110 THE LONG-EARED BAT. 



mother broke up the establishment ; and I came to England in the first blush of girlhood, to 

 be civilized and educated, and made 'like other young ladies.' 



"But those years were precious years to me ; I grew, and fostered in those wild hours, 

 an acquaintance with, and a love of Nature, which has refreshed my life with greenest memo- 

 ries. My dear young mother knew every bud and blossom of the parterre and the field, and 

 though she disliked my seal, and obliged my young badger to be sent away (I was not very 

 sorry for him, he bit so furiously, and would not be friends with the dogs, which the seal 

 was), yet she tolerated my owl, my kites, and even a most prosperous colony of mice of many 

 colors, and a black rat who was really an affectionate companion. My hare I was permitted 

 to keep at the house, for he would hold no friendship with rabbits. 



"Song birds I never attempted to cage, but robins and pigeons followed me (according to 

 Sally), 'like their born mother.' 



"The gable end of an old stable was covered by one of the finest myrtles I ever saw : it 

 was twenty -two feet high and seventeen wide, and standing out here and there from the wall. 

 Swallows and bats loved to shelter in the holes of the old building. I was just a small bit 

 afraid of the ' leather- winged bat ; ' my nurse often told me how they sucked cows, and even 

 scratched out children's eyes. 



"But one cold spring morning I saw a boy tossing into the air and catching again what 

 I fancied to be a large mouse : of course, my sympathy awoke at once, and I rushed to the 

 rescue ; it proved to be a half -dead bat, very large and fat ; its beautiful broad ears were still 

 erect, and when I took it in my hands I felt its heart beat. I placed it in a basket, covered it 

 with cotton, and put it inside the high nursery fender. I peeped frequently under the lid, 

 and at last had the pleasure of seeing it hanging bat-fashion on the side of the basket, its keen 

 bright eyes watching every movement. When it was fully restored, I endeavored to take it 

 out, and then discovered that one of its hind feet had been crushed, and was hanging by a bit 

 of skin. With trembling hands I removed the little foot, and applied some salve to the 

 extremity. 



"All this time the poor thing continued hooked on to the basket, and during the first day 

 she would take no food, would not be tempted by meat or milk, by a fly or a spider. The 

 next morning I saw her cowering in the cotton, and when I attempted to touch her she 

 endeavored to bite my finger, and made the least possible noise you can imagine. I then 

 offered her a fly, and in a moment it was swallowed ; a bit of meat shared the same fate, and 

 then she folded her wings round her, intimating, as I imagined, that she had had enough. 

 All day she never moved, and at dusk, when I again tempted her with food, she took it. 

 This continued for some days ; she became tamer, and seemed to anticipate 'feeding- time.' 



"At last, to my astonishment, I saw a baby-bat covered with light brownish fur, but still 

 looking as young mice look, under the folds of her wing (I do not know what else to call it). 

 Doubtless Nature had taught her that for the sake of this little one she must take food. I 

 believe it sucked, for, afterwards, when she again suspended herself against the side of the 

 basket, the young bat was not in the cotton, and I fancied that it hung from the mother while 

 imbibing nutriment. 



"The old bat became furious if I attempted to touch the young one ; her soft hair stood 

 up, and she would tremble all over, and utter little, short, sharp sounds. I wanted very much 

 to see if the baby like Chloe's puppies was blind, but she would not allow an investigation. 

 Certainly before a fortnight had passed, I saw its eyes, like little bright beads in the candle- 

 light. 



"My bat and her baby excited great curiosity, and she was too frequently disturbed ; the 



, young one lived for about a month, when, to my great grief, I found it dead in the cotton, the 



parent hanging, as usual, from the side of the basket. I am sorry to add, that the wee bat 



had what might have been a bruise, but which looked very much like a bite, at the back of 



the neck. 



"The old bat became as tame as a mouse, would hang itself to any convenient portion of 

 my dress, and devour whatever I gave it of animal food, and lick milk off my finger. It knew 

 me well, would fly round my room in the evening, and go out at the window hawking for 



