their apparent gratification, shall we call it vanity, at being noticed. One kind gives the appearance at least of mental attention;t another utters sounds, in order to produce an assemblage of its kind; and another, by its voice, announces to others its perception or apprehension of danger.§ To be deceived by a fraudulent imitation of its own calling sound, evinces correct sensation, and memory, and right judgment-but an error in reasoning, from not knowing the whole of the accompanying circumstances.// The FROG genus discover sagacities and feelings lik those of other animals. When the young ones quit thei native water, to join the older ones in the woods an meadows, they use every reasonable precaution. The pearly frog of Brazil is distinguished for its beauty.** So is caressed; appearing pleased at being turned over and over." La Cep. v. 2, p. 62. The guana is taken by this sensitivity. As it basks in the beams of the sun, extended on the branch of a tree, the person who means to catch it, "advances slowly, whistling in a particular manner; the animal seems pleased with the sound, and extends its head as if to listen; coming nearer, and continuing to whistle, he tickles its sides and throat with a stick. It turns itself up gently to the action, aud seems delighted with the treacherous caresses," but as it lifts up its head from the branch, a noose is slipped over its neck from the stick, and it is jerked to the ground. La Cep. 346. * The pleasing basilisk, or little king, as it is called, from its crest, "as it shoots from branch to branch with great rapidity and adroitness, or in its state of rest, evinces a kind of satisfaction at being observed. Erecting its crown, it agitates its beautiful crest; alternately raises and depresses it head; and by various elegant movements, reflects various coloured light from its polished scales." La Cep. 357. The green lizard also, "whenever it sees a man, seems to feel pleasure in displaying the brilliance of its eyes and its golden scales, as the peacock expands its plumage." Ib. 390... It plays with children; but when two are in confinement, they may be excited to fight. Ib. †The strumous lizard "seems to examine every thing that comes in the way with attention; and has even the appearance of listening to what is said." La Cep. 2. p. 72. The supercilious lizard, 1. superciliosa, so called from the projecting ridge over its eyes, is said by Seba, to cry very loud, as a signal for the scattered individuals to gather when endangered. Seba Mus. v. 1. § Seba mentions the forkheaded lizard as uttering a cry as a signal of danger. Ib. p. 109. The two spot lizard, 1. cimaculata, is thus taken. Its voice is a kind of whistle, which it emits frequently. If a person carries towards it a bunch of straw, imitating its whistle, the animal leaps into it, and is secured. La Cep. 1. p. 330. "They begin their journey in the evening, travelling all night, on purpose to avoid becoming the prey of rapacious birds; always concealing themselves during the day under stones, or other recesses; and only resume their journey when night begins." La Cep. v. 2, p. 229. Its body is strewed all over with small grains or tubercles of a pale red colour, resembling pearls. La Cep. 246. the common tree frog, which lives, like birds, on the branches of the forest, and in seeking insects is almost as light and nimble in its motions as they are; and is ingenious in its efforts for its successful provender.* The red tree frog is used, by the Indians of South America, to give a fine red or yellow colour to the feathers of their parroquets. The most extraordinary property of frogs is that of being able to swallow fire.+ The TOAD has been tamed and domesticated. One became familiar in a house for thirty-six years, and welcomed that light which, in its natural state, is offensive to it.§ It displayed here as much original mind as any other quadruped, and was never offensive. This fact is sufficient to show that the living principle of the toad race has the same susceptibility, memory, will, perception, suitable judgment, and limited improvability, as every class of animated nature seems to exhibit.T The beavers have been *La Cep. 257, 8. "Its contrivances for concealment, and for surprising its prey; the agility with which it springs for several feet among the smallest branches, and the facility with which it keeps itself safe from falling; are really admirable." p. 258. "For this purpose, they pluck off the feathers of the nestling ones, and rub the skin with the frog's blood. After this operation, the new feathers grow red or yellow, instead of being green as before." La Cep. 270. Catesby states that the land frog which inhabits Virginia and Carolina prefers those insects which shine in the dark. On a warm evening, a person in his company let fall some burning tobacco from his pipe, which was instantly swallowed by a land frog squatting close by. "Catesby offered it a little bit of lighted charcoal, which it swallowed immediately. He found, on repeated trials, that the land frog constantly swallowed whatever burning substances came within its reach." La Cep. 233. Catesby's Carol. v. 2, p. 69, Lawson's Carol. 132. 1. p. "This toad had originally taken up its residence under an outer stone before the door of the house, and was of considerable size when first noticed. It came forth from its hole every evening, immediately on observing the candle, waiting deliberately to be lifted up and carried to a table within the house, where it was fed with insects, flies and millipeds. It particularly preferred maggots or small worms. It watched these with great eagerness, and, having measured the distance with its eyes, it darted out its long tongue, which brought back the animal to it." La Cep. p. 291, 2. Pennant's Brit. Zool. It lived 36 years thus domesticated, when a raven injured it at the mouth of its hole. "Having never been injured by any person, it showed no signs of uneasiness or anger when touched. Even ladies were curious to see it. After the raven had put out its eye, it could not seize its prey as before, "not being able to judge its distance and situation with the same accu racy." La Cep. 292. "We may perhaps conclude that when supplied with abundance of food of a particular kind, and when preserved from the ordinary dangers proverbial for their intelligence, ever since North America, their chief seat, has become known; and the otters display the same maternal sensibilities which other orders of ani mals so strikingly exhibit.