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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Animal Story Book, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Animal Story Book
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Andrew Lang
+
+Illustrator: H. J. (Henry Justice) Ford
+
+Release Date: December 4, 2011 [EBook #38208]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANIMAL STORY BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Louise Davies, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Illustration captions in {brackets} have been added by the
+transcriber, with reference to the list of illustrations, for the
+convenience of the reader.
+
+
+
+
+ THE
+ ANIMAL STORY BOOK
+
+ EDITED BY
+ ANDREW LANG
+
+
+ _WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. J. FORD_
+
+
+ [Illustration: {TWO ORAN OTANS}]
+
+
+ LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
+ FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
+ LONDON, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND MADRAS
+ 1914
+
+
+ _Copyright, 1896,_
+ By Longmans, Green, & Co.
+
+ _All rights reserved._
+
+ First Edition, September, 1896.
+ Reprinted, November, 1896, July, 1899,
+ June, 1904, February, 1909,
+ September, 1914.
+
+
+
+
+ THE FAIRY BOOK SERIES
+
+ Edited by Andrew Lang
+
+ _New and Cheaper Issue_
+
+
+ EACH VOLUME, $1.00 NET
+
+
+ THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK. With 138 Illustrations.
+
+ THE RED FAIRY BOOK. With 100 Illustrations.
+
+ THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK. With 101 Illustrations.
+
+ THE GREY FAIRY BOOK. With 65 Illustrations.
+
+ THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK. With 104 Illustrations.
+
+ THE PINK FAIRY BOOK. With 67 Illustrations.
+
+ THE BLUE POETRY BOOK. With 100 Illustrations.
+
+ THE TRUE STORY BOOK. With 66 Illustrations.
+
+ THE RED TRUE STORY BOOK. With 100 Illustrations.
+
+ THE ANIMAL STORY BOOK. With 67 Illustrations.
+
+ THE RED BOOK OF ANIMAL STORIES. With 65 Illustrations.
+
+ THE ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS. With 66 Illustrations.
+
+ THE VIOLET FAIRY BOOK. With 8 Coloured Plates and 54 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE CRIMSON FAIRY BOOK. With 8 Coloured Plates and 43 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE BROWN FAIRY BOOK. With 8 Coloured Plates and 42 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE OLIVE FAIRY BOOK. With 8 Coloured Plates and 43 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE ORANGE FAIRY BOOK. With 8 Coloured Plates and 50 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE BOOK OF ROMANCE. With 8 Coloured Plates and 44 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE RED ROMANCE BOOK. With 8 Coloured Plates and 44 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE BOOK OF PRINCES AND PRINCESSES. By Mrs. Lang. With 8
+ Coloured Plates and 43 other Illustrations.
+
+ THE RED BOOK OF HEROES. By Mrs. Lang. With 8 Coloured Plates
+ and 40 other Illustrations.
+
+ THE LILAC FAIRY BOOK. With 6 Coloured Plates and 46 other
+ Illustrations.
+
+ THE ALL SORTS OF STORIES BOOK. By Mrs. Lang. With 5 Coloured
+ Plates and 43 other Illustrations.
+
+ THE BOOK OF SAINTS AND HEROES. By Mrs. Lang. With 12 Coloured
+ Plates and 18 other Illustrations.
+
+ THE STRANGE STORY BOOK. By Mrs. Lang. With Portrait of Andrew
+ Lang, 12 Coloured Plates and 18 other Illustrations.
+
+
+ LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO., NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: ANDROCLES IN THE ARENA]
+
+
+
+
+ _To_
+
+ _MASTER FREDERICK LONGMAN_
+
+
+ This year our Book for Christmas varies,
+ Deals not with History nor Fairies
+ (I can't help thinking, children, you
+ Prefer a book which is _not_ true).
+ We leave these intellectual feasts,
+ To talk of Fishes, Birds, and Beasts.
+ These--though his aim is hardly steady--
+ These are, I think, a theme for Freddy!
+ Trout, though he is not up to fly,
+ He soon will catch--as well as I!
+ So, Freddy, take this artless rhyme,
+ And be a Sportsman in your time!
+
+
+
+
+_PREFACE_
+
+
+Children who have read our Fairy Books may have noticed that there are
+not so very many fairies in the stories after all. The most common
+characters are birds, beasts, and fishes, who talk and act like
+Christians. The reason of this is that the first people who told the
+stories were not very clever, or, if they were clever, they had never
+been taught to read and write, or to distinguish between Vegetable,
+Animal, and Mineral. They took it that all things were 'much of a
+muchness:' they were not proud, and held that beast and bird could
+talk like themselves, only, of course, in a different language.
+
+After offering, then, so many Fairy Books (though the stories are not
+all told yet), we now present you (in return for a coin or two) with a
+book about the friends of children and of fairies--the beasts. The
+stories are all true, more or less, but it is possible that Monsieur
+Dumas and Monsieur Theophile Gautier rather improved upon their tales.
+I own that I have my doubts about the bears and serpents in the tales
+by the Baron Wogan. This gentleman's ancestors were famous Irish
+people. One of them held Cromwell's soldiers back when they were
+pursuing Charles II. after Worcester fight. He also led a troop of
+horse from Dover to the Highlands, where he died of a wound, after
+fighting for the King. The next Wogan was a friend of Pope and Swift;
+he escaped from prison after Preston fight, in 1715, and, later,
+rescued Prince Charlie's mother from confinement in Austria, and took
+her to marry King James. He next became Governor of Don Quixote's
+province, La Mancha, in Spain, and was still alive and merry in 1752.
+Baron Wogan, descended from these heroes, saw no longer any king to
+fight for, so he went to America and fought bears. No doubt he was as
+brave as his ancestors, but whether all his stories of serpents are
+absolutely correct I am not so certain. People have also been heard to
+express doubts about Mr. Waterton and the Cayman. The terrible tale of
+Mr. Gully and his deeds of war I _know_ to be accurate, and the story
+of Oscar, the sentimental tyke, is believed in firmly by the lady who
+wrote it. As for the stories about Greek and Roman beasts, Pliny, who
+tells them, is a most respectable author. On the whole, then, this is
+more or less of a true story-book.
+
+There ought to be a moral; if so, it probably is that we should be
+kind to all sorts of animals, and, above all, knock trout on the head
+when they are caught, and don't let the poor things jump about till
+they die. A chapter of a very learned sort was written about the
+cleverness of beasts, proving that there must have been great
+inventive geniuses among beasts long ago, and that now they have
+rather got into a habit (which I think a very good one) of being
+content with the discoveries of their ancestors. This led naturally to
+some observations on Instinct and Reason; but there may be children
+who are glad that there was no room for this chapter.
+
+The longer stories from Monsieur Dumas were translated from the French
+by Miss Cheape.
+
+'A Rat Tale' is by Miss Evelyn Grieve, who knew the rats.
+
+'Mr. Gully' is by Miss Elspeth Campbell, to whom Mr. Gully belonged.
+
+'The Dog of Montargis,' 'More Faithful than Favoured,' and 'Androcles'
+are by Miss Eleanor Sellar.
+
+Snakes, Bears, Ants, Wolves, Monkeys, and some Lions are by Miss Lang.
+
+'Two Highland Dogs' is by Miss Goodrich Freer.
+
+'Fido' and 'Oscar' and 'Patch' are by Miss A. M. Alleyne.
+
+'Djijam' is by his master.
+
+'The Starling of Segringen' and 'Grateful Dogs' are by Mr. Bartells.
+
+'Tom the Bear,' 'The Frog,' 'Jacko the Monkey' and 'Gazelle' are from
+Dumas by Miss Blackley.
+
+All the rest are by Mrs. Lang.
+
+
+
+
+_CONTENTS_
+
+
+ PAGE
+ 'Tom': an Adventure in the Life of a Bear in Paris 1
+
+ Sai the Panther 14
+
+ The Buzzard and the Priest 25
+
+ Cowper and his Hares 30
+
+ A Rat Tale 34
+
+ Snake Stories 43
+
+ What Elephants can Do 50
+
+ The Dog of Montargis 56
+
+ How a Beaver builds his House 64
+
+ The War Horse of Alexander 68
+
+ Stories about Bears 71
+
+ Stories about Ants 82
+
+ The Taming of an Otter 88
+
+ The Story of Androcles and the Lion 91
+
+ Monsieur Dumas and his Beasts 99
+
+ The Adventures of Pyramus 154
+
+ The Story of a Weasel 160
+
+ Stories about Wolves 163
+
+ Two Highland Dogs 174
+
+ Monkey Tricks and Sally at the Zoo 191
+
+ How the Cayman was killed 194
+
+ The Story of Fido 200
+
+ Beasts Besieged 205
+
+ Mr. Gully 209
+
+ Stories from Pliny 213
+
+ The Strange History of Cagnotte 215
+
+ Still Waters Run Deep; or, the Dancing Dog 219
+
+ Theo and his Horses: Jane, Betsy, and Blanche 225
+
+ Madame Theophile and the Parrot 231
+
+ The Battle of the Mullets and the Dolphins 233
+
+ Monkey Stories 237
+
+ Eccentric Bird Builders 245
+
+ The Ship of the Desert 248
+
+ Hame, hame, hame, where I fain wad be 253
+
+ Nests for Dinner 257
+
+ Fire-eating Djijam 259
+
+ The Story of the Dog Oscar 264
+
+ Dolphins at Play 274
+
+ The Starling of Segringen 278
+
+ Grateful Dogs 280
+
+ Gazelle 282
+
+ Cockatoo Stories 289
+
+ The Otter who was reared by a Cat 292
+
+ Stories about Lions 295
+
+ Builders and Weavers 307
+
+ More Faithful than Favoured 310
+
+ Dolphins, Turtles, and Cod 316
+
+ More about Elephants 321
+
+ Bungey 329
+
+ Lions and their Ways 333
+
+ The History of Jacko I. 338
+
+ Signora and Lori 348
+
+ Of the Linnet, Popinjay, or Parrot, and other Birds
+ that can Speak 351
+
+ Patch and the Chickens 354
+
+ The Fierce Falcon 356
+
+ Mr. Bolt, the Scotch Terrier 360
+
+ A Raven's Funeral 364
+
+ A Strange Tiger 368
+
+ Halcyons and their Biographers 373
+
+ The Story of a Frog 375
+
+ The Woodpecker Tapping on the Hollow Oak Tree 384
+
+ Dogs Over the Water 387
+
+ The Capocier and his Mate 394
+
+ Owls and Marmots 396
+
+ Eagles' Nests 399
+
+
+
+
+_LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_
+
+
+ PAGE
+ Tom is invited to the Ball 3
+
+ 'The Minuet was Tom's greatest Triumph' 9
+
+ Tom discovered in the Box 12
+
+ 'They at last all took hold of his Tail' 16
+
+ Terror of the Orang-outang at Sai 17
+
+ Sai has to take a Pill 21
+
+ The Cats no match for the Buzzard 27
+
+ The Buzzard carries off Hat and Wig 28
+
+ 'Seeing such a number of Rats, he left his Horses
+ and ran for his Life' 37
+
+ The Rats in the Larder 41
+
+ The Baron kills the Snake 44
+
+ The Baron slays the Horned Snake 46
+
+ How the Indians make the Horned Snake disgorge his
+ Dinner 48
+
+ The Elephant helps the Gardener 53
+
+ De Narsac recognises his Friend's Dog 57
+
+ The Dog flies at Macaire in the presence of the King 61
+
+ The Baron kills the Bear 75
+
+ The Grizzly 79
+
+ Androcles in the Lion's Cave 93
+
+ Androcles in the Arena 97
+
+ 'Monsieur Dumas, may I accommodate you with my
+ Monkey and my Parrot?' 107
+
+ The Auvergnat and his Monkey 111
+
+ The Last of the Laidmanoirs and Mademoiselle
+ Desgarcins 120
+
+ Dumas arrives at Stora with his Vulture 127
+
+ 'It's a regular Kennel' 131
+
+ Jugurtha becomes Diogenes 135
+
+ Pritchard and the Hens 142
+
+ 'Pritchard reappeared next moment with a Hare
+ in his Mouth' 145
+
+ Cartouche outwits Pyramus 156
+
+ Mademoiselle de Laistre and her Weasel 161
+
+ 'When Day broke' 166
+
+ The Death of the Famous Wolf of Gevaudan 171
+
+ 'The Long Vigil' 187
+
+ The Capture of the Cayman 197
+
+ The Wounding of Fido 201
+
+ The Dream of the Hungry Lion 207
+
+ Cagnotte comes out of his Skin 217
+
+ 'And what do you Think she Saw' 221
+
+ Blanche telling Ghost Stories to Jane in the Stable 227
+
+ How the Dolphins helped the Fishermen to catch
+ the Mullets 234
+
+ Two Oran Otans 238
+
+ The Baboons who stole the Poor Man's Dinner 241
+
+ Birds' Nests for Dinner 258
+
+ 'In the full enjoyment of a large lighted Log
+ on the Dining-room Carpet' 261
+
+ 'Oscar would charge and rout them' 265
+
+ 'Oscar felt rather Frightened' 269
+
+ 'Oh, Oscar, Oscar, lad what _have_ you Done?' 271
+
+ The Boy goes to School on the Dolphin's back 275
+
+ Dumas finds Joseph standing on Gazelle's back 284
+
+ Dumas brings Gazelle to No. 109 Faubourg St.-Denis 288
+
+ The Lion caught in the Pit 297
+
+ The Ambush 300
+
+ 'All Three stopped to gaze at the Man who dared to
+ put himself in their Path' 303
+
+ 'And pinned Him to the Ground' 314
+
+ 'Long, Long Ago.' The Elephant dreams of his Old
+ Companions 323
+
+ The Elephant falls on his knees before the little
+ Scotch Terrier 327
+
+ Bungey at the Spanish Ambassador's House 331
+
+ The Hottentot noticed a huge Lion lying in the Water 335
+
+ Annoyance of the Captain on finding his Flask of
+ Rum upset 339
+
+ Lori refuses to Share with the Signora 349
+
+ A Raven's Funeral 365
+
+ The Tiger and his Friend 369
+
+ Love's disgraceful Behaviour out Shooting 377
+
+ The Sole Result of his Day's Sport 380
+
+ Mademoiselle Camargo becomes a Barometer 381
+
+ The Faithful Spaniel 389
+
+
+
+
+_'TOM'_
+
+_AN ADVENTURE IN THE LIFE OF A BEAR IN PARIS_
+
+From Alexandre Dumas.
+
+
+Some sixty years ago and more, a well-known artist named Decamps lived
+in Paris. He was the intimate friend of some of the first authors,
+artists, and scientific men of the day, and was devotedly fond of
+animals of all sorts. He loved to paint them, and he kept quite a
+small menagerie in his studio where a bear, a monkey, a tortoise, and
+a frog lived (more or less) in peace and harmony together.
+
+The bear's name was 'Tom,' the monkey was called 'Jacko I.,'[1] the
+frog was 'Mademoiselle Camargo,' and the tortoise 'Gazelle.'
+
+ [1] To distinguish him from Jacko II., a monkey belonging to Tony
+ Johannot, the painter.
+
+Here follows the story of Tom, the bear.
+
+It was the night of Shrove Tuesday in the year 1832. Tom had as yet
+only spent six months in Paris, but he was really one of the most
+attractive bears you could wish to meet.
+
+He ran to open the door when the bell rang, he mounted guard for hours
+together, halberd in hand, standing on his hind legs, and he danced a
+minuet with infinite grace, holding a broomstick behind his head.
+
+He had spent the whole day in the exercise of these varied
+accomplishments, to the great delight of the frequenters of his
+master's studio, and had just retired to the press which did duty as
+his hutch, to seek a little repose, when there was a knock at the
+street door. Jacko instantly showed such signs of joy that Decamps
+made a shrewd guess that the visitor could be no other than Fan, the
+self-elected tutor in chief to the two animals--nor was he mistaken.
+The door opened, Fan appeared, dressed as a clown, and Jacko flung
+himself in rapture into his arms.
+
+'Very good, very good,' said Fan, placing the monkey on the table and
+handing him a cane. 'You're really a charming creature. Carry arms,
+present arms, make ready, fire! Capital!'
+
+'I'll have a complete uniform made for you, and you shall mount guard
+instead of me. But I haven't come for you to-night; it's your friend
+Tom I want. Where may he be?'
+
+'Why, in his hutch, I suppose,' said Decamps.
+
+'Tom! here, Tom!' cried Fan.
+
+Tom gave a low growl, just to show that he knew very well who they
+were talking of, but that he was in no hurry to show himself.
+
+'Well!' exclaimed Fan, 'is this how my orders are obeyed? Tom, my
+friend, don't force me to resort to extreme measures.'
+
+Tom stretched one great paw beyond the cupboard without allowing any
+more of his person to be seen, and began to yawn plaintively like a
+child just wakened from its first sleep.
+
+'Where is the broomstick?' inquired Fan in threatening tones, and
+rattling the collection of Indian bows, arrows, and spears which stood
+behind the door.
+
+'Ready!' cried Decamps, pointing to Tom, who, on hearing these well
+known sounds, had roused himself without more ado, and advanced
+towards his tutor with a perfectly innocent and unconscious air.
+
+'That's right,' said Fan: 'now be a good fellow, particularly as one
+has come all this way on purpose to fetch you.'
+
+ [Illustration: TOM IS INVITED TO THE BALL]
+
+Tom waved his head up and down.
+
+'So, so--now shake hands with your friends:--first rate!'
+
+'Do you mean to take him with you?' asked Decamps.
+
+'Rather!' replied Fan; 'and give him a good time into the bargain.'
+
+'And where are you going?'
+
+'To the Carnival Masked Ball, nothing less! Now then Tom, my friend,
+come along. We've got a cab outside waiting by the hour.'
+
+As though fully appreciating the force of this argument, Tom trundled
+down stairs four steps at a time followed by his friend. The driver
+opened the cab door, and Tom, under Fan's guidance, stepped in as if
+he had done nothing else all his life.
+
+'My eye! that's a queer sort of a fancy dress,' said cabby; 'anyone
+might take him for a real bear. Where to, gentlemen?'
+
+'Odeon Theatre,' said Fan.
+
+'Grrrooonnn,' observed Tom.
+
+'All right,' said the cabman. 'Keep your temper. It's a good step from
+here, but we shall get there all in good time.'
+
+Half an hour later the cab drew up at the door of the theatre. Fan got
+down first, paid the driver, handed out Tom, took two tickets, and
+passed in without exciting any special attention.
+
+At the second turn they made round the crush-room people began to
+follow Fan. The perfection with which the newcomer imitated the walk
+and movements of the animal whose skin he wore attracted the notice of
+some lovers of natural history. They pressed closer and closer, and
+anxious to find out whether he was equally clever in imitating the
+bear's voice, they began to pull his hairs and prick his
+ears--'Grrrooonnn,' said Tom.
+
+A murmur of admiration ran through the crowd--nothing could be more
+lifelike.
+
+Fan led Tom to the buffet and offered him some little cakes, to which
+he was very partial, and which he proceeded to swallow with so
+admirable a pretence of voracity that the bystanders burst out
+laughing. Then the mentor poured out a tumbler full of water, which
+Tom took gingerly between his paws, as he was accustomed to whenever
+Decamps did him the honour of permitting him to appear at table, and
+gulped down the contents at one draught. Enthusiasm knew no bounds!
+Indeed such was the delight and interest shown that when, at length,
+Fan wished to leave the buffet, he found they were hemmed in by so
+dense a crowd that he felt nervous lest Tom should think of clearing
+the road with claws and teeth. So he promptly led his bear to a
+corner, placed him with his back against the wall, and told him to
+stay there till further orders.
+
+As has been already mentioned, this kind of drill was quite familiar
+to Tom, and was well suited to his natural indolence, and when a
+harlequin offered his hat to complete the picture, he settled himself
+comfortably, gravely laying one great paw on his wooden gun.
+
+'Do you happen to know,' said Fan to the obliging harlequin, '_who_
+you have lent your hat to?'
+
+'No,' replied harlequin.
+
+'You mean to say you don't guess?'
+
+'Not in the least.'
+
+'Come, take a good look at him. From the grace of all his movements,
+from the manner in which he carries his head, slightly on one side,
+like Alexander the Great--from the admirable imitations of the bear's
+voice--you don't mean to say you don't recognise him?'
+
+'Upon my word I don't.'
+
+'Odry!'[2] whispered Fan mysteriously; 'Odry, in his costume from "The
+Bear and the Pacha"!'
+
+ [2] A well-known actor of the time.
+
+'Oh, but he acts a _white_ bear, you know.'
+
+'Just so; that's why he has chosen a brown bear's skin as a disguise.'
+
+'Ho, ho! You're a good one,' cried harlequin.
+
+'Grrooonnn,' observed Tom.
+
+'Well, now you mention it, I _do_ recognise his voice. Really, I
+wonder it had not struck me before. Do ask him to disguise it better.'
+
+'Yes, yes,' said Fan, moving towards the ball-room, 'but it will never
+do to worry him. However, I'll try to persuade him to dance a minuet
+presently.'
+
+'Oh, could you really?'
+
+'He promised to do so. Just give a hint to your friends and try to
+prevent their teasing him.'
+
+'All right.'
+
+Tom made his way through the crowd, whilst the delighted harlequin
+moved from one mask to another, telling his news with warnings to be
+discreet, which were well received. Just then, too, the sounds of a
+lively galop were heard, and a general rush to the ball-room took
+place, harlequin only pausing to murmur in Tom's ear: 'I know you, my
+fine mask.'
+
+'Grroooonnn,' replied Tom.
+
+'Ah, it's all very well to growl, but you'll dance a minuet, won't
+you, old fellow?'
+
+Tom waved his head up and down as his way was when anyone asked him a
+question, and harlequin, satisfied with this silent consent, ran off
+to find a columbine and to dance the galop.
+
+Meanwhile, Tom remained alone with the waiters; motionless at his
+post, but with longing eyes turned towards the counter on which the
+most tempting piles of cake were heaped on numerous dishes. The
+waiters, remarking his rapt attention, and pleased to tempt a
+customer, stretched out a dish, Tom extended his paw and gingerly took
+a cake--then a second--then a third: the waiters seemed never tired of
+offering, or Tom of accepting these delicacies, and so, when the
+galop ended and the dancers returned to the crush-room, he had made
+short work of some dozens of little cakes.
+
+Harlequin had recruited a columbine and a shepherdess, and he
+introduced these ladies as partners for the promised minuet. With all
+the air of an old friend he whispered a few words to Tom, who, in the
+best of humours after so many cakes, replied with his most gracious
+growl. The harlequin, turning towards the gallery, announced that his
+lordship had much pleasure in complying with the universal request,
+and amidst loud applause, the shepherdess took one of Tom's paws and
+the columbine the other. Tom, for his part, like an accomplished
+cavalier, walked between his two partners, glancing at them by turns
+with looks of some surprise, and soon found himself with them in the
+middle of the pit of the theatre which was used as a ball-room. All
+took their places, some in the boxes, others in the galleries, the
+greater number forming a circle round the dancers. The band struck up.
+
+The minuet was Tom's greatest triumph and Fan's masterpiece, and with
+the very first steps success was assured and went on increasing with
+each movement, till at the last figure the applause became delirious.
+Tom was swept off in triumph to a stage box where the shepherdess,
+removing her wreath of roses, crowned him with it, whilst the whole
+theatre resounded with the applause of the spectators.
+
+Tom leant over the front of the box with a grace all his own; at the
+same time the strains of a fresh dance were heard, and everyone
+hurried to secure partners except a few courtiers of the new star who
+hovered round in hope of extracting an order for the play from him,
+but Tom only replied to their broadest hints with his perpetual
+'Grroonnn.'
+
+By degrees this became rather monotonous, and gradually Tom's court
+dwindled away, people murmuring that, though his dancing powers were
+certainly unrivalled, his conversation was a trifle insipid. An hour
+later Tom was alone! So fleeting is public favour.
+
+ [Illustration: 'THE MINUET WAS TOM'S GREATEST TRIUMPH']
+
+And now the hour of departure drew near. The pit was thinning and the
+boxes empty, and pale rays of morning light were glinting into the
+hall when the box-opener, who was going her rounds, heard sounds of
+snoring proceeding from one of the stage boxes. She opened the door,
+and there was Tom, who, tired out after his eventful night, had fallen
+fast asleep on the floor. The box-opener stepped in and politely
+hinted that it was six o'clock and time to go home.
+
+'Grrooonnn,' said Tom.
+
+'I hear you,' said the box-opener; 'you're asleep, my good man, but
+you'll sleep better still in your own bed. Come, come, your wife must
+be getting quite anxious! Upon my word I don't believe he hears a word
+I say. How heavily he sleeps!' And she shook him by the shoulder.
+
+'Grrrooonnn!'
+
+'All right, all right! This isn't a time to make believe. Besides, we
+all know you. There now, they're putting out the lights. Shall I send
+for a cab for you?'
+
+'Grrroooonnn.'
+
+'Come, come, the Odeon Theatre isn't an inn; come, be off! Oh,
+_that's_ what you're after, is it? Fie, Monsieur Odry, fie! I shall
+call the guard; the inspector hasn't gone to bed yet. Ah, indeed! You
+won't obey rules! You are trying to beat me, are you? You would beat a
+woman--and a former artiste to M. Odry, would you? For shame! But we
+shall see. Here, help--police--inspector--help!'
+
+'What's the matter?' cried the fireman on duty.
+
+'Help!' screamed the box-opener, 'help!'
+
+'What's the matter?' asked the sergeant commanding the patrol.
+
+'Oh, it's old mother what's her name, shrieking for help in one of the
+stage boxes.'
+
+'Coming!' shouted the sergeant.
+
+'This way, Mr. Sergeant, this way,' cried the box-opener.
+
+'All right, my dear, here I am. But where are you?'
+
+'Don't be afraid; there are no steps--straight on this way--he's in
+the corner. Oh, the rascal, he's as strong as a Turk!'
+
+'Grrrooonnn,' said Tom.
+
+'There, do you hear him? Is that to be called a Christian language?'
+
+'Come, come, my friend,' said the sergeant, who had at last managed to
+distinguish Tom in the faint twilight. 'We all know what it is to be
+young--no one likes a joke better than I do--but rules are rules, and
+the hour for going home has struck, so right about face, march! and
+quick step too.'
+
+'Grrrooonnn'--
+
+'Very pretty; a first-rate imitation. But suppose we try something
+else now for a change. Come, old fellow, step out with a good will.
+Ah! you won't. You're going to cut up rough, are you? Here, my man,
+lay hold and turn him out.'
+
+'He won't walk, sergeant.'
+
+'Well, what are the butt ends of your muskets for? Come, a tap or two
+will do no harm.'
+
+'Grrrooonnn--Grrrooonnn--Grrrooonnn--'
+
+'Go on, give it him well!'
+
+'I say, sergeant,' said one of the men, 'it strikes me he's a _real_
+bear. I caught hold of him by the collar just now, and the skin seems
+to grow on the flesh.'
+
+'Oh, if he's a real bear treat him with every consideration. His owner
+might claim damages. Go and fetch the fireman's lantern.'
+
+'Grrrooonnn.'
+
+'Here's the lantern,' said a man; 'now then, throw some light on the
+prisoner.'
+
+The soldier obeyed.
+
+'It is certainly a real snout,' declared the sergeant.
+
+'Goodness gracious me!' shrieked the box-opener as she took to her
+heels, 'a real live bear!'
+
+'Well, yes, a real live bear. Let's see if he has any name or address
+on him and take him home. I expect he has strayed, and being of a
+sociable disposition, came in to the Masked Ball.'
+
+'Grrrooonnn.'
+
+'There, you see, he agrees.'
+
+'Hallo!' exclaimed one of the soldiers.
+
+'What's the matter?'
+
+ [Illustration: TOM DISCOVERED IN THE BOX]
+
+'He has a little bag hung round his neck.'
+
+'Open the bag.'
+
+'A card.'
+
+'Read the card.'
+
+The soldier took it and read:
+
+'My name is Tom. I live at No. 109 Rue Faubourg St.-Denis. I have
+five francs in my purse. Two for a cab, and three for whoever takes me
+home.'
+
+'True enough; there are the five francs,' cried the sergeant. 'Now
+then, two volunteers for escort duty.'
+
+'Here!' cried the guard in chorus.
+
+'Don't all speak at once! Let the two seniors have the benefit of the
+job; off with you, my lads.'
+
+Two of the municipal guards advanced towards Tom, slipped a rope round
+his neck and, for precaution's sake, gave it a twist or two round his
+snout. Tom offered no resistance--the butt ends of the muskets had
+made him as supple as a glove. When they were fifty yards from the
+theatre, 'Bah!' said one of the soldiers, ''tis a fine morning.
+Suppose we don't take a cab. The walk will do him good.'
+
+'Besides,' remarked the other, 'we should each have two and a half
+francs instead of only one and a half.'
+
+'Agreed.'
+
+Half an hour later they stood at the door of 109. After some knocking,
+a very sleepy portress looked out.
+
+'Look here, Mother Wideawake,' said one of the guard; 'here's one of
+your lodgers. Do you recognise him?'
+
+'Why, I should rather think so. It's Monsieur Decamps' bear!'
+
+The same day, Odry the actor received a bill for little cakes,
+amounting to seven francs and a half.
+
+
+
+
+_SAI THE PANTHER_
+
+From Loudon's _Magazine of Natural History_.
+
+
+About seventy or eighty years ago two little panthers were deserted by
+their mother in one of the forests of Ashantee. They were too young to
+get food for themselves, and would probably have died had they not
+been found by a passing traveller, and by him taken to the palace as a
+present to the king. Here they lived and played happily for several
+weeks, when one day the elder and larger, whose name was Sai, gave his
+brother, in fun, such a dreadful squeeze that, without meaning it, he
+suffocated him. This frightened the king, who did not care to keep
+such a powerful pet about him, and he gave him away to Mr. Hutchison,
+an English gentleman, who was a sort of governor for the English
+traders settled in that part of Africa.
+
+Mr. Hutchison and Sai took a great fancy to each other, and spent a
+great deal of time together, and when, a few months later, Mr.
+Hutchison returned to Cape Coast he brought Sai with him. The two
+friends always had dinner at the same time, Sai sitting at his
+master's side and eating quietly whatever was given him. In general he
+was quite content with his portion, but once or twice, when he was
+hungrier than usual, he managed to steal a fowl out of the dish. For
+the sake of his manners the fowl was always taken from him, although
+he was invariably given some other food to satisfy his hunger.
+
+At first the inhabitants of the castle and the children were much
+afraid of him, but he soon became very tame, and his teeth and claws
+were filed so that he should not hurt anyone, even in play. When he
+got a little accustomed to the place, he was allowed to go where he
+liked within the castle grounds, and a boy was told off to look after
+him. Sometimes the boy would go to sleep when he ought to have been
+watching his charge, and then Sai, who knew perfectly well that this
+was not at all right, would steal quietly away and amuse himself till
+he thought his keeper would be awake again. One day, when he returned
+from his wanderings, he found the boy, as usual, comfortably curled up
+in a cool corner of the doorstep sound asleep. Sai looked at him for a
+moment, and then, thinking that it was full time for him to be taught
+his duty, he gave him one pat on his head, which sent the boy over
+like a ninepin and gave him a good fright, though it did not do him
+any harm.
+
+Sai was very popular with everybody, but he had his own favourites,
+and the chief of these was the governor, whom he could not bear to let
+out of his sight. When his master went out he would station himself at
+the drawing-room window, where he could watch all that was going on,
+and catch the first sight of his returning friend. Being by this time
+nearly grown up, Sai's great body took up all the space, to the great
+disgust of the children, who could see nothing. They tried to make him
+move, first by coaxings and then by threats, but as Sai did not pay
+the smallest attention to either one or the other, they at last all
+took hold of his tail and pulled so hard that he was forced to move.
+
+ [Illustration: 'THEY AT LAST ALL TOOK HOLD OF HIS TAIL']
+
+Strange to say, the black people were a great deal more afraid of Sai
+than any of the white ones, and one of his pranks nearly caused the
+death of an old woman who was the object of it. It was her business to
+sweep out and keep clean the great hall of the castle, and one morning
+she was crouching down on all fours with a short broom in her hand,
+thinking of nothing but how to get the dust out of the floor, when
+Sai, who had hidden himself under a sofa, and was biding his time,
+suddenly sprang on to her back, where he stood triumphantly. The old
+woman believed her last hour had come, and the other servants all ran
+away shrieking, lest it should be their turn next. Sai would not
+budge from his position till the governor, who had been alarmed by the
+terrible noise, came to see what was the matter, and soon made Master
+Sai behave himself.
+
+ [Illustration: TERROR OF THE ORANG-OUTANG AT SAI]
+
+At this time it was settled that Sai was to travel to England under
+the care of one of his Cape Coast friends and be presented to the
+Duchess of York, who was very fond of animals. In those days, of
+course, journeys took much longer than they do now, and there were
+other dangers than any which might arise from storms and tempests.
+While the strong cage of wood and iron was being built which was to
+form Sai's house on the way to England, his lady keeper thought it
+would be a good opportunity to make friends with him, and used to
+spend part of every day talking to him and playing with him; for this,
+as everyone knows, is the only way to gain the affection of bird or
+beast. It was very easy to love Sai; he was so gentle and caressing,
+especially with children; and he was very handsome besides in his
+silky yellow coat with black spots, which, as the French say, does not
+spoil anything. Many creatures and many men might have made a great
+fuss at being shut into a cage instead of being allowed to walk about
+their own house and grounds, but everyone had always been kind to Sai,
+so he took for granted it was all right, and made himself as
+comfortable as he could, and was quite prepared to submit to anything
+disagreeable that he thought reasonable. But it very nearly happened
+that poor Sai had no voyage at all, for while he was being hauled from
+the canoe which had brought him from the shore into the ship, the men
+were so afraid to come near him that they let his cage fall into the
+sea, and if the sailors from the vessel had not been very quick in
+lowering a boat it would have been too late to save him. As it was,
+for many days he would not look up or eat or speak, and his friend was
+quite unhappy about him, although the same symptoms have sometimes
+been shown by human beings who have only been _on_ the sea instead of
+_in_ it. At last he was roused from his sad condition by hearing the
+lady's voice. He raised his head and cocked his ears, first a little,
+then more; and when she came up to the cage he rolled over and over
+with delight, and howled and cried and tried to reach her. When he got
+a little calmer she told him to put his paws through the bars and
+shake hands, and from that moment Sai was himself again.
+
+Now it was a very strange taste on the part of a panther whose fathers
+and grandfathers had lived and died in the heart of African forests,
+but Sai loved nothing so much as lavender water, which white people
+use a great deal in hot countries. If anyone took out a handkerchief
+which had been sprinkled with lavender water, Sai would instantly
+snatch it away, and in his delight would handle it so roughly that it
+was soon torn to atoms. His friend in charge knew of this odd fancy,
+and on the voyage she amused herself regularly twice a week with
+making a little cup of paper, which she filled with the scent and
+passed through the bars, taking care never to give it him till he had
+drawn back his claws into their sheaths. Directly he got hold of the
+cup Sai would roll over and over it, and would pay no attention to
+anyone as long as the smell lasted. It almost seemed as if he liked it
+better than his food!
+
+For some reason or other the vessel lay at anchor for nearly two
+months in the river Gaboon, and Sai might have been allowed to leave
+his cage if he had not been an animal of such very strong prejudices.
+Black people he could not endure, and, of course, they came daily in
+swarms with food for the ship. Pigs, too, he hated, and they ran
+constantly past his cage, while as for an orang-outang monkey about
+three feet high, which a black trader once tried to sell to the
+sailors, Sai showed such mad symptoms at the very sight of it that the
+poor beast rushed in terror to the other end of the vessel, knocking
+down everything that came in its way. If the monkey took some time
+to recover from his fright, it was very long before Sai could
+forget the shock he had received. Day and night he watched and
+listened, and sometimes, when he fancied his enemy was near, he would
+give a low growl and arch his back and set up his tail; yet, as far as
+we know, he had never from his babyhood killed anything.
+
+ [Illustration: SAI HAS TO TAKE A PILL]
+
+But when at last the winds were favourable, and the ship set sail for
+the open sea, other adventures were in store for the passengers.
+Pirates infested the coast of Africa in those days, and they came on
+board and carried off everything of value, including the stores of
+provisions. The only things they did not think worth removing were the
+parrots, of which three hundred had been brought by the sailors, and
+as these birds could not stand the cold, and died off fast as the ship
+steered north, Sai was allowed one a day, which just managed to keep
+him alive. Still, there is very little nourishment to be got out of a
+parrot, especially when you eat it with the feathers on, and Sai soon
+became very ill and did not care even for parrots. His keeper felt his
+nose and found it dry and feverish, so she begged that she might take
+him out of his cage and doctor him herself. A little while before, Sai
+would have been enchanted to be free, but now he was too ill to enjoy
+anything, and he just stretched himself out on deck, with his head on
+his mistress's feet. Luckily she had some fever medicine with her,
+good for panthers as well as men and women, and she made up three
+large pills which she hoped might cure Sai. Of course it was not to be
+expected that he would take them of his own free will, so she got the
+boy who looked after him to hold open his mouth, while she pushed down
+the pills. Then he was put back into his cage, the boy insisting on
+going with him, and both slept comfortably together. In a few days,
+with the help of better food than he had been having, he got quite
+well, and on his arrival in England won the admiration of the Duchess
+of York, his new mistress, by his beauty and gentle ways. As his
+country house was not quite ready for him, he was left for a few
+weeks with a man who understood animals, and seemed contented and
+happy, and was allowed to walk about as he liked. Here the Duchess of
+York used constantly to visit him and play with him, even going to see
+him the very day before he--and she--were to move into the country. He
+was in excellent spirits, and appeared perfectly well, but he must
+somehow have taken a chill, for when, on the following day, the
+Duchess's coachman came to fetch him, he found poor Sai had died after
+a few hours' illness from inflammation of the lungs.
+
+After all he is not so much to be pitied. He had had a very happy
+life, with plenty of fun and plenty of kindness, and he had a very
+rapid and painless death.
+
+
+
+
+_THE BUZZARD AND THE PRIEST_
+
+Bingley's _Animal Biography_.
+
+
+About one hundred and forty years ago a French priest received a
+present of a large brown and grey bird, which had been taken in a
+snare intended for some other creature, and was very wild and savage.
+The man who brought it was quite ignorant what kind of bird it was,
+but the priest knew it to be the common buzzard, and made up his mind
+to try to tame it. He began by keeping it shut up, and allowing it to
+take no food except out of his hand, and after about six weeks of this
+treatment it grew much quieter, and had learnt to know its master. The
+priest then thought it would be safe to give the buzzard a little more
+freedom, and after carefully tying its wings, so that it could not fly
+away, he turned it out into the garden. Of course it was highly
+delighted to find itself in the sun once more, and hopped about with
+joy, and the time passed quickly till it began to get hungry, when it
+was glad to hear its master calling it to come in to dinner. Indeed,
+the bird always seemed so fond of the priest, that in a few days he
+thought he might leave it quite free, so he unfastened its wings and
+left them loose, merely hanging a label with his own name round its
+neck, and putting a little bell round its leg. But what was the poor
+man's disgust, to see the buzzard instantly spread out its great wings
+and make for the neighbouring forest, deaf to all his calls! He
+naturally expected that, in spite of his trouble and precautions, the
+bird had flown away for ever, and sat sadly down to prepare his next
+day's sermon. Now sermons are things that take up a great deal of
+attention, and he had almost forgotten his lost favourite when he was
+startled by a tremendous noise in the hall outside his study, and on
+opening the door to see what was the matter, he saw his buzzard
+rushing about, followed by five others, who were so jealous of its
+copper plate and bell, that they had tried to peck them off, and the
+poor thing had flown as fast as it could to its master's house, where
+it knew it was safe.
+
+After this it took care not to wander too far from home, and came back
+every night to sleep on the priest's window sill. Soon it grew bolder
+still, and would sit on the corner of the table when he was at dinner,
+and now and then would rub his head against his shoulder, uttering a
+low cry of affection and pleasure. Sometimes it would even do more,
+and follow him for several miles when he happened to be riding.
+
+But the buzzard was not the only pet the priest had to look after.
+There were ducks, and chickens, and dogs, and four large cats. The
+ducks and chickens it did not mind, at least those that belonged to
+the house, and it would even take its bath at the same time with the
+ducklings, and never trod upon them when they got in its way, or got
+cross and pecked them. And if hawks or any such birds tried to snap up
+the little ones who had left their mother's wing to take a peep at the
+world, the buzzard would instantly fly to their help, and never once
+was beaten in the battle. Curiously enough, however, it seemed to
+think it might do as it liked with the fowls and ducks that belonged
+to other people, and so many were the complaints of cocks and hens
+lamed and killed, that the priest was obliged to let it be known that
+he would pay for all such damage, in order to save his favourite's
+life. As to dogs and cats, it always got the better of _them_; in any
+experiment which it amused the priest to make. One day he threw a
+piece of raw meat into the garden where the cats were collected, to
+be scrambled for. A young and active puss instantly seized it and ran
+away with her prize, with all the other cats after her. But quick as
+she was, the buzzard, who had been watching her movements from the
+bough of a tree, was quicker still. Down it pounced on her back,
+squeezed her sides with its claws, and bit her ears so sharply, that
+she was forced to let go. In one moment another cat had picked the
+morsel up in its teeth, but it did not hold it long. The process that
+had answered for one cat would answer for a second, as the buzzard
+very well knew. Down he swooped again, and even when the whole four
+cats, who saw in him a common enemy, attacked the bird at once, they
+proved no match for him, and in the end they were clever enough to
+find that out.
+
+ [Illustration: THE CATS NO MATCH FOR THE BUZZARD]
+
+It is not easy to know what buzzards in general think about things,
+but this one hated scarlet as much as any bull. Whenever he saw a red
+cap on any of the peasants' heads, he would hide himself among the
+thick boughs overhanging the road where the man had to pass, and would
+nip it off so softly that the peasant never felt his loss. He would
+even manage to take off the wigs which every one wore then, and that
+was cleverer still, and off he would carry both wigs and caps to a
+tall tree in a park near by, and hang them all over it, like a new
+kind of fruit.
+
+ [Illustration: THE BUZZARD CARRIES OFF HAT AND WIG]
+
+As may be imagined, a bird so bold made many enemies, and was often
+shot at by the keepers, but for a long time it appeared to bear a
+charmed life, and nothing did it any harm. However, one unlucky day a
+keeper who was going his rounds in the forest, and who did not know
+what a strange and clever bird this buzzard was, saw him on the back
+of a fox which he had attacked for want of something better to do, and
+fired two shots at them. One shot killed the fox; the other broke the
+wing of the buzzard, but he managed to fly out of reach of the
+keeper, and hid himself. Meanwhile the tinkling of the bell made the
+keeper guess that this must be the priest's pet, of which he had so
+often heard; and being anxious to do what he could to repair the
+damage he had done, he at once told the priest what had happened. The
+priest went out directly to the forest, and gave his usual whistle,
+but neither on that evening nor on several others was there any reply.
+At last on the seventh night he heard a low answer, and on searching
+narrowly all through the wood, the priest found the poor buzzard,
+which had hopped nearly two miles towards its old home, dragging its
+broken wing after it. The bird was very thin, but was enchanted to see
+his old master, who carried him home and nursed him for six weeks,
+when he got quite well, and was able to fly about as boldly as ever.
+
+
+
+
+_COWPER AND HIS HARES_
+
+From Bingley's _British Quadrupeds_.
+
+
+No one was fonder of animals, or kinder to them, than Cowper the poet,
+who lived towards the end of the last century; but of all creatures he
+loved hares best, perhaps because he, like them, was timid and easily
+frightened. He has left a very interesting account of three hares that
+were given to him when he was living in the country in the year 1774,
+and as far as possible the poet shall tell his own story of the
+friendship between himself and his pets--Puss, Tiney, and Bess, as he
+called them.
+
+Cowper was not at all a strong man, and suffered terribly from fits of
+low spirits, and at these times he could not read, and disliked the
+company of people, who teased him by giving him advice or asking him
+questions. It was during one of these seasons of solitude and
+melancholy that he noticed a poor little hare belonging to the
+children of one of his neighbours, who, without meaning really to be
+unkind, had worried the little thing almost to death. Soon they got
+tired even of playing with it, and the poor hare was in danger of
+being starved to death, when their father, whose heart was more tender
+than theirs, proposed that it should be given to their neighbour Mr.
+Cowper.
+
+Now Cowper, besides feeling pity for the poor little creature, felt
+that he should like to teach and train it, and as just then he was too
+unhappy to care for his usual occupations, he gladly accepted the
+present. In a very short time Puss was given two companions, Tiney
+and Bess, and could have had dozens more if Cowper had wanted them,
+for the villagers offered to catch him enough to have filled the whole
+countryside if he would only give the order.
+
+However, Cowper decided that three would be ample for his purposes,
+and as he wished them to learn nice clean habits, he began with his
+own hands to build them a house. The house contained a large hall and
+three bedrooms, each with a separate bed, and it was astonishing how
+soon every hare knew its own bedroom, and how careful he was (for in
+spite of their names they were all males) never to go into those of
+his friends.
+
+Very soon all three made themselves much at home in their comfortable
+quarters, and Puss, the first comer, would jump on his master's lap
+and, standing up on his hind legs, would bite the hair on his temples.
+He enjoyed being carried about like a baby, and would even go to sleep
+in Cowper's arms, which is a very strange thing for a hare to do. Once
+Puss got ill, and then the poet took care to keep him apart from the
+other two, for animals have a horror of their sick companions, and are
+generally very unkind to them. So he nursed Puss himself, and gave him
+all sorts of herbs and grasses as medicine, and at last Puss began to
+get better, and took notice of what was going on round him. When he
+was strong enough to take his first little walk, his pleasure knew no
+bounds; and in token of his gratitude he licked his master's hand,
+first back, then front, and then between every finger. As soon as he
+felt himself quite strong again, he went with the poet every day,
+after breakfast, into the garden, where he lay all the morning under a
+trailing cucumber, sometimes asleep, but every now and then eating a
+leaf or two by way of luncheon. If the poet was ever later than usual
+in leaving the house, Puss would down on his knees and look up into
+his eyes with a pleading expression, or, if these means failed, he
+would seize his master's coat between his teeth, and pull as hard as
+he could towards the window. Puss was, perhaps, the pleasantest of all
+the hares, but Bess, who died young, was the cleverest and most
+amusing. He had his little tempers, and when he was not feeling very
+well, he was glad to be petted and made much of; but no sooner had he
+recovered than he resented any little attentions, and would growl and
+run away or even bite if you attempted to touch him. It was impossible
+really to tame Tiney, but there was something so serious and solemn in
+all he did, that it made you laugh even to watch him.
+
+Bess, the third, was very different from the other two. He did not
+need taming, for he was tame from the beginning, as it never entered
+into his head that anyone could be unkind to him. In many things he
+had the same tastes as his friends. All three loved lettuces,
+dandelions, and oats; and every night little dishes were placed in
+their bedrooms, in case they might feel hungry. One day their master
+was clearing out a birdcage while his three hares were sitting by, and
+he placed on the floor a pot containing some white sand, such as birds
+use instead of a carpet. The moment they saw the sand, they made a
+rush for it and ate it up greedily. Cowper took the hint, and always
+saw, after that, that sand was placed where the hares could get at it.
+
+After supper they all spent the evenings in the parlour, and would
+tumble over together, and jump over each other's backs, and see which
+could spring the farthest, just like a set of kittens. But the
+cleverest of them all was Bess, and he was also the strongest.
+
+Poor Bess! he was the first to die, soon after he was grown up, and
+Tiney and Puss had to get on as best they could without him, which was
+not half as much fun. There was no one now to invent queer games, or
+to keep the cat in order when it tried to take liberties; and no one,
+too, to prevent Tiney from bullying Puss, as he was rather fond of
+doing. Tiney lived to be nine, quite a respectable age for a hare, and
+died at last from the effects of a fall. Puss went on for another
+three years, and showed no signs of decay, except that he was a little
+less playful, which was only to be expected. His last act was to make
+friends with a dog called Marquis, to whom he was introduced by his
+master; and though the spaniel could not take the place of Puss's
+early companions, he was better than nobody, and the two got on quite
+happily together, till the sad day (March 9, 1796) when Puss stretched
+himself at his master's feet and died peacefully and without pain,
+aged eleven years and eleven months.
+
+
+
+
+_A RAT TALE_
+
+
+Huggy was an old rat when he died--very old indeed. He was born in the
+middle of a corn-rick, and there he might have lived his little life
+had not the farmer who owned the rick caused it to be pulled down.
+That was Huggy's first experience of flitting, and it was done in such
+a hurry that he had hardly time to be sorry. It was pitch dark when
+his mother shook him up roughly and told him to 'come along, or he
+would be killed by the farmer,' and poor Huggy, blinking his sleepy
+eyes, struggled out of his snug little bed into the cold black night.
+
+Several old rats met him at the entrance, and sternly bade him stay
+where he was and make no noise, for the leader was about to speak.
+Huggy was wide-awake by this time. The rat spirit of adventure was
+roused within him by the scent of coming danger, and eagerly he
+listened to the shrill, clear voice of the leader:
+
+'Friends, old and young, this is not a time for many words, but I want
+you all to know the cause of this sudden disturbance. Last night I was
+scavenging round the farmer's kitchen, seeking what I might devour,
+when in came the stable-boy tapping an empty corn-sieve which he had
+in his hand. He said a few words to the farmer, who rose hastily, and
+together they left the kitchen, I following at a convenient distance.
+They went straight to the stable, and talked for some time with their
+backs to the corn-bin, which was standing open in the window. After a
+while I managed to scramble up and peer into it, only to confirm what
+I dreaded most--the corn-bin was empty! To-morrow they will pull down
+this rick, thresh the corn, and replenish the empty bin. So, my
+friends, unless we mean to die by dog, stick, or fork, we had better
+be off as soon as it is daylight.'
+
+There was a shuffle of feet all round, and a general rush of anxious
+mothers into the rick to fetch out their young. Huggy was waiting at
+the entrance; so, as soon as he caught sight of his mother, he raced
+off with her to join the fast-assembling crowd at the back of the
+rick. The leader ranged them in lines of ten abreast, and, after
+walking up and down to see that all were in their places, he gave a
+shrill squeak, and the column started. They marched steadily for about
+two miles--slowly, of course, because of the young ones. Nothing
+proved an obstacle to them. Sometimes a high wall crossed their path,
+but they merely ran up one side and down the other, as if it was level
+road. Sometimes it was a broad river which confronted them, but that
+they swam without hesitation--rats will not stop at such trifles.
+
+At length they came to a field where a man with a pair of horses was
+ploughing. His coat, in which his dinner was wrapt, lay on the wall
+some little distance from him. Seeing such a number of rats, he left
+his horses and ran for his life, and hid behind a knoll, whence he
+could view the proceedings without himself being seen. To his great
+disgust, he saw the creatures first crowd round his coat, then run
+over it, and finally eat out of his pocket the bread and cheese his
+wife had provided for his dinner!
+
+That was a stroke of luck for the rats. They had not counted on so
+early a breakfast; so it was with lightsome hearts they performed the
+rest of their journey.
+
+Huggy was very glad when it was over. He had never been so far in his
+life--he was only three weeks old. Their new home proved to be a
+cellar, which communicated on one side with sundry pipes running
+straight to the kitchen, and on the other with a large ventilator
+opening to the outside air. A paradise for rats! and as to the
+inhabitants of the house--we shall see.
+
+It was early in the afternoon when they arrived, so they had plenty of
+time to settle down before night. Huggy, having selected his corner,
+left his mother to make it comfortable for him, and scampered off for
+'a poke round,' as he called it. First he went to the kitchen, peeped
+up through a hole in the floor, and, seeing no one about, cautiously
+crept out and sniffed into all the cupboards. As he was emerging from
+the last he beheld a sight which made his little heart turn sick.
+There, in a corner which Huggy had not noticed before, lay a huge dog
+half asleep! And so great was Huggy's fright that he squeaked, very
+faintly indeed, yet loud enough to set Master Dog upon his feet. Next
+minute they were both tearing across the kitchen. Huggy was a wee bit
+in front, but so little that he could feel the dog's hot breath behind
+him. There was the hole--bump--scrabble, scrabble--Huggy was safe!
+Safe! yes--but oh, so frightened!--and what made him smart so
+dreadfully? Why, his tail ... was gone--bitten off by the dog! Ah,
+Huggy, my poor little rat, if it had not been for that foolish little
+squeak of fright you might have been as other rats are--but now! Huggy
+almost squeaked again, it was so very sad--and painful. Slowly he
+crept back to the cellar, where he had to endure the jeers of his
+young companions and the good advice of his elders.
+
+ [Illustration: 'SEEING SUCH A NUMBER OF RATS, HE LEFT HIS HORSES AND
+ RAN FOR HIS LIFE']
+
+It was some weeks before Huggy fully recovered himself, and more weeks
+still before he could screw up his courage to appear among his
+companions as the 'tailless rat;' but at long and at last he did crawl
+out, and, because he looked so shy and frightened, the other rats were
+merciful, and let him alone. The old rat, too--the leader--took a
+great fancy to him, and used to allow Huggy to accompany him on his
+various exploits, which was considered a great privilege among the
+older rats, and Huggy was very proud of it. One night he and the
+leader were out together, when their walk happened to take them (as it
+generally did) round by the pantry. As a matter of course, they went
+in, and had a good meal off a loaf which the careless table-maid had
+left standing on the shelf. Beside the loaf was a box of matches, and
+Huggy could not be happy till he had found out what was inside. First
+he gnawed the box a little, then he dragged it up and down, then he
+gnawed a little more, and, finding it was not very good to eat, he
+began to play with it. Suddenly, without any warning, there was a
+splutter and a flare. Huggy and the leader were outside in a
+twinkling, leaving the pantry in a blaze. Luckily no great damage was
+done, for the flames were seen and put out in time.
+
+So, little by little, Huggy was led on. In vain did his mother plead
+with him to be careful. He was 'a big rat now, and could look after
+himself,' he said. The following week the leader organised a party to
+invade the hen-house. Of course Huggy was among the number chosen. It
+required no little skill to creep noiselessly up the broken ladder,
+visiting the various nests ranged along each side of the walls; for
+laying hens are nervous ladies, and, if startled, make enough noise to
+waken a town. But the leader had selected his party well, and not a
+sound was made till the proper time came. Once up the ladder, each rat
+took it in turn to slip in behind the hen, and gently roll one egg at
+a time from under her. The poor birds rarely resisted; experience had
+taught them long since the futility of such conduct. It was the young
+and ignorant fowls who gave all the trouble; they fluttered about in a
+fright and disturbed the whole house. But the rats knew pretty well
+which to go to; so they worked on without interruption. When they had
+collected about a dozen eggs, the next move was to take them safely
+down the ladder into the cellar. This was very soon done. Huggy lay
+down on his back, nestled an egg cosily between himself and his two
+front paws; a feather was put through his mouth, by which means a rat
+on either side dragged him along. Huggy found it rather rough on his
+back going down the ladder, but, with a good supper in view, he could
+bear most things. The eggs having been brought thus to the level of
+the ground, the rats dragged them in the same way slowly and carefully
+down to the cellar.
+
+So time went on. Night after night parties of rats went out, and each
+morning they returned with tales of adventure and cunning--all more or
+less daring. But the leader was getting old. Huggy had noticed for
+some time how grey and feeble he was becoming; nor was he much
+surprised when, one day, the leader told him that he (Huggy) would
+have to take his place as leader of the rats. Two days after this the
+old rat died, leaving Huggy to succeed him; and a fine lot of scrapes
+did that rat and his followers get into.
+
+The larder was their favourite haunt, where joints of meat were hung
+on hooks 'quite out o' reach o' them rats,' as the cook said. But
+Huggy thought differently, and in a trice ten large rats had run up
+the wall and down the hook, and were gobbling the meat as fast as they
+could. But there was one hook in the centre of the ceiling which Huggy
+could not reach; from this hook a nice fat duck was suspended by a
+string. 'If only I could get on to that hook I should gnaw the string,
+and the duck would fall, and----'
+
+Huggy got no further. An idea had come to him which he communicated
+quickly to the others. The plan seemed to be appreciated, for they all
+ran to an old chair, which was standing just under this difficult
+centre hook. The strongest rat went first, climbed up the back of the
+chair, and balanced himself on the top; Number 2 followed, and
+carefully balanced on Number 1; Number 1 then squeaked, which meant he
+could bear no more. It was a pity he could not stand _one_ more; for,
+as they were, the topmost rat could just reach the prize, and though
+he nibbled all round as far as he could, it was not what might be
+called 'a square meal.' The cook was indeed amazed when, next morning,
+she found only three-fourths of her precious duck remaining. 'Ah!' she
+said, 'I'll be even with you yet, you cunning beasts!' And that night
+she sliced up part of a duck with some cheese, and put it in a plate
+on the larder floor. At his usual hour, when all was dark and quiet,
+Huggy and his followers arrived, and, seeing their much-coveted prize
+under their very noses, were cautious. But Huggy was up to the trick.
+'To-night and to-morrow night you may eat it,' he said, 'but beware of
+the third.' So they partook of the duck, and enjoyed it that night and
+the next, but the third the dish was left untouched.
+
+ [Illustration: {THE RATS IN THE LARDER}]
+
+The cook was up betimes that morning, so that she might bury the
+corpses before breakfast. Her dog (the same who had robbed Huggy of
+his tail), according to his custom, followed her into the larder. On
+seeing the plate just as she had left it the night before, the cook,
+in her astonishment, forgot the dog, who, finding no one gainsay him,
+licked the dish with infinite relish. Poor dog! In spite of all
+efforts to save him he died ten minutes afterwards; and the cook
+learnt her lesson also, for she never tried poisoning rats again.
+
+Here end the chief events of Huggy's life--all, at least, that are
+worth recording.
+
+Some years after the death of the dog I was sitting in the gloaming
+close to a steep path which led from the cellar down to the river,
+when what should I see but three large rats coming slowly towards me.
+The middle one was the largest, and evidently blind, for he had in his
+mouth a long straw, by which the other two led him carefully down the
+path. As the trio passed I recognised the centre one to be Huggy the
+Tailless.
+
+Next morning my little Irish terrier, Jick, brought him to me in his
+mouth, dead; and I buried him under a Gloire de Dijon in a sunny
+corner of the garden.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Fantastic as some of the incidents may sound, they are, nevertheless,
+true, having been collected mainly from an old rat-catcher living in
+the town of Hawick.
+
+
+
+
+_SNAKE STORIES_
+
+
+In 1850 Baron de Wogan, a French gentleman, left his native land and
+set sail for North America, to seek his fortune and adventures. He was
+descended from two noble adventurers, the Wogan who led a cavalry
+troop from Dover to the Highlands, to fight for Charles II., and the
+Wogan who rescued Queen Clementina, wife of James III., from prison in
+Innspruck. In 1850 adventures, wild beasts, and Red Indians were more
+plentiful than now, and Wogan had some narrow escapes from snakes and
+bears. Soon after coming to North America he had his first adventure
+with a rattlesnake; he was then camping at the gold fields of
+California, seeking for gold in order to have money enough to start on
+his voyages of discovery. His house was a log hut, built by himself,
+and his bed a sack filled with dry oak leaves.
