THE COMMON MOUSE. 



53 



This elegant but troublesome little animal needs no 

 description ; all are well acquainted with it. (Fig-. 32.) 

 " Domestic in its habits," says Mr. Bell, " nourished 

 by almost every article of human food, and finding- 

 effectual shelter in the secret recesses of" the habitations 

 which human art has raised, it has accompanied man in 

 all his adventures for colonization, and identified itself 

 with every new territorial occuj)ation of our race." The 

 mouse is easily tamed, and it is interesting to observe it 



Common Mouse. 



sitting up holding its food between its paws, or cleansing 

 with them the sides of its face and the back of its ears, 

 its black eyes glistening with animation. An albino 

 variety (white, with red eyes) is not uncommon (Fig. 

 33), and often kept in cages for the sake of its beauty. 

 It breeds freely in captivity, perpetuating a white race, 

 which, born and bred in captivity, are gentle and familicir, 



