A SINGING HESPEROMYS. 763 
one occasion my little boy said: “ Papa, I would like to see mousie 
walk just once.” Her taste was quite omnivorous ; although unlike 
the domestic mouse, she did not care much for cheese. But meat, 
bread, corn, nuts, sugar, and even pudding and fish were all accept- 
able. A little sod of fresh grass and white clover was occasionally 
put into the cage. This she enjoyed greatly, eating the greens like 
a rabbit; only always insisting on sitting up to do it. It was in- 
teresting to witness how ready she was for emergencies. Sitting 
on her hind feet, she would take hold with her hands of a blade of 
grass, and begin eating at the tip. The spear would rapidly 
shorten, and seemingly she must now stoop to finish it, or do it in 
the ordinary quadrupedal style. Now that was just what she did 
not choose to do. So when the emergency came, she would stoop 
down, and in a trice cut the blade off close to the sod with just 
one nip; then up again on her feet in a sitting posture, she would 
finish it in a comfortable and becoming way. On one occasion a 
worm crept out of the sod, and Hespie at once fell to it and soon 
had it tucked away without cooking. As to exercise, she manages 
to take a great deal. In the day time her exercise is less, as she 
does a good deal of sleeping then. It is at night that her peculiar 
talents appear to advantage, beginning at vespers, as her name 
might imply. Then, as a singer, her genius literally shines. It is 
with her singing that we are the most concerned; and indeed, at 
the moment of this writing (for it is night) she is in fine song. _ 
Perhaps, however, it will seem more literal and actual if her per- 
formances are described in the past tense. 
Our little musician had several snatches or bits of melody which 
were often repeated. But in her repertoire were two notable ones, 
each of which deserves to be dignified as a professional role. e 
one by far the more frequent is notated below ; and because it is 
her favorite, when running in her revolving cage, I have named it 
The Wheel Song.* 
The last bar of this would frequently be prolonged to two 
or three; and she would sometimes change from C sharp and D, to 
C natural and D, then warble on these two notes awhile, and wind 
up with a quick chirp on C sharp and D. The distinctness between 
the semitones was very marked, and easily appreciable to a good 
ear. I have always enjoyed the mellow little strains of the song 
sparrow and the house wren. But in either case it was short, and 
*The musical notation was written by my son, Ferris C. Lockwood. 