+
+One day, finding that his mattress required renewing, he went out with
+the sack and his gun. Having filled the sack with leaves, he went off
+with his gun in search of game for his larder, and only came home at
+nightfall. After having cooked and eaten his supper, he threw himself
+on his new mattress, and soon was asleep. He awoke about three, and
+would soon have fallen asleep again, but he felt something moving in
+the sack. His first thought was that it was a rat, but he soon felt by
+the way it moved that it was no quadruped, but a reptile, no rat, but
+a snake! He must have put it in the sack with the leaves, as might
+easily happen in winter when these creatures are torpid from the cold,
+and sleep all curled up. With one leap the Baron was out of its
+reach, but wishing to examine it more closely, he took his gun to
+protect him in case of danger, and came near the bed again; but the
+ungrateful beast, forgetting that they had been bedfellows, threw
+itself on the gun and began to bite the muzzle. Fearing that it might
+turn and bite him next the Baron pulled the trigger, and hitting the
+serpent, literally cut it in two. It measured two feet long, and when
+the Baron cut off its tail, he found a quantity of scales which made
+the rattling sound from which this serpent gets its name.
+
+ [Illustration: THE BARON KILLS THE SNAKE]
+
+As soon as the Baron had found enough gold, he bought a mule whom he
+called Cadi, and whom he became very fond of, and set off into the
+backwoods in search of sport and adventure. (Poor Cadi eventually met
+a terrible end, but that is a Bear story.) He soon added another
+companion, a young Indian girl, Calooa by name. She was the daughter
+of a chief of the Utah tribe, and had been taken prisoner, with
+several other women, by a tribe of hostile Indians whom the Baron fell
+in with. She would have been tortured and then burnt with the other
+prisoners had the Baron not saved her life by buying her for a silk
+handkerchief, a knife and fork, and some coloured pictures. She
+wandered with him and shared all his adventures, till she was found
+again by her tribe and taken back to them. One hot day they had been
+marching together about thirty miles through a country infested with
+panthers and pumas. The Baron was heading the little procession, when
+suddenly a cry from Calooa that she only used in moments of danger
+made him turn round. Then he saw that what he had taken to be a huge
+rotten branch of a tree, and had even thought of taking with him for
+their camp fire, that evening, was in reality an enormous serpent. It
+lay across the path asleep, its head resting on the trunk of a tree.
+The Baron raised his gun to his shoulder, and came nearer the monster
+to get a good aim. He fired, but missed. The horrid creature reared
+itself nearly on end and looked at him with that fixed stare by which
+the serpent fascinates and paralyses its victim. The Baron felt all
+the fascination, but conquering it, he fired a second time, and this
+time wounded the creature without killing it outright. Though mortally
+wounded, the snake's dying struggles were so violent that the young
+trees all round were levelled as if they had been cut with a scythe.
+As soon as they were sure that life was extinct, Calooa and the Baron
+came nearer to examine the snake's dead body. Though part of his tail
+was missing, he measured nevertheless five yards long and eighteen
+inches round. Thinking that it seemed of unusual girth, the Baron cut
+it open with an axe, and found inside the body of a young prairie
+wolf, probably about a week old. The peculiarity of this snake was
+that it gave out a strong odour of musk, like the sea serpent in Mr.
+Kipling's book.
+
+ [Illustration: {THE BARON SLAYS THE HORNED SNAKE}]
+
+The most horrible serpent that the Baron encountered and slew was the
+horned snake; he learned afterwards from the Indians that it is the
+most deadly of all the snakes of North America, for not only is its
+bite venomous, but its tail has a sting which contains the same
+poison. It crawls like other snakes, but when it attacks it forms
+itself into a circle, and then suddenly unbending itself flings itself
+like a lion on its victim, head forward and tail raised, thus
+attacking with both ends at once. If by chance it misses its aim and
+its tail strikes a young tree and penetrates the bark, that tree
+immediately begins to droop, and before long withers and dies. On the
+occasion when the Baron encountered it, Calooa and he had been fleeing
+all night fearing an attack of hostile Indians. About daylight they
+ventured to stop to take rest and food. While Calooa lit the fire the
+Baron took his gun and went in search of game. In about half an hour
+he returned with a wild turkey. When they had cooked and eaten it, he
+lay down and fell asleep, but had only slept two hours when he awoke,
+feeling his hand touched. It was Calooa, who woke him with a
+terror-stricken face. Looking in the direction she pointed, he saw
+about fifty yards away an enormous horned snake wound round a branch
+of sassafras. It was lying in wait for a poor little squirrel, that
+cowered in the hollow of an oak. As soon as the squirrel dared to show
+even the tip of its nose, the serpent flung itself at it, but in vain,
+as its great head could not get into the hole.
+
+ [Illustration: HOW THE INDIANS MAKE THE HORNED SNAKE DISGORGE HIS
+ DINNER]
+
+'Fortunately,' the Baron says, 'my gun was by my side. I rose and went
+to the rescue of the defenceless little creature. When the serpent saw
+me he knew he had another sort of enemy to deal with, and hissing
+furiously hurled himself in my direction, though without quitting his
+branch. I stopped and took aim. The serpent evidently understood my
+attitude perfectly, for unwinding himself he began to crawl with all
+his speed towards me. Between us there was fortunately an obstacle, a
+fallen chestnut tree; to reach me he must either climb over it or go
+round, and he was too furious to put up with any delay. Ten paces from
+the tree I waited for him to appear, one knee on the ground, my gun at
+my shoulder, and the other elbow resting on my knee to steady my aim.
+At last I saw his horrid head appear above the fallen tree, at the
+same moment I fired, and the ball pierced his head through and
+through, though without instantly killing him. Quick as lightning he
+wound himself round a branch, lashing out with his tail in all
+directions. It was his dying struggle; slowly his fury subsided, and
+uncoiling himself he fell dead alongside the tree. I measured him and
+found he was eight feet long, and seven or eight inches round. He was
+dark brown, and his head had two horns, or rather hard knobs. Wishing
+to carry away some souvenir to remember him by when I should be at
+home again in France, I tried to cut off his horns, but found it
+impossible. Out of curiosity I then took an axe and cut him open, when
+I found inside a little bird, dazed but living. Presently it revived
+and began to flutter about, and soon flew away among the bushes and
+was lost to sight. I did not then know that this is a common
+occurrence, and that when the Indians find a serpent asleep, as is
+generally the case after the creature has gorged itself, they hit it
+on the head with a stick, which makes it throw up what it has
+swallowed whole, and its victims are often still living.'
+
+Calooa on one occasion had a narrow escape. She had put her hand into
+a hollow in a branch of a cherry-tree where was a blue jay's nest, to
+take eggs as she thought. Hardly had she put in her hand when she
+screamed with pain; a rattlesnake that had taken possession of the
+nest had stung her. The Baron, much alarmed, expected to see Calooa
+die before his eyes. He did not know of the remedy the Indians use for
+snake bites. Calooa herself was quite undisturbed, and hunted about
+among the bushes till she found the plant she knew of, then crushing
+some of the leaves between two stones, she applied them to the bite,
+and in a couple of hours was completely cured.
+
+Besides these snakes the Baron learned from the Indians that there is
+another even more dangerous, not from its sting, which is not
+poisonous, but because it winds itself round its victim, and strangles
+him to death. Fortunately the Baron never met one, or he would
+probably not have lived to tell his snake stories.
+
+
+
+
+_WHAT ELEPHANTS CAN DO_
+
+
+Long, long ago the earth was very different from what it is now, and
+was covered with huge forests made up of enormous trees, and in these
+forests there roamed immense beasts, whose skeletons may sometimes be
+seen in our museums.
+
+Of all these beasts there is only one remaining, and that is the
+elephant. Now the elephant is so big and shapeless that he makes one
+think he has been turned out by a child who did not know how to finish
+his work properly. He seems to need some feet badly and to want
+pinching about his body. He would also be the better for a more
+imposing tail; but such as he is, the elephant is more useful and
+interesting than many creatures of ten times his beauty. Large and
+clumsy though he may be, he alone of all animals has 'between his eyes
+a serpent for a hand,' and he turns his trunk to better account than
+most men do their two hands.
+
+Ever since we first read about elephants in history they were just the
+same as they are now. They have not learnt, from associating with men,
+fresh habits which they hand down from father to son; each elephant,
+quick though he is to learn, has to be taught everything over again.
+
+Yet there is no beast who has lived in such unbroken contact with man
+for so many thousands of years. We do not know when he first began to
+be distinguished for his qualities from the other wild animals, but as
+far back as we can trace the sculptures which adorn the Indian temples
+the elephant has a place. Several hundred years before Christ, the
+Greek traveller Herodotus was passing through Babylon and found a
+large number of elephants employed in the daily life of the city, and
+from time to time we catch glimpses of them in Eastern warfare, though
+it was not till the third century B.C. that they were introduced into
+Europe by Alexander the Great. The Mediterranean nations were quick to
+see the immense profit to which the elephant could be put, both in
+respect to the great weights he could carry, and also for his
+extraordinary teachableness. In India at the present day he performs
+all kinds of varied duties, and many are the stories told about his
+cleverness, for he is the only animal that can be taught to push as
+well as pull.
+
+Most of us have seen elephants trained to perform in a circus, and
+there is something rather sad in watching their great clumsy bodies
+gambolling about in a way that is unnatural as well as ungraceful. But
+there is no question as to the amount that elephants can be taught,
+particularly by kindness, or how skilfully they will revenge
+themselves for any ill-treatment.
+
+In the early part of this century an elephant was sent by a lady in
+India as a present to the Duke of Devonshire, who had a large villa at
+Chiswick.
+
+This lucky captive had a roomy house of its own, built expressly for
+it in the park, a field to walk about in, and a keeper to look after
+it, and to do a little light gardening besides. This man treated the
+elephant (a female) with great kindness, and they soon became the best
+of friends. The moment he called out she stopped, and at his bidding
+would take a broom in her trunk and sweep the dead leaves off the
+grass; after which she would carefully carry after him a large pail of
+water for him to re-fill his watering pot--for in those days the
+garden-hose was not invented. When the tidying up was all done, the
+elephant was given a carrot and some of the water, but very often the
+keeper would amuse himself with handing her a soda-water bottle
+tightly corked, and telling her to empty it. This she did by placing
+the bottle in an inclined position on the ground and holding it at the
+proper angle with her foot, while she twisted the cork out with her
+trunk. This accomplished, she would empty all the water into her trunk
+without spilling a drop, and then hand the bottle back to her keeper.
+
+In India small children are often given into the charge of an
+elephant, and it is wonderful to see what care the animals take of
+them. One elephant took such a fancy to a small baby, that it used to
+stand over its cradle, and drive away the flies that teased it while
+it slept. When it grew restless the elephant would rock the cradle, or
+gently lift it to the floor and let it crawl about between its legs,
+till the child at last declined to take any food unless her friend was
+by to see her eat it.
+
+Amazing tales have been told of what elephants can be trained to do,
+but none is stranger than a story related by a missionary named
+Caunter, about some wild elephants in Ceylon. Some native soldiers who
+had been set to guard a large storehouse containing rice, were
+suddenly ordered off to put down a rising in a village a little
+distance away. Hardly were their backs turned when a wild elephant was
+seen advancing to the storehouse, which was situated in a lonely
+place, and after walking carefully round it, he returned whence he
+came. In a short time he was noticed advancing for the second time,
+accompanied by a whole herd of elephants, all marching in an orderly
+and military manner.
+
+ [Illustration: THE ELEPHANT HELPS THE GARDENER]
+
+Now in order to secure the granary as much as possible, the only
+entrance had been made in the roof, and had to be reached by a ladder.
+This was soon found out by the elephants, who examined the whole
+building attentively, and being baffled in their designs, retired to
+consult as to what they should do next. Finally one of the largest
+among them began to attack one of the corners with his tusks, and some
+of the others followed his example. When the first relay was tired
+out, another set took its place, but all their efforts seemed
+useless; the building was too strong for them. At length a third
+elephant came forward and attacked the place at which the others had
+laboured with such ill-success, and, by a prodigious effort, he
+managed to loosen one brick. After this it did not take long to dig a
+hole big enough to let the whole herd pass through, and soon the two
+spectators, hidden in a banyan-tree, saw little companies of three or
+four enter the granary and take their fill of rice until they all were
+satisfied. The last batch were still eating busily, when a shrill
+noise from the sentinel they had set on guard caused them to rush out.
+From afar they could perceive the white dress of the soldiers who had
+subdued the unruly villagers and were returning to their post, and the
+elephants, trunks in air, took refuge in the jungle, and only wagged
+their tails mockingly at the bullets sent after them by the
+discomfited soldiers.
+
+
+
+
+_THE DOG OF MONTARGIS_
+
+
+For three days Aubrey de Montdidier had not been seen by his friends
+and comrades in arms. On Sunday morning he had attended mass in the
+Church of Our Lady, but it was noticed that in the afternoon he was
+absent from the great tournament which was held at Saint Katherine's.
+This astonished his friend the young Sieur de Narsac, who had
+appointed to meet him there, that they might watch together the
+encounter between a Burgundian knight and a gentleman from Provence,
+both renowned in tilting, who were to meet together for the first time
+that day in Paris. It was unlike Aubrey to fail to be present on such
+an occasion, and when for three successive days he did not appear at
+his accustomed haunts, his friends grew anxious, and began to question
+among themselves whether some accident might not have befallen him.
+Early on the morning of the fourth day De Narsac was awakened by a
+continuous sound, as of something scratching against his door.
+Starting up to listen, he heard, in the intervals of the scratching, a
+low whine, as of a dog in pain. Thoroughly aroused, he got up and
+opened the door. Stretched before it, apparently too weak to stand,
+was a great, gaunt greyhound, spent with exhaustion and hunger. His
+ribs stood out like the bars of a gridiron beneath his smooth coat;
+his tongue hung down between his jaws, parched and stiff; his eyes
+were bloodshot, and he trembled in every limb.
+
+ [Illustration: DE NARSAC RECOGNISES HIS FRIEND'S DOG]
+
+On seeing De Narsac the poor creature struggled to his feet, feebly
+wagged his tail, and thrust his nose into the young man's hands. Then
+only did De Narsac recognise in the half-starved skeleton before him
+the favourite dog and constant companion of his friend, Aubrey de
+Montdidier. It was clear from the poor animal's emaciated appearance
+that it was in the last stage of exhaustion. Summoning his servant, De
+Narsac ordered food and water to be brought at once, and the dog
+devoured the huge meal set before it. From his starved appearance, and
+from the voracity with which he devoured the food set before him, it
+was evident that he had had nothing to eat for some days. No sooner
+was his hunger appeased than he began to move uneasily about the room.
+Uttering low howls of distress from time to time, he approached the
+door; then, returning to De Narsac's side, he looked up in his face
+and gently tugged at his mantle, as if to attract attention. There was
+something at once so appealing and peculiar in the dog's behaviour
+that De Narsac's curiosity was aroused, and he became convinced that
+there was some connection between the dog's starved appearance and
+strange manner and the unaccountable disappearance of his master.
+Perhaps the dog might supply the clue to Aubrey's place of
+concealment. Watching the dog's behaviour closely, De Narsac became
+aware that the dumb beast was inviting him to accompany him.
+Accordingly he yielded to the dog's apparent wish, and, leaving the
+house, followed him out into the streets of Paris.
+
+Looking round from time to time to see that De Narsac was coming after
+him, the greyhound pursued its way through the narrow, tortuous
+streets of the ancient city, over the Bridge, and out by the Porte
+St.-Martin, into the open country outside the gates of the town. Then,
+continuing on its track, the dog headed for the Forest of Bondy, a
+place of evil fame in those far-off days, as its solitudes were known
+to be infested by bands of robbers. Stopping suddenly in a deep and
+densely wooded glade of the wood, the dog uttered a succession of low,
+angry growls; then, tugging at De Narsac's mantle, it led him to some
+freshly turned-up earth, beneath a wide-spreading oak-tree. With a
+piteous whine the dog stretched himself on the spot, and could not be
+induced by De Narsac to follow him back to Paris, where he straightway
+betook himself, as he at once suspected foul play. A few hours later
+a party of men, guided to the spot by the young Sieur de Narsac,
+removed the earth and dead leaves and ferns from the hole into which
+they had been hastily flung, and discovered the murdered body of
+Aubrey de Montdidier. Hurriedly a litter was constructed of boughs of
+trees, and, followed by the dog, the body was borne into Paris, where
+it was soon afterwards buried.
+
+From that hour the greyhound attached himself to the Sieur de Narsac.
+It slept in his room, ate from his table, and followed close at his
+heels when he went out of doors. One morning, as the two were
+threading their way through the crowded Rue St.-Martin, De Narsac was
+startled by hearing a low, fierce growl from the greyhound. Looking
+down he saw that the creature was shaking in every limb; his smooth
+coat was bristling, his tail was straight and stiff, and he was
+showing his teeth. In another moment he had made a dart from De
+Narsac's side, and had sprung on a young gentleman named Macaire, in
+the uniform of the king's bodyguard, who, with several comrades in
+arms, was sauntering along on the opposite side of the street. There
+was something so sudden in the attack that the Chevalier Macaire was
+almost thrown on the ground. With their walking-canes he and his
+friends beat off the dog, and on De Narsac coming up, it was called
+away, and, still trembling and growling, followed its master down the
+street.
+
+A few days later the same thing occurred. De Narsac and the Chevalier
+Macaire chanced to encounter each other walking in the royal park. In
+a moment the dog had rushed at Macaire, and, with a fierce spring at
+his throat, had tried to pull him to the ground. De Narsac and some
+officers of the king's bodyguard came to Macaire's assistance, and the
+dog was called off. The rumour of this attack reached the ears of the
+king, and mixed with the rumour were whisperings of a long-standing
+quarrel between Macaire and Aubrey de Montdidier. Might not the dog's
+strange and unaccountable hatred for the young officer be a clue to
+the mysterious murder of his late master? Determined to sift the
+matter to the bottom, the king summoned De Narsac and the dog to his
+presence at the Hotel St.-Pol. Following close on his master's heels,
+the greyhound entered the audience-room, where the king was seated,
+surrounded by his courtiers. As De Narsac bowed low before his
+sovereign, a short, fierce bark was heard from the dog, and, before he
+could be held back, he had darted in among the startled courtiers, and
+had sprung at the throat of the Chevalier Macaire, who, with several
+other knights, formed a little group behind the king's chair.
+
+It was impossible longer to doubt that there was some ground for the
+surmises that had rapidly grown to suspicion, and that had received
+sudden confirmation from the fresh evidence of the dog's hatred.
+
+The king decided that there should be a trial by the judgment of God,
+and that a combat should take place between man, the accused, and dog,
+the accuser. The place chosen for the combat was a waste, uninhabited
+plot of ground, frequently selected as a duelling-ground by the young
+gallants of Paris.
+
+In the presence of the king and his courtiers the strange unnatural
+combat took place that afternoon. The knight was armed with a short
+thick stick; the dog was provided with an empty barrel, as a
+retreating ground from the attacks of his adversary. At a given signal
+the combatants entered the lists. The dog seemed quite to understand
+the strange duel on which it was engaged. Barking savagely, and
+darting round his opponent, he made attempts to leap at his throat;
+now on this side, now on that he sprang, jumping into the air, and
+then bounding back out of reach of the stick. There was such swiftness
+and determination about his movements, and something so unnatural in
+the combat, that Macaire's nerve failed him. His blows beat the air,
+without hitting the dog; his breath came in quick short gasps;
+there was a look of terror on his face, and for a moment, overcome by
+the horror of the situation, his eye quailed and sought the ground. At
+that instant the dog sprang at his throat and pinned him to the earth.
+In his terror, he called out and acknowledged his crime, and implored
+the king's mercy. But the judgment of God had decided. The dog was
+called off before it had strangled its victim, but the man was hurried
+away to the place of execution, and atoned that evening for the murder
+of the faithful greyhound's master.
+
+ [Illustration: THE DOG FLIES AT MACAIRE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE KING]
+
+The dog has been known to posterity as the Dog of Montargis, as in the
+Castle of Montargis there stood for many centuries a sculptured stone
+mantelpiece, on which the combat was carved.
+
+
+
+
+_HOW A BEAVER BUILDS HIS HOUSE_
+
+Bingley's _Animal Biography_.
+
+
+If we could look back and see England and Wales as they were about a
+thousand years ago, we should most likely think that the best houses
+and most prosperous villages were the work not of the Saxon or British
+natives, but of the little beavers, which were then to be found in
+some of the rivers, though they have long ceased to exist there. Those
+who want to see what beavers can do, must look to America, and there,
+either in Canada or even as far south as Louisiana, they will find the
+little creatures as busy as ever and as clever at house-building as
+when they taught our forefathers a lesson in the time of Athelstan or
+Canute.
+
+A beaver is a small animal measuring about three feet, and has fine
+glossy dark brown hair. Its tail, which is its trowel, and call bell,
+and many other things besides, is nearly a foot long, and has no hair
+at all, and is divided into little scales, something like a fish.
+Beavers cannot bear to live by themselves, and are never happy unless
+they have two or three hundred friends close at hand whom they can
+visit every day and all day, and they are the best and most kindly
+neighbours in the world, always ready to help each other either in
+building new villages or in repairing old ones.
+
+Of course the first thing to be done when you wish to erect a house or
+a village is to fix on a suitable site, and the spot which every
+beaver of sense thinks most desirable is either a large pond or, if no
+pond is to be had, a flat low plain with a stream running through,
+out of which a pond can be made.
+
+It must be a very, very long while since beavers first found out that
+the way to make a pond out of a stream was to build a dam across it so
+strong that the water could not break through. To begin with, they
+have to know which way the stream runs, and in this they never make a
+mistake. Then they gather together stakes about five feet long, and
+fix them in rows tight into the ground on each side of the stream; and
+while the older and more experienced beavers are doing this--for the
+safety of the village depends on the strength of the foundation--the
+younger and more active ones are fetching and heaping up green
+branches of trees. These branches are plaited in and out of the rows
+of stakes, which by this time stretch right across the river, and form
+a dam often as much as a hundred feet from end to end. When the best
+workmen among them declare the foundation solid, the rest form a large
+wall over the whole, of stones, clay, and sand, which gradually tapers
+up from ten or twelve feet at the bottom, where it has to resist the
+pressure of the stream, to two or three at the top, so that the
+beavers can, if necessary, pass each other in comfort. And when the
+dam is pronounced finished, the overseer or head beaver goes carefully
+over every part, to see that it is the proper shape and exactly smooth
+and even, for beavers cannot bear bad work, and would punish any of
+their tribe who were lazy or careless.
+
+The dam being ready and the pond made, they can now begin to think
+about their houses, and as all beavers have a great dislike to damp
+floors and wet beds, they have to raise their dwellings quite six or
+eight feet above the level of the stream, so that no sudden swelling
+of the river during the rainy season shall make them cold and
+uncomfortable. Beavers are always quite clear in their minds as to
+what they want, and how to get it, and they like to keep things
+distinct. When they are in the water they are perfectly happy, but
+when they are out of it they like to be dry, and in order to keep
+their houses warm and snug they wait till the water is low during the
+summer, and then they can drive piles into the bed of the stream with
+more safety and less trouble than if the river is running hard. It
+generally takes two or three months before the village is finished,
+and the bark and shoots of young trees, which is their favourite food,
+collected and stored up. But the little round huts, not unlike
+beehives, are only intended for winter homes, as no beaver would think
+of sleeping indoors during the summer, or, indeed, of staying two days
+in the same place. So every three or four years they spend the long
+days in making their village of earth, stones, and sticks, plastered
+together with some kind of mortar which they carry about on their
+tails, to spread neatly over the inside of their houses. All that a
+beaver does is beautifully finished as well as substantial. The walls
+of his house are usually about two feet thick, and sometimes he has as
+many as three stories to his house, when he has a large family or a
+number of friends to live with him. One thing is quite certain: no
+beaver will ever set up housekeeping alone; but sometimes he will be
+content with one companion, and sometimes he will have as many as
+thirty. But however full the hut may be, there is never any confusion;
+each beaver has his fixed place on the floor, which is covered with
+dried leaves and moss, and as they manage to keep open a door right
+below the surface of the stream, where their food is carefully stored
+up, there is no fear that they will ever be starved out. And there
+they lie all through the winter, and get very fat.
+
+Once a French gentleman who was travelling through Louisiana, was very
+anxious to see the little beaver colony at work, so he hid himself
+with some other men close to a dam, and in the night they cut a
+channel about a foot wide right through, and very hard labour they
+found it.
+
+The men had made no noise in breaking the dam, but the rush of the
+water aroused one beaver who slept more lightly than the rest, and he
+instantly left his hut and swam to the dam to examine what was wrong.
+He then struck four loud blows with his tail, and at the sound of his
+call every beaver left his bed and came rushing to see what was the
+matter. No sooner did they reach the dam and see the large hole made
+in it, than they took counsel, and then the one in whom they put the
+most trust gave orders to the rest, and they all went to the bank to
+make mortar. When they had collected as much as they could carry, they
+formed a procession, two and two, each pair loading each others'
+tails, and so travelling they arrived at the dam, where a relay of
+fresh labourers were ready to load. The mortar was then placed in the
+hole and bound tight by repeated blows from the beavers' tails. So
+hard did they work and so much sense did they show, that in a short
+time all was as firm as ever. Then one of the leading spirits clapped
+his tail twice, and in a moment all were in bed and asleep again.
+
+Beavers are very hard-working, but they know how to make themselves
+comfortable too, and if they are content with bark and twigs at home,
+they appreciate nicer food if they can get it. A gentleman once took a
+beaver with him to New York, and it used to wander about the house
+like a dog, feeding chiefly upon bread, with fish now and then for a
+treat. Not being able to find any moss or leaves for a bed, it used to
+seize upon all the soft bits of stuff that came in its way, and carry
+them off to its sleeping corner. One day a cat discovered its hiding
+place, and thought it would be a nice comfortable place for her
+kittens to sleep, and when the beaver came back from his walk he
+found, like the three bears, that someone was sleeping in his bed. He
+had never seen things of that kind before, but they were small and he
+was big, so he said nothing and lay down somewhere else. Only, if ever
+their mother was away, he would go and hold one of them to his breast
+to warm it, and keep it there till its mother came back.
+
+
+
+
+_THE WAR HORSE OF ALEXANDER_
+
+Part of the story of Bucephalus is taken from Plutarch.
+
+
+There are not so many stories about horses as there are about dogs and
+cats, yet almost every great general has had his favourite horse, who
+has gone with him through many campaigns and borne him safe in many
+battle-fields. At a town in Sicily called Agrigentum, they set such
+store by their horses, that pyramids were raised over their
+burial-place, and the Emperor Augustus built a splendid monument over
+the grave of an old favourite.
+
+The most famous horse, perhaps, who ever lived, was one belonging to
+Alexander the Great, and was called Bucephalus. When the king was a
+boy, Bucephalus was brought before Philip, King of Macedon,
+Alexander's father, by Philonicus the Thessalian, and offered for sale
+for the large sum of thirteen talents. Beautiful though he was, Philip
+wisely declined to buy him before knowing what manner of horse he was,
+and ordered him to be led into a neighbouring field, and a groom to
+mount him. But it was in vain that the best and most experienced
+riders approached the horse; he reared up on his hind legs, and would
+suffer none to come near him. So Philonicus the Thessalian was told to
+take his horse back whence he came, for the king would have none of
+him.
+
+Now the boy Alexander stood by, and his heart went out to the
+beautiful creature. And he cried out, 'What a good horse do we lose
+for lack of skill to mount him!' Philip the king heard these words,
+and his soul was vexed to see the horse depart, but yet he knew not
+what else to do. Then he turned to Alexander and said: 'Do you think
+that you, young and untried, can ride this horse better than those who
+have grown old in the stables?' To which Alexander made answer, 'This
+horse I know I could ride better than they.' 'And if you fail,' asked
+Philip, 'what price will you pay for your good conceit of yourself?'
+And Alexander laughed out and said gaily, 'I will pay the price of the
+horse.' And thus it was settled.
+
+So Alexander drew near to the horse, and took him by the bridle,
+turning his face to the sun so that he might not be frightened at the
+movements of his own shadow, for the prince had noticed that it scared
+him greatly. Then Alexander stroked his head and led him forwards,
+feeling his temper all the while, and when the horse began to get
+uneasy, the prince suddenly leapt on his back, and gradually curbed
+him with the bridle. Suddenly, as Bucephalus gave up trying to throw
+his rider, and only pawed the ground impatient to be off, Alexander
+shook the reins, and bidding him go, they flew like lightning round
+the course. This was Alexander's first conquest, and as he jumped down
+from the horse, his father exclaimed, 'Go, my son, and seek for a
+kingdom that is worthy, for Macedon is too small for such as thee.'
+
+Henceforth Bucephalus made it clear that he served Alexander and no
+one else. He would submit quietly to having the gay trappings of a
+king's steed fastened on his head, and the royal saddle put on, but if
+any groom tried to mount him, back would go his ears and up would go
+his heels, and none dared come near him. For ten years after Alexander
+succeeded his father on the throne of Macedon (B.C. 336), Bucephalus
+bore him through all his battles, and was, says Pliny, 'of a passing
+good and memorable service in the wars,' and even when wounded, as he
+once was at the taking of Thebes, would not suffer his master to mount
+another horse. Together these two swam rivers, crossed mountains,
+penetrated into the dominions of the Great King, and farther still
+into the heart of Asia, beyond the Caspian and the river Oxus, where
+never European army had gone before. Then turning sharp south, he
+crossed the range of the Hindoo Koosh, and entering the country of the
+Five Rivers, he prepared to attack Porus, king of India. But age and
+the wanderings of ten years had worn Bucephalus out. One last victory
+near the Hydaspes or Jelum, and the old horse sank down and died, full
+of years and honours (B.C. 326). Bitter were the lamentations of the
+king for the friend of his childhood, but his grief did not show
+itself only in weeping. The most splendid funeral Alexander could
+devise was given to Bucephalus, and a gorgeous tomb erected over his
+body. And more than that, Alexander resolved that the memory of his
+old horse should be kept green in these burning Indian deserts,
+thousands of miles from the Thessalian plains where he was born, so
+round his tomb the king built a city, and it was called
+
+ 'BUCEPHALIA.'
+
+
+
+
+_STORIES ABOUT BEARS_
+
+
+Baron de Wogan, a French gentleman, whose adventures with snakes are
+also curious, was the hero of some encounters with the grizzly bear of
+North America. First, I would have you understand what sort of a
+creature he had for an opponent. Imagine a monster measuring when
+standing upright eight or nine feet, weighing 900 lbs., of a most
+terrifying appearance, in agility and strength surpassing all other
+animals, and cruel in proportion. Like his cousin the brown bear, whom
+he resembles in shape, he is a hermit and lives alone in the immense
+trackless forests which covered the Rocky Mountains, and indeed (at
+least in olden times) the greater part of North America. During the
+day he sleeps in the depths of some mountain cavern, and wakes up at
+dusk to go out in search of prey. All the beasts of the forest live in
+terror of him--even the white bear flies before him. He would go down
+to the valleys and attack the immense herds of buffaloes which grazed
+there, and which were powerless against him, in spite of their numbers
+and their great horns. They join themselves closely together and form
+one compact rank, but the grizzly bear hurls himself at them, breaks
+their ranks, scatters them, and then pursuing them till he catches
+them up, flings himself on the back of one, hugs it in his iron
+embrace, breaks its skull with his teeth, and so goes slaying right
+and left before he eats one. Before the Baron's first, so to say,
+hand-to-hand encounter with a grizzly, he had been long enough in the
+country to know something of their ways, and how worse than useless a
+shot is unless in a fatal spot.
+
+After the return to her tribe of Calooa, a young Indian girl, who had
+been his one human companion in many days of wandering, the Baron was
+left with only his mule Cadi for friend and companion, and naturally
+felt very lonely. He set his heart on getting to the top of the Rocky
+Mountains, at the foot of which he then happened to be. Their
+glittering summits had so irresistible an attraction for him, that he
+did not stay to consider the difficulties which soon beset him at
+every step. No sooner did he conquer one than another arose, added to
+which the cold of these high regions was intense, and it constantly
+snowed. After three days he had to declare himself not only beaten,
+but so worn out that he must take a week's rest if he did not want to
+fall ill. First it was necessary to have some sort of a shelter, and
+by great good luck he found just at hand a cavern in the rock, which,
+without being exactly a palace, seemed as if it would answer his
+purpose.
+
+Upon closer examination he found that it had more drawbacks than he
+cared about. All round were scattered gnawed bones of animals, and the
+prints of bear's claws on the ground left no doubt as to who the last
+inmate had been. The Baron, however, preferred to risk an invasion
+rather than seek another abode, and prepared for probable inroads by
+making across the entrance to the cave a barricade of branches of oak
+tied together with flax, a quantity of which grew near. He then lit a
+good fire inside the cave, but as the last tenant had not considered a
+chimney necessary; the dense smoke soon obliged him to beat a hasty
+retreat. Besides he had to go out to get supplies for his larder, at
+present as bare as Mother Hubbard's. With his usual good luck the
+Baron found, first, a large salmon flapping wildly in its effort to
+get out of a pool, where the fallen river had left it. This he killed,
+and next he shot a young deer about a mile away and carried it to
+camp on his back. In order to preserve these eatables he salted some
+of them with salt that he had previously found in a lake near, and had
+carefully preserved for future use. He then dug a hole in a corner of
+the cave, putting a thick layer of dry hay at the bottom, and buried
+his provisions Indian fashion, in order to preserve them.
+
+As it was still only twelve o'clock, the Baron thought he would spend
+the rest of the day in exploring the neighbourhood; first he examined
+the cave, which he found to be formed of big blocks of rock firmly
+joined together; above the cave rose the cliff, and in front of it
+grew a fir-tree, which served at the same time to defend the entrance,
+and as a ladder to enable him to mount the cliff. As he could not take
+Cadi with him, he fastened him to the fir-tree by his halter and girth
+joined together, so as to leave him plenty of room to graze. Then he
+put some eatables in his game bag, and set off on a tour of discovery.
+When he had walked about three hours, and had reached a rocky point
+from which he had a fine view of the surrounding country, he sat down
+to rest under an oak-tree. He knew nothing more till the cold awoke
+him--it was now six o'clock, and he had slept three hours. He started
+with all the haste he could to get back to his cave and Cadi before
+dark, but so tired and footsore was he that he was obliged to give in
+and camp where he was, for night was coming on fast. It was bitterly
+cold and snow fell constantly, so he lit a large fire, which at the
+same time warmed him, and kept away the bears whom he heard wandering
+round the camp most of the night. As soon as the sun was up in the
+morning, he set off with all his speed to see what had become of Cadi;
+but though fifteen miles is not much to bears balked of their prey, it
+is much to a weary and footsore man, and when he had hobbled to within
+half a mile of the camp, he saw that it was too late: the bears, whom
+he had driven away from his camp in the night with fire-brands, had
+scented poor Cadi, and four of them were now devouring him--father,
+mother, and two cubs. Imagine his rage and grief at seeing his only
+friend and companion devoured piecemeal before his very eyes!
+
+His first impulse was to fire, but he reflected in time that they were
+four to one, and that, instead of avenging Cadi, he would only share
+his fate. He decided to wait on a high rock till the meal was ended.
+It lasted an hour, and then he saw the whole family set off to climb
+the mountain, from the top of which he had been watching them. They
+seemed to be making straight for him, and as it would be certain death
+to sit and wait for them, he slipped into a cranny in the rock, hoping
+that he might not be perceived; even if he was, he could only be
+attacked by one at a time. He had not long to wait: soon all four
+bears passed in single file, without smelling him or being aware of
+him; for this he had to thank poor Cadi: their horrid snouts and jaws
+being smeared with his blood prevented their scenting fresh prey.
+
+ [Illustration: {THE BARON KILLS THE BEAR}]
+
+When he had seen them at a safe distance, he ventured to go down to
+the cave he could no longer call his own. Of Cadi, nothing remained
+but his head, still fastened to the tree by his halter. The barricade
+was gone, too, and from the cave came low but unmistakable growls.
+With one bound the Baron was up the tree, and from the tree on to the
+cliff. From there he threw stones down before the entrance to the
+cave, to induce the present inmate to come out, in order that he might
+take possession again. The bear soon came out, and, perceiving him,
+made for the fir-tree. By its slow and languid movements the Baron saw
+that it was curiosity more than anger that prompted it, and, moreover,
+it was evidently a very old bear, probably a grandfather, whose
+children and grandchildren had been to pay it a visit. Curiosity or
+not, the Baron had no wish to make a closer acquaintance, and fired a
+shot at the brute by way of a hint to that effect. This immediately
+turned his curiosity into wrath. Seizing the fir-tree, which he was
+going to use as a ladder, he began to climb up. A second shot hit him
+in the shoulder. He fell mortally wounded, but even after a third
+shot, which took him in the flank, his dying struggles lasted twenty
+minutes, during which he tore at the roots of the fir-trees with his
+terrific claws. The Baron did not care to waste any of his bullets,
+now getting scarce, in putting out of his pain one of Cadi's
+murderers. When finally the bear was dead, the Baron came down to take
+possession of his cave, and at the same time of the bear's skin. On
+penetrating into the cave, he found that the rascal had paid him out
+in his own coin, and, in revenge for the Baron taking his cave, had
+eaten his provisions. The Baron was quits in the end, however, as the
+bear's carcase furnished him meat enough for several days. The Baron
+cut off pounds of steak, which he salted and dried over the fire. The
+useless remains he threw over the nearest precipice, so that they
+should not attract wild beasts, to keep him awake all night with their
+cries. Then, having made a huge fire in front of the entrance, which,
+moreover, he barricaded with branches, he threw himself on his bed of
+dry leaves to sleep the sleep of exhaustion.
+
+Some time passed before the Baron's next encounter with a bear. He was
+camping one night in a dense forest, sleeping, as usual, with one eye
+and one ear open, and his weapon at hand, all ready loaded. His rest
+was broken by the usual nightly sounds of the forest, of leaves
+crunched and branches broken, showing that many of the inmates of the
+woods were astir; but he did not let these usual sounds disturb him,
+till he heard in the distance the hoarse and unmistakable cry of the
+bear; then he thought it time to change the shot in his gun for
+something more worthy of such a foe. This preparation made, he set off
+at dawn on his day's march, which up to midday led him along the bank
+of a large river. He thought no more of the blood-curdling howls of
+the night, till suddenly he heard from a distance terror-stricken
+cries. He put his ear to the ground, Indian fashion, to listen
+better, and as the danger, whatever it was, seemed to be coming
+nearer, he jumped into a thicket of wild cherry and willow trees, and
+waited there in ambush, gun in hand. In a few minutes, a band of
+Indians with their squaws appeared on the opposite bank of the river,
+and straightway leaped into the water, like so many frogs jumping into
+an undisturbed swamp. At first he thought he was being attacked, but
+soon saw it was the Indians who were being pursued, and that they all,
+men and women, were swimming for dear life; moreover, the women were
+laden with their children, one, and sometimes two, being strapped to
+their backs in a sort of cradle of birch bark. This additional weight
+made them swim slower than the men, who soon reached the opposite
+shore, and then took to their heels helter-skelter, except three, who
+remained behind to encourage the women.
+
+ [Illustration: {THE GRIZZLY}]
+
+The Baron at first thought it was an attack of other Indians, and that
+it would be prudent to beat a retreat, when suddenly the same terrible
+cry that had kept him awake in the latter part of the night resounded
+through the forest, and at the same time there appeared on a high bank
+on the other shore a huge mass of a dirty grey colour, which hurled
+itself downhill, plunged into the river, and began to swim across at a
+terrific speed. It was a grizzly bear of tremendous size. So fast did
+it swim, that in no time it had nearly caught up with the last of the
+squaws, a young woman with twin babies at her back, whose cries, often
+interrupted by the water getting into their mouths, would have melted
+the heart of a stone. The three Indians who had remained on the bank
+did their utmost to stop the bear by shooting their poisoned arrows at
+it; but the distance was too great, and the huge animal came on so
+fast that in another minute mother and children would be lost. The
+Baron could not remain a spectator of so terrible a scene. He came out
+of the thicket where he was hidden, and frightened the Indians almost
+as much as if he had been another bear. Resting his gun on the trunk
+of a tree, he fired at the distance of 125 yards, and hit the animal
+right on the head. It dived several times, and the water all round was
+dyed red with blood; but the wound was not mortal, and it continued on
+its way, only more slowly. After urging the Indian, who seemed to be
+the unhappy woman's husband, to go into the water to help her--for,
+through terror and fatigue, she could no longer swim--the Baron took
+deliberate aim again and fired. The second shot, like the first, hit
+the bear on the head, but again without killing it. It stopped the
+brute, however, long enough to let the poor woman get to shore, where
+she fainted, and was carried away by the men to the forest, leaving
+the Baron and the bear to fight out their duel alone. The Baron had
+barely time to reload and climb to the top of one of the trees, when
+the bear was already at the foot of it. So near was he when he stood
+upright, that the Baron could feel his horrid breath. Up to then the
+Baron thought that all bears could climb like squirrels; fortunately
+for him he was mistaken. Expecting to be taken by storm, he fired
+straight in the creature's face. The two balls took a different
+course: one went through the jaw and came out by the neck, the other
+went into the chest. The bear uttered a terrific roar, stiffened
+itself in a last effort to reach him, and fell heavily on its back at
+the foot of the tree. The Baron might have thought him dead had he not
+already seen such wonderful resurrections on the part of bears; but
+the four shots, though at first they dazed and troubled the beast,
+seemed afterwards to act as spurs, and he rose furious and returned to
+the charge. The Baron tried to use his revolver, but, finding it
+impossible, he drew out his axe from his belt, and dealt a violent
+blow at the bear's head, which nearly split it in two, and sent the
+blood splashing in all directions. The bear again fell to the ground,
+this time to rise no more. The Baron being now convinced that the
+grizzly bear is no tree-climber, took his time to draw out his
+revolver, to take aim and fire. The shot put out one of the bear's
+eyes, the axe had already taken out the other. This finished him, but
+his death struggles lasted twenty minutes, during which the tree was
+nearly uprooted. When all was at an end the Baron came down; he cut
+off the formidable claws, and broke off the teeth with an axe to make
+a trophy in imitation of the Indians, and then proceeded to skin him
+and cut him up. The Indians, who had been watching the combat at a
+safe distance, now came back, enthusiastic. They surrounded them, the
+victor and the vanquished, and danced a war-dance, singing impromptu
+words. The Baron, seated on the bear's carcase, joined in the chorus;
+but the Indians, not content with that, insisted on his joining in the
+dance as well. The rejoicing over, the Baron divided among the twenty
+Indians the flesh of the bear--about 15 lb. or 20 lb. fell to each.
+The skin he kept to himself, and the claws, of which the Indians made
+him a warrior's necklace, hanging it round his neck like an order of
+knighthood.[3]
+
+ [3] The young reader must no longer expect such adventures as the
+ Baron de Wogan achieved.
+
+
+
+
+_STORIES ABOUT ANTS_
+
+
+If any one will watch an ant-hill on a fine day in April, he will see
+the little inhabitants begin to rouse themselves from their winter's
+sleep, which lasts from the month of October, with the red ant at all
+events. Groups of them come out to the top of the ant-hill to warm and
+thaw themselves in the rays of the sun. Some, more active and robust,
+run in and out, waking up the lazy, hurrying the laggards, and rousing
+all the little community to begin their summer habits. But this
+activity does not last long; they are as yet only half awake, and
+still numb and torpid from the winter's cold, and the little throng
+increases or diminishes as the sun shines or disappears behind a
+cloud. As two, half-past two, and three o'clock arrive, they have
+nearly all disappeared inside the ant-heap, leaving only a few
+warriors, of a larger make and tried courage, to watch over the
+well-being of the little republic and to close up all openings with
+tiny chips of wood, dry leaves, and shreds of moss, so as to hide the
+entrances from human eye. Two or three sentinels wander round to see
+that all is secure. And then they enter, and all is still.
+
+If we come back again in about a week, we shall find the ants in the
+middle of their regular migration to their summer quarters, not far
+from their winter ones. This takes place, with the red ant, at all
+events, with great regularity every April and October. The red ant is
+beyond doubt a slave-owner; the slaves may be easily recognised from
+their masters by being of a smaller make and light yellow colour. As
+soon as the masters have fixed the day of their 'flitting,' they
+begin probably to ensure the consent of the slaves by violently
+seizing them, and rolling them into a ball, and then grasping them
+firmly they set off towards the summer quarters at full gallop, if an
+ant can be said to gallop. The master ant is in a great hurry to get
+rid of his living burden; he goes straight ahead in spite of all
+obstacles, avoiding all interruptions and delays, and as soon as he
+arrives at the summer ant-heap, plunges in, deposits the slave all
+breathless and terrified from his forced journey, and sets off back
+for another.
+
+Darwin, who closely studied the migrations of the ant, says that they
+differ in their means of transport: one sort is carried by the slaves;
+the other, our friend the red ant, scientifically called 'formica
+sanguinea,' carries his property carefully in his mouth. It seems
+strange to us that the master should carry the slave, but no stranger
+than it would appear to the ants if they should begin to study our
+habits, that some of us should sit in a carriage and be driven by the
+coachman. The slave, once installed in his summer quarters, seldom
+appears again before the autumn exodus, unless in the event of some
+disturbance in the camp, or its invasion by some ants of a hostile
+tribe, when the slaves take part in the defence and especially watch
+over the young ones. The slaves seem to be carpenters and miners, and
+warriors when necessary. They build the dwelling, repair it, of which
+it has constant need, and defend it in case of attack with dauntless
+courage. But their principal duties seem to be to take charge of the
+development of the young, and to feed the masters--no small task, as
+there seem to be ten masters to one slave, and they seem incapable of
+eating unless fed. Experiments have been tried of removing the slaves
+from them, and though sugar and every sort of tempting food is put
+down beside them, they will starve rather than help themselves. In
+fact, one wonders what the masters can be left for but to drive the
+slaves, which they do with great ardour. A French gentleman who spent
+years studying the habits of the ants, tried one day, by way of
+experiment, to take a slave away from its master; he had great
+difficulty in removing it from its bearer, who struggled furiously and
+clung to its burden. When at last the slave was set free, instead of
+profiting by its liberty, it turned round and round in a circle as if
+dazed, then hid itself under a dead leaf. A master ant presently came
+along, an animated conversation took place, and the slave ant was
+seized upon and borne off again to bondage. The same gentleman another
+day observed a slave ant venture out to the entrance to the ant-hill
+to enjoy the warmth of the sun. A great master ant spied it and set to
+with blows of its horns (antennae they are called) to persuade it that
+that was not its place. Finding the slave persisted in not
+understanding, the master resorted to force, and seizing it by its
+head, without taking the trouble to roll it up, as they are generally
+carried, he hurled it into the ant-hill, where no doubt it received
+the punishment it deserved.
+
+If we came back to the ant-heap a week after our last visit, we should
+find the migration finished if the weather has been fine; but ants,
+especially after their first awaking, are extremely sensitive to wind
+and rain, and only work well in fine weather. They are equally
+affected by weather before a storm: even though the sun may be
+shining, they will remain in the ant-heap with closed doors. If it is
+shut before midday, the storm will burst before evening; if it is shut
+before eight or nine in the morning, the rain will fall before noon.
+
+All this time we have been speaking only of the red ant; but there are
+any number of different kinds in Europe, not to mention the enormous
+ants of the tropics, who march in such armies that the people fly
+before them, deserting their villages. Different species differ
+totally in their habits and ways of building and living. The greater
+number of species live apart, and not in a community with an
+elaborately constructed house like the red ant. The little black ant
+is the commonest in this country, and the busiest and most active. She
+is the first to awake, in March, sometimes in February, and the last
+to sleep, sometimes not till November. Their instincts and habits of
+activity, however, are apt to deceive them, and they get up too soon.
+The French gentleman already mentioned observed an instance of the
+kind. On February 24, after an unusually mild winter, the sun shone as
+if it were already summer, and it was difficult to persuade oneself
+that it was not, except that there were no leaves on the trees, no
+birds singing in the branches, and no insects humming in the air.
+First our friend went to examine the red-ant heap, which was closed as
+usual, all the inhabitants being still plunged in their winter sleep.
+The black ants, on the contrary, were all awake and lively, and seemed
+persuaded that the fine weather had come to stay. Their instincts
+deceived them, for that night it froze; rain, snow, and fog succeeded
+each other in turn, and when next he visited the ant-heap he found
+them lying in masses, stiff and dead, before the entrance to their
+dwelling.
+
+Between the red and black ants there is great enmity, and terrible
+combats take place. When they fight they grasp each other like men
+wrestling, and each tries to throw the other down, and break his back.
+The conquered remain on the battlefield, nearly broken in two, and
+feebly waving their paws, till they slowly expire in agonies. The
+conqueror, on the other hand, carries away his dead to burial and his
+wounded to the camp, and then, entering triumphantly himself, closes
+the doors after him. The gentleman already quoted witnessed the
+funeral of an ant. He had passed the ant-heap about a quarter of an
+hour, and left, as he thought, all the inhabitants behind him, when he
+saw what appeared to be an enormous red ant making for home. On
+stooping to look more closely, he saw that it was one ant carrying
+another. He succeeded in separating them from each other, and then
+saw that the burden was neither a slave nor a prisoner, but a dead
+comrade being carried back to the ant-heap for a decent burial; for if
+ants fall into the hands of the enemy, they are subjected if alive to
+the most cruel tortures and if dead to mutilations. Usually, when an
+ant is relieved of anything it is carrying--whether it be a slave, a
+wounded ant, or some eatable--it will set off at full speed and let
+the burden be picked up by the next passing ant; but this one made no
+attempt to run away, and only turned round and round in a perplexed
+and irresolute way, till its dead friend was put down beside it, then
+it seized its precious burden and set off homewards with it.
+Travellers even tell that in Algeria there are ant cemeteries near the
+ant-heaps.
+
+No lover of animals doubts that they have a language of their own,
+which we are too stupid or deaf to understand. Anyone who studies the
+ways of the ants sees, beyond a doubt, that they too have a way of
+communicating with each other. For instance, an ant was one day seen
+at some distance from the ant-hill, and evidently in no hurry to go
+back to it. In the middle of the path she perceived a large dead
+snail. She began by going round and round it, then climbed on its
+back, and walked all over it. Having satisfied herself that it was a
+choice morsel, but too large for her to carry home alone, she set off
+at once to seek help. On the way she met one of her companions; she
+ran at once to her; they rubbed their antennae together, and evidently
+an animated conversation took place, for the second ant set off
+immediately in the direction of the snail. The first one continued on
+her way home, communicating with every ant she met in the same way; by
+the time she disappeared inside the ant-heap, an endless file of busy
+little ants were on their way to take their share of the spoil. In ten
+minutes the snail was completely covered by the little throng, and by
+the evening every trace of it had vanished.
+
+Recent observations have proved that the time-honoured idea of the
+ant storing up provision for the winter is a delusion, a delusion
+which La Fontaine's famous fable, 'Le Fourmis et la Cigale,' has done
+much to spread and confirm. It is now known, as we have already seen,
+that ants sleep all winter, and that the food which we constantly see
+them laden with is for immediate consumption in the camp. They eat all
+kinds of insects--hornets and cockchafers are favourite dishes--but
+the choicest morsel is a fine fat green caterpillar, caught alive.
+They seize it, some by its head, some by its tail; it struggles, it
+writhes, and sometimes succeeds in freeing itself from its enemies;
+but they do not consider themselves beaten, and attack it again.
+Little by little it becomes stupefied from the discharges of formic
+acid the ants throw out from their bodies, and presently it succumbs
+to their renewed forces. Finally, though the struggle may last an hour
+or more, it is borne to the ant-heap and disappears, to be devoured by
+the inmates. Perhaps these short 'Stories about Ants' may induce some
+of you to follow the advice of the Preacher, and 'go to the ant'
+yourselves for more.
+
+
+
+
+_THE TAMING OF AN OTTER_
+
+From Bingley's _British Quadrupeds_.
+
+
+Otters used once to be very common in England in the neighbourhood of
+rivers, and even in some instances of the sea, but in many places
+where they once lived in great numbers they have now ceased to exist.
+They destroy large quantities of fish, though they are so dainty that
+they only care for the upper parts of the body. If the rivers are
+frozen and no fish are to be had, they will eat poultry, or even
+lambs; and if these are not to be found, they can get on quite well
+for a long time on the bark of trees or on young branches.
+
+Fierce though otters are when brought to bay, they can easily be tamed
+if they are caught young enough. More than a hundred years ago the
+monks of Autun, in France, found a baby otter only a few weeks old,
+and took it back to the convent, and fed it upon milk for nearly two
+months, when it was promoted to soup and fish and vegetables, the food
+of the good monks. It was not very sociable with strange animals, but
+it made great friends with a dog and cat who had known it from a baby,
+and they would play together half the day. At night it had a bed in
+one of the rooms, but in the day it always preferred a heap of straw
+when it was tired of running about. Curious to say, this otter was not
+at all fond of the water, and it was very seldom that it would go near
+a basin of water that was always carefully left near its bed. When it
+did, it was only to wash its face and front paws, after which it would
+go for a run in the court-yard, or curl itself to sleep in the sun.
+Indeed it seemed to have such an objection to water of all kinds, that
+the monks wondered whether it knew how to swim. So one day, when they
+were not so busy as usual, some of the brothers took it off to a
+good-sized pond, and waited to see what it would do. The otter smelt
+about cautiously for a little, and then, recognising that here was
+something it had seen before, ducked its head and wetted its feet as
+it did in the mornings. This did not satisfy the monks, who threw it
+right in, upon which it instantly swam to the other shore, and came
+round again to its friends.
+
+All tame otters are not, however, as forgetful of the habits and
+manners of their race as this one was, and in some parts they have
+even been taught to fish for their masters instead of themselves.
+Careful directions are given for their proper teaching, and a great
+deal of patience is needful, because if an animal is once frightened
+or made angry, there is not much hope of training it afterwards. To
+begin with, it must be fed while it is very young on milk or soup, and
+when it gets older, on bread and the heads of fishes, and it must get
+its food from one person only, to whom it will soon get accustomed and
+attached. The next step is to have a sort of leather bag made, stuffed
+with wool and shaped like a fish, large enough for the animal to take
+in its mouth. Finally, he must wear a collar formed on the principle
+of a slip noose, which can tighten when a long string that is fastened
+to it, is pulled. This is, of course, to teach the otter to drop the
+fish after he has caught it.
+
+The master then leads the otter slowly behind him, till by this means
+he has learned how to follow, and then he has to be made to understand
+the meanings of certain words and tones. So the man says to him, 'Come
+here,' and pulls the cord; and after this has been repeated several
+times, the otter gradually begins to connect the words with the
+action. Then the string is dropped, and the otter trots up obediently
+without it. After that, the sham fish is placed on the ground, and
+the collar, which seems rather like a horse's bit, is pulled so as to
+force the mouth open, while the master exclaims 'Take it!' and when
+the otter is quite perfect in this (which most likely will not happen
+for a long time) the collar is loosened, and he is told to 'drop it.'
+
+Last of all, he is led down to a river with clear shallow water, where
+a small dead fish is thrown in. This he catches at once, and then the
+cord which has been fastened to his neck is gently pulled, and he
+gives up his prize to his master. Then live fish are put in instead of
+the dead one, and when they are killed, the otter is given the heads
+as a reward.
+
+Of course some masters have a special talent for teaching these
+things, and some otters are specially apt pupils. This must have been
+the case with the otter belonging to a Mr. Campbell who lived near
+Inverness. It would sometimes catch eight or ten salmon in a day, and
+never attempted to eat them; while a man in Sweden, called Nilsson,
+and his family, lived entirely on the fish that was caught for them by
+their otter. When he is in his wild state, the otter lives in holes in
+the rocks, or among the roots of trees, though occasionally he has
+been known to burrow under ground, having his door in the water, and
+only a very tiny window opening landwards, so that he may not die of
+suffocation.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORY OF ANDROCLES AND THE LION_
+
+
+Many hundred years ago, there lived in the north of Africa a poor
+Roman slave called Androcles. His master held great power and
+authority in the country, but he was a hard, cruel man, and his slaves
+led a very unhappy life. They had little to eat, had to work hard, and
+were often punished and tortured if they failed to satisfy their
+master's caprices. For long Androcles had borne with the hardships of
+his life, but at last he could bear it no longer, and he made up his
+mind to run away. He knew that it was a great risk, for he had no
+friends in that foreign country with whom he could seek safety and
+protection; and he was aware that if he was overtaken and caught he
+would be put to a cruel death. But even death, he thought, would not
+be so hard as the life he now led, and it was possible that he might
+escape to the sea-coast, and somehow some day get back to Rome and
+find a kinder master.
+
+So he waited till the old moon had waned to a tiny gold thread in the
+skies, and then, one dark night, he slipped out of his master's house,
+and, creeping through the deserted forum and along the silent town, he
+passed out of the city into the vineyards and corn-fields lying
+outside the walls. In the cool night air he walked rapidly. From time
+to time he was startled by the sudden barking of a dog, or the sound
+of voices coming from some late revellers in the villas which stood
+beside the road along which he hurried. But as he got further into the
+country these sounds ceased, and there was silence and darkness all
+round him. When the sun rose he had already gone many miles away from
+the town in which he had been so miserable. But now a new terror
+oppressed him--the terror of great loneliness. He had got into a wild,
+barren country, where there was no sign of human habitation. A thick
+growth of low trees and thorny mimosa bushes spread out before him,
+and as he tried to thread his way through them he was severely
+scratched, and his scant garments torn by the long thorns. Besides the
+sun was very hot, and the trees were not high enough to afford him any
+shade. He was worn out with hunger and fatigue, and he longed to lie
+down and rest. But to lie down in that fierce sun would have meant
+death, and he struggled on, hoping to find some wild berries to eat,
+and some water to quench his thirst. But when he came out of the
+scrub-wood, he found he was as badly off as before. A long, low line
+of rocky cliffs rose before him, but there were no houses, and he saw
+no hope of finding food. He was so tired that he could not wander
+further, and seeing a cave which looked cool and dark in the side of
+the cliffs, he crept into it, and, stretching his tired limbs on the
+sandy floor, fell fast asleep.
+
+Suddenly he was awakened by a noise that made his blood run cold. The
+roar of a wild beast sounded in his ears, and as he started trembling
+and in terror to his feet, he beheld a huge, tawny lion, with great
+glistening white teeth, standing in the entrance of the cave. It was
+impossible to fly, for the lion barred the way. Immovable with fear,
+Androcles stood rooted to the spot, waiting for the lion to spring on
+him and tear him limb from limb.
