26 SHREW-MOUSE. 



CHAPTEE- II. 



SHREW-MODSE — DERIVATION OF ITS NAME— SHREW-ASH — THE 

 SPIRIT AND THE LIFE — WATER-SHREW — ITS HABITS — THE 

 MOLE — MOLE-HILL — A PET MOLE — THE WEASEL. 



I have already mentioned that the water-rat has 

 little claim to the title of rat ; and there is another 

 creature which has even less claim to the title of 

 mouse. This is the Shrew, or Shrew-mouse as it is 



SHREW-MOUSE. 



generally called. This creature bears a very close 

 relationship to the hedgehog, and is a distant con- 

 nection of the mole ; but with the mouse it has 

 nothing to do. 



Numbers of the shrews may be found towards the 

 end of the autumn lying dead on the ground, from 

 some cause at present not perfectly ascertained. If 

 one of these dead shrews be taken, and its little 

 mouth opened, an array of sharply-pointed teeth 



