The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-12
From the Washington Post.


 Three scientists and physician, well known in Washington, were dining to- gether one stormy night in the Cosmos club. When they were enjoying their cigars and coffee the conversation drifted to Teddy bears and then they began discussing nature fakers.r~
 Some very good stories were told about the latter which caused much interest and laughter, but the physician related enc which capped them all
 You have probably heard Henry Wattersons story of the mice who drank up all the ink in the inkwells in the office of the Louisville Courier-Jaurnal,' he began, "but I can tell you a better one Before I came to Washington 10 lice I practiced in Baltimore. My | office was quite far down town in a 1 very old building which was badly ill need of repair.
 | q had good many accident eases 1 brought me, and found it very necessary to keep whisky nefr at hand for emer- | gencies. I had to struggle pretty hard to build up practice, and could only afford 1 to employ q small colored youth, aged Ia years, as office boy. No one had ac- | l yet after several months I noticed that my whisky disappeared with great rapid | ity.
 i q kept it in an old black magnum bot | tie on which I pasted a label with the word 'chloroform' written on it. The bot | tle stood in a corner between low book case and the wall I used no cork ir the bottle, but put a small glass car over the top of it. It fitted very well | and was a great deal more convenient l to take off in hurry than drawing 6 cork.
 'I tried very hard to find out who stole the whisky, but could not solve the | mystery.
 sOne bitterly cold night I was detained down town, and concluded to spend the night in my office. I lowered the light fixed the fire in the latrobe stove, and stretched myself out on the sofa, pulled my laprobe over me and dropped off tC | sleep.
 About in the morning I was awak | ened by a street brawl. and could not ge to sleep again. An hour passed away ant I was still wide awake, so reached III to the gas jet over my head and turned on the light. intending to read.
 AS I settled back on my couch my eyes fell on the black whisky bottle standing in the corner diagonally across from me, and I lay thinking about thu rapid disappearance of its contents.
 Suddenly I heard a little batter ol feet, and a large gray rat ran across the room into the corner. In few seconds he was joined by another.
 What was my astonishnent to set the largest rat run up on the loves bookshelf and rub himself gent1, against my whisky bottle in such { manner that he knocked off the glass cup, which fell on the carpet. By thi time I was watching them intently, ant hardly breathed for fear they would hear me and scamper away.
 Their next move was startling. Th' old gray rat jumped up on the side O the bookcase, and gravely lowered hi long tail into the neck of the /bottl until 1t was well submerged in tn liquid. Then he drew it out carefully and he and his companion licked tn whisky off it. They repeated this per formance a dozen times, and when inadvertently knocked my book off tn couch, they were so tipsy. they coul' hardly run away.
 "I used a different bottle and an other hiding place for my whisky afte that" concluded the physician. "Yo