+
+ [Illustration: ANDROCLES IN THE LION'S CAVE]
+
+But the lion did not move. Making a low moan as if in great pain, it
+stood licking its huge paw, from which Androcles now saw that blood
+was flowing freely. Seeing the poor animal in such pain, and noticing
+how gentle it seemed, Androcles forgot his own terror, and slowly
+approached the lion, who held up its paw as if asking the man to help
+it. Then Androcles saw that a monster thorn had entered the paw,
+making a deep cut, and causing great pain and swelling. Swiftly but
+firmly he drew the thorn out, and pressed the swelling to try to stop
+the flowing of the blood. Relieved of the pain, the lion quietly lay
+down at Androcles' feet, slowly moving his great bushy tail from side
+to side as a dog does when it feels happy and comfortable.
+
+From that moment Androcles and the lion became devoted friends. After
+lying for a little while at his feet, licking the poor wounded paw,
+the lion got up and limped out of the cave. A few minutes later it
+returned with a little dead rabbit in its mouth, which it put down on
+the floor of the cave beside Androcles. The poor man, who was starving
+with hunger, cooked the rabbit somehow, and ate it. In the evening,
+led by the lion, he found a place where there was a spring, at which
+he quenched his dreadful thirst.
+
+And so for three years Androcles and the lion lived together in the
+cave; wandering about the woods together by day, sleeping together at
+night. For in summer the cave was cooler than the woods, and in winter
+it was warmer.
+
+At last the longing in Androcles' heart to live once more with his
+fellow-men became so great that he felt he could remain in the woods
+no longer, but that he must return to a town, and take his chance of
+being caught and killed as a runaway slave. And so one morning he left
+the cave, and wandered away in the direction where he thought the sea
+and the large towns lay. But in a few days he was captured by a band
+of soldiers who were patrolling the country in search of fugitive
+slaves, and he was put in chains and sent as a prisoner to Rome.
+
+Here he was cast into prison and tried for the crime of having run
+away from his master. He was condemned as a punishment to be torn to
+pieces by wild beasts on the first public holiday, in the great circus
+at Rome.
+
+When the day arrived Androcles was brought out of his prison, dressed
+in a simple, short tunic, and with a scarf round his right arm. He
+was given a lance with which to defend himself--a forlorn hope, as he
+knew that he had to fight with a powerful lion which had been kept
+without food for some days to make it more savage and bloodthirsty. As
+he stepped into the arena of the huge circus, above the sound of the
+voices of thousands on thousands of spectators he could hear the
+savage roar of the wild beasts from their cages below the floor on
+which he stood.
+
+Of a sudden the silence of expectation fell on the spectators, for a
+signal had been given, and the cage containing the lion with which
+Androcles had to fight had been shot up into the arena from the floor
+below. A moment later, with a fierce spring and a savage roar, the
+great animal had sprung out of its cage into the arena, and with a
+bound had rushed at the spot where Androcles stood trembling. But
+suddenly, as he saw Androcles, the lion stood still, wondering. Then
+quickly but quietly it approached him, and gently moved its tail and
+licked the man's hands, and fawned upon him like a great dog. And
+Androcles patted the lion's head, and gave a sob of recognition, for
+he knew that it was his own lion, with whom he had lived and lodged
+all those months and years.
+
+And, seeing this strange and wonderful meeting between the man and the
+wild beast, all the people marvelled, and the emperor, from his high
+seat above the arena, sent for Androcles, and bade him tell his story
+and explain this mystery. And the emperor was so delighted with the
+story that he said Androcles was to be released and to be made a free
+man from that hour. And he rewarded him with money, and ordered that
+the lion was to belong to him, and to accompany him wherever he went.
+
+And when the people in Rome met Androcles walking, followed by his
+faithful lion, they used to point at them and say, 'That is the lion,
+the guest of the man, and that is the man, the doctor of the lion.'[4]
+
+ [4] Apparently this nice lion did not bite anybody, when he took
+ his walks abroad. Or, possibly, he was muzzled.--Ed.
+
+ [Illustration: ANDROCLES IN THE ARENA]
+
+
+
+
+_MONSIEUR DUMAS AND HIS BEASTS_
+
+
+I
+
+Most people have heard of Alexandre Dumas, the great French novelist
+who wrote 'The Three Musketeers' and many other delightful historical
+romances. Besides being a great novelist, M. Dumas was a most kind and
+generous man--kind both to human beings and to animals. He had a great
+many pets, of which he gives us the history in one of his books. Here
+are some of the stories about them in his own words.
+
+I was living, he says, at Monte Cristo (this was the name of his villa
+at St.-Germains); I lived there alone, except for the visitors I
+received. I love solitude, for solitude is necessary to anyone who
+works much. However, I do not like complete loneliness; what I love is
+that of the Garden of Eden, a solitude peopled with animals.
+Therefore, in my wilderness at Monte Cristo, without being quite like
+Adam in every way, I had a kind of small earthly paradise.
+
+This is the list of my animals. I had a number of dogs, of which the
+chief was Pritchard. I had a vulture named Diogenes; three monkeys,
+one of which bore the name of a celebrated translator, another that of
+a famous novelist, and the third, which was a female, that of a
+charming actress. We will call the writer Potich, the novelist the
+Last of the Laidmanoirs, and the lady Mademoiselle Desgarcins. I had a
+great blue and yellow macaw called Buvat, a green and yellow parroquet
+called Papa Everard, a cat called Mysouff, a golden pheasant called
+Lucullus, and finally, a cock called Caesar. Let us give honour where
+honour is due, and begin with the history of Pritchard.
+
+I had an acquaintance named M. Lerat, who having heard me say I had no
+dog to take out shooting, said, 'Ah! how glad I am to be able to give
+you something you will really like! A friend of mine who lives in
+Scotland has sent me a pointer of the very best breed. I will give him
+to you. Bring Pritchard,' he added to his two little girls.
+
+How could I refuse a present offered so cordially? Pritchard was
+brought in.
+
+He was an odd-looking dog to be called a pointer! He was long-haired,
+grey and white, with ears nearly erect, mustard-coloured eyes, and a
+beautifully feathered tail. Except for the tail, he could scarcely be
+called a handsome dog.
+
+M. Lerat seemed even more delighted to give the present than I was to
+receive it, which showed what a good heart he had.
+
+'The children call the dog Pritchard,' he said; 'but if you don't like
+the name, call him what you please.'
+
+I had no objection to the name; my opinion was that if anyone had
+cause to complain, it was the dog himself. Pritchard, therefore,
+continued to be called Pritchard. He was at this time about nine or
+ten months old, and ought to begin his education, so I sent him to a
+gamekeeper named Vatrin to learn his duties. But, two hours after I
+had sent Pritchard to Vatrin, he was back again at my house. He was
+not made welcome; on the contrary, he received a good beating from
+Michel, who was my gardener, porter, butler, and confidential servant
+all in one, and who took Pritchard back to Vatrin. Vatrin was
+astonished; Pritchard had been shut up with the other dogs in the
+kennel, and he must have jumped over the enclosure, which was a high
+one. Early the next morning, when the housemaid had opened my front
+door, there was Pritchard sitting outside. Michel again beat the dog,
+and again took him back to Vatrin, who this time put a collar round
+his neck and chained him up. Michel came back and informed me of this
+severe but necessary measure. Vatrin sent a message to say that I
+should not see Pritchard again until his education was finished. The
+next day, while I was writing in a little summer-house in my garden, I
+heard a furious barking. It was Pritchard fighting with a great
+Pyrenean sheepdog which another of my friends had just given me. This
+dog was named Mouton, because of his white woolly hair like a sheep's,
+not on account of his disposition, which was remarkably savage.
+Pritchard was rescued by Michel from Mouton's enormous jaws, once more
+beaten, and for the third time taken back to Vatrin. Pritchard, it
+appears, had eaten his collar, though how he managed it Vatrin never
+knew. He was now shut up in a shed, and unless he ate the walls or the
+door, he could not possibly get out. He tried both, and finding the
+door the more digestible, he ate the door; and the next day at
+dinner-time, Pritchard walked into the dining-room wagging his plumy
+tail, his yellow eyes shining with satisfaction. This time Pritchard
+was neither beaten nor taken back; we waited till Vatrin should come
+to hold a council of war as to what was to be done with him. The next
+day Vatrin appeared.
+
+'Did you _ever_ see such a rascal?' he began. Vatrin was so excited
+that he had forgotten to say 'Good morning' or 'How do you do?'
+
+'I tell you,' said he, 'that rascal Pritchard puts me in such a rage
+that I have crunched the stem of my pipe three times between my teeth
+and broken it, and my wife has had to tie it up with string. He'll
+ruin me in pipes, that brute--that vagabond!'
+
+'Pritchard, do you hear what is said about you?' said I.
+
+Pritchard heard, but perhaps did not think it mattered much about
+Vatrin's pipes, for he only looked at me affectionately and beat upon
+the ground with his tail.
+
+'I don't know what to do with him,' said Vatrin. 'If I keep him he'll
+eat holes in the house, I suppose; yet I don't like to give him
+up--he's only a dog. It's humiliating for a man, don't you know?'
+
+'I'll tell you what, Vatrin,' said I. 'We will take him down to
+Vesinet, and go for a walk through your preserves, and then we shall
+see whether it is worth while to take any more trouble with this
+vagabond, as you call him.'
+
+'I call him by his name. It oughtn't to be Pritchard; it should be
+Bluebeard, it should be Blunderbore, it should be Judas Iscariot!'
+
+Vatrin enumerated all the greatest villains he could think of at the
+moment.
+
+I called Michel.
+
+'Michel, give me my shooting shoes and gaiters; we will go to Vesinet
+to see what Pritchard can do.'
+
+'You will see, sir,' said Michel, 'that you will be better pleased
+than you think.' For Michel always had a liking for Pritchard.
+
+We went down a steep hill to Vesinet, Michel following with Pritchard
+on a leash. At the steepest place I turned round. 'Look there upon the
+bridge in front of us, Michel,' I said, 'there is a dog very like
+Pritchard.' Michel looked behind him. There was nothing but the
+leather straps in his hand; Pritchard had cut it through with his
+teeth, and was now standing on the bridge amusing himself by looking
+at the water through the railing.
+
+'He _is_ a vagabond!' said Vatrin. 'Look! where is he off to now?'
+
+'He has gone,' said I, 'to see what my neighbour Correge has got for
+luncheon.' Sure enough, the next moment Pritchard was seen coming out
+of M. Correge's back door, pursued by a maid servant with a broom. He
+had a veal cutlet in his mouth, which he had just taken out of the
+frying-pan.
+
+'Monsieur Dumas!' cried the maid, 'Monsieur Dumas! stop your dog!'
+
+We tried; but Pritchard passed between Michel and me like a flash of
+lightning.
+
+'It seems,' said Michel, 'that he likes his veal underdone.'
+
+'My good woman,' I said to the cook, who was still pursuing Pritchard,
+'I fear that you are losing time, and that you will never see your
+cutlet again.'
+
+'Well, then, let me tell you, sir, that you have no right to keep and
+feed a thief like that.'
+
+'It is you, my good woman, who are feeding him to-day, not I.'
+
+'Me!' said the cook, 'it's--it's M. Correge. And what will M. Correge
+say, I should like to know?'
+
+'He will say, like Michel, that it seems Pritchard likes his veal
+underdone.'
+
+'Well, but he'll not be pleased--he will think it's my fault.'
+
+'Never mind, I will invite your master to luncheon with me.'
+
+'All the same, if your dog goes on like that, he will come to a bad
+end. That is all I have to say--he will come to a bad end.' And she
+stretched out her broom in an attitude of malediction towards the spot
+where Pritchard had disappeared.
+
+We three stood looking at one another. 'Well,' said I, 'we have lost
+Pritchard.'
+
+'We'll soon find him,' said Michel.
+
+We therefore set off to find Pritchard, whistling and calling to him,
+as we walked on towards Vatrin's shooting ground. This search lasted
+for a good half-hour, Pritchard not taking the slightest notice of our
+appeals. At last Michel stopped.
+
+'Sir,' he said, 'look there! Just come and look.'
+
+'Well, what?' said I, going to him.
+
+'Look!' said Michel, pointing. I followed the direction of Michel's
+finger, and saw Pritchard in a perfectly immovable attitude, as rigid
+as if carved in stone.
+
+'Vatrin,' said I, 'come here.' Vatrin came. I showed him Pritchard.
+
+'I think he is making a point,' said Vatrin. Michel thought so too.
+
+'But what is he pointing at?' I asked. We cautiously came nearer to
+Pritchard, who never stirred.
+
+'He certainly is pointing,' said Vatrin. Then making a sign to
+me--'Look there!' he said. 'Do you see anything?'
+
+'Nothing.'
+
+'What! you don't see a rabbit sitting? If I only had my stick, I'd
+knock it on the head, and it would make a nice stew for your dinner.'
+
+'Oh!' said Michel, 'if that's all, I'll cut you a stick.'
+
+'Well, but Pritchard might leave off pointing.'
+
+'No fear of him--I'll answer for him--unless, indeed, the rabbit goes
+away.'
+
+Vatrin proceeded to cut a stick. Pritchard never moved, only from time
+to time he turned his yellow eyes upon us, which shone like a topaz.
+
+'Have patience,' said Michel. 'Can't you see that M. Vatrin is cutting
+a stick?' And Pritchard seemed to understand as he turned his eye on
+Vatrin.
+
+'You have still time to take off the branches,' said Michel.
+
+When the branches were taken off and the stick was quite finished,
+Vatrin approached cautiously, took a good aim, and struck with all his
+might into the middle of the tuft of grass where the rabbit was
+sitting. He had killed it!
+
+Pritchard darted in upon the rabbit, but Vatrin took it from him, and
+Michel slipped it into the lining of his coat. This pocket had
+already held a good many rabbits in its time!
+
+Vatrin turned to congratulate Pritchard, but he had disappeared.
+
+'He's off to find another rabbit,' said Michel.
+
+And accordingly, after ten minutes or so, we came upon Pritchard
+making another point. This time Vatrin had a stick ready cut; and
+after a minute, plunging his hands into a brier bush, he pulled out by
+the ears a second rabbit.
+
+'There, Michel,' he said, 'put that into your other pocket.'
+
+'Oh,' said Michel, 'there's room for five more in this one.'
+
+'Hallo, Michel! people don't say those things before a magistrate.'
+And turning to Vatrin I added, 'Let us try once more, Vatrin--the
+number three is approved by the gods.'
+
+'May be,' said Vatrin, 'but perhaps it won't be approved by M.
+Guerin.'
+
+M. Guerin was the police inspector.
+
+Next time we came upon Pritchard pointing, Vatrin said, 'I wonder how
+long he would stay like that;' and he pulled out his watch.
+
+'Well, Vatrin,' said I, 'you shall try the experiment, as it is in
+your own vocation; but I am afraid I have not the time to spare.'
+
+Michel and I then returned home. Vatrin followed with Pritchard an
+hour afterwards.
+
+'Five-and-twenty minutes!' he called out as soon as he was within
+hearing. 'And if the rabbit had not gone away, the dog would have been
+there now.'
+
+'Well, Vatrin, what do you think of him?'
+
+'Why, I say he is a good pointer; he has only to learn to retrieve,
+and that you can teach him yourself. I need not keep him any longer.'
+
+'Do you hear, Michel?'
+
+'Oh, sir,' said Michel, 'he can do that already. He retrieves like an
+angel!'
+
+This failed to convey to me an exact idea of the way in which
+Pritchard retrieved. But Michel threw a handkerchief, and Pritchard
+brought it back. He then threw one of the rabbits that Vatrin carried,
+and Pritchard brought back the rabbit. Michel then fetched an egg and
+placed it on the ground. Pritchard retrieved the egg as he had done
+the rabbit and the handkerchief.
+
+'Well,' said Vatrin, 'the animal knows all that human skill can teach
+him. He wants nothing now but practice. And when one thinks,' he
+added, 'that if the rascal would only come in to heel, he would be
+worth twenty pounds if he was worth a penny.'
+
+'True,' said I with a sigh, 'but you may give up hope, Vatrin; that is
+a thing he will never consent to.'
+
+
+II
+
+I think that the time has now come to tell my readers a little about
+Mademoiselle Desgarcins, Potich, and the Last of the Laidmanoirs.
+Mademoiselle Desgarcins was a tiny monkey; I do not know the place of
+her birth, but I brought her from Havre, where I had gone--I don't
+know why--perhaps to look at the sea. But I thought I must bring
+something home with me from Havre. I was walking there on the quay,
+when at the door of a bird-fancier's shop I saw a green monkey and a
+blue and yellow macaw. The monkey put its paw through the bars of its
+cage and caught hold of my coat, while the blue parrot turned its head
+and looked at me in such an affectionate manner that I stopped,
+holding the monkey's paw with one hand, and scratching the parrot's
+head with the other. The little monkey gently drew my hand within
+reach of her mouth, the parrot half shut its eyes and made a little
+purring noise to express its pleasure.
+
+ [Illustration: 'MONSIEUR DUMAS, MAY I ACCOMMODATE YOU WITH MY MONKEY
+ AND MY PARROT?']
+
+'Monsieur Dumas,' said the shopman, coming out with the air of a man
+who was more decided to sell than I was to buy; 'Monsieur Dumas, may I
+accommodate you with my monkey and my parrot?' It would have been
+more to the purpose if he had said, 'Monsieur Dumas, may I _incommode_
+you with my monkey and my parrot?' However, after a little bargaining,
+I bought both animals, as well as a cage for the monkey and a perch
+for the parrot; and as soon as I arrived at home, I introduced them to
+Michel.
+
+'This,' said Michel, 'is the green monkey of Senegal--_Cercopithecus
+sabaea_.'
+
+I looked at Michel in the greatest astonishment. 'Do you know Latin,
+Michel?'
+
+'I don't know Latin, but I know my "Dictionary of Natural History."'
+
+'Oh, indeed! And do you know what bird this is?' I asked, showing him
+the parrot.
+
+'To be sure I know it,' said Michel. 'It is the blue and yellow
+macaw--_Macrocercus arararanna_. Oh, sir, why did you not bring a
+female as well as a male?'
+
+'What is the use, Michel, since parrots will not breed in this
+country?'
+
+'There you make a mistake, sir; the blue macaw will breed in France.'
+
+'In the south, perhaps?'
+
+'It need not be in the south, sir.'
+
+'Where then?'
+
+'At Caen.'
+
+'At Caen? I did not know Caen had a climate which permits parrots to
+rear their young. Go and fetch my gazetteer.'
+
+'You will soon see,' said Michel as he brought it. I read: 'Caen,
+capital of the department of Calvados, upon the Orne and the Odon: 223
+kilometres west of Paris, 41,806 inhabitants.'
+
+'You will see,' said Michel, 'the parrots are coming.'
+
+'Great trade in plaster, salt, wood--taken by English in 1346--retaken
+by the French &c., &c.--never mind the date--That is all, Michel.'
+
+'What! Your dictionary never says that the arararanna, otherwise
+called the blue macaw, produces young at Caen?'
+
+'No, Michel, it does not say that here.'
+
+'What a dictionary! Just wait till I fetch you mine and you will see.'
+
+Michel returned in a few minutes with his book of Natural History.
+
+'You will soon see, sir,' he said, opening his dictionary in his turn.
+'Parrot--here it is--parrots are monogamous.'
+
+'As you know Latin, Michel, of course you know what monogamous means.'
+
+'That means that they can sing scales--gamut, I suppose?'
+
+'Well, no, Michel, not exactly. It means that they have only one
+"wife."'
+
+'Indeed, sir? That is because they talk like us most likely. Now, I
+have found the place: "It was long believed that parrots were
+incapable of breeding in Europe, but the contrary has been proved on a
+pair of blue macaws which lived at Caen. M. Lamouroux furnishes the
+details of these results."'
+
+'Let us hear the details which M. Lamouroux furnishes.'
+
+'"These macaws, from March 1818 until August 1822, including a period
+of four years and a half, laid, in all, sixty-two eggs."'
+
+'Michel, I never said they did not lay eggs; what I said was--'
+
+'"Out of this number,"' continued Michel in a loud voice,
+'"twenty-five young macaws were hatched, of which only ten died. The
+others lived and continued perfectly healthy."'
+
+'Michel, I confess to having entertained false ideas on the subject of
+macaws.'
+
+'"They laid at all seasons of the year,"' continued Michel, '"and more
+eggs were hatched in the latter than in the former years."'
+
+'Michel, I have no more to say.'
+
+'"The number of eggs in the nest varied. There have been as many as
+six at a time."'
+
+'Michel, I yield, rescue or no rescue!'
+
+'Only,' said Michel, shutting the book, 'you must be careful not to
+give them bitter almonds or parsley.'
+
+'Not bitter almonds,' I answered, 'because they contain prussic acid;
+but why not parsley?'
+
+Michel, who had kept his thumb in the page, reopened the book.
+'"Parsley and bitter almonds,"' he read, '"are a violent poison to
+parrots."'
+
+'All right, Michel, I shall remember.'
+
+I remembered so well, that some time after, hearing that M. Persil had
+died suddenly (persil being the French for parsley), I exclaimed, much
+shocked: 'Ah! poor man, how unfortunate! He must have been eating
+parrot!' However, the news was afterwards contradicted.
+
+The next day I desired Michel to tell the carpenter to make a new cage
+for Mademoiselle Desgarcins, who would certainly die of cramp if left
+in her small travelling cage. But Michel, with a solemn face, said it
+was unnecessary. 'For,' said he, 'I am sorry to tell you, sir, that a
+misfortune has happened. A weasel has killed the golden pheasant. You
+will, however, have it for your dinner to-day.'
+
+I did not refuse, though the prospect of this repast caused me no
+great pleasure. I am very fond of game, but somehow prefer pheasants
+which have been shot to those killed by weasels.
+
+'Then,' said I, 'if the cage is empty, let us put in the monkey.' We
+brought the little cage close to the big cage, and opened both doors.
+The monkey sprang into her new abode, bounded from perch to perch, and
+then came and looked at me through the bars, making grimaces and
+uttering plaintive cries.
+
+'She is unhappy without a companion,' said Michel.
+
+'Suppose we give her the parrot?'
+
+'You know that little boy, an Auvergnat, who comes here with his
+monkey asking for pennies. If I were you, sir, I would buy that
+monkey.'
+
+'And why that monkey rather than another?'
+
+'He has been so well educated and is so gentle. He has a cap with a
+feather, and he takes it off when you give him a nut or a bit of
+sugar.'
+
+ [Illustration: {THE AUVERGNAT AND HIS MONKEY}]
+
+'Can he do anything else?'
+
+'He can fight a duel.'
+
+'Is that all?'
+
+'No, he can also catch fleas on his master.'
+
+'But, Michel, do you think that that youth would part with so useful
+an animal?'
+
+'We can but ask him, and there he is at this moment!' And he called
+to the boy to come in. The monkey was sitting on a box which the
+little boy carried on his back, and when his master took off his cap,
+the monkey did the same. It had a nice gentle little face, and I
+remarked to Michel that it was very like a well-known translator of my
+acquaintance.
+
+'If I have the happiness to become the owner of this charming animal,'
+I continued, 'we will call it Potich.' And giving Michel forty francs,
+I left him to make his bargain with the little Auvergnat.
+
+
+III
+
+I had not entered my study since my return from Havre, and there is
+always a pleasure in coming home again after an absence. I was glad to
+come back, and looked about me with a pleased smile, feeling sure that
+the furniture and ornaments of the room, if they could speak, would
+say they were glad to see me again. As I glanced from one familiar
+object to another, I saw, upon a seat by the fire, a thing like a
+black and white muff, which I had never seen before. When I came
+closer, I saw that the muff was a little cat, curled up, half asleep,
+and purring loudly. I called the cook, whose name was Madame Lamarque.
+She came in after a minute or two.
+
+'So sorry to have kept you waiting, but you see, sir, I was making a
+white sauce, and you, who can cook yourself, know how quickly those
+sauces curdle if you are not looking after them.'
+
+'Yes, I know that, Madame Lamarque; but what I do not know is, where
+this new guest of mine comes from.' And I pointed to the cat.
+
+'Ah, sir!' said Madame Lamarque in a sentimental tone, 'that is an
+antony.'
+
+'An antony, Madame Lamarque! What is that?'
+
+'In other words, an orphan--a foundling, sir.'
+
+'Poor little beast!'
+
+'I felt sure that would interest you, sir.'
+
+'And where did you find it, Madame Lamarque?'
+
+'In the cellar--I heard a little cry--miaow, miaow, miaow! and I said
+to myself, "That _must_ be a cat!"'
+
+'No! did you actually say that?'
+
+'Yes, and I went down myself, sir, and found the poor little thing
+behind the sticks. Then I recollected how you had once said, "We ought
+to have a cat in the house."'
+
+'Did I say so? I think you are making a mistake, Madame Lamarque.'
+
+'Indeed, sir, you did say so. Then I said to myself, "Providence has
+sent us the cat which my master wishes for." And now there is one
+question I must ask you, sir. What shall we call the cat?'
+
+'We will call it Mysouff, if you have no objection. And please be
+careful, Madame Lamarque, that it does not eat my quails and
+turtle-doves, or any of my little foreign birds.'
+
+'If M. Dumas is afraid of that,' said Michel, coming in, 'there is a
+method of preventing cats from eating birds.'
+
+'And what is the method, my good friend?'
+
+'You have a bird in a cage. Very well. You cover three sides of the
+cage, you make a gridiron red-hot, you put it against the uncovered
+side of the cage, you let out the cat, and you leave the room. The
+cat, when it makes its spring, jumps against the hot gridiron. The
+hotter the gridiron is the better the cat is afterwards.'
+
+'Thank you, Michel. And what of the troubadour and his monkey?'
+
+'To be sure; I was coming to tell you about that. It is all right,
+sir; you are to have Potich for forty francs, only you must give the
+boy two white mice and a guinea-pig in return.'
+
+'But where am I to find two white mice and a guinea-pig?'
+
+'If you will leave the commission to me, I will see that they are
+found.'
+
+I left the commission to Michel.
+
+'If you won't think me impertinent, sir,' said Madame Lamarque, 'I
+should so like to know what _Mysouff_ means.'
+
+'Mysouff just means Mysouff, Madame Lamarque.'
+
+'It is a cat's name, then?'
+
+'Certainly, since Mysouff the First was so-called. It is true, Madame
+Lamarque, you never knew Mysouff.' And I became so thoughtful that
+Madame Lamarque was kind enough to withdraw quietly, without asking
+any questions about Mysouff the First.
+
+That name had taken me back to fifteen years ago, when my mother was
+still living. I had then the great happiness of having a mother to
+scold me sometimes. At the time I speak of, I had a situation in the
+service of the Duc d'Orleans, with a salary of 1,500 francs. My work
+occupied me from ten in the morning until five in the afternoon. We
+had a cat in those days whose name was Mysouff. This cat had missed
+his vocation--he ought to have been a dog. Every morning I started for
+my office at half-past nine, and came back every evening at half-past
+five. Every morning Mysouff followed me to the corner of a particular
+street, and every evening I found him in the same street, at the same
+corner, waiting for me. Now the curious thing was that on the days
+when I had found some amusement elsewhere, and was not coming home to
+dinner, it was no use to open the door for Mysouff to go and meet
+me.[5] Mysouff, in the attitude of the serpent with its tail in its
+mouth, refused to stir from his cushion. On the other hand, the days I
+did come, Mysouff would scratch at the door until someone opened it
+for him. My mother was very fond of Mysouff; she used to call him her
+barometer.
+
+ [5] A remarkable instance of telepathy in the Cat.--A. L.
+
+'Mysouff marks my good and my bad weather,' my dear mother would say;
+'the days you come in are my days of sunshine; my rainy days are when
+you stay away.'
+
+When I came home, I used to see Mysouff at the street corner, sitting
+quite still and gazing into the distance. As soon as he caught sight
+of me, he began to move his tail; then as I drew nearer, he rose and
+walked backwards and forwards across the pavement with his back arched
+and his tail in the air. When I reached him, he jumped up upon me as a
+dog would have done, and bounded and played round me as I walked
+towards the house; but when I was close to it he dashed in at full
+speed. Two seconds after, I used to see my mother at the door.
+
+Never again in this world, but in the next perhaps, I shall see her
+standing waiting for me at the door.
+
+That is what I was thinking of, dear readers, when the name of Mysouff
+brought back all these recollections; so you understand why I did not
+answer Madame Lamarque's questions.
+
+Henceforth Mysouff II. enjoyed the same privileges that Mysouff I. had
+done, although, as will be seen later, he was not distinguished by
+similar virtues, but was, in fact, a very different sort of cat.
+
+
+IV
+
+The following Sunday, when my son Alexandre and one or two intimate
+friends were assembled in my room, a second Auvergnat boy, with a
+second monkey, demanded admittance, and said that a friend having told
+him that M. Dumas had bought his monkey for forty francs, two white
+mice, and a guinea-pig, he was prepared to offer his for the same
+price. My friends urged me to buy the second monkey.
+
+'Do buy this charming creature,' said my artist friend Giraud.
+
+'Yes, do buy this ridiculous little beast,' said Alexandre.
+
+'Buy him, indeed,' said I; 'have I forty francs to give away every
+day, to say nothing of a guinea-pig and two white mice?'
+
+'Gentlemen,' said Alexandre, 'I am sorry to tell you that my father
+is, without exception, the most avaricious man living.'
+
+My guests exclaimed, but Alexandre said that one day he would prove
+the truth of his assertion. I was now called upon to admire the
+monkey, and to remark how like he was to a friend of ours. Giraud, who
+was painting a portrait of this gentleman, said that if I would let
+the monkey sit to him, it would help him very much in his work, and
+Maquet, another of my guests, offered, amidst general applause, to
+make me a present of it.[6] This decided me.
+
+ [6] Maquet. The immortal Augustus MacKeat.
+
+'You see,' said Alexandre, 'he accepts.'
+
+'Come, young man,' said I to the Auvergnat, 'embrace your monkey for
+the last time, and if you have any tears to shed, shed them without
+delay.'
+
+When the full price was paid, the boy made an attempt to do as I told
+him, but the Last of the Laidmanoirs refused to be embraced by his
+former master, and as soon as the latter had gone away, he seemed
+delighted and began to dance, while Mademoiselle Desgarcins in her
+cage danced, too, with all her might.
+
+'Look!' said Maquet, 'they like each other. Let us complete the
+happiness of these interesting animals.'
+
+We shut them up in the cage together, to the great delight of
+Mademoiselle Desgarcins, who did not care for Potich, and much
+preferred her new admirer. Potich, indeed, showed signs of jealousy,
+but, not being armed with the sword which he used to have when he
+fought duels, he could not wash out his affronts in the blood of his
+rival, but became a prey to silent melancholy and wounded affection.
+
+While we were still looking at the monkeys, a servant came in bringing
+a tray with wine and seltzer water.
+
+'I say,' said Alexandre, 'let us make Mademoiselle Desgarcins open the
+seltzer-water bottle!' and he put the bottle inside the cage on the
+floor. No sooner had he done so, than all three monkeys surrounded it
+and looked at it with the greatest curiosity. Mademoiselle Desgarcins
+was the first to understand that something would happen if she undid
+the four crossed wires which held down the cork. She accordingly set
+to work, first with her fingers, and then with her teeth, and it was
+not long before she undid the first three. She next attacked the
+fourth, while the whole company, both men and monkeys, watched her
+proceedings with breathless attention. Presently a frightful explosion
+was heard: Mademoiselle Desgarcins was knocked over by the cork and
+drenched with seltzer water, while Potich and the Last of the
+Laidmanoirs fled to the top of their cage, uttering piercing cries.
+
+'Oh!' cried Alexandre, 'I'll give my share of seltzer water to see her
+open another bottle!' Mademoiselle Desgarcins had got up, shaken
+herself, and gone to rejoin her companions, who were still howling
+lamentably.
+
+'You don't suppose she'll let herself be caught a second time,' said
+Giraud.
+
+'Do you know,' said Maquet, 'I should not wonder if she would. I
+believe her curiosity would still be stronger than her fear.'
+
+'Monkeys,' said Michel, who had come in on hearing their cries, 'are
+more obstinate than mules. The more seltzer-water bottles you give
+them, the more they will uncork.'
+
+'Do you think so, Michel?'
+
+'You know, of course, how they catch them in their own country.'
+
+'No, Michel.'
+
+'What! you don't know _that_, gentlemen?' said Michel, full of
+compassion for our ignorance. 'You know that monkeys are very fond of
+Indian corn. Well, you put some Indian corn into a bottle, the neck of
+which is just large enough to admit a monkey's paw. He sees the Indian
+corn through the glass----'
+
+'Well, Michel?'
+
+'He puts his hand inside, and takes a good handful of the Indian corn.
+At that moment the hunter shows himself. They are so obstinate--the
+monkeys, I mean--that they won't let go what they have in their hand,
+but as they can't draw their closed fist through the opening, there
+they are, you see, caught.'
+
+'Well, then, Michel, if ever our monkeys get out, you will know how to
+catch them again.'
+
+'Oh! no fear, sir, that is just what I shall do.'
+
+The seltzer-water experiment was successfully repeated, to the triumph
+of Michel and the delight of Alexandre, who wished to go on doing it;
+but I forbade him, seeing that poor Mademoiselle Desgarcins' nose was
+bleeding from the blow of the cork.
+
+'It is not that,' said Alexandre; 'it is because you grudge your
+seltzer water. I have already remarked, gentlemen, that my father is,
+I regret to say, an exceedingly avaricious man.'
+
+
+V
+
+It is now my painful duty to give my readers some account of the
+infamous conduct of Mysouff II. One morning, on waking rather late, I
+saw my bedroom door gently opened, and the head of Michel thrust in,
+wearing such a concerned expression that I knew at once that something
+was wrong.
+
+'What has happened, Michel?'
+
+'Why, sir, those villains of monkeys have managed to twist a bar of
+their cage, I don't know how, until they have made a great hole, and
+now they have escaped.'
+
+'Well--but, Michel, we foresaw that that might occur, and now you have
+only to buy your Indian corn, and procure three bottles the right
+size.'
+
+'Ah! you are laughing, sir,' said Michel, reproachfully, 'but you
+won't laugh when you know all. They have opened the door of the
+aviary----'
+
+'And so my birds have flown away?'
+
+'Sir, your six pairs of turtle doves, your fourteen quails, and all
+your little foreign birds, are eaten up!'[7]
+
+ [7] Let the reader compare the conduct of Mr. Gully, later!
+
+'But monkeys won't eat birds!'
+
+'No, but Master Mysouff will, and he has done it!'
+
+'The deuce he has! I must see for myself.'
+
+'Yes, go yourself, sir; you will see a sight--a field of battle--a
+massacre of St. Bartholomew!'
+
+As I was coming out, Michel stopped me to point to Potich, who had
+hung himself by the tail to the branch of a maple, and was swinging
+gracefully to and fro. Mademoiselle Desgarcins was bounding gaily
+about in the aviary, while the Last of the Laidmanoirs was practising
+gymnastics on the top of the greenhouse. 'Well, Michel, we must catch
+them. I will manage the Last of the Laidmanoirs if you will get hold
+of Mademoiselle Desgarcins. As to poor little Potich, he will come of
+his own accord.'
+
+'I wouldn't trust him, sir; he is a hypocrite. He has made it up with
+the other one--just think of that!'
+
+'What! he has made friends with his rival in the affections of
+Mademoiselle Desgarcins?'
+
+'Just so, sir.'
+
+'That is sad indeed, Michel; I thought only human beings could be
+guilty of so mean an action.'
+
+'You see, sir, these monkeys have frequented the society of human
+beings.'
+
+ [Illustration: {THE LAST OF THE LAIDMANOIRS AND MADEMOISELLE
+ DESGARCINS}]
+
+I now advanced upon the Last of the Laidmanoirs with so much
+precaution that I contrived to shut him into the greenhouse, where he
+retreated into a corner and prepared to defend himself, while Potich,
+from the outside, encouraged his friend by making horrible faces at me
+through the glass. At this moment piercing shrieks were heard from
+Mademoiselle Desgarcins; Michel had just caught her. These cries so
+enraged the Last of the Laidmanoirs that he dashed out upon me; but I
+parried his attack with the palm of my hand; with which he came in
+contact so forcibly that he lost breath for a minute, and I then
+picked him up by the scruff of the neck.
+
+'Have you caught Mademoiselle Desgarcins?' I shouted to Michel.
+
+'Have you caught the Last of the Laidmanoirs?' returned he.
+
+'Yes!' we both replied in turn. And each bearing his prisoner, we
+returned to the cage, which had in the meantime been mended, and shut
+them up once more, whilst Potich, with loud lamentations, fled to the
+top of the highest tree in the garden. No sooner, however, did he find
+that his two companions were unable to get out of their cage, than he
+came down from his tree, approached Michel in a timid and sidelong
+manner, and with clasped hands and little plaintive cries, entreated
+to be shut up again with his friends.
+
+'Just see what a hypocrite he is!' said Michel.
+
+But I was of opinion that the conduct of Potich was prompted by
+devotion rather than hypocrisy; I compared it to that of Regulus, who
+returned to Carthage to keep his promised word, or to King John of
+France, who voluntarily gave himself up to the English for the
+Countess of Salisbury's sake.
+
+Michel continued to think Potich a hypocrite, but on account of his
+repentance he was forgiven. He was put back into the cage, where
+Mademoiselle Desgarcins took very little notice of him.
+
+All this time Mysouff, having been forgotten, calmly remained in the
+aviary, and continued to crunch the bones of his victims with the most
+hardened indifference. It was easy enough to catch _him_. We shut him
+into the aviary, and held a council as to what should be his
+punishment. Michel was of opinion that he should be shot forthwith. I
+was, however, opposed to his immediate execution, and resolved to wait
+until the following Sunday, and then to cause Mysouff to be formally
+tried by my assembled friends. The condemnation was therefore
+postponed. In the meantime Mysouff remained a prisoner in the very
+spot where his crimes had been committed. He continued, however, to
+refresh himself with the remains of his victims without apparent
+remorse, but Michel removed all the bodies, and confined him to a diet
+of bread and water.
+
+Next Sunday, having convoked a council of all my friends, the trial
+was proceeded with. Michel was appointed Chief Justice and Nogent
+Saint-Laurent was counsel for the prisoner. I may remark that the jury
+were inclined to find a verdict of guilty, and after the first speech
+of the Judge, the capital sentence seemed almost certain. But the
+skilful advocate, in a long and eloquent speech, brought clearly
+before us the innocence of Mysouff, the malice of the monkeys, their
+quickness and incessant activity compared with the less inventive
+minds of cats. He showed us that Mysouff was incapable of
+contemplating such a crime; he described him wrapped in peaceful
+sleep, then, suddenly aroused from this innocent slumber by the
+abandoned creatures who, living as they did opposite the aviary, had
+doubtless long harboured their diabolical designs. We saw Mysouff but
+half awake, still purring innocently, stretching himself, opening his
+pink mouth, from which protruded a tongue like that of a heraldic
+lion. He shakes his ears, a proof that he rejects the infamous
+proposal that is being made to him; he listens; at first he
+refuses--the advocate insisted that the prisoner had begun by
+refusing--then, naturally yielding, hardly more than a kitten,
+corrupted as he had been by the cook, who instead of feeding him on
+milk or a little weak broth, as she had been told to do, had
+recklessly excited his carnivorous appetite by giving him pieces of
+liver and parings of raw chops; the unfortunate young cat yields
+little by little, prompted more by good nature and weakness of mind
+than by cruelty or greed, and, only half awake, he does the bidding of
+the villainous monkeys, the real instigators of the crime. The
+counsel here took the prisoner in his arms, showed us his paws, and
+defied any anatomist to say that with paws so made, an animal could
+possibly open a door that was bolted. Finally, he borrowed Michel's
+Dictionary of Natural History, opened it at the article 'Cat,'
+'Domestic Cat,' 'Wild Cat'; he proved that Mysouff was no wild cat,
+seeing that nature had robed him in white, the colour of innocence;
+then smiting the book with vehemence, 'Cat!' he exclaimed, 'Cat! You
+shall now hear, gentlemen, what the illustrious Buffon, the man with
+lace sleeves, has to say about the cat.
+
+'"The cat," says M. de Buffon, "is not to be trusted, but it is kept
+to rid the house of enemies which cannot otherwise be destroyed.
+Although the cat, especially when young, is pleasing, nature has given
+it perverse and untrustworthy qualities which increase with age, and
+which education may conceal, but will not eradicate." Well, then,'
+exclaimed the orator, after having read this passage, 'what more
+remains to be said? Did poor Mysouff come here with a false character
+seeking a situation? Was it not the cook herself who found him--who
+took him by force from the heap of sticks behind which he had sought
+refuge? It was merely to interest and touch the heart of her master
+that she described him mewing in the cellar. We must reflect also,
+that those unhappy birds, his victims--I allude especially to the
+quails, which are eaten by man--though their death is doubtless much
+to be deplored, yet they must have felt themselves liable to death at
+any moment, and are now released from the terrors they experienced
+every time they saw the cook approaching their retreat. Finally,
+gentlemen, I appeal to your justice, and I think you will now admit
+that the interesting and unfortunate Mysouff has but yielded, not only
+to incontrollable natural instincts, but also to foreign influence. I
+claim for my client the plea of extenuating circumstances.'
+
+The counsel's pleading was received with cries of applause, and
+Mysouff, found guilty of complicity in the murder of the quails,
+turtle-doves, and other birds of different species, but with
+extenuating circumstances, was sentenced only to five years of
+monkeys.
+
+
+VI
+
+The next winter, certain circumstances, with which I need not trouble
+my readers, led to my making a journey to Algiers. I seldom make any
+long journey without bringing home some animal to add to my
+collection, and accordingly I returned from Africa accompanied by a
+vulture, which I bought from a little boy who called himself a
+Beni-Mouffetard. I paid ten francs for the vulture, and made the
+Beni-Mouffetard a present of two more, in return for which he warned
+me that my vulture was excessively savage, and had already bitten off
+the thumb of an Arab and the tail of a dog. I promised to be very
+careful, and the next day I became the possessor of a magnificent
+vulture, whose only fault consisted in a strong desire to tear in
+pieces everybody who came near him. I bestowed on him the name of his
+compatriot, Jugurtha. He had a chain fastened to his leg, and had for
+further security been placed in a large cage made of spars. In this
+cage he travelled quite safely as far as Philippeville, without any
+other accident than that he nearly bit off the finger of a passenger
+who had tried to make friends with him. At Philippeville a difficulty
+arose. It was three miles from Stora, the port where we were to
+embark, and the diligence did not go on so far. I and several other
+gentlemen thought that we would like to walk to Stora, the scenery
+being beautiful and the distance not very great; but what was I to do
+about Jugurtha? I could not ask a porter to carry the cage; Jugurtha
+would certainly have eaten him through the spars. I thought of a plan:
+it was to lengthen his chain eight or ten feet by means of a cord; and
+then to drive him in front of me with a long pole. But the first
+difficulty was to induce Jugurtha to come out of his cage; none of us
+dared put our hands within reach of his beak. However, I managed to
+fasten the cord to his chain, then I made two men armed with pickaxes
+break away the spars. Jugurtha finding himself free, spread out his
+wings to fly away, but he could of course only fly as far as his cord
+would permit.
+
+Now Jugurtha was a very intelligent creature; he saw that there was an
+obstacle in the way of his liberty, and that I was that obstacle; he
+therefore turned upon me with fury, in the hope of putting me to
+flight, or devouring me in case of resistance. I, however, was no less
+sagacious than Jugurtha; I had foreseen the attack, and provided
+myself with a good switch made of dogwood, as thick as one's
+forefinger, and eight feet long. With this switch I parried Jugurtha's
+attack, which astonished but did not stop him; however, a second blow,
+given with all my force, made him stop short, and a third caused him
+to fly in the opposite direction, that is, towards Stora. Once
+launched upon this road, I had only to use my switch adroitly to make
+Jugurtha proceed at about the same pace as we did ourselves, to the
+great admiration of my fellow-travellers, and of all the people whom
+we met on the road. On our arrival at Stora Jugurtha made no
+difficulty about getting on board the steamer, and when tied to the
+mast, waited calmly while a new cage was made for him. He went into it
+of his own accord, received with gratitude the pieces of meat which
+the ship's cook gave him, and three days after his embarkation he
+became so tame that he used to present me with his head to scratch, as
+a parrot does. I brought Jugurtha home without further adventure, and
+committed him to the charge of Michel.
+
+It was not until my return from Algiers on this occasion that I went
+to live at Monte Cristo, the building of which had been finished
+during my absence. Up to this time I had lived in a smaller house
+called the Villa Medicis, and while the other was building, Michel
+made arrangements for the proper lodging of all my animals, for he
+was much more occupied about their comfort than he was about mine or
+even his own. They had all plenty of room, particularly the dogs, who
+were not confined by any sort of enclosure, and Pritchard, who was
+naturally generous, kept open house with a truly Scottish hospitality.
+It was his custom to sit in the middle of the road and salute every
+dog that passed with a little not unfriendly growl; smelling him, and
+permitting himself to be smelt in a ceremonious manner. When a mutual
+sympathy had been produced by this means, a conversation something
+like this would begin:
+
+'Have you a good master?' asked the strange dog.
+
+'Not bad,' Pritchard would reply.
+
+'Does your master feed you well?'
+
+'Well, one has porridge twice a day, bones at breakfast and dinner,
+and anything one can pick up in the kitchen besides.'
+
+The stranger licked his lips.
+
+'You are not badly off,' said he.
+
+'I do not complain,' replied Pritchard. Then, seeing the strange dog
+look pensive, he added, 'Would you like to dine with us?'
+
+The invitation was accepted at once, for dogs do not wait to be
+pressed, like some foolish human beings.
+
+At dinner-time Pritchard came in, followed by an unknown dog, who,
+like Pritchard, placed himself beside my chair, and scratched my knee
+with his paw in such a confiding way that I felt sure that Pritchard
+must have been commending my benevolence. The dog, after spending a
+pleasant evening, found that it was rather too late to return home, so
+slept comfortably on the grass after his good supper. Next morning he
+took two or three steps as if to go away, then changing his mind, he
+inquired of Pritchard, 'Should I be much in the way if I stayed on
+here?'
+
+ [Illustration: DUMAS ARRIVES AT STORA WITH HIS VULTURE]
+
+Pritchard replied, 'You could quite well, with management, make
+them believe you are the neighbour's dog, and after two or three days,
+nobody would know you did not belong to the house. You might live here
+just as well as those idle useless monkeys, who do nothing but amuse
+themselves, or that greedy vulture, who eats tripe all day long, or
+that idiot of a macaw, who is always screaming about nothing.'
+
+The dog stayed, keeping in the background at first, but in a day or
+two he jumped up upon me and followed me everywhere, and there was
+another guest to feed, that was all. Michel asked me one day if I knew
+how many dogs there were about the place. I answered that I did not.
+
+'Sir,' said Michel, 'there are thirteen.'
+
+'That is an unlucky number, Michel; you must see that they do not all
+dine together, else one of them is sure to die first.'
+
+'It is not that, though,' said Michel, 'it is the expense I am
+thinking of. Why, they would eat an ox a day, all those dogs; and if
+you will allow me, sir, I will just take a whip and put the whole pack
+to the door, to-morrow morning.'
+
+'But, Michel, let us do it handsomely. These dogs, after all, do
+honour to the house by staying here. So give them a grand dinner
+to-morrow; tell them that it is the farewell banquet, and then, at
+dessert, put them all to the door.'
+
+'But after all, sir, I cannot put them to the door, because there
+isn't a door.'
+
+'Michel,' said I, 'there are certain things in this world that one
+must just put up with, to keep up one's character and position. Since
+all these dogs have come to me, let them stay with me. I don't think
+they will ruin me, Michel. Only, on their own account, you should be
+careful that there are not thirteen.'
+
+'I will drive away one,' suggested Michel, 'and then there will only
+be twelve.'
+
+'On the contrary, let another come, and then there will be fourteen.'
+
+Michel sighed.
+
+'It's a regular kennel,' he murmured.
+
+It was, in fact, a pack of hounds, though rather a mixed one. There
+was a Russian wolfhound, there was a poodle, a water spaniel, a spitz,
+a dachshund with crooked legs, a mongrel terrier, a mongrel King
+Charles, and a Turkish dog which had no hair on its body, only a tuft
+upon its head and a tassel at the end of its tail. Our next recruit
+was a little Maltese terrier, named Lisette, which raised the number
+to fourteen. After all, the expense of these fourteen amounted to
+rather over two pounds a month. A single dinner given to five or six
+of my own species would have cost me three times as much, and they
+would have gone away dissatisfied; for, even if they had liked my
+wine, they would certainly have found fault with my books. Out of this
+pack of hounds, one became Pritchard's particular friend and Michel's
+favourite. This was a dachshund with short crooked legs, a long body,
+and, as Michel said, the finest voice in the department of
+Seine-et-Oise. Portugo--that was his name--had in truth a most
+magnificent bass voice. I used to hear it sometimes in the night when
+I was writing, and think how that deep-toned majestic bark would
+please St. Hubert if he heard it in his grave. But what was Portugo
+doing at that hour, and why was he awake while the other dogs
+slumbered? This mystery was revealed one day, when a stewed rabbit was
+brought me for dinner. I inquired where the rabbit came from.
+
+'You thought it good, sir?' Michel asked me with a pleased face.
+
+'Excellent.'
+
+'Well, then, you can have one just the same every day, sir, if you
+like.'
+
+ [Illustration: 'IT'S A REGULAR KENNEL']
+
+'Every day, Michel? Surely that is almost too much to promise.
+Besides, I should like, before consuming so many rabbits, to know
+where they come from.'
+
+'You shall know that this very night, if you don't mind coming out
+with me.'
+
+'Ah! Michel, I have told you before that you are a poacher!'
+
+'Oh, sir, as to that, I am as innocent as a baby--and, as I was
+saying, if you will only come out with me to-night--'
+
+'Must I go far, Michel?'
+
+'Not a hundred yards, sir.'
+
+'At what o'clock?'
+
+'Just at the moment when you hear Portugo's first bark.'
+
+'Very well, Michel, I will be with you.'
+
+I had nearly forgotten this promise, and was writing as usual, when
+Michel came into my study. It was about eleven o'clock, and a fine
+moonlight night.
+
+'Hallo!' said I, 'Portugo hasn't barked yet, has he?'
+
+'No, but I was just thinking that if you waited for that, you would
+miss seeing something curious.'
+
+'What should I miss, Michel?'
+
+'The council of war which is held between Pritchard and Portugo.'
+
+I followed Michel, and sure enough, among the fourteen dogs, which
+were mostly sleeping in different attitudes, Portugo and Pritchard
+were sitting up, and seemed to be gravely debating some important
+question. When the debate was ended, they separated; Portugo went out
+at the gate to the high road, turned the corner, and disappeared,
+while Pritchard began deliberately, as if he had plenty of time before
+him, to follow the little path which led up to a stone quarry. We
+followed Pritchard, who took no notice of us, though he evidently knew
+we were there. He went up to the top of the quarry, examined and smelt
+about over the ground with great care, and when he had found a scent
+and assured himself that it was fresh, he lay down flat and waited.
+Almost at the same moment, Portugo's first bark was heard some two
+hundred yards off. Now the plan the two dogs had laid was clear to us.
+The rabbits came out of their holes in the quarry every evening to go
+to their feeding ground; Pritchard found the scent of one; Portugo
+then made a wide circuit, found and chased the rabbit, and, as a
+rabbit or a hare always comes back upon its former track, Pritchard,
+lying in ambush, awaited its return. Accordingly, as the sound of
+Portugo's barking came closer, we saw Pritchard's yellow eyes light up
+and flame like a topaz; then all of a sudden he made a spring, and we
+heard a cry of fright and distress.
+
+'They've done it!' said Michel, and he went to Pritchard, took out of
+his mouth a nice plump rabbit, gave it a blow behind the ears to
+finish it, and, opening it on the spot, gave the inside to the two
+dogs, who shared their portion contentedly, although they probably
+regretted Michel's interference. As Michel told me, I could have eaten
+a stewed rabbit every day for dinner, if such had been my desire.
+
+But after this, events of a different kind were taking place, which
+obliged me to leave my country pursuits, and I spent about two months
+in Paris. The day before I returned to St.-Germains I wrote and told
+Michel to expect me, and found him waiting for me on the road half way
+from the station.
+
+'I must tell you, sir,' he said, as soon as I was within hearing,
+'that two important events have happened at Monte Cristo since you
+went away.'
+
+'Well, Michel, let me hear.'
+
+'In the first place, Pritchard got his hind foot into a snare and
+instead of staying where he was as any other dog would have done, he
+bit off his foot with his teeth, and so he came home upon three legs.'
+
+'But,' said I, much shocked, 'is the poor beast dead after such an
+accident?'
+
+'Dead, sir? Was not I there to doctor him?'
+
+'And what did you do to him then?'
+
+'I cut off the foot properly at the joint with a pruning knife. I then
+sewed the skin neatly over it, and now you would never know it was
+off! Look there, the rascal has smelt you and is coming to meet you.'
+
+ [Illustration: JUGURTHA BECOMES DIOGENES]
+
+And at that moment Pritchard appeared, coming at full gallop, so that,
+as Michel had said, one would hardly have noticed that he had only
+three feet. My meeting with Pritchard was, as may be supposed, full of
+deep emotion on both sides. I was sorry for the poor animal. When I
+had recovered a little, I asked Michel what his other piece of news
+was.
+
+'The latest news, sir, is that Jugurtha's name is no longer Jugurtha.'
+
+'What is it then?'
+
+'It is Diogenes.'
+
+'And why?'
+
+'Look, sir!'
+
+We had now reached the little avenue of ash-trees which formed the
+entrance to the villa. To the left of the avenue the vulture was seen
+walking proudly to and fro in an immense tub, which Michel had made
+into a house for him.
+
+'Ah! now I understand,' said I. 'Of course, directly he lives in a
+tub----'
+
+'That's it!' said Michel. 'Directly he lives in a tub, he cannot be
+Jugurtha any more; he _must_ be Diogenes.'
+
+I admired Michel's historical learning no less than I did his surgical
+skill, just as the year before, I had bowed before his superior
+knowledge of natural history.
+
+
+VII
+
+In order to lead to more incidents in the life of Pritchard I must now
+tell my readers that I had a friend called Charpillon, who had a
+passion for poultry, and kept the finest hens in the whole department
+of Yonne. These hens were chiefly Cochins and Brahmapootras; they laid
+the most beautiful brown eggs, and Charpillon surrounded them with
+every luxury and never would allow them to be killed. He had the
+inside of his hen-house painted green, in order that the hens, even
+when shut up, might fancy themselves in a meadow. In fact, the
+illusion was so complete, that when the hen-house was first painted,
+the hens refused to go in at night, fearing to catch cold; but after a
+short time even the least intelligent among them understood that she
+had the good fortune to belong to a master who knew how to combine the
+useful with the beautiful. Whenever these hens ventured out upon the
+road, strangers would exclaim with delight, 'Oh! what beautiful hens!'
+to which some one better acquainted with the wonders of this fortunate
+village would reply, 'I should think so! These are M. Charpillon's
+hens.' Or, if the speaker were of an envious disposition, he might
+add, 'Yes indeed! hens that _nothing_ is thought too good for!'
+
+When my friend Charpillon heard that I had returned from Paris, he
+invited me to come and stay with him to shoot, adding as a further
+inducement that he would give me the best and freshest eggs I had ever
+eaten in my life. Though I did not share Charpillon's great love of
+poultry, I am very fond of fresh eggs, and the nankeen-coloured eggs
+laid by his Brahma hens had an especially delicate flavour. But all
+earthly pleasures are uncertain. The next morning Charpillon's hens
+were found to have only laid three eggs instead of eight. Such a thing
+had never happened before, and Charpillon did not know whom to
+suspect; however he suspected every one rather than his hens, and a
+sort of cloud began to obscure the confidence he had hitherto placed
+in the security of his enclosures. While these gloomy doubts were
+occupying us, I observed Michel hovering about as if he had something
+on his mind, and asked him if he wanted to speak to me.
+
+'I should be glad to have a few words with you, sir.'
+
+'In private?'
+
+'It would be better so, for the honour of Pritchard.'
+
+'Ah, indeed? What has the rascal been doing now?'
+
+'You remember, sir, what your solicitor said to you one day when I was
+in the room?'
+
+'What did he say, Michel? My solicitor is a clever man, and says many
+sensible things; still it is difficult for me to remember them all.'
+
+'Well, sir,' he said, 'find out whom the crime benefits, and you will
+find the criminal.'
+
+'I remember that axiom perfectly, Michel. Well?'
+
+'Well, sir, whom can this crime of stolen eggs benefit more than
+Pritchard?'
+
+'Pritchard? You think it is he who steals the eggs? Pritchard, who
+brings home eggs without breaking them!'
+
+'You mean who _used_ to bring them. Pritchard is an animal who has
+vicious instincts, sir, and if he does not come to a bad end some day,
+I shall be surprised, that's all.'
+
+'Does Pritchard eat eggs, then?'
+
+'He does; and it is only right to say, sir, that that is _your_
+fault.'
+
+'What! my fault? My fault that Pritchard eats eggs?'
+
+Michel shook his head sadly, but nothing could shake his opinion.
+
+'Now really, Michel, this is too much! Is it not enough that critics
+tell me that I pervert everybody's mind with my corrupt literature,
+but you must join my detractors and say that my bad example corrupts
+Pritchard?'
+
+'I beg pardon, sir, but do you remember how one day, at the Villa
+Medicis, while you were eating an egg, M. Rusconi who was there said
+something so ridiculous that you let the egg fall upon the floor?'
+
+'I remember that quite well.'
+
+'And do you remember calling in Pritchard, who was scraping up a bed
+of fuchsias in the garden, and making him lick up the egg?'
+
+'I do not remember him scraping up a bed of fuchsias, but I do
+recollect that he licked up my egg.'
+
+'Well, sir, it is that and nothing else that has been his ruin. Oh! he
+is quick enough to learn what is wrong; there is no need to show it
+him twice.'
+
+'Michel, you are really extremely tedious. How have I shown Pritchard
+what is wrong?'
+
+'By making him eat an egg. You see, sir, before that he was as
+innocent as a new-born babe; he didn't know what an egg was--he
+thought it was a badly made golf ball. But as soon as you make him eat
+an egg, he learns what it is. Three days afterwards, M. Alexandre came
+home, and was complaining to me of his dog--that he was rough and tore
+things with his teeth in carrying them. "Ah! look at Pritchard," I
+said to him, "how gentle _he_ is! you shall see the way he carries an
+egg." So I fetched an egg from the kitchen, placed it on the ground,
+and said, "Fetch, Pritchard!" Pritchard didn't need to be told twice,
+but what do you think the cunning rascal did? You remember, some days
+before, Monsieur ---- the gentleman who had such a bad toothache, you
+know. You recollect his coming to see you?'
