610 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



I cautiously removed the bark under which Madam Thelyphonus 

 was hiding, and then awaited results. 



They didn't come. The Thelyphonus kept perfectly still, ditto 

 the toad. I must stir them up. With a stick I tried to irritate the 

 scorpion. She proved a perfect marvel of patience. She wouldn't 

 " irritate " worth a cent. I poked the toad over and on top of the 

 supposed vicious and venomous creature. The latter crept out from 

 under her unusual burden and crawled into a corner. The toad in a 

 dazed sort of way pulled himself together and hopped off. I still 

 kept up my pokings and proddings, thinking that possibly my 

 " grampus " could at last be teased into some manifestation of her 

 supposed deadly powers. It was a complete failure. Madam The- 

 lyphonus proved to be a perfect model of patient endurance under 

 persecution. All I could do, there was not a sign or motion of resent- 

 ment. She could not be teased or tormented into biting, pinching, 

 or fighting anything or anybody. My little captive had all the 

 " ornaments of a meek and quiet spirit," and her only desire seemed 

 to be to get out of the way. Now here was certainly a curious con- 

 trast between reputation and real character. A whole Stateful of 

 slanderous natural history was disappearing under my very eyes! 

 "Mule-killer," indeed! Why, my little captive couldn't be coaxed 

 or goaded into harming a fly. In patient sufferance and persistent 

 good nature she could have given points to " Uncle Toby," in his 

 celebrated interview with that annoying insect. Still, although this 

 first experiment quite convinced me that my Thelyphonus was en- 

 tirely harmless, I concluded to leave my captives together for the 

 night. In the morning, as I expected, both were in the best of 

 health and spirits, the toad eager to jump out, the scorpion eager 

 to be let alone. 



The next night I tried a mouse. This sharp-toothed, frisky little 

 rodent would, I thought, be likely to get into trouble if there was 

 any to be found. The teasing process was not repeated, as it had 

 proved such a complete failure. The mouse, however, ran round the 

 cage, tumbling over the Thelyphonus, in the most rapid and reckless 

 way. Every time the latter seemed to regard these awkward en- 

 counters as unavoidable accidents, and excused them accordingly. 

 As to biting, pinching, or resenting them in any way, she showed 

 not the slightest symptom of them. She simply crawled into a 

 corner and kept as quiet as circumstances would permit. As in the 

 case of the toad, both were left together overnight. All that really 

 happened, so far as I could see, was that the mouse had nearly 

 gnawed a hole through the cage; but evidently he was none the 

 worse for having shared his bedroom with this terrible " mule-killer," 

 " worse than a rattlesnake," according to the accepted belief. 



