THE HOUSE. 



the cat, preserved its life. At the time, Dr. Smee was attached 

 to the offices of the Bank of England, and occupied a roon, 

 the floor of which was stone and the walls bare and solid. The 

 mouse escaped, and as Dr. Smee says " as the presence of n wild 

 mouse in the room was undesirable I took measures to secui* 

 it. There was no hope for Ixim that he would ultimately 

 escape, although there were abundant opTiortnnities for hiding 

 I set the trap and baited it with a savoury morsel ; bul daj 

 after day no mouse entered. The poor Jittlo thing gavi 

 unequivocal signs of extreme hunger by gnawing the bladdei 

 from some of my chemical bottles. I gradually removed from 

 the room everything he could possibly eat, but stiU tho old 

 proverb, ' Once caught twice shy,' so far applied thi <! he 

 would not enter my trap. After many days, on visiting tht 

 apartment, the trap was down and the mouse caught; the 

 pangs of hunger were more intolerable than the terrors of 

 imprisonment. He did not, however, accept the unpleasant 

 alternative of entering the trap until he was so nearly starved 

 that his bones almost protruded through his skin, and he 

 freely took bits of food from my fingers through the bai s of 

 his cage." 



FET mCE mV THEIR CAGE. 



The keeping and breeding of " fancy " mice is such a sim]<Ie 

 matter that very few lines will suffice for its treatment. 



As to the best sort of mouse to " pet," this much may be 

 said, that whatever colour may be selected, none will be found 

 so docile and so easy to tame as the vulgar little brown mouse. 

 White mice, or grey and white, or cinnamon and grey, may 

 lay claim to greater personal attractions, but they are never 

 BO healthy as the common brown mouse, never so tractable, and, 

 according to my experience, never so clever. 



Supposing you to be on mouse-breeding bent, first of all pre- 

 pare the cage. Let it be a large cage, in which there are three 

 compartments: alaigeone, with wire sides and roof; a sleeping- 

 room, with wooden walls and ceiling (the latter shding in grooves), 

 and by tlie side of this a spare room, with an entry into the open 

 cage, but so contrived that egress may be stopped at pleasure. 

 This last-mentioned chamber, which should, like the other, be 

 furnished with a sUding roof, is for the temporary imprisonment 

 of the " boar " when his wife brings ^lim a fresh troop of young 

 ones. Sometimes father mouse is amiable and good-natured, 

 but sometimes — capital fellow as he may be on ordinary occa- 



