Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-04-09
sylonth' 8 Column,
A True Rat Story

Mrs. Hunter, my father sold his
farm, which was about six miles
from the city of B., and moved into
the village. He bought large, old
fashioned house, pleasantly situated
on wide street, shaded by gland
old elms. The house was a very
90 d one, alth ugh oldfashioned
the rooms were large and pleasant.
There was a great roomv cell II,
which, at the time l am telling of,
was well filled with potatoes, apples
and vegetables we had brought from
the farm and there was large box
packed full of mothers nice sage
cheeses. We moved in the fall, and
it was only a short time after father
had banked the house and made ev-
ervthing snug for winter, before we
began to be very much troubled with
rats. At first it was only the noise
they made in the walls and scampering
across the attic floor, that ANNOYED
us, but it was not long before we
discovere they were eating the APP
pies and vegetables in the cellar, and
they even gnawed hole through the
box where the cheeses were, and had
done considerable damage before we
discovered them.
One day mother was telling a
neighbor, an old lady who had come
in to see us, what a trial we had with
the rats.
"Well now,'' said she, ''you must
write them letter and ask them to
90 somewhere else"
We all laughed at that idea, but
she said, ''thev would certainly go,
if we wrote them a polite kind of
letter, and told them where to g"
| was about sixteen at the time,
and ready for any kind of fun, so |
said.
Il will write letter to the rats
and l know just the place to send
t them to Joe Blake's blue chest
} Joseph Blake was young lawyer,
who had recently opened an office in
: a building nearly opposite our house.
: AS he was just starting IN his pro-
, fession, he had not many clients, |
: suppose, at any rate he kept house
2 in his office. His parents lived in an
t adjoining town, and every Saturday
/ sent him supply of cooked provis-
5 ions which he kept in large blue
S chest in his office.
: "Well," said Mrs. Stone, ''you
e try wri ing the letter, and see if the
: rats don't go to Joseph Blake's office
= if you ask them to-
That very night l wrote the letter
told the rats 'that their presence
= in the house was very annoy ing t.
u the inmates, and asked them to have
the goodness to leave the premise:
and cross the street to Mr.. Blake
office, where they would find excel
m lent accommodations, and an abun
P. dant supply of choice provisions il
his blue chest" / carried this lette
= down cellar and placed it in con
spicuous place on the wall, maxim!
ha mother promise not to tell father o
the boys about it, as | knew the
RIM would make so much fun of me TO
i,v doing such foolish thing.
On the third evening after l ha
ne written the letter to the rats, mother
father and l were sitting by the fir
his, in the sitting-room, when in rushe
est brother Sam, exclaiming:
ne, "Mother, where is the rat-trap
Dr., Mr.. Blake is at the door and want
~ to borrow it. )"
wa sit is down cellar Sam" said /.
While Sam was gone for the traI
'ns father went to the door to speak
ntv Mr.. Blake.
use "What do you think now of wrl
St ing letters to rats" | whispered
mother. She laughed and said ST
My could not believe that the letter ha
hoe ANYTHING to do with the rats in Nj
- Blake's office.
ii When father returned to the sitting
room he said:
I'VE ,r "Well, it is very surprising abo'
eea- such a lot of rats getting into Blake
Gus rooms he says he is over-run Wi
them, that they have even gnawe
orm through the chest, where he keel
reo his provisions, and what is most 81
gular about it, they have all con
has within two days"
uno looked at mother and laughe
ket, but we only said sit is very strange
'aly- But the strangest part was, we we
n OF not troubled with rats any NOR
nbs' whether the migration was prompt
ror by the assurance of better accomm
Co., dations and more abundant suppl
'ni0- of provisions, | cannot tell, but t
Ugh. fact of their removal is true, and
anch was long time before 10. Blake
eek. rid of them; indeed, | don't kn'
as he ever did, until he got marie
and had wife to keep house
thi. him, and ceased to use the blue che
been for board.-Erchdnge
num-
iicis.l