1865.] REVIEW — ALLEN ON BATS. 147 



when, to our amazement, and to the horror of the female portion 

 of our party, small black bats made their appearance in immense 

 numbers, flickering around the premises, rushing in and out of 

 doors and through open windows — almost obscuring the early- 

 twilight, and causing a general stampede of the ladies, who fled, 

 covering their heads with their hands, fearing that the dreaded 

 little vampires might make a lodgment in their hair. 



" This remarkable exhibition much increased our disappoint- 

 ment in regard to the habitable condition of our aquisition, and 

 was entirely unexpected, inasmuch as the unwelcome neighbors 

 were in their dormant state and ensconced out of sight when the 

 property was examined previous to purchase. With their appear- 

 ance, and in such immense numbers, the prospect of immediate in- 

 doors arrangement and comfort vanished ; the paramount, the urgent 

 necessity was to get rid of such a nuisance as quickly as possible ; 

 and the question was, by what means could this be accomplished. 

 Our scientific friends and acquaintances, both in New York and 

 Philadelphia, were consulted ; various volumes of natural history 

 where examined in order to ascertain the peculiar habits of the 

 vermin, but we derived no effectual consolation from these sources. 

 One of our friends, indeed, sent us from New York an infallible 

 exterminator in a form of a receipt obtained at no inconsiderable 

 cost. Strips of fat pork saturated with a subtle poison were to be 

 hung up in places where the annoying creatures did most congre- 

 gate ; of this they would surely eat, and thus ' shuffle off their 

 mortal coil.' How many revolving bat-seasons it might have re- 

 required by this process to kill off the multitude, the urgency of 

 the case would not allow us to calculate, and the experiment was 

 therefore abandoned. 



" Evening after evening did we patiently, though not compla- 

 cently, watch this periodical exodus of dusky wings into light 

 from their lurking-places one after another, and in some instances 

 in couples and even triples, according as the size of the holes or aper- 

 tures from which they emerged in the slate-roofing would permit. 

 Their excursions invariably commenced with the cry of the ' whip- 

 poorwill,' both at coming evening and early dawn ; and it was 

 observed that they always first directed their flight towards the river, 

 undoubtedly to damp their mouse-like snouts, but not their spirits, 

 for it was likewise observed that they returned to play hide and 

 seek, and indulge in all other imaginable gambols ; when, after 

 gratifying their love of sport and satisfying their voracious appe- 

 tites (as the absence of mosquitos and gnats testified), they would 



