CH. v.] Slaughter in a Cellar. 93 



passage led to other cellars, and in the walls 

 of these there were many open holes. First of 

 all I went carefully over the wood cellar and 

 made sure there were no holes in it ; and 

 then, putting in a few faggots to give shelter 

 to any nervous young rat, I started each 

 night to feed them with delicious balls of 

 barley-meal, which were made up with scraps. 

 In this way I gave a rats' supper-party each 

 night for three weeks, and each morning I 

 found clean-swept dishes. At last the fatal 

 day arrived. A string was tied to the 

 handle of the door leading up into the 

 kitchen, the food was placed in the dishes as 

 usual about ten p.m., and all the household, 

 except myself, went to bed. I sat over the 

 kitchen fire reading my paper till a distant 

 clock struck midnight, and then I gave a 

 sharp pull to the string and heard the door 

 bang to and the fastening fall, and I knew I 

 had them. I lit a big glass lantern, went 



