182 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE,

passed before—but which it had now crossed so expeditiously
that it must have gone by a route leading the most directly
to Gibraltar.”
The Trainea The ass like many other animals is capable
Ass. of being trained to perform many tricks, advan-
tage of which seems to have been taken long before our time,
as the following quoted by Captain Brown will show. John
Leo, in a book printed as early as 1556, says, “when the
Mahometan worship was over, the common people of Cairo
resorted to the foot of the suburbs called Bed-Elloch to see
the exhibition of stage-players and mountebanks, who teach
camels, asses, and dogs to dance. The dancing of the ass
is diverting enough; for after he has frisked and capered
about, his master tells him, that the Soldan, meaning to build
a great palace, intends to employ all the asses in carrying
mortar, stones, and other materials; upon which the ass falls
down with his heels upwards, closing his eyes, and extending
his chest, as if he were dead. This done, the master begs
some assistance of the company, to make up the loss of the
cead ass; and having got all he can, he gives them to know
thst truly his ass is not dead, but only being sensible of his
master’s necessity, played that trick to procure some pro-
vender. He then commands the ass to rise, who still lies in
the same posture, notwithstanding all the blows he can give
him, till at last he proclaims, by virtue of an edict of the
Soldan, all are bound to ride out next day upon the come-
liest asses they can find, in order to see a triumphal show,
and to entertain their asses with oats and Nile water. These
words are no sooner pronounced, than the ass starts up,
prances, and leaps for joy. The master then declares, that
his ass has been pitched upon by the warden of his street,
to carry his deformed and ugly wife; upon which the ass
lowers his ears, and limps with one of his legs, as if he were
lame. The master, alleging that his ass admires handsome
women, commands him to single out the prettiest lady in