+
+'Yes, of course I remember.'
+
+'Well, Pritchard pretended not to notice, but those yellow eyes of his
+notice everything. Well, all of a sudden he pretended to have the same
+toothache that that gentleman had, and crack! goes the egg. Then he
+pretends to be ashamed of his awkwardness--he swallows it in a hurry,
+shell and all! I believed him--I thought it was an accident and
+fetched another egg. Scarcely did he make three steps with the egg in
+his mouth than the toothache comes on again, and crack! goes the
+second egg. I began then to suspect something--I went and got a third,
+but if I hadn't stopped then he'd have eaten the whole basketful. So
+then M. Alexandre, who likes his joke, said, "Michel, you may possibly
+make a good musician of Pritchard, or a good astronomer, but he'll
+never be a good incubator!"'
+
+'How is it that you never told me this before, Michel?'
+
+'Because I was ashamed, sir; for this is not the worst.'
+
+'What! not the worst?'
+
+Michel shook his head.
+
+'He has developed an unnatural craving for eggs; he got into M.
+Acoyer's poultry-yard and stole all his. M. Acoyer came to complain to
+me. How do you suppose he lost his foot?'
+
+'You told me yourself--in somebody's grounds where he had forgotten to
+read the notice about trespassing.'
+
+'You are joking, sir--but I really believe he can read.'
+
+'Oh! Michel, Pritchard is accused of enough sins without having _that_
+vice laid to his charge! But about his foot?'
+
+'I think he caught it in some wire getting out of a poultry-yard.'
+
+'But you know it happened at night, and the hens are shut up at night.
+How could he get into the hen-house?'
+
+'He doesn't need to get into the hen-house after eggs; he can charm
+the hens. Pritchard is what one may call a charmer.'
+
+'Michel, you astonish me more and more!'
+
+'Yes, indeed, sir. I knew that he used to charm the hens at the Villa
+Medicis; only M. Charpillon has such wonderful hens, I did not think
+they would have allowed it. But I see now all hens are alike.'
+
+'Then you think it is Pritchard who----'
+
+'I think he charms M. Charpillon's hens, and that is the reason they
+don't lay--at least, that they only lay for Pritchard.'
+
+'Indeed, Michel, I should much like to know how he does it!'
+
+'If you are awake very early to-morrow, sir, just look out of your
+window--you can see the poultry-yard from it, and you will see a sight
+that you have never seen before!'
+
+'I have seen many things, Michel, including sixteen changes of
+governments, and to see something I have never seen before I would
+gladly sit up the whole night!'
+
+'There is no need for that--I can wake you at the right time.'
+
+The next day at early dawn, Michel awoke me.
+
+'I am ready, Michel,' said I, coming to the window.
+
+'Wait, wait! let me open it very gently. If Pritchard suspects that he
+is watched, he won't stir; you have no idea how deceitful he is.'
+
+Michel opened the window with every possible precaution. From where I
+stood, I could distinctly see the poultry-yard, and Pritchard lying in
+his couch, his head innocently resting upon his two fore-paws. At the
+slight noise which Michel made in opening the window, Pritchard
+pricked up his ears and half opened his yellow eye, but as the sound
+was not repeated he did not move. Ten minutes afterwards we heard the
+newly wakened hens begin to cluck. Pritchard immediately opened both
+eyes, stretched himself and stood upright upon his three feet. He then
+cast a glance all round him, and seeing that all was quiet,
+disappeared into a shed, and the next moment we saw him coming out of
+a sort of little window on the other side. From this window Pritchard
+easily got upon the sloping roof which overhung one side of the
+poultry-yard. He had now only to jump down about six feet, and having
+got into the inclosure he lay down flat in front of the hen-house,
+giving a little friendly bark. A hen looked out at Pritchard's call,
+and instead of seeming frightened she went to him at once and received
+his compliments with apparent complacency. Nor did she seem at all
+embarrassed, but proceeded to lay her egg, and that within such easy
+reach of Pritchard that we had not time to see the egg--it was
+swallowed the same instant. She then retired cackling triumphantly,
+and her place was taken by another hen.
+
+'Well, now, sir,' said Michel, when Pritchard had swallowed his fourth
+egg, 'you see it is no wonder that Pritchard has such a clear voice.
+You know great singers always eat raw eggs the first thing in the
+morning.'
+
+'I know that, Michel, but what I don't know is how Pritchard proposes
+to get out of the poultry-yard.'
+
+'Just wait and see what the scoundrel will do.'
+
+Pritchard having finished his breakfast, or being a little alarmed at
+some noise in the house, stood up on his hind leg, and slipping one of
+his fore-paws through the bars of the gate, he lifted the latch and
+went out.
+
+'And when one thinks,' said Michel, 'that if anybody asked him why the
+yard door was left open, he would say it was because Pierre had
+forgotten to shut it last night!'
+
+ [Illustration: PRITCHARD AND THE HENS]
+
+'You think he would have the wickedness to say _that_, Michel?'
+
+'Perhaps not to-day, nor yet to-morrow, because he is not come to his
+full growth, but some day, mind you, I should not be surprised to hear
+him speak.'
+
+
+VIII
+
+Before going out to shoot that day, I thought it only right to give M.
+Charpillon an account of Pritchard's proceedings. He regarded him,
+therefore with mingled feelings, in which admiration was more
+prominent than sympathy, and it was agreed that on our return the dog
+should be shut up in the stable, and that the stable-door should be
+bolted and padlocked. Pritchard, unsuspicious of our designs, ran on
+in front with a proud step and with his tail in the air.
+
+'You know,' said Charpillon, 'that neither men nor dogs are allowed to
+go into the vineyards. I ought as a magistrate to set an example, and
+Gaignez still more, as he is the mayor. So mind you keep in
+Pritchard.'
+
+'All right,' said I, 'I will keep him in.'
+
+But Michel, approaching, suggested that I should send Pritchard home
+with him. 'It would be safer,' he said. 'We are quite near the house,
+and I have a notion that he might get us into some scrape by hunting
+in the vineyards.'
+
+'Don't be afraid, Michel; I have thought of a plan to prevent him.'
+
+Michel touched his hat. 'I know you are clever, sir--very clever; but
+I don't think you are as clever as that!'
+
+'Wait till you see.'
+
+'Indeed, sir, you will have to be quick, for there is Pritchard
+hunting already.'
+
+We were just in time to see Pritchard disappear into a vineyard, and a
+moment afterwards he raised a covey of partridges.
+
+'Call in your dog,' cried Gaignez.
+
+I called Pritchard, who, however, turned a deaf ear.
+
+'Catch him,' said I to Michel.
+
+Michel went, and returned in a few minutes with Pritchard in a leash.
+In the meantime I had found a long stake, which I hung crosswise round
+his neck, and let him go loose with this ornament. Pritchard
+understood that he could no longer go through the vineyards, but the
+stake did not prevent his hunting, and he only went a good deal
+further off on the open ground.
+
+From this moment there was only one shout all along the line.
+
+'Hold in your dog, confound him!'
+
+'Keep in your Pritchard, can't you! He's sending all the birds out of
+shot!'
+
+'Look here! Would you mind my putting a few pellets into your brute of
+a dog? How can anybody shoot if he won't keep in?'
+
+'Michel,' said I, 'catch Pritchard again.'
+
+'I told you so, sir. Luckily we are not far from the house; I can
+still take him back.'
+
+'Not at all. I have a second idea. Catch Pritchard.'
+
+'After all,' said Michel, 'this is nearly as good fun as if we were
+shooting.'
+
+And by-and-bye he came back, dragging Pritchard by his stake.
+Pritchard had a partridge in his mouth.
+
+'Look at him, the thief!' said Michel. 'He has carried off M.
+Gaignez's partridge--I see him looking for it.'
+
+'Put the partridge in your game-bag, Michel; we will give him a
+surprise.'
+
+Michel hesitated. 'But,' said he, 'think of the opinion this rascal
+will have of you!'
+
+'What, Michel? do you think Pritchard has a bad opinion of me?'
+
+'Oh, sir! a shocking opinion.'
+
+'But what makes you think so?'
+
+'Why, sir, do you not think that Pritchard knows in his soul and
+conscience that when he brings you a bird that another gentleman has
+shot, he is committing a theft?'
+
+'I think he has an idea of it, certainly, Michel.'
+
+'Well, then, sir, if he knows he is a thief, he must take you for a
+receiver of stolen goods. Look at the articles of the Code; it is said
+there that receivers are equally guilty with thieves, and should be
+similarly punished.'
+
+ [Illustration: 'PRITCHARD REAPPEARED NEXT MOMENT WITH A HARE IN HIS
+ MOUTH']
+
+'Michel, you open my eyes to a whole vista of terrors. But we are
+going to try to cure Pritchard of hunting. When he is cured of
+hunting, he will be cured of stealing.'
+
+'Never, sir! You will never cure Pritchard of his vices.'
+
+Still I pursued my plan, which was to put Pritchard's fore-leg through
+his collar. By this means, his right fore-foot being fastened to his
+neck, and his left hind-foot being cut off, he had only two to run
+with, the left fore-foot and the right hind-foot.
+
+'Well, indeed,' said Michel, 'if he can hunt now, the devil is in it.'
+
+He loosed Pritchard, who stood for a moment as if astonished, but once
+he had balanced himself he began to walk, then to trot; then, as he
+found his balance better, he succeeded in running quicker on his two
+legs than many dogs would have done on four.
+
+'Where are we now, sir?' said Michel.
+
+'It's that beast of a stake that balances him!' I replied, a little
+disappointed. 'We ought to teach him to dance upon the tight-rope--he
+would make our fortunes as an acrobat.'
+
+'You are joking again, sir. But listen! do you hear that?'
+
+The most terrible imprecations against Pritchard were resounding on
+all sides. The imprecations were followed by a shot, then by a howl of
+pain.
+
+'That is Pritchard's voice,' said Michel. 'Well, it is no more than he
+deserves.'
+
+Pritchard reappeared the next moment with a hare in his mouth.
+
+'Michel, you said that was Pritchard that howled.'
+
+'I would swear to it, sir.'
+
+'But how could he howl with a hare in his mouth?'
+
+Michel scratched his head. 'It was he all the same,' he said, and he
+went to look at Pritchard.
+
+'Oh, sir!' he said, 'I was right. The gentleman he took the hare from
+has shot him. His hind-leg is all over blood. Look! there is M.
+Charpillon running after his hare.'
+
+'You know that I have just put some pellets into your Pritchard?'
+Charpillon called out as soon as he saw me.
+
+'You did quite right.'
+
+'He carried off my hare.'
+
+'There! You see,' said Michel, 'it is impossible to cure him.'
+
+'But when he carried away your hare, he must have had it in his
+mouth?'
+
+'Of course. Where else would he have it?'
+
+'But how could he howl with a hare in his mouth?'
+
+'He put it down to howl, then he took it up again and made off.'
+
+'There's deceit for you, gentlemen!' exclaimed Michel.
+
+Pritchard succeeded in bringing the hare to me, but when he reached me
+he had to lie down.
+
+'I say,' said Charpillon, 'I hope I haven't hurt him more than I
+intended--it was a long shot.' And forgetting his hare, Charpillon
+knelt down to examine Pritchard's wound. It was a serious one;
+Pritchard had received five or six pellets about the region of his
+tail, and was bleeding profusely.
+
+'Oh, poor beast!' cried Charpillon. 'I wouldn't have fired that shot
+for all the hares in creation if I had known.'
+
+'Bah!' said Michel; 'he won't die of it.' And, in fact, Pritchard,
+after spending three weeks with the vet. at St.-Germains, returned to
+Monte Cristo perfectly cured, and with his tail in the air once more.
+
+
+IX
+
+Soon after the disastrous event which I have just related the
+revolution of 1848 occurred in France, in which King Louis Philippe
+was dethroned and a republic established. You will ask what the
+change of government had to do with my beasts? Well, although,
+happily, they do not trouble their heads about politics, the
+revolution did affect them a good deal; for the French public, being
+excited by these occurrences, would not buy my books, preferring to
+read the 'Guillotine,' the 'Red Republic,' and such like corrupt
+periodicals; so that I became for the time a very much poorer man. I
+was obliged greatly to reduce my establishment. I sold my three horses
+and two carriages for a quarter of their value, and I presented the
+Last of the Laidmanoirs, Potich, and Mademoiselle Desgarcins to the
+Jardin des Plantes in Paris. I had to move into a smaller house, but
+my monkeys were lodged in a palace; this is a sort of thing that
+sometimes happens after a revolution. Mysouff also profited by it, for
+he regained his liberty on the departure of the monkeys.
+
+As to Diogenes, the vulture, I gave him to my worthy neighbour
+Collinet, who keeps the restaurant Henri IV., and makes such good
+cutlets a la Bearnaise. There was no fear of Diogenes dying of hunger
+under his new master's care; on the contrary, he improved greatly in
+health and beauty, and, doubtless as a token of gratitude to Collinet,
+he laid an egg for him every year, a thing he never dreamt of doing
+for me. Lastly, we requested Pritchard to cease to keep open house,
+and to discontinue his daily invitations to strange dogs to dine and
+sleep. I was obliged to give up all thoughts of shooting that year. It
+is true that Pritchard still remained to me, but then Pritchard, you
+must recollect, had only three feet; he had been badly hurt when he
+was shot by Charpillon, and the revolution of February had occasioned
+the loss of one eye.
+
+It happened one day during that exciting period, that Michel was so
+anxious to see what was going on that he forgot to give Pritchard his
+dinner. Pritchard therefore invited himself to dine with the vulture,
+but Diogenes, being of a less sociable turn, and not in a humour to
+be trifled with, dealt poor Pritchard such a blow with his beak as to
+deprive him of one of his mustard-coloured eyes. Pritchard's courage
+was unabated; he might be compared to that brave field marshal of whom
+it was said that Mars had left nothing of him whole except his heart.
+But it was difficult, you see, to make much use of a dog with so many
+infirmities. If I had wished to sell him I could not have found a
+purchaser, nor would he have been considered a handsome present had I
+desired to give him away. I had no choice, then, but to make this old
+servant, badly as he had sometimes served me, a pensioner, a
+companion, in fact a friend. Some people told me that I might have
+tied a stone round his neck and flung him into the river; others, that
+it was easy enough to replace him by buying a good retriever from
+Vatrin; but although I was not yet poor enough to drown Pritchard,
+neither was I rich enough to buy another dog. However, later in that
+very year, I made an unexpected success in literature, and one of my
+plays brought me in a sufficient sum to take a shooting in the
+department of Yonne. I went to look at this shooting, taking Pritchard
+with me. In the meantime my daughter wrote to tell me that she had
+bought an excellent retriever for five pounds, named Catinat, and that
+she was keeping him in the stable until my return. As soon as I
+arrived, my first care was to make Catinat's acquaintance. He was a
+rough, vigorous dog of three or four years old, thoughtless, violent,
+and quarrelsome. He jumped upon me till he nearly knocked me down,
+upset my daughter's work-table, and dashed about the room to the great
+danger of my china vases and ornaments. I therefore called Michel and
+informed him that the superficial acquaintance which I had made with
+Catinat would suffice for the time, and that I would defer the
+pleasure of his further intimacy until the shooting season began at
+Auxerre.
+
+Poor Michel, as soon as he saw Catinat, had been seized with a
+presentiment of evil.
+
+'Sir,' he said, 'that dog will bring some misfortune upon us. I do not
+know yet what, but something will happen, I know it will!'
+
+'In the meantime, Michel,' I said, 'you had better take Catinat back
+to the stable.' But Catinat had already left the room of his own
+accord and rushed downstairs to the dining-room, where I had left
+Pritchard. Now Pritchard never could endure Catinat from the first
+moment he saw him; the two dogs instantly flew at one another with so
+much fury that Michel was obliged to call me to his assistance before
+we could separate them. Catinat was once more shut up in the stable,
+and Pritchard conducted to his kennel in the stable-yard, which, in
+the absence of carriages and horses, was now a poultry-yard, inhabited
+by my eleven hens and my cock Caesar. Pritchard's friendship with the
+hens continued to be as strong as ever, and the household suffered
+from a scarcity of eggs in consequence. That evening, while my
+daughter and I were walking in the garden, Michel came to meet us,
+twisting his straw hat between his fingers, a sure sign that he had
+something important to say.
+
+'Well, what is it, Michel?' I asked.
+
+'It came into my mind, sir,' he answered, 'while I was taking
+Pritchard to his kennel, that we never have any eggs because Pritchard
+eats them; and he eats them because he is in direct communication with
+the hens.'
+
+'It is evident, Michel, that if Pritchard never went into the
+poultry-yard, he would not eat the eggs.'
+
+'Then, do you not think, sir,' continued Michel, 'that if we shut up
+Pritchard in the stable and put Catinat into the poultry-yard, it
+would be better? Catinat is an animal without education, so far as I
+know; but he is not such a thief as Pritchard.'
+
+'Do you know what will happen if you do that, Michel?' I said.
+'Catinat will not eat the eggs, perhaps, but he will eat the hens.'
+
+'If a misfortune like that were to occur, I know a method of curing
+him of eating hens.'
+
+'Well--but in the meantime the hens would be eaten.'
+
+Scarcely had I uttered these words, when a frightful noise was heard
+in the stable-yard, as loud as that of a pack of hounds in full cry,
+but mingled with howls of rage and pain which indicated a deadly
+combat.
+
+'Michel!' I cried, 'do you hear that?'
+
+'Oh yes, I hear it,' he answered, 'but those must be the neighbours'
+dogs fighting.'
+
+'Michel, those are Catinat and Pritchard killing each other!'
+
+'Impossible, sir--I have separated them.'
+
+'Well, then, they have met again.'
+
+'It is true,' said Michel, 'that scoundrel Pritchard can open the
+stable-door as well as any one.'
+
+'Then, you see, Pritchard is a dog of courage; he'll have opened the
+stable-door for Catinat on purpose to fight him. Be quick, Michel, I
+am really afraid one of them will be killed.'
+
+Michel darted into the passage which led to the stable, and no sooner
+had he disappeared than I knew from the lamentations which I heard
+that some misfortune had happened. In a minute or two Michel
+reappeared sobbing bitterly and carrying Pritchard in his arms.
+
+'Look, sir! just look!' he said; 'this is the last we shall see of
+Pritchard--look what your fine sporting dog has done to him. Catinat,
+indeed! it is Catilina he should be called!'
+
+I ran up to Pritchard, full of concern--I had a great love for him,
+though he had often made me angry. He was a dog of much originality,
+and the unexpected things he did were only a proof of genius.
+
+'What do you think is the matter?' I asked Michel.
+
+'The matter?--the matter is that he is dead!'
+
+'Oh no, surely not!'
+
+'Anyhow, he'll never be good for anything again.' And he laid him on
+the ground at my feet.
+
+'Pritchard, my poor Pritchard!' I cried.
+
+At the sound of my voice, Pritchard opened his yellow eye and looked
+sorrowfully at me, then stretched out his four legs, gave one sigh,
+and died. Catinat had bitten his throat quite through, so that his
+death was almost immediate.
+
+'Well, Michel,' said I, 'it is not a good servant, it is a good friend
+that we have lost. You must wash him carefully--you shall have a towel
+to wrap him in--you shall dig his grave in the garden and we will have
+a tombstone made for him on which shall be engraved this epitaph:
+
+ 'Like conquering Rantzau, of courage undaunted,
+ Pritchard, to thee Mars honour has granted,
+ On each field of fight of a limb he bereft thee,
+ Till nought but thy gallant heart scatheless was left thee.'
+
+As my habit was, I sought consolation for my grief in literary
+labours. Michel endeavoured to assuage his with the help of two
+bottles of red wine, with which, mingled with his tears, he watered
+the grave of the departed. I know this because when I came out early
+next morning to see if my wishes with regard to Pritchard's burial had
+been carried out, I found Michel stretched upon the ground, still in
+tears, and the two bottles empty by his side.
+
+
+
+
+_THE ADVENTURES OF PYRAMUS_
+
+
+Pyramus was a large brown dog, born of a good family, who had been
+given, when a mere pup, to Alexandre Dumas, the great French novelist,
+then quite a young man. Now the keeper to whom Pyramus first belonged
+had also a tiny little fox-cub without any relations about the place,
+so both fox-cub and dog-pup were handed over to the same mother, who
+brought them up side by side, until they were able to do for
+themselves. So when the keeper made young Dumas a present of Pyramus,
+he thought he had better bestow Cartouche on him as well.
+
+Of course it is hardly necessary to say that these fine names were not
+invented by the keeper, who had never heard of either Pyramus or
+Cartouche, but were given to his pets by Dumas, after he had spent a
+little time in observing their characters.
+
+Certainly it was a very curious study. Here were two animals, who had
+never been apart since they were born, and were now living together in
+two kennels side by side in the court-yard of the house, and yet after
+the first three or four months, when they were mere babies, every day
+showed some difference, and soon they ceased to be friends at all and
+became open enemies.
+
+The earliest fight known to have taken place between them happened in
+this way. One day some bones were thrown by accident within the bounds
+of Cartouche's territory, and though if they belonged to anybody, it
+was clearly Cartouche, Pyramus resolved most unfairly to get hold of
+them. The first time Pyramus tried secretly to commit this act of
+piracy, Cartouche growled; the second time he showed his teeth; the
+third time he bit.
+
+It must be owned that Cartouche had shown some excuse for his violent
+behaviour, because he always remained chained up, whereas Pyramus was
+allowed certain hours of liberty; and it was during one of these that
+he made up his mind to steal the bones from Cartouche, whose chain (he
+thought) would prevent any attempt at reprisals. Indeed, he even tried
+to make out to his conscience that probably the bones were not dainty
+enough for Cartouche, who loved delicate food, whereas anything was
+good enough for him, Pyramus. However, whether he wanted to eat the
+bones or not, Cartouche had no intention of letting them be stolen
+from him, and having managed to drive off Pyramus on the first
+occasion, he determined to get safely hold of the bones before his
+enemy was unchained again.
+
+Now the chains of each were the same length, four feet, and in
+addition to that, Pyramus had a bigger head and longer nose than
+Cartouche, who was much smaller altogether. So it follows that when
+they were both chained up, Pyramus could stretch farther towards any
+object that lay at an equal distance between their kennels. Pyramus
+knew this, and so he counted on always getting the better of
+Cartouche.
+
+But Cartouche had not been born a fox for nothing, and he watched with
+a scornful expression the great Pyramus straining at his chain with
+his eyes nearly jumping out of his head with greed and rage. 'Really,'
+said Cartouche to himself, 'if he goes on like that much longer, I
+shall have a mad dog for a neighbour before the day is out. Let me see
+if _I_ can't manage better.' But as we know, being a much smaller
+animal than Pyramus, his nose did not come nearly so close to the
+bones; and after one or two efforts to reach the tempting morsel which
+was lying about six feet from each kennel, he gave it up, and retired
+to his warm bed, hoping that he might somehow hit upon some idea
+which would enable him to reach the 'bones of contention.'
+
+All at once he jumped up, for after hard thought he had got what he
+wanted. He trotted merrily to the length of his chain, and now it was
+Pyramus's turn to look on and to think with satisfaction: 'Well, if
+_I_ can't get them, _you_ can't either, which is a comfort.'
+
+ [Illustration: CARTOUCHE OUTWITS PYRAMUS]
+
+But gradually his grin of delight changed into a savage snarl, as
+Cartouche turned himself round when he had got to the end of his
+chain, and stretching out his paw, hooked the bone which he gradually
+drew within reach, and before Pyramus had recovered from his
+astonishment, Cartouche had got possession of all the bones and was
+cracking them with great enjoyment inside his kennel.
+
+It may seem very unjust that Cartouche was always kept chained up,
+while Pyramus was allowed to roam about freely, but the fact was that
+Pyramus only ate or stole when he was really hungry, while Cartouche
+was by nature the murderer of everything he came across. One day he
+broke his chain and ran off to the fowl-yard of Monsieur Mauprivez,
+who lived next door. In less than ten minutes he had strangled
+seventeen hens and two cocks: nineteen corpses in all! It was
+impossible to find any 'extenuating circumstances' in his favour. He
+was condemned to death and promptly executed.
+
+Henceforth Pyramus reigned alone, and it is sad to think that he
+seemed to enjoy it, and even that his appetite grew bigger.
+
+It is bad enough for any dog to have an appetite like Pyramus when he
+was at home, but when he was out shooting, and should have been doing
+his duty as a retriever, this fault became a positive vice. Whatever
+might be the first bird shot by his master, whether it happened to be
+partridge or pheasant, quail or snipe, down it would go into Pyramus's
+wide throat. It was seldom, indeed, that his master arrived in time to
+see even the last feathers.
+
+A smart blow from a whip kept him in order all the rest of the day,
+and it was very rarely that he sinned twice in this way while on the
+same expedition, but unluckily before the next day's shooting came
+round, he had entirely forgotten all about his previous caning, and
+justice had to be done again.
+
+On two separate occasions, however, Pyramus's greediness brought its
+own punishment. One day his master was shooting with a friend in a
+place where a small wood had been cut down early in the year, and
+after the low shrubs had been sawn in pieces and bound in bundles, the
+grass was left to grow into hay, and this hay was now in process of
+cutting. The shooting party reached the spot just at the time that the
+reapers were having their dinner and taking their midday rest, and one
+of the reapers had laid his scythe against a little stack of wood
+about three feet high. At this moment a snipe got up, and M. Dumas
+fired and killed it. It fell on the other side of the stack of wood
+against which the scythe was leaning.
+
+As it was the first bird he had killed that day, he knew of course
+that it would become the prey of Pyramus, so he did not hurry himself
+to go after it, but watched with amusement, Pyramus tearing along,
+even jumping over the stack in his haste.
+
+But when after giving the dog the usual time to swallow his fat
+morsel, Monsieur did not see Pyramus coming back to him as usual in
+leaps and bounds, he began to wonder what could have happened, and
+made hastily for the stack of wood behind which he had disappeared.
+There he found the unlucky Pyramus lying on the ground, with the point
+of the scythe right through his neck. The blood was pouring from the
+wound, and he lay motionless, with the snipe dead on the ground about
+six inches from his nose.
+
+The two men raised him as gently as possible, and carried him to the
+river, and here they bathed the wound with water. They then folded a
+pocket-handkerchief into a band, and tied it tightly round his neck to
+staunch the blood, and when this was done, and they were wondering how
+to get him home, a peasant fortunately passed driving a donkey with
+two panniers, and he was laid in one of the panniers and taken to the
+nearest village, where he was put safely into a carriage.
+
+For eight days Pyramus lay between life and death. For a whole month
+his head hung on one side, and it was only after six weeks (which
+seems like six years to a dog) that he was able to run about as usual,
+and appeared to have forgotten his accident.
+
+Only, whenever he saw a scythe he made a long round to avoid coming in
+contact with it.
+
+Some time afterwards he returned to the house with his body as full of
+holes as a sieve. On this occasion he was taking a walk through the
+forest, and, seeing a goat feeding, jumped at its throat. The goat
+screamed loudly, and the keeper, who was smoking at a little distance
+off, ran to his help; but before he could come up the goat was half
+dead. On hearing the steps of the keeper, and on listening to his
+strong language, Pyramus understood very well that this stout man
+dressed in blue would have something very serious to say to him, so he
+stretched his legs to their fullest extent, and started off like an
+arrow from a bow. But, as Man Friday long ago remarked, 'My little
+ball of lead can run faster than thou,' the keeper's little ball of
+lead ran faster than Pyramus, and that is how he came home with all
+the holes in his body.
+
+There is no denying that Pyramus was a very bad dog, and as his master
+was fond of him, it is impossible to believe that he can _always_ have
+been hungry, as, for instance, when he jumped up in a butcher's shop
+to steal a piece of meat and got the hook on which it was hung through
+his own jaws, so that someone had to come and unhook him. But hungry
+or not, Monsieur Dumas had no time to be perpetually getting him out
+of scrapes, and when a few months later an Englishman who wanted a
+sporting dog took a fancy to Pyramus, his master was not altogether
+sorry to say good-bye.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORY OF A WEASEL_
+
+Bingley's _Animal Biography_.
+
+
+Weasels are so sharp and clever and untiring, that their activity has
+been made into a proverb; and, like many other sharp and clever
+creatures, they are very mischievous, and fond of killing rabbits and
+chickens, and even of sucking their eggs, which they do so carefully
+that they hardly ever break one.
+
+A French lady, called Mademoiselle de Laistre, a friend of the great
+naturalist, Monsieur de Buffon, once found a weasel when he was very
+young indeed, and, as she was fond of pets, she thought she would
+bring him up. Now a weasel is a little creature, and very pretty. It
+has short legs and a long tail, and its skin is reddish brown above
+and white below. Its eyes are black and its ears are small, and its
+body is about seven inches in length. But this weasel was much smaller
+than that when it went to live with Mademoiselle de Laistre.
+
+Of course it had to be taught: all young things have, and this weasel
+knew nothing. The good lady first began with pouring some milk into
+the hollow of her hand and letting it drink from it. Very soon, being
+a weasel of polite instincts, it would not take milk in any other way.
+After its dinner, when a little fresh meat was added to the milk, it
+would run to a soft quilt that was spread in its mistress's bedroom,
+and, having soon discovered that it could get inside the quilt at a
+place where the stitches had given way, it proceeded to tuck itself up
+comfortably for an hour or two. This was all very well in the day,
+but Mademoiselle de Laistre did not feel at all safe in leaving such a
+mischievous creature loose during the night, so whenever she went to
+bed, she shut the weasel up in a little cage that stood close by. If
+she happened to wake up early, she would unfasten the cage, and then
+the weasel would come into her bed, and, nestling up to her, go to
+sleep again. If she was already dressed when he was let out, he would
+jump all about her, and would never once miss alighting on her hands,
+even when they were held out three feet from him.
+
+ [Illustration: MADEMOISELLE DE LAISTRE AND HER WEASEL]
+
+All his ways were pretty and gentle. He would sit on his mistress's
+shoulder and give little soft pats to her chin, or would run over a
+whole room full of people at the mere sound of her voice. He was very
+fond of the sun, too, and would tumble about and murmur with delight
+whenever it shone on him. The little weasel was rather a thirsty
+animal, but he would not drink much at a time, and, when he had once
+tasted milk, could not be persuaded to touch rain-water. Baths were
+quite new to him, too, and he could not make up his mind to them, even
+in the heat, from which he suffered a good deal. His nearest approach
+to bathing was a wet cloth wrapped round him, and this evidently gave
+him great pleasure.
+
+Cats and dogs about the place condescended to make friends with him,
+and they never quarrelled nor hurt each other. Indeed, in many of
+their instincts and ways, weasels are not very unlike cats, and one
+quality they have in common is their curiosity. Nothing was dull or
+uninteresting to this little weasel. It was impossible to open a
+drawer or take out a paper without his little sharp nose being thrust
+round the corner, and he would even jump on his mistress's hands, the
+better to read her letters. He was also very fond of attracting
+attention, and in the midst of his play would always stop to see if
+anyone was watching. If he found that no one was troubling about him,
+he would at once leave off, and, curling himself up, go off into a
+sleep so sound that he might be taken up by the head and swung
+backwards and forwards quite a long time before he would wake up and
+be himself again.
+
+
+
+
+_STORIES ABOUT WOLVES_
+
+
+Wolves are found in the colder and more northern parts of Asia and
+North America, and over the whole of Europe, except the British Isles,
+where they were exterminated long ago. Some say Lochiel killed the
+last wolf in Scotland, some say a gamekeeper was the hero. The wolf
+very much resembles the dog in appearance, except that his eyes are
+set in obliquely, and nearer his nose. His coat is commonly of a tawny
+grey colour, but sometimes black or white, and he varies in size
+according to the climate. Some wolves only measure two and a half feet
+in length, not counting the tail, others are much larger. They have
+remarkably keen sight, hearing, and sense of smell, and such a
+stealthy gait, that their way of slinking along has passed into a
+proverb in countries where wolves are common. They live in rocky
+caverns in the forest, sleep by day like other beasts of prey, and go
+out at night to forage for food. They eat small birds, reptiles, the
+smaller animals, such as rats and mice, some fruits, grapes among
+others, and rotten apples; they do not disdain even dead bodies, nor
+garbage of any sort. But in times of famine or prolonged snow, when
+all these provisions fail them, and they feel the pinch of hunger,
+then woe betide the flocks of sheep or the human beings they may
+encounter. In 1450 wolves actually came into Paris and attacked the
+citizens. Even so lately as the long and severe winter of 1894-5, the
+wolves came down into the plains of Piedmont and the lower Alpes
+Maritimes in such numbers that the soldiery had to be called out to
+destroy them. In such times a wolf in broad daylight will steal up to
+a flock of sheep peacefully feeding, seize on a fine fat one, and make
+away with it, unseen and unsuspected even by the watchful sheep dog.
+Should a first attempt prove successful, he will return again and
+again, till, finding he can no longer rob that flock unmolested, he
+will look out for another one still unsuspicious. If he once gets
+inside a sheep-fold at night, he massacres and mangles right and left.
+When he has slain to his heart's content, he goes off with a victim
+and devours it, then comes back for a second, a third, and a fourth
+carcase, which he carries away to hide under a heap of branches or
+dead leaves. When dawn breaks, he returns gorged with food to his
+lair, leaving the ground strewn with the bodies of the slain. The wolf
+even contrives to get the better of his natural enemy, the dog, using
+stratagem and cleverness in the place of strength. If he spies a gawky
+long-legged puppy swaggering about his own farmyard, he will come
+closer and entice him out to play by means of every sort of caper and
+gambol. When the young simpleton has been induced to come out beyond
+the farmyard, the wolf, throwing off his disguise of amiable
+playfulness, falls upon the dog and carries him away to make a meal
+of. In the case of a dog stronger and more capable of making
+resistance the stratagem requires two wolves; one appears to the dog
+in its true character of wolf, and then disappears into an ambush,
+where the other lies hidden. The dog, following its natural instinct,
+pursues the wolf into the ambush, where the two conspirators soon make
+an end of it.
+
+So numerous have wolves always been in the rural districts of France,
+that from the earliest times there has been an institution called the
+_Louveterie_, for their extermination. Since the French Revolution
+this has been very much modified, but there is still a reward of so
+much per head for every wolf killed. Under ordinary circumstances the
+wolf will not only not attack man, but will flee from him, for he is
+as cowardly as he is crafty. But if driven by hunger he will pursue,
+or rather he will follow a solitary traveller for miles, dogging his
+footsteps, and always keeping near, sometimes on one side, sometimes
+on the other, till the man, harassed and worn out by fatigue and
+fright, is compelled to halt; then the wolf, who had been waiting for
+this opportunity, springs on him and devours him.
+
+Audubon, in his 'Quadrupeds of America,' tells a story of two young
+negroes who lived on a plantation on the banks of the Ohio in the
+State of Kentucky, about the year 1820. They each had a sweetheart,
+whom they used to go to visit every evening after their work was done.
+These negresses lived on another plantation about four miles away, but
+a short cut led across a large cane brake. When winter set in with its
+long dark nights no ray of light illuminated this dismal swamp. But
+the negroes continued their nightly expeditions notwithstanding,
+arming themselves by way of precaution with their axes. One dark night
+they set off over a thin crust of snow, the reflection from which
+afforded all the light they had to guide them on their way. Hardly a
+star appeared through the dense masses of cloud that nearly covered
+the sky, and menaced more snow. About half way to their destination
+the negroes' blood froze at the sound of a long and fearful howl that
+rent the air; they knew it could only come from a pack of hungry and
+perhaps desperate wolves. They paused to listen, and only a dismal
+silence succeeded. In the impenetrable darkness nothing was visible a
+few feet beyond them; grasping their axes they went on their way
+though with quaking hearts. Suddenly, in single file, out of the
+darkness sprang several wolves, who seized on the first man,
+inflicting terrible wounds with their fangs on his legs and arms;
+others as ravenous leapt on his companion, and dragged him to the
+ground. Both negroes fought manfully, but soon one had ceased to move,
+and the other, despairing of aiding his companion, threw down his axe
+and sprang on to the branch of a tree, where he found safety and
+shelter for the rest of that miserable night. When day broke, only the
+bones of his friend lay scattered on the blood-stained, trampled snow;
+three dead wolves lay near, but the rest of the pack had betaken
+themselves to their lair, to sleep away the effects of their night's
+gorge.
+
+ [Illustration: 'WHEN DAY BROKE']
+
+A sledge journey through the plains of Siberia in winter is a perilous
+undertaking. If a pack of hungry wolves get on the track of a sledge,
+the travellers know, as soon as they hear the horrid howls and see the
+grey forms stealing swiftly across the snow, that their chances of
+escape are small. If the sledge stops one instant men and horses are
+lost; the only safety is in flight at utmost speed. It is indeed a
+race for life! The horses, mad with terror, seem to have wings; the
+wolves, no less swift, pursue them, their cruel eyes gleaming with the
+lust for blood. From time to time a shot is fired, and a wolf falls
+dead in the snow; bolder than the others, he has tried to climb into
+the sledge and has met his reward. This incident gives a momentary
+respite to the pursued, for the murderous pack will pause to tear in
+pieces and devour their dead comrade; then, further inflamed with the
+taste of blood, they will continue the headlong pursuit with redoubled
+vigour.
+
+Should the travellers be able to reach a village or friendly farmhouse
+before the horses are completely exhausted, the wolves, frightened by
+the lights, will slink away into the forest, balked this time of their
+prey. On the other hand, should no refuge be near, the wolves will
+keep up with the horses till the poor beasts stumble and fall from
+fatigue, when the whole pack will instantly spring upon men and
+horses, and in a few moments the blood-stained snow alone tells the
+tale.
+
+There have been instances, but fortunately few, of wolves with a
+perfect craving for human flesh. Such was the notorious Bete (or
+beast) du Gevaudan, that from the year 1764 and onwards ravaged the
+district of that name, in Auvergne, to the south of the centre of
+France. This wolf was of enormous size, measuring six feet from the
+point of its nose to the tip of its tail. It devoured eighty-three
+persons, principally women and children, and seriously wounded
+twenty-five or thirty others. It was attacked from first to last by
+between _two and three hundred thousand_ hunters, probably not all at
+once. With half a dozen wolves, each equal to 200,000 men, a country
+could afford to do without an army. But the wolf of Gevaudan was no
+common wolf. He never married, having no leisure, fortunately for the
+human race. The whole of France was in a state of alarm on its
+account; the peasants dared no longer go to their work in the fields
+alone and unarmed. Every day brought tidings of some fresh trouble; in
+the morning he would spread terror and confusion in some village in
+the plains, in the evening he would carry off some hapless victim from
+some mountain hamlet fifteen or twenty leagues away. Five little
+shepherd boys, feeding their flocks on the mountain-side, were
+attacked suddenly by the ferocious beast, who made off with the
+youngest of them; the others, armed only with sticks, pursued the
+wolf, and attacked it so valiantly that they compelled it to drop its
+prey and slink off into the wood. A poor woman was sitting at her
+cottage door with her three children, when the wolf came down on them
+and attempted to carry off each of the children in turn. The mother
+fought so courageously in defence of her little ones that she
+succeeded in putting the wolf to flight, but in so doing was terribly
+bitten herself, and the youngest child died of his wounds.
+
+Sometimes twenty or thirty parishes joined forces to attack the beast,
+led by the most experienced huntsmen and the chief _louvetier_ of the
+kingdom. On one occasion twenty thousand hunters surrounded the forest
+of Preinieres, where it lay concealed; but on this, as well as every
+other occasion, the wolf escaped in the most surprising--one might
+almost say miraculous--manner, disappearing as if he had been turned
+into smoke. Some hunters declared that their bullets had rebounded off
+him, flattened and harmless. Others alleged that when he had been
+shot, like the great Dundee, with a silver bullet (a well-known charm
+against sorcery) at such close quarters that it appeared impossible he
+should not be mortally wounded, in a day or two some fresh horror
+would announce that the creature was still uninjured. The very dogs
+refused at length to go after him, and fled howling in the opposite
+direction. The belief became general that it was no ordinary wolf of
+flesh and blood, but the Fiend himself in beast shape. Prayers were
+put up in the churches, processions took place, and the Host remained
+exhibited as in the times of plague and public calamity.
+
+The State offered a reward of 2,000 francs to whosoever should slay
+the monster; the syndics of two neighbouring towns added 500 francs,
+making a total of 100_l._ English money, a large sum in those days.
+The young Countess de Mercoire, an orphan, and chatelaine of one of
+the finest estates of the district, offered her hand and fortune in
+marriage to whoever should rid the country of the scourge. This
+inspired the young Count Leonce de Varinas, who, though no sportsman
+by nature, was so deeply in love with the Countess that he determined
+to gain the reward or perish in the attempt. Assisted by a small band
+of well-trained hunters, and by two formidable dogs, a bloodhound and
+a mastiff, he began a systematic attack on the wolf. After many
+fruitless attempts they succeeded one day in driving the creature into
+an abandoned quarry of vast size, the sides of which were twenty or
+thirty feet high and quite precipitous, and the only entrance a narrow
+cart track blasted out of the rock. The young Count, determined to do
+or die alone, sternly refused to allow his men to accompany him into
+the quarry, and left them posted at the entrance with orders only to
+fire on the beast should it attempt to force its way out. Taking only
+the dogs with him, and having carefully seen to the state of his
+weapons, he went bravely to the encounter. The narrow defile was so
+completely hemmed in on every side that, to the vanquished, there was
+no escape nor alternative but death. Here and there, on patches of
+half-melted snow, were footprints, evidently recent, of the huge
+beast; but the creature remained invisible, and for nearly ten minutes
+the Count had wandered among the rocks and bushes before the dogs
+began to give sign of the enemy's presence.
+
+About a hundred yards from where he stood was a frozen pool, on the
+edge of which grew a clump of bulrushes. Among their dry and yellow
+stalks Leonce suddenly caught a glimpse of a pair of fiery
+eyes--nothing more; but it was enough to let him know that the
+longed-for moment had at length arrived. Leonce advanced cautiously,
+his gun cocked and ready to fire, and the dogs close at his heels,
+growling with rage and fear. Still the wolf did not stir, and Leonce,
+determining to try other tactics, stopped, raised his gun to his
+shoulder, and aimed between the gleaming eyes, nothing more being yet
+visible. Before he could fire the beast dashed from among the
+crackling reeds and sprang straight at him. Leonce, nothing daunted,
+waited till it was within ten paces and then fired. With a howl of
+anguish the wolf fell as if dead. Before Leonce had time to utter a
+shout of joy, it was on its feet again. Streaming with blood and
+terrible in its rage it fell on the young man. He attempted to defend
+himself with his bayonet, which, though of tempered steel, was broken
+as if it had been glass; his gun, too, was bent, and he himself was
+hurled to the ground. But for his faithful dogs it would soon have
+been all over with him. They flew at the wolf's throat, who quickly
+made an end of the bloodhound; one crunch broke his back, while one
+stroke of the ruthless paw disembowelled him. Castor, the mastiff,
+had, however, the wolf by the throat, and a fearful struggle ensued
+over the prostrate body of Leonce. They bit, they tore, they worried,
+they rolled over and over each other, the wolf, in spite of its
+wounds, having always the advantage. Half stunned by the fall,
+suffocated by the weight of the combatants, and blinded by the dust
+and snow they scattered in the fray, Leonce had just sufficient
+strength to make one last effort in self-defence. Drawing his
+hunting-knife, he plunged it to the hilt in the shaggy mass above him.
+From a distance he seemed to hear shouts of 'Courage, Monsieur!
+Courage, Castor! We are coming!' then conscious only of an
+overwhelming weight above him, and of iron claws tearing at his chest,
+he fainted away. When he came to himself he was lying on the ground,
+surrounded by his men. Starting up, he exclaimed, 'The beast! where is
+the beast?'
+
+ [Illustration: THE DEATH OF THE FAMOUS WOLF OF GEVAUDAN]
+
+'Dead, Monsieur! stone dead!' answered the head-keeper, showing him
+the horrid creature, all torn and bloody, stretched out on the snow
+beside the dead bloodhound. Castor, a little way off, lay panting and
+bruised, licking his wound. The Count's knife was firmly embedded in
+the beast's ribs; it had gone straight to the heart and death had been
+instantaneous. A procession was formed to carry the carcase of the
+wolf in triumph to the castle of the Countess. The news had flown in
+advance, and she was waiting on the steps to welcome the conquering
+hero. It was not long before the Countess and the gallant champion
+were married; and, as the wolf left no family, the country was at
+peace. Are you not rather sorry for the poor wolf?
+
+
+
+
+_TWO HIGHLAND DOGS_
+
+
+I
+
+Righ and Speireag were two Highland dogs who lived in a beautiful
+valley not far from the west coast of Scotland, where high hills slope
+down to the shores of a blue loch, and the people talk a strange
+language quite different from English, or even from French, or German,
+or Latin, which is called Gaelic.
+
+The name 'Righ,' means a king, and 'Speireag' means a sparrow-hawk,
+but they are words no one, except a Highlander, can pronounce
+properly. However, the dogs had a great many friends who could not
+talk Gaelic, and when English-speaking people called them 'Ree' and
+'Spearah,' they would always answer.
+
+Righ was a great tawny deerhound, tall and slender, very stately, as a
+king should be, and as gentle as he was strong. He had a rough coat and
+soft brown eyes, set rather near together, and very bright and
+watchful. His chief business in life was to watch the faces of his
+friends, and to obey their wishes quickly, to take his long limbs away
+from the drawing-room hearth-rug when the butler came in to put on the
+coals, not to get in the way more than so big a dog could help, and not
+to get too much excited when anything in the conversation suggested the
+likelihood of a walk. But his father and all his ancestors had led very
+different lives; they had been trained to go out on the mountains with
+men who hunted the wild deer, and to help them in the chase, for the
+deerhounds run with long bounds and are as fleet as the stag himself.
+Then, when the beautiful creature had been killed, it was their duty to
+guard the body, and to see that carrion crows, and eagles, and other
+wild birds should not molest it. But Righ's master was a Bishop, who,
+though he lived quite near to a great deer forest, and often took his
+dogs over the hills to where the deer lived, never killed anything, but
+loved to see all his fellow-creatures happy among the things they liked
+best.
+
+Speireag was a very little dog, of the kind that is called a Skye
+terrier, though the island of Skye is one of the few places in which a
+long-haired terrier is very rare. He was quite small, what his
+Highland friends called 'a wee bit doggie;' he was very full of life
+and courage, wonderfully plucky for his size, like the fierce little
+bird whose name he bore. Like a good many little people he lacked the
+dignity and repose of his big companion, and, though very
+good-tempered among his friends, was quite ready to bite if beaten,
+and did not take a scolding with half the gentleness and humility with
+which Righ would submit to punishment, perhaps because he needed it
+oftener, for he was so busy and active that he sometimes got into
+scrapes. He was only three years old at the time of this story and
+Righ was seven, so it was perhaps natural that Righ should be the
+wiser of the two.
+
+They lived in a beautiful house quite near the loch, and they had a
+large garden to play in, and they could go in and out of the house and
+do just as they liked so long as they came when they were called and
+did as they were bid, and did not climb on the sofa cushions when
+their feet were muddy. There were very few houses on their side the
+water, and as their friends went about in boats as often as other
+people go out in carriages, the dogs were used to the water, and could
+swim as easily as walk, and what is more, knew how to sit still in a
+boat, so that they were allowed to go everywhere with their friends
+because they gave no trouble.
+
+They had a very happy life, for there was always something going on,
+which is what dogs like, and plenty of people to go walks with. Their
+young masters sometimes went out with guns, and a dog, a country dog,
+loves a gun better than anything in the world, because he knows it
+means business in which he can help. Sometimes their mistress took
+them for a walk, and then they knew that they must be on their best
+behaviour, and not wander too far away from the road and have to be
+whistled back, and not fight with the collies at the cottage doors,
+nor chase cats, nor be tiresome in any way; they generally kept close
+beside her, Righ walking very slowly so as to accommodate his big
+strides to the progress of a poor human thing with only two legs, and
+Speireag trotting along with tiny little footsteps that seemed to make
+a great fuss and to be in a great hurry about nothing at all.
+
+There was nothing, however, so delightful as going for walks with
+their own master, the Bishop. For one thing, they generally knew he
+really meant to do something worth while. Pottering about with a gun
+or escorting a lady is pleasant enough, but it generally means coming
+home to lunch or tea, and the real joy of a dog's walk is to feel that
+you are getting further and further away from home, and that there are
+miles of heather and pine-wood behind you, and yet you are still going
+on and on, with chances of more hares and more squirrels to run after.
+Sometimes the Bishop would stop at a shepherd's hut or a lonely
+cottage under the lee of a hill, and sometimes he would sit down to
+examine a flower he had gathered in the wood, but they forgave him
+very good-temperedly, and could always find something to interest them
+while they waited.
+
+Righ generally sat down beside his master and stretched out his great
+limbs on the heather, for he liked to think he was taking care of
+somebody or something. Speireag would lie down for a minute, panting,
+with his little red tongue hanging out and his hairy little paws all
+wet and muddy; but he never rested for long, but would dart off,
+pretending to have found a rat or a squirrel, even if none really
+existed.
+
+It was in December, 1887, the weather was raw and cold, there was ice
+floating about on the loch, and the sea gulls used to come up to the
+garden terrace to be fed. The young masters were away, and mistress
+could only take walks along the road, there was nothing to tempt her
+to a mountain scramble or a saunter in the woods. The Bishop was very
+busy, and day after day the dogs would start up from the rug at the
+sound of the opening of his study door upstairs, and after a minute's
+anxious listening, with ears cocked and heads erect, they would lie
+down again with a sigh of disappointment, for there was no sound of
+approach to the hat-stand nor of whistled invitation for a walk.
+
+Finally came a sad day when the Bishop went away, and dog-life
+threatened to become monotonous. Then, one Saturday, hope revived, for
+a visitor came to the house, an old friend whom they loved and trusted
+as a good dog always loves what is trustworthy. He was a frequent
+visitor, and had, in fact, left the house but three weeks before. He
+was there for a holiday rest, and had leisure to bestow on dogs and on
+long walks, which they always shared.
+
+He was very thoughtful for them, not the sort of man who would set off
+on a whole afternoon's ramble and say, when half a mile on his way, 'I
+wish I'd remembered Righ and Speireag!' He always remembered them, and
+thought for them; and when he fed them after dinner, would always give
+big bits of biscuit to the big dog, and little bits to the little dog,
+and it is not every one who has the sense for that!
+
+Every day, and often twice a day, he took them out, down to the church
+or the pier, or across the lake and up to the Pass of Glencoe, where
+stern grey hills and hovering eagles and a deep silent valley still
+seem to whisper together of a sad true story that happened there in
+just such weather as this two hundred years ago.
+
+These were very happy days for dogs, for they did not mind the cold,
+it was only an excuse for wild scampering and racing, and they were
+very grateful for their friend's return. He had been ill, but was able
+to enjoy his walks and though about sixty years of age he had all
+those qualities of youth which endear a man to a dog or a child. He
+was brave and unselfish, and strong to love and to endure, and they
+loved him without knowing why; without knowing that he had lost his
+health from overwork in the service of the poor and suffering, and
+among outcasts so low as to be beyond the sympathy of any heart less
+loving than that of a dog or of a very good man. 'Father' Mackonochie
+he was always called, and though he had never had wife or children of
+his own, many a fatherless child, and many a lonely grown-up man or
+woman, felt that it was quite easy and natural to call him by a name
+so sacred.
+
+On the Wednesday after he came, he took Righ and Speireag for a
+glorious walk through the shrubberies and out through a gate on to the
+road at the foot of the hills behind, a road that winds on and on for
+many miles, the mountains rising steeply above, the lake being cold
+and grey below; the bank, that slopes away from the road to the water,
+in places covered with gorse and low bushes and heather, where an
+enterprising dog may hunt for rats and rabbits, or rush headlong after
+a pee-wit or moor-fowl as it rises with a scream at his approach and
+flutters off high into the air, and then descending to within a few
+feet of him, skims low before him, hopelessly far, yet tantalisingly
+near.
+
+The way was familiar to them by land or by water. Often had they
+sailed up the loch in the same direction, further and further into the
+heart of the mountains, the valley becoming more and more narrow, the
+shores of the lake nearer and nearer to each other, till, had they
+gone far enough, they would have reached the Dog's Ferry, a spot where
+the water is so narrow that a dog may easily swim across. Righ, strong
+swimmer that he was, had often crossed the loch near his master's
+house, where the ferry boats ply, and needed no Dog's Ferry, but few
+dogs made such powerful strokes in the water as he.
+
+This day, however, they did not reach the Dog's Ferry. The afternoon
+was closing in, there were streaks of gold in the dull grey sky, and
+it was, the good Father thought, time to return. 'Never mind, little
+man,' he said as Speireag looked reproachfully at him with wistful
+brown eyes gleaming through overhanging silvery locks, 'we'll do it
+to-morrow, only we must set off earlier.'
+
+This was good news, and the little dog started home gaily, running, as
+little dogs will, ten miles, at least, to every one of the road, and
+tired enough when home was reached at last. Dinner was a welcome
+feast, and Righ and Speireag slept sound till it was time for evening
+service. They always attended chapel night and morning, and took their
+places at the foot of the steps, half-way, when both were present,
+between mistress in her seat and master at the place of his sacred
+office. To-night, as usual, they remained perfectly quiet and
+apparently indifferent to what was going on till, at the words
+'Lighten our darkness,' bed-time came into immediate prospect, and
+they started into expectant attitudes, awaiting the final 'Amen.'
+
+
+II
+
+The next morning, though cold, was fine and fairly bright, and the
+dogs watched eagerly for signs of the promised walk. The service in
+chapel was rather long this morning, for, as it was Advent, the
+'Benedicite' was read, and though Righ and Speireag noticed only that
+they had time for a longer nap than usual, there were some present who
+will never forget, as the season comes round again each year, the
+special significance of part of that song of praise--
+
+ O ye frost and cold--O ye ice and snow--O ye nights and days
+ O ye light and darkness, O ye mountains and hills,
+ O ye beasts and cattle, O ye holy and humble men of heart,
+ Bless ye the Lord, praise Him and magnify Him for ever!
+
+But at last the service was over and the dogs trotted out into the
+hall, and followed mistress and their friend to the front door to see
+'what the weather was like.' It was not a specially pleasant morning,
+but it would do for a walk, and after waiting a few minutes to have
+some sandwiches cut, the only detention that could be endured with
+patience, the three set out. After about six miles they were on new
+ground, but on they went, the lake to the right of the road getting
+narrower--on past the Dog's Ferry and still on, till the loch had
+become a river, and could be crossed by a bridge.
+
+Righ and Speireag knew, by a more certain method than looking at
+clocks, that it was lunch time, half past one at least, and they never
+thought of doubting that they would cross the bridge and turn
+homewards along the other side the loch, and so get in about tea-time;
+or, for their friend was enterprising, by a longer way also on the
+further side, either of which would involve a delightful long walk,
+but with just that hint of a homeward turn which, even to dogs, is
+acceptable when breakfast has become a mere memory.
+
+They accordingly followed the road on to the bridge, but as Father
+Mackonochie did not overtake them, Righ, ever watchful of his friends,
+turned to look back and saw him speaking to a girl, after which, to
+their surprise, he whistled them back, and instead of continuing along
+the road as it turned off to the right, kept straight on, though there
+was now only a rough track leading through a gate into the wood
+beyond.
+
+When they had advanced a few paces into the wood, he sat down under a
+tree and took out his packet of sandwiches. Righ and Speireag, sitting
+close beside him, had their share, or perhaps more, for their wistful
+brown eyes hungrily reminded him that they had multiplied the distance
+many times over, and that an unexpected luncheon out of doors is a joy
+in a dog's day, of a kind for which a man may well sacrifice a part of
+his minor pleasure.
+
+Starting off again was a fresh delight. On they went, further and
+further, always climbing higher and getting deeper into the wood. To
+the left, the steep mountain-side rose abruptly above them; to the
+right, below the path, the river tore its way between steep banks
+down, down to its home in the lake. Now and then the trees parted and
+made way for a wild mountain torrent leaping from rock to rock down
+the hill side, and rushing across their path to join the river below.
+As they climbed further these became more frequent. Their friend could
+stride across, setting an occasional foot upon a stepping-stone, and
+Righ, too, could cross safely enough, long-limbed as he was, though
+now and then he had to swim, and the streams were so rapid that it
+needed all his strength to cross the current. Sometimes he helped
+Speireag, for the brave little dog would always try to follow his big
+companion, and sometimes, with an anxious bark, would give warning
+that help was needed, and then the kind Father would turn back to pick
+up the little dog and carry him till they were in safety.
+
+It was very hard work, they were always climbing, and in many places
+the road was polished with a thin coating of ice, but the dogs feared
+nothing and kept on bravely.
+
+The path dwindled to a mere track, and the climbing became steeper
+still. The streams crossed their road still oftener, and the stones
+were slippery with ice. The wood became thinner, and as they had less
+shelter from the trees, great flakes of half-frozen snow were driven
+against their faces. There was no thought now of hares or stags, Righ
+and Speireag had no energies left for anything but patient following.
+Poor little Speireag's long coat was very wet, and as it dried a
+little, it became hard and crisp with frost. The long hair falling
+over his eyes was matted together and tangled with briers, and his
+little feet were sore and heavy with the mud that had caked in the
+long tassels of silky hair. Even Righ was very weary, and he followed
+soberly now instead of bounding along in front, his ears and tail
+drooped, and each time he crossed the ice-cold water he seemed more
+and more dejected.
+
+As they left the wood behind them, the snow fell thick and blinding,
+but just at first, as they came out into the open, it seemed not quite
+so dark as under the trees. There was nothing to be seen but grey sky
+and grey moor, even the river had been left behind, and only blackened
+patches remained to show where, in summer, the ground was spread with
+a gay carpet of purple heather and sweet bog-myrtle. They got deeper
+at each step into half-frozen marsh; there was no sound or sign of
+life. The dogs felt hungry and weary, and they ached with the cold and
+wet. But they were following a friend, and they trusted him wholly.
+Well they knew that each step was taking them farther from home, and
+farther into the cold and darkness. But dog-wisdom never asserts
+itself, and in trustful humility they followed still, and the snow
+came down closer and closer around them, and even the grey sky and the
+grey moor were blotted out--and the darkness fell.
+
+
+III
+
+It was a disappointing home-coming for the Bishop that Thursday
+evening! There was no hearty handshake from waiting friend, no
+rejoicing bay of big dog or extravagant excitement of little dog to
+welcome him. The three had been out the whole day, he was told, and
+had not yet reappeared. A long walk had been projected, but they had
+been expected home long before this. When dinner-time came, and they
+did not appear, two servants had been sent out with lanterns to meet
+them, as the road, though not one to be missed, was dark, and some
+small accident might have happened. The men were not back yet, but
+doubtless the missing party would soon return.
