Phil Robinson

Name: The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll
Author: Phil Robinson

The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

Summary

“The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll”, published in 1894, is a work by Phil Robinson. It explores elements such as lynx, crows and lions.

Quotes from The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (Phil Robinson)

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ Having assured themselves that there is not too much light for them to see by, they perform their toilets, exchange sleepy sunset salutations, and make at once for their evening breakfasts of fruit, nuts, and biscuits. The racoons are out, pretty, gentle-mannered creatures, wearing spectacles, who snuffle in a friendly way as you pass, but there is a white one with queer pale eyes that take the reflection in turn of all the colours of the sunset sky, faint pink and blue, yellow and gray, that snores most unamiably at you. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ Every time it was dropped the crows of course darted at it, but they always did it once too often, for the lynx, magically recovering from its lameness, would pounce on the bird before it could pounce on the bone. To amuse the crows, and apparently for no other object, the lynx between whiles would give exhibitions of the most abandoned and senseless frivolity, tumble about head over heels, dance on its hind legs, stand on its head, roll over and over, do anything in fact just to interest the crows. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ The lynx has just got up and, with its face to the wall, is munching its meat in the corner. A queer beast like a magnified Manx cat, and is, in my opinion, the cleverest sportsman of all the four-footed quadrupeds; as clever, indeed, as even the proverbial cart-load of monkeys. When I was in India I entertained for several days a wandering mendicant, who went about the country begging with a lynx at the end of a string. The lynx was a wonder, for, incredible as the statement may seem, it fed itself almost entirely upon—crows! ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ If it could be only given sufficient space for flight it would be one of the most interesting of our guests in the Zoo, for the little creature sails from tree to tree supported by the membrane which stretches between its legs, launching itself upon the air with such unerring aim that it never fails to make the point it started for, and judging its initial velocity with such a nice precision as never to fall short of or overshoot its mark. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ From the vultures' cages you can hear the clamour of the “vociferous” sea-eagles, and, in befitting antiphony, the harsh screams of the cariamas in concert in the Eastern Aviary. Down below you the brown bears are moaning their hearts out, and away in the distance the lions, disturbed by some belated workman who is hurrying through, are roaring in their angriest mood. I never hear the lions roar so finely as in the late evening. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ For one thing their meals are given to them in daylight, and for these they make a point of keeping awake. Besides, it is only between sunrise and sunset that crowds of people with rustling paper bags filled with broken buns, biscuits, and bread pass to and fro feeding everything indiscriminately, and in the hope of a share of these gifts all the bears, the rhinoceroses and elephants, and many others decide to postpone slumber until nightfall, when the bag-bearers will have disappeared and all the fun of the day be over. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ The red and white flying squirrel, one of the most beautiful little animals imaginable, is awake, or nearly so, looking out with big drowsy eyes that cannot bear the light yet at its tempting tin of food—dates and cherries, pea-nuts and pieces of apple, plaintain, and bread. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ Now to catch an Indian crow in any way is a distinct exploit, but having caught one, to catch a second would be considered, by those who know the Indian crow best, nothing short of miraculous. Yet this beggar-man's lynx caught crows everyday, sometimes half-a-dozen in a morning, and not always by the same trick. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ But the lemur's eyes are open to their widest and the ghostly little creatures are all moving about—beautiful animals all of them but with eerie, uncanny looks and ways—so stealthily that you might think they were doing wrong, and knew it ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ AN EVENING STROLL IN the evening when all the visitors have left the Gardens, or the very latest are loitering gate-wards, the day really commences for a number of animals who during the hours of sunlight lie fast asleep in their boxes or covered up under the straw. They are most of them of small size. The larger beasts, upon whom the popularity of the Gardens depends, have generously consented to fall in with the ways of civilised humanity, and to be in evidence during the day. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ The ratels are trotting up and down their cages one behind the other as serious and purposeful as teachers hurrying to Sunday school, but one of them always spoils the effect by turning a somersault whenever it comes to a certain spot. For an hour at a time it will go backwards and forwards, and regularly, about twice in every minute, it turns head over heels on exactly the same spot. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ The porcupines are gnawing away for dear life at the iron bars and one of them, who has lost a paw and apparently quite forgotten the fact, sits biting doggedly at a bar and regularly every few seconds lifting up its maimed leg and going through the motion of clawing at the place although the limb does not reach by several inches as far as its owner thinks it does. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ The crows, thinking they knew the animal's exact range and reach, would gradually come nearer and nearer to the circle, but never venturing within it, when the lynx would suddenly fly off at a tangent into the middle of them. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ The monkeys are all going to bed. They know there will be no more nuts or biscuits to-day, and they are making their arrangements for the night with commendable amiability, big and little cuddling together on their perches. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Phil Robinson, The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (1894)

“ In their wild state they always made going to bed a particularly noisy function, and they keep up in captivity the good old customs of their forefathers. For one thing the macaws are of a clamorous kind, and they are still awake ”

Phil Robinson

Summary

Quotes from The Zoo Revisited — VIII.—An Evening Stroll (Phil Robinson)

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