The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-10-09
RESEMBLANCE TO ANIMALS.


The Various Four-Footed Beasts, and Birds
of the Air, That Look Like Us.
from the Boston Traveller.l
A Frenchman of the Middle Ages said
that all men were proud of their resem-
blance to some animal, particularly to
the eagle, the lion, the tiger. the ele-
phant, and the owl. The ambition,
power, freedom, cruelty, strength, and
wisdom typifed by these beasts were all
gifts which men emulated. They were
all untamable, unuseful animals, except
ing the elephant, and he had his dan
gerous side. No man is complimented
by being told that he looks like a horse
OF dog, although they are nearest to
him in intelligence; perhaps their sub
serviency offends his vanity. No woman
likes to be told that she looks like
sheep, although many women do look
like sheep. The miser has his proto-
type in the rodents, whose two narrow,
gnawing teeth are eternally reproduced
in humanity.
To look like an old lion is the proud
popularity of the strong graybeards.
There is nothing finer, more impressive
in man than this resemblance. Long
fellow has it, as familiar illustration.
We see it often in the best pictures of
the old Greek poets When mans
eye remains bright, although the shay
gy brow above it has turned white, the
effect is splendid. There seems to be
an unquenchable fire behind that pent-
house. 1t is the lamp that never
goes out. Men of sardonic tenn
per and smooth outlines, who
are wise enough to wear white
straight mustache, have a grand re-
semblance to a Bengal tiger. They look
cruel, but it is a handsome, strong cruel
ty. No one can help respecting Ben
gal tiger, although his traits are scarcely
amiable. No one, however, likes to look
like cat, although, alas! too many of us
do. We hate small, ignoble ferOcity,
commonplace deceits, secretive capa-
bilities. To see cat start off on dip
lomatic mission across field, with no
public to deceive, but with only an OBJ
scure mouse to surprise, with all the pre-
cautions against detection which a BOrgia
might have used; to see her feints of
going east when she means to go west,
is to see old Talleyrand revealed, and to
laugh at and to admire the desire of the
human race to circumvent somebody,
to take the crooked path when the
straight one would be so much easier!
The cat is satire on diplomacy; she
should be studied. e.esane {.faf
People look like dogs; sometimes not
unpleasantly, sometimes ludicrously. A
very much whiskered individual, driving
in Victoria downtown with his Scotch
terrier, asked a witty lady what she
thought of them. Why" said she, 81
thought you were beside yourself!" A
man of the Du'sdreary type can look very
like a terrier. There is noble mastiff
type, which is honest and fine. Christie
pher North had it, and Walter Scott
looked like his own Mazda. The bull
dog finds his manly prototype in Bill
Skies, and we have all seen slender,
greyhound-looking men and little, mean
ferret faces on the lookout for game
Noble oxen are reproduced in some gro
tesque faces, and Virgil speaks of COX
eyed juno -
Two eyes, nose, and mouth seem
to admit of great varieties. They are
easily initiated up to certain point, then
they become infinitely varied. The re-
semblance to animals is largely dwelt
upon by the Darwinites, who seem to
find this lingering look a proof of the
evolution. This school Of thinkers,
however, always ignore the one great
question, as to where and when the soul
entered into the progressive COW, or
sheep, or ape, and the animal became
man. They do not dwell upon that con-
elusive experiment of the brutal savage
and the intelligent ape, whom some
traveller brought from Patagonia, and
who in three months of training in Eng
land resulted in this fact-the ape re-
manned an ape, while the savage had
learned to read, and to write, and to
pray. The resemblance of man to
monkeys is, indeed, very remarkable
and disagreeable. Who was it who said
that he could not bear to be with them,
they looked so like poor relations? There
is the little old bearded money, so like
a prominent philanthropist. There is
the cocky little fop of a monkey, so like
our "Jeunesse doree. There is the
orange-mouthed, big-chinned chimpan-
zee, the type of sensualist. There is
the little lady monkey, with airs and
grades SO like an affected woman. The |
worst of this is that we see ourselves,
alas! at our worst. We see what we
may be to others than ourselves.
'sWhen was YOUTH says 1Heo-
phrastus Such, 81 danced hornpipe,
and am convinced now that l appeared
very badly; what sort of a hornpipe am
dancing now?" it may always do us
good to look at ourselves, and to see if |
we are perking like peacock, chatter
ing like magpie, talking like parrot,
showing dormouse tilnidity, a rat-like
greed, fox's cunning, or a dogs appe-
tite. These familiar friends Of ours, the /
animals, are at once our comfort and
our satire; they ingenuously- show forth |
The failings which we think to hide.
1t is curious how the serpent type re-
appears in women. Rachel always sug-
gested a beautiful snake-the little fiat |
head, the sparkling eyes, the almost /
forked tongue, the. long, 1.-the body, the
the noiselessness, were ali like |
The g great Ophidian who deceived our
grandmother Eve,'' as Oliver Wendell