The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 10, No. 280, October 27, 1827 by Various
page 27 of 51 (52%)
page 27 of 51 (52%)
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world may be seen at a watchmaker's on the cliff, at Margate,
including the most remarkable productions of the isle of Sheppey. _The Camelopard_. [Illustration: The Camelopard.] As a live camelopard has been sent to London and another to Paris, the history and habits of these animals have excited some interest. At a meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, on the 2nd of July last, M. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire observed that naturalists were wrong in supposing that there was only one species of the camelopard. The animal now in Paris differs from the Cape of Good Hope species by several essential anatomical characters, and he proposes to distinguish it by the name of the _Giraffe of Sennaar_, the country from which it comes. Some natives of Egypt having come to see the one in Paris in the costume of the country, the animal gave evident proofs of joy, and loaded them with caresses. This fact is explained by the circumstance that the Giraffe has an ardent affection for its Arabian keeper, and that it naturally is delighted with the sight of the turban and the costume of its keeper. Some authors have proved the mildness and docility of the camelopard, while others represent it as incapable of being tamed. This difference is ascribed by M. Saint-Hilaire to difference of education. Four or five years ago a male Giraffe, extremely savage, was brought to Constantinople. The keeper of the present Giraffe had also the charge of this one, and he ascribes its savageness entirely to the manner in which it was treated. At the same time M. Mongez read a memoir on the |
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