+
+The night was dark and stormy, and Father Mackonochie had been for
+some time somewhat invalided, and as time passed the Bishop became
+increasingly anxious. At length he ordered a carriage, and with the
+gardener set off towards Kinloch, the head of the loch, thinking that
+accident or weariness might have detained his friend, and the carriage
+might be useful. On the way they met the first messengers returning
+with the news that nothing could be heard at Kinloch of the missing
+three, except that they had passed there between one and two o'clock
+in the afternoon. The Bishop and his men sought along the road, and
+inquired for tidings at the very few houses within reach, but in vain.
+The night was dark and little could be done, and there was always the
+hope that on their return they might find that some tidings had been
+heard, that the lost friends might have come back by the other side of
+the lake.
+
+So at last they turned back, reaching home about four o'clock in the
+morning. No news had been heard, and all felt anxious and perplexed,
+but most believed that some place of shelter had been reached, as the
+dogs had not come home. They could find their way home from anywhere,
+and there seemed little doubt that, overtaken by darkness, all three
+had found shelter in a shepherd's or gamekeeper's hut, perhaps on the
+other side of the lake, as they had almost certainly crossed the
+bridge, no one having met them on the road by which they had started.
+
+Nevertheless all that was possible must be done in case of the worst,
+and as soon as daylight returned four parties of men were despatched
+in different directions, the Bishop himself choosing that which his
+friend and his dogs were known to have taken the day before.
+
+A whole day of search over miles and miles of the desolate wintry
+mountains revealed but one fact, that the party had eaten their
+luncheon under a tree in the wood, beyond the bridge. The squirrels
+had left the sandwich paper there to tell the tale, and for the first
+time it seemed likely that they had not turned homewards on reaching
+the head of the lake, either by the same road they had come, or by
+that on the other side of the water and through Glencoe.
+
+One by one, the search parties came home with no tidings. No trace of
+the wanderers had been seen, no bark of dogs had been heard, no help
+had been found towards the discovery of the sad secret. Weary and
+heartsick as all felt, no time was to be lost, every hour made the
+anxiety greater, and all were ready in a very short time to start
+afresh.
+
+Again, for the second time, all through the long night they wandered
+over the mountains, through the wood, and across the deer-forest
+beyond. It was an awful night. Again and again were their lights blown
+out; the snow lay deep in all the hollows; where the streams had
+overflowed their banks, the path was a sheet of solid ice; the rocks,
+polished and slippery, were climbed with utmost difficulty. At every
+opening in the hills an ice-cold wind whirled down glen and corrie,
+sleet and hail-stones beat against their faces, the frozen pools in
+the marshes gave way beneath their feet. The night was absolutely
+dark, not a star shone out to give them courage. The silence and the
+sounds were alike awful. Sometimes they could hear each other's
+laboured breathing as they tottered on the ice or waded through the
+snow, sometimes all other sounds were lost in the shrieking of the
+whirlwinds, the crackling of the ice, and the roaring of the swollen,
+angry streams.
+
+What could have happened? Even if accident had occurred, either or
+both of the dogs would surely have returned, and how could even a
+Highland dog, hungry and shelterless, live through such a night as
+this?
+
+Morning came again, and returning to the point, near the bridge at
+which the carriage had been left, two of the parties met, and drove
+home for food and dry clothing, and to learn what others might have to
+tell.
+
+There was no news, and again the same earnest friends, with many more
+kind helpers, set out on their almost hopeless journey. The trackless
+wilds of the deer-forest seemed the most likely field for search, and
+all now, in various groups, set off in this direction.
+
+Hour after hour passed without any gleam of hope, and even the Bishop
+began to feel that everything possible had been done, and was turning
+sadly homewards. A second party, a few hundreds yards behind, had
+almost come to the same resolve, many of the men had been without rest
+since Thursday, and even the dog, who with one of the keepers of the
+deer-forest had joined the party, was limping wearily and was
+exhausted by the cold and the rough walking.
+
+Suddenly he stopped, and, with ears pricked and head erect, listened.
+No one knows better than a Highlander the worth of a collie's opinion,
+and more than one stopped to listen too. Not far away, and yet faint,
+came the bark of a dog! Among the men was Sandy, one of the Bishop's
+stablemen, who knew and loved Righ and Speireag, and his heart leapt
+up as he recognised the deerhound's bay!
+
+Away, to their left, the mountains were cleft by a narrow glen, the
+sound came from the bank on the hither side. The Bishop and his party
+had climbed to the further side, but a shout reached them, alert and
+watchful as they were.
+
+They turned back wondering, scarcely daring to hope. The men who had
+called to them were hastening to a given point, the dog, nose to
+ground, preceding them. There is no mistaking the air of a dog on
+business. The collie's intentness was as different from his late
+dejection as was the present haste of the men from the anxious
+watchful plodding of their long search.
+
+In another moment they came in sight of something which made them hold
+back the dog, and which arrested their own footsteps. The Bishop
+himself must be the first to tread on what all felt was holy ground.
+
+There, on the desolate hillside, lay the body of Father Mackonochie,
+wreathed about with the spotless snow, a peaceful expression on his
+face. One on either side sat the dogs, watching still, as they had
+watched through the two long nights of storm and darkness. Even the
+approach of friends did not tempt them to forsake their duty. With
+hungry, weary faces they looked towards the group which first came
+near them, but not till their own master knelt down beside all that
+remained of his old friend, did they yield up their trust, and rise,
+numbed and stiff, from the posts they had taken up, who knows how long
+before?
+
+To say a few words of prayer and thanksgiving was the Bishop's first
+thought, his second to take from his pocket the sandwiches he carried,
+and to give all to Righ and Speireag.
+
+A bier was contrived of sticks from a rough fence that marked the
+boundary of the deer-forest, and the body was lifted from the frozen
+ground on which it lay. The return to Kinloch, where the carriage
+waited, was very difficult, and the bearers had to change places very
+often.
+
+Slow as was their progress, it was as rapid as Righ could manage,
+numbed with cold, and exhausted with hunger. The little dog was easily
+carried, and for once little Speireag was content to rest.
+
+ [Illustration: 'THE LONG VIGIL']
+
+No one will ever know what those faithful dogs felt and endured
+during those two days and nights of storm and loneliness. Those who
+sought them in the darkness of that second awful night must have
+passed very near the spot where they lay, sleeping perhaps, or
+deafened by the storm, or even, possibly, listening anxiously with
+beating hearts to the footsteps which came so near, and yet turned
+away, leaving them, faithful to their post, in the night.
+
+They in their degree, like the man whose last sleep they guarded, were
+'true and faithful servants.'
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It is pleasant to know that Righ and Speireag did not suffer
+permanently for all they had undergone! They lived for five years and
+a half after, and had many and many a happy ramble when the sun was
+bright and the woods were green, and squirrels and hares were merry.
+They could not be better cared for than they had always been, but, if
+possible, they were more indulged. If they contrived to get a dinner
+in the kitchen as well as in the dining-room, their friends remembered
+the days when they had none, and nobody told tales. If they lay in the
+sun quite across the front door, or took up the whole of the rug
+before the winter fire, everyone felt that there were arrears of
+warmth to be made up to them. Their portraits were painted, and in the
+sculpture which in his own church commemorates Father Mackonochie's
+death, the dogs have not been forgotten.
+
+Righ was the elder of the two, and towards the end of his thirteen
+years showed signs of old age and became rheumatic and feeble, but
+Speireag, though three years younger, did not long survive him.
+
+They rest now under a cairn in the beautiful garden they loved so
+well; dark green fir trees shelter their grave, a gentle stream goes
+merrily by on its way to the lake below, and in the crannies of the
+stones of which the cairn is built, fox-gloves and primroses and
+little ferns grow fresh and green.
+
+On the cairn is this inscription:
+
+ IN MEMORY OF
+
+ 15th December, 1887.
+
+ RIGH died 19th January, 1893.
+
+ SPEIREAG died 28th August, 1893.
+
+
+
+
+_MONKEY TRICKS AND SALLY AT THE ZOO_
+
+_Naturalist's Note-book._
+
+
+Some monkeys are cleverer and more civilised than others, and the
+chiefs have their followers well in hand; every monkey having his own
+especial duties, which he is very careful to fulfil. When the stores
+of food which have been collected are getting low, the elders of the
+tribe--grey beards with long manes--meet together and decide where
+they shall go to lay in fresh supplies. This important point being
+settled, the whole body of monkeys, even down to the very little ones,
+leave the woods or mountain ravine where they live, and form into
+regular order. First scouts are posted; some being sent on to places
+in advance, others being left to guard the rear, while the main body,
+made up of the young and helpless monkeys, follow the chiefs, who
+march solemnly in front and carefully survey every precipice or
+doubtful place before they suffer anyone to pass over it.
+
+It is not at all easy, even for an elderly and experienced monkey, to
+keep order among the host of lively chattering creatures for whose
+safety he is responsible, and indeed it would often be an impossible
+task if it were not for the help of the rear-guard. These much-tried
+animals have to make up quarrels which often break out by the way; to
+prevent the greedy ones from stopping to eat every scrap of fruit or
+berry that hangs from the trees as they pass, and to scold the mothers
+who try to linger behind in order to dress their children's hair and
+to make them smart for the day.
+
+Under these conditions, it takes a long time even for monkeys to
+reach their destination, which is generally a corn-field, but, once
+there, scouts are sent out to every rock or rising ground, so as to
+guard against any surprise. Then the whole tribe fall to, and after
+filling their cheek pouches with ears of corn, they make up bundles to
+tuck under their arms. After the long march and the hasty picking,
+they begin to get thirsty as well as hungry, and the next thing is to
+find some water. This is very soon done, as they seem able to detect
+it under the sand, however deep down it may be, and by dint of taking
+regular turns at digging, it does not take long before they have laid
+bare a well that is large enough for everybody.
+
+Monkeys love by nature to imitate what they see, and have been known
+to smoke a pipe, and to pretend to read a book that they have seen
+other people reading. But sometimes they can do a great deal more than
+this, and show that they can calculate and reason better than many
+men. A large Abyssinian monkey was one day being taken round Khartoum
+by its master, and made to perform all sorts of tricks for the
+amusement of the bystanders. Among these was a date-seller, who was
+squatting on the ground beside his fruit. Now the monkey was
+passionately fond of dates, but being very cunning was careful not to
+let this appear, and went on performing his tricks as usual, drawing
+little by little nearer to the date basket as he did so. When he
+thought he was near enough for his purpose, he first pretended to die,
+slowly and naturally, and then, after lying for a moment on the sand
+as stiff as a corpse, suddenly bounded up with a scream straight in
+front of the date-seller's face, and stared at him with his wild eyes.
+The man looked back at him spell-bound, quite unaware that one of the
+monkey's hind feet was in the date basket, clawing up as much fruit as
+its long toes could hold. By some such trick as this the monkey
+managed to steal enough food daily to keep him fat and comfortable.
+
+No cleverer monkey ever lived than the ugly old Sally, who died at
+the Zoological Gardens of London only a few years ago. Her keeper had
+spent an immense deal of time and patience in training her up, and it
+was astonishing what she was able to do. 'Sally,' he would say,
+putting a tin cup full of milk into her hands, with a spoon hanging
+from it, 'show us how you used to drink when you were in the woods,'
+upon which Sally stuck all her fingers into the milk and sucked them
+greedily. 'Now,' he continued, 'show us how you drink since you became
+a lady,' and then Sally took the spoon and drank her milk in dainty
+little sips. Next he picked up a handful of straw from the bottom of
+the cage, and remarked carelessly, 'Here, just tear those into six,
+will you, all the same length.' Sally took the straws, and in half a
+minute the thing was done. But she had not come to the end of her
+surprises yet. 'You're very fond of pear, I know,' said the keeper,
+producing one out of his pocket and cutting it with his knife; 'well,
+I'm going to put some on my hand, but you're not to touch it until
+I've cut two short pieces and three long ones, and then you may take
+the second long one, but you aren't to touch any of the rest.' The man
+went on cutting his slices without stopping, and was quite ready to
+begin upon a sixth, when Sally stretched out her hand, and took the
+fourth lying along the row, which she had been told she might have.
+Very likely she might have accomplished even more wonderful things
+than this, but one cold day she caught a chill, and died in a few
+hours of bronchitis.
+
+
+
+
+_HOW THE CAYMAN WAS KILLED_
+
+Waterton's _Wanderings in S. America_.
+
+
+In the year 1782 there was born in the old house of Walton, near
+Pontefract, in Yorkshire, a boy named Charles Waterton, who afterwards
+became very famous as a traveller and a naturalist. As soon as he
+could walk, he was always to be found poking about among trees, or
+playing with animals, and both at home and at school he got into many
+a scrape through his love of adventure. He was only about ten when
+some other boys dared him to ride on a cow, and of course he was not
+going to be beaten. So up he got while the cow was only thinking how
+good the grass tasted, but the moment she felt a strange weight on her
+back, she flung her heels straight into the air, and off flew Master
+Waterton over her head.
+
+Many years after this, Waterton was travelling in South America,
+seeing and doing many curious things. For a long time he had set his
+heart on catching a cayman, a kind of alligator that is found in the
+rivers of Guiana. For this purpose he took some Indians with him to
+the Essequibo, which falls into the sea not far from Demerara, and was
+known to be a famous place for caymans. It was no good attempting to
+go after them during the long, bright day. They were safely in hiding,
+and never thought of coming out till the sun was below the horizon.
+
+So Waterton and his Indians waited in patience till the moon rose, and
+everything was still, except that now and then a huge fish would leap
+into the air and plunge again under water. Suddenly there broke forth
+a fearful noise, unlike the cry of any other creature. As one cayman
+called another answered; and although caymans are not very common
+anywhere, that night you would have thought that the world was full of
+them.
+
+The three men stopped eating their supper of turtle and turned and
+looked over the river. Waterton could see nothing, but the Indian
+silently pointed to a black log that lay in the stream, just over the
+place where they had baited a hook with a large fish, and bound it on
+a board. At the end of the board a rope was fastened, and this was
+also made fast to a tree on the bank. By-and-bye the black log began
+to move, and in the bright moonlight he was clearly seen to open his
+long jaws and to take the bait inside them. But the watchers on shore
+pulled the rope too soon, and the cayman dropped the bait at once.
+Then for an hour he lay quite still, thinking what he should do next,
+but feeling cross at having lost his supper, he made up his mind to
+try once more, and cautiously took the bait in his mouth. Again the
+rope was pulled, and again the bait was dropped into the river; but in
+the end the cayman proved more cunning than the Indians, for after he
+had played this trick for three or four times he managed to get the
+fish without the hook, and when the sun rose again, Waterton knew that
+cayman hunting was over for that day.
+
+For two or three nights they watched and waited, but did not ever get
+so near success as before. Let them conceal a hook in the bait ever so
+cleverly, the cayman was sure to be cleverer than they, and when
+morning came, the bait was always gone and the hook always left. The
+Indians, however, had no intention of allowing the cayman to beat them
+in the long run, and one of them invented a new hook, which this time
+was destined to better luck. He took four or five pieces of wood about
+a foot long, barbed them at each end, and tied them firmly to the end
+of a rope, thirty yards long. Above the barb was baited the flesh of
+an acouri, a creature the size of a rabbit. The whole was then
+fastened to a post driven into the sand, and the attention of the
+cayman aroused to what was going on by some sharp blows on an empty
+tortoiseshell, which served as a drum.
+
+About half-past five the Indian got up and stole out to look, and then
+he called triumphantly to the rest to come up at once, for on the hook
+was a cayman, ten feet and a half long.
+
+But hard as it had been to secure him, it was nothing to the
+difficulty of getting him out alive, and with his scales uninjured,
+especially as the four Indians absolutely refused to help, and that
+left only two white men and a negro, to grapple with the huge monster.
+Of these, too, the negro showed himself very timid, and it was not
+easy to persuade him to be of any use.
+
+The position was certainly puzzling. If the Indians refused their
+help, the cayman could not be taken alive at all, and if they gave it,
+it was only at the price of injuring the animal and spoiling its skin.
+At length a compromise occurred to Waterton. He would take the mast of
+the canoe, which was about eight feet long, and would thrust it down
+the cayman's throat, if it showed any signs of attacking him. On this
+condition, the Indians agreed to give their aid.
+
+Matters being thus arranged, Waterton then placed his men--about seven
+in all--at the end of the rope and told them to pull till the cayman
+rose to the surface, while he himself knelt down with the pole about
+four yards from the bank, ready for the cayman, should he appear,
+roaring. Then he gave the signal, and slowly the men began to pull.
+But the cayman was not to be caught without a struggle. He snorted and
+plunged violently, till the rope was slackened, when he instantly
+dived below. Then the men braced all their strength for another
+effort, and this time out he came and made straight for Waterton.
+
+ [Illustration: THE CAPTURE OF THE CAYMAN]
+
+The naturalist was so excited by his capture, that he lost all sense
+of the danger of his position. He waited till the cayman was within a
+few feet of him, when he flung away his pole, and with a flying leap
+landed on the cayman's back, twisting up the creature's feet and
+holding tightly on to them. The cayman, very naturally, could not in
+the least understand what had happened, but he began to plunge and
+struggle, and to lash out behind with his thick scaly tail, while the
+Indians looked on from afar, and shouted in triumph.
+
+To Waterton the only fear was, lest the rope should prove too weak for
+the strain, in which case he and the cayman would promptly disappear
+into the depths of the Essequibo. But happily the rope was strong, and
+after being dragged by the Indians for forty yards along the sand, the
+cayman gave in, and Waterton contrived to tie his jaws together, and
+to lash his feet on to his back. Then he was put to death, and so
+ended the chase of the cayman.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORY OF FIDO_
+
+
+Fido's master had to go a long journey across the country to a certain
+town, and he was carrying with him a large bag of gold to deposit at
+the bank there. This bag he carried on his saddle, for he was riding,
+as in those days there were no trains, and he had to travel as quickly
+as he could.
+
+Fido scampered cheerfully along at the horse's heels, and every now
+and then the man would call out to her, and Fido would wag her tail
+and bark back an answer.
+
+The sun was hot and the road dusty, and poor Fido's little legs grew
+more and more tired. At last they came to a cool, shady wood, and the
+master stopped, dismounted, and tied his horse to a tree, and took his
+heavy saddle-bags from the saddle.
+
+He laid them down very carefully, and pointing to them, said to Fido,
+'Watch them.'
+
+Then he drew his cloak about him, lay down with his head on the bags,
+and soon was fast asleep.
+
+Little Fido curled herself up close to her master's head, with her
+nose over one end of the bags, and went to sleep too. But she did not
+sleep very soundly, for her master had told her to watch, and every
+few moments she would open her eyes and prick up her ears, in case
+anyone were coming.
+
+ [Illustration: THE WOUNDING OF FIDO]
+
+Her master was tired and slept soundly and long--much longer than he
+had intended. At last he was awakened by Fido's licking his face. The
+dog saw that the sun was nearly setting, and knew that it was time
+for her master to go on his journey.
+
+The man patted Fido and then jumped up, much troubled to find he had
+slept so long. He snatched up his cloak, threw it over his horse,
+untied the bridle, sprang into the saddle, and calling Fido, started
+off in great haste. But Fido did not seem ready to follow him. She ran
+after the horse and bit at his heels, and then ran back again to the
+woods, all the time barking furiously. This she did several times, but
+her master had no time to heed her and galloped away, thinking she
+would follow him.
+
+At last the little dog sat down by the roadside, and looked
+sorrowfully after her master, until he had turned a bend in the road.
+When he was no longer in sight she sprang up with a wild bark, and ran
+after him again. She overtook him just as he had stopped to water his
+horse at a brook that flowed across the road. She stood beside the
+brook and barked so savagely that her master rode back and called her
+to him; but instead of coming she darted off down the road still
+barking.
+
+Her master did not know what to think, and began to fear that his dog
+was going mad. Mad dogs are afraid of water, and act in a strange way
+when they see it. While the man was thinking of this, Fido came
+running back again, and dashed at him furiously. She leapt at the legs
+of his horse, and even jumped up and bit the toe of her master's boot.
+Then she ran down the road again, barking with all her might.
+
+Her master was now sure that she was mad, and, taking out his pistol
+he shot her. He rode away quickly, for he loved her dearly and could
+not bear to see her die.
+
+He had not ridden very far when he stopped suddenly. He felt under his
+coat for his saddle-bags. They were not there!
+
+Could he have dropped them, or had he left them behind in the wood
+where he had rested? He felt sure they must be in the wood, for he
+could not remember having picked them up or fastening them to his
+saddle.
+
+He turned his horse and rode back again as hard as he could.
+
+When he came to the brook he sighed and said, 'Poor Fido!' but though
+he looked about he could see nothing of her. When he crossed the brook
+he saw some drops of blood on the ground, and all along the road he
+still saw drops of blood. Tears came into his eyes, and he felt very
+sad and guilty, for now he understood why little Fido had acted so
+strangely. She knew that her master had left behind his precious bags
+of gold, and so she had tried to tell him in the only way she could.
+
+All the way to the wood lay the drops of blood. At last he reached the
+wood, and there, all safe, lay the bags of gold, and beside them, with
+her little nose lying over one end of them, lay faithful Fido, who,
+you will be pleased to hear, recovered from her wound, and lived to a
+great age.
+
+
+
+
+_BEASTS BESIEGED_
+
+Adapted from Theophile Gautier.
+
+
+Twenty-five years ago (in the winter of 1870-1871) Paris was closely
+besieged by the Germans, who had beaten one French army after another
+on the frontier, and had now advanced into the very heart of the
+country. The cold was frightful, and no wood could be got, and as if
+this was not enough, food began to give out, and the people inside the
+city soon learned to know the tortures of hunger. There was no hay or
+corn for the horses; after sheep and oxen they were the first animals
+to be eaten, and then whispers were heard about elephants and camels
+and other beasts in the Jardin des Plantes, which is the French name
+for their Zoological Gardens.
+
+Now it is quite bad enough to be taken from the forests and deserts
+where you never did anything but just what you chose, and to be shut
+up in a small cage behind bars; but it is still worse not to have
+enough food to eat, and worst of all to be made into food for other
+people. Luckily the animals did not know what was being talked about
+in the world outside, or they would have been more uncomfortable than
+they were already.
+
+Any visitor to the Jardin des Plantes about Christmas time in 1870,
+and for many weeks later, would have seen a strange sight. Some parts
+of the Gardens were set aside for hospitals, and rows of beds occupied
+every sheltered building. Passing through these, the visitor found
+himself in the kingdom of the beasts, who were often much more gentle
+than their gaolers.
+
+After coming from the streets where nothing was the same as it had
+been six months before, and everything was topsy-turvy, it was almost
+soothing to watch the animals going on in their usual way, quite
+regardless of what men might be doing outside. There was the white
+bear swinging himself from side to side and rubbing his nose against
+the bars, just as he had done on the day that he had first taken up
+his abode there. There was a camel still asking for cakes, and an
+elephant trumpeting with fury because he didn't get any. Nobody had
+cakes for themselves, and it would have been far easier to place a
+gold piece in the twirling proboscis. An elephant who is badly fed is
+not a pretty spectacle. Its skin is so large that it seems as if it
+would take in at least three or four extra bodies, and having only one
+shrunken skeleton to cover, it shrivels up into huge wrinkles and
+looks like the earth after a dry summer. On the whole, certain kinds
+of bears come off best, for they can sleep all the winter through, and
+when they wake up, the world will seem the same as when they last shut
+their eyes, and unless their friend the white bear tells them in bear
+language all that has happened they will never be any the wiser.
+
+Still it is not all the bears who are lucky enough to have the gift of
+sleep. Some remained broad awake, and stood idly about in the corners
+of their dens, not knowing how to get rid of the time that hung so
+heavily on their paws. What was the use for the big brown marten to go
+up to the top of his tree, when there was no one to tickle his nose
+with a piece of bread at the end of a string? Why should his brother
+take the trouble to stand up on his hind legs when there was nobody to
+laugh and clap him? Only one very young bear indeed, with bright eyes
+and a yellow skin, went on his own way, regardless of spectators, and
+he was busily engaged in looking at himself in a pail of water and
+putting on all sorts of little airs and graces, from sheer admiration
+of his own beauty.
+
+ [Illustration: THE DREAM OF THE HUNGRY LION]
+
+Perhaps the most to be pitied of all were the lions, for they do not
+know how to play, and could only lie about and remember the days when
+towards sunset they crept towards the cool hill, and waited till the
+antelopes came down for their evening drink. And then, ah _then_! but
+that is only a memory, while stretched out close by is the poor
+lioness in the last stage of consumption, and looking more like those
+half-starved fighting lions you see on royal coats of arms than a real
+beast. At such times most children would give anything to catch up the
+Zoological Gardens and carry them right away into the centre of
+Africa, and let out the beasts and make them happy and comfortable
+once more. But that was not the feeling of the little boy who had been
+taken by his mother to see the beasts as a treat for his birthday. At
+each cage they passed he came to a standstill, and gazing at the
+animal with greedy eyes, he said, 'Mother, wouldn't you like to eat
+that?' Every time his mother answered him, 'No one eats these beasts,
+my boy; they are brought from countries a long way off, and cost a
+great deal of money.' The child was silent for a moment, but at the
+sight of the zebra, the elk, or the little hyaena, his face brightened
+again, and his voice might be heard piping forth its old question,
+'Mother, wouldn't you like to eat that?'
+
+It is a comfort to think that the horrid greedy boy was disappointed
+in his hopes. Whatever else he may have eaten, the taste of lions and
+of bears is still strange to him, for the siege of Paris came to an
+end at last, and the animals were made happy as of old with their
+daily portions.
+
+
+
+
+_MR. GULLY_
+
+
+He was a herring gull, and one of the largest I have ever seen. He was
+beautiful to look at with his soft grey plumage, never a feather of
+which was out of place. Of his character I will say nothing; that can
+be best judged by reading the following truthful biography of my 'dove
+of the waters.'
+
+I cannot begin at the beginning. Of his youth, which doubtless, in
+every sense of the word, was a stormy one, I know nothing. He had
+already acquired the wisdom, or perhaps in his case slyness is a
+better word, of years by the time that he came to us.
+
+Gully was found one day in a field near our house in a very much
+exhausted condition. He had probably come a long distance, which he
+must have accomplished on foot, as he was unable to fly owing to his
+wing having been pinioned.
+
+He was very hungry and greedily bolted a small fish that we offered
+him, and screamed for more. We then turned him into the garden, where
+he soon found a sheltered corner by our dining-room window and went to
+sleep standing on one leg. The other one he always kept tucked away so
+that was quite invisible.
+
+Next morning I came out to look for Gully and feed him. He had
+vanished! I thought of the pond where I kept my goldfish, forty
+beautiful goldfish. There sure enough was Mr. Gully swimming about
+contentedly, but where were the goldfish? Instead of the crystal
+clear pond, was a pool of muddy water; instead of forty goldfish, all
+that I could make out, when Mr. Gully had been chased away and the
+water given time to settle, was one miserable little half-dead fish,
+the only survivor of the forty.
+
+This was the first of Gully's misdeeds. To look at Gully, no one could
+believe him to be capable of hurting a fly. He had the most lovely
+gentle brown eyes you ever saw, and seemed more like a benevolent old
+professor than anything else. He generally appeared to be half asleep
+or else sunning himself with a contented smile on his thoughtful
+countenance.
+
+Gully next took to killing the sparrows; he was very clever at this.
+When he had finished eating, the sparrows were in the habit of
+appropriating the remnants of the feast. This Gully strongly
+disapproved of, so when he had eaten as much as he wanted, he retired
+behind a chair and waited till the sparrows were busy feasting, then
+he would make a rush and seize the nearest offender. He sometimes used
+to kill as many as from two to four sparrows a day in this manner. The
+pigeons then took to coming too near his reach. At first he was afraid
+of them and left them alone; but the day came when a young fan-tail
+was foolish enough to take his airing on the terrace, close to Mr.
+Gully's nose. This was too much for Mr. Gully, who pounced upon the
+unfortunate 'squeaker' and slew him. _L'appetit vient en mangeant_,
+and after this Mr. Gully took the greatest delight in hunting these
+unfortunate birds and murdering them. No pigeon was too large for him
+to attack. I only just succeeded in saving the cock-pouter, a giant
+among pigeons, from an untimely death, by coming up in time to drive
+Mr. Gully away from his victim.
+
+After this we decided to shut Mr. Gully up. We thought he would make a
+charming companion for the guinea-pigs. At that time I used to keep
+about fifty of various species in a hen-run. So to the guinea-pigs
+Gully was banished. At first the arrangement answered admirably, Gully
+behaved as nicely as possible for about a month, and we were all
+congratulating ourselves on having found such a good way out of our
+difficulty, when all at once his thirst for blood was roused afresh.
+One day he murdered four guinea-pigs and the next day three more of
+these unfortunate little beasts.
+
+We then let him join the hens and ducks. He at once constituted
+himself the leader of the latter; every morning he would lead them
+down to a pond at the bottom of the fields, a distance of about a
+quarter of a mile; and every evening he would summon them round him
+and lead them home. At his cry the ducks and drakes would come
+waddling up to him with loud quacks; he used always to march in the
+most stately manner about two yards ahead of them. Of the cocks and
+hens Gully deigned to take no notice. On two occasions he made an
+exception to this rule of conduct. On the first, he and a hen had a
+dispute over the possession of a worm. This dispute led to a fight of
+which Gully was getting the best when the combatants were separated.
+On the second occasion Gully was accused of decapitating a hen. No one
+saw him do it, but it looked only too like his work. He had a neat
+clean style.
+
+One day he led his ducks to the pond as usual, but in the evening they
+returned by themselves. We came to the conclusion that the poor old
+bird must be dead. We quite gave him up for lost, and had mourned him
+for two or three weeks, when what should we see one day but Mr. Gully
+leading his ducks as usual to his favourite pond, as if he had never
+been away.
+
+Where he had spent all the time he was absent remains a mystery to
+this day. After this he remained with us some time, during which he
+performed no new feat of valour with the exception of one fight which
+he had with a cat. In this fight he had some feathers pulled out, but
+ultimately succeeded in driving her off after giving her leg such a
+bite that she was lame for many a long day.
+
+Since then he has again disappeared. Will he ever return? Mysterious
+was his coming and mysterious his going.
+
+
+
+
+_STORIES FROM PLINY_
+
+HOW DOGS LOVE
+
+
+Now there was living at Rome, under the Emperors Vespasian and Titus
+(A.D. 69-81) a man called Pliny, who gave up his life to the study of
+animals and plants. He not only watched their habits for himself, but
+he listened eagerly to all that travellers would tell him, and
+sometimes happened to believe too much, and wrote in his book things
+that were not true. Still there were a great many facts which he had
+found out for himself, and the stories he tells about animals are of
+interest to every one, partly because it seems strange to think that
+dogs and horses and other creatures were just the same then as they
+are now.
+
+The dogs that Pliny writes about lived in all parts of the Roman
+Empire, and were as faithful and devoted to their masters as our dogs
+are to us. One dog called Hyrcanus, belonging to King Lysimachus, one
+of the successors of Alexander the Great, jumped on to the funeral
+pyre on which lay burning the dead body of his master. And so did
+another dog at the burial of Hiero of Syracuse. But during the
+lifetime of Pliny himself, a dog's devotion in the heart of Rome had
+touched even the Roman citizens, ashamed though they generally were of
+showing their feelings. It had happened that a plot against the life
+of Nero had been discovered, and the chief conspirator, Titus Sabinus
+by name, was put to death, together with some of his servants. One of
+these men had a dog of which he was very fond, and from the moment
+the man was thrown into prison, the dog could not be persuaded to move
+away from the door. At last there came a day when the man suffered the
+cruel death common in Rome for such offences, and was thrown down a
+steep flight of stairs, where he broke his neck. A crowd of Romans had
+gathered round the place of execution, in order to see the sight, and
+in the midst of them all the dog managed to reach his master's side,
+and lay there, howling piteously. Then one of the crowd, moved with
+pity, threw the dog a piece of meat, but he only took it, and laid it
+across his master's mouth. By-and-bye, the men came for the body in
+order to throw it into the river Tiber, and even then the dog followed
+and swam after it, and held it up and tried to bring it to land, till
+the people came out in multitudes from the houses round about, to see
+what it was to be faithful unto death--and beyond it.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STRANGE HISTORY OF CAGNOTTE_
+
+_Menagerie Intime._
+
+
+In the early part of this century, a little boy of three years old,
+named Theophile Gautier, travelled with his parents from Tarbes, in
+the south of France, to Paris. He was so small that he could not speak
+any proper French, but talked like the country people; and he divided
+the world into those who spoke like him and were his friends, and
+those who did not, and were strangers.
+
+But though he was only three, and a great baby in many ways, he loved
+his home dearly, and everything about it, and it nearly broke his
+heart to come away. His parents tried to comfort him by giving him the
+most beautiful chocolates and little cakes, and when that failed they
+tried what drums and trumpets would do. But drums and trumpets
+succeeded no better than cakes and chocolates, for the greater part of
+poor Theophile's tears were shed for the 'dog he had left behind him,'
+called Cagnotte, which his father had given away to a friend, as he
+did not think that any dog who had been accustomed to run along the
+hills and valleys above Tarbes, could ever make himself happy in
+Paris.
+
+Theophile, however, did not understand this, but cried for Cagnotte
+all day long; and one morning he could bear it no longer. His nurse
+had put out all his tin soldiers neatly on the table, with a little
+German village surrounded by stiff green trees just in front of them,
+hoping Theophile might play at a battle or a siege, and she had also
+placed his fiddle (which was painted bright scarlet) quite handy, so
+that he might play the triumphal march of the victor. Nothing was of
+any use. As soon as Josephine's back was turned Theophile threw
+soldiers and village and fiddle out of the window, and then prepared
+to jump after them, so that he might take the shortest way back to
+Tarbes and Cagnotte. Luckily, just as his foot was on the sill,
+Josephine came back from the next room, and saw what he was about. She
+rushed after him and caught him by the jacket, and then took him on
+her knee, and asked him why he was going to do anything so naughty and
+dangerous. When Theophile explained that it was Cagnotte whom he
+wanted and must have, and that nobody else mattered at all, Josephine
+was so afraid he would try to run away again, that she told him that
+if he would only have patience and wait a little Cagnotte would come
+to him.
+
+All day long Theophile gave Josephine no peace. Every few minutes he
+came running to his nurse to know if Cagnotte had arrived, and he was
+only quieted when Josephine went out and returned carrying a little
+dog, which in some ways was very like his beloved Cagnotte. Theophile
+was not quite satisfied at first, till he remembered that Cagnotte had
+travelled a long, long way, and it was not to be expected that he
+should look the same dog as when he started; so he put aside his
+doubts, and knelt down to give Cagnotte a great hug of welcome. The
+new Cagnotte, like the old, was a lovely black poodle, and had
+excellent manners, besides being full of fun. He licked Theophile on
+both cheeks, and was altogether so friendly that he was ready to eat
+bread and butter off the same plate as his little master.
+
+The two got on beautifully, and were perfectly happy for some time,
+and then gradually Cagnotte began to lose his spirits, and instead of
+jumping and running about the world, he moved slowly, as if he was in
+pain. He breathed shortly and heavily, and refused to eat anything,
+and even Theophile could see he was feeling ill. One day Cagnotte was
+lying stretched out on his master's lap, and Theophile was softly
+stroking his skin, when suddenly his hand caught in what seemed to be
+string, or strong thread. In great surprise, Josephine was at once
+called, to explain the strange matter. She stooped down, and peered
+closely at the dog's skin, then took her scissors and cut the thread.
+Cagnotte stretched himself, gave a shake, and jumped down from
+Theophile's lap, leaving a sort of black sheep-skin behind him.
+
+ [Illustration: CAGNOTTE COMES OUT OF HIS SKIN]
+
+Some wicked men had sewn him up in this coat, so that they might get
+more money for him; and without it he was not a poodle at all, but
+just an ugly little street dog, without beauty of any kind.
+
+After helping to eat Theophile's bread and butter and soup for some
+weeks, Cagnotte began to grow fatter, and his outside skin became too
+tight for him, and he was nearly suffocated. Once delivered from it,
+he shook his ears for joy, and danced a waltz of his own round the
+room, not caring a straw how ugly he might be as long as he was
+comfortable. A very few weeks spent in the society of Cagnotte made
+the memory of Tarbes and its mountains grow dim in the mind of
+Theophile. He learnt French, and forgot the way the country people
+talked, and soon he had become, thanks to Cagnotte, such a thorough
+little Parisian, that he would not have understood what his old
+friends said, if one of them had spoken to him.
+
+
+
+
+_STILL WATERS RUN DEEP; OR THE DANCING DOG_
+
+_Menagerie Intime._
+
+
+When Little Theophile became Big Theophile, he was as fond as ever of
+dogs and cats, and he knew more about them than anybody else. After
+the death of a large white spaniel called Luther, he filled the vacant
+place on his rug by another of the same breed, to whom he gave the
+name of Zamore. Zamore was a little dog, as black as ink, except for
+two yellow patches over his eyes, and a stray patch on his chest. He
+was not in the least handsome, and no stranger would ever have given
+him a second thought. But when you came to know him, you found Zamore
+was not a common dog at all. He despised all women, and absolutely
+refused to obey them or to follow them, and neither Theophile's mother
+nor his sisters could get the smallest sign of friendship from him. If
+they offered him cakes or sugar, he would accept them in a dignified
+manner, but never dreamed of saying 'thank you,' still less of wagging
+his tail on the floor, or giving little yaps of delight and gratitude,
+as well-brought-up dogs should do. Even to Theophile's father, whom he
+liked better than anyone else, he was cold and respectful, though he
+followed him everywhere, and never left his master's heels when they
+took a walk. And when they were fishing together, Zamore would sit
+silent on the bank for hours together, and only allowed himself one
+bark when the fish was safely hooked.
+
+Now no one could possibly have guessed that a dog of such very quiet
+and reserved manners was at heart as gay and cheerful as the silliest
+kitten that ever was born, but so he was, and this was how his family
+found it out.
+
+One day he was walking as seriously as usual through a broad square in
+the outskirts of Paris, when he was surprised at meeting a large grey
+donkey, with two panniers on its back, and in the panniers a troop of
+dogs, some dressed as Swiss shepherdesses, some as Turks, some in full
+court costume. The owner of the animals stopped the donkey close to
+where Zamore was standing, and bade the dogs jump down. Then he
+cracked his whip; the fife and drum struck up a merry tune, the dogs
+steadied themselves on their hind legs, and the dance began.
+
+Zamore looked on as if he had been turned into stone. The sight of
+these dogs, dressed in bright colours, this one with his head covered
+by a feathered hat, and that one by a turban, but all moving about in
+time to the music, and making pirouettes and little bows; were they
+really _dogs_ he was watching or some new kind of men? Anyway he had
+never seen anything so enchanting or so beautiful, and if it was true
+that they were only dogs--well, _he_ was a dog too!
+
+With that thought, all that had lain hidden in Zamore's soul burst
+forth, and when the dancers filed gracefully before him, he raised
+himself on his hind legs, and in spite of staggering a little,
+prepared to join the ring, to the great amusement of the spectators.
+
+The dog-owner, however, whose name was Monsieur Corri, did not see
+matters in the same light. He raised his whip a second time, and
+brought it down with a crack on the sides of Zamore, who ran out of
+the ring, and with his tail between his legs and an air of deep
+thought, he returned home.
+
+ [Illustration: 'AND WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE SAW?']
+
+All that day Zamore was more serious and more gloomy than ever.
+Nothing would tempt him out, hardly even his favourite dinner, and it
+was quite plain that he was turning over something in his mind. But
+during the night his two young mistresses were awakened by a strange
+noise that seemed to come from an empty room next theirs, where Zamore
+usually slept. They both lay awake and listened, and thought it was
+like a measured stamping, and that the mice might be giving a ball.
+But could little mice feet tread so heavily as that? Supposing a thief
+had got in? So the bravest of the two girls got up, and stealing to
+the door softly opened it and looked into the room. And what do you
+think she saw? Why, Zamore, on his hind legs, his paws in the air,
+practising carefully the steps that he had been watching that morning!
+
+This was not, as one might have expected, a mere fancy of the moment,
+which would be quite forgotten the next day. Zamore was too serious a
+dog for that, and by dint of hard study he became in time a beautiful
+dancer. As often as the fife and drum were heard in the streets,
+Zamore rushed out of the house, glided softly between the spectators,
+and watched with absorbed attention the dancing dogs who were doing
+their steps: but remembering the blow he had had from the whip, he
+took care not to join them. He noted their positions, the figures, and
+the way they held their bodies, and in the night he copied them,
+though by day he was just as solemn as ever. Soon he was not contented
+with merely copying what he saw, he invented for himself, and it is
+only just to say that, in stateliness of step, few dogs could come up
+to him. Often his dances were witnessed (unknown to himself) by
+Theophile and his sisters, who watched him through the crack of the
+door; and so earnest was he, that at length, worn out by dancing, he
+would drink up the whole of a large basin of water, which stood in the
+corner of the room.
+
+When Zamore felt himself the equal of the best of the dancing dogs, he
+began to wish that like them he might have an audience.
+
+Now in France the houses are not always built in a row as they are in
+England, but sometimes have a square court-yard in front, and in the
+house where Zamore lived, this court was shut in on one side by an
+iron railing, which was wide enough to let dogs of a slim figure
+squeeze through.
+
+One fine morning there met in this court-yard fifteen or twenty dogs,
+friends of Zamore, to whom the night before he had sent letters of
+invitation. The object of the party was to see Zamore make his _debut_
+in dancing, and the ball-room was to be the court-yard, which Zamore
+had carefully swept with his tail. The dance began, and the spectators
+were so delighted, that they could not wait for the end to applaud, as
+people ought always to do, but uttered loud cries of 'Ouah, ouah,'
+that reminded you of the noises you hear at a theatre. Except one old
+water spaniel who was filled with envy at Zamore's talents, and
+declared that no decent dog would ever make an exhibition of himself
+like that, they all vowed that Zamore was the king of dancers, and
+that nothing had ever been seen to equal his minuet, jig, and waltz
+for grace and beauty.
+
+It was only during his dancing moments that Zamore unbent. At all
+other times he was as gloomy as ever, and never cared to stir from the
+rug unless he saw his old master take up his hat and stick for a walk.
+Of course, if he had chosen, he might have joined Monsieur Corri's
+_troupe_, of which he would have made the brightest ornament; but the
+love of his master proved greater than his love of his art, and he
+remained unknown, except of his family. In the end he fell a victim to
+his passion for dancing, and he died of brain fever, which is supposed
+to have been caused by the fatigue of learning the schottische, the
+fashionable dance of the day.
+
+
+
+
+_THEO AND HIS HORSES; JANE, BETSY, AND BLANCHE_
+
+From _Menagerie Intime_.
+
+
+After Theophile grew to be a man, he wrote a great many books, which
+are all delightful to read, and everybody bought them, and Theophile
+got rich and thought he might give himself a little carriage with two
+horses to draw it.
+
+And first he fell in love with two dear little Shetland ponies who
+were so shaggy and hairy that they seemed all mane and tail, and whose
+eyes looked so affectionately at him, that he felt as if he should
+like to bring them into the drawing-room instead of sending them to
+the stable. They were charming little creatures, not a bit shy, and
+they would come and poke their noses into Theophile's pockets in
+search for sugar, which was always there. Indeed their only fault was,
+that they were so very, very small, and that, after all, was _not_
+their fault. Still, they looked more suited to an English child of
+eight years old, or to Tom Thumb, than to a French gentleman of forty,
+not so thin as he once was, and as they all passed through the
+streets, everybody laughed, and drew pictures of them, and declared
+that Theophile could easily have carried a pony on each arm, and the
+carriage on his back.
+
+Now Theophile did not mind being laughed at, but still he did not
+always want to be stared at all through the streets, whenever he went
+out. So he sold his ponies and began to look out for something nearer
+his own size. After a short search he found two of a dapple grey
+colour, stout and strong, and as like each other as two peas, and he
+called them Jane and Betsy. But although, to look at, no one could
+ever tell one from the other, their characters were totally different,
+as Jane was very bold and spirited, and Betsy was terribly lazy. While
+Jane did all the pulling, Betsy was quite contented just to run by her
+side, without troubling herself in the least, and, as was only
+natural, Jane did not think this at all fair, and took a great dislike
+to Betsy, which Betsy heartily returned. At last matters became so bad
+that, in their efforts to get at each other, they half kicked the
+stable to pieces, and would even rear themselves upon their hind legs
+in order to bite each other's faces. Theophile did all he could to
+make them friends, but nothing was of any use, and at last he was
+forced to sell Betsy. The horse he found to replace her was a shade
+lighter in colour, and therefore not quite so good a match, but
+luckily Jane took to her at once, and lost no time in doing the
+honours of the stable. Every day the affection between the two became
+greater: Jane would lay her head on Blanche's shoulder--she had been
+called Blanche because of her fair skin--and when they were turned out
+into the stable-yard, after being rubbed down, they played together
+like two kittens. If one was taken out alone, the other became sad and
+gloomy, till the well-known tread of its friend's hoofs was heard from
+afar, when it would give a joyful neigh, which was instantly answered.
+
+Never once was it necessary for the coachman to complain of any
+difficulty in harnessing them. They walked themselves into their
+proper places, and behaved in all ways as if they were well brought
+up, and ready to be friendly with everybody. They had all kinds of
+pretty little ways, and if they thought there was a chance of getting
+bread or sugar or melon rind, which they both loved, they would make
+themselves as caressing as a dog.
+
+ [Illustration: BLANCHE TELLING GHOST STORIES TO JANE IN THE STABLE]
+
+Nobody who has lived much with animals can doubt that they talk
+together in a language that man is too stupid to understand; or, if
+anyone _had_ doubted it, they would soon have been convinced of the
+fact by the conduct of Jane and Blanche when in harness. When Jane
+first made Blanche's acquaintance, she was afraid of nothing, but
+after they had been together a few months, her character gradually
+changed, and she had sudden panics and nervous fits, which puzzled her
+master greatly. The reason of this was that Blanche, who was very
+timid and easily frightened, passed most of the night in telling Jane
+ghost stories, till poor Jane learnt to tremble at every sound. Often,
+when they were driving in the lonely alleys of the Bois de Boulogne
+after dark, Blanche would come to a dead stop or shy to one side as if
+a ghost, which no one else could see, stood before her. She breathed
+loudly, trembled all over with fear, and broke out into a cold
+perspiration. No efforts of Jane, strong though she was, could drag
+her along. The only way to move her was for the coachman to dismount,
+and to lead her, with his hand over her eyes for a few steps, till the
+vision seemed to have melted into air. In the end, these terrors
+affected Jane just as if Blanche, on reaching the stable, had told her
+some terrible story of what she had seen, and even her master had been
+known to confess that when, driving by moonlight down some dark road,
+where the trees cast strange shadows, Blanche would suddenly come to a
+dead halt and begin to tremble, he did not half like it himself.
+
+With this one drawback, never were animals so charming to drive. If
+Theophile held the reins, it was really only for the look of the
+thing, and not in the least because it was necessary. The smallest
+click of the tongue was enough to direct them, to quicken them, to
+make them go to the right or to the left, or even to stop them. They
+were so clever that in a very short time they had learned all their
+master's habits, and knew his daily haunts as well as he did himself.
+They would go of their own accord to the newspaper office, to the
+printing office, to the publisher's, to the Bois de Boulogne, to
+certain houses where he dined on certain days in the week, so very
+punctually that it was quite provoking; and if it ever happened that
+Theophile spent longer than usual at any particular place, they never
+failed to call his attention by loud neighs, or by pawing the ground,
+sounds of which he quite well knew the meaning.
+
+But alas, the time came when a Revolution broke out in Paris. People
+had no time to buy books or to read them; they were far too busy in
+building barricades across the streets, or in tearing up the paving
+stones to throw at each other. The newspaper in which Theophile wrote,
+and which paid him enough money to keep his horses, did not appear any
+more, and sad though he was at parting, the poor man thought he was
+lucky to find some one to buy horses, carriage, and harness, for a
+fourth part of their worth. Tears stood in his eyes as they were led
+away to their new stable; but he never forgot them, and they never
+forgot him. Sometimes, as he sat writing at his table, he would hear
+from afar a light quick step, and then a sudden stop under the
+windows.
+
+And their old master would look up and sigh and say to himself, 'Poor
+Jane, poor Blanche, I hope they are happy.'
+
+
+
+
+_MADAME THEOPHILE AND THE PARROT_
+
+_Menagerie Intime._
+
+
+After the death of Cagnotte, whose story you may have read, Theophile
+was so unhappy that he would not have another dog, but instead,
+determined to fill the empty place in his heart with cats. One of
+those that he loved the best was a big yellowy-red puss, with a white
+chest, a pink nose, and blue eyes, that went by the name of Madame
+Theophile, because, when he was in the house, it never left his side
+for a single instant. It slept on his bed, dreamed while sitting on
+the arm of Theophile's chair while he was writing (for Theophile was
+by this time almost a grown-up man), walked after him when he went
+into the garden, sat by his side while he had his dinner, and
+sometimes took, gently and politely, the food he was conveying to his
+own mouth.
+
+One day, a friend of Theophile's, who was leaving Paris for a few
+days, brought a parrot, which he begged Theophile to take care of
+while he was away. The bird not feeling at home in this strange place,
+climbed up to the top of his cage and looked round him with his funny
+eyes, that reminded you of the nails in a sofa. Now Madame Theophile
+had never seen a parrot, and it was plain that this curious creature
+gave her a shock. She sat quite still, staring quietly at the parrot,
+and trying to think if she had ever seen anything like it among the
+gardens and roofs of the houses, where she got all her ideas of the
+world. At last she seemed to make up her mind:
+
+'Of course, it must be a kind of green chicken.'
+
+Having set the question at rest, Madame Theophile jumped down from the
+table where she had been seated while she made her observations, and
+walked quickly to the corner of the room, where she laid herself flat
+down, with her head bent and her paws stretched out, like a panther
+watching his prey.
+
+The parrot followed all her movements with his round eyes, and felt
+that they meant no good to him. He ruffled his feathers, pulled at his
+chain, lifted one of his paws in a nervous way, and rubbed his beak up
+and down his food tin. All the while the cat's blue eyes were talking
+in a language the parrot clearly understood, and they said: 'Although
+it is green, that fowl would make a nice dinner.'
+
+But Madame Theophile had not lain still all this while. Slowly,
+without even appearing to move, she had drawn closer and closer. Her
+pink nostrils trembled, her eyes were half shut, her claws were pushed
+out and pulled into their sheaths, and little shivers ran down her
+back.
+
+Suddenly her back rounded itself like a bent bow, and with one bound
+she leapt on the cage. The parrot knew his danger, and was too
+frightened to move; then, calling up all his courage, he looked his
+enemy full in the face, and, in a low and deep voice he put the
+question: 'Jacky, did you have a good breakfast?'
+
+This simple phrase struck terror into the heart of the cat, who made a
+spring backwards. If a cannon had been fired close to her ear, or a
+shopful of glass had been broken, she could not have been more
+alarmed. Never had she dreamed of anything like this.
+
+'And what did you have--some of the king's roast beef?' continued the
+parrot.
+
+'It is not a chicken, it is a man that is speaking,' thought the cat
+with amazement, and looking at her master, who was standing by, she
+retired under the bed. Madame Theophile knew when she was beaten.
+
+
+
+
+_THE BATTLE OF THE MULLETS AND THE DOLPHINS_
+
+
+Many singular stories may be found in Pliny, but the most interesting
+is how men and dolphins combine together on the coast of France, near
+Narbonne, to catch the swarms of mullet that come into those waters at
+certain seasons of the year.
+
+ [Illustration: HOW THE DOLPHINS HELPED THE FISHERMEN TO CATCH THE
+ MULLETS]
+
+'In Languedoc, within the province of Narbonne, there is a standing
+pool or dead water called Laterra, wherein men and dolphins together
+used to fish; for at one certain time of the year an infinite number
+of fishes called mullets, taking the vantage of the tide when the
+water doth ebb, at certain narrow weirs and passages with great force
+break forth of the said pool into the sea; and by reason of that
+violence no nets can be set and pitched against them strong enough to
+abide and bear their huge weight and the stream of the water together,
+if so be men were not cunning and crafty to wait and espie their time
+and lay for them and to entrap them. In like manner the mullets for
+their part immediately make speed to recover the deep, which they do
+very soon by reason that the Channel is near at hand; and their only
+haste is for this, to escape and pass that narrow place which
+affordeth opportunities to the fishers to stretch out and spread their
+nets. The fishermen being ware thereof and all the people besides (for
+the multitude knowing when fishing time is come, run thither, and the
+rather for to see the pleasant sport), cry as loud as ever they can to
+the dolphins for aid, and call "Simo, Simo," to help to make an end of
+this their game and pastime of fishing. The dolphins soon get the ear
+of their cry and know what they would have, and the better if the
+north winds blow and carry the sound unto them; for if it be a
+southern wind it is later ere the voice be heard, because it is
+against them. Howbeit, be the wind in what quarter soever, the
+dolphins resort thither flock-meal, sooner than a man would think, for
+to assist them in their fishing. And a wondrous pleasant sight it is
+to behold the squadrons as it were of those dolphins, how quickly they
+take their places and be arranged in battle array, even against the
+very mouth of the said pool, where the mullets are to shoot into the
+sea, to see (I say) how from the sea they oppose themselves and fight
+against them and drive the mullets (once affrighted and scared) from
+the deep on the shelves. Then come the fishers and beset them with net
+and toile, which they bear up and fortify with strong forks; howbeit,
+for all that, the mullets are so quick and nimble that a number of
+them whip over, get away, and escape the nets. But the dolphins are
+ready to receive them; who, contenting themselves for the present to
+kill only, make foul work and havoc among them, and put off the time
+of preying and feeding upon, until they have ended the battle and
+achieved the victory. And now the skirmish is hot, for the dolphins,
+perceiving also the men at work, are the more eager and courageous in
+fight, taking pleasure to be enclosed within the nets, and so most
+valiantly charging upon the mullets; but for fear lest the same should
+give an occasion unto the enemies and provoke them to retire and fly
+back between the boats, the nets, and the men there swimming, they
+glide by so gently and easily that it cannot be seen where they get
+out. And albeit they take great delight in leaping, and have the cast
+of it, yet none essayeth to get forth but where the nets lie under
+them, but no sooner are they out, but presently a man shall see brave
+pastime between them as they scuffle and skirmish as it were under the
+ramparts. And so the conflict being ended and all the fishing sport
+done, the dolphins fall to spoil and eat those which they killed in
+the first shock and encounter. But after this service performed, the
+dolphins retire not presently into the deep again, from whence they
+were called, but stay until to-morrow, as if they knew very well they
+had so carried themselves as that they deserved a better reward than
+one day's refection and victuals; and therefore contented they are not
+and satisfied unless to their fish they have some sops and crumbs of
+bread given them soaked in wine, and had their bellies full.'
+
+
+
+
+_MONKEY STORIES_
+
+
+Before telling you more stories about monkeys, we must tell you some
+dry facts about them, in order that you may understand the stories.
+There are three different kinds of monkeys--apes, baboons, and monkeys
+proper. The difference is principally in their tails, so that when you
+see them at the Zoo (for there are none wild in Europe, except at
+Gibraltar), you will know them by the apes having no tails and walking
+upright; baboons have short tails and go on all fours; and monkeys
+have tails sometimes longer than their whole bodies, by which they can
+swing themselves from tree to tree. Apes and monkeys are so ready to
+imitate everything which men do, that the negroes believe that they
+are a lazy race of men, who will not be at the trouble to work.
+Baboons, on the contrary, can be taught almost nothing.
+
+There are two kinds of apes, called oran otans and chimpanzees. They
+are both very wild and fierce, and difficult to catch, but, when
+caught, become not only tame, but very affectionate, and can be taught
+anything. Nearly two hundred years ago, in 1698, one was brought to
+London that had been caught in Angola. On board ship he became very
+fond of the people who took care of him, and was very gentle and
+affectionate, but would have nothing to do with some monkeys who were
+on the same ship. He had had a suit of clothes made for him, probably
+to keep him warm. As the ship got into colder regions he took great
+pleasure in dressing himself in them, and anything he could not put on
+for himself he used to bring in his paw to one of the sailors, and
+seem to ask him to dress him. He had a bed to sleep in, and at night
+used to put his head on the pillow and tuck himself in like a human
+being. His story is unfortunately a short one, for he died soon after
+coming to London. He could not long survive the change from his native
+forests to the cage of a menagerie.
+
+ [Illustration: TWO ORAN OTANS]
+
+Another, a female, was brought to Holland nearly a hundred years
+later, in 1776, but she, too, pined and died after seven months'
+captivity. She was very gentle and affectionate, and became so fond of
+her keeper that when they left her alone, she used to throw herself on
+the ground screaming, and tearing in pieces anything in her reach,
+just like a naughty child. She could behave as well as any lady in
+the land when she liked. When asked out to tea, she used to bring a
+cup and saucer, put sugar in the cup, pour out the tea, and leave it
+to cool; and at dinner her manners were just as good. She used her
+knife and fork, table napkin, and even toothpick, as if she had been
+accustomed to them all her life, which, of course, in her native
+forest was far from being the case. She learnt all her nice habits
+either from watching people at table, or from her keeper's orders. She
+was fond of strawberries, which she ate very daintily, on a fork,
+holding the plate in the other hand. She was particularly fond of
+wine, and drank it like a human being, holding the glass in her hand.
+She was better behaved than two other oran otans, who, though they
+could behave as well at table as any lady, and could use their knives
+and forks and glasses, and could make the cabin boy (for it was on
+board ship) understand what they wanted, yet, if he did not attend to
+them at once, they used to throw him down, seize him by the arm, and
+bite him.
+
+A French priest had an oran otan that he had brought up from a baby,
+and who was so fond of his master that he used to follow him about
+like a dog. When the priest went to church he used to lock the oran
+otan up in a room; but one day he got out, and, as sometimes happens
+with dogs, who cannot get reconciled to Sunday, he followed his master
+to church. He managed, without the priest's seeing him, to climb on
+the sounding board above the pulpit, where he lay quite still till the
+sermon began. He then crept forward till he could see his master in
+the pulpit below, and imitated every one of his movements, till the
+congregation could not keep from laughing. The priest thought they
+were making fun of him, and was naturally very angry. The more angry
+he became the more gestures he used, every one of which the ape
+overhead repeated. At last a friend of the priest stood up in the
+congregation, and pointed out the real culprit. When the priest looked
+up and saw the imitation of himself, he could not keep from laughing
+either, and the service could not go on till the disturber had been
+taken down and locked up again at home.