* The badger exhibits the domestic feeling of living with its mate, and is susceptible of tuition.t Thus all quadrupeds seem to have been created to possess one analogous mind, uniform in its essential qualities but acting variously, according to the diversities of its bodily investments. incident to its natural life, the toad may be improved, like many other species of animals." La Cep. p. 294. Our sea captains have observed on the N. W. coast of America, that when a female otter is attacked in company with her young one, she clasps it with her fore feet, and plunges beneath the surface; but, as the cub cannot remain long under water, she is forced to rise again very soon. If the hunters can come on the female by surprise, and separate her from her young one, the cub is taken immediately; but the mother no sooner hears its cries, than she swims to the boat from which they proceed, and, regardless of all danger, shares the fate of her little complaining captive. "It is a crafty animal, yet may be tamed, and employed to catch fish for its master." Kerr's Linn. 173. "The common badgers may be tamed, if caught young. It lives in pairs together, and is very cleanly." Kerr's Linn. 187. The vital principle in some animals seems to have a remarkable durability. Mr. Bingley has collected two cases, where the toad was found embedded within the wood of an elm and oak tree; and three where it was cut out of stone and marble; in each case alive or reviving into life. v. 3, p. 168. These instances appear authentic; but it is difficult to say which is the most extraordinary circumstance that they should retain vitality in such an enclosure, or that they should have remained still or torpid long enough to have allowed the wood or stony matter to have formed around them. LETTER XVI. The serpent tribe-their peculiarities and mind-their more remarkable species-The alleged sea serpent. THE SERPENT tribe exhibits the animal mind in another incorporation of material particles, approaching more nearly the lizard race than any of the preceding classes of animated natue; but yet distinguished from that, and from every other, by peculiarities appropriated to itself. It has sufficient similarities with all, to show that it is a part of the same general economy of animated nature: although identical with no other, it has analogies and relations to all. It is one of the departments of the same grand empire of organized living forms and sentient beings; full of mingled beauty and terror; presenting to us a new exercise of the. divine imagination in its system of creation; but more exclusively existing for its own enjoyment, and less serviceable to man or to the rest of nature, than any other animal genera that we have been reviewing. The serpents have been arranged by La Cepede under eight genera; each including subdivisions and many species;† of which the vipers are by far the most numerous.‡ Though destitute of feet and wings, few animals are so nimble as serpents, or can transport themselves from place to place with equal agility. Whether to seize its prey or escape from danger, the serpent moves with the rapidity of an arrow; and emulates, even surpasses, several species, of birds in the ease and rapidity with which it gains the ummits of the highest trees; twisting and untwisting its ,exible body around their trunks and branches with such elerity, that the sharpest eye scarcely follows its rapid These are, the vipers, the boa, the rattlesnakes, snakes, the amphis ena, cœcilia, langatra, and acrochord. La Cep. v. 3. . . . The genera of Linnæus, at first only six, are now made by his later editors the same, with a mere difference of position; as he puts the rattlesnake, crotalus, for the first, and coluber, the viper, as his third. Turt. Linn. 1, p. 639. † La Cepede subdivides the vipers into two classes; one that produces the young completely formed, 27 species; the other, which emits eggs from which the young are afterwards hatched, in 169 species. v. 3, p. 175; v. 4, p. 1-187.... The Linnæan classification, without this specific distinction, enumerates successively 175 species. T. Linn. 674-95. To the boa genus, 11 species are allotted; 6 to the rattlesnakes; 24 to the snakes; 5 amphisbonas; 2 cecilias; 1 langatra; and 1 acrochord. La Cep. v. 2, p. 183-351. 2 motion. Their size greatly varies: some are but a few inches long, while others extend to forty or even fifty feet. All are covered with scales, or scaly tubercles; and by this analogy are connected with the lizards and fishes. Their brain case is constructed, in some measure, like that of the oviparous quadrupeds; but not reaching so far back in them, scarcely defends the organ of the spinal marrow. Hence serpents are extremely vulnerable, and easily killed by blows, on that part of their head. The rest of their skele ton has a strong resemblance to that of fishes; but from' the nature of their respiration, they cannot remain long under water.+ All parts of their body have great force, agility, and elasticity. They are most abundant in warm and temperate regions; but increase in size and numbers in proportion to the heat and moisture, and to the freedom of their range. They have less blood than quadrupeds, and a lower animal heat and less interior activity of system; and in these respects they come nearer to the formation of the insects and worms.§ They are more animated in times of tempest and hurricane, when the electricity of the atmosphere is in the greatest perturbation.Il Their sense of hearing is dull, but their vision acute. Their eyes, for the most part, are excessively brilliant and animated, extremely moveable, considerably prominent, and advantageously placed for receiving the images of objects from an extensive field. They have a membrana nictitans to draw over their sight when the sun's rays are too powerful, or any injury approaches. Their sense of taste is probably of considerable delicacy, as the tongue is very slender, and divided into two points, which admit of its being readily applied to sapid bodies. They touch only by their plates or scales; but as they readily twist these round every substance, their sensations, from the contact, must be numerous, and their perceptions of touch proportionably nice and perfect. They give many indications that their instincts and sensations have a superiority over those of all other animals, except birds and viviparous quadrupeds.** † Ib. p. 6. fb. p. 26. + Ib. p. 6-10. *La Cep. v. 3, p. 2. La Cep. v. 3, p. 21-5. La Cep. p. 42. "They wait with amazing patience, almost absolutely motionless, and often for a very long time, the favourable moment for seizing their prey. They show very strong symptoms of violent rage when attacked; they erect themselves with great boldness against any one who stands in their way; they attack with vast courage, even ene. mies of superior strength; they throw themselves furiously against any |