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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



upwards. Instantly you treat him after his open 

 nature. You know he's not to be played at ball 

 with ; you take in with a glance all that his ex- 

 terior means, and ought to love him for his 

 frankness. Poor wretch ! 'tis a thousand, a 

 thousand times the ruin of him. He has, it is 

 true, an outside of thorns— Heaven made him 

 with them, but a heart of honey. A meek, pa- 

 tient thing ! And yet, because of his covering, 

 the world casts all sorts of slanders upon him, 

 accuses him of wickedness, — wickedness which 

 he could not, if he would, commit. And so he 

 is killed, cudgelled, and made the cruellest 

 sport of; his persecutors all the while thinking 

 themselves the best of people for their worst of 

 treatment! He bears a plain exterior; he shows 

 so many pricking truths to the world, that the 

 world in revenge couples every outside point 

 with an interior devil. He is made a martyr for 

 this iniquity, he hides nothing. 



" That's the sort of thing the world loves! 

 (Capstick pointed to a handsome tortoisesbell 

 cat) ; to see her lap milk,why you'd think a drop 

 of blood would poison her. The wretch ! 'twas 

 only last week she killed and ate one of my 

 doves. I nursed her, before she had eyes to look 

 at her benefactor. Look here (and Capstick 

 showed three long, fine scratches,) 



" That's nothing," said Mr. Kingcup, " you 

 know that cats will scratch." 



" To be sure I do; and all the world knows 

 it; but the world don't think the worse of 'em for 

 it, and for this reason — they can, when they like, 

 so well hide their claws." 



Now then, Mr. Editor, let me introduce 

 my Bijou ; for such was the felicitously- 

 chosen cognomen of the individual of the 

 species, Erinaceus Europceus, whose " Me- 

 moirs " I am about to indite. Bijou was 

 brought to me, amongst other maimed crea- 

 tures occasionally presented to me for my 

 " amusement," during a residence in a remote 

 county. He had been caught in a trap ; but 

 not being full-grown, had suffered only a 

 slight mutilation of one of his hinder feet,- - 

 an injury which a little nursing soon re- 

 paired ; not however without the loss of a 

 toe. 



Ignorant of the habits of the animal, I at 

 first merely regarded him as an indifferent 

 addition to the rats and mice which had 

 quartered themselves upon me. As I be- 

 lieve these are seldom found together, it may 

 be as well, for the satisfaction of the scep- 

 tically inclined, to say that at broad noon 

 one day, looking up from my book, I ob- 

 served a vase full of flowers which stood in 

 the centre of the table, moving about in 

 quite an unaccountable manner. On ap- 

 proaching it, I perceived half concealed in 

 the bouquet, a rat, earnestly intent upon my 

 movements. Finding himself discovered, he 

 scampered off, out of the open window. 

 The untrimmed ivy, which grew in wild 

 luxuriance round the house, no doubt 

 afforded him shelter*. 



As for the mice, they caused the death 



(from fright) of a fine bullfinch — that most 

 winningly-affectionate of pets. Hearing him 

 flutter one night, I lifted the cage ; when five 

 mice scurried over my hand and arm. I do 

 not scream at mice. I think them pretty 

 little creatures ; but on seeing my cherished 

 bullfinch lying dead at the bottom of the 

 cage, I thought decidedly they might be 

 too numerous. 



With such casual and habitual visitors, it 

 will not appear surprising that the addition 

 of a Hedgehog should be a subject of in- 

 difference. Bijou, however, had determined 

 it should become one of interest and advan- 

 tage. The mice at once disappeared. The 

 insects which crept in in numbers from the 

 ivy, were cleared away. He became also 

 familiar and playful ; at first timidly, after 

 many sly manoeuvres and much amusing 

 hesitation, he would creep up noiselessly, 

 take a slipper off my foot, and scuffle away 

 in triumph to some snug corner he had se- 

 lected in preference to the hay-nest arranged 

 for him. Then would he return for the 

 other ; and re-appear so long as there was a 

 glove, handkerchief, or anything he could 

 carry away. He would then partake of my 

 supper (I plead guilty to a " liking " for 

 that calumniated meal). Coffee was an 

 especial treat to him. 



Finding he was encouraged, he soon lost 

 every trace of timidity, and was evidently 

 pleased at being handled and caressed. At 

 such times, his spines were always smoothly 

 laid back, and he would lick my hand with 

 his long flexible tongue. I used to make him 

 dance, holding him upright by his fore feet ; 

 and droll enough he looked with his long 

 outstretched hind legs ; and whilst glancing 

 occasionally round (as far as his short neck 

 would enable him), to see what treat was in 

 store to reward the performance of his 

 pas seul ! I pulled him about just as I 

 pleased ; tickled him ; teazed him ; in fact, 

 scolded, struck loudly on the table close to 

 him, — but never could I elicit the slightest 

 token of fear or hostility. I could never 

 make him roll himself up, although a strange 

 voice at the door (and he considered all 

 strange but myself) made him do so instan- 

 taneously. 



I had directed he should never be interfered, 

 with in my absence ; but the desire of showing 

 off his tameness (simultaneously, possibly, 

 with the graces of a white hand) led to an 

 infringement of my orders. Bijou kept him- 

 self perfectly neat ; his paletot of prickles 

 was smooth, and shining as polished 

 armour ; his gilets of fur without a speck. 

 His feet I particularly attended to ; as, from 

 his scuffling mode of. running, any stray 

 thread of silk that entangled itself in them 

 (if not removed) would cut into the foot. 

 Although so accurate in his toilette, no 



