JULY, 1882. 197 



week of watching a gold-crest, our smallest British bird, 

 performing its antics on the hedge two yards from our 

 window for several minutes, regardless of our presence. 

 Its movements were more like those of a tit, as it passed 

 along the hedge sprouts, and the plumage spoke of 

 immaturity, but the brilliant crest of Regulus cristatus 

 was its unquestionable patent of nobility. 



JULY, 1882. 



We peered in vain into the hole in the shed in which 

 our factotum had placed the rat trap, but at length a ray 

 of light enabled us to observe that the trap was sprung, 

 and yet nothing observable in it. We had just come to 

 this sage conclusion, and decided to let other hands with- 

 draw and re-set it when shortly thereafter the trap was 

 pulled out with an empty rat-skin in it ! Clearly its 

 brethren had declared in favour of rat pie, and "drew 

 the line " at the skin and tail. " The horrid cannibals," 

 said everybody, "the brutes will eat anything!" But 

 they would not, you see, and left the skin ; being in this 

 far superior to the Irish savage who used to exhibit him- 

 self before a delighted audience of roughs, in the charm- 

 ing occupation of eating up a raw live rat. Why should 

 we scoff at rats because in the absence of other savoury 

 food they should inter their benighted companion in 

 friendly and sympathetic sepulchres ? Is it not, indeed, 

 a further instance of their exceptional intelligence thus 

 to rise above all paltry sentiment and utilise the body of 

 their defunct comrade ; perhaps even led thereto by the 

 humane desire to put an end to its sufferings ? Certain 

 it is that the rat is one of the most intelligent of living 



