Dr. Buckland is of opinion that these Pterodactyles did not suspend themselves, when at rest, with their heads downward, like the bats; but he relies on the size and form of the thigh, leg, and foot, for the inference that they had the power of standing firmly on the ground (where they possibly moved with folded wings, after the manner of birds), and of perching on trees, and climbing on rocks and cliffs, by the joint aid of their anterior and posterior extremities, like bats and lizards.

With submission to an authority worthy of the greatest respect, we cannot subscribe to the whole of this inference. The smallness and weakness of the pelvis forbids us to agree with Dr. Buckland, when he infers that the Pterodactyle stood firmly on the ground, and probably moved thereon with folded wings, after the fashion of a bird. The hooks on the anterior extremities would not only have enabled this Saurian to suspend itself when it wished to rest, but to drag itself along prone on the earth, on which the structure of the pelvic organization forbad it to walk like a bird.

A careful examination of the whole osseous fabric conducts us to the conclusion that the Pterodactyle shuffled along upon the ground, after the manner of a bat, and scuttled through the water when it had occasion to swim; nor do we see why it might not, when at rest, have suspended itself by the hind-legs, like the volatile quadruped. The general hue of the body was probably lurid, and the texture of the skin shagreen-like, resembling in some degree the external tegument of a chameleon or guana, excepting the smooth membrane of the wing.

Insects, such as the large fossil dragon-flies (Libellulæ), disinterred with them from the Solenhofen quarries, and Coleoptera, whose elytra are found with the bones of the Stonesfield species in the oolitic slate there, contributed, doubtless, to their food, but Dr. Buckland well observes that the head and teeth of some species are so much larger and stronger than would be required for insect capture, that the greater Pterodactyles may possibly have fed on fishes, darting upon them from the air, after the manner of Terns or Solan geese. The enormous size and strength of the head and teeth of Pterodactylus crassirostris, he adds, would not only have enabled it to catch fish, but also to kill and devour the few small marsupial animals which then existed upon land.

Such were the heteroclite animals to which nothing modern can in the slightest approach be comparable, except perhaps the pictorial dragons of a Chinese screen, and such in all probability were their habits when thousands of years ago they flitted heavily above

"The pois'nous fields with rank luxuriance crown'd,"

where the wholesome air now refreshes the well-cultivated land white to harvest, and the healthy civilized race of men, whose holy and happy day of rest is announced by the sabbath bell.

If the ploughshare, brightened by the fertile soil which it now divides, brings before us, when it turns up from the furrow some ancient Italian coin, the march of the Roman legions over our hills, plains, and valleys, what visions does the petrified bone of one of these Preadamite Saurians call forth!

Look at the reptilian relic in the stone which helps to form that cottage wall. As we gaze, the wall disappears; and, to the mind's eye, its place is occupied by a vast sea, which, when circulation animated that bone, covered its site. Through the waters of this sea, Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, Mosasaurs, and Cetiosaurs dart, swim, and gambol. If we turn landward, the sluggish river, the marshy jungle and the dreary plain seem peopled by ancient Crocodilians, Iguanodons and Megalosaurs, while Pterodactyles appear to hover in the murky atmosphere of the old dragon times.

Now, how changed the scene! Instead of animals of a low grade of organization, which then were the highest and predominant forms, the most elaborate and perfect of the animated works of the Creator abound.

Pterodactyles have been succeeded by birds-Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, Mosasaurs, and the like, by whales, dolphins, and great fishes. Where the herbivorous Iguanodon revelled, the ox, the deer, and the sheep, quietly crop the fragrant herbage; whilst in place of the destructive Megalosaur, the carnivorous mammalia keep down the excessive multiplication of the ruminants; and MAN has the dominion over all. In future ages his remains will fill the bosom of the earth; and the traveller in some far distant century will feel the full force of Byron's lines wherever he sets his foot :

Stop!-for thy tread is on an Empire's dust!
An Earthquake's spoil is sepulchred below!

POSTSCRIPT.

SINCE the publication of the first edition of this book, poor Jack has sunk under a complication of diseases. His demise was thus noticed in the Observer of the 13th of June, 1847.

"DEATH OF AN ELEPHANT.

"The habitual visitors of the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park, will learn with regret that their old friend, the elephant, known by the familiar name of "Jack," departed this life on Sunday morning last, after a short illness. During the last few weeks preceding his dissolution, the health of the poor brute had been rapidly deteriorating. On Friday, the 5th inst., the skin under the lower-jaw cracked, and a copious effusion of blood took place. This was the reason which determined the authorities of the garden to keep poor Jack in solitary confinement, but he did not long survive his seclusion. On Sunday morning he sunk back upon his haunches, with his fore-legs extended before him, and remained in this motionless posture for about two hours, when at half past seven o'clock, his trunk dropped to the ground, and he expired without making any further movement. He did not fall over, but stiffened in the upright position in which he lay, not even his head sinking. The probable cause of Jack's death, was a disease provoked by his great weight, and aggravated by the want of sufficient exercise, in that part of his fore-legs situated below the knee. This was productive of excessive irritation, which affected the nervous system generally. His sufferings were terminated by a stroke of apoplexy. A large abscess had formed under the lower jaw, of itself quite sufficient to cause death. Thus terminated the career of poor Jack, whose amusing tricks and docile manner had rendered him everybody's favourite. His mangled remains are distributed amongst the medical professors resident in the metropolis, the larger having been assigned to the College of Surgeons, the Veterinary College, and the King's College. It is

expected that the sale of the skin will realize a considerable sum; and an attempt will be made to recover the dispersed fragments of the skeleton. The loss of this fine specimen of the elephantine tribe must prove a very serious one to the Zoological Society, and can scarcely be replaced for a less sum than £800 or £1,000. The height of the elephant was between twelve and fourteen feet."

I find, among my papers, the following note:

"The last time I saw poor Jack alive, was on Whit-Sunday 1847, when I had the honour of attending His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia in his walk over the. garden, in company with Sir Roderick Murchison, Professor Owen, and the Grand Duke's suite.

"The elephant was miserably fallen away, and stood, as he had long previously remained, supporting himself by laying his huge trunk along the bar that fronted his apartment. He was evidently suffering much, and the keeper warned me not to go near, his temper having become ferocious. I knew him well, however, and ventured to approach: and he threw up his trunk and showed his molar teeth in his open mouth at my usual signal. I had nothing to give him but bran, and that he took from my hand.

"After his death, when the operation of skinning was going on, the sight was disgusting enough. The skinners, in the obscure light of the den, looked like vultures on the huge bloody mass. Professor Owen was desirous of securing the brain entire, and had given his directions accordingly; but his aids, though skilful, met with difficulties, and were obliged to send for him. There had been great inflammation of the brain. The dura mater adhered to the pia mater, and this last to the brain. In the Professor's endeavour to extract the brain, he was wounded in the left hand in two places by spicula of bone. Mr. Cooper (of Tenterden Street) cauterized the worst wound. His friends were uneasy, remembering the recent melancholy death of Mr. Potter, of University College Hospital, who long lingered, and at last sank, in consequence of the absorption of deleterious matter, in extracting the pelvis of a diseased subject (abscess) with an abrasion of the skin of the hand. Professor Owen had the dangerous symptom of pain up the arm; but when I saw him on Thursday evening that pain had left him, and he was only suffering from the pain of the cauterized wound. In the throat of the elephant was an abscess a foot deep. The Professor told me that the heat of the body was very great, the chemical heat having immediately succeeded the animal heat."