fingers, as if anxious to leave no part of it unsaluted; a ceremony which he never performed but once again upon a similar occasion. “Finding him extremely tractable, I made it my custom to carry him always after breakfast into the garden, where he hid himself generally under the leaves of a cucumber vine, sleeping or chewing the cud, till evening; in the leaves also of that vine he found a favourite repast. I had not long habituated him to this taste of liberty, before he began to be impatient for the return of the time when he might enjoy it. He would invite me to the garden by drumming upon my knee, and by a look of such expression as it was not possible to misinterpret. If this rhetoric did not immediately succeed, he would take the skirt of my coat between his teeth, and pull at it with all his force. Thus Puss might be said to be perfectly tamed, the shyness of his nature was done away, and, on the whole, it was visible, by many symptoms, which I have not room to enumerate, that he was happier in human society than when shut up with his natural companions.” Hares are included in the list of animals called game, and are hunted with greyhounds, which is called coursing; and also by packs of dogs called harriers and beagles. There are white Hares in the northern regions, the change in colour being the effect of cold. [Illustration: THE RABBIT. (_Lepus cuniculus._)] THIS animal, in a wild state, resembles the hare in all its principal characters, but is distinguished from it by its smaller size, the comparative shortness of the head and hinder legs, the grey colour of the body, the absence of the black tip to the ears, and the brown colour of the upper part of the tail. Its habits, however, are very different, as being from its organization unable to outstrip its enemies in the chase, it seeks its safety and shelter by burrowing in the ground; and instead of leading a solitary life, its manners are eminently social. Its flesh is white and good, though not so much prized as that of the hare. The female begins to breed when she is about twelve months old, and bears at least seven times a year, generally eight at each time; now supposing this to happen regularly, a couple of Rabbits at the end of four years might see a progeny of almost a million and a half! Fortunately their destruction by various enemies is in proportion to their fecundity, or we might justly apprehend being overstocked by them. The young are born blind, and almost destitute of hair; while those of the hare can see, and are covered with hair. [Illustration: THE DOMESTIC RABBIT.]