The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-02-24

bowed >rcctacles. while. all the time, the
were ri .ft under lis nose: only he cor'!n'
see them. because lie had laid them on the
cover Of the big bound volume G. the Penny
Magazine, which happened to be of exactly
the same color a. the spectacle frames
Didn't Won see that. Stupid:'
"Yrs; and Uncle Josh. whose Grandmother
way. making what they call bulls said it was
no use his trying 70 find his spcctacles when
once lie laid them down, unles. he had them
on"
""rll, then can't you see the point? Sup
pose .)oe's chameleon could maxi itself green,
when It was III the grass: and brown. when
IT was crawling, an inch month, along the
branch Of a tree: and gray. when it waiting
on an Old stone for the sun to come that wav:
and yellow, when it was ou'aving for flies
n'on" the caves of an Old bombay house
don't Won perceive that owls and snakes in
that neishborhood who might happen to be
after the poor little fellow, would be no bet
ter of than your ncar-si ghted Uacle josh in
.csrrh Of his steel spcctaceS ~
And then Joe told how a gentleman in
Calcutta once wrapped a chameleon up in a
towel, and kept him there long time, to see
II he would turn white; but light gray was
as near as he could come to it, and they do
say that pure black and pure white are two
colorS not in the chameleon's skin
Twice year Joe's pet peeled-that is. it
crawled clean through its dead skin, and came
out fresh and splend d.
Joe says his chameleon was as cold as clam
that whenever he handled it. it felt cammv,
like a toad or an eel. Sometimes, when a
fragrant breeze came to it from over the
garden, it would open its mouth, and suck in
the air in great greedy Gups, till its whole
body wa. inflated. When pulled up So it
became more or less transparent, so that you
could almost see its insides And Joe saws
that's the way that air-eating story. which he
thinks was invented for the benefit of such
crelulous. gul.ible fellows as the marines, got
about.
lie declares positively (and think he must
be ri !ht. for Round the world Joe has ewes
in his head. and generally sees correctly with
them) that I'll" chameleon lives on flies, and
thousand kinds of smaller insects that dart
about in the warm air of India. Joe saws his
tongue is a, queer as hi, eyes. When he i.
not hungry lie tucks it up somehow. and
Slows it away in the back part of his huge
ugly head; but when his appetite is on, he
thru,ts i; out, sharp. tremuons aud elastic
(Joe says | can't guess how Ion. he can
stretch i:), with bright drop of some sticky
fluid on the tip of it-anl SO he keersit ready
Guiverng like a watch spring. Bv-and hv
a flock Of almo.. invisible insects, no bigger
than notes, come along. and he snaps them
~ so ta>f YOU cant follow the iiAsling' of his
tongue; and. all the while, his funny eye
ball. are rol!in. dozen ways At orce, AMI
he keeps swelling ny and go;nr down, and
showing more cnlor' than tie SHOP Wa! ot =
fancy and ornamental painter.
Joe says 1t used TO be grsa. fun tor linn 70
see the Chaurns his chameleon co,l ~,
through in the night. 1t was as good a, hav
my a new pet every morning. Bat a: a.
poor old fellow, the rats got him. does
bhearah had taken him down 70 try him with
a cockrosch; a,d he was forgotten. and !ei,
in his little cage, on the table al night. So
the rats came, snawe! through the Gaze. and
swallowed him. eyes. tai, ranhows. anl all.