+
+Another kind is called the Barbary ape, because they are found in such
+numbers in Barbary that the trees in places seem nearly covered with
+them, though there are quantities as well in India and Arabia. They
+are very mischievous and great fighters. In India the natives
+sometimes amuse themselves by getting up a fight among them. They put
+down at a little distance from each other baskets of rice, with stout
+sticks by each basket, and then they go off and hide themselves among
+the trees to watch the fun. The apes come down from the trees in great
+numbers, and make as though they were going to attack the baskets, but
+lose courage and draw back grinning at each other. The females are
+generally the boldest, and the first to seize on the food; but as soon
+as they put their heads down to eat, some of the males set-to to drive
+them off. Others attack them in their turn. They all seize on the
+sticks, and soon a free fight begins, which ends in the weakest being
+driven off into the woods, and the conquerors enjoying the spoil. They
+are not only fierce but revengeful, and will punish severely any
+person who kills one of them. Some English people who were driving
+through a country full of these apes in the East Indies, wished, out
+of sheer wantonness, to have one shot. The native servants, knowing
+what the consequences would be, were afraid; but, as their masters
+insisted, they had to obey, and shot a female whose little ones were
+clinging to her neck. She fell dead from the branches, and the little
+ones, falling with her, were killed too. Immediately all the other
+apes, to the number of about sixty, came down and attacked the
+carriage. They would certainly have killed the travellers if the
+servants, of whom there was fortunately a number, had not driven the
+apes off; and though the carriage set off as fast as the horses could
+lay legs to the ground, the apes followed for three miles.
+
+ [Illustration: THE BABOONS WHO STOLE THE POOR MAN'S DINNER]
+
+_Baboons_ are as ugly, revolting creatures as you could wish to see,
+and very fierce, so they can seldom be tamed nor even caught. There
+are, of course, few stories about them. When people try to catch
+them, they let their pursuers come so near that they think they have
+them, and then they bound away ten paces at once, and look down
+defiantly from the tree-top as much as to say, 'Don't you wish you may
+get me?' One baboon had so wearied his pursuers by his antics that
+they pointed a gun at him, though with no intention of firing. He had
+evidently seen a gun before, and knew its consequences, and was so
+frightened at the bare idea, that he fell down senseless and was
+easily captured. When he came to himself again he struggled so
+fiercely that they had to tie his paws together, and then he bit so
+that they had to tie his jaws up.
+
+Baboons are great thieves, and come down from the mountains in great
+bodies to plunder gardens. They cram as much fruit as they possibly
+can into their cheek pouches to take away and eat afterwards at their
+leisure. They always set a sentinel to give the alarm. When he sees
+anyone coming, he gives a yell that lasts a minute, and then the whole
+troop sets off helter-skelter.
+
+They will rob anyone they come upon alone in the most impudent way.
+They come softly up behind, snatch away anything they can lay their
+hands on, and then run off a little way and sit down. Very often it is
+the poor man's dinner that they devour before his eyes. Sometimes they
+will hold it out in their hands and pretend they are going to give it
+back, in such a comic way that I would defy you not to laugh, though
+it were your own dinner that had been snatched away and then offered
+to you.
+
+_Monkeys_ live in the tree-tops of the forests of India and South
+Africa, where they keep up a constant chattering and gambolling, all
+night as well as all day, playing games and swinging by their tails
+from tree to tree. One kind, the four-fingered monkey, can pass from
+one high tree-top to another, too far even for a monkey to jump, by
+making themselves into a chain, joined to each other by their tails.
+They can even cross rivers in this way. There are any number of
+different kinds of monkeys, as you can see any day in the monkey house
+at the Zoo. One kind is well named the howling monkey, because they
+howl in chorus every morning two hours before daylight, and again at
+nightfall. The noise they make is so fearful that, if you did not
+know, you would think it was a forest full of ferocious beasts quite
+near, thirsting for their prey, instead of harmless monkeys a mile or
+two away. There is always a leader of the chorus, who sits on a high
+branch above the others. He first howls a solo, and then gives a
+signal for the others to join in; then they all howl together, till he
+gives another signal to stop.
+
+The egret monkeys are great thieves. When they set to work to rob a
+field of millet, they put as many stalks as they can carry in their
+mouths, in each paw, and under each arm, and then go off home on their
+hind legs. If pursued, and obliged for greater speed to go on all
+their four legs, they drop what they carry in their paws, but never
+let go what they have in their mouths. The Chinese monkey is also a
+great thief, and even cleverer about carrying away his booty. They
+always set a sentinel on a high tree; when he sees anyone coming, he
+screams 'Houp, houp, houp!' The others then seize as much as they can
+carry in their right arm, and set off on three legs. They are called
+Chinese, not because they come from China, but because the way the
+hair grows on their heads is like a Chinese cap. It is long and parts
+in the middle, spreading out all round.
+
+In many parts of India monkeys are worshipped by the natives, and
+temples are erected for them. But monkeys of one tribe are never
+allowed to come into any of these sanctuaries when another tribe is
+already in possession. A large strong monkey was once seen by some
+travellers to steal into one of these temples; as soon as the
+inhabitants saw that he did not belong to their tribe, they set on him
+to drive him out. As he was only one against many, though bigger and
+stronger than the others, he saw that he had no chance, and bounded up
+to the top, eleven stories high. As the temple ended in a little round
+dome just big enough for himself, he was master of the situation, and
+every monkey that ventured to climb up he flung down to the bottom.
+When this had happened three or four times, his enemies thought it
+best to let him alone, and he stayed there in peace till it was dark
+and he could slip away unseen.
+
+
+
+
+_ECCENTRIC BIRD BUILDERS_
+
+From Jones' _Glimpses of Animal Life_.
+
+
+Everybody knows how fond birds are of building their nests in church,
+and if we come to think of it, it is a very reasonable and sensible
+proceeding. Churches are so quiet, and have so many dark
+out-of-the-way corners, where no one would dream of poking, certainly
+not the woman whose business it is to keep the church clean. So the
+birds have the satisfaction of feeling that their young are kept safe
+and warm while they are collecting food for them, and there is always
+some open door or window to enable the parents to fly in or out.
+
+But all birds have not the wisdom of the robins, and swallows, and
+sparrows that have selected the church for a home, and some of them
+have chosen very odd places indeed wherein to build their nests and
+lay their eggs. Hinges of doors, turning lathes, even the body of a
+dead owl hung to a ring, have all been used as nurseries; but perhaps
+the oddest spot of all to fix upon for a nest is the outside of a
+railway carriage, especially when we remember how often railway
+stations are the abode of cats, who move safely about the big wheels,
+and even travel by train when they think it necessary.
+
+Yet, in spite of all the drawbacks, railway carriages remain a
+favourite place for nesting birds, and there is a curious story of a
+pair of water-wagtails which built a snug home underneath a
+third-class carriage attached to a train which ran four times daily
+between Cosham and Havant. The father does not seem to have cared
+about railway travelling, which, to be sure, must appear a wretched
+way of getting about to anything that has wings; for he never went
+with the family himself, but spent the time of their absence
+fluttering restlessly about the platform to which the train would
+return. He was so plainly anxious and unhappy about them, that one
+would have expected that he would have insisted on some quieter and
+safer place the following year when nesting time came round again; but
+the mother apparently felt that the situation had some very distinct
+advantages, for she deliberately passed over every other spot that her
+mate pointed out, and went back to her third-class carriage.
+
+Yet a railway carriage seems safety itself in comparison with a London
+street lamp, where a fly-catcher's nest was found a few years ago.
+Composed as it was of moss, hair, and dried grass, it is astonishing
+that it never caught fire, but no doubt the great heat of the gas was
+an immense help in hatching the five eggs which the birds had laid.
+
+Those fly-catchers had built in a hollow iron ornament on the top of
+the lamp, but some tomtits are actually known to have chosen such a
+dangerous place as the spot close to the burner of a paraffin street
+lamp. And even when the paraffin was exchanged for gas, the birds did
+not seem to mind, and would sit quite calmly on the nest, while the
+lamplighter thrust his long stick past them to put out the light.
+
+Birds reason in a different way from human beings, for a letter-box
+would not commend itself to us as being a very good place to bring up
+a family, with letters and packages tumbling on to their heads every
+instant. A pair of Scotch tomtits, however, thought otherwise, and
+they made a comfortable little nest at the back of a private
+letter-box, nailed on to the trunk of a tree in Dumfriesshire. The
+postman soon found out what was going on, but he took great pains not
+to disturb them, for he was fond of birds, and was very curious to see
+what the tomtits would do. What the tomtits did was to go peacefully
+on with their nest, minding their own business, and by-and-bye eight
+little eggs lay in the nest. By this time the mother had got so used
+to the postman, that she never even moved when he unlocked the door,
+only giving his hand a friendly peck when he put it in to take out the
+letters, and occasionally accepting some crumbs which he held out to
+it. But no sooner did the little birds break through their shells than
+the parents became more difficult to deal with. They did not mind
+knocks from letters for themselves, but they grew furiously angry if
+the young ones ever were touched by so much as a corner, and one day,
+when a letter happened to fall plump on top of the nest, they tore it
+right to pieces. In fact, it was in such a condition, that when the
+postman came as usual to make his collection, he was obliged to take
+the letter back to the people who had written it, for no Post Office
+would have sent it off in such a state.
+
+
+
+
+_THE SHIP OF THE DESERT_
+
+From Burckhardt's _Travels in Nubia_.
+
+
+Of all animals under the sun, perhaps the very ugliest is the camel;
+but life in the deserts of Africa and Arabia could not go on at all
+without the constant presence of this clumsy-looking creature. Some
+African tribes keep camels entirely for the use of their milk and
+flesh; and it is noticeable that these animals are much shyer and more
+timid than their brothers in Syria and Arabia, who will instantly come
+trotting up to any fresh camel that appears on the scene, or obey the
+call of any Bedouin, even if he is a stranger.
+
+In general, the camel is merely employed as a beast of burden, and
+from this he gets his name of the 'ship of the desert.' Like other
+ships, he sways from side to side, and his awkward motion is apt to
+make his rider feel very sick, till he gets accustomed to this way of
+travelling. Camels are wonderfully strong and enduring animals, and
+can stow up water within them for several days, besides having an
+extraordinary power of smelling any water or spring that is far beyond
+the reach of man's eyes. These qualities are naturally very valuable
+in the burning deserts which stretch unbroken for hundreds of miles,
+where everything looks alike, and the sun as he passes across the
+heavens is the traveller's only guide.
+
+Partly from fear of warlike tribes, which wander through the deserts
+of Arabia and Nubia, and partly from the help and protection which a
+large body can give, the one to the other, it is the custom for
+merchants and travellers to band together and travel in great
+caravans of men and camels. They try, if possible, to find some well
+by which they can encamp, and every man fills his own skins with water
+before starting afresh on his journey. More quarrels arise about water
+than people who live in countries with plenty of streams and rivers
+can have any idea of. One man will sell his skinful to another at a
+very high price, while if a traveller thinks he will be very prudent
+and lay in a large store, the rest are certain to take it from him
+directly their own supply runs short. Foods they can do without on
+those burning plains, but not water.
+
+Some of these misfortunes befel a traveller of the name of Burckhardt,
+who left Switzerland in the opening years of this century, to pass
+several years in Africa and the East. After going through Syria, he
+began to make his way up the Nile, and even penetrated as far as
+Nubia, joining for that purpose a caravan of traders under the
+leadership of a Ababde--an Arab race who from the earliest days have
+been acknowledged to be the best guides across the desert.
+
+Owing to the intense heat which prevails in those countries, the
+marches always take place in the small hours of the morning, and
+midnight seems to have been the usual hour for the start. Very
+commonly the march would continue for eleven hours, during which time
+the men were only allowed to drink twice, while the asses, who with
+the camels formed part of the caravan, were put on half their
+allowance. Sometimes a detachment was sent on to wells that were known
+to lie along the route, to get everything ready for the rest when they
+came up; but it often happened that the springs were so choked up by
+drifting sand that no amount of digging would free them. Then there
+was nothing for it but to go on again.
+
+It was in the month of March that Burckhardt and his companions had
+their hardest experience of the dreadful desert thirst. The year had
+been drier than was common even in Nubia, and even in the little oases
+or fertile spots, most of the trees and acacias were withered and
+dead. Hour after hour the travellers toiled on, and soon the asses
+gave out, and their riders were forced to walk over the scorching
+sand. Burckhardt had been a little more careful of his stock of water
+than the other members of the caravan, and for some days had cooked no
+food or eaten anything but biscuits, so that he had been able to spare
+a draught every now and then for his own ass, and still had enough to
+last both of them for another day. However, it was quite clear that
+unless water was quickly found they must all die together, and a
+council was held as to what was best to be done. The Ababde chief's
+advice was--and always had been--to send out a company of ten or
+twelve of the strongest camels, to try to make their way secretly to
+the Nile, through the ranks of unfriendly Arab tribes encamped all
+along its eastern shore.
+
+This was agreed upon; and about four in the afternoon the little band
+set out, loaded with all the skins in the caravan. The river was a
+ride of five or six hours distant; so that many hours of dreadful
+suspense must pass before the watchers left behind could know what was
+to be their fate. Soon after sunset a few stragglers came in, who had
+strayed from the principal band; but they had not reached the river,
+and could give no news of the rest. As the night wore on, several of
+the traders came to Burckhardt to beg for a taste of the water he was
+believed to have stored up; but he had carefully hidden what remained,
+and only showed them his skins which were empty. Then the camp
+gradually grew silent, and all sat and waited under the stars for the
+verdict of life or death. It was three in the morning when shouts were
+heard, and the camels, refreshed by deep draughts of the Nile water,
+came along at their utmost speed, bearing skins full enough for many
+days' journey. Only one man was missing; but traders are a cruel
+race, and these cared nothing about his fate, giving themselves up to
+feasting and song, and joy at their deliverance.
+
+Yet only a year later, the fate that had almost overtaken them befel a
+small body of merchants who set out with their camels from Berber to
+Daraou. The direct road, which led past the wells of Nedjeym, was
+known to be haunted at that date by the celebrated robber Naym, who
+waylaid every caravan from Berber; so the merchants hired an Ababde
+guide to take them by a longer and more easterly road, where there was
+another well at which they could water. Unluckily the guide knew
+nothing of the country that lay beyond, and the whole party soon lost
+themselves in the mountains. For five days they wandered about, not
+seeing a creature who could give them help, or even direct them to the
+right path. Then, their water being quite exhausted, they turned
+steadily westwards, hoping by this means soon to reach the Nile. But
+the river at this point takes a wide bend, and was, if they had known
+it, further from them than before; and after two days of dreadful
+agony, fifteen slaves and one merchant died. In desperation, another
+merchant, who was an Ababde, and owner of ten camels, had himself
+lashed firmly on to the back of the strongest beast, lest in his
+weakness he should fall off, and then ordered the whole herd to be
+turned loose, thinking that perhaps the instinct of the animals would
+succeed where the knowledge of man had failed. But neither the Ababde
+nor his camels were ever seen again.
+
+The merchants struggled forwards, and eight days after leaving the
+well of Owareyk they arrived in sight of some mountains which they
+knew; but it was too late, and camels and merchants sank down helpless
+where they lay. They had just strength to gasp out orders for two of
+their servants to make their way on camels to the mountains where
+water would be found, but long before the mountains were reached, one
+of the men dropped off his camel and, unable to speak, waved his
+hands in farewell to his comrade. The other mechanically rode on, but
+his eyes grew dim and his head dizzy, and well though he knew the
+road, he suffered his camel to wander from it. After straying
+aimlessly about for some time, he dismounted and lay down in the shade
+of a tree to rest, first tying his camel to one of the branches. But a
+sudden puff of wind brought the smell of the water to the camel's
+nostrils, and with a furious bound, he broke the noose and galloped
+violently forward, and in half an hour was sucking in deep draughts
+from a clear spring. The man, understanding the meaning of the camel's
+rush, rose up and staggered a few steps after him, but fell to the
+ground from sheer weakness. Just at that moment a wandering Bedouin
+from a neighbouring camp happened to pass that way, and seeing that
+the man still breathed, dashed water in his face, and soon revived
+him. Then, laden with skins of water, the two men set out for those
+left behind, and hopeless though their search seemed to be, they found
+they had arrived in time, and were able to save them from a frightful
+death.
+
+
+
+
+_'HAME, HAME, HAME, WHERE I FAIN WAD BE'_
+
+
+Nothing in nature is more curious or more difficult of explanation
+than the stories recorded of animals conveyed to one place, finding
+their way back to their old home, often many hundreds of miles away.
+Not very long ago, a lady at St. Andrews promised to make a present to
+a friend who lived somewhere north of Perth, of a fine cat which she
+wished to part with. When the day arrived, the cat was tied safely up
+in a hamper, put in charge of the guard, and sent on its way. It was
+met at the station by its new mistress, who drove it home, and gave it
+an excellent supper and a comfortable bed. This was on Friday. All
+Saturday it poked about, examining everything as cats will, but
+apparently quite happy and content with its quarters. About seven on
+Sunday morning, as the lady drew up her blind to let in the sunshine,
+she saw the new puss trotting down the avenue. She did not pay much
+attention to the fact till the day went on, and the cat, who generally
+had a good appetite, did not come in to its meals. When Monday came,
+but the puss did not, the lady wrote to her friend at St. Andrews
+saying she feared that the cat had wandered away, but she would make
+inquiries at all the houses round, and still hoped to find it. On
+Tuesday evening loud mews were heard outside the kitchen door of the
+St. Andrews house, and when it was opened, in walked the cat, rather
+dirty and very hungry, but otherwise not at all the worse for wear.
+Now as anybody can see if he looks at the map, it is a long way from
+St. Andrews to Perth, even as the crow flies. There are also two big
+rivers which _must_ be crossed, the Tay and the Eden, or if the cat
+preferred coming by train, at least two changes have to be made. So
+you have to consider whether, granting it an instinct of _direction_,
+which is remarkable enough in itself, the animal was sufficiently
+strong to swim such large streams; or whether it was so clever that it
+managed to find out the proper trains for it to take, and the places
+where it must get out. Any way, home it came, and was only two days on
+the journey, and there it is still in St. Andrews, for its mistress
+had not the heart to give it away a second time.
+
+Trains seem to have a special fascination for cats, and they are often
+to be seen about stations. For a long while one was regularly to be
+seen travelling on the Metropolitan line, between St. James's Park and
+Charing Cross, and a whole family of half-wild kittens are at this
+moment making a play-ground of the lines and platforms at Paddington.
+One will curl up quite comfortably on the line right under the wheel
+of a carriage that is just going to start, and on being disturbed
+bolts away and hides itself in some recess underneath the platform.
+Occasionally you see one with part of its tail cut off, but as a rule
+they take wonderfully good care of themselves. The porters are very
+kind to them, and they somehow contrive to get along, for they all
+look fat and well-looking, and quite happy in their strange quarters.
+
+Of course cats are not the only animals who have what is called the
+'homing instinct.' Sheep have been known to find their way back from
+Yorkshire to the moors north of the Cheviots where they were born and
+bred, although sheep are not clever beasts and they had come a
+roundabout journey by train. But there are many such stories of dogs,
+and one of the most curious is told by an English officer who was in
+Paris in the year 1815. One day, as the officer was walking hastily
+over the bridge, he was annoyed by a muddy poodle dog rubbing up
+against him, and dirtying his beautifully polished boots. Now dirty
+boots were his abhorrence, so he hastily looked round for a
+shoe-black, and seeing one at a little distance off, at once went up
+to him to have his boots re-blacked. A few days later the officer was
+again crossing the bridge, when a second time the poodle brushed
+against him and spoilt his boots. Without thinking he made for the
+nearest shoe-black, just as he had done before, and went on his way;
+but when the same thing happened a third time, his suspicions were
+aroused, and he resolved to watch. In a few minutes he saw the dog run
+down to the river-side and roll himself in the mud, and then come back
+to the bridge and keep a sharp look-out for the first well-dressed man
+who would be likely to repay his trouble. The officer was so delighted
+with the poodle's cleverness, that he went at once to the shoe-black,
+who confessed that the dog was his and that he had taught him this
+trick for the good of trade. The officer then proposed to buy the dog,
+and offered the shoe-black such a large sum that he agreed to part
+with his 'bread-winner.'
+
+So the officer, who was returning at once to England, carried the dog,
+by coach and steamer to London, where he tied him up for some time, in
+order that he should forget all about his old life, and be ready to
+make himself happy in the new one. When he was set free, however, the
+poodle seemed restless and ill at ease, and after two or three days he
+disappeared entirely. What he did then, nobody knows, but a fortnight
+after he had left the London house, he was found, steadily plying his
+old trade, on the Pont Henri Quatre.
+
+A Northumbrian pointer showed a still more wonderful instance of the
+same sagacity. He was the property of one Mr. Edward Cook, who after
+paying a visit to his brother, the owner of a large property in
+Northumberland, set sail for America, taking the dog with him. They
+travelled south together as far as Baltimore, where excellent shooting
+was to be got; but after one or two days' sport the dog disappeared,
+and was supposed to have lost itself in the woods. Months went by
+without anything being known of the dog, when one night a dog was
+heard howling violently outside the quiet Northumberland house. It was
+admitted by the owner, Mr. Cook, who to his astonishment recognised it
+as the pointer which his brother had taken to America. They took care
+of him till his master came back, and then they tried to trace out his
+journey. But it was of no use. How the pointer made its way through
+the forest, from what port it started, and where it landed, remain a
+mystery to this day.
+
+
+
+
+_NESTS FOR DINNER_
+
+
+However wonderful and beautiful nests may be, very few English people
+would like to eat them; yet in China the nest of a particular variety
+of swallow is prized as a great delicacy.
+
+These nests are chiefly gathered from Java, Sumatra, and other islands
+of the Malay Archipelago, and are carried thence to China, where they
+fetch a large price. Although, within certain limits, they are very
+plentiful, they are very difficult and dangerous to get, for the
+swallows build in the depths of large and deep caverns, mostly on the
+seashore, and the men have to be let down from above by ropes, or
+descend on ladders of bamboo. In Java, so many men have lost their
+lives in nest gathering, that in some parts a regular religious
+ceremony is held, twice or three times a year, before the expedition
+is undertaken; prayers are said, and a bull is sacrificed.
+
+It is not easy to know what the nests are really made of, because from
+the time that Europeans first noticed the trade--about two hundred
+years ago--they have differed among themselves in their accounts of
+the jelly-like substance used by the swallows. Some naturalists have
+thought it is the spawn of the fish, which floats thickly on the
+surface of these seas; others, that it is a kind of deposit of dried
+sea foam gathered by the birds from the beach, while others again
+think that the substance is formed of sea plants chewed by the birds
+into a jelly; but, whatever it may be, the Chinese infinitely prefer
+nests to oysters or anything else, and are willing to pay highly for
+them.
+
+ [Illustration: {BIRD'S NESTS FOR DINNER}]
+
+The nests, which take about two months to build, are always found to
+be of two sorts: an oblong one just fitted to the body of the male
+bird, and a rounder one for the mother and her eggs. The most valuable
+nests are those which are whitest, and these generally belong to the
+male; they are very thin, and finely worked. The birds are small and
+feed chiefly on insects, which are abundant on these islands; their
+colour is grey, and they are wonderfully quick in their movements,
+like the humming birds, which are about their own size. They are
+sociable, and build in swarms, but they seldom lay more than two eggs,
+which take about a fortnight to hatch.
+
+
+
+
+_FIRE-EATING DJIJAM_
+
+
+Some curious notes about walking unharmed through fire, in the
+November (1894) number of 'Longman's Magazine,' under the heading 'At
+the Sign of the Ship,' suggested that a record might be kept of
+Djijam's eccentricities, especially as they differed somewhat from
+those of most other dogs. Anyone accustomed to animals knows, and
+anyone who is not can imagine, that dogs differ as much in their
+behaviour and ways as human beings. Djijam was as unlike any dog I
+have ever had, seen, or heard of, as could be. My wife, who is a
+patient and successful instructor of animals, never managed to teach
+him anything, any attempt to impart usual or unusual accomplishments
+being met with the most absolute, impenetrable idiocy, which no
+perseverance could conquer or diminish in the least degree. That this
+extreme stupidity was really assumed is now pretty clear, though at
+the time it was attributed to natural density.
+
+It was at Christmas-tide, about two years ago, that my wife and I
+drove over to a village some few miles away, to choose one of a litter
+of four fox-terrier pups, which we heard were on sale at a livery
+stable. We found the mother of the lively litter almost overpowered by
+her boisterous progeny, who though nearly three months old had not yet
+found other homes. Without any particular objection on the part of the
+parent we examined the pups, and selected and brought away one which
+seemed to have better points than the rest, whom we left to continue
+their gambols in the straw, unconscious probably that any other means
+of warming themselves were possible. The journey home was accomplished
+with the customary puppish endeavors to escape restraint. The same
+evening, after the servants had retired to bed, Master Djijam was
+placed in the kitchen, out of harm's way as it was thought. The last
+thing at night we went to inspect the little animal, and could not at
+first discover his whereabouts. When a thing is lost it is customary
+to hunt about in unlikely places, so we looked into the high
+cinder-box under the kitchener, and found the object of our search
+comfortably curled up directly under the red-hot fire. It was fairly
+warm work fishing him out.
+
+For another reason, not connected with heat, he was subsequently
+christened Djijam, a truly oriental name, which some of our friends
+think may have helped to develop his original taste for fire.
+
+When Djijam was about six months old we observed that he frequently
+jumped up to people who were seated smoking. This induced a humorous
+friend one day to offer him the lighted end of a cigarette, which
+Djijam promptly seized in his mouth and extinguished. After that
+triumph Djijam usually watched for, and plainly demanded the lighted
+fag ends of cigarettes and cigars, so that his might be the
+satisfaction of finishing them off. This led to lighted matches being
+offered to him, which he eagerly took in his mouth, and if wax vestas,
+swallowed as a welcome addition to his ordinary diet. From matches to
+lighted candles was an easy step, and these he rapidly extinguished
+with great gusto as often as they were presented to him. He would also
+attack lighted oil lamps if placed on the floor, but they puzzled him,
+and defied his efforts to bite or breathe them out. A garden bonfire
+used to drive him wild with delight, and snatching brands from the
+fire, indoors or out, was a delirious joy. My wife discovered him once
+in the full enjoyment of a large lighted log on the dining-room
+carpet. Red-hot cinders he highly relished, though in obtaining them
+he frequently singed off his moustaches. Perhaps the oddest of his
+fiery tricks was performed one day when he wished the cook to hand him
+some dainty morsel on which she chanced to be operating. This was
+against the rules, as he well knew, so she declined to accept the
+hint. Djijam was at once provoked to anger and cast round for some way
+of obtaining compensation, at the same time hoping, perhaps, to
+retaliate. He naturally went for the kitchen fire, out of which he
+drew a red-hot cinder and carried it in his mouth across the kitchen,
+through a small lobby into the scullery, to his box-bed, into the
+straw of which he must have speedily dropped the live coal, and jumped
+in after it. Soon after, the cook smelt wood burning and searched the
+lower part of the house lest anything were afire. Finding nothing
+wrong, she last of all visited the scullery, and found Djijam enjoying
+the warmth of his smouldering straw bed and wooden box.
+
+ [Illustration: 'IN THE FULL ENJOYMENT OF A LARGE LIGHTED LOG ON THE
+ DINING-ROOM CARPET']
+
+Alas, Djijam grew snappish even to his best friends, and although it
+was suggested that he might be found an engagement on the Variety
+stage of the Westminster Aquarium, as a fire-eating hound, it was
+reluctantly decided that he should go the way of all flesh. I am sure
+if he had been asked, he would in some way have indicated that he
+preferred cremation to any other mode of disposal. But it was not to
+be, yet it was a melancholy satisfaction to learn that his end was
+peaceful though commonplace.
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORY OF THE DOG OSCAR_
+
+
+In the north-west of Scotland there is a very pretty loch which runs
+far up into the land. On one side great hills--almost mountains--slope
+down into the water, while on the opposite side there is a little
+village, with the road along which the houses straggle, almost part of
+the loch shore. At low tide, banks of beautiful golden seaweed are
+left at the edges of the water, and on this seaweed huge flocks of
+sea-gulls come and feed.
+
+A few years ago there lived in this village a minister who had a
+collie-dog named Oscar. He lived all alone in his little cottage, and
+as Jean, the woman who looked after him, was a very talkative person,
+by no means congenial to him. Oscar was his constant companion and
+friend.
+
+He seemed to understand all that was said to him, and in his long,
+lonely walks across the hills, it cheered him to have Oscar trotting
+quietly and contentedly beside him. And when he came home from
+visiting sick people, and going to places where he could not take
+Oscar, he would look forward to seeing the soft brown head thrust out
+of the door, peering into the darkness, ready to welcome him as soon
+as he should come in sight.
+
+One of Oscar's favourite games was to go down to the shore when the
+tide was low, and with his head thrown up and his tail straight out,
+he would run at the flocks of gulls feeding on the seaweed, and
+scatter them in the air, making them look like a cloud of large white
+snow-flakes. In a minute or two the gulls would settle down again
+to their meal, and again Oscar would charge and rout them.
+
+ [Illustration: 'OSCAR WOULD CHARGE AND ROUT THEM']
+
+This little manoeuvre of his would be repeated many times, till a
+long clear whistle was heard from the road by the loch. Then the gulls
+might finish their supper in peace, for Oscar's master had called him,
+and now he was walking quietly along by his side, looking as if there
+were no such things in the world as gulls.
+
+'No, Oscar, lad! Not to-day! not to-day!' said the minister one
+afternoon, as he put on his hat and coat and took his stick from the
+dog who always fetched it when he saw preparations being made for a
+walk.
+
+'I can't take you with me; you must stay in the paddock. No run by the
+loch this afternoon, lad. 'Tis too long, and you are not so strong as
+you were. We are growing old together, Oscar.'
+
+The dog watched his master till he disappeared over the little bridge
+and up the glen, and then he went and lay down by the paling which
+surrounded the bit of field. Jean soon went out to a friend's house to
+have a little gossip, and Oscar was left alone.
+
+He felt rather forlorn. Across the road he heard the distant splashing
+of the waves as they ran angrily up the beach of the loch, and the
+whistling of the wind down the glen.
+
+He watched the grey clouds scudding away overhead, and he envied the
+children he heard playing in the street, or racing after the tourist
+coach on its way up the Pass.
+
+He began to feel drowsy.
+
+'The gulls will be feeding on the banks now! How I wish ...' and his
+eyes closed, and he dreamt a nice dream, that he was dashing along
+through shallow pools of water towards the white chattering flock,
+when--what was this in front of him? White feathers! Two gulls! Was he
+dreaming still? No the gulls were real! What luck! He could not go to
+the gulls, so the gulls had come to him.
+
+In a moment he was wide awake, and made a rush at the two birds who
+were gazing at him inquiringly with their heads on one side. But after
+two or three rushes, 'What stupid gulls these are!' thought Oscar.
+'They can scarcely fly.'
+
+And, indeed, the birds seemed to have great difficulty in lifting
+themselves off the ground, and appeared to grow more and more feeble
+after each of Oscar's onslaughts. At last one of them fell.
+
+'Lazy creature! you have had too much dinner! Up you get!'
+
+But the gull lay down gasping.
+
+Oscar made for the other. Why, that was lying down too! He went to the
+first one. It was quite still and motionless, and after one or two
+more gasps its companion was the same.
+
+Oscar felt rather frightened. Was it possible that he had killed them?
+What would his master say? How was he to tell him it was quite a
+mistake? That he had only been in fun? He must put the gulls out of
+sight.
+
+He dragged them to one side of the cottage where the minister used to
+try every year to grow a few cherished plants, and there in the loose
+earth he dug a grave for the birds.
+
+Then he went back to his old place, and waited for his master's
+return.
+
+When the minister came back, for the first time in his life, Oscar
+longed to be able to speak and tell him all that had happened. How
+could he without speech explain that the death of the birds was an
+accident--an unfortunate accident?
+
+He felt that without an explanation it was no use unearthing the white
+forms in the border.
+
+'Sir, sir!' cried Jean, putting her head in at the door. 'Here's Widow
+McInnes come to see you. She's in sore trouble.'
+
+The minister rose and went to the door.
+
+'Stay here, Oscar,' he said, for Widow McInnes was not fond of Oscar.
+
+In a few minutes the minister came back.
+
+He patted Oscar's soft head.
+
+ [Illustration: 'OSCAR FELT RATHER FRIGHTENED']
+
+'She wanted to accuse thee, Oscar lad, of killing the two white
+pigeons which her son sent her yesterday from the south, and which
+escaped this afternoon from their cage. As if you would touch the
+bairnies, as the poor woman calls them! Eh, lad?'
+
+Oscar wagged his tail gratefully. Then in a sudden flash it came upon
+him that he _had_ killed the pigeons. Now he saw the birds were
+pigeons, not gulls, and, worse than killing them, he had, all
+unknowingly, told his master a lie; and he could not undo it. He
+whined a little as if in pain, and moved slowly out of the room. The
+minister sat on, deep in thought, and then went outside the house to
+see the sunset. Great bands of thick grey cloud wrapped the hill-tops
+in their folds, and lay in long bands across the slopes, while here
+and there in the rifts were patches of pale lemon-coloured sky. The
+loch waters heaved sullenly against the shore. The minister looked
+away from the sunset, and his eye fell on a little mound in the bed by
+the cottage.
+
+'What did I plant there?' he thought, and began poking it with his
+stick.
+
+'Oscar, Oscar!'
+
+Oscar was bounding down the path. He had just determined to unbury the
+pigeons and bring them to his master, and, even if he received a
+beating, his master would know he had not meant to deceive.
+
+But now, hearing the call, and the tone of the minister's voice, he
+knew it was too late. He stopped, and then crept slowly towards that
+tall black figure standing in the twilight, with the two white pigeons
+lying at his feet.
+
+'Oh, Oscar, Oscar lad, what _have_ you done?'
+
+At that moment a boy came running to the gate.
+
+'Ye'll be the minister that Sandy Johnston is speiring after. He says,
+"Fetch the minister, and bid him come quick."'
+
+ [Illustration: 'OH, OSCAR, OSCAR LAD, WHAT _HAVE_ YOU DONE?']
+
+The minister gave a few directions to Jean, and in a moment or two was
+ready to go with the boy. It was a long row to the head of the loch,
+and a long walk to reach the cottage where Sandy Johnston lay dying.
+The minister stayed with him for two nights, till he seemed to need
+his help no more, and then started off to come home. But while he was
+being rowed along the loch, a fierce snowstorm came on. The boat
+made but little way, and they were delayed two or three hours. Cold
+and tired, the minister thought with satisfaction of his warm
+fireside, with Oscar lying down beside his cosy chair. Then, for the
+first time since it had happened, he thought of the pigeons, and he
+half smiled as he recalled Oscar's downcast face as he came up the
+path.
+
+With quick steps he hurried along the street from the landing-place.
+The snow was being blown about round him, and the night was fast
+closing in. He was quite near his own gate now, and he looked up,
+expecting to see the familiar brown head peering out of the door for
+him; but there was no sign of it.
+
+He opened the gate and strode in. Still no Oscar to welcome him.
+
+'Jean, Jean!' he called. Jean appeared from the kitchen, and even in
+the firelight he could see traces of tears on her rough face.
+
+'Where is Oscar?'
+
+'Ah, sir, after ye were gone wi' the lad, he wouldna' come into the
+house, and wouldna' touch a morsel o' food. He lay quite still in the
+garden, and last night he died. An' it's my belief, sir, he died of a
+broken heart, because ye did na' beat him after killing the pigeons,
+and he couldna' make it up wi' ye.'
+
+And the minister thought so, too; and when Jean was gone, he sat down
+by his lonely fireside and buried his face in his hands.
+
+
+
+
+_DOLPHINS AT PLAY_
+
+
+For some reason or other, dolphins, those queer great fish that always
+seem to be at play, have been subjects for many stories. Pliny himself
+has told several, and his old translator's words are so strange, that,
+as far as possible, we will tell the tale as he tells it.
+
+'In the days of Augustus Caesar, the Emperor,' says Pliny, 'there was a
+dolphin entered the gulf or pool Lucrinus, which loved wondrous well a
+certain boy, a poor man's son; who using to go every day to school
+from Baianum to Puteoli, was wont also about noon-tide to stay at the
+water side and call unto the dolphin, "Simo, Simo," and many times
+would give him fragments of bread, which of purpose he ever brought
+with him, and by this means allured the dolphin to come ordinarily
+unto him at his call. Well, in process of time, at what hour soever of
+the day this boy lured for him and called "Simo," were the dolphin
+never so close hidden in any secret and blind corner, out he would and
+come abroad, yea, and scud amain to this lad, and taking bread and
+other victuals at his hand, would gently offer him his back to mount
+upon, and then down went the sharp-pointed prickles of his fins, which
+he would put up as it were within a sheath for fear of hurting the
+boy. Thus, when he once had him on his back, he would carry him over
+the broad arm of the sea as far as Puteoli to school, and in like
+manner convey him back again home; and thus he continued for many
+years together, so long as the child lived. But when the boy was
+fallen sick and dead yet the dolphin gave not over his haunt, but
+usually came to the wonted place, and missing the lad seemed to be
+heavy and mourn again, until for very grief and sorrow he also was
+found dead upon the shore.'
+
+ [Illustration: THE BOY GOES TO SCHOOL ON THE DOLPHIN'S BACK]
+
+
+
+
+_THE STARLING OF SEGRINGEN_
+
+Translated from the German of Johann Peter Hebel.
+
+
+In a little German village in Suabia, there lived a barber, who
+combined the business of hair-cutting and shaving with that of an
+apothecary; he also sold good brandy, so that he had no lack of
+customers, not to speak of those who merely wished to pass an hour in
+gossiping.
+
+Not the least of the attractions, however, was a tame starling, named
+Hansel, who had been taught to speak, and had learnt many sayings
+which he overheard, either from his master, the barber, or from the
+idlers who gathered about the shop. His master especially had some
+favourite sayings, or catchwords, such as, 'Truly, I am the barber of
+Segringen'--for this is the name of the village--'As heaven will,' 'By
+keeping bad company,' and the like; and these were most familiar to
+the starling.
+
+Everybody for miles round had at least heard of Hansel, and many came
+on purpose to see him and hear him talk, for Hansel would often
+interpose a word into the conversation, which came in very aptly.
+
+But it happened one day, Hansel's wings--which had been cut--having
+grown again, that he thought to himself: 'I have now learnt so much, I
+may go out and see the world.' And when nobody was looking,
+whirr!--away he went out of the window.
+
+Seeing a flock of birds, he joined them, thinking: 'They know the
+country better than I.'
+
+But alas! this knowledge availed them little, for all of them, with
+Hansel, fell into a snare which had been laid by a fowler, who soon
+came to see what was in his net. Putting in his hand, he drew out one
+prisoner after another, callously wringing their necks one by one.
+
+But suddenly, when he was stretching out his murderous fingers to
+seize another victim, this one cried out: 'I am the barber of
+Segringen!'
+
+The man almost fell backwards with astonishment and fright, believing
+he had to do with a sorcerer at least; but presently recovering
+himself a little, he remembered the starling, and said: 'Eh, Hansel,
+is it you! How did you come into the net?'
+
+'By keeping bad company,' replied Hansel.
+
+'And shall I carry you home again?'
+
+'As heaven will,' replied the starling.
+
+Then the fowler took him back to the barber, and related the manner of
+his capture, receiving a good reward.
+
+The barber also reaped a fine harvest, for more people came to his
+shop on purpose to see the clever bird, who had saved his life by his
+ready tongue.
+
+
+
+
+_GRATEFUL DOGS_
+
+From 'Das Echo,' June 8, 1895. Letter to the editor, signed G. M.,
+Mexico, purporting to be an extract from a letter of his brother in
+Nebraska. I have translated and recast it.
+
+
+A farmer in Nebraska--one of the Western States of North
+America--possessed two dogs, a big one called Fanny, and a small one
+who was named Jolly. One winter day the farmer went for a walk and
+took with him his two pets; they came to a brook that ran through the
+farm, and was now frozen up.
+
+Fanny crossed it without much ado, but Jolly, who was always afraid of
+water, distrusted the ice, and refused to follow. Fanny paused at the
+other side, and barked loudly to induce her companion to come, but
+Jolly pretended not to understand.
+
+Then Fanny ran back to him, and tried to explain that it was quite
+safe, but in vain, Jolly only looked after his master, and whimpered;
+upon which, Fanny, losing patience, seized him by the collar, and
+dragged him over.
+
+For this kindness Jolly showed himself grateful some time afterwards.
+
+Fanny, greedy creature, was fond of fresh eggs. When she heard a hen
+cackle she always ran to look for the nest, and one day she discovered
+one under the fruit-shed. But, alas! she could not get the beloved
+dainty because she was too large to go under the shed. Looking very
+pensive and thoughtful, she went away, and soon returned with Jolly,
+bringing him just before the hole.
+
+Jolly, however, was stupid and did not understand; Fanny put her head
+in, and then her paws, without being able, with all her efforts, to
+reach the egg; the smaller dog, seeing that there was something in the
+hole, went in to look, but not caring for eggs, came out empty-handed.
+
+Thereupon Fanny looked at him in such a sad and imploring way, that
+her master, who was watching them, could scarcely suppress his
+laughter.
+
+At last Jolly seemed to understand what was wanted; he went under the
+shed again, brought out the egg, and put it before Fanny, who ate it
+with great satisfaction, and then both dogs trotted off together.
+
+
+
+
+_GAZELLE_
+
+PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF A TORTOISE
+
+
+Alexandre Dumas, in whose book, as I told you, I read the story of Tom
+the Bear, as well as those of other animals, was one day walking past
+the shop of a large fishmonger in Paris. As he glanced through the
+window he saw an Englishman in the shop holding a tortoise, which he
+was turning about in his hands. Dumas felt an instant conviction that
+the Englishman proposed to make the tortoise into turtle soup, and he
+was so touched by the air of patient resignation of the supposed
+victim that he entered the shop, and with a sign to the shopwoman
+asked whether she had kept the tortoise for him which he had bespoken.
+
+The shopwoman (who had known Dumas for many years) understood with
+half a word, and gently slipping the tortoise out of the Englishman's
+grasp, she handed it to Dumas, saying, 'Pardon, milord, the tortoise
+was sold to this gentleman this morning.'
+
+The Englishman seemed surprised, but left the shop without
+remonstrating, and Dumas had nothing left for it but to pay for his
+tortoise and take it home.
+
+As he carried his purchase up to his rooms on the third floor he
+wondered what could have possessed him to buy it, and what on earth he
+was to do with it now he had got it. It was certainly a remarkable
+tortoise, for the moment he put it down on the floor of his bedroom it
+started off for the fireplace at such a pace as to earn for itself the
+name of 'Gazelle.'
+
+Once near the fire, Gazelle settled herself in the warmest corner she
+could find, and went to sleep.
+
+Dumas, who wished to go out again and was afraid of his new possession
+coming to any harm, called his servant and said: 'Joseph, whilst I am
+out you must look after this creature.'
+
+Joseph approached with some curiosity. 'Ah!' he remarked, 'why, it's a
+tortoise; that creature could bear a carriage on its back.'
+
+'Yes, yes, no doubt it might, but I beg you won't try any experiments
+with it.'
+
+'Oh, it wouldn't hurt it,' assured Joseph, who enjoyed showing off his
+information. 'The Lyons diligence might drive over it without hurting
+it.'
+
+'Well,' replied his master, 'I believe the great sea turtle _might_
+bear such a weight, but I doubt whether this small variety----'
+
+'Oh, _that's_ of no consequence,' interrupted Joseph; 'it's as strong
+as a horse, and small though it is, a cartload of stones might
+pass----'
+
+'Very good, very good; never mind that now. Just buy the creature a
+lettuce and some snails.'
+
+'Snails! why, is its chest delicate?'
+
+'No, why on earth do you ask such a thing?'
+
+'Well, my last master used to take an infusion of snails for his
+chest--not that it prevented----'
+
+Dumas left the room without waiting for the end. Before he was
+half-way downstairs he found that he had forgotten his handkerchief,
+and on returning surprised Joseph standing on Gazelle's back,
+gracefully poised on one leg, with the other out-stretched behind him
+in such a way that not an ounce of his eleven-stone weight was lost on
+the poor creature.
+
+'Idiot! what are you about?'
+
+'There, sir, didn't I say so?' rejoined Joseph, proudly.
+
+'There, there, give me a handkerchief and mind you don't touch that
+creature again.'
+
+ [Illustration: DUMAS FINDS JOSEPH STANDING ON GAZELLE'S BACK]
+
+'There, sir,' said the irrepressible Joseph, bringing the
+handkerchief. 'But indeed you need not be at all afraid; a waggon
+could drive over----'
+
+Dumas fled.
+
+He returned rather late at night, and no sooner took a step into his
+room than he felt something crack under his boot. He hastily raised
+his foot and took a further step with the same result: he thought he
+must be treading on eggs. He lowered his candlestick--the carpet was
+covered with snails.
+
+Joseph had obeyed orders literally. He had bought the lettuces and the
+snails, had placed them all in a basket and Gazelle on the top, and
+then put the basket in the middle of his master's bedroom. Ten minutes
+later the warmth of the fire thawed the snails into animation, and the
+entire caravan set forth on a voyage of discovery round the room,
+leaving silvery tracks behind them on carpet and furniture.
+
+As for Gazelle, she was quietly reposing at the bottom of the basket,
+where a few empty shells proved that all the fugitives had not been
+brisk enough to make their escape.
+
+Dumas, feeling no fancy for a possible procession of snails over his
+bed, carefully picked up the stragglers one by one, popped them back
+into the basket, and shut down the lid. But in five minutes' time he
+realised that sleep would be out of the question with the noise going
+on, which sounded like a dozen mice in a bag of nuts. He decided to
+move the basket to the kitchen.
+
+On the way there it occurred to him that if Gazelle went on at this
+rate she would certainly die of indigestion before morning. He
+remembered that the owner of the restaurant on the ground floor had a
+tank in the back yard where he often put fish to keep till wanted, and
+it struck him that the tank would be the very place for his tortoise.
+He at once put his idea into execution, got back to his room and to
+bed, and slept soundly till morning.
+
+Joseph woke him early.
+
+'Oh, sir, such a joke!' he exclaimed, standing at the foot of the bed.
+
+'What joke?'
+
+'Why, what your tortoise has been up to!'
+
+'What on earth do you mean?'
+
+'Well, sir, could you believe that it got out of your room--goodness
+knows how--and walked downstairs and right into the tank?'
+
+'You owl! you might have guessed I put it there myself.'
+
+'Did you indeed, sir? Well, you certainly _have_ made a mess of it
+then.'
+
+'How so?'
+
+'Why the tortoise has eaten up a tench--a superb tench weighing three
+pounds--which the master of the restaurant put into the tank only last
+night. The waiter has just been telling me about it.'
+
+'Go at once and fetch me Gazelle and the scales.'
+
+During Joseph's absence his master took down a volume of Buffon, and
+consulted that eminent authority on the subject of tortoises and
+turtles. There seemed to be no doubt, according to the celebrated
+naturalist, that these creatures did eat fish voraciously when they
+got the chance.
+
+'Dear, dear,' thought Dumas, 'I fear the owner of the tank has Buffon
+on his side.'
+
+Just then Joseph returned with the accused in one hand and the kitchen
+scales in the other.
+
+'You see,' began the irrepressible valet, 'these sort of creatures eat
+a lot. They need it to keep up their strength, and fish is
+particularly nourishing. Only see how strong sailors are, and they
+live so much on fish----'
+
+His master cut him short.
+
+'How much did you say that tench weighed?'
+
+'Three pounds. The waiter asks nine francs for it.'
+
+'And Gazelle ate it all?'
+
+'Every bit except the head, the back-bone, and the inside.'
+
+'Quite correct, Monsieur Buffon had said as much. Very well--but
+still--three pounds seems a good deal.'
+
+He put Gazelle in the scale. She weighed exactly two pounds and a
+half! The deduction was simple. Either Gazelle had been falsely
+accused or the theft had been much smaller than was represented.
+Indeed the waiter readily took this view of the matter, and was quite
+satisfied with five francs as an indemnity.
+
+The varied adventures of Gazelle had become rather a bore, and her
+owner felt that he must try to find some other home for her. She spent
+the following night in his room, but thanks to the absence of snails
+all went well. When Joseph came in next morning, his first act as
+usual was to roll up the hearth-rug, and, opening the window, to shake
+it well out in the air. Suddenly he uttered an exclamation and flung
+himself half out of the window.
+
+'What's the matter, Joseph?' asked his master, only half awake.
+
+'Oh, sir--it's your tortoise. It was on the rug, and I never saw
+it--and----'
+
+'Well! and----?'
+
+'And I declare, before I knew what I was about, I shook it out of the
+window.'
+
+'Imbecile!' shouted Dumas, springing out of bed.
+
+'Ah!' cried Joseph with a sigh of relief. 'See, she's eating a
+cabbage!'
+
+And so she was. Her fall had been broken by a rubbish heap, and after
+a few seconds in which to recover her equanimity, she had ventured to
+thrust her head out, when finding a piece of cabbage near, she at once
+began her breakfast.
+
+'Didn't I say so, sir?' cried Joseph, delighted. 'Nothing hurts those
+creatures. There now, whilst she's eating that cabbage a
+coach-and-four might drive over her----'
+
+'Never mind, never mind; just run down and fetch her up quick.'
+
+ [Illustration: DUMAS BRINGS GAZELLE TO NO. 109 FAUBOURG ST.-DENIS]
+
+Joseph obeyed, and as soon as his master was dressed he called a cab,
+and taking Gazelle with him, drove off to No. 109 in the Faubourg
+St.-Denis. Here he climbed to the fifth floor and walked straight into
+the studio of his friend, who was busy painting a delightful little
+picture of performing dogs. He was surrounded by a bear, who was
+playing with a log as he lay on his back, a monkey, busy pulling a
+paint brush to pieces, and a frog, who was half-way up a little ladder
+in a glass jar. You will, I dare say, have guessed already that the
+painter's name was Decamps, the bear's Tom, the monkey's Jacko I., and
+the frog's Mademoiselle Camargo, and you will not wonder that Dumas
+felt that he could not better provide for Gazelle than by leaving her
+as an addition to the menagerie in his friend's studio.[8]
+
+ [8] See p. 375.
+
+
+
+
+_COCKATOO STORIES_
+
+_Naturalist's Note-Book._ Reeves & Turner: 1868.
+
+
+About thirty years ago a gentleman, who was fond of birds and beasts,
+took into his head to try if parrots could not be persuaded to make
+themselves at home among the trees in his garden. For a little while
+everything seemed going beautifully, and the experimenter was full of
+hope. The parrots built their nests in the woods, and in course of
+time some young ones appeared, and gradually grew up to their full
+size. Then, unluckily, they became tired of the grounds which they
+knew by heart, and set off to see the world. The young parrots were
+strong upon the wing, and their beautiful bright bodies would be seen
+flashing in the sun, as much as fifteen miles away, and, then, of
+course, some boy or gamekeeper with a gun in his hand was certain to
+see them, and covet them for the kitchen mantel-shelf or a private
+collection.
+
+The cockatoos however did not always care to choose trees for their
+building places. One little pair, whose grandparents had whisked about
+in the heat of a midsummer day in Australia, found the climate of
+England cold and foggy, and looked about for a warm cover for their
+new nest. They had many conversations on the subject, and perhaps one
+of these may have been overheard by a jackdaw, who put into their
+minds a brilliant idea, for the very next morning the cockatoos were
+seen carrying their materials to one of the chimneys, and trying to
+fasten them together half-way up. But cockatoos are not as clever as
+jackdaws about this kind of thing, and before the nest had grown to
+be more than a shapeless mass, down it came, and such a quantity of
+soot with it, that the poor cockatoos were quite buried, and lay for a
+day and night nearly smothered in soot, till they happened to be found
+by a housemaid who had entered the room. But in spite of this mishap
+they were not disheartened, and as soon as their eyes and noses had
+recovered from their soot bath, they began again to search for a more
+suitable spot. To the great delight of their master, they fixed upon a
+box which he had nailed for this very purpose under one of the gables,
+and this time they managed to build a nest that was as good as any
+nest in the garden. Still, they had no luck, for though the female
+laid two eggs, and sat upon them perseveringly, never allowing them to
+get cold for a single instant, it was all of no use, for the eggs
+turned out to be both bad!
+
+Some cousins of theirs, a beautiful white cockatoo and his lovely
+rose-coloured wife, were more prosperous in their arrangements. They
+scooped out a most comfortable nest with their claws and bills in the
+rotten branch of an acacia tree, and there they brought up two young
+families, all of them white as snow, with flame-coloured crests. The
+eldest son, unhappily for himself, got weary of his brothers and
+sisters, and the little wood on the outskirts of the garden, where he
+was born, and one winter day took a flight towards the town. His
+parents never quite knew what occurred, but the poor young cockatoo
+came back severely wounded, to the great fury of all his family, who
+behaved very unkindly to him. It is a curious fact that no animals and
+very few birds can bear the sight of illness, and these cockatoos were
+no better than the rest. They did not absolutely ill-treat him, but
+they refused to let him enter their nest, and insisted that he should
+live by himself in a distant bush. At last his master took pity on
+him, and brought him into the garden, but this so enraged the
+cockatoos who were already in possession, that they secretly murdered
+him. However it is only just to the race of cockatoos to observe that
+they are not always so bad as this, for during the very same season an
+unlucky young bird, whose wing and leg were broken by an accident, was
+adopted by an elderly cockatoo who did not care for what her
+neighbours said, and treated him as her own son. The following year,
+when nesting time came round, the white cockatoos went back to their
+acacia branch, but were very much disgusted to find a pair of grey
+parrots there before them, and a little pair of bald round heads
+peeping over the edge. These little parrots grew up with such very bad
+tempers that no one would have anything to do with them, and as for
+their own relations, they looked upon them with the contempt that a
+cat often shows to a man. To be sure these relations were considered
+to be rather odd themselves, for they did not care to be troubled with
+a family of their own, so had taken under their protection two little
+kittens, who had been born in one of the boxes originally set apart
+for the parrots. The two birds could not endure to see the old cat
+looking after her little ones, and whenever she went out for a walk or
+to get her food, one of the parrots always took her place in the box.
+It would have been nice to know how long this went on, and if the
+kittens adopted any parrot-like ways. Luckily, there was one
+peculiarity of the parrots which it was beyond their power to imitate,
+and that was the horrible voice which renders the society of a parrot,
+and still more of a cockatoo, unendurable to most people.
+
+
+
+
+_THE OTTER WHO WAS REARED BY A CAT_
+
+_Naturalist's Note-Book._
+
+
+There is still living in the kingdom of Galloway a wonderful cat who
+is so completely above all the instincts and prejudices of her race,
+that she can remain on friendly terms with young rabbits, and wile
+away a spare hour by having a game with a mouse. A _real_ game, where
+the fun is not all on one side, but which is enjoyed by the mouse as
+much as by the cat.
+
+Hardly less strange, from the opposite point of view, is the
+friendship that existed between two cats and an otter, which had been
+taken from its mother when only a few hours old, to be brought up by
+hand by a gentleman. This was not a very easy thing to manage. It was
+too young to suck milk out of a spoon, which was the first thing
+thought of, but a quill passed through a cork and stuck into a baby's
+bottle proved a success, and through this the little otter had its
+milk five times every day, until he was more than five weeks old. Then
+he was introduced to a cat who had lately lost a kitten, and though
+not naturally very good-tempered, the puss took to him directly,
+evidently thinking it was her own kitten grown a little bigger. In
+general this cat, which was partly Persian, and, as I have said, very
+cross, did not trouble herself much about her young ones, which had to
+take care of themselves as well as they could; but she could not make
+enough of the little otter, and when he was as big as herself she
+would walk with him every day to the pond in the yard, where he had
+his bath, watching his splashings and divings with great anxiety, and
+never happy till he got out safe.
+
+But, like human children, the baby otter would have been very dull
+without someone to play with, and as there were no little otters
+handy, he made friends with a young cat called Tom.
+
+All through the long winter, when the pond was frozen, and diving and
+swimming were no longer possible, he and Tom used to spend happy
+mornings playing hide and seek among the furniture in the dining-room,
+till Tom began to feel that the otter was getting rather rough, and
+that his teeth were very sharp, and that it would be a good thing to
+get out of his reach, on the top of a high cupboard or chimney piece.
+
+But at last the snow melted, and the ice became water again, and the
+first day the sun shone, the otter and the old cat went out for a walk
+in the yard. After the little fellow had had his dive, which felt
+delicious after all the weeks that he had done without it, he wandered
+carelessly into a shed where he had never been before, and to his
+astonishment he suddenly heard a flutter of wings, and became
+conscious of a sharp pain in his neck. This was produced by the beak
+of a falcon, who always lived in the shed, and seeing the strange
+creature enter his door, at once made up his mind that it was its duty
+to kill it. The cat and the gentleman who happened to come in at the
+same moment rushed forward and beat off the bird, and then, blinded by
+excitement, like a great many other people, and not knowing friends
+from foes, the cat rushed at her master. In one moment she had
+severely bitten the calf of his leg, given his thigh a fearful
+scratch, and picked up the otter and carried him outside. Then, not
+daring to trust him out of her sight, she marched him sternly up the
+hill, keeping him all the while between her legs, so that no danger
+should come near him.
+
+As the otter grew bigger the cats became rather afraid of his claws
+and teeth, which grew bigger too, and inflicted bites and scratches
+without his knowing it. But if the cats tired of him, he never tired
+of the cats, and was always dull and unhappy when they were out of his
+way. Sometimes, when his spirits were unusually good (and his teeth
+unusually sharp), the poor playfellows were obliged to seek refuge in
+the bedrooms of the house, or even upon the roof, but the little otter
+had not lived so long with cats for nothing, and could climb nearly as
+well as they. When he had had enough of teasing, he told them so (for,
+of course, he knew the cat language), and they would come down, and he
+would stretch himself out lazily in front of the fire, with his arms
+round Tom's neck.
+
+It would be nice to know what happened to him when he really grew up,
+whether the joys of living in a stream made him forget his old friends
+at the farm, or whether he would leave the chase of the finest trout
+at the sound of a mew or a whistle. But we are not told anything about
+it, so everybody can settle it as they like.
+
+
+
+
+_STORIES ABOUT LIONS_
+
+
+The lion in its wild state is a very different animal from the lion of
+menageries and wild-beast shows. The latter has probably been born in
+captivity, reared by hand, and kept a prisoner in a narrow cage all
+its life, deprived not only of liberty and exercise, but of its proper
+food. The result is a weak, thin, miserable creature, with an unhappy
+furtive expression, and a meagre mane, more like a poodle than the
+king of beasts in a savage state.
+
+The lion of South Africa differs in many points from that of Algeria,
+of whom we are going to speak. In Algeria there are three kinds of
+lions--the black, the tawny, and the grey. The black lion, more rarely
+met with than the two others, is rather smaller, but stronger in
+build. He is so called from the colour of his mane, which falls to his
+shoulder in a heavy black mass. The rest of his coat is the colour of
+a bay horse. Instead of wandering like the other two kinds, he makes
+himself a comfortable dwelling, and remains there probably all his
+life, which may last thirty or forty years, unless he falls a victim
+to the hunter. He rarely goes down to the plains in search of prey,
+but lies in ambush in the evening and attacks the cattle on their way
+down from the mountain, killing four or five to drink their blood. In
+the long summer twilights he waits on the edge of a forest-path for
+some belated traveller, who seldom escapes to tell the tale.
