what fhould be concealed, and a weapon of defence against the flies of fummer. But falfe tafte decreed the extirpation of it; and feveral joints were taken off by a coarse instrument and blundering farrier. The blood gufhed from the wound; and to stop the discharge, the tender part was feared with a red hot iron. At this inftant of time I happened to pafs by; and whilst I was pierced to the heart with the fufferings of the horse, I faw the favage who inflicted them, fufpend his operation, to curfe and beat him for the groans he uttered. When the tail was thus reduced to a ridiculous fhortnefs, it was thought that a turn upwards would give additional grace to it: And to produce this effect, several deep cuts were made on the under fide of it; and the tail was drawn by a cord and pully into a moft painful pofition, till the granulation of the flesh was compleated. He was now trained, or broken, as it is ufually termed, for riding; and during this feafon of difcipline, he underwent all the feverities of the lafh and the fpur. fpur. Many a time were his fides covered with blood, before his averfion to the afs could be fully fubdued. The dread of this animal he derived from his fire; for in the state of nature, the afs and the horse bear the utmost antipathy to each other: And if a horse happen to stray into the pastures where the wild affes graze, they attack him with fury; and furrounding him to prevent his flight, they bite and kick him till he dies. When rendered perfectly tractable, he was fold to the prefent proprietor, whom he has faithfully and affectionately ferved during ten years. He has been a companion to him in various journeys; has borne him with ease and fecurity many thousand miles; has contributed to restore him from fickness to health, by the gentle exercise which he afforded; and by the swiftness of his feet, he has twice refcued him from robbers and affaffins. But he is now growing old; his joints become ftiff; his wind fails him; and urged beyond his speed, on fo fultry a day, he fell breathless at your feet. In a few few hours he recovered himself; and the owner has fince difpofed of him, at a low price, to the master of the poft horses in Manchester. He is now to be ridden as a common hackney, or to be driven in a chaise; and he will be at the mercy of every coxcomb traveller, who gallops night and day through different countries, to acquire a knowledge of mankind, by the obfervation of their manners, cuftoms, laws, arts, police, and government. It is obvious that the horse will foon be difqualified for this violent and cruel fervice; and if he furvive, he will be fold to grind in a mill. In this fituation his exercise will be lefs fevere, but almost without intermiffion; the movement in a circle will produce a dizziness of the head; and in a month or two he will become blind. Still, however, his labours are to continue; and he may drag on years of toil and forrow, ere death closes the period of his fufferings. The children were much affected by this H narrative; narrative; and Jacobus cried out, with emotion, "I love my little horse, and will "never abuse him: And when he grows "old, he fhall reft from his work; and I "will feed him, and take care of him till " he dies." POSITIVENESS. TH HE cameleon is a fmall quadruped, in fhape resembling a crocodile, and chiefly found in Arabia and Egypt. It is a vulgar error that this animal feeds upon air; for his ftomach is always found to contain flies and other infects. Mr. Le Bruyn, during his abode at Smyrna, had four cameleons in his poffeffion. He never perceived that they eat any thing, except now and then a fly. Their colour often changed, without any apparent cause; but their most durable one was grey, or rather a pale mouse colour. Sometimes the animals were of a beautiful green, spotted with yellow; at other times they were marked marked all over with dark brown; but he never found that they affumed a red colour. These properties of the cameleon have given rife to the following fable, which was written by Mr. Merrick, and fhews, in a lively and striking manner, the folly of positiveness in opinion. THE CAMELEON. Ο FT has it been my lot to mark A proud, conceited, talking spark, Two travellers of fuch a caft, |