Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-06-18

weeks ago, young man employed I'm larre drug
store on Pennsylvania avenue, was severely bitter
in The hand by rat. Not s,lspecting the presencs
Of the vicious old monster, he attempted TO pick
uPsone object under the counter, when the animal
seized his hand between the thumb and forefnget
ana pierced II so deeply and held on so stead fasy
that II could not be removed until literally choked
10 lnsenslbllity by the other hand of the sufferer
who then dispatched it with stick before apply.
ing his surgical SIX Ii to the bleeding part. This,
treated as simple incised wound, appeared to be-
closing up very well for three or four DAYS when
the venom began to do its work, and for five or
six days the Inflammation was high and the suf.
iering OF the patient intense. He is now, how
natures weapon in any future combats with this
family Of rodents.
Rats are well known TO be pusnacious when
not oyerawed, and to be fond of the flesh of living
animals. wounded rat is very apt to be eaten
by It's fellows IL is said that rats confined I'm a
Trap or cage until tempted into cannibalisn by
extreme hunger, have been known to carry on
war OF ex.erminatlon when permitted to return to
Their old haunts, Elephants have been supposed
TO be made tender about the feet by the gnawincs
OF rats in their hours of slumber. Or. Kane was
Obliged to rescue large and intelligent dog from
the rats In thCtr part OF his ice-bound vessel At
Bristol, England, in 1853, a mother rescued her
infant from the rats where il slept but the little
one soon bled to death from an incision under the
ear made by the teeth of one of its assailants
fortunately, the rat fears conflict with man
and seldom enters into il except when he thinks
1t unavoidable. Terror then renders him desper-
ate, and he can only he subdued by choking or
some other overPoweIing argument: The work
men in the sewers Of Paris and London know this
full well, and often have painful encounters with
rats.
But what tdiseasc-engendering places would not
these sewers prove, were IL not that millions of
rats consume the animal aud vegetable substances
that would otherwise evolve their life DESTROYING
gases The presence OF vermin Is one of the in
evitable penalties of uncleanineSs
nf fbaa 1,tt
but we propose to tell well authenticated new
one, In the city Of Richmond few wears ago,
the porter in store and very large rat were nu.
,uaiiy surprised one morning by the fall of heavy
ooxi Out TO the rat the occurrence proved partcI-
iary unpleasant, because of full half his tail being
caught under the ponderous weight The porte1
endeavored TO collect his wits, and few biIlets
OF wood, but before he could do So the rat had
separated his (the rat's) tail from his body bv a
simple incision or two with his teeth and run Off
doubtless to assure the fashionable portion of his
community that stub tails were all tn, race amonr
the rats of Main street.
Mr.. Buckland, surgeon In the British army
and author OF 'Curiosities of Natural History.,j
says 1t Is not true that the garbage on which rats
live poison their teeth, and renders the wounds
they make deadly; that they are clean animals
though living in uucleanliness and that the vel
lowish color of the front of their teeth is not tartar
but the natural tinge. He had had several cases
OF rat bites TO treat and had come to the coDclu-
sion that person Of good constitution will easily
recover without severe symptoms rs the bite is "a
pure punctured clean cut wound;D but with ga
drayman full of beer, and highly fed and pam
pered gentleman s sservant-representations OF two
of the most unhealing classes''-it wonld 20 hard
and they might lose their lives He adds that he
would ten times rather be bitten by rat than by
man or horse. the bite Of either of which pro-
duces serious effects, the former especially. As
the camel Is likely to become common in some
parts OF this country, it may be well to state that
Its bite is regarded as very 1t has not only
front teeth like those Of a horse, but also euof-
md r,S,i,,t tod
like those of dog.
Rear Admiral Beaufort, of the British navy, ac-
knowledged his inability to get over the " silly
Prejudcen against eating rats though they had
long fed upon bis peas and flour; but the intrepid
DIR. Kane, in his long night in the regions Of ice
conquered his prejudices in this particular and
subdned the malignity of the scurvy in his own
case by the luxury of fresh food in the form Of rats
broiled and rat soup. But he alone of all his
crew could @ find stomach for such fare.
w hen, few years ago, ii was stated in some of
the newspapers that the finest gloves could be
made OF rat skins, we realized an interest in the
vocation of the tanner, which we had never felt
before. We trust that the business of making fine
kid gloves has not ceased to be profitable Surely
there Is no more connely article Of apparel for
''gentle swaine or laide fairen than fine KID
gloves; nor will questions DC asked Ivy many as To
the stature or rcspectabilty of the original owner
oi the SKIN OF which they may be made. In old
ballad IN praise OF a sentimental cook, who was
loved by one Thomas the Gardener, il was said
that
''Eels might be proud to lose their coats
When skinned by Molly Dumplng's 5 hand -
He, therefore, must be gruff and nappreciati Ii We
rat who would refuse to 'tdoff his fur attire, in
favor Of one of g the cured darlings of our ma
ton, who would not only preserve il in rich per
Tunes but envelope with it the softest and fairest
hands upon which the warm kiss of love has ever
been Impressed IL Ii were true gallantry in
Romeo to wish that he We're 81 glove upon that
hand' with which Juliet pressed her roseate
cheek, surely 1T will not he less So in this progress
i've age, for some love-siCk youth to long to- be a
rat, that he might Offer up his coat in sacrtce to
the object Of bis worship This desire on his part
however, would he more pOetcal than practical
but If there are any cumulative rats. we would like
to Undue them with this spirit. An era of senti
ment aud dignity has dawned upon them; the
tanner the currier. the glover the world Of fash
ion, stand in mute suspense. The trappers and
the traps are ready-traps Of wire aud bats of
cheese, Come forth, the refore, We rats Young and
old, and immortalize yourselves. Leave the city
cellars and the city sewers, the warehouses and
the market houses, the watch houses and tho creat
hotels to the Board of Health, and accept the
higher dignity that now awaits you.
HE ROADS OF THE DIsTRIcT.-A writer in the
lntelligencsr Of Wednesday, who processes to have
been about, and to be posted in the matter SAYS:
There is one thing that has particularly at
tracted my notice and excited my SURPRISE name