X72 OCCASIONAL NOTES. 



High had been with mo, and when by His light I had walked through dark 

 ness ? ' "* 



"Oil good beyond compare! 



If thus thy moanei- works are fair, 



If thus thy bounties gild the span 



Of ruined earth and sinful man, 



How glorious must that mansion be 



Where Thy redeemed shall live with Thee!" 



OCCASIONAL NOTES. 



BY MR. MICHAEL WESTCOTT. 



A Common Rat in Trouble. — A few days since, as Mr. James, Butcher, 

 was in his slaughter-house, he heard a strange noise issuing from a small hole 

 close by, which communicates with the common sewer. The cries, which 

 resembled the shrieks of a child, at last became so loud and frequent, that 

 they brought several people to the spot, who were standing at the back door 

 of the "King's Arms," a distance of fifteen yards at least. In the midst of 

 their bewilderment, they observed a round tile, which covers the small hole, fly 

 up as if by magic, and at the same time a huge Rat made his appearance 

 crying bitterly. He was quickly followed by an "infuriated mob" of his own 

 species, which was making a dismal clamour, and at the game time, no doubt, 

 breathing vengeance on the head of the object of its rancour. However, the 

 pursuers were prevented from putting their murderous designs into execution, 

 by the tile falling down over the hole just as two of them came up. When 

 they found themselves trapped, they showed no signs of combativeness towards 

 the runaway, but rather endeavoured to make a speedy retreat j that, neither 

 of them could accomplish, as there was a moveable grate over the aperture, 

 and consequently they shared the same fate as many larger quadrupeds do 

 in that slaughter house in the course of the year. The fugitive Rat measured 

 twenty-two inches long, including the tail, and weighed two pounds one ounce. 

 No wonder the others brought all their force to bear upon the monstrous 

 intruder. 



Tlie Painted Lady Butterfly, (Cynthia Cardui.) — I did not see a single 

 specimen of this charming insect last season, nor did I observe more than 

 three solitary Red Admirals, [Vanessa Atalanta;) their scarcity must be owing, 

 in a great measure, to the excessive wet w^eather which we experienced in 

 the summer, as both the species were plentiful the previous year. The Pea- 

 cock's eye, {Vanessa loj) was more abundant, but I bred many more than 

 I saw. 



A Canary in a Trance. — Mr. John Marks, 21, Bounday Road, St. John's 

 Wood, London, communicated to me the following anecdote: — When he was 

 a boy he kept one of those "little household pets" for nine years, and it was, 



I 



« "Journal of u Naturalist.' 



