Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-05-24
Uncommon Pets.

uncommon PeIS.
Proud Wolsey was on familiar terms
with venerable carp; Cowper doffed his
melancholy to play with his hares, and
Give owned pet tortoise. The driver of
a London hanson was wont to carry lit
tie cub-fox on the top of his cab, to their
mutual enjoyment. G. F. Berkeley made
a household pet of young stoat, rem
dered motherless by his gun. Sir John
Lubbock cOntrived to win the affect IN OF
a Syrian wasp. A lady, becoming pos,
sessed of two butterflies of different spe-
cies in chrysalis state, resolved to try
how far they would be amenable to kind
ness, and placed them, for security, in a
glazed cabinet in her well-warmed bed
room. A few days before Christmas she
was delighted by the appearance of a lit
tie yellow butterfly, but was puzzled how
to cater for the delicate little creature
Taking fairy-rose then in bloom, she
dropped little honey and rose-water in
blossom, and put the plant in the cabi-
net, and soon had the satisfaction of see
ing the butterfly take its first meal. In
fortnight it would leave the rose to settle
on her hand when she called it by its
name, Psyche. By-and-by a peacock
UuULCllN Ctlltl SCu lIllO dCIlNC lllC IIOul lllC
other chrvsalis. The newcomer accepted
the sensation of active life at once, and,
like its companion, delighted in being
talked and sung to, both especially enjoy
ing being waved in the air and danced up
and down while quietly resting upon the
hand of their mistress. Upon thecoming
of summer the cabinet was moved close to.
the window, and its doors thrown open.
For some days neither Of its tenants cared
to venture beyond the windOw-sill, but one
bright afternoon their prOtectreSs, with
many bitter tears,'' beheld them take
wing and join some wild companions in
the garden; at night, however, they re-
turned to their lodges. Next day they
took the air again and were not seen I'M
til September. One afternoon there came
a heavy thunderstorm, and when it was
over, yellow butterfly was found,
dead on the window -sill-Which the lady,
with some warrant, lamented over as her
own particular one; the peacock" too,
would seem to have met like fate, for it
was never seen again. 1t would be hard
to find a more epulsive-lo0king reptile
than the iguana. nevertheless the society
of one afforded much pleasure to an
American lady residing in Brazil. Pedro,
as he was called, was we'll provided with
raw meat, bananas and milk; allowed to
bask in his mistress room in the daytime,
and to make himself cozy between the
mattresses of her bed when the sun went
down. He cheerfully accepted the novel
position, like wise iguana. His loving
lady was won't to carry him abroad in her
arms-a practice that kept acquaintances
at a respectful distance-fOr however they
might pretend to admire Pedro's bead-like
of h1aaIy nd yxyhitn hic hr nht w
eled eyes, and elegant claws, they were
careful not to make any near approaches.
Nothing pleased madame so much as to
drop her pet without warning at the feet
of unsuspecting gentlemen, and elicit
from naval officers symptoms of terror
such as would not have been drawn forth
by an enemy's broadside or a lee-shOre.
Of course Pedro came to grief. Ram
bling one daY, unattended, he came across
"a marauding FreIchman," his owners
maid arriving only in time to rescue his
lifeless body. 1t was SENT wrapped in
black Grape, 10 a neighbor with weak
ness for fricasseed lizard; but, having
seen this especial one fOndled and ca
ressed, he could not find the appetite TO
eat it; and so Pedro was Consigned to the
earth instead of the pot. De Candolle tells
of a fair Switzer who made a companion
of a young wolf, and had the melan-
choly satisfaction of seeing the fond beast
fall dead at her feet in paroxysm of joy
at her return home after long absence.
But the proprietress of d loving leopard
that came regularly to her cham
ber door in the dead OF the
night and howled loudly enough to
wake the Seven Sleepers, until its
mistress turned out of bed and quieted
Ior n 1ic+,7r rTo,- off of
milk, might well doubt if she had be-
slowed her affection wisely. When Capt.
Burton was domiciled in Syria, he left the
management of his live stock to his wife,
and under her fostering care that depart
ment assumed formidable proportions.
Not content with horses and goats, a
camel, turkeys, geese, ducks, fowls and
pigeons, Mrs. Burton must have her own
especial pets-a white donkey, young
St. Bernard dog, four English terriers, a
Kurdish puppy, snow white Persian
cat, lamb and a leopard. The last
named, according to the lady's account,
became the pet of the household, which
it deserved to be if the household abhorred
quiet life, for the leopard behaved much
after the manner of the gazelle, whose
owner sang:
Heriied the dog, annoyed the cat,
And scared the goIdhnch into fits;
He butted through my newest hat,
And tore my manuscript to bits
Mrs. Burton, with pretty good grace, con
fesses her husband had fair cause for say
ing his happy family reminded him of the
house that Jack built; for the fowls and
pigeons ate the seeds and destroyed the
flowers the Cat fed upon the pigeons, the
dog worried the cat; while the idol Of the
household harried the goats until one or
them drowned itself ir sheer disgust, and
frightened the donkey and camel by jump
ing upon their backs, and indrlging n
sllTieking solo, horrible enough to scare
any animal of well-regulated mind into
madness ss.-Cham5ers' Journal,