The stories about ‘Tom the Bear’ are taken from the French works on natural history by M. Alexandre Dumas. We cannot be sure that every word of them is true, for M. Dumas wrote novels chiefly, which you must read when you are older. One of these novels is about Charles I, and it is certainly not all true, so we cannot believe every word that M. Dumas tells us. He had a great deal of imagination—enough for about thirteen thousand living novelists.
Most of the other tales are written by Mrs. Lang, and are as true as possible; while Miss Lang took the adventures of a Lion Tamer, and ‘A Boar Hunt by Moonlight,’ out of French and German books. The story of greedy Squouncer, by Mrs. Lang, is true, every word, and I wrote ‘The Life and Death of Pincher,’ who belonged to a friend of mine.[1] Squouncer’s portrait is from a photograph, and does justice to his noble expression.
Miss Blackley also did some of the stories. Most of the tales of ‘Thieving Dogs and Horses’ were published, about 1819, by Sir Walter Scott, in ‘Blackwood’s Magazine,’ from which they are taken by Mrs. Lang.
I have tried to make it clear that this is not altogether a scientific book; but a great deal of it is more to be depended on than ‘A Bad Boy’s Book of Beasts,’ or Miss Sybil Corbet’s books, ‘Animal Land,’ and ‘Sybil’s Garden of Pleasant Beasts.’
- ↑ From Longman’s Magazine.
