the French name for frogs, and therefore when the waiter brought our friend his "green eels," his feelings, as the newspapers say, "may be better imagined than described." The whole animal, however, is not eaten, only the hind legs; they are brought into the market at Paris about four or five in the morning. Toads are ugly creatures, but they are harmless, and most useful in destroying slugs, caterpillars, earwigs, cockroaches, and other insect vermin. Market-gardeners know their value, and buy them. The following quotation certainly strikes one as being very full of admiration :— "Dull and apathetic as the toad may seem, it has in it an affectionate and observant nature, being tamed with wonderful ease. Mr. Bell had one of these creatures, which was accustomed to sit on one hand, and take its food out of the other. Many persons have possessed tame toads, which would leave their hiding-place at the sound of a whistle, and come hastily up to receive a fly, spider, or beetle." After that, the lady may be held excused who, according to a familiar tradition, remarked "Every one to his taste," and carried that principle out by kissing her pet toad. THE PIG. THERE are many species, as well as varieties, of swine, in different parts of the earth, the most familiar being the domestic hog of Europe. This species is spread over the greater portion of the globe, and was in former days common in a wild state in England. The chase of the wild boar was a favourite amusement of the upper classes, and among the severe forest laws in force in the reign of William the First, there was one by which any person found guilty of killing the stag, the roebuck, or the wild boar, should have his eyes put out, and sometimes the penalty appears to have been even death by torture. The chase of the wild boar has for centuries been much followed in Germany, and is considered the more exciting on account of its dangerous character. But now that rifles have been substituted for the spear in hunting these ferocious animals, the danger is considerably lessened; and consequently a boar-hunt is not so frequently heard of as formerly. These animals feed both on animal and vegetable substances, but roots and grain form their chief food—acorns are their greatest dainty. At the present time wild swine have disappeared from England; traces, however, of the old wild boar, once so plentiful in the New Forest, are still to be found in the forest pigs of Hampshire, with their high crests, broad shoulders, and thick bristling manes. They are also much fiercer than ordinary swine. We have already noticed that the dog is in Scripture the symbol of uncleanness; swine are the symbols of fierceness, for instance, "The wild boar out of the wood doth root it up, and the wild beasts of the field devour it " (Ps. lxxx. 13). The flesh of the swine was strictly forbidden as food, by the Levitical Law (Lev. xi. 7, Deut. xiv. 8), and there is a record in the Book of Maccabees of the cruel torturing of a whole family by Antiochus Epiphanes, because they refused to break the law of their fathers by eating it. The Egyptians, Arabians, Ethiopians, and other nations of the East, were also not permitted to eat it; the probable cause of the prohibition being its unwholesomeness in hot countries, it having a tendency to produce skin diseases. The ancient Egyptians are said to have regarded this animal as sacred, because by turning up the earth with its snout, it first taught men the art of ploughing. It is generally considered that all the varieties of the domestic hog, except perhaps the Chinese, have sprung from the wild boar, which has been found almost everywhere in the Old World, though it was not known in America until introduced by Europeans. The flesh of the hog has long been an important article of food in this country, especially in the rural districts, where a pig or two is kept by almost every cottager. It is easily fed with the refuse of the garden, and then when fattened and killed. forms the staple food of the family; for one of its most valuable qualities is that it may be salted without being rendered hard and indigestible by the process. The Hampshire pigs are considered to make the best bacon. The Yorkshire and Berkshire breeds are also celebrated. In this country the hog is not only used for food, but its hide, when prepared after a peculiar fashion, is found to make the best leather for saddles. The bristles which are so largely used in the manufacture of brushes are almost exclusively imported from the Continent. The senses of the hog are wonderfully acute. So delicate is its sense of smell, that it has been trained to act as a pointer; and in this capacity performed its part so thoroughly, that it has been known to find birds which the dogs had missed. Hogs were formerly used in Sussex as truffle hunters, and are still, I believe, in France. A hog has also been trained to draw a carriage; and a team of four hogs was once driven by a farmer into the market-place of St. Alban's. We are also told that in some parts of Italy they are even harnessed in company with the ox and ass. Charles Lamb, one of the most delightful of English prose writers, has invented a most amusing account of how the Chinese found out that pigs are good when they are roasted. For those who have not a chance of reading the whole, I will give the story much shortened. A boy named Bobo had been left at home, and during his father's absence, got playing with fire, and the cottage and all its contents, including nine new-farrowed pigs, were burnt. A delicious odour soon assailed Bobo's nose, and he stooped down to see what it was,-when he saw a burnt pig. He touched it, and he burned his fingers; whereupon, to assuage the pain, he clapped his fingers into his mouth, and was so enchanted with the taste that he ate away until caught by his father Hoti. Hoti was of course much horrified; but was persuaded by his son to taste and try, and father and son never left off till they had despatched the whole litter. Afterwards as often as the sow farrowed, so sure Hoti's house was burnt down; and at last father and son were summoned to take their trial at Pekin, and the learned counsel did "Then and there Rehearse and declare" the shocking depravity of Hoti and Bobo in eating burnt pig. The jury looked convinced, and every one felt that the verdict would be "Guilty," and that it would serve them right. But Hoti quietly handed a large piece of burnt pig into the jury-box. They touched, were burned, clapped their fingers in their mouths, and forthwith each man was enraptured with the deliciousness of the taste. They ate, and ate again, and unanimously returned a verdict of "Not guilty." The judge, who was a shrewd fellow, winked at the manifest iniquity of the decision; and when the court was dismissed, went privily and bought up all the pigs that could be had for love or money. In a few days his lordship's town house was observed to be on fire. The thing became known, and now there was nothing to be seen but fire in every direction. Fuel and pigs grew enormously dear all over the district. The insurance offices one and all shut up shop. People built slighter and slighter every day, until it was feared that the very science of architecture would in no long time be lost to the world. Thus the custom of firing houses continued, till in process of time, says my manuscript, a sage arose like our Locke, who made a discovery that the flesh of swine, or indeed of any other animal, might be cooked (burnt as they called it) without the necessity of consuming a whole house to dress it. Why stand you musing all alone, "The fields are green, the skies are bright, And 'mong the sweet flowers of the thyme And the lark hath sung since morning prime, "Yet not for this shall I go forth "And why?" said I; "what is there here To make a merry girl like you Thus idly stand to pore? There is a mystery in this thing Now tell me, Ellen More!" |