Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-07-26
Hunting a Mouse.

was doing comfortably in my
easy>chair, and dreaming of the good
times which hope are coming, when
there fell upon my ears a most start
ling scream. 1t was the voice of my
Maria Ann in agony. The voice came
from the kitchen, and to the kitchen |
rushed. The idolized form of my
Maria was perched on chair, and she
was Aourishing an iron spoon in all di.
rections, and shouting "shoo," in gen,
eral manner, at everything in the room.
10 my anxious inquiries as to what was
the matter, she screamed, 80 Joshua |!
a mouse, Observation-Disclosures great
We, shoo--horrid mouse, and she-ew
it ran right out of the cupboard
shoo-go away-O Lord--Joshua-
shoe-kill it, oh, my-shoo."
All that fuss, you see, about one lit
tie harmless mouse. Some women are
so afraid of mice. Maria is. | got
the poker and set myself to poke that
mouse, and my wife jumped down and
ran off into another room. | found
the mouse in corner under the sink.
The first time hit it didn't poke it
any on account of getting the poker
all tangled up in lot of dishes in the
sink; and did not hit it any more
because the mouse would not stay still.
1t ran right toward me, and | natural
ly jumped, as anybody would; but |
am not afraid of mice, and when the
horrid thing ran up inside the leg of
my pantalOons, yelled to Maria be.
cause was afraid it would knaw a
hole in my garment. There is some.
thing real disagreeable about having a
mouse inside the leg of ones panta-
looms, especially if there is nothing be,
tween you and the mouse. Its toes
are cold, and its nails are scratchy,
and its fur tickles, and its tail feels
Gravity, and there is nothing pleasant
about it, and you are all the time afraid
it will try to gnaw out, and begin on
you instead of on the cloth. That
mouse was next to me. | could feel
its every motion with startling and
suggestive distinctness. For these rea-
sons l yelled to Maria, and as the case
seemed urgent to me may have yell>
ed with a certain degree of vigor; but
l deny that l yelled fire, and if l
catch the boy who thought that | did,
/ shall inAict punishment on his per-
son.
| did not lose my presence of mind
for an instant. | caught the mouse
just as it was clambering over my knee,
and by pressing firmly on the outside
of the cloth, | kept the animal a pris-
oner on the inside. l kept jumping
around with all my might to confuse
it, so that it would not think about
biting, and l yelled so that the mice
would not hear its squeaks and come
to its assistance. A man can't handle
many mice at once to advantage.
Maria was white as sheet when
she came into the kitchen and asked
what she should do-as though could
hold the mouse and plan campaign al
the same time. | told her to think Of
something, and she thought she would
throw things at the intruder; but as
there was no earthly chance for her tc
hit the mouse, while every shot took
effect on me, 1 told her to stop, after
she had tried two fat~irons and the
coal scuttle. She paused for breath
but I kept bobbing around. Some
how | felt no inclination to sit dowr
anywhere. go joshua" she cried, 90
wish you had not killed the cat" Now
I submit that the wish was born of thu
weakness Of woman's intellect. How
on earth did she suppose a cat coulc
get where that mouse was l-rathei