154 MORE MINOR HORRORS 



Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste, 

 An' weary winter comin' fast, 

 An' cozie here, beneath the blast. 



Thou thought to dwell, 

 Till, crash ! the cruel coulter past 



Out thro' thy cell. 



That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble, 

 Has cost thee mony a weary nibble ! 

 Now thou's tum'd out for a' thy trouble, 



But house or hauld. 

 To thole the winter's sleety dribble, 



An' cranreuch cauld ! 



But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane. 

 In proving foresight may be vain : . 

 The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men 



Gang aft a-gley, 

 An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain 



For promis'd joy. 



StiU thou art blest, compared wi' me ! 

 The present only touches thee : 

 But, och ! I backward cast my ee 



On prospects drear ! 

 An' forward, tho' I canna see, 



I guess an' fear. 



(Burns.) 



Another member of the MuRiDAEy the field- 

 mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), is almost as 

 great a nuisance in the trenches as the rat. 

 The field-mouse is very like the house-mouse, 

 with some of its features seen under a lens. 

 The hind feet and ears and eyes are larger 

 than are those of the house-mouse. Perhaps 

 its much longer hind legs help most easily to 

 differentiate the two species. The tail is of 



