road it was immediately pounced on, and both foxes devoured it in thorough good fellowship.

11. Nevertheless, it sometimes happened that the fox who kept watch miscalculated his spring, and the hare escaped; when, as though puzzled at his want of skill, he resumed his post, jumped on to the road, and several times repeated the movement. His comrade arriving in the middle of this exercise, was not slow to comprehend its meaning, and, irritated at being fatigued to no purpose, chastised his clumsy associate; but a tussle of a few minutes sufficed to expend their bad humor, and friendly relations were quickly re-established.

12. Even when tamed, the fox preserves its singular cunning. La Vallée gives a very remarkable example of the singular address of the fox in prosecuting his robberies. The animal he speaks of was taken when young by a druggist of Château-Thierry. It was perfectly tamed, liked being fondled, came at the call of its master, and followed him to the chase, where it played the part of an excellent dog. But domesticity had not caused it to lose any of its taste for marauding, though it wanted for nothing at home.

13. This fox was the hero of an adventure which for a long time perplexed the town. The house where it was kept was situated at the corner of the market-place, and had two narrow cellar ventilators opening into the street, before which it was customary for the dealers, who bought eggs from the neighboring peasants, to range themselves. Before being packed the eggs were inspected, and those which were cracked were laid on one side. One day a poor woman who had placed two dozen chipped eggs behind her was astonished when turning round a few minutes afterwards to find them gone. She blamed her neighbor

for having robbed her, and the discussion was only terminated by a quarrel.

14. On the next market day a like larceny was committed. It was believed to be the waggish trick of some urchin in the neighborhood, and some suspicion was even attached to the young clerks of the sheriff, who occupied the ground-floor of the house. At the succeeding market a watcher was placed before the dealer, to observe what went on around her; but this person saw nothing, although one half the number of broken eggs disappeared.

15. The case became serious. The dealer then bethought herself of depositing her property between her feet, certain that there the eggs would be safe. But again they

vanished. As a matter of course all was attributed to witchcraft; but soon after this the truth was discovered. The druggist's fox was found squatted in the ventilators, where no one could ever have believed it possible the beast could introduce itself, so narrow were the openings. As soon as an egg was placed upon the ground, it pushed up its head, seized it and withdrew. This operation it could perform with perfect security, concealed as it was not only by the feet and dress of the dealer, but also by the baskets that lay around.

16. Another illustration must close the history of Reynard's exploits. A tame fox kept in a stable-yard had managed to strike up a friendship with several of the dogs, and would play with them, but could never induce the cats to approach him. The crafty animal soon perceived this, and made use of his knowledge to cheat them of their breakfast. As soon as the servant poured out the cats' allowance of milk, the fox would run to the spot and walk about the saucer, well-knowing that none of the rightful

owners would approach it thereafter. Day after day the cats lost their milk, until the stratagem was discovered, and the milk was placed in a spot where it could not be reached by the fox.

17. The same animal was cunning enough to procure a supply of milk even after he had been prevented from robbing the cats. On one occasion, as the dairy-maid was passing along with her pails, the fox went up to her, and brushed himself against one of the milk-pails. In consequence of this contact the milk became so tainted with the smell of the creature that the dairy-maid did not venture to bring it to the house, and rather thoughtlessly poured it out into a vessel and gave it to the fox. The crafty animal took advantage of the circumstance, and watched for the coming of the maid with her pails, in order to repeat the process. Several times Reynard succeeded in his ruse, but when he found that, instead of being appropriated to his own use, the spoiled milk was given to the pigs, he ceased his nefarious attempts.

WOOD AND FIGUIER.

1. DURING the autumn the bear becomes extremely fat in consequence of the ample feasts which it is able to enjoy, and makes its preparations for passing the cold and inhospitable months of winter. About the end of October the bear has completed its winter house, and ceases feeding for the year.

2. The saccharine-loving instinct of the bear, which leads it to discover a bees'-nest, however carefully it may be concealed, and to undergo much toil and trouble for the sake of the sweet banquet, seems to be given to the animal for the purpose of enabling it to lay up within its own. body a supply of fat which will serve the double purpose of sustaining the creature in proper condition during its long fast, and of loading the body with carbon for the purpose of producing the state of lethargy in which the animal passes the winter.

3. It is well known that sugar has the property of producing fat to a very great extent; and as it possesses more of the saccharine element than any other natural substance, the bear is led by its instinct to search for and to devour this valuable food with untiring assiduity.

4. Again, the excess of carbon, whether it be diffused in the atmosphere or concentrated in the body, is always productive of sleep, or rather of lethargy; as is seen by the

constant drowsiness of human beings when overloaded with this condensed carbon, or when they are placed in a room which is charged with the carbonic acid gas that has been exhaled from the lungs of its occupants.

5. There now takes place in the animal's digestive organs a curious phenomenon, which gives it the capability of remaining through the entire winter in a state of lethargy, without food, and yet without losing condition. As the stomach is no longer supplied with nourishment, it soon becomes quite empty, and is contracted into a very small space. No food can now pass through the system, by reason of this contraction, and because of an obstruction called the "tappen," which is almost entirely composed of pine-leaves and the various substances which the bear scratches out of the ants' nests.

6. From the end of October to the middle of April the bear remains in a dull, lethargic state of existence; and it is a curious fact that if a hibernating bear be discovered and killed in its den, it is quite as fat as if it had been slain before it retired to its resting-place. Experienced hunters say that even at the end of its five months' sleep the bear is as fat as at the beginning.

7. During the winter the bear gains a new skin on the balls of its feet; and it is thought that the curious habit of licking the paws, to which bears are so prone, is in order to facilitate the growth of the new integument. The den in which the bear passes a long period of its life is generally found under the sheltering defence of rocks or treeroots, but is sometimes composed of moss, which the bear gathers into a hillock, and into which it creeps. These moss-houses are not so easily discovered as might be supposed, for the habitation has a very close resemblance to