+
+The tawny and grey lion differ from each other only in the colour of
+their mane; all three have the same habits and characteristics, except
+those peculiar to the black lion just described. They all turn night
+into day, and go out at dusk to forage for prey, returning to their
+lair at dawn to sleep and digest in peace and quiet. Should a lion,
+for any reason, shift his camp during the day, it is most unlikely
+that he will attack, unprovoked, any creature, whether human or
+otherwise, whom he may chance to meet; for during the day he is 'full
+inside,' and the lion kills not for the sake of killing, but to
+satisfy his hunger. The lion is a devoted husband; when a couple go
+out on their nightly prowl, it is always the lioness who leads the
+way; when she stops he stops too, and when they arrive at the fold
+where they hope to procure their supper, she lies down, while he leaps
+into the midst of the enclosure, and brings back to her the pick of
+the flock. He watches her eat with great anxiety lest anything should
+disturb her, and never begins his own meal till she has finished hers.
+As a father he is less devoted; the old lion being of a serious
+disposition, the cubs weary him with their games, and while the family
+is young the father lives by himself, but at a short distance, so as
+to be at hand in case of danger. When the cubs are about three months
+old, and have finished teething (a process which often proves fatal to
+little lionesses), their mother begins to accustom them to eat meat by
+bringing them mutton to eat, which she carefully skins, and chews up
+small before giving to them. Between three and four months old they
+begin to follow their mother at night to the edge of the forest, where
+their father brings them their supper. At six months the whole family
+change their abode, choosing for the purpose a very dark night.
+Between eight months and a year old they begin to attack the flocks of
+sheep and goats that feed by day in the neighbourhood of their lair,
+and sometimes venture to attack oxen, but being still young and
+awkward, they often wound ten for one killed, and the father lion is
+obliged to interfere. At the age of two years they can slay with one
+blow an ox, horse, or camel, and can leap the hedges two yards high
+that surround the folds for protection. This period in the history of
+the lion is the most disastrous to the shepherds and their flocks, for
+then the lion goes about killing for the sake of learning to kill. At
+three years they leave their parents and set up families of their own,
+but it is only at the age of eight that they attain their full size
+and strength, and, in the case of the male, his full mane.
+
+ [Illustration: THE LION CAUGHT IN THE PIT]
+
+The question is sometimes asked, why does the lion roar? The answer
+is, for the same reason that the bird sings. When a lion and lioness
+go out together at night, the lioness begins the duet by roaring when
+she leaves her den, then the lion roars in answer, and they roar in
+turn every quarter of an hour, till they have found their supper;
+while they are eating they are silent, and begin roaring as soon as
+satisfied, and roar till morning. In summer they roar less and
+sometimes not at all. The Arabs, who have good reason to know and
+dread this fearsome sound, have the same word for it as for the
+thunder. The herds being constantly exposed to the ravages of the
+lion, the natives are obliged to take measures to protect them, but,
+the gun in their unskilled hands proving often as fatal to themselves
+as to their enemy, they are forced to resort to other means. Some
+tribes dig a pit, about ten yards deep, four or five wide, and
+narrower at the mouth than the base. The tents of the little camp
+surround it, and round them again is a hedge two or three yards high,
+made of branches of trees interlaced; a second smaller hedge divides
+the tents from the pit in order to prevent the flocks from falling
+into it. The lion prowling in search of food scents his prey, leaps
+both hedges at one bound, and falls roaring with anger into the pit
+digged for him. The whole camp is aroused, and so great is the
+rejoicing that no one sleeps all night. Guns are let off and fires lit
+to inform the whole district, and in the morning all the neighbours
+arrive, not only men, but women, children, and even dogs. When it is
+light enough to see, the hedge surrounding the pit is removed in order
+to look at the lion, and to judge by its age and sex what treatment it
+is to receive, according to what harm it may have done. If it is a
+young lion or a lioness the first spectators retire from the sight
+disgusted, to make room for others whose raptures are equally soon
+calmed. But if it is a full-grown lion with abundant mane, then it is
+a very different scene; frenzied gestures and appropriate cries spread
+the joyful news from one to another, and the spectators crowd in such
+numbers that they nearly edge each other into the pit. When everyone
+has thrown his stone and hurled his imprecation, men armed with guns
+come to put an end to the noble animal's torture; but often ten shots
+have been fired before, raising his majestic head to look
+contemptuously on his tormentors, he falls dead. Not till long after
+this last sign of life do the bravest venture to let themselves down
+into the pit, by means of ropes, to pass a net under the body of the
+lion, and to hoist it up to the surface by means of a stake planted
+there for the purpose. When the lion is cut up, the mothers of the
+tribe receive each a small piece of his heart, which they give to
+their sons to eat to make them strong and courageous; with the same
+object they make themselves amulets of hairs dragged out from his
+mane.
+
+Other tribes make use of the ambush, which may be either constructed
+underground or on a tree. If underground a hole is dug, about one yard
+deep, and three or four wide, near a path frequented by the lion; it
+is covered with branches weighted down by heavy stones, and loose
+earth is thrown over all. Four or five little openings are left to
+shoot through, and a larger one to serve as a doorway, which may be
+closed from within by a block of stone. In order to ensure a good aim
+the Arabs kill a boar and lay it on the path opposite the ambush; the
+lion inevitably stops to sniff this bait, and then they all fire at
+once. Nevertheless he is rarely killed on the spot, but frantically
+seeking his unseen enemies, who are beneath his feet, he makes with
+frenzied bounds for the nearest forest, there sometimes to recover
+from his wounds, sometimes to die in solitude. The ambush in a tree is
+conducted on the same lines as the other, except that the hunters are
+above instead of below their quarry, from whom they are screened by
+the branches.
+
+ [Illustration: THE AMBUSH]
+
+There are, however, in the province of Constantine some tribes of
+Arabs who hunt the lion in a more sportsmanlike manner. When a lion
+has made his presence known, either by frequent depredations or by
+roarings, a hunting party is formed. Some men are sent in advance to
+reconnoitre the woods, and when they return with such information as
+they have been able to gather as to the age, sex, and whereabouts of
+the animal, a council of war is held, and a plan of campaign formed.
+Each hunter is armed with a gun, a pistol, and a yataghan, and then
+five or six of the younger men are chosen to ascend the mountain,
+there to take their stand on different commanding points, in order to
+watch every movement of the lion, and to communicate them to their
+companions below by a pre-arranged code of signals. When they are
+posted the general advance begins; the lion, whose hearing is
+extremely acute, is soon aware of the approach of enemies, who in
+their turn are warned by the young men on the look-out. Finally, when
+the lion turns to meet the hunters the watchers shout with all their
+might 'Aoulikoum!' 'Look out!' At this signal the Arabs draw
+themselves up in battle array, if possible with their backs to a rock,
+and remain motionless till the lion has approached to within twenty or
+thirty paces; then the word of command is given, and each man, taking
+the best aim he can, fires, and then throws down his rifle to seize
+his pistol or yataghan. The lion is generally brought to the ground by
+this hail of bullets, but unless the heart or the brain have been
+pierced he will not be mortally wounded; the hunters therefore throw
+themselves upon him before he can rise, firing, stabbing right and
+left, blindly, madly, without aim, in the rage to kill. Sometimes in
+his mortal agony the lion will seize one of the hunters, and, drawing
+him under his own body, will torture him, almost as a cat does a mouse
+before killing it. Should this happen, the nearest relation present of
+the unhappy man will risk his own life in the attempt to rescue him,
+and at the same time to put an end to the lion. This is a perilous
+moment; when the lion sees the muzzle of the avenger's rifle pointed
+at his ear he will certainly crush in the head of his victim, even if
+he has not the strength left to spring on his assailant before the
+latter gives him the _coup de grace_.
+
+The Arabs in the neighbourhood of Constantine used, about fifty years
+ago, to send there for a famous French lion-hunter, Jules Gerard by
+name, to rid them of some unusually formidable foe. They never could
+understand his way of going to work--alone and by night--which
+certainly presented a great contrast to their methods. On one occasion
+a family of five--father, mother, and three young lions--were the
+aggressors. The Arab sheik, leading Monsieur Gerard to the river,
+showed him by their footprints on the banks where this fearful family
+were in the habit of coming to drink at night, but begged him not to
+sacrifice himself to such fearful odds, and either to return to the
+camp, or to take some of the tribe with him. Gerard declining both
+suggestions, the sheik was obliged to leave, as night was at hand, and
+the lions might appear at any moment. First he came near the hunter,
+and spoke these words low: 'Listen, I have a counsel to give thee. Be
+on thy guard against the Lord of the Mighty Head; he will lead the
+way. If thy hour has come, he will kill thee, and the others will eat
+thee.' Coming still nearer the sheik whispered: '_He_ has stolen my
+best mare and ten oxen.' 'Who? who has stolen them?' asked Monsieur
+Gerard. '_He_,' and the sheik pointed for further answer to the
+mountain. 'But name him, name the thief.' The answer was so low as to
+be barely audible: 'The Lord of the Mighty Head,' and with this
+ominous counsel the sheik departed, leaving Gerard to his vigil.
+
+As the night advanced the moon appeared, and lit up the narrow ravine.
+Judging by its position in the heavens it might be eleven o'clock,
+when the tramp of many feet was heard approaching, and several
+luminous points of reddish light were seen glittering through the
+thicket. The lions were advancing in single file, and the lights were
+their gleaming eyes. Instead of five there were only three, and the
+leader, though of formidable dimensions, did not come up to the
+description of the Lord of the Mighty Head. All three stopped to gaze
+in wonder at the man who dared to put himself in their path. Gerard
+took aim at the shoulder of the leader and fired. A fearful roar
+announced that the shot had told, and the wounded lion began painfully
+dragging himself towards his assailant, while the other two slunk away
+into the wood. He had got to within three paces when a second shot
+sent him rolling down into the bed of the stream. Again he returned to
+the charge, but a third ball right in the eye laid him dead. It was a
+fine, large, young lion of three years, with formidable teeth and
+claws. As agreed upon with the sheik, Monsieur Gerard immediately
+lit a bonfire in token of his victory, in answer to which shots were
+fired to communicate the good news to all the surrounding district. At
+break of day two hundred Arabs arrived to insult their fallen enemy,
+the sheik being the first to appear, with his congratulations, but
+also with the information that at the same hour that the young lion
+had been shot, the Lord of the Mighty Head had come down and taken
+away an ox. These devastations went on unchecked for more than a year,
+one man alone, Lakdar by name, being robbed of forty-five sheep, a
+mare, and twenty-nine oxen. Finally he lost heart, and sent to beg
+Monsieur Gerard to come back and deliver him if possible of his
+tormentor. For some nights the lion made no sign, but on the
+thirteenth evening Lakdar arrived at the lion-hunter's camp, saying:
+'The black bull is missing from the herd; to-morrow morning I shall
+find his remains and thou wilt slay the lion for me.'
+
+ [Illustration: 'ALL THREE STOPPED TO GAZE AT THE MAN WHO DARED TO
+ PUT HIMSELF IN THEIR PATH']
+
+Accordingly next morning at dawn Lakdar returned to announce that he
+had found the dead bull. Gerard rose and, taking his gun, followed the
+Arab. Through the densest of the forest they went, till at the foot of
+a narrow rocky ravine, close to some large olive trees, they found the
+partially devoured carcase. Monsieur Gerard cut some branches the
+better to conceal himself, and took up his position under one of the
+olive trees, there to await the approach of night, and with it the
+return of the lion to the spoil. Towards eight o'clock, when the
+feeble light of the new moon barely penetrated into the little glade,
+a branch was heard to crack at some distance. The lion-hunter rose
+and, shouldering his weapon, prepared to do battle. From about thirty
+paces distant came a low growl, and then a guttural sound, a sign of
+hunger with the lion, then silence, and presently an enormous lion
+stalked from the thicket straight towards the bull, and began licking
+it. At this moment Monsieur Gerard fired, and struck the lion within
+about an inch of his left eye. Roaring with pain, he reared himself
+up on end, when a second bullet right in the chest laid him on his
+back, frantically waving his huge paws in the air. Quickly reloading,
+Monsieur Gerard came close to the helpless monster, and while he was
+raising his great head from the ground fired two more shots, which
+laid the lion stone dead, and thus brought to an end the career of the
+'Lord of the Mighty Head.'
+
+
+
+
+_BUILDERS AND WEAVERS_
+
+
+No one can examine birds and their ways for long together without
+being struck by the wonderful neatness and cleverness of their
+proceedings. They make use of a great many different kinds of
+materials for their nests, and manage somehow to turn out a nest which
+not only will hold eggs, but is strong and of a pretty shape. Rotten
+twigs are, curiously enough, what they love best for the outside, and
+upon the twigs various substances are laid, according to the species
+and taste of the builder. The jay, for instance, collects roots and
+twists them into a firm mass, which he lays upon the twigs; the
+American starling uses tough wet rushes and coarse grass, and after
+they are matted together, somehow ties the nest on to reeds or a bush;
+while the missel thrush lines the casing of twigs with tree moss, or
+even hay. To these they often add tufts of wool, and lichen, and the
+whole is fastened together by a kind of clay. The favourite spot
+chosen by the missel thrush is the fork of a tree in an orchard, where
+lichens are large and plentiful enough to serve as a covering for the
+nests.
+
+Still, if the account given by Vaillant and Paterson is true, the
+sociable grosbeaks surpass all the other birds in skill and invention.
+They have been known to cover the trunks of trees with a huge kind of
+fluted umbrella, made of dry, fine grass, with the boughs of the trees
+poking through in various places. No doubt in the beginning the nest
+was not so large, but it is the custom of these birds to live
+together in clans, and each year fresh 'rooms' have to be added. When
+examined, the bird city was found to have many gates and regular
+streets of nests, each about two inches distant from the other. The
+structure was made of 'Boshman's' grass alone, but so tightly woven
+together that no rain could get through. The nests were all tucked in
+under the roof, which, by projecting, formed eaves, thus keeping the
+birds warm and dry. Sometimes the umbrella has been known to contain
+as many as three hundred separate nests, so it is no wonder that the
+tree at last breaks down with the weight, and the city has to be
+founded again elsewhere.
+
+Now in the nests of all these birds there has been a good deal of what
+we called 'building' and 'carpentry' when we are talking of our own
+houses and our own trades. But there are a whole quantity of birds
+spread over the world, who are almost exclusively weavers, and can
+form nests which hang down from the branch of a tree without any
+support. To this class belongs the Indian sparrow, which prefers to
+build in the tops of the very highest trees (especially on the Indian
+fig) and particularly on those growing by the river-side. He weaves
+together tough grass in the form of a bottle, and hangs it from a
+branch, so that it rocks to and fro, like a hammock. The Indian
+sparrow, which is easily tamed, does not like always to live with his
+family, so he divides his nest into two or three parts, and is careful
+to place its entrance underneath, so that it may not attract the
+notice of the birds of prey. In these nests glow-worms have frequently
+been found, carefully fastened into a piece of fresh clay, but whether
+the bird deliberately tries in this way to light up his dark nest, or
+whether he has some other use for the glow-worm, has never been found
+out. But it seems quite certain that he does not _eat_ it, as Sir
+William Jones once supposed.
+
+The Indian sparrow is a very clever little bird, and can be taught to
+do all sorts of tricks. He will catch a ring that is dropped into one
+of the deep Indian wells, before it reaches the water. He can pick the
+gold ornament neatly off the forehead of a young Hindu woman, or carry
+a note to a given place like a carrier pigeon. At least so it is said;
+but then very few people have even a bowing acquaintance with the
+Indian sparrow.
+
+
+
+
+_'MORE FAITHFUL THAN FAVOURED'_
+
+
+There never was a more faithful watch-dog than the great big-limbed,
+heavy-headed mastiff that guarded Sir Harry Lee's Manor-house,
+Ditchley, in Oxfordshire.[9] The sound of his deep growl was the
+terror of all the gipsies and vagrants in the county, and there was a
+superstition among the country people, that he was never known to
+sleep. Even if he was seen stretched out on the stone steps leading up
+to the front entrance of the house, with his massive head resting on
+his great fore-paws, at the sound of a footfall, however distant, his
+head would be raised, his ears fiercely cocked, and an ominous
+stiffening of the tail would warn a stranger that his movements were
+being closely watched, and that on the least suspicion of anything
+strange or abnormal in his behaviour, he would be called to account by
+Leo. Strangely enough, the mastiff had never been a favourite of his
+master's. The fact that dogs of his breed are useless for purposes of
+sport, owing to their unwieldy size and defective sense of smell, had
+prevented Sir Harry from taking much notice of him. He looked upon the
+mastiff merely as a watch-dog. The dog would look after him, longing
+to be allowed to join him in his walk, or to follow him when he rode
+out, through the lanes and fields round his house, but poor Leo's
+affection received little encouragement. So long as he guarded the
+house faithfully by day and night, that was all that was expected of
+him: and as in doing this he was only doing his duty, and fulfilling
+the purpose for which he was there, little notice was taken of him by
+any of the inmates of the house. His meals were supplied to him with
+unfailing regularity, for his services as insuring the safety of the
+house were fully recognised; but as Sir Harry had not shown him any
+signs of favour, the servants did not think fit to bestow unnecessary
+attention on him. So he lived his solitary neglected life, in summer
+and winter, by night and day, zealous in his master's interests, but
+earning little reward in the way of notice or affection.
+
+ [9] More about this gentleman and his dog may be read in
+ _Woodstock_, by Sir Walter Scott.
+
+One night, however, something occurred that suddenly altered the
+mastiff's position in the household, and from being a faithful slave,
+he all at once became the beloved friend and constant companion of Sir
+Harry Lee. It was in winter, and Sir Harry was going up to his bedroom
+as usual, about eleven o'clock. Great was his astonishment on opening
+the library door, to find the mastiff stretched in front of it. At
+sight of his master Leo rose, and, wagging his tail and rubbing his
+great head against Sir Harry's hand, he looked up at him as if anxious
+to attract his attention. With an impatient word Sir Harry turned
+away, and went up the oak-panelled staircase, Leo following closely
+behind him. When he reached his bedroom door, the dog tried to follow
+him into the room, and if Sir Harry had been a more observant man, he
+must have noticed a curious look of appeal in the dog's eyes, as he
+slammed the door in his face, ordering him in commanding tones to 'Go
+away!' an order which Leo did not obey. Curling himself up on the mat
+outside the door, he lay with his small deep-sunk eyes in eager
+watchfulness, fixed on the door, while his heavy tail from time to
+time beat an impatient tattoo upon the stone floor of the passage.
+
+Antonio, the Italian valet, whom Sir Harry had brought home with him
+from his travels, and whom he trusted absolutely, was waiting for his
+master, and was engaged in spreading out his things on the toilet
+table.
+
+'That dog is getting troublesome, Antonio,' said Sir Harry. 'I must
+speak to the keeper to-morrow, and tell him to chain him up at night
+outside the hall. I cannot have him disturbing me, prowling about the
+corridors and passages all night. See that you drive him away, when
+you go downstairs.'
+
+'Yes, signor,' replied Antonio, and began to help his master to
+undress. Then, having put fresh logs of wood on the fire, he wished
+Sir Harry good-night, and left the room. Finding Leo outside the door,
+the valet whistled and called gently to him to follow him; and, as the
+dog took no notice, he put out his hand to take hold of him by the
+collar. But a low growl and a sudden flash of the mastiff's teeth,
+warned the Italian of the danger of resorting to force. With a
+muttered curse he turned away, determined to try bribery where threats
+had failed. He thought that if he could secure a piece of raw meat
+from the kitchen, he would have no difficulty in inducing the dog to
+follow him to the lower regions of the house, where he could shut him
+up, and prevent him from further importuning his master.
+
+Scarcely had Antonio's figure disappeared down the passage, when the
+mastiff began to whine in an uneasy manner, and to scratch against his
+master's door. Disturbed by the noise, and astonished that his
+faithful valet had disregarded his injunctions, Sir Harry got up and
+opened the door, on which the mastiff pushed past him into the room,
+with so resolute a movement that his master could not prevent his
+entrance. The instant he got into the room, the dog's uneasiness
+seemed to disappear. Ceasing to whine, he made for the corner of the
+room where the bed stood in a deep alcove, and, crouching down, he
+slunk beneath it, with an evident determination to pass the night
+there. Much astonished, Sir Harry was too sleepy to contest the point
+with the dog, and allowed him to remain under the bed, without making
+any further attempt to dislodge him from the strange and unfamiliar
+resting-place he had chosen.
+
+When the valet returned shortly after with the piece of meat with
+which he hoped to tempt the mastiff downstairs, he found the mat
+deserted. He assumed that the dog had abandoned his caprice of being
+outside his master's door, and had betaken himself to his usual haunts
+in the basement rooms and passages of the house.
+
+Whether from the unaccustomed presence of the dog in his room, or from
+some other cause, Sir Harry Lee was a long time in going to sleep that
+night. He heard the different clocks in the house strike midnight, and
+then one o'clock; and as he lay awake watching the flickering light of
+the fire playing on the old furniture and on the dark panels of the
+wainscot, he felt an increasing sense of irritation against the dog,
+whose low, regular breathing showed that he, at any rate, was sleeping
+soundly. Towards two in the morning Sir Harry must have fallen into a
+deep sleep, for he was quite unconscious of the sound of stealthy
+steps creeping along the stone corridor and pausing a moment on the
+mat outside his room. Then the handle of the door was softly turned,
+and the door itself, moving on its well-oiled hinges, was gently
+pushed inward. In another moment there was a tremendous scuffle
+beneath the bed, and with a great bound the mastiff flung himself on
+the intruder, and pinned him to the floor. Startled by the unexpected
+sounds, and thoroughly aroused, Sir Harry jumped up, and hastily lit a
+candle. Before him on the floor lay Antonio, with the mastiff standing
+over him, uttering his fierce growls, and showing his teeth in a
+dangerous manner. Stealthily the Italian stole out his hand along the
+floor, to conceal something sharp and gleaming that had fallen from
+him, on the dog's unexpected onslaught, but a savage snarl from Leo
+warned him to keep perfectly still. Calling off the mastiff, who
+instantly obeyed the sound of his master's voice, though with
+bristling hair and stiffened tail he still kept his eyes fixed on the
+Italian, Sir Harry demanded from the valet the cause of his unexpected
+intrusion into his bedroom at that hour, and in that way. There was so
+much embarrassment and hesitation in Antonio's reply, that Sir Harry's
+suspicions were aroused. In the meantime the unusual sounds at that
+hour of the night had awakened the household. Servants came hurrying
+along the passage to their master's room. Confronted by so many
+witnesses, the Italian became terrified and abject, and stammered out
+such contradictory statements, that it was impossible to get at the
+truth of his story, and Sir Harry saw that the only course open to him
+was to have the man examined and tried by the magistrate.
+
+ [Illustration: 'AND PINNED HIM TO THE GROUND']
+
+At the examination the wretched valet confessed that he had entered
+his master's room with the intention of murdering and robbing him, and
+had only been prevented by the unexpected attack of the mastiff.
+
+Among the family pictures in the possession of the family of the Earls
+of Lichfield, the descendants of Sir Harry Lee, there is a full-length
+portrait of the knight with his hand on the head of the mastiff, and
+beneath this legend, 'More faithful than favoured.'
+
+
+
+
+_DOLPHINS, TURTLES, AND COD_
+
+Stories from Audubon
+
+From _Audubon's Life_, by Robert Buchanan. Sampson Low & Co.
+
+
+In the excellent life of Mr. Audubon, the American naturalist
+(published in 1868 by Sampson Low, Marston & Co.), some curious
+stories are to be found respecting the kinds of fish that he met with
+in his voyages both through the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.
+Audubon's remarks about the habits of dolphins are especially
+interesting, and will be read with pleasure by everybody who cares for
+'the sea and all that in them is.'
+
+Dolphins abound in the Gulf of Mexico and the neighbouring seas, and
+are constantly to be seen chasing flying fish, which are their food.
+Flying fish can swim more rapidly than the dolphins, which of course
+are far larger creatures; but if they find themselves much
+outnumbered, and in danger of being surrounded, they spread the fins
+that serve them for wings, and fly through the air for a short
+distance. At first this movement throws out the dolphins, who are
+unable to follow the example of their prey, but they soon contrive to
+keep up with the flying fish by giving great bounds into the air; and
+as the flying fish's powers are soon exhausted, it is not long before
+the hunt comes to an end and the dolphins seize the fish as they
+tumble into the sea.
+
+Sailors are fond of catching dolphins, and generally bait their hooks
+with a piece of shark's flesh. When the fish is taken, its friends
+stay round it till the last moment, only swimming away as the dolphin
+is hauled on board. For its size, which is generally about three feet
+long and has rarely been known to exceed four feet, the dolphin has a
+remarkably good appetite, and sometimes he eats so much that he is
+unable to escape from his enemy, the bottle-nosed porpoise. A dolphin
+that was caught in the Gulf of Mexico was opened by the sailors, and
+inside him were counted twenty-two flying fish, each one six or seven
+inches long, and all arranged quite neatly with their tails foremost.
+Before they have their dinner they are full of fun, and their
+beautiful blue and gold bodies may often be seen leaping and bounding
+and diving about the ship--a sight which the sailors always declare
+portends a gale. Indeed, the stories to which dolphins give rise are
+many and strange. The negroes believe that a silver coin, fried or
+boiled in the same water as the fish, will turn into copper if the
+dolphin is in a state unfit for food; but as no one can swear that he
+has ever seen the transmutation of the metal, it may be suspected that
+the tale was invented by the cook for the sake of getting an extra
+dollar.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+About eighty miles from the Peninsula of Florida are a set of low,
+sandy banks known as the _Tortuga_ or _Turtle Islands_, from the
+swarms of turtles which lay their eggs in the sand, and are eagerly
+sought for by traders.
+
+Turtles are of many sorts, but the green turtle is considered the
+best, and is boiled down into soup, which is both rich and
+strengthening. They are cautious creatures, and never approach the
+shore in the daylight, or without watching carefully for some time to
+see if the coast is indeed clear. They may be seen on quiet moonlight
+nights in the months of May and June, lying thirty or forty yards from
+the beach, listening intently, and every now and then making a loud
+hissing noise intended to frighten any enemies that may be lurking
+near. If their quick ears detect any sound, however faint, they
+instantly dive and swim to some other place; but if nothing is
+stirring, they land on the shore, and crawl slowly about with the aid
+of their flappers, until they find a spot that seems suitable for the
+hatching of their eggs, which often number two hundred, laid at one
+time. The operations are begun by the turtle scooping out a hole in
+the burning sand by means of her hind flappers, using them each by
+turns, and throwing up the sand into a kind of rampart behind her.
+This is done so quickly that in less than ten minutes she will often
+have dug a hole varying from eighteen inches to two feet. When the
+eggs are carefully placed in separate layers, the loose sand is laid
+over them, and the hole not only completely hidden but made to look
+exactly like the rest of the beach, so that no one could ever tell
+that the surface had been disturbed at all. Then the turtle goes away
+and leaves the hot sand to do the rest.
+
+In course of time the young turtles, hardly bigger than a
+five-shilling piece, leave their shells, and make their way to the
+water, unless, before they are hatched, their nest has been discovered
+by men, or by the cougars and other wild animals, who feed greedily on
+them. If they belong to the tribe of the green turtles, they will at
+once begin to seek for sea plants, and especially a kind of grass,
+which they bite off near the roots, so as to get the tenderest parts.
+If they are young hawk-bills, they will nibble the seaweed, and soon
+go on to crabs and shell-fish, and even little fishes. The loggerheads
+grow a sharp beak, which enables them to crack the great conch shells,
+and dig out the fish that lives inside, while the trunk turtle, which
+is often of an immense size but with a very soft body, loves
+sea-urchins and shell-fish. All of them can swim so fast that they
+often seem to be flying, and it needs much quickness of eye and hand
+to spear them in the water. Even to catch them on shore is a matter of
+great difficulty, and in general more than one man is required for the
+service. The turtle is raised up from behind by a man on his knee,
+pushing with all his might against her shoulder; but this has to be
+done with great caution, or else the hunter may get badly bitten. When
+the turtle is fully raised up, she is thrown over on her back, and,
+like a sheep in a similar position, can seldom recover herself without
+help. The turtles, when caught, are put into an enclosure of logs with
+a sandy or muddy bottom through which the tide flows, and here they
+are kept and fed by their captors till they are ready for the market.
+Unlike most creatures, their price is out of all proportion to their
+weight, and a loggerhead turtle weighing seven hundred pounds has been
+known to cost no more than a green turtle of thirty.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Early in May, and well into June, the seas extending northwards from
+Maine to Labrador are alive with ships just starting for the cod
+fishing. Their vessels are mostly small but well stocked, and a large
+part of the space below is filled with casks, some full of salt and
+others empty. These empty ones are reserved for the oil that is
+procured from the cod.
+
+Every morning, as soon as it is light, some of the crew of each ship
+enters a small boat, which can be sailed or rowed as is found
+necessary. When they reach the cod banks every man boards up part of
+his boat for the fish when caught, and then takes his stand at the end
+with two lines, baited at the opening of the season with salted
+mussels, and later with gannets or capelings. These lines are dropped
+into the sea on either side of the boat, and when the gunwale is
+almost touching the water and it is dangerous to put in any more fish,
+they give up work for the morning and return to the harbour. In
+general, fishing is a silent occupation, but cod fishers are rather a
+talkative race, and have bets with each other as to the amount of the
+'takes' of the respective crews. When they get back to their vessels,
+often anchored eight or ten miles away, they find that the men who
+have been left behind have set up long tables on deck, carried the
+salt barrels on shore, placed all ready the casks for the livers, and
+cleared the hold of everything but a huge wedge of salt for the
+salting. Then, after dinner, some of the men row back to the cod
+banks, while the others set about cleaning, salting, and packing the
+fish, so as to be quite finished when the men return from their second
+journey. It is almost always midnight before the work is done, and the
+men can turn in for their three hours' sleep.
+
+If, as often happens, the hauls have been very large, the supply soon
+threatens to become exhausted, so on Sunday the captain sails off for
+a fresh bank. Then, the men who are the laziest or most unskilful in
+the matter of fishing take out the cargo that has been already salted,
+and lay it out on scaffolds which have been set up on the rocks. When
+the sun has dried the fish for some time, they are turned over; and
+this process is repeated several times in the day. In the evening they
+are piled up into large stacks, and protected from the rain and wind.
+In July the men's work is in one way less hard than before, for this
+is the season when the capelings arrive to spawn upon the shores, and
+where capelings are, cod are sure to follow. Now great nets are used,
+with one end fastened to the land, and these nets will sometimes
+produce twenty or thirty thousand fish at a haul.
+
+With so many men engaged in the cod fishing, and considering the
+number of diseases to which cod are subject, it is perhaps quite as
+well that each fish should lay such a vast supply of eggs, though out
+of the eight million laid by one fish which have been counted, it is
+calculated that, from various causes, only about a hundred thousand
+come to maturity.
+
+
+
+
+_MORE ABOUT ELEPHANTS_
+
+From _The Wild Elephant_. Sir J. Emerson Tennent.
+
+
+Long, long ago, when the moon was still young, and some of the stars
+that we know best were only gradually coming into sight, the earth was
+covered all over with a tangle of huge trees and gigantic ferns, which
+formed the homes of all sorts of enormous beasts. There were no men,
+only great animals and immense lizards, whose skeletons may still be
+found embedded in rocks or frozen deep down among the Siberian
+marshes; for, after the period of fearful heat, when everything grew
+rampant, even in the very north, there came a time of equally intense
+cold, when every living creature perished in many parts of the world.
+
+When the ice which crushed down life on the earth began to melt, and
+the sun once more had power to pierce the thick cold mists that had
+shrouded the world, animals might have been seen slowly creeping about
+the young trees and fresh green pastures, but their forms were no
+longer the same as they once were. The enormous frames of all sorts of
+huge monsters, and the great lizard called the ichthyosaurus, had been
+replaced by smaller and more graceful creatures, who could move
+lightly and easily through this new world. But changed though it
+seemed to be, one beast still remained to tell the story of those
+strange old times, and that was the elephant.
+
+Now anybody who has ever stood behind a big, clumsy cart-horse going
+up a hill cannot fail to have been struck with its likeness to an
+elephant; and it is quite true that elephants and horses are nearly
+related. Of course in the East, where countries are so big and marches
+are so long, it is necessary to have an animal to ride of more
+strength and endurance than a horse, and so elephants, who are, when
+well treated, as gentle as they are strong, were very early trained as
+beasts of burden, or even as 'men-of-war.'
+
+In their wild condition they have a great many curious habits. They
+roam about the forests of India or Africa in herds, and each herd is a
+real family, who have had a common grandfather. The elephants are very
+particular as to the number of their herd; it is never less than ten,
+or more than twenty-one, but being very sociable they easily get on
+terms of civility with other herds, and several of these groups may be
+seen moving together towards some special pond or feeding ground. But
+friendly as they often are, each clan keeps itself as proudly distinct
+from the rest as if they were all Highlanders. Any unlucky elephant
+who has lost his own herd, and tries to attach himself to a new one,
+is scouted and beaten away by every member of the tribe, till, like a
+man who is punished and scorned for misfortunes he cannot help, the
+poor animal grows desperate, and takes to evil courses, and is hunted
+down under the name of 'a rogue.'
+
+Elephants have a great idea of law and order, and carefully choose a
+leader who is either strong enough or clever enough to protect the
+herd against its enemies. Even a female has sometimes been chosen, if
+her wisdom has been superior to that of the rest; but male or female,
+the leader once fixed upon, the herd never fails to give him absolute
+obedience, and will suffer themselves to be killed in their efforts to
+save his life.
+
+ [Illustration: 'LONG, LONG AGO.' THE ELEPHANT DREAMS OF HIS OLD
+ COMPANIONS]
+
+As everyone knows, during the dry season in India water becomes very
+scarce, and even the artificial tanks that have been built for
+reservoirs are very soon empty. About the middle of this century, an
+English officer, Major Skinner by name, had drawn up to rest on the
+embankment of a small Indian tank, which, low though it was,
+contained the only water to be found for a great distance. On three
+sides of the tank there was a clearing, but on the fourth lay a very
+thick wood, where the herd lay encamped all day, waiting for darkness
+to fall, so that they might all go to drink. Major Skinner knew the
+habits of elephants well, and what to expect of them, so he sent all
+his natives to sleep, and climbed himself into a large tree that
+sheltered the tank at one corner. However, it appeared that the
+elephants were unusually cautious that night, for he sat in his tree
+for two hours before a sound was heard, though they had been lively
+enough as long as the sun was shining.
+
+Suddenly a huge elephant forced his way through the thickest part of
+the forest, and advanced slowly to the tank, his ears at full cock,
+and his eyes glancing stealthily round. He gazed longingly at the
+water for some minutes, but did not attempt to drink--perhaps he felt
+it would be a mean advantage to take of his comrades--and then he
+quietly retraced his steps backwards till he had put about a hundred
+yards between himself and the water, when five elephants came out of
+the jungle and joined him. These he led forward, listening carefully
+as before, and placed them at certain spots where they could command a
+view both of the open country and the forest. This done, and the
+safety of the others provided for, he went to fetch the main body of
+the herd, which happened to be four or five times as large as usual.
+Silently, as if preparing for an assault, the whole of this immense
+body marched up to where the scouts were standing, when a halt was
+signalled, so that the leader might for the last time make sure that
+no hidden danger, in the shape of man, lion, or tiger, awaited them.
+Then permission was given, and with a joyful toss of their trunks in
+the air, in they dashed, drinking, wallowing, and rolling over with
+delight, till one would have thought it had been years since they had
+tasted a drop of water, or known the pleasures of a bath.
+
+From his perch in the tree Major Skinner had been watching with
+interest the movements of the herd, and when he saw that they had
+really had their fill, he gently broke a little twig and threw it on
+the ground. It seemed hardly possible that such a tiny sound could
+reach the ears of those great tumbling, sucking bodies, but in one
+instant they were all out of the tank, and tearing towards the forest,
+almost carrying the little ones between them.
+
+Of course it is not always that elephants can find tanks without
+travelling many hundreds of miles after them, and on these occasions
+their wonderful sagacity comes to their aid. They will pause on the
+banks of some dried-up river, now nothing but a sandy tract, and feel
+instinctively that underneath that sand is the water for which they
+thirst. But then, how to get at it? The elephants know as well as any
+engineer that if they tried to dig a hole straight down, the weight of
+their bodies would pull down the whole side of the pit with them, so
+that is of no use. In order to get round this difficulty, long
+experience has taught them that they must make one side to their well
+a gentle slope, and when this is done they can wait with perfect
+comfort for the water, whose appearance on the surface is only a
+question of time.
+
+ [Illustration: THE ELEPHANT FALLS ON HIS KNEES BEFORE THE LITTLE
+ SCOTCH TERRIER]
+
+Much might be written about the likes and dislikes of elephants, which
+seem as a rule to be as motiveless as the likes and dislikes of human
+beings. Till they are tamed and treated kindly by some particular
+person, elephants show a decided objection to human beings, and in
+Ceylon have a greater repugnance to a white skin than to a brown one.
+In fact, they are shy of anything new or strange, but will put up with
+any animal to which they are accustomed. Elks, pigs, deer, and
+buffaloes are their feeding companions, and the elephants take no more
+notice of their presence than if they were so many canaries. Indeed,
+as far as can be gathered, the elephant is much more afraid of the
+little domestic animals with which it is quite unacquainted than of
+the huge vegetable-eating beasts with which both it and its
+forefathers were on intimate terms. Goats and sheep it eyes with
+annoyance; they are new creatures, and were never seen in jungles or
+forests; but, bad as they might be, dogs, the shadows of men, were
+worse still. They were so quick, so lively, and had such hideous high
+voices, which they were always using, not keeping them for special
+occasions like any self-respecting quadruped. Really they might almost
+as well be parrots with their incessant chatter. But of all kinds of
+dogs, surely the one called a Scotch terrier was the most alarming and
+detestable. One day an animal of this species actually seized the
+trunk of an elephant in its teeth, and the elephant was so surprised
+and frightened that it fell on its knees at once. At this the dog was
+a little frightened too, and let go, but recovered itself again as the
+elephant rose slowly to its feet, and prepared to charge afresh. The
+elephant, not knowing what to make of it, backed in alarm, hitting out
+at the dog with its front paws, but taking care to keep his wounded
+trunk well beyond its reach. At last, between fright and annoyance he
+lost his head completely, and would have fairly run away if the keeper
+had not come in and put a stop to the dog's fun.
+
+If AEsop had known elephants--or Scotch terriers--he might have made a
+fable out of this; but they had not visited Greece in his day.
+
+
+
+
+_BUNGEY_
+
+From Jesse's _British Dogs_.
+
+
+During the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and James, there lived a brave
+and accomplished knight called Sir John Harington, who had been
+knighted on the field of battle by the famous Earl of Essex, and had
+translated into English a long poem, by an Italian called Ariosto. But
+busy though he was in so many ways, Sir John still had time to spare
+for his 'raw dogge' Bungey, and in the year 1608 he writes a long
+letter to Prince Henry, elder brother of Charles I., full of the
+strange doings of his favourite. Bungey seems to have been used by Sir
+John as a sort of carrier pigeon, and he tells how he would go from
+Bath to Greenwich Palace, to 'deliver up to the cowrte there such
+matters as were entrusted to his care.' The nobles of the court made
+much of him, and sometimes gave him errands of their own, and it was
+never told to their 'Ladie Queen, that this messenger did ever blab
+ought concerning his highe truste, as others have done in more special
+matters.' More wonderful even than this was his behaviour concerning
+two sacks of wheat which Bungey had been commissioned by Sir John's
+servant Combe, to carry from Bath to his own house at Kelston, a few
+miles distant. The sacks were tied round the dog's body by cords, but
+on the way the cords got loose, and Bungey, clever though he was,
+could not tie them up again. However he was not to be beaten, and
+hiding one 'flasket' in some bushes that grew near by, he bore the
+other in his teeth to Kelston, and then returning, fetched the hidden
+one out of the rushes and arrived with it in good time for dinner.
+Sir John is plainly rather afraid that Prince Henry may not quite
+believe this instance of sagacity, for he adds, 'Hereat your Highnesse
+may perchance marvell and doubte; but we have living testimonie of
+those who wroughte in the fields, and espied his work, and now live to
+tell they did muche long to plaie the dogge, and give stowage to the
+wine themselves, but they did refraine, and watchede the passinge of
+this whole business.'
+
+As may be well guessed, the fame of Bungey's talents soon spread, and
+then, as now, there were many dog stealers in the country. On one
+occasion, as Sir John was riding from Bath to London, Bungey was
+tempted to leave his side by the sight of a pond swarming with wild
+duck or mallard. Unluckily other people besides Bungey thought it good
+sport to hunt wild fowl, and did not mind seizing valuable dogs, so
+poor Bungey was caught and bound, till it could be settled who would
+give the highest price for him.
+
+At last his captors decided that they would take him to London, which
+was not very far off, and trust to chance for finding a buyer. As it
+happened, the Spanish Ambassador was on the look out for a dog of that
+very kind, and he was so pleased with Bungey, that he readily agreed
+to give the large sum asked by the men who brought him. Now Bungey was
+a dog who always made the best of things, and as Sir John tells the
+Prince, 'suche was the courte he did pay to the Don, that he was no
+lesse in good likinge there than at home.' In fact, everybody grew so
+fond of him, that when after six weeks Sir John discovered where he
+was and laid claim to him, no one in the house could be prevailed on
+to give him up. Poor Sir John, who, as we know, was very much attached
+to Bungey, was at his wit's end what to do, when it suddenly occurred
+to him to let the dog himself prove who was his real master. So,
+having the Ambassador's leave to what he wished in the matter, he
+called all the company together at dinner-time and bade Bungey go
+into the hall where dinner was already served, and bring a pheasant
+from the dish. This, as Sir John says, 'created much mirthe; but much
+more, when he returned at my commandment to the table, and put it
+again in the same cover.' After such a proof there was no more to be
+said, and Sir John was allowed to be the dog's master. But Bungey's
+life was not destined to be a very long one, and his death was strange
+and sudden. As he and his master were once more on the road from
+London to Bath on their return journey, he began jumping up on the
+horse's neck, and 'was more earneste in fawninge and courtinge my
+notice, than what I had observed for time backe; and after my chidinge
+his disturbing my passinge forwardes, he gave me some glances of such
+affection as moved me to cajole him; but alas! he crept suddenly into
+a thorny brake, and died in a short time.'
+
+ [Illustration: BUNGEY AT THE SPANISH AMBASSADOR'S HOUSE]
+
+It is impossible to guess what kind of illness caused the death of
+poor Bungey, but it is pleasant to think that Sir John never forgot
+him, and also loved to talk of him to his friends. 'Now let Ulysses
+praise his dogge Argus,' he writes to Prince Henry, 'or Tobit be led
+by that dogge whose name doth not appear; yet could I say such things
+of my Bungey as might shame them both, either for good faith, clear
+wit, or wonderful deedes; to say no more than I have said of his
+bearing letters to London and Greenwich, more than a hundred miles. As
+I doubt not but your Highness would love my dogge, if not myselfe, I
+have been thus tedious in his storie; and again saie, that of all the
+dogges near your father's courte, not one hathe more love, more
+diligence to please, or less paye for pleasinge, than him I write of.'
+
+
+
+
+_LIONS AND THEIR WAYS_
+
+Bingley's _Animal Biography_.
+
+
+Although it would not be safe to put one's self into the power of a
+lion, trusting to its generosity to make friends, there are a great
+many stories of the kindness of lions to other creatures which are
+perfectly true. One day, more than a hundred years ago, a lion cub
+only three months old was caught in one of the great forests near the
+river Senegal, and brought to a Frenchman as a gift. The Frenchman,
+who was fond of animals, undertook to train it, and as the cub was
+very gentle and quiet this was easily done. He soon grew very fond of
+his master, and enjoyed being petted both by him and his friends, and
+what was more strange in a beast whose forefathers had passed all
+their lives in solitude, the lion hated being by himself. The more the
+merrier was clearly _his_ motto, and whether the company consisted of
+dogs, cats, ducks, sheep, geese, or monkeys (which were his
+bedfellows), or men and women, did not matter to him; and you may
+imagine his joy, when one night as he went to bed he found two little
+new-born pups in his straw. He was quite as pleased as if he had been
+their mother; indeed he would hardly let the mother go near them, and
+when one of them died, he showed his grief in every possible way, and
+became still more attached to its brother.
+
+After six months the lion, now more than a year old, was sent off to
+France, still with the little pup for company. At first his keepers
+thought that the strangeness of everything would make him frightened
+and savage, but he took it quite calmly and was soon allowed to roam
+about the ship as he pleased. Even when he landed at Havre, he only
+had a rope attached to his collar, and so he was brought to
+Versailles, the pup trotting happily by his side. Unfortunately,
+however, the climate of Europe did not agree with the dog as with the
+lion, for he gradually wasted away and died, to the terrible grief of
+his friend. Indeed he was so unhappy that another dog was put into the
+cage to make up for the lost one, but this dog was not used to lions,
+and only knew that they were said to be savage beasts, so he tried to
+hide himself. The lion, whose sorrow, as often happens, only made him
+irritable and cross, was provoked by the dog's want of confidence in
+his kindness, and just gave him one pat with his paw which killed him
+on the spot. But he still continued so sad, that the keepers made
+another effort, and this time the dog behaved with more sense, and
+coaxed the lion into making friends. The two lived happily together
+for many years, and the lion recovered some of his spirits, but he
+never forgot his first companion, or was quite the same lion again.
+
+ [Illustration: 'THE HOTTENTOT NOTICED A HUGE LION LYING IN THE
+ WATER']
+
+Many hundreds of miles south of Senegal a Hottentot who lived in
+Namaqualand was one evening driving down a herd of his master's
+cattle, to drink in a pool of water, which was fenced in by two steep
+walls of rock. It had been a particularly hot summer, and water was
+scarce, so the pool was lower than usual, and it was not until the
+whole herd got close to the brink, that the Hottentot noticed a huge
+lion, lying right in the water, preparing to spring. The Hottentot,
+thinking as well as his fright would let him think at all, that
+anything would serve as supper for the lion, dashed straight through
+the herd, and made as fast as he could for some trees at a little
+distance. But a low roar behind him told him that he had been wrong in
+his calculations, and that the lion was of opinion that man was nicer
+than bull. So he fled along as quickly as his trembling legs would let
+him, and just reached one of the tree aloes in which some steps had
+been cut by the natives, as the lion bounded into the air. However the
+man swung himself out of his enemy's range, and the lion fell flat
+upon the ground. Now the branches of the tree were covered with
+hundreds of nests of a kind of bird called the Sociable Grosbeak, and
+it was to get these nests that the natives had cut in the smooth trunk
+the steps which had proved the salvation of the Hottentot. Behind the
+shelter of the nests the Hottentot cowered, hoping that when he was no
+longer seen, the lion would forget him and go in search of other prey.
+But the lion seemed inclined to do nothing of the sort. For a long
+while he walked round and round the tree, and when he got tired of
+that he lay down, resolved to tire the man out. The Hottentot hearing
+no sound, peeped cautiously out, to see if his foe was still there,
+and almost tumbled down in terror to meet the eyes of the lion glaring
+into his. So the two remained all through the night and through the
+next day, but when sunset came again the lion could bear his dreadful
+thirst no longer, and trotted off to the nearest spring to drink. Then
+the Hottentot saw his chance, and leaving his hiding place he ran like
+lightning to his home, which was only a mile distant. But the lion did
+not yield without a struggle; and traces were afterwards found of his
+having returned to the tree, and then scented the man to within three
+hundred yards of his hut.
+
+
+
+
+_THE HISTORY OF JACKO I._
+
+
+The ship 'Roxalana' of Marseilles lay anchored in the Bay of Loando,
+which as we all know is situated in South Guinea. The 'Roxalana' was a
+merchant vessel, and a brisk traffic had been going on for some time
+with the exchange of the European goods with which the ship had been
+laden, for ivory and other native produce. All hands were very busy
+getting on board the various provisions and other stores needed for a
+long voyage, for it was in the days of sailing vessels only, and it
+would be some time before they could hope to return to Marseilles.
+
+Now the captain of the 'Roxalana' was a mighty hunter, and seeing that
+all was going on well under the first officer's direction, he took his
+gun and a holiday and went up country for one more day's sport.
+
+He was as successful as he was brave, and he had the great good luck
+to meet a tiger, a young hippopotamus, and a boa constrictor. All
+these terrible creatures fell before the unerring aim of the Provencal
+Nimrod, and after so adventurous a morning's work the captain
+naturally began to feel tired and hungry, so he sat down under the
+shade of some trees to rest and have some lunch.
+
+He drew a flask of rum out of one pocket, and having uncorked it
+placed it on his right side; from his other pocket he produced a huge
+guava, which he laid on his left side, and finally he drew a great
+wedge of ship biscuit from his game bag and put it between his knees.
+Then he took out his tobacco pouch and began to fill his pipe so as
+to have it ready at hand when he had finished his meal.
+
+ [Illustration: ANNOYANCE OF THE CAPTAIN ON FINDING HIS FLASK OF RUM
+ UPSET]
+
+Imagine his surprise when, having filled his pipe, he found the flask
+had been upset and the guava had disappeared!
+
+I am afraid the captain made use of some very strong language, but
+there was nothing for it but to make the best of the biscuit, the sole
+relic of his feast. As he munched it he warily turned his head from
+side to side, watching for the thief, when all of a sudden something
+fell upon his head. The captain put up his hand and found--the skin of
+his guava. Then he raised his eyes and saw a monkey dancing for joy at
+his own pranks in the tree just above him.
+
+As I have already shown the captain was an excellent shot. Without
+stirring from his seat, he took up his gun and with a shot snapped the
+end of the branch on which his persecutor was sitting.
+
+Down came branch and monkey, and the captain at once captured the
+latter before it had time to recover from the surprise of its rapid
+fall.
+
+He was small and quite young, only half grown, but of a rather rare
+kind, as the captain, who had an ever-ready eye to the main chance, at
+once perceived.
+
+'Ah ha!' said he, 'this little fellow will be worth fifty francs if
+he's worth a farthing by the time we get back to Marseilles.'
+
+So saying he popped the monkey into his game-bag and buttoned it
+carefully up. Then, feeling that a piece of biscuit was not quite a
+sufficient lunch after the fatigues of his morning's sports, he
+retraced his steps and returned to his ship in company with his
+monkey, whom he named 'Jacko.'
+
+Before leaving Loando the captain, who was fond of pets, bought a
+beautiful white cockatoo with a saffron crest and jet black beak.
+'Cataqua' (that was his harmonious name) was indeed a lovely creature
+and extremely accomplished into the bargain. He spoke French,
+English, and Spanish equally well, and sang 'God save the King,' the
+'Marseillaise,' and the Spanish National Anthem with great perfection.
+
+The aptitude for languages made him a ready pupil, and his vocabulary
+was largely increased by daily association with the crew of the
+'Roxalana,' so that before they had been very long at sea Cataqua
+swore freely in the purest Provencal, to the delight and admiration of
+his captain.
+
+The captain was very fond of his two pets, and every morning, after
+inspecting the crew and giving each man his orders for the day, he
+would go up to Cataqua's cage, followed by Jacko, and give the
+cockatoo a lesson. When this was well said he would reward his pupil
+by sticking a lump of sugar between the wires of the cage, a reward
+which delighted Cataqua whilst it filled Jacko with jealousy.
+
+He too loved sugar, and the moment the captain's back was turned he
+would draw near the cage and pull and pinch till the lump of sugar
+generally changed its destination, to the despair of Cataqua, who,
+crest erect and with brandished claw, rent the air with shrieks of
+rage mingled with angry oaths.
+
+Jacko meanwhile stood by affecting an innocent air and gently sucking
+the sugar which he had stowed away in one of his pouches. Unluckily
+none of Cataqua's owners had taught him to cry 'stop thief' and he
+soon realised that if Jacko were to be punished he must see to it
+himself.
+
+So one day, when the monkey after safely abstracting the sugar pushed
+a paw between the bars of the cage to gather up some remaining crumbs,
+Cataqua, who was gently swinging, head down, and apparently
+unconscious of what was going on, suddenly caught Jacko's thumb in his
+beak and bit it to the bone.
+
+Jacko uttered a piercing shriek, rushed to the rigging and climbed as
+far as he could, when he paused, clinging on by three paws and
+piteously brandishing the fourth in the air.
+
+Dinner-time came, and the captain whistled for Jacko, but contrary to
+all customs no Jacko came. The captain whistled again, and this time
+he thought he heard an answering sound which seemed to come from the
+sky. He raised his eyes and beheld Jacko still waving his injured paw.
+Then began an exchange of signals, with the result that Jacko firmly
+refused to come down. Now the captain had trained his crew to habits
+of implicit obedience and had no notion of having his orders resisted
+by a monkey, so he took his speaking trumpet and called for Double
+Mouth.
+
+Double Mouth was the cook's boy, and he had well earned his nickname
+by the manner in which he took advantage of his culinary position to
+make one meal before the usual dinner hour without its interfering in
+the least with his enjoyment of a second at the proper time. At the
+captain's call Double Mouth climbed on deck from the cook's galley and
+timidly approached his chief.
+
+The captain, who never wasted words on his subordinates, pointed to
+Jacko, and Double Mouth at once began to give chase with an activity
+which proved that the captain had chosen well. As a matter of fact
+Jacko and Double Mouth were dear friends, the bond of sympathy which
+united them being one of greediness, for many a nice morsel Jacko had
+to thank the cook's boy for. So when the monkey saw who was coming,
+instead of trying to escape him he ran to meet him, and in a few
+minutes the two friends, one in the other's arms, returned to the deck
+where the captain awaited them.
+
+The captain's one treatment for wounds of all kinds consisted of a
+_compress_ steeped in some spirit, so he at once dipped a piece of rag
+in rum and bandaged the patient's thumb with it. The sting of the
+alcohol on the wound made Jacko dance with pain, but noticing that
+the moment the captain's back was turned Double Mouth rapidly
+swallowed the remains of the liquid in which the rag had been dipped,
+he realised that however painful as a dressing it might possibly be
+agreeable to the palate. He stretched out his tongue and very
+delicately touched the bandage with its tip. It was certainly rather
+nice, and he licked more boldly. By degrees the taste grew on him, and
+he ended by putting his thumb, bandage and all, into his mouth and
+sucking it bodily.
+
+The result was that (the captain having ordered the bandage to be
+wetted every ten minutes) by the end of a couple of hours Jacko began
+to blink and to roll his head, and as the treatment continued he had
+at length to be carried off by Double Mouth, who laid him on his own
+bed.
+
+Jacko slept without stirring for some hours. When he woke the first
+thing which met his eyes was Double Mouth busy plucking a fowl. This
+was a new sight, but Jacko seemed to be particularly struck by it on
+this occasion. He got up from the bed and came near, his eyes steadily
+fixed on the fowl, and carefully watched how the whole operation
+proceeded. When it was ended, feeling his head a little heavy still,
+he went on deck to take the air.
+
+The weather was so settled and the wind so favourable that the captain
+thought it only a waste to keep the poultry on board alive too long,
+so he gave orders that a bird should be served daily for his dinner in
+addition to his usual rations. Soon after a great cackling was heard
+amongst the hencoops and Jacko climbed down from the yard where he was
+perched at such a rate that one might have thought he was hastening to
+the rescue. He tore into the kitchen, where he found Double Mouth
+already plucking a newly killed fowl, till not an atom of down was
+left on it.
+
+Jacko showed the deepest interest in the process, and on returning to
+deck he, for the first time since his accident, approached Cataqua's
+cage, carefully keeping beyond range of his beak however. After
+strolling several times round, he at last seized a favourable moment
+and clutching hold of one of Cataqua's tail feathers, pulled hard till
+it came out regardless of the cockatoo's screams and flappings. This
+trifling experiment caused Jacko the greatest delight, and he fell to
+dancing on all fours, jumping up and falling back on the same spot
+which all his life was the way in which he showed his supreme content
+about anything.
+
+Meantime the ship had long lost sight of land and was in full sail in
+mid ocean. It appeared unnecessary to the captain, therefore, to keep
+his cockatoo shut up in a cage, so he opened the door and released the
+prisoner, there being no means of escaping beyond the ship. Cataqua
+instantly took advantage of his freedom to climb to the top of one of
+the masts, where, with every appearance of rapture, he proceeded to
+regale the ship's company with his entire large and varied vocabulary,
+making quite as much noise by himself as all the five-and-twenty
+sailors who formed his audience.
+
+Whilst this exhibition was taking place on deck a different scene was
+being enacted below. Jacko had as usual approached Double Mouth at
+plucking time, but this time the lad, who had noticed the extreme
+attention with which the monkey watched him, thought that possibly
+there might be some latent talent in him which it was a pity not to
+develop.
+
+Double Mouth was one of those prompt and energetic persons who waste
+no time between an idea and its execution. Accordingly he quietly
+closed the door, put a whip into his pocket in case of need, and
+handed Jacko the duck he was about to pluck, adding a significant
+touch to the handle of the whip as a hint.
+
+But Jacko needed neither hint nor urging. Without more ado he took the
+duck, placed it between his knees as he had seen his tutor do, and
+fell to with a will. As he found the feathers giving place to down
+and the down to skin, he became quite enthusiastic, so much so that
+when his task was done he fell to dancing for joy exactly as he had
+done the day before by Cataqua's cage.
+
+Double Mouth was overjoyed for his part. He only regretted not having
+utilised Jacko's talents sooner, but he determined to do so regularly
+in the future. Next day the same operation took place, and on the
+third day, Double Mouth, recognising Jacko's genius, took off his own
+apron and tied it round his pupil, to whom from that moment he
+resigned the charge of preparing the poultry for the spit. Jacko
+showed himself worthy of the confidence placed in him, and by the end
+of a week he had quite distanced his teacher in skill and quickness.
+
+Meantime the ship was nearing the Equator. It was a peculiarly sultry
+day, when the very sky seemed to sink beneath its own weight; not a
+creature was on deck but the man at the helm and Cataqua in the
+shrouds. The captain had flung himself into his hammock and was
+smoking his pipe whilst Double Mouth fanned him with a peacock's tail.
+Even Jacko seemed overcome by the heat, and instead of plucking his
+fowl as usual, he had placed it on a chair, taken off his apron, and
+appeared lost in slumber or meditation.
+
+His reverie, however, did not last long. He opened his eyes, glanced
+round him, picked up a feather which he first stuck carelessly in his
+mouth and then dropped, and at length began to slowly climb the ladder
+leading on deck, pausing and loitering at each step. He found the deck
+deserted, which apparently pleased him, as he gave two or three little
+jumps whilst he glanced about to look for Cataqua, who with much
+gesticulation was singing 'God save the King' at the top of his voice.
