Quadrupeds. 5591 



dogs; that they left the dog's food, divided into as many portions as they expected to 

 be days absent ; and that on no occasion, if they happened to return before the allotted 

 days were expired, did they fail to find the right number of portions of food 

 remaining: the dog had taken his meal per clay, and no more, although, in all 

 probability, had he only obeyed his instinct or his appetite, he might have eaten two 

 or three portions and still have been not insensible to the seductions of a few tit-bits, 

 had a dog's-meat mau been there with his stores to seduce him. I thought the 

 account afforded a very singular illustration, not simply of the intelligence of the dog, 

 but of his capacity to apply as well as receive and understand the directions of 

 his master. I believe, in the case of a human guardian, whether of the butcher's 

 meat or the hunter's equipments, we should be apt to say, if as much could be said of 

 him as of these dogs, that his "moral sense" was no mean one. — J. C. Atkinson ; 

 Danby Parsonage, Grosmont, York, February 10, 1857. 



Singing. Mouse. — Some years ago I remember having heard of a singing-mouse: 

 I fancy it was exhibited somewhere in London ; I certainly then had doubts as to the 

 truth of the report, but must confess since then my opinion is greatly changed. Some 

 short time since I met, at a friend's house, a gentleman who asked me the question, 

 '• Did you ever hear a singing-mouse?" I said " No." He answered, " I have one: 

 I will tell you all about it. Two or three months ago I had occasion to go into my 

 game-larder one morning, and was surprised to hear a singular, low, warbling kind of 

 note proceed from the corner of the room ; I asked one of my servants, who was there, 

 if he knew what it was: his answer was, 'No, sir; it is something in the wall: we 

 often hear it.' I suggested ' Surely, it might be a singing-mouse,' and it appeared to 

 be in a meal-tub, which I was told was quite full ; however, I had the tub moved, and, 

 from underneath it, started a mouse, which escaped by getting into a hole in the wall. 

 That night I had a trap set, and caught the mouse, which proved to be the singing- 

 mouse, for, oil being brought into my room, he commenced his warbling, and has 

 continued to do so (of course with intervals of rest) ever since." Last Monday 

 a brother clergyman and myself drove to Captain Mead's, of Earsham Hall, Bungay, 

 Suffolk, to see his mouse, and moreover we heard it sing, that is, upon being stirred 

 up and driven from its nest of wool, it commenced a low, warbling, chirping kind of 

 noise, quite loud enough to be heard across the room ; it reminded me much of the 

 note one sometimes hears of the hedgesparrow when singing or commencing to sing 

 in early spring, buried in the ivy of an old fence. The butler informed me that, as the 

 day was cold, the mouse would not sing half so loud as he did sometimes. I must 

 confess I was agreeably surprised ; the mouse certainly did what I never heard a 

 mouse do before. Now my impression is, this extraordinary noise is made by the 

 grinding of the teeth, and yet, on looking close, you might observe a heaving of the 

 throat, as if it were a guttural sound, yet T was told he sings particularly when feeding. 

 It strikes me it is not caused from any pleasurable account, for when driven from his 

 nest, and evidently frightened, still the singing continued, but that is just as curious 

 with regard to some of our warblers: if you want to find whereabouts the nest of the 

 reed warbler is situated, a stone or two thrown into the reeds soon causes the male 

 bird to sing, and the nest is sure to be within ten or a dozen yards of the place. But 

 1 must conclude, as I am running away from my subject: first, I must just say 

 another mouse has been heard in the same place. In appearance it is, 1 should say, 

 rather larger than the common mouse ; the tail longer, thicker and more blunt at the 

 tip, and the nose less pointed, more snoutish or pig-fashioned. — John Farr ; Gitling. 

 ham, Beccles, Suffolk, February 6, 1857. 



