A GENTLEMAN IN VELVET 



ONCE upon a time in the ages before work began 

 I read in a boys' paper an article telling " How 

 to become a Taxidermist," and straightway pro- 

 ceeded to become one. The first thing to be done 

 was to compound a wonderful preparation for 

 use in skin-curing, and in defiance of the loudly 

 expressed protests of a family which took no 

 delight in evil smells, about enough of the stuff 

 was made to treat the hide of a horse. The next 

 thing was to find a subject, and to that end I 

 sallied forth. During an eager hour the black- 

 birds and thrushes of the vicinity ran all the risks 

 of war, but escaped all its penalties. They were 

 too nimble for a very indifferent marksman. Next 

 the squirrels experienced all the excitement of pur- 

 suit without being a penny the worse. But at 

 last a victim was found to the lust of youthful 

 experiment in a " black water-rat." 



A water-rat is a bad or a good object on which 

 to practise the art of taxidermy, just as you look 

 at it. The creature is endowed by nature with 

 about as much figure as a potato, with the result 

 that when it is set up it may fail to satisfy the 

 cravings of the Aesthetic eye. On the other hand, 

 no matter how bad your taxidermy may be, your 



