DOCTOR MACRURUS
peculiarities of the genus men. I will tell you nothing that is not the outcome of personal observation. I am not in the habit of indulging in the shameless inventions of which some travellers have been convicted. Let me tell you, once for all, that I utterly disbelieve many tales that are current among us as to the habits and customs of men. For instance, we have been brought up in the belief that men, feeble creatures though they be, are capable of constructing lofty and substantial dwellings for themselves. All I can say is that I have never seen them in the act of erecting such buildings. There is no proof whatever that they have the power of preparing such dens for themselves. I believe for my own part that their dwellings are in fact hills, the work of nature, and that, seeing these hills to be full of caves, the more intelligent among them took up their abode in these convenient shelters.
The race of Men is what is called amphivorous, that is, they eat meat, and also fruits and roots. They cannot eat large trees, but they
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