148 EASY-CHAIR MEMORIES 



I was very glad that neither Caesar nor 

 Pinto were there with me they would soon 

 have spoilt the romance of the whole 

 thing. 



" It is a curious fact that although I have, 

 in my time, seen scores of hedgehogs, it has 

 always been when they had been routed out of 

 a ditch by some dog, and they had curled them- 

 selves up and put their defensive armour on. 

 Never before have I met one taking his walks 

 abroad in the cool of the evening, bright and 

 chirpy-looking, ' drest in his best, 7 as if he was 

 going ' a-wooing.' I was sorry I had touched 

 him, for I should have been glad of a little 

 more chat with him; but once rolled up, he 

 was dead and motionless. 



" I believe it is a very uncommon thing to 

 see an urchin going about by daylight. He is 

 a prowler by night, and said to be insectivorous. 

 I should call him omnivorous for I have heard 

 of him milking a cow, and eating mice, frogs, 

 and toads, young plants and fruit, sucking eggs, 

 and he has been known to make away with a 

 young chicken. He makes for himself a nest 

 of dried leaves, hibernates during the winter, 

 and only wakes up when the sun shines. His 



