The _Lynx_ was believed by the ancients, from the acuteness of its sight,
to have the power of seeing through stone walls; and amongst other
absurdities then gravely maintained were these: that the _Elephant_ had no
joints, and being unable to lie down, was obliged to sleep leaning against
a tree; that _Deer_ lived several hundred years; that the _Badger_ had the
legs of one side shorter than those of the other; that the _Chameleon_
lived entirely on air, and the _Salamander_ in fire; whilst the sphynx,
satyr, unicorn, centaur, hypogriff, hydra, dragon, griffin, cockatrice, &c.
&c. &c. were either the creations of fancy, or fabled accounts of
creatures of whose real form, origin, nature, and qualities, but the most
imperfect knowledge was afloat.

The flesh of the _Rhinoceros_, and almost every part of its body, is
reckoned by the ignorant natives of countries where it is found, an
antidote against poison.

That the _Jackal_ is the "Lion's Provider," entirely, is an erroneous idea;
but it is true that the terrific cry of this animal when in chase, rouses
the lion, whose ear is dull, and enables him to join in the pursuit of
prey. Many stories are told respecting the generosity of the _Lion_, and
it was once confidently believed that no stress of hunger would induce him
to devour a virgin, though his imperial appetite might satiate itself on
men and matrons. The title of King of the Beasts, given at a period when
strength and ferocity were deemed the prime qualities of man--is now more
justly considered to belong to the mild, majestic, and almost rational
elephant. The _White Elephant_ is a sacred animal with the Siamese, and
the cow with the Bramins and Hindoos.

The _Bear_ was believed never to devour a man whom it found dead; and it