+
+Then Jacko seemed to forget his rival's existence altogether, and
+began lazily to climb the rigging on the opposite side, where he
+indulged in various exercises, swinging by his tail head down, and
+generally appearing to have only come with a view to gymnastics. At
+length, seeing that Cataqua took no notice of him, he quietly sidled
+that way, and at the very moment that the performance of the English
+National Anthem was at its height, he seized the singer firmly with
+his left hand just where the wings join the body.
+
+Cataqua uttered a wild note of terror, but no one was sufficiently
+awake to hear it.
+
+'By all the winds of heaven!' exclaimed the captain suddenly. 'Here's
+a phenomenon--snow under the Equator!'
+
+'No,' said Double Mouth, 'that's not snow, that's--ah, you rascal!'
+and he rushed towards the companion.
+
+'Well, what is it then?' asked the captain, rising in his hammock.
+
+'What is it?' cried Double Mouth from the top of the ladder. 'It's
+Jacko plucking Cataqua!'
+
+The captain was on deck in two bounds, and with a shout of rage roused
+the whole crew from their slumbers.
+
+'Well!' he roared to Double Mouth, 'what are you about, standing
+there? Come, be quick!'
+
+Double Mouth did not wait to be told twice, but was up the rigging
+like a squirrel, only the faster he climbed the faster Jacko plucked,
+until when the rescuer reached the spot it was a sadly bare bird which
+he tore from Jacko's vindictive hands and carried back to his master.
+
+Needless to say that Jacko was in dire disgrace after this exploit.
+However, in time he was forgiven and often amused the captain and crew
+with his pranks.
+
+When the 'Roxalana' reached Marseilles after a quick and prosperous
+voyage, he was sold for seventy-five francs to Eugene Isabey the
+painter, who gave him to Flero for a Turkish hookah, who in his turn
+exchanged him for a Greek gun with Decamps.
+
+
+
+
+_SIGNORA AND LORI_
+
+Translated from _Deutsche Blaetter_, 1867. No. 10.
+
+
+A gentleman living at Guestrow, in Mecklenburg, who was very fond of
+animals, possessed a fine parrot, which had beautiful plumage, and
+could talk better than most of his kind. Besides the parrot, he had a
+poodle, called Signora Patti, after the great singer, whom the
+gentleman had once heard when he was upon a visit to Rostock; after
+his return home he bestowed the name upon his dear poodle.
+
+Under the tuition of her master, the poodle began to be an artist in
+her way. There was no trick performed by dogs too difficult for her to
+learn. The parrot, whose name was Lori, paid the greatest attention
+whilst the Signora's lessons were going on, and he soon had all the
+vocabulary, which the Signora carried in her head, not only in his
+memory, but on his tongue.
+
+When the dog was told by her master to 'go to the baker,' then Lori
+could croak out the words also. Signora Patti would hasten to fetch
+the little basket, seat herself before her master, and, looking up at
+him with her wise eyes, scrape gently upon the floor with her paw,
+which signified: 'Please put in the money.' Her master dropped in a
+few coins, the Signora ran quickly to the baker with the basket, and
+brought it back filled with little cakes; placing it before her
+master, she awaited her reward, a good share of the dainties.
+
+Often, for a variety in the lessons, she had to go to the baker
+without money; then her master simply gave the order, 'on tick!' and
+the Signora, who knew that the cakes would be sent, obeyed the command
+at once.
+
+ [Illustration: LORI REFUSES TO SHARE WITH THE SIGNORA]
+
+The parrot made a droll use of these practisings, turning to account
+his knowledge of speech in the slyest way. If he found himself alone
+with the poodle, who was perhaps comfortably stretched on her cushion,
+Lori would cry--imitating his master's voice--as if he quite
+understood the joke: 'Go out!' Poor Patti would get up in obedience to
+the order and slink out of the door with her ears drooping. And
+immediately Lori would whistle, just in the tone used by his master,
+and the Signora then returned joyfully into the room.
+
+But it was not only for pastime that Lori exercised his gift; the
+cunning bird used it for the benefit of his greedy beak. It began to
+happen often to the master to find that his private account-book,
+carefully kept in the smallest details, did not agree well with that
+of his neighbour the baker. The Signora, declared the baker, had
+become most accomplished in the art of running up a long bill, and
+always, of course, at her master's orders. Only he, the master, when
+he looked over the reckoning, growled to himself: 'My neighbour is a
+rogue; he chalks up the amount double.'
+
+How very much was he astonished, then, and how quickly were his
+suspicions turned into laughter, when he beheld, through a half-open
+door, the following absurd scene.
+
+It was one fine morning, and Lori sat upon the top of his cage,
+calling out in his shrillest tones: 'Signora, Signora!' The poodle
+hastened to present herself before him, wagging her tail, and Lori
+continued, 'Go to the baker.' The Signora fetched the little basket
+from its place, and put it before her tyrant, scratching her paw on
+the floor to ask for money.
+
+'On tick!' was Lori's prompt and brief remark; the Signora seized the
+basket, and rushed out of the door. Before long she returned, laid the
+basket, full of the little cakes, before the parrot, and looked with a
+beseeching air for the reward of her toil.
+
+But the wicked Lori received her with a sharp 'get out,' putting her
+to flight, and proceeded to enjoy his ill-gotten gains in solitude.
+
+
+
+
+_OF THE LINNET, POPINJAY, OR PARROT, AND OTHER BIRDS THAT CAN SPEAK_
+
+
+The linnets be in manner the best birds of all others, howbeit, they
+be very docible. Do they will whatsoever they are taught and bidden,
+not only with their voice, but also with their feet and bills, as if
+they were hands. In the territory about Arelate (Arles) there is a
+bird called Taurus (because it loweth like a bull or cow, for
+otherwise a small bird it is). There is another also named Anthus,
+which likewise resembleth the neighing of horses; and if haply by the
+approach of horses they be driven from their grass whereof they feed,
+they will seem to neigh, and flying unto them, chase them away, and to
+be revenged of them again. But above all other birds of the air, the
+parrots pass for counterfeiting a man's voice, insomuch as they will
+seem to parle and prate our very speech. This fowl cometh out of the
+Indies; it is all the body over green, only it hath a collar about the
+neck of vermilion red, different from the rest of her feathers. The
+parrot can skill to salute emperors, and bid good-morrow: yea, and to
+pronounce what words she heareth. She loveth wine well, and when she
+hath drunk freely, is very pleasant and playful. She hath an head as
+hard as is her beak. When she learns to speak, she must be beaten
+about the head with a rod of iron; for otherwise she careth for no
+blows. When she taketh her flight down from any place, she lighteth
+upon her bill, and resteth thereupon, and by that means saveth her
+feet, which by nature are but weak and feeble, and so carrieth her
+own weight more lightly.
+
+There is a certain pie, of nothing so great reckoning and account as
+the parrot, because she is not far set, but here by near at hand:
+howbeit, she pronounces that which is taught her more plainly and
+distinctly than the other. These take a love to the words that they
+speak; for they not only learn them as a lesson, but they learn them
+with a delight and pleasure, insomuch that a man shall find them
+studying thereupon, and conning the said lesson; and by their careful
+thinking upon that which they learn they show plainly how mindful and
+intentive they be thereto. It is for certain known that they have died
+for very anger and grief that they could not learn to pronounce some
+hard words; as also unless they hear the same words repeated often
+unto them, their memory is so shittle, they will soon forget the same
+again. If they miss a word and have lost it, they will seek to call it
+again to remembrance; and if they fortune to hear the same word in the
+meantime, they will wonderfully joy thereat. As for their beauty, it
+is not ordinary, although it be not very lovely. But surely amiable
+enough are they in this, that they can so well resemble man's speech.
+It is said that none of their kind are good to be made scholars, but
+such only as feed upon mast; and among them, those that have five toes
+to their feet. But even these also are not fit for that purpose, after
+the first two years of their age. And their tongue is broader than
+ordinary; like as they be all that counterfeit man's voice, each one
+in their kind, although it be in manner general to birds whatsoever to
+be broad-tongued.
+
+Agrippina the Empress, wife to Claudius Caesar, had a black-bird or a
+throstle at what time I compiled this book, which could counterfeit
+man's speech; a thing never seen or known before. The two Caesars also,
+the young princes (to wit, Germanicus and Drusus,) had one stare, and
+sundry nightingales, taught to parle Greek and Latin. Moreover, they
+would study upon their lessons, and meditate all day long; and from
+day to day come out with new words still, yea, and are now able to
+continue a long speech and discourse. Now for to teach them the
+better, these birds must be in a secret place apart by themselves,
+when they can hear no other voice; and one is to sit over them, who
+must repeat often that which he would have them to learn; yea, and
+please them also with giving them such meat as they best love.
+
+
+
+
+_PATCH AND THE CHICKENS_
+
+
+On a farm up in Durham, there were six little chickens who were
+deserted by the mother hen as soon as they were hatched. So the
+farmer's wife put them in a basket and carried them into the cottage
+to keep them warm by the fire.
+
+There they were discovered by a smooth-coated terrier, named Patch,
+who was at that time very sad because her little puppy had just died,
+and she began to look after the chickens as if they were her own
+children. The little chicks also turned to her quite naturally for
+care and protection.
+
+She used to treat them very gently, and would sit and watch them feed
+with the greatest interest. She would curl herself up, and then let
+them climb about her, and go to sleep between her paws. Sometimes she
+did not seem to consider the floor comfortable enough for her adopted
+family, and would jump on to a wooden settle which stood in the
+kitchen, and then with her feet she would pat the cushions into a cosy
+bed, and very carefully would take one chicken after another in her
+mouth, and place them on the softest part.
+
+Soon the time came for the chickens to be sent out into the world.
+
+One day when Patch was out for a walk they were taken to the farmyard.
+
+When the poor little dog returned she was quite broken-hearted, and
+ran whining about the cottage. Then, as if seized with a sudden
+thought, she walked out of the door, and in a very short time she
+reappeared, followed by her feathered family, and again they took up
+their abode in the cottage. Every morning Patch used to take them out
+for a walk, and it was a most amusing sight to see the little terrier
+followed by a procession of six stately hens.
+
+At last their living in the house became such an inconvenience to the
+farmer's wife that poor Patch's children had to be killed.
+
+For some time Patch was very unhappy, and would still go into the
+farmyard to look for her six chickens.
+
+
+
+
+_THE FIERCE FALCON_
+
+From _Wild Sports of the Highlands_. By C. St. John.
+
+
+There are not nearly so many stories about birds as about dogs and
+cats, because birds can fly away, and it is more difficult to know
+what becomes of them. Perhaps, properly speaking, stories about birds
+have no business in a 'Beast Book,' but as long as the story is
+interesting, it does not do to be too particular.
+
+A good many years ago, a gentleman named St. John was exploring the
+high hills near the source of the Findhorn, in Inverness-shire, when
+he found a young falcon which was being reared as a pet by a shepherd
+boy, who gave her trout to eat. There was not much beauty about the
+falcon when Mr. St. John first saw her, for her plumage was
+dark-brown, with long-shaped spots on the breast, but in spite of that
+he took a fancy to her, and persuaded her master to sell her to him.
+When, however, she had passed her second birthday, and might be
+considered grown up, she put on all her finest feathers, and was very
+much admired by everyone. Her throat became a lovely soft cream
+colour, and the brown on her back changed into a lovely dark grey,
+while on her bosom, each little feather was crossed by a bar. But
+lovely though she was, Mr. St. John felt her to be a great care, for
+she was very strong as well as very brave, and would never think twice
+about attacking dogs or even people, if they offended her. As for the
+fowls, she soon made such short work of _them_, that her master was
+obliged to chain her up in the kitchen garden, which had hitherto
+formed the property of a tame owl. Luckily for the owl, the falcon at
+once made friends with him, and he was even allowed to finish up any
+of the falcon's dinner which she did not want herself.
+
+Matters went quite smoothly for some weeks, and Mr. St. John was
+beginning to flatter himself that his pet was quieting down, and
+becoming quite a home bird, when one day a duck, tempted by the sight
+of the garden, whose gate had been carelessly left open, advanced a
+few steps along the path. Seeing nothing and nobody (for being
+daylight, the owl was asleep and the falcon too cunning to move) the
+duck became bolder, and walked merrily on, pecking at anything that
+took her fancy, and making funny little noises of satisfaction,
+unconscious of a pair of bright eyes that were watching her from
+behind a bush. Indeed, so absorbed was the duck in her afternoon tea,
+that she never even saw the falcon steal softly out and soar a little
+way up into the air, and suddenly swoop down with great force, and
+before the victim had time to be frightened she was dead, and her body
+was carried away in the falcon's claws, to serve for her supper.
+
+Now the duck was the mother of a large family, all newly hatched, and
+it would have fared very badly with them in their babyhood, had it not
+been for the kindness of a guinea-fowl, who adopted them as her own,
+directly she heard that they were left orphans and helpless. The
+guinea-fowl, indeed, was quite glad of the chance, because she had a
+warm heart, and had mourned sadly for her husband, who had been lately
+condemned to death on account of a series of horrible murders he had
+committed among the young chickens. So the good creature thought the
+duck's sad accident quite providential, and at once set about filling
+her place. Like many other mothers, instead of making the little
+ducklings fall into _her_ ways, _she_ fell into theirs, and never left
+their sides, except on urgent business. And they had, even then, only
+to call to her if they saw great clumsy animals such as dogs or
+children coming their way, and down she would rush in a frightful
+hurry, half scrambling, half flying over bushes and palings, and
+making furious pecks at the children's legs, if they ventured too
+close to her little ones.
+
+Still, not all her love nor all her courage would have prevented the
+guinea-fowl falling a victim to the falcon, if once the bird had got
+loose, and as it was, the falcon continued to do a good deal of damage
+to the creatures about the farmyard. A cock, who had hitherto crowed
+very loudly and declared himself king of the birds, was foolish enough
+to give battle to our falcon. An hour after, a few feathers were all
+that remained of _him_, and as to the pigeons, if they ever happened
+to get within the length of her chain, their doom was certain. At last
+the gaps in the poultry yard became so serious that Mr. St. John made
+up his mind that the falcon must be fastened up in a still more
+out-of-the-way place, and while he was altering her chain away she
+flew. Of course he thought she was gone for ever, and he watched her
+circling about the house with a very sad heart, for he still was fond
+of her, though she was such a very bad bird, and gave him so much
+trouble; but as it was getting dark, he had to go in, and stealing a
+last look at her as he entered the house, he saw her settling down for
+the night, in the top of a tall tree.
+
+For five days no more was seen or heard of the wanderer, and it was
+not until the fifth morning that Mr. St. John observed her, high in
+the air, fighting fiercely with some hooded crows. He stood out on the
+grass, where there was nothing to hide him, and whistled loudly. In an
+instant the falcon heard him, busily engaged though she was, and
+wheeled down to her old master, perching on his arm, and rubbing her
+beak against him. She did not seem to have been softened or improved
+by her taste of liberty, for she showed herself quite as ready as of
+old to attack everything within reach of her chain, first killing
+them, and then pulling off their hair or plucking out their feathers,
+before she began her meal. The only animal which she could not
+swallow was a mole, and one day she swooped down on a Skye terrier,
+and it would certainly not have escaped alive, had not its master come
+to the rescue. But it is time we thought of something nicer than this
+dreadful bird.
+
+
+
+
+_MR. BOLT, THE SCOTCH TERRIER_
+
+Jesse's _British Dogs_.
+
+
+All children who know anything of dogs or cats will have found out
+very soon that the ugly ones are generally far cleverer and more
+sensible than the pretty ones, who are very apt to think too much of
+themselves, and will spend a long time admiring themselves in the
+glass, just as if they were vain men and women. Perhaps it is not
+altogether their fault if they are stupid, for when they are shaped
+well, and have fine glossy coats, their masters and mistresses spoil
+them, and give them too much to eat, so they grow lazy and greedy and
+disobedient, and like better to lie on the hearth-rug than to do
+tricks or jump over fences.
+
+Now, luckily for himself, Mr. Bolt, the hero of this story, was quite
+a plain dog. There could be no doubt about it; and those who loved him
+did so because he was useful and good company, and not because he was
+elegant or graceful. Bolt was a large Scotch terrier, rough and hairy,
+with a thick sort of grey fringe, and great dark eyes looking out from
+underneath the fringe. His tail and his legs were very short, and his
+back was very long, so long that he reminded one of a furniture van
+more than anything else.
+
+But, clever though he was, Bolt had his faults, and the worst of them
+was that he was very apt to take offence when none was intended, and
+was far too ready to pick a quarrel, and to hit out with all his
+might. He probably owed some of this love of fighting to the country
+in which he was born; for, although a Scotch dog by descent, he was
+Irish by birth, and his earliest home was near Dublin. As everybody
+knows, the happiest moment of an Irishman's life is when he is
+fighting something or somebody, and Bolt in his youth was as reckless
+as any Irishman of them all. He was hardly a year old when he turned
+upon his own mother, who had done something to displease him when they
+were chained together in a stable, and never let her throat go until
+she was stone dead. Cats, too, were his natural enemies, whom he
+fought and conquered when no dogs were at hand, and sometimes he would
+steal out at night from his master's bed, where he always slept, and
+go for a chase by the light of the moon. Early one morning a fearful
+noise was heard in the house, and when his master, unable to bear it
+any longer, got out of bed to see what had happened, he found a
+strange cat lying on the stairs quite dead, and the house-cat, with
+which Bolt was barely on speaking terms, sitting in a friendly manner
+by the side of the conqueror. It is supposed that the strange cat had
+been led either by motives of curiosity or robbery to enter by some
+open window, and that the house-cat, unable to drive him out, had
+welcomed Bolt's ready help for the purpose. Fighter though he was by
+nature, Bolt had inherited enough Scotch caution not to begin a
+quarrel unless he had a fair chance of victory; but he was generous,
+and seldom attacked dogs smaller than himself, unless he was forced
+into it, or really had nothing better to do. He always began by
+seizing his enemy's hind leg, which no other dog had been known to do
+before, and he had such a dislike to dogs whose skins were yellow,
+that not even the company of ladies, and the responsibility weighing
+upon him as their escort, would stop Bolt's wild rush at his yellow
+foe. He hated being shut up too, and showed amazing cleverness in
+escaping from prison. If that was _quite_ impossible, he did the next
+best thing, which was to gnaw and destroy every article he could in
+any way reach. One day when he had behaved so oddly that his family
+feared he must be going mad (children have been known to frighten
+their parents in a similar way), he was chained up in a little room,
+and, feeling too angry to sleep, he amused himself all night with
+tearing a Bible, several shoes, and a rug, while he gnawed a hole
+through the door, and bit through the leg of a table. In the morning,
+when his master came to look at him, he seemed quite recovered, and
+very well pleased with himself.
+
+As you will see, Bolt had plenty of faults, but he also had some very
+good qualities, and when he did not think himself insulted by
+somebody's behaviour, he could show a great deal of sense. One night
+the cook had been sitting up very late, baking bread for the next day,
+and being very tired, she fell asleep by the kitchen fire, and a spark
+fell out on her woollen dress. As there was no blaze, and the girl was
+a heavy sleeper, she would most likely never have waked at all till it
+was too late, only luckily for her, the smell reached Bolt's nose as
+he was lying curled up on his master's bed, near the door which always
+stood open. Before rousing the house, and giving them all a great
+fright, he thought he had better make sure exactly what was wrong, so
+he ran first down to the kitchen from which the smell seemed to come,
+and finding the cook half stupefied by the smoke, he rushed back to
+call his master. This he managed to do by tearing up and down the
+room, leaping on the bed, and pulling off all the clothes, so that the
+poor man was quite cold. His master was much astonished at the state
+of excitement Bolt was in, and feared at first that he had gone mad,
+but after a few minutes he decided that he would get up and see what
+was the matter. Bolt went carefully before him into the kitchen and
+sat down by the side of the sleeping girl, turning his face anxiously
+to the door, to make sure that his master should make no mistake. So
+in a few seconds the fire was put out, and the girl escaped with
+nothing worse than a slight scorching.
+
+I might tell you many stories of Bolt and his funny ways, but I have
+only room for one now. After some time his mistress and her daughter
+left the house in which Bolt had spent so many years, and took
+lodgings in Dublin. Bolt went with them, but when they all arrived,
+the landlady declared she did not like dogs, and Bolt must be placed
+elsewhere. Now this was very awkward; of course it was out of the
+question that Bolt could be left behind, yet it was too late to make
+other arrangements, so after some consideration he was sent back to
+some lodgings near by, where his master had formerly lived, and where
+they promised to take great care of him. His young mistress called
+every day to carry him off for a walk, and she often tried to get him
+to enter the house she herself was living in, but nothing would
+persuade the offended Bolt to go inside the door. He would sit on the
+step for some time, hoping she would be persuaded to return with
+_him_, but when he found _that_ was hopeless, he walked proudly back
+to his own rooms. His mistresses stayed in that house for nearly a
+year, and in all that time Bolt never forgot or forgave the slight put
+upon him, or could be induced to enter the house. Indeed, his feelings
+were so bitterly hurt, that even when they all set up house again, it
+was months before Bolt could be got to do anything more than pay his
+family a call now and then, and sometimes dine with them. So you see
+it is a serious thing to offend a dog, and he needs to be as
+delicately handled as a human being.
+
+
+
+
+_A RAVEN'S FUNERAL_
+
+
+In the days of Tiberius the Emperor, there was a young raven hatched
+in a nest upon the church of Castor and Pollux; which to make a trial
+how he could fly, took his first flight into a shoemaker's shop just
+over against the said church. The master of the shop was well enough
+content to receive this bird, as commended to him from so sacred a
+place, and in that regard set great store by it. This raven in short
+time being acquainted to man's speech, began to speak, and every
+morning would fly up to the top of the Rostra, or public pulpit for
+orations, when, turning to the open Forum or market place, he would
+salute and bid good-morrow to Tiberius Caesar, and after him to
+Germanicus and Drusus, the young princes, every one by their names:
+and anon the people of Rome also that passed by. And when he had so
+done, afterwards would fly again to the shoemaker's shop aforesaid.
+This duty practised, yea and continued for many years together, to the
+great wonder and admiration of all men.
+
+Now it fell out so, that another shoemaker who had taken the next shop
+unto him, either upon a malicious envy or some sudden spleen and
+passion of anger, killed the raven. Whereat the people took such
+indignation, that they, rising in an uproar, first drove him out of
+that street, and made that quarter of the city too hot for him; and
+not long after murdered him for it. But contrariwise, the carcase of
+this raven was solemnly interred, and the funeral performed with all
+the ceremonial obsequies that could be devised. For the corpse of this
+bird was bestowed in a coffin, couch, or bed, and the same bedecked
+with chaplets of fresh flowers of all sorts, carried upon the
+shoulders of two blackamoors, with minstrels before, sounding the
+haut-boys, and playing on the fife, as far as the funeral fire, which
+was piled and made in the right hand of the causey Appia, in a certain
+plain or open field.
+
+ [Illustration: A RAVEN'S FUNERAL]
+
+So highly reputed the people of Rome that ready wit and apt
+disposition in a bird, as they thought it a sufficient cause to ordain
+a sumptuous burial therefore.
+
+
+
+
+_A STRANGE TIGER_
+
+Bingley's _Animal Biography_.
+
+
+In the year 1790, a baby tiger only six weeks old, whose skin was most
+beautifully marked in black and yellow, and whose figure was as
+perfectly modelled as the figure of any tiger could be, was put on
+board a large East India Company's ship called the 'Pitt,' to be
+brought to London as a present to George III. Of course, in those
+days, no one ever thought of coming through the Red Sea, but all
+vessels sailed all the way round by the Atlantic, so the voyage
+naturally took many months, especially if the winds were unfavourable.
+Under these circumstances it was as well to choose your
+fellow-passengers carefully, as you had to live such a long time with
+them.
+
+ [Illustration: THE TIGER AND HIS FRIEND]
+
+Unlike most of its tribe, the little tiger soon made itself at home on
+board ship, and as it was too small to do much harm, it was allowed to
+run about loose and played with anybody who had time for a game. It
+generally liked to sleep with the sailors in their hammocks, and they
+would often pretend to use it for a pillow, as it lay at full length
+on the deck. Partly out of fun, and partly because it was its nature
+so to do, the tiger would every now and then steal a piece of meat, if
+it found one handy. One day it was caught red-handed by the carpenter,
+who took the beef right out of its mouth, and gave it a good beating,
+but instead of the man getting bitten for his pains, as he might have
+expected, the tiger took his punishment quite meekly, and bore the
+carpenter no grudge after. One of its favourite tricks was to run out
+to the very end of the bowsprit, and stand there looking over the sea,
+and there was no place in the whole ship to which it would not climb
+when the fancy took it. But on the whole, the little tiger preferred
+to have company in its gambols, and was especially fond of dogs, of
+which there were several on board. They would chase each other and
+roll over together just like two puppies, and during the ten months or
+so that the voyage from China lasted, they had time enough to become
+fast friends. When the vessel reached London, the tiger was at once
+taken to the Tower, which was the Zoological Gardens of those days.
+The little fellow did not mind, for he was always ready to take what
+came and make the best of it, and all the keepers grew as fond of him
+as the sailors had been.
+
+No more is known about him for eleven months, when he was quite grown
+up, and then one day, just after he had had his dinner, a black
+rough-haired terrier pup was put into his cage. Most tigers would have
+eaten it at once, but not this one, who still remembered his early
+friends on board ship. He used to watch for the pup every day, and
+lick it all over, taking care never to hurt it with his rough tongue.
+In general, the terrier had its food outside the cage, but sometimes
+it was forgotten, and then it would try to snatch a bit of the tiger's
+meat; but this the tiger thought impertinent, and made the dog
+understand that it was the one thing he would not stand.
+
+After several months of close companionship, the terrier was for some
+reason taken away, and one day, when the tiger awakened from his
+after-dinner nap, he found the terrier gone, and a tiny Dutch mastiff
+in its place. He was surprised, but as usual made no fuss, and
+proceeded to give it a good lick, much to the alarm of the little
+mastiff. However, its fright soon wore off, and in a day or two it
+might be seen barking round him and even biting his feet, which the
+tiger never objected to, perhaps because he could hardly have felt it.
+
+Two years after the tiger had been settled in the Tower, the very same
+carpenter who had beaten him for stealing the beef came back to
+England and at once paid a visit to his old friend. The tiger was
+enchanted to see him, and rushing to the grating, began rubbing
+himself against it with delight. The carpenter begged to be let into
+the cage, and though the keepers did not like it, he declared there
+was no danger, and at last they opened the door. In a moment the tiger
+was by his side, nearly knocking him down with joy and affection,
+licking his hands and rubbing his head on his shoulders, and when,
+after two or three hours, the carpenter got up to go, the tiger would
+hardly let him leave the den, for he wanted to keep him there for
+ever.
+
+But all tigers cannot be judged by this tiger.
+
+
+
+
+_HALCYONS AND THEIR BIOGRAPHERS_
+
+
+Some of the old writers, such as Pliny, Plutarch, Ovid, and Aristotle,
+tell a pretty story about a bird called the halcyon, which flew
+sporting over the seas, and in midwinter, when the days were shortest,
+sat on its nest and brooded over its eggs. And Neptune, who loved
+these small, gay-plumaged creatures, took pity on them, and kept the
+waves still during the time of their sitting, so that by-and-bye the
+days in a man's life that were free from storm and tempest became
+known as his 'halcyon days,' by which name you will still hear them
+called.
+
+Now after a careful comparison of the descriptions of the ancient
+writers, modern naturalists have come to the conclusion that the
+'halcyon' of Pliny and the rest was no other than our beautiful
+kingfisher, which flashes its lovely green and blue along the rivers
+and cascades both of the Old World and the New. It is now known that
+the kingfisher is one of the burrowing birds, and that it scoops out
+in the sand or soft earth of the river banks a passage which is often
+as much as four feet long and grows wider as it recedes from the
+water. It feeds upon fish, and fish bones may be found in large
+numbers on the floor of the kingfisher's house, which, either from
+laziness or a dislike to change, he inhabits for years together. His
+eyes are wonderfully quick, and he can detect a fish even in turbulent
+waters from the bough of a tree. Then he makes a rapid dart, and
+rarely misses his prey. No bird has been the subject of so many
+superstitions and false stories as the kingfisher, which attracted
+much attention from its great beauty. Ovid changes the king of
+Magnesia and his wife Alcyone into kingfishers, Pliny talks of the
+bird's sweet voice (whereas its note is particularly harsh and ugly),
+and Plutarch mistakes the sea-urchin's shell for that of the halcyon.
+Even the Tartars have a story to tell of this bird, and assure us that
+a feather plucked from a kingfisher and then cast into the water will
+gain the love of every woman it afterwards touches, while the Ostiacs
+held that the possession of the skin, bill, and claws of the
+kingfisher will ensure the owner a life made up of 'halcyon days.'
+
+
+
+
+_THE STORY OF A FROG_
+
+
+PART I
+
+Everyone knows what excitement the approach of the shooting season
+causes to a certain class of people in Paris. One is perpetually
+meeting some of them on their way back from the canal where they have
+been 'getting their hands in' by popping at larks and sparrows,
+dragging a dog after them, and stopping each acquaintance to ask: 'Do
+you like quails and partridges?' 'Certainly.' 'Ah, well, I'll send you
+some about the second or third of next month.' 'Many thanks.' 'By the
+way I hit five sparrows out of eight shots just now. Not bad, was it?'
+'First rate indeed!'
+
+Well, towards the end of August, 1830, one of these sportsmen called
+at No. 109, in the Faubourg St.-Denis, and on being told that Decamps
+was at home, climbed to the fifth floor, dragging his dog up step by
+step, and knocking his gun against every corner till he reached the
+studio of that eminent painter. However, he only found his brother
+Alexandre, one of those brilliant and original persons whose inherent
+laziness alone prevented his bringing his great natural gifts to
+perfection.
+
+He was universally voted a very good fellow, for his easy good nature
+made him ready to do or give whatever anyone asked. It was not
+surprising, therefore, that the new comer soon managed to persuade
+Alexandre that nothing could be more delightful than to attend the
+opening of the shooting season on the plains of St.-Denis, where,
+according to general report, there were swarms of quails, clouds of
+partridges, and troops of hares.
+
+As a result of this visit, Alexandre Decamps ordered a shooting coat
+from his tailor, a gun from the first gun-maker's in Paris, and a pair
+of gaiters from an equally celebrated firm; all of which cost him 660
+francs, not to mention the price of his licence.
+
+On August 31 Alexandre discovered that one important item was still
+wanting to his outfit--a dog. He went at once to a man who had
+supplied various models to his brother Eugene's well-known picture of
+'performing dogs,' and asked if he happened to have any sporting dogs.
+
+The man declared he had the very thing, and going to the kennel
+promptly whipped off the three-cornered hat and little coat worn by a
+black and white mongrel whom he hastened to present to his customer as
+a dog of the purest breed. Alexandre hinted that it was not usual for
+a pointer to have such sharp-pointed ears, but the dealer replied that
+'Love' was an English dog, and that it was considered the very best
+form for English dogs to have pointed ears. As this statement _might_
+be true, Alexandre made no further objections, but paid for the dog
+and took Love home with him.
+
+At five o'clock next morning Alexandre was roused up by his sporting
+friend, who, scolding him well for not being ready earlier, hurried
+him off as fast as possible, declaring the whole plain would be shot
+before they could get there.
+
+It was certainly a curious sight; not a swallow, not even the meanest
+little sparrow, could rise without a volley of shots after it, and
+everyone was anxiously on the look-out for any and every sort of bird
+that could possibly be called game.
+
+Alexandre's friend was soon bitten by the general fever and threw
+himself energetically amidst the excited crowd, whilst Alexandre
+strolled along more calmly, dutifully followed by Love. Now everyone
+knows that the first duty of any sporting dog is to scour the field
+and _not_ to count the nails in his master's boots. This thought
+naturally occurred to Alexandre, and he accordingly made a sign to
+Love and said: 'Seek!'
+
+ [Illustration: LOVE'S DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOUR OUT SHOOTING]
+
+Love promptly stood up on his hind legs and began to dance.
+
+'Dear me,' said Alexandre, as he lowered his gun and contemplated his
+dog: 'It appears that Love unites the lighter accomplishments to his
+more serious education. I seem to have made rather a good bargain.'
+However, having bought Love to point and not to dance, he waited till
+the dance was over and repeated in firm tones: 'Seek!'
+
+Love stretched himself out at full length and appeared to be dead.
+
+Alexandre put his glass into his eye and inspected Love. The
+intelligent creature was perfectly immovable; not a hair on his body
+stirred, he might have been dead for twenty-four hours.
+
+'This is all very pretty,' said Alexandre, 'but, my friend, this is
+not the time for these jokes. We are here to shoot--let us shoot.
+Come! get up.'
+
+Love did not stir an inch.
+
+'Wait a bit,' remarked Alexandre, as he picked up a stick from the
+ground and took a step towards Love, intending to stir him up with it:
+'Wait a bit.' But no sooner did Love see the stick in his master's
+hand than he sprang to his feet and eagerly watched his movements.
+Alexandre thinking the dog was at last going to obey, held the stick
+towards him, and for the third time ordered him to 'seek.'
+
+Love took a run and sprang gracefully over the stick.
+
+Love could do three things to perfection--dance on his hind legs, sham
+dead, and jump for the king!
+
+Alexandre, however, who did not appreciate the third accomplishment
+any more than he had done the two others, broke the stick over Love's
+back, which sent him off howling to his master's friend.
+
+As fate would have it the friend fired at that very moment, and an
+unfortunate lark fell right into Love's jaws. Love thankfully accepted
+this windfall, and made but one mouthful of the lark. The infuriated
+sportsman threw himself on the dog, and seizing him by the throat to
+force open his jaws, thrust in his hand and drew out--three tail
+feathers: the bird itself was not to be thought of.
+
+Bestowing a vicious kick on the unhappy Love, he turned on Alexandre,
+exclaiming: 'Never again do you catch me shooting with you. Your brute
+of a dog has just devoured a superb quail. Ah! come here if you dare,
+you rascal!'
+
+Poor Love had not the least wish to go near him. He ran as fast as he
+could to his master, a sure proof that he preferred blows to kicks.
+
+However, the lark seemed to have whetted Love's appetite: and
+perceiving creatures of apparently the same kind rise now and then
+from the ground, he took to scampering about in hopes of some second
+piece of good luck.
+
+Alexandre had some difficulty in keeping up with him, for Love hunted
+his game after a fashion of his own, that is to say with his head up
+and his tail down. This would seem to prove that his sight was better
+than his scent, but it was particularly objectionable to his master,
+for he put up the birds before they were within reach, and then ran
+barking after them. This went on nearly all day.
+
+Towards five o'clock Alexandre had walked about fifteen miles and Love
+at least fifty; the former was exhausted with calling and the latter
+with barking, when, all of a sudden Love began to point, so firmly and
+steadily that he seemed changed to stone.
+
+At this surprising sight Alexandre, forgetful of all his fatigues and
+disappointments, hurried up, trembling lest Love should break off
+before he could get within reach. No fear; Love might have been glued
+to the spot. Alexandre came up to him, noted the direction of his eyes
+and saw that they were fixed on a tuft of grass, and that under this
+grass there appeared to be some greyish object. Thinking it must be a
+young bird which had strayed from its covey, he laid down his gun,
+took his cap in his hand, and cautiously creeping near, like a child
+about to catch a butterfly, he flung the cap over the unknown object,
+put in his hand and drew out--a frog!
+
+Anyone else would have flung the frog away, but Alexandre
+philosophically reflected that there must certainly be some great
+future in store for this, the sole result of his day's sport; so he
+accordingly put the frog carefully into his game bag and brought it
+home, where he transferred it to an empty glass jam jar and poured the
+contents of his water-bottle on its head.
+
+ [Illustration: THE SOLE RESULT OF HIS DAY'S SPORT]
+
+So much care and trouble for a frog may appear excessive; but
+Alexandre knew what this particular frog had cost him, and he treated
+it accordingly.
+
+It had cost him 660 francs, without counting his licence.
+
+
+PART II
+
+'Ah, ah!' cried Dr. Thierry as he entered the studio next day, 'so
+you've got a new inmate.' And without paying any attention to Tom's
+friendly growls or to Jacko's engaging grimaces, he walked straight up
+to the jar which contained Mademoiselle Camargo--as she had already
+been named.[10]
+
+ [10] A fashionable dancer in Paris.
+
+Mademoiselle Camargo, unaware that Thierry was not only a learned
+doctor, but also a most intellectual and delightful person, fell to
+swimming round and round her jar as fast as she could go, which
+however did not prevent her being seized by one of her hind legs.
+
+ [Illustration: MADEMOISELLE CAMARGO BECOMES A BAROMETER]
+
+'Dear me,' said Thierry, as he turned the little creature about, 'a
+specimen of the _Rana temporaria_. See, there are the two black spots
+near the eyes which give it the name. Now if you only had a few dozens
+of this species, I should advise you to have a fricassee made of their
+hind legs, to send for a couple of bottles of good claret, and to ask
+me to dinner. But as you only happen to have one, we will, with your
+leave, content ourselves with making a barometer.
+
+'Now,' said Thierry, opening a drawer, 'let us attend to the
+prisoner's furniture.' Saying which he took out two cartridges, a
+gimlet, a penknife, two paint-brushes, and four matches. Decamps
+watched him without in the least understanding the object of all these
+preparations, which the doctor was making with as much care as though
+for some surgical operation.
+
+First he emptied the powder out of the cartridges into a tray and kept
+the bullets. Then he threw the brushes and ties to Jacko and kept the
+handles.
+
+'What the deuce are you about?' cried Decamps, snatching his two best
+paint-brushes from Jacko. 'Why you're ruining my establishment!'
+
+'I'm making a ladder,' gravely replied Thierry.
+
+And true enough, having bored holes in the bullets, he fixed the brush
+handles into them so as to form the sides of the ladder, using the
+matches to make the rungs. Five minutes later the ladder was completed
+and placed in the jar, where the weight of the bullets kept it firmly
+down.
+
+No sooner did Mademoiselle Camargo find herself the owner of this
+article of furniture than she prepared to test it by climbing up to
+the top rung.
+
+'We shall have rain,' said Thierry.
+
+'You don't say so,' replied Decamps, 'and there's my brother who
+wanted to go out shooting again to-day.'
+
+'Mademoiselle Camargo does not advise his doing so,' remarked the
+doctor.
+
+'How so?'
+
+'My dear friend, I have been providing you with an inexpensive but
+reliable barometer. Each time you see Mademoiselle Camargo climb to
+the top of her ladder it's a sure sign of rain; when she remains at
+the bottom you may count on fine weather, and if she goes up
+half-way, don't venture out without your umbrella; changeable,
+changeable.'
+
+'Dear me, dear me,' said Decamps.
+
+During the next six months Mademoiselle Camargo continued to foretell
+the weather with perfect and unerring regularity. But for painful
+reasons into which we need not inquire too closely, Mademoiselle's
+useful career soon closed, and she left a blank in the menagerie.
+
+
+
+
+_THE WOODPECKER TAPPING ON THE HOLLOW OAK TREE_
+
+
+Most children who were taught music forty or fifty years ago, learnt
+as one of their first tunes an air called 'The Woodpecker Tapping on
+the Hollow Oak Tree.' Oak trees are not the only ones that
+woodpeckers, and especially American woodpeckers, 'tap' on. There is
+hardly any old tree which they disdain to work upon, sometimes for
+food, sometimes for nesting purposes, sometimes it would seem merely
+for the sake of employment and of keeping their bills in order.
+
+For the woodpecker's bill is a very powerful instrument, and can get
+through a great deal of work. In the case of the 'ivory-billed
+woodpecker,' it is not only white, and hard, and strong, but it has a
+ribbed surface, which tends to prevent its breaking, and even if he
+does not form one of this class, the woodpecker is as clever in his
+own line as any carpenter, and more industrious than many. The moment
+that he notices symptoms of decay in any tree, he flies off to make a
+careful examination of it, and when he has decided on the best mode of
+attack, he loses no time, and has even been known to strip all the
+bark off a dead pine tree of thirty feet long in less than twenty
+minutes. And this not in little bits, but in sheets five or six feet
+long, and as whole as the fleece of a sheep when it is sheared.
+
+Of course different varieties of woodpeckers have little differences
+in their habits, in the same way that habits differ in different
+families; but certain customs and ways of digging are common to them
+all. Every woodpecker, for instance, when placed in a wooden cage,
+will instantly set to work to dig himself out of it, and to keep him
+safe, he needs to be surrounded by wire, against which his bill is
+utterly useless. In general the male and female work by turns at the
+hole, which is always begun by the male, and is as perfectly round as
+if it had been measured and drawn from one point to another. For a
+while the boring is quite straight, and then it takes a sloping
+direction, so as to provide a partial shelter against the rain.
+Sometimes the bird will begin by a slope, and end in a direct line,
+but the hole is never straight all through, and the depth varies from
+two to five feet, according to the kind of woodpecker that is digging.
+The inside of the nest and the passage to it are as smooth as if they
+had been polished with a plane, and the chips of wood are often thrown
+down in a careless manner, at some distance, in order that attention
+may not be attracted to the spot. Often the bird's labours have to
+begin, especially in orchards, which are favourite nesting places with
+them, with having to turn out swarms of insects, nestling comfortably
+between the bark and the tree. These he either kills or eats; anyhow
+he never rests until they are safely got rid of.
+
+The woodpecker is never still, and, in many respects, is like a
+mischievous boy; so, as can be imagined, he is not very easy to make a
+pet of. One adventurous person, however, captured a woodpecker in
+America, and has left us a history of its performances during the
+three days it lived in captivity. The poor bird was very miserable in
+its prison, and cried so like a child that many persons were
+completely taken in. Left alone for a short time in the room while his
+captor had gone to look after his horse, he examined the room
+carefully to see where lay his best chance of escape. His quick eye
+soon detected the plaster between the window and the ceiling, and he
+began at once to attack the weak place. He worked so hard that when
+his master returned he had laid bare the laths, and had bored a hole
+bigger than his own head, while the bed was strewn with big fragments
+of plaster. A very little while longer and he would have been free,
+and what a pity that he was disturbed in his work! But his master was
+most anxious to keep him a little longer, to observe his ways, so he
+tied him to the leg of the table, and went off to get him some food.
+By the time the man came back the mahogany table was lying in bits
+about the floor, and the woodpecker was looking eagerly round to see
+what other mischief he could do. He would not eat food of any kind,
+and died in three days, to the great regret of his captor.
+
+
+
+
+_DOGS OVER THE WATER_
+
+
+No animal, not even the horse, has made itself so many friends as the
+dog. A whole library might be filled with stories about what dogs have
+done, and men could learn a great deal from the sufferings dogs have
+gone through for masters that they love.
+
+Whatever differences there may be between foreigners and Englishmen,
+there is at any rate none in the behaviour of British and foreign
+dogs. 'Love me, love my dog,' the proverb runs, but in general it
+would be much more to the point to say 'love my dog, love me.' We do
+not know anything of the Austrian officer of whose death I am going to
+tell you, but after hearing what his dog did, we should all have been
+pleased to make the master's acquaintance.
+
+In the early years of this century, when nearly every country in
+Europe was turned into a battlefield by Napoleon, there was a
+tremendous fight between the French and the Austrians at Castiglione
+in Lombardy, which was then under the Austrian yoke. The battle was
+hard fought and lasted several hours, but at length the Austrian ranks
+were broken and they had to retreat, after frightful losses on both
+sides. After the field had been won, Napoleon, as his custom was,
+walked round among the dead and dying, to see for himself how the day
+had gone. Not often had he performed this duty amidst a greater scene
+of blood and horror, and as he came to a spot where the dead were
+lying thickest, he saw to his surprise a small long-eared spaniel
+standing with his feet on the breast of an Austrian officer, and his
+eyes fixed on his face, waiting to detect the slightest movement.
+Absorbed in his watch, the dog never heard the approach of the Emperor
+and his staff, but Napoleon called to one of his attendants and
+pointed out the spaniel. At the sound of his voice the spaniel turned
+round, and looked at the Emperor, as if he knew that to him only he
+must appeal for help. And the prayer was not in vain, for Napoleon was
+very seldom needlessly cruel. The officer was dead and beyond any aid
+from him, but the Emperor did what he could, and gave orders that the
+dog should be looked after by one of his own men, and the wounded
+Austrians carefully tended. _He_ knew what it was to be loved as
+blindly by men as that officer was loved by his dog.
+
+Nearly two years before this time, France was trembling in the power
+of a set of bloody ruffians, and in Paris especially no man felt his
+head to be safe from one hour to the other. Hundreds of harmless
+people were clapped into prison on the most paltry charges, and if
+they were not torn to pieces by infuriated crowds, they ended their
+lives on the guillotine.
+
+ [Illustration: {THE FAITHFUL SPANIEL}]
+
+Among the last of the victims before the fall of Robespierre, which
+finished the Reign of Terror, was a magistrate in one of the
+departments in the North of France whom everyone looked up to and
+respected. It may be thought that it would not have been easy to find
+a pretext for throwing into prison a man of such an open and
+honourable life, but when other things failed, a vague accusation of
+conspiracy against the Government was always possible, and accordingly
+the magistrate was arrested in his own house. No one was there to help
+him or to share his confinement. He had long sent away his children to
+places of safety; some of his relations were in gaol like himself, and
+his friends dared not come forward. They could have done him no good,
+and would only have shared his fate. In those dark days every man had
+to suffer alone, and nobly they did it. Only one friend the magistrate
+had who ventured openly to show his affection, and even _he_ might
+go no farther than the prison doors, namely, his spaniel, who for
+twelve years had scarcely left his side; but though dogs were not yet
+proscribed, the spaniel's whinings availed nothing, and the gates were
+shut against him. At first he refused to believe that his master would
+never come back, and returned again and again with the hopes of
+meeting the magistrate on his way home. At last the dog's spirits gave
+way, and he went to the house of a friend of the family who knew him
+well, and received him kindly. Even here, however, he had to be
+carefully hidden lest his protector should be charged with sheltering
+the dog of an accused person, and have to pay the penalty on the
+guillotine. The animal seemed to know what was expected of him, and
+never barked or growled as dogs love to do; and indeed he was too sad
+to take any interest in what was going on around him. The only bright
+spot in his day was towards evening when he was secretly let out, and
+he made straight for the gate of the prison. The gate was never
+opened, but he always hoped that _this_ time it would be, and sat on
+and on till he felt that his chance was gone for that day. All the
+prison officials knew him by sight, and were sorry for him, and one
+day the gaoler's heart was softened, and he opened the doors, and led
+him to his master's cell. It would be difficult to say which of the
+two was the happier, and when the time came for the prisoners to be
+locked up for the night, the man could scarcely tear away the dog, so
+closely did he cling to his master. However, there was no help for it,
+he had to be put outside, lest it should occur to some one in
+authority to make a visit of inspection to the prison. Next evening
+the dog returned at the same hour and was again admitted, and when his
+time was up, he went home with a light heart, sure that by sunset next
+day he would be with his beloved master.
+
+This went on for several weeks, and the dog, at any rate, would have
+been quite satisfied if it had gone on for ever. But one morning the
+magistrate was told that he was to be brought before his judges to
+make answer to his charge and receive his sentence. In the midst of a
+vast crowd, which dared not show sympathy even if it felt it, the
+magistrate pleaded for the last time, without a friend to give him
+courage except his dog, which had somehow forced himself through
+guards and crowd, and lay crouched between his legs, happy at this
+unexpected chance of seeing his master.
+
+Sentence of death was pronounced, as was inevitable, and the hour of
+execution was not long delayed. In the wonderful way that animals
+always _do_ know when something out of the common is passing, the
+spaniel was sitting outside the door when his master walked out for
+the last time, although it was long before the hour of his daily
+visit. Alone, of all the friends that he had known and loved, his dog
+went with him, and stood beside him on the steps of the guillotine,
+and sat at his feet when his head fell. Vaguely the spaniel was aware
+that something terrible had happened; his master, who had never failed
+him before, would not speak to him now. It was in vain to lick his
+hand: he got no pat in answer. But if his master was asleep, and his
+bed was underground, then he too must sleep by his side till the
+morning came and the world awoke again.
+
+So two nights passed, and three. Then his friend, who had sheltered
+him during these long weeks, came to look for him, and, after much
+coaxing and caressing, persuaded him to return to his old
+hiding-place. With great difficulty he was induced to swallow some
+food, but the moment his protector's back was turned, he rushed out
+and fought his way to his master's grave.
+
+This lasted for three months, and every day the dog looked sadder and
+thinner than the day before. At length his friend thought he would try
+a new plan with him, and tied him firmly up. But in the morning he
+found that the dog had, like Samson, broken through his bonds, and was
+lying on the grave, which he never left again. Food was brought to
+him--he never came to seek it himself, and in time he refused even
+what was lying there before him. One day his friends found him trying
+to scratch up the earth where his master lay; and all at once his
+strength gave way, and with one howl he died, showing the two men who
+stood around of love that was stronger than death, and fidelity that
+lasted beyond the grave.[11]
+
+ [11] From _Observations in Natural History_.
+
+One more story of a little dog--this time an English one--and I have
+done.
+
+It was on February 8, 1587, that Mary Queen of Scots ended her
+eighteen years of weary captivity upon a scaffold at Fotheringay.
+Carefully dressed in a robe of black velvet, with a long mantle of
+satin floating above it, and her head covered with a white crape veil,
+Mary ascended the platform, where the executioner was awaiting her.
+Some English nobles, sent by Queen Elizabeth to see that her orders
+were carried out, were standing by, and some of Queen Mary's faithful
+women. But besides these was one whose love for her was hardly
+less--the Queen's little dog, who had been her constant companion in
+the prison. 'He was sitting there the whole time,' says an
+eye-witness, 'keeping very quiet, and never stirring from her side;
+but as soon as the head was stricken off and placed upon the seat, he
+began to bestir himself and cry out; afterwards he took up a position
+between the body and the head, which he kept until some one came and
+removed him, and this had to be done by violence.' We are not told who
+took him away and tenderly washed off the blood of Mary which was
+staining his coat, but we may be sure that it was one of the Queen's
+ladies who cherished everything that belonged to her, and in memory of
+her mistress would care for her little dog to the end of its days.
+
+
+
+
+_THE CAPOCIER AND HIS MATE_
+
+
+When Vaillant the traveller was in Africa, he made the acquaintance of
+a bird to which he gave the name of capocier. It was a small creature,
+which was in the habit of coming with its mate several times a day
+into Vaillant's tent; a proceeding which he thought arose from pure
+friendship, but which he soon found sprang from interested motives.
+Vaillant was making a collection of birds, and his table was strewn
+about with moss, wool, and such things as he used for stuffing. The
+capocier, with more sense than might have been expected of him, found
+out very soon that it was much easier to steal Vaillant's soft
+material than to collect it laboriously for himself, and the
+naturalist used to shut his eyes with amusement while the birds flew
+off with a parcel of stuffing as big as themselves.
+
+He followed them, and tracked them to a bush which grew by a spring in
+the corner of a deserted garden. Here they had placed a thick layer of
+moss, in a fork of one of the branches, and were now engaged in
+weaving in grass, cotton, and flax. The whole of the second day the
+little pair worked hard, the male making in all forty-six journeys to
+Vaillant's room, for thieving purposes. The spoil was always laid
+either on the nest itself, or within the reach of the female, and when
+enough had been collected, they both trampled it in, and pressed it
+down with their bodies.
+
+At last the male got tired, and tried to prevail on his wife to play a
+game. She declined, and said she had no time for such things; so, to
+revenge himself, the male proceeded to pull to pieces her work. Seeing
+that he would have his own way, the female at length consented to play
+for a little, and fluttered from bush to bush, while her mate flew
+after her, but she always managed to keep just out of his reach. When
+he had had enough, he let her go back to her work, while he sang a
+song for a little, and then made ready to help build the nest. He
+found, or stole, the materials necessary, and carried them back to his
+wife, who packed them firmly in and made all tidy. But her husband was
+much more idle than she, and he soon tired of steady labour. He
+complained of the heat, and laughed at her for being in such a hurry,
+and said there was plenty of time before them, and he wanted a little
+fun. So eight times during that one morning the poor wife had to leave
+off her building, and hide her impatience, and pretend to play, when
+she would much rather have been doing something else, and it was three
+days before the bottom was finished and the sides begun.
+
+Certainly the making of the bottom _was_ rather a troublesome
+business; for the birds had to roll over every part of it, so as to
+get it firm and hard. Then, when all was right, they made a border,
+which they first trimmed round, and next overlaid with cotton,
+pressing it all together with their breasts and shoulders. The twigs
+of the bush in which the nest was built were interlaced into the sides
+to prevent the whole structure being blown down, and particular care
+was taken that none of them should stick out in the inside of the
+nest, which was absolutely smooth and solid. After seven days it was
+done, and very pretty it was. It was perfectly white in colour, and
+about nine inches high on the outside where it had been made very
+thick, and not more than five inches within. However that was quite
+big enough for two such little people.
+
+
+
+
+_OWLS AND MARMOTS_
+
+
+It is curious, when we come to think of it, how very few of the
+creatures that live upon the earth ever take the trouble to build any
+kind of house to live in. For the most part, they are contented to
+find out some cave or hole or convenient place where they can be
+hidden, and from which they can steal forth to get their food, but as
+for collecting materials from the outside to make their dwelling place
+stronger or more beautiful, as do the beavers, for instance, why, we
+might all look for many years before we should find a horse or a tiger
+employing himself like that!
+
+Yet we all know that all the birds that live (the cuckoo excepted)
+manage to build some kind of a nest, and so do some fishes and many
+insects. It would take too long to write about them all, but we will
+just see how some of the cleverest among them go to work.
+
+One of the first things that struck Europeans travelling sixty or
+seventy years ago in the wild country beyond the great Mississippi,
+was the fact that whole districts, sometimes several acres in extent
+and sometimes several miles, were covered with little mounds of the
+shape of a pyramid, about two feet wide at the bottom, and at the most
+eighteen inches high. These are the houses of the marmots or prairie
+dogs, and when deserted as they often are by their original
+inhabitants, they become the homes of burrowing owls.
+
+Now a neat, comfortable, well-built house is really quite necessary
+for the marmot, as he goes fast to sleep when the weather begins to
+get cold, and does not wake up till the sun is shining warmly again on
+the earth above him. Then he sets to work, either to repair the walls
+of his house which have been damaged by the heavy rains and hard
+frosts, or if that seems useless labour, to dig a fresh one somewhere
+else. But industrious as he is, the hard work does not make the marmot
+at all a 'dull boy,' and he can still spare time for a good game now
+and then.
+
+Of course, as we are talking about birds, perhaps we ought not to be
+describing marmots, which are naturally not birds at all; but as they
+build for the burrowing owls to inhabit, a description of the houses
+may not be out of place.
+
+The entrance to the marmot's house is either at the top or on the side
+of the little mound above ground. Then he hollows out a passage
+straight down for one, or sometimes two feet, and this passage is
+continued in a sloping direction for some distance further, when it
+leads, like a story in the 'Arabian Nights,' into a large warm room,
+built of soft dry grass, which has been packed into a tight, firm
+mass. In general the outside of the little mounds is covered with
+small plants and grasses, so that the marmot always has his food near
+at hand, but occasionally they prefer to make their villages in barren
+spots, as being safer from enemies. Still, wherever they are, the
+sociable little colony of marmots are said to be haunted by at least
+one burrowing owl, a bird about nine inches long, and from a distance
+not very unlike the marmot itself, when it is sitting up, listening
+for the approach of danger. If no burrow seems likely to be vacant at
+the time he wants one, the owl does not scruple to turn out the owner,
+who has to begin all his labour over again. Sometimes, when affairs
+above ground are more than usually disturbed, and foes of all kinds
+are prowling about, seeking whom they may devour, owls and marmots and
+rattlesnakes, and lizards rush helter-skelter into the underground
+city, taking refuge from the dangers of the upper world. It would be a
+strange sight if we could see it, and it would be stranger still if
+the fugitives manage to separate without some of the party having gone
+to make the dinners of the rest.
+
+
+
+
+_EAGLES' NESTS_
+
+
+Eagles, as a rule, build their nests on the shelves of rocks, high out
+of reach of any but the boldest climbers. There are, however, some
+species among them who prefer the tops of trees, at a height varying
+from fifteen to fifty feet. These nests are constructed of long
+sticks, grass, and even reeds, and are often as much as five or six
+feet high, and at least four broad. Soft pine tops form the lining,
+and a bed for the young. Many eagles are clever divers, and like the
+excitement of catching their own fish, instead of merely forcing the
+fish-hawks to give up their prey, and an American naturalist gives an
+interesting account of the sporting proceedings of two eagles on the
+Green River in Kentucky. The naturalist had been lying hidden among
+the rocks on the bank of the river for about two hours, when suddenly
+far above his head where the eagle had built his nest, he heard a loud
+hissing, and on looking up, saw that the little eaglets had crawled to
+the edge of the nest, and were dancing with hope and excitement at the
+idea of a good dinner. In a few moments the parent eagle reached the
+rock and balancing himself on the edge by the help of his wings and
+tail, handed over his spoil to the young ones. The little eagles
+seemed in luck that day, for soon their mother appeared in sight
+carrying in her claws a perch. But either the watcher below made some
+movement, or else her eyes were far sharper than her mate's, for with
+a loud cry she dropped her fish, and hovered over the nest to protect
+it in case of an attack. When all was quiet again, the naturalist went
+out cautiously to examine the perch, which he found to weigh as much
+as 51/2 lbs. You do not catch such big perch in England.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Some stories have a source provided, which appeared as footnotes in
+the original book. The transcriber has instead presented them as
+subtitles below the main chapter title.
+
+Archaic and variant spelling is preserved as printed.
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been repaired.
+
+Hyphenation has been made consistent.
+
+The following typographic errors have been repaired:
+
+ Page 7--wrapt amended to rapt--"The waiters, remarking his
+ rapt attention, ..."
+
+ Page 77--be amended to he--"Then, having made a huge fire in
+ front of the entrance, which, moreover, he barricaded ..."
+
+ Page 144--by-and-by amended to by-and-bye, for
+ consistency--"And by-and-bye he came back, dragging Pritchard
+ by his stake."
+
+ Page 250--Then amended to The--"The Ababde chief's advice
+ was--and always had been--to send out ..."
+
+ Page 255--Northumbriam amended to Northumbrian--"A
+ Northumbrian pointer showed a still more wonderful instance
+ ..."
+
+ Page 287--idemnity amended to indemnity--"... and was quite
+ satisfied with five francs as an indemnity."
+
+ Page 290--quiet amended to quite--"His parents never quite
+ knew what occurred, ..."
+
+ Page 301--coupe amended to coup--"... before the latter gives
+ him the _coup de grace_."
+
+Illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in
+the middle of a paragraph.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Animal Story Book, by Various
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