not been long accustomed to it. They add, that these animals live in troops, inhabit burrows, which they them

*The Chacal's shriek bursts on mine ear

When mirth and music wont to charm."

LEYDEN.

As we have quoted this passage, we shall not refuse to embellish our pages with the entire of the beautiful ode from which it is taken. It was written in the East Indies, at a time when the author was in momentary expectation of his dissolution, which soon followed, from the fatal effects of a "coup de soleil." It is addressed to an Indian gold coin:

"Slave of the dark and dirty mine!
What vanity has brought thee here?
How can I love to see thee shine
So bright, whom I have bought so dear'
The tent-ropes flapping, lone I hear,
For twilight converse arm in arm;
The Chacal's shriek bursts on mine ear,
When mirth and music wont to charm.
By Cherical's dark wandering streams,
Where cane-tufts shadow all the wild;
Sweet visions haunt my waking dreams
Of Teviot loved while yet a child,
Of castled rocks stupendous pil'd,
By Esk or Eden's classic wave,

Where loves of youth and friendships smiled,
Uncurst by thee, vile yellow slave!
Slave of the mine! thy yellow light,

Is baleful as the tomb-fire drear ;-
A gentle vision comes by night,
My lone deserted heart to cheer;
Dim are those eyes with many a tear,
That once were guiding stars to mine;
That fond heart beats with many a fear,-
I cannot bear to see thee shine!

For thee, for thee, vile yellow slave!
I left a heart that loved me true,

I crossed the tedious ocean-wave,
To roam in climes unkind and new.

The

selves excavate; disinter dead bodies, and, when impelled by hunger, may become dangerous even to men.

The Chacal can be tamed with tolerable facility, but he always preserves an extreme timidity, which he manifests by concealing himself on hearing the slightest unusual sound, or on seeing any person whom he does not know. His fear, too, has a character different from that of other wild animals. Among the latter, it is nothing but the sentiment of self-preservation, the result of some apparent danger, and is as powerful a stimulus to resistance as to flight, when the latter has become impossible. The Chacal, on the contrary, like a Dog, which fears the chastisement of his master, flies when he is approached, but the moment you reach him, you may touch him in all manner of ways without any attempt, on his part, to resist or injure you. This apparent contradiction seems the result of this natural instinct, which impels him to distrust every strange species, and of his acquired knowledge, which has taught him that there is no real danger. This, perhaps, is the state which is nearest to the most perfect tameness. There are many animals which will not fly the presence of man, but which, at the same time, will not suffer themselves to be touched. Others will not fly, but will not receive caresses, except from those whom they are accustomed to

The bleak wind of the stranger blew
Chill on this withered heart:-the grave
Dark and untimely met my view,
And all for thee, vile yellow slave!
And com'st thou now so late to mock
A banished wand'rer's hopes forlorn,
Now that his frame the lightning shock
Of sun-rays tipt with death has borne
From friends, from home, from country torn
To memory's fond regrets the prey.
Vile slave! thy yellow dross 1 scorn,

Go! mix thee with thy kindred clay."

see, and who are in the habit of ministering to their wants. But it is rare to see an instance of an animal who will fly, and yet suffer itself to be touched with impunity. As soon, however, as the Chacal knows the persons who approach him, he will fly no longer; he will even come and yield himself to their caresses.

This great facility of being tamed, and proneness to submission, remarked in some Chacals, would tend to confirm the idea of certain naturalists, who have deemed this species to be the original source of our domestic Dogs. In fact, the organization of the Chacals is entirely similar to that of the Dogs, and when these last re-enter the savage state, they assume, in all respects, the mode of existence of the Chacal. They form numerous families, dig burrows for themselves, feed on carcasses, and pursue their prey in concert. One essential difference, however, exists between them. The Chacals exhale an odour so strong and disagreeable, as must ever have prevented men from suffering them to approach too closely, or from making them the companions of their house and table. There is no reason for supposing that, in a domestic state, they would have lost this offensive peculiarity. This of itself may be sufficient to refute the notion of the Chacal being the original root from which our common Dogs have sprung, though some have not noticed it, while others have. The fact is, that the presence of a single Chacal would be sufficient to poison a whole habitation.

The Chacals have always been compared to the Foxes, but they cannot, with any propriety, be said to appertain to a class of animals so generally considered nocturnal. They are, in fact, (with the exception of smell just mentioned,) genuine Dogs. Like these, the pupil of their eyes is round, the eye itself is simple, that is, without any accessory organ.

* It must not be forgotten, however, that all the Mephites or Skunks lose, in a great degree, their offensive smell, and the power of producing it, when in captivity, as Major Smith assures us.

The nostrils extend to the end of the muzzle, and open on its middle and sides. The ears are pointed, with a tubercle on the external edge. The tongue is extremely soft, and there are mustachios on the upper lip, above the eyes, and on the sides of the cheeks. The feet have four complete toes, but the anterior have the rudiment of a fifth toe on the internal side, and on the same feet there is a horny production behind the articulation of the wrist. The claws are short and thick. Six incisors and two canines are in each jaw. But it is unnecessary, in this place, to dwell longer on such characteristics. The coat is well furnished with hair, especially the tail, which resembles that of Foxes. In short, the Chacals, as to habit of body, movements, use of the senses, intelligence, instinct of concealing their food, &c., exactly resemble the Dogs.

The general colour of this animal is dirty fawn-colour above, and whitish underneath. The tail is a mixture of fawn-coloured and black hairs.

The Chacal of Senegal appears to belong to a species essentially distinct from that of the Chacal properly so called, that is, from the animal found in the central regions of Asia, and, perhaps, through the entire extent of Africa; which lives in troops, and feeds on carcasses.

The denomination of the Chacal of Senegal may be, in some degree, improper, as the true Chacal is also found in this country, but still there is no great inconvenience attending the use of it. We insert the figures of both.

This branch of the family of the Dogs of the old continent is liable to some obscurity, from the general uniformity of its organization. It seems to consist of the Common Chacal, the present species, the Adive, the Corsac, and Mesomelas. We may presume that the Europeans who inhabit Senegal, do not distinguish the common species from the other Chacals, and it may be as well, for the purpose of marking its differences, that we should begin by a rigorous determination of the characters of this species,