140 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-No. 9 



in the greatest veneration, an animal only 

 to be met with in the poems I had read 

 and in the pictures I had seen of broken- 

 down castles and ivy-covered walls. But 

 here was a chance to become the owner 

 of one of these mysterious and much be- 

 legended animals, and I hastened to be 

 the first to hand in an offer of adoption. 

 I didn't find the good lady's house crowd- 

 ed with eager inquirers as I had expected, 

 but found that I was the only one who 

 was "cranky" enough to want to relieve 

 the present owner of a very disagreeable 

 pet. I didn't look at it in that way at all, 

 and marched off rejoicing with the much 

 coveted prize. 



When I got home I produced my pet 

 amid exclamations of delight at his quaint 

 and knowing expression. 



From that moment to the night of his 

 death he held a warm place in tlie hearts 

 of every member of the family, who were 

 all great lovers of pets, "Bobby," as he 

 was christened, would sit on the table and 

 look into your eyes with such a pathetic 

 expression that one was constrained to 

 say, "Bobby, what is it ,'' Are you hun- 

 gry ? " And Bobby would answer with a 

 plaintive little hoo-o-o, and then we knew 

 he wanted his little bits of raw meat that 

 were fed him. Very soon after his arrival 

 Bobby had found out and regarded as his 

 own every dark corner in the house from 

 bottom to top. There was a particularly 

 dark spot in a back garret room, which 

 he finally settled upon as his permanent 

 roost, where he dreamed away the long, 

 dreary sun-lit hours. At dusk I would go 

 to the foot of the stairs on the first floor 

 and call, "Bobby, Bobby !" and away up 

 stairs a faint hoo-o-o could be heard, and 

 pit-pat Bob would come down, step by 

 step, and hop into my hand with a wel- 

 coming chuck, chuck. 



Bobby's quaint ways suggested the 

 making of a miniature bonnet and dress, 

 which he wore patiently and sedately on 



occasions when our merry moods got the 



upper hand. That little cap is still pre- 

 served in a desk drawer as a sad memento 

 of the lost pet. One night, by accident^ 

 Bobby was shut in the kitchen, where the 

 deadly rat held undisputed sway. That 

 night I slept as soundly as ever I did^ 

 wholly unconscious of the tragedy being 

 enacted beneath me in that dark death- 

 trap. Next morning poor Bob was found 

 decapitated — the work of the felon rat. 

 A hearty cry ended that day of bereave- 

 ment and deep grief for me, and though 

 years have passed scarcely am I over it 

 yet. H. C. Hopkii/s. 



Baltimore, Md. 



While collecting at Ipswich Beach oit 

 August 26, I succeeded in obtaining a fine 

 specimen of the Black Tern $. Thi& 

 bird is quite rare in this locality, and was 

 probably driven here by the severe north- 

 east storm which was raging at the time. 

 I noticed several more of the same species 

 but was unable to obtain them. I present- 

 ed this bird to the Salem Museum, for 

 which I am collecting. This museum, by 

 the way, has lately obtained two fine addi- 

 tions, one a Marbled Godwit, and the 

 other a set of two eggs of the Sanderling. 

 The latter was collected on May 22, 1892,^ 

 by J. H. Sears, and named on his author- 

 ity. They were collected at Ipswich Beach 

 on the sand, and are probably the only 

 eggs of this species taken in this county, 

 at least. Frank A. Broiv//. 



" The propagation of mice, in compari- 

 son with that of other animals, is very 

 remarkable both for quickness and pro- 

 fuseness. A pregnant female was shut 

 up in a chest of grain ; in a short time 

 a hundred and twenty individuals were 

 counted." — Aristotle History of Ani- 

 mals, Book V/., Chap. J y. 



And they are just as active to-day. 



