The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1901-06-15
BISHOP HATTO AND THE RATS.

Tie Old story OF the Dreadful Ending OF
tho Wicked Mans Life.
To the famous mouse tower in which
the wicked Bishop Hatto was killed by
rats, Augustine Birrell pays his re-
spects In paper entitled Down the
Rhine" which appears, with illustra
Itions by Castaigne, in the Century.
Between Bingen and Assmannshau-
sen, on rock in the middle Of the
river, is the mouse tower. What child
has not heard of Hatto, the cruel bish-
op OF Mainz, the forestaller and re-
crater and combiner of the 10th CEN
tury, who, having barns full of golden
grains, the gift of God for the food
OF man, refused to sell it to the starv-
ing folk, preferring to hold on for a
further rise in prices? A number of
desperate men having unlawfully brok-
en- into one of these barns, this unfeel-
ing churchman set fire to it, and $50
pleasant was his humor) compared
the cries Of the dying men in the ago
ny Of their fate to the squeaking of
rats. In the 10th century it was dan
gerOus to make fun of Gods creatures.
The rodents swore vengeance. and the
bishops conscience made him uncom-
Portable. Dying screams haunt the
memory. The vintages of the Rhine
will hardly wash them out. The bish-
op, doubt not. took to drinking heav-
lily. But he was not cured. He first
heard rats all about him, and then he
saw them blackening his floors and
nervously twitching their sharp white
teeth. He took to his heels and fled
from their horrid little faces, but they
followed at quick gallop. Was ever
a prelate in so evil plight? He fair
ly scampered to the Rhine, and leap
ing into boat, sculled himself across
to this old rock in midstream. 1t was
his last chance. The rats came patter-
ing down the banks, licking their
teeth. They hesitated, and while they
hesitated the hunted bishop. resting for
a moment at the foot of the tower, be-
sieged angry heaven with his cowardly
prayers. But the hesitation of the
only; the rats took to the river, and
the lordly Rhine was black and brown
with their shiny backs. The bishop
now knew that his end had come. He
fled to the topmost story of the tower,
up the spiral staircase, which in a mo-
ment echoed the quick steps Of the
rats, that in an incredibly short time
made an end of Bishop Hatto. So
may all combiners pedish, be they cler-
les or lay, of the old world or the new.
OF course etymology has knocked the
bottom out of the mouse tower. 1t
has nothing to do with mice. To grin
like a Cheshire cat has, SO etymolo-
gists assure me. nothing to do with
grinning or with Cheshire or with cats,
and yet Sir John Tennels Cheshire
cat (see "Alice in Wonderland') dis
appearing into grin will survive the
writings Of Professor Max Muller. The
origin of words is a fascinating thing,
but a good story is far better thing.
Therefore, whoever passes the mouse
tower on the Rhine, be he going up
stream or down, be he gentle or sim
pie, in or out of holy orders, papist or
Protestant, first thinks Of Bishop Hat
to, so Justly devoured by rats, and
then begins to bore his neighbors by
imparting to them the information
they have already gained from their
guidebooks, that mouse" is really the
old German Musthum, meaning arse
nal. Still, Hatto may have been eaten
by rats on a musthum as easily as any
where else. But by this time the
mouse tower is out of sight.