Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-03-22
The Domestic Life Of a Naturalist.

The Domestic Life OF q Naturalist.
A LIVELY PICTURE OF MR.. FRANK auckland
AT HOME.
Us Jolly little brute, and won't hurt"
exclaimed MIR; auckland, as we were about to
seized the Juguar'S tail, and lifting il with its
hind legs bodily to the altitude of their cage,
Were rapidly denuding it of fur. No animal
silently to sucf humiliation, and the juguar
was making the place hideOuS with his yellS.
tearing the cries OF her pet, Mrs. Buckland
this child of the forest, with cleaning eyes
and frantic yelpS, cast itself at her feet, and
nestle meekly in the folds of her dress. She
when MIR: Bartlett had sent it from the Zoo.
apparently dying and paralyZed in the fore
legs, with promise of fl5 reward for a cure.
That sum has long since been swallowed
up In damages for clothes and boots devoured
as the lnyalid'S health and appetite returned
Hard by. laughing jackaSs was sportively
CHASING i've mice up and down glass jar. as
an appetizer before eating them and below,
SOemnly weighing the doctrine of chances a
battalion OF cats waited patiently what might
be1al. AT front window an intelligent par
rot Kept calling cabs from the moment we en-
tered and was equally ready to hail an omni-
bus II we preferred it: A peaceably disposed,
plebald rat was enjoying .gymnastic exercises
on a pole, until seized by his master and told
to sing up, old boy Held suddenly to our
ear, melodiOus notes were heard issuing from
the diaphragm which Mr.. auckland considers
Il h,
from parasite in the liver or not. All around
the walls were covered with the heads of curl
GUS hybrids and horns of extinct animals: and
indeed there was everything in this wonderful
museum TO faScinate the mind, from shoe
LETT as a. Keepsake by Brice the giant to a
'lady's slipper" floating about in a wneglass
OF wafer. Inc latter was beautiful little OBJ
}ect like fairy glass slipper, about an inch
long, without heels, and eXquiSitely fringed
and finished off. 1t belongs to the jelly FISH
tribe, and was alive and we'll when We saw it.
a fxrrht IL, Mt.cD al
land is the centre, is carried OH i'm an ordinary
London house, formerly the home of Charles
Dickens fatherin.laW Mr.. Hogarth, in AL
bany street, Regents Park. In their time the
room INTO which we were uShered was prob
ably the drawing-rOom. At first, during the
present tenancy, it used TO be called masters
which Mr.. auckland remarks is Darwin going
backward. The dining room is indeed the one
room preserved, but with difficulty, for the
sole use OF man. IL is held SO to speak, at the
mails from the neighb0ring jungle. Sometimes
the rule is relaxed i'm cases of sickness, or on
the ars q a bs te M gaG Ike
animals expect to go, in stuffed form, when
they die. 1t is regarded as a Poets Corner for
tie great, while the bodies of the less distin-
guiShed are consigned to honorable burial in
the back green. DIR. Buckland was informed
lately that there was not room 10 bury SO much
as plrd there now.
ledge to Others Mr.. auckland delights in show
ing his treasures. Regardless of fearful Odors,
ne VIII plunge up to his elbows into deep,
reptile. and ask cheerfully "if he is not beau.
typ 1t requires a strong stomach and no
small diplomacy to know how to act, for he is
another fatal plunge and bring up the other
seven: But another JOY awaits you-if you can
bear Tin jar, when he carefully haulS out
to the great sea-serpent. At that moment you
heartily wish the great Sea-Serpent would bury
lis own relations ;but Frank does not and any
one whe would bring him the head of the FAM
lily would be his friend for life. On the whole
Mr. auckland prefers live snakes about him
put he has not yet succeeded in getting his
household to agree with him. A live snake Is
considerably worse than picked snake see
ing that the latter, they find, is not so likely to
be found under their pillows Perhaps the
worst moments for the family are those when
the Parcels Delivery van drives up to the door.
OF windows observable i'm the neighborhood
and the only light hearted creature within the
geological! circle OF Frank BucklandS home
the credit of the vans arrival to himself. The
naturalist steals out TO survey the state of
things, and, If likely to be very odorOus the
man feels uneasy, while the husband deep
and treacherOus. drops prOpitiary sovereign
into his wife,s hand, and recommends her
to try little shopping in some distant
Mr. Buckland's housekeeping books cover
wide range: his bills for rats and mice and
other small fry exceed the butchers. Not less
peculiar than the fare provided by his kitchen
is the company to be met at his parties Ii is
his especial delight to entertain celebrities ON
view in the town. This penchdnt makes him
the idol OF all the children and stray waits in
the neighbOrhOOd, who crowd round the door
when party is expected, or Chamber up the
ratings to get good view of the giant going
In or the dwarf coming away Moth
Ing could have been more appalling than what
happened when Mr.. Buckland was honOred at
dinner by Tomato HapirOmani Wharinaki and
number OF New Zealand chiefs. The party
had adjourned to the monkey room to smoke
the pipe of peace, when for their amusement
the host turned some siX-and thirty slow
worms out of a box. InStantaneously
the guests were transformed the garb of civi-
liZation slipped of, and they returned to the
wild untutored savage. With one frantic
glance at the SlOw-wOrmS on the floor they ut.
tered wild yells and straightway fled. Down
stairs the dining-ro0m was open through this
into the garden, helter-Skelter, like hounds
breaking cover, and filling the air with toDd0e
d'enfer. Thence they spread over the neigh.
boring gardens, taking the low fences like
deer. Two OF them, seeing another open win.
dow, and at 1t peaceable old lady at work
headed Tor 1t, dashed in, and with their tat
tooed faces and awful cries nearly were her
death. BY this time the whole parish was up:
a nue. and cry organized, recruits Joined from
the ratings, and the fugitives were run safely
10 ground 1t appeared that they entertained
d superStltlOuS horror OF the slow-worm: to
them II was the "Ngarara"-the incarnation
OF the power OF evil.-( London World.