"Nurse, do not beavers, and otters, and muskrats feel cold while living
in the water; and do they not get wet?"

"No, my dear; they do not feel cold, and cannot get wet, for the thick
coating of hair and down keeps them warm; and these animals, like ducks
and geese and all kinds of water-fowls, are supplied with a bag of oil,
with which they dress their coats, and that throws off the moisture; for
you know, Lady Mary, that oil and water will not mix. All creatures that
live in the water are provided with oily fur, or smooth scales that no
water can penetrate; and water birds, such as ducks and geese, have a
little bag of oil, with which they dress their feathers."

"Are there any beavers in England, nurse?" asked Lady Mary.

"No, my lady, not now; but I remember my father told me that this animal
once existed in numbers in different countries of Europe; he said they
were still to be found in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany, and even in
France. [Footnote: The remains of bearer dams in Wales prove that this
interesting animal was once a native of Great Britain.] The beaver abounds
mostly in North America, and in its cold portions; in solitudes that no
foot of man but the wild Indian has ever penetrated; in lonely streams and
inland lakes,--these harmless creatures are found fulfilling God's
purpose, and doing injury to none.

"I think if there had been any beavers in the land of Israel, in
Solomon's time, that the wise king, who spake of ants, spiders,
grasshoppers, and conies, [Footnote: The rock rabbits of Judaea.] would
have named the beavers also, as patterns of gentleness, cleanliness, and
industry. They work together in bands, and live in families and never
fight or disagree. They have no chief or leader; they seem to have neither