Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1851-12-10
OWLS VERSUS RATS.

OWLS VERSUS RATS.
The following singular story Of the do
ings Of the Jockey Club q. Paris has been
published in the morning papers:
Thelong-.alked of fight between Lord H.'s
two owls, Iron Beak and Y Dung, and Twelve
rats, came off at midnight on The 9Th of
October, in the drawing-room Of the Jockey
Club. The bets on The side Of the rats, a.
mounting to fl250, were all taken by Lord
H., who backed his plumed champions
The most perfect order prevailed in the
drawing-room. The place Of every spec
iator was assigned to him by the judges
Of the battle, whose orders were implicitly
submitted to. Lord H. had on his right NJ.
Merry, the poe, of MarseilIes, who, while
the warllke preparations were going on, i'm
singular occasion. A, abou, half pas. eleven,
Victor Couturier introduced the rats. The
large cage in which they were contained
was placed upon table in The middle Of
the room, in order that the inmates, who
had tasted for ,wenty-four hours, might be
publicly fed. The dish chosen to sustain
their strength and animate their ardor was
pastry Of Perigord ,ruff1es, prepared by
that worthy successor Of Vattel. the head
cook Of the club. In three minutes these
delIcacies were disposed OF, with an evident
relish and appreciation which could hardly
have been predicated Of rats Lord H. then
ordered his falconer to bring in the owls
Iron Beak and Dung were born IN Scotland,
upon an estate Of his lordship's where for
two years they Inhabited an old tower, in
which they were one day surprised and cap
.ured by William Perkes, the fslconer.-
They are owls of the larges. kind. They
are each two feet high; their eyes of ghasl
ly transparency; their plumage mixture of
various shades Of grey; their salons remark
able for their form, strength, and aexibiity.
As the clock struck l2 the signal for the
comba. was g iven. Victor Coulurier let
loose the twelve rats. They had previous
~ occupied each a separate compartment in
The cage, and finding themselves on the foor
Of the drawing room, while the digestion Of
the uuffies was going on, were about to fall
foul Of each other, when Wm. Perkes turn
ed the two owls in the arena. Al this mo.
men, religious silence prevailed among the
spectators. Nothing was heard but The cries
Of The rats and the gnashng of the beaks Of
The owls. Iron Besk opened the war b.
dying a, Robe1 NJ sxaire, alias the. Greek,
and seizing him 6y~ke launches, Anded
him as completely as boa constructor
would calf lha. he was about to swallow.
Young at the same time as efec.usliy dis
posed of the unIucky Coquard alias the
Book-keeper. Prince Pe,uIvn, alias Cha
mouski, Rodilard alias the Vagabond, and
Brisquit alias Cul-Knuckes, fell altogether
upon Y Young and hung on to his claws
Y Dung caused Rodilard and Brisquet success
sively to bite The dust, but Prince Petulanl
obs,inately renewed his attacks upon
Young's pos,eriors, and broke his thigh in
Two places. By this time Iron Beak had
slain Voltaire alias the Enemy of Obscurily,
The brave Ra,apoil alias the Vexer, and
Darkness alias the Pancake-eater. But he
had sustained the injury Of broken claw.
The chances were now nearly equal. The
two owls were seriously wounded, but five
rats only, more or less injured, survived
The in,eres, Of the battle was at this mo-
men, at its height, Pouastrol alias the Whig-
maker, who had hitherto covered in corn
er as if ashamed of himself suddenly rush
ed upon Young, threw himself upon his
side, and literally eat out his eyes. The
owl uttered horrible scream, but in his dy-
ing struggles tore open the bowels Of Poul-
astrol with his beak, and The two enemies
expired side by side at the same moment.
Iron Beak was now sngly opposed to Tour
lourou alias The Brush. maker, The Marquis
alias Hide-vour-love, the Partisan alias the
CHATTER, and Prince Pe,uIant. The latter,
who had eaten more ,ruffles than any other
rat, was more furious hey ond measure He
clung To the sound leg of Iron Beak, and
continued to gnaw it, while the owl killed
all The remaining rats. Of all the gallan,
combatants, Iron Beak, the owl and Prince
Pe.ulant, the rat, alone survived, both NOR
tally wounded, disabled, but still flashing
sparks Of fury a, each other from III cir eyes,
The Judges al this stage decided the ba,le
a drawn one for the present, but decided
lha, the stakes are to be handed to the own
er Of the combatant that shall live the long
est, Upon this announcement, Victor Cou-
turier carried off Prince Petulant to be doc
tored and nursed. William Perkes, the fall
coner, took care of Iron Beak, and the back
ers on either side are now awaiting with
anxiety The result of the skill of the respec-
tive medical attendants Of the mulilaled
heroes.
Wary manhood hesi,ates to commit him.
self by any sudden yielding to his natural
symps.hies, while eager youth grasps at a
friend as childhood al a pleasure, and erec,s