206 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE,

description of its triumphal march from Bordeaux to the Capital
“ A deputation from each large town through which she passed,”
says Mrs. Bowdich, “formed of the municipal authorities,
met her; and one of the most learned savants went all the
way from the Jardin des Plantes, to accompany her on
her march. ‘La giraffe,’ however, did not appreciate these
honours, and was often impatient under the etiquette imposed
on her. On one occasion she broke loose from her cavalcade,
keeper and all, and dashing among the horsemen, scattered
them right and left, some on and some off their steeds. A
dignified mayor lay in the dust, and by his side rolled the
painstaking savant who had performed so long a journey in
her service. The enthusiasm did not abate when she reached
her destination. Thirteen thousand more than the usual
weekly number passed over the Pont d’Austerlitz alone; and
as the public curiosity did not but increase for six weeks,
steps were obliged to be taken to prevent the multitude from
pressing upon her. Her love for roses was very great; and
she eagerly snatched them from those who carried or wore
them, to their great astonishment; for few could calculate on
the distance which she could reach.” Mr. Gordon Cumming
describes a herd of ten giraffes which he saw moving together
along an African valley, forming an imposing spectacle.
Hollow- We come now to a family of great importance
Hornea to the human race, the family which includes
Buminante. among its members the Ox and the Sheep.
These are grouped as hollow-horned ruminants, this one
touch of nature making the whole family kin. The hollow-
horned ruminants are divided into numerous sub-families,
of which the Ox, the Antelope, the Sheep, and the Goat are
the best known representatives. The horn by which the
family is characterised, comprises a hollow horny sheath which
covers a bony core, and which, except in one case, unlike
the horns of the stag, which are shed annually, is permanent
Sir Victor Brooke divides the family of the Bovide inte