The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-27
STORY ABOUT SINGING MICE
INFORMATION FOR MIR. TARI'AS
FROM READERS OF THE sun.

A Bottle of Currant Wine in Mr.. Turner's
Story, but 1t Had Nothing to Do With the
Mouse-Mr. O'Donneli Tells Why Some
Mice sing-A Singing Mouse Wanted.
M. r. Tartas edited the readers of
the Sun of February 8 with a letter
concerning his adventures with sing
ing mouse. This mouse, said Mr., Tartas,
who is without doubt veracious per-
son went prancing through his apart
ments at dead of night, whistling and
chirrupng like any bird. Thereat Mr.
Tartas was mystifed and his curiosity
exercised, and his good wife, of spirit
not so bold as his,was even terror
stricken. Neither of them knew that
the tiny voice perambulating through
the darkness was that of mouse.
Moved by scientific curiosity and due
regard for personal safety, respectively,
Mr.. and Mrs. Tartas determined to
sleep through the rest of the night
with the. gas lighted. Soon the music
began again, and 10! the cause OF 1t
entered the room, tiny gray mouse.
1t stood on its hind quarters and
cheeped like a chicken which had wan
dered out of sight of its parents or
guardian. The mouse emitted song
every time it jumped. The next night
MIR. Tartas, out of consideration for
the timidty of womankind, set trap,
batting it, not with a roll of music but
a symphony in cookery, piece OF cake,
The mouse was tempted, being a stran-
ger to such things, and was taken in.
The next morning the mouse, safely
contained in the trap, was placed on
view before the Tartas household.
Then came the remarkable part of the
correspondents story. The mouse
continued to sing, he said, all the while
he was studying it, Then he continued:
when | started to whistle it stopped
running around and seemed fascinated
AS I raised and lowered the tones he
followed them, in his own way, very
sweetly and decidedly"
"A
Tartas reward the little animal for its
sweet and decided response to his solo?
Let him tell it. Let such inhumanity be
recorded only by him who was guilty OF
it.
II cut his song short" said Mr.
Tartas, 'in a pail of water-to the
great relief of the woman he adds,
attempting to put up the excuse first
perpetrated by Adam the Garden of
Eden.
After doing the entertainer to death
thus foully, Mr.. Turtas sought Informal
ton about it. He searched the Cyclic
paedia, he said, and inquired among
friends. Had he only spared the life of
his visitor, he might have learned much
by an interview Surely a mouse that
responded note for note, to the whistle
of Mr.. Tartas must have been able to
talk, if not in English at least in Arabic
or Chinese. There is no record of a
natural historian Singing mice there
have been in plenty, The Riverside
Magazine and Young Folks, twenty
five or thirty years ago, contained
stories of mice that sang, but never a
word of a mouse that, at the first
lesson, sang sweetly and decidedly
| note by note with it's instructor.
The Sun has since received some
comment and enlightenment for Mr..
Tartas. W. H. Turner of the Market
| and Fulton National Bank, whose duty
it is to sit at the door of the banks safe
deposit vaults and wiggle his long
! brown beard and look dangerous, sent
! Nv. To. cs,,'
the only man who moved mice to har
mony. Mr. Turner requested an inter-
view A Sun reporter called on Mr..
Turner and was led to a quiet corner,
Tell you the strangest thing that
ever happened" said Mr.. Turner;
''strangest thing that !. ever heard of,
Blamed if it wasn't. Sh-sh!' He pulled
the reporter still further over into che
| corner.
TT was two years ago" he continued.
mo it was more than that; it was four
or five years ago. But it was the blame
dest strange thing that ever happened
any way | lived right where lido now,
in Brooklyn, at No. 253 Schenck street
second fiat. 1t was an awful hot My
wife was away and / was all alone in
| the mouse. L Sol oil u botilt VI til Icllt
wine my wife had made and took off
my shoes and went into my dining
room and sat down in big easy chair
and started to take it easy. And first
| thing | knew-listen now and see if it
| isn't the blamedest queer thing you
ever Notwithstanding began singing
away like a canary. / set down the
glass I had in my hand, and tiptoed out
to the stairs. And-listen now.-right
| in the middle of the hall floor sat a
little bit of a mouse, sitting up like a
poodle dog begging, and singing like a
little bird. I sneaked down stairs and
tried to call upon him and catch him.
Might "a known I couldn't do it, He
broke loose and ran up stairs. Me after
him. / gained on him, too. Then he
jumped into the empty CRATE. I sat
there and watched for him long time
| but he didn't come out.
WELL that night l heard him in the
wall next to my bed. Yes, l did. Now
isn't that blamedest thing? Isn't it?
"a year after that, just about the
same time of year, L heard him again
in the wall this time. Currant wine:
| No, t least I don't remember, Don't
think she made any that year. Don't
caa what that's got to do with If And