reason of his long legs before and shorter behind, not able to graze without difficultie, but with his high head which he can stretch forth half a pike's length in height, feeds on the leaves and boughs of trees.' Belon in his Portraits de quelques animaux, &c., d'Arabie, Egypte, et Asie,' gives no very bad cut of the giraffe, with the following superscription: Protrait de la giraffe, nommée en latin, camelopardalis: les Arabes l'appellent Zurnapa.' Beneath the figure is this quatrain :

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Belles de corps les giraffes, et doulces,
Ont en maintien du chameau la maniere.

Leurs pieds sont haults devant et bas derriere :
Poil blanc et roux : cornes courtes et mousses.'

*Rosellini, in his great work on Egypt, gives the representation of a led giraffe with a monkey climbing up its neck as if it had formed part of a procession or ротра.

+ Book vi. c. i.

4ta., 1557.

Pas

Pas si bête for such early times; but the legs, as is correctly observed by Le Vaillant, have, in general, the proportion of those of other quadrupeds, the difference between the fore and hind parts lying in the height of the withers.

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Leaving the tapirs coolly taking their bath while all the world is melting around them, we enter the limbus of macaucos, squirrels, mice, and such small deer,' nor must we omit the chinchilla whose spoils so well adorn and protect our fair countrywomen. The door opposite to the entrance leads to the apartment where lived-alas! that we must write lived-the most amiable of Quasimodos, the chimpanzee!

Quando ullum inveniet parem?

Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit,

Nulli flebilior quam tibi-Theodore!

Peace to his manes! We must take a turn amid the Reeves's pheasants, the peacocks, the curassows, and the other lively denizens of the north aviary, to calm our feelings. How varied are the poultry both the Indies have contributed their share; and the jungle-fowls, from which some of the best zoologists insist that all the varieties have proceeded, shine pre-eminent. The discrepancy between these, especially Sonnerat's jungle-fowl, the Gallus Bankiva, and their alleged descendants, is strongly marked, and has made many hesitate to adopt the opinion of Temminck and others; but those familiar with the consequences of a long series of years passed under the improving eye of man will be less startled at the proposition.* That well-known performer who is to be found caged in every house where the inmates are fond of song-birds is so changed by domestication, that, like the dog, it has assumed varieties almost endless, and, in some instances, so different from the original stock, that the captive would now be hardly recognized as a descendant of the birds singing free' in the happy valleys of the Canary Islands.

The forest monarch's roar' reminds us that the great repository and the dogs are still unvisited; but we must return through the tunnel and view the finest collection of parrots ever assembled. Open your eyes and shut your ears-was there ever such an assemblage of rainbow colours-was there ever such a distracting din! We should have thought it indescribable, had not Aristophanes in a chorus of the Birds' hit it off to a nicety.

Τοροτοροτοροτοροτορτίγε
Κικκαβοῦ κικκαβαί
Τοροτοροτοροτολιλιλίγξ

* Sonnerat considered that his jungle-fowl, Gallus Sonneratii, was the origin of our domestic poultry; but Temminck denies this, and makes Gallus Bankiva the common patriarch.

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