EATS AND MICE. 301 



Again, as showing affection for human beings, I may 

 quote the following : ' The mouse which had been tamed 

 by Baron Trench in his prison having been taken from 

 him, watched at the door and crept in when it was 

 opened; being removed again, it refined all food, and 

 died in three days.' l 



With regard to general intelligence, every one knows 

 the extraordinary wariness of rats in relation to traps, 

 which is only equalled in the animal kingdom by that of 

 the fox and the wolverine. It has frequently been regarded 

 as a wonderful display of intelligence on the part of rats 

 that while gnawing through the woodwork of a ship, they 

 always stop before they completely perforate the side ; 

 but, as Mr. Jesse suggests, this is probably due to their 

 distaste of the salt water. No such disparaging explanation, 

 however, is possible in some other instances of the display 

 of rat-intelligence. Thus, the manner in which they 

 transport eggs to their burrows has been too frequently 

 observed to admit of doubt. Eodwell gives a case in 

 which a number of eggs were carried from the top of a 

 house to the bottom by two rats devoting themselves to 

 each egg, and alternately passing it down to each other at 

 every step of the staircase. 2 Dr. Carpenter also received 

 from an eye-witness a similar account of another instance. 3 

 According to the article in the Quarterly Review, already 

 mentioned, rats will not only convey eggs from the top of 

 the house to the bottom, but from bottom to top. ' The 

 male rat places himself on his fore-paws, with his head 

 downwards, and raising up his hind legs and catching 

 the egg between them, pushes it up to the female, who 

 stands on the step above, and secures it with her fore-paws 

 till he jumps up to her; and this process is repeated from 

 step to step till the top is reached.' 



'The captain of a merchantman,' says Mr. Jesse, 

 1 trading to the port of Boston, in Lincolnshire, had con- 

 stantly missed eggs from his sea stock. He suspected 

 that he was robbed by his crew, but not being able to dis- 



Thompson, Passions of Animals, p. 368. 



The Eat, its Natural ffisto;'/', p. 102. 



Mrs. Lee, Anecdotes of Aninals, p. 264. 



