quite common in England, it never yet has had a place in Pennant's zoology, nor any other book on natural history that I know of. But Pennant, you know, is a Welshman, and this animal is equally a stranger to Wales as to Scotland.

Account of the SQUEYEYER, a singular non descript animal found in England.

You may tell your brother, my dear Isabella, that there is an animal, which is known in Yorkfhire by the vulgar name of squeyeyer, of a very singular nature. It participates both of the monkey and the bear. Its form greatly resembles the monkey; and naturalists will certainly afsign it a place among the simia tribe: but it has not the light sportive disposition, so characteristic of that tribe of animals. It is rough, awkward, clownish, and obstinate, like the bear; and though, under a persevering master, it may be made to dance, like its kindred bear, yet, like it too, its awkward distortions, and rude motions, rather excite laughter, than any other sensation. This creature is excefsively fond of fruit; and when it is young it can climb trees with great agility; so that when a parcel of these young cubs break into an orchard, they commit the most terrible depredations. As they grow older, however, they are lefs fond of climbing trees, and are seldom seen upon them. But at all periods of their life, like its brother monkey, this awkward creature is excessively fond of getting upon horseback; and when once fairly mounted upon a good horse, he sticks to it like a bur, and drives it on with the utmost fury, through thick and thin, regardless of every thing. When he is in

these mad frolics, every creature smaller than his horse must take care to keep out of his way, other wise he would ride them down without hesitation. Fortunately this animal is endowed with a strong voice, which, when exerted, has a sound compounded as it were between that of the beagle and the ass; and being deprived of the power of keeping silence when in violent motion, like the wild geese in their flight, he is easily recognised, by his hallooing, at a considerable distance; so that peaceable people be ing thus forewarned, have time to get out of his way. Had it not been for this bountiful provision of na ture, it is hard to say what mischief he might have done in his wild rambles through the country.

This animal undoubtedly belongs to the clafs mammalia, and is clearly omnivorous, (Mrs B. has these hard words as ready as I have if's or and's.) He greedily devours flesh, and fish, and fowl of all kinds, as well as fruits, and seeds, and roots, and garden plants of every sort that come within his reach; and he is so exceedingly fond of honey, that he commits sad havock among the bee hives, in the district he inhabits, every year. He is also despe rately fond of tobacco; and is so greedy of strong drink, that, when he can obtain it, which he in general contrives to do somehow or other very fre quently, he seldom quits it while he is able to stand or move in any way. As this creature is of the gregarious kind, they generally are found together in troops of five or six, when they have any enter, prise in view; and when thus afsembled, if they can get accefs to a well stored cellar, the destruction

they produce is inconceivable. On these occasions the noise they make, which is at all times great, be comes ten times greater; so that if a person who had never before seen this creature, was to look in to their den on these occasions, he would certainly think he had got into Pandemonium, where the devils were at work, contriving how they might most speedily spread desolation and destruction around them. Fortunately this delirium does not last very long, and the bodily powers become weakened in proportion as the brain is inflamed; so that in a few hours the whole of this noisy tribe are entirely si lenced; and they may be then seen lying, pell melk a-top of one another, wallowing in the most beastly -state of intoxication and nastinefs.

'I have told you what these creatures like; you hould also know what they dislike. They are as remarkable in their antipathies, as in their likings. They have a mortal ill will at books; and if ever they get access to a library, they tear out the leaves, and scatter them about, or apply them to the most ignoble purposes. Sometimes, indeed, if the book contains showy prints, especially if coloured, they will run over these with a stupid kind of gaze but, as Shakespeare says, "There is no speculation in their eye." Like children, they admire baubles, and throw the most precious jewels away. My heart has often bled at seeing the devastations that had been committed by one of these brutes, which had accidentally got full pofsefsion of a library which had been carefully collecting for ages by a set of learned men. In a fhort time, every thing that

was valuable in it, was torn, lost, or destroyed; and nothing but garbage and trash remained behind.

But if these creatures have an aversion to books, they have still a more decided antipathy to bookish men; especially those in holy orders. They seem to pof sefs a power of scenting them out, as dogs do game; and they often ramble about in packs, in quest of them, with eagerness, in the same manner as dogs do in quest of their natural prey; and wo be to the unfortunate clergyman who chances to fall in their way, at a distance from any assistance! for although they do not tear him to pieces with their teeth, as other animals of a lefs ferocious appearance might do, they set up, such a chattering of unintelligible gibberish, and pursue him so closely wherever he goes, and at every short interval set up such a tremenduous roar of afsinine sounds, that the poor man, if he has never seen them before, is put into mortal terror. If, however, he has the prudence not to seem to hear or mind them, he may at last escape without harm; for, like every foolish animal, they tire of teazing, when they do not perceive that their exertions have a power to teaze. This animal is, upon the whole, rather a stupid, noisy, and troublesome creature, than desperately wicked; and unless it be that they sometimes lay hold upon women in lone places, and are rude to them, but which they scarce ever attempt unless they have been first provoked by the gigling or light behaviour of these women, they seldom actually hurt, unless by accidental rencounter, any other creature. Indeed a firm minded man, of a philosophical turn, always overawes them,

when only one is by itself; but when a pack of these brutes are together, the monkey anticks of one raises the spirits of the others to such a degree, that there is no other resource but silence to escape from them.

But of all their antipathies, that which they have against the fox is the greatest; and this rage has a sort of periodical paroxysms. It generally breaks forth with great fury every year, about the beginning of winter, and continues with intermifsions till the spring. On these occasions, you may see troops of these creatures afsemble together, like the gathering of lapwings before they leave us in autumn, on purpose to search for foxes wherever they can be found. When going on such expeditions, they seize the fleetest horses they can find; and they have also the art of training up a kind of dog to afsist them. At that season they will think nothing of running forty or fifty miles from their native haunts in search of prey; and when they discover a fox, they set up such a halloo, and ride with such ungovernable fury, that you would think as many devils had escaped from the infernal regions, and were set a scampering through this globe. If, after long fatigue, they kill the fox, the poor animal is carried in triumph to the nearest den they can find, where they give a loose to their joy, and indulge in every excefs that their nature is capable of.

I might mention several other characteristic marks of this brute; but these traits will be sufficient to enable your brother to know if any of them have ever been seen in your country. I have heard