NOTES BY THE WAY 129 



board, so to speak; it needed a little "topping out," 

 to give it a finished look. But this it never got. 

 The winter had come to stay, and it waxed more 

 and more severe, till the unprecedented cold of the 

 last days of December must have astonished even 

 the wise muskrats in their snug retreat. I ap- 

 proached their nest at this time, a white mound 

 upon the white, deeply frozen surface of the pond, 

 and wondered if there was any life in that apparent 

 sepulchre. I thrust my walking-stick sharply into 

 it, when there was a rustle and a splash into the 

 water, as the occupant made his escape. What a 

 damp basement that house has, I thought, and what 

 a pity to rout a peaceful neighbor out of his bed in 

 this weather, and into such a state of things as this! 

 But water does not wet the muskrat; his fur is 

 charmed, and not a drop penetrates it. 



Where the ground is favorable, the muskrats do 

 not build these mound-like nests, but burrow into 

 the bank a long distance, and establish their winter- 

 quarters there. 



Shall we not say, then, in view of the above 

 facts, that this little creature is weatherwise ? The 

 hitting of the mark twice might be mere good luck; 

 but three bull's-eyes in succession is not a mere 

 coincidence; it is a proof of skill. The muskrat is 

 not found in the Old World, which is a little singu- 

 lar, as other rats so abound there, and as those slow- 

 going English streams especially, with their grassy 

 banks, are so well suited to him. The water-rat of 

 Europe is smaller, but of similar nature and habits. 



