, 1874-02-22
" IN TIIE INTERESTS OF SClEECEE. CE. ~


wasn't uncommon dull" forbenr to dive
on the ungrammatical form Of the question, AZ
reply to the spirit. Life at w. was by (
means dull. The character Of daily eventa II:
eartainly tame, the ordor in which they move
regular, not to say uouotonous; but to ono VII
has eyes to soc and ears to hear, life can nagt
be dull, especially life in the country. You tax
! Il walk in the edelds, and objects are presented t
you innnmerable, and works arc being wrough
around you on every side possessed of saficieu
| interest, provided you have the nit to notic
and the patience to examine them, to perplex o
amuse. cnliyen or sadslen, quite az effectnally a
| the most sensational Of Mr. Mudie's novels,
Let me- relate, By way Of example,
LITTLE DRAMA,
| in which, q short time ago, YVES led to pla,
rather su unworthy part. 1t Was but poor af
fair, involving only tie happiness Of couple O.
| very insignificant creatures indeed, but lessor
! may be learnt from it all the samo.
One burning afternoon In August last hat
! been strolling in dreamy, purposeless way be
! meath the shade Of some enormous beech tree:
in retired portion Of W Park It YVES 8
faTor.te haunt Of the deer, being ono of the fen
spots in that domain tolernbly free from intru.
| sion, and it Was not without certain con.
scioueness Of impertincnco that had
broken in upon their privacy. They had
retreated with angry looks Of protest; and, afte1
m hours enjoyment Of the utter solitude to
which thoy left me, I Was thinking Of extending
my walk, and was considering whether dare
fsce the blazing sun that Lit up the scene beyond
the precincts Of my fortress, when my attention
was attracted by the movement Of some small
animal in the long grass before me. What it
Was could not tell
"It ia not" quoth /, "quick enough for Il
Weasel or rat; the brown is OF too rich q tint
for hedgehog its action ia too hating aud too
awkward for loYeret can it be cub2" And,
sunstroke or no sunstrokc, I went forth to clear
mp the mystery.
IT WAS SQUIRREL;
nothing better than . trumpery specimen OF the
sciurus vu1earis.
Rut then it was not squirrel pure and siu1-
pie. It was squirrel in difficulties, an euba1-
raised squirrel, o squirrel with m incumbrance.
And again stepped On to ascertain the nature
Of its iU.pedimenta. The interesting little ro-
dent made for the stem OF an aged thorn hard
by, and as it ran mp with more caution aud less
speed than I believed to t,a the common habit of
squirrels discovered that it was earring 10 it's
mouth 3 younger member OF the family, Scitu.-
seemed perfectly content with the proceeding,
and made no sort OF objection to the uapleasant-
ncsB, as should take it to have been, Of the
position which 1t occupied. But these things
are wholly matters Of taste, and after al hang
ing may not be an operation SO exceedingly dis
agreeable - people In general suppose.
Having attained coign OF rantags ia the tree,
whore this variety OF the SciuridD is moro ut
home than On tha ground, the elder squirrel sat
heEeelf up, released the infant from her teeth,
and <ri{{t harf inv uoa4
pressed it tenderly and protectingy Us it we're to
her bosom. while the younger one, in the nost
natural way in the world, clasped her mother
1ound the neck. No mamma in Relgzavia-if it
their ohildrcn-cou1d, with MI the accessories Of
lace and white satin, have assumed mors grace
ful attitude.
It MAS
4 TOUCHING SIGHT,
and stayed to gaze OH it With admiration, Tho
little pair on their part looked inquirlngly as me-
with soft, wisttul eyes, hoping evidant1y that
such q very superior being Is must needs be
would leave them in peace, and not think it
worth his while to iaterfere With thejr humble
was, ASSURE you, to do this thing,-to relievo
them st once Of my undesirable presence. But
then came the second thought, the thought
which gentlemen OF experience tell us with great
is tho best thought. All! be-
loTo not the maxim. It is g mean and q lying
ono II thore be ANYTHING pure. anything holy, |
snything divine left in this broken natnro Of
OURS, it speaks out ut once, speaks in |
The first thought, ,feobly it may bo, but
and nobly, regazdless OF conse-
Thought is the cautious thought, begotten by |
:old calculation, having Sharp eye to busi- |
ness the selfish. sinful thought, prompted by !
Diabolus.
And Diabolus, as is uzun1 IN these cases, ras
1t my olbov at al instant to back his suggestion
"Better examine them little moro closely" !
aid he, with 81 easy air, " observe their form,
II xatch their movements, take note Of their hab-
ts; they are particularly well worth studying. /
1xTuE INTERESTS OF SCIENCE,
I advanced = step. Maternal Instinct
ook the alarm immediately; and seizing
ler little one again with hor teeth,
rhite-thorn. Even this position IVES not sufi-
iently secure to inspire perfect confidence, o.
'ecially as the tree was isolatcd save on one
ido. There Was, however, single latera1
ranch which, reaching out several feet from
he parent trunk, met, Or MI but met, in friend
lay~tree OF much larger size. Once amid its
heitering foliage, and al danger was at an end
he giant beeches could easily be 1osainca, and
rom them not all the Queens horscs and all
jllainous guns, could dislodge the fug1tivcs.
he distance Was really nothing-a mere hop
kp-and- Jump for squirrel in average condi-
on,-but then the baby Peruvian Rolla, il my
scollection serves, jumps aeross a chasn1 with
ora's child upon his arm. But jumping with =
apy in one's mouth never tried it, certainly, |
ut should think jumping in sack mere joke |
!, it.
Tho poor little frightened thing evidently had I
Eisgivings herself. She ran ont towards her
ty OF refuge, and stopped to look back at me; !
gain advanced, and again paused as the twig
eat beneath her weight; and then, urged By |
,rror, made desperate effort to accomplish the !
ap. She WAS so far successful Us to clear the
,aca herself, but, 1oosed from her hold in the !
ruggle, her little one
FELL. TO THE GKoUSD At 1T FEETl
he mother gave one shrill, sharp cry and then :
atched eagerly and motionless the coursa OF !
rents. There can be no sort Of doubt about it, !
7 ought at once, as gentleman, to have made I
y bow, and txkau my leave.
''Nonsense!" said Diabolus; "there can be q
, harm in just looking at tie animal It is =
ally very pretty" =
''l will be very gentle With it," quoth !, and :
ooped to pick up the little creature, which WAS 1
.inly endeavoring to conceal itself in the small
ass- The mothers sgoDy AS ! raised it in my | 2
md became intense. She ran in short, spas I
odic starts from branch to branch, uttering low
gaming wall. interrupted by sort Of chirxnp- 9
2, which took to be Scinr1an baby-laDguaga, \
dressed, probably BY way OF encouragement u
the infant itself.