460

LIFE OF COLONEL MACERONI.

a flight of stairs was heard rumbling in the tree. Outflew a lynx from the hole plump against the disturber cfhis repose—head over heels went my companion and overhim the lynx bounding along with his back up like ifrightened cat. Up went my gun, but the surprise wasso sudden, and my charge being only bird shot, oft' wasthe lynx and the woodcutter was glad to find himself un-scratclied by the fleeing animal. Another lynx was caughtin a trap while I was there, but the poor thing’s leg was sjdreadfully fractured and torn that the man who caught i;,in despair of curing it, shot it. Had I seen him half aihour sooner I would have bought the lynx and, amputatingthe limb, have preserved its life.

Of wolves, I only saw one in those parts, although1 gave myself some trouble to meet with them. But it isonly when the ground is covered with snow that theyventure near the haunts of man. One evening we took a kilto a very likely place, and tying it to a tree, its bleatingsbrought two wolves to the spot. We (three of us) fired atone of them and it was killed; but as he had three ballsthrough him, I cannot say that I killed him. 1 never metwith a bear, although I witnessed the damage done one nightby one or more of them, to a plantation of Indian corn. Thebears of the Appennines are mostly, if not wholly frugivorous,feeding like the boars on chesnuts, acorns, Indian corn, andgrapes. I was told at Subiaco of a couple of bears devour-ing a cow when hard pressed in the middle of winter, and Iwas shewn the skin of one of them which was killed by r theowner of the cow.

Not far from Isola di Sora, I forget the name of the exactplace, is a village in which are the ruins of a temple ofPriapus, the only one I ever knew of existing in Italy ,although his statues and terminal representations arenumerous enough in gardens and collections of ancient