THE RAT. 231 



another rat had hold of the other end of it, and thus con- 

 ducted its blind companion. 



Ttie Some remarkable illustrations of the intelligence 



intelligence of rats have been recorded from time to time, 

 of Bats, phe following which occurred recently seems to 

 show both thought and reason. A Burley rat found a dead 

 hen in a field, one evening, and departed to inform his 

 brethren of the discovery, when a gentleman, who afterwards 

 reported the incident to the Leeds JSvening Post removed 

 the prize, which the speedy return of half-a-dozen rats was 

 too late to secure. The first rat plainly evinced his dis- 

 appointment, but his friends suspected him of hoaxing them, 

 turned upon him suddenly, and in a few moments he was 

 as dead as the chicken which had disappeared, and was left 

 lying on almost the same spot which it had occupied. Captain 

 Brown tells the following story of the ingenuity of the rat in 

 self-preservation. " During the great flood of September, the 4th, 

 1829, when the river Tyne was at its height, a number of 

 people were assembled on its margin. A swan at last appeared, 

 having a black spot on its plumage, which the spectators were 

 surprised to find, on a nearer approach, was a live rat. It 

 is probable it had been borne from its domicile on some hay 

 rick, and, observing the swan, had made for it as an ark of 

 safety. When the swan reached the land, the rat leapt from 

 its back, and scampered away. 



Saved by a Perhaps no better example of the intelligence 

 Bat. o f the rat could be given than that afforded by 

 the incident quoted by Jesse from Mr. Ferryman. Mr. Ferry- 

 man records that he had an old friend, a clergyman, of 

 retired and studious habits. When sitting in his room one 

 day, he saw an English rat come out of a hole at the bottom 

 of the wainscot ; and threw it a piece of bread. In process 

 of time, he so familiarised the animal, that it became per- 

 fectly tame, ran about him, was his constant companion, and 

 appeared much attached to him. He was in the habit of 



