KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



363 



should ever be admitted into the nest), was re- 

 moved by the papa every time he flew out, after 

 having first fed his young. By means of his 

 bill, everything superfluous was taken away at 

 oft-repeated intervals, and the family were as 

 delicately brought up as if their retinue had been 

 numerous. How pleased are we, gentle Fores- 

 tiera, to have in thee such an admiring hand- 

 maid of the great Creator's works ! We will not 

 say, " Write again." That, we feel, would be 

 needless; for the hand that penned what we have 

 commented on, can rfever be held back. We read 

 the " character" of the writer, in every line of 

 the tracery made by her sympathetic ink.] 



Water Hats, destructive to Fruit Trees. — A 

 paragraph is going the round of the papers, to 

 the following effect : — " A rat lately committed 

 an extraordinary piece of devastation in my 

 garden. He gnawed clean through the stem of a 

 beautiful Moor-park apricot: the tree was at 

 least ten years old, and very strong and flourish- 

 ing. He also gnawed off the stems, close to the 

 ground, of a whole bed of spring cabbages. We 

 at last turned him out with a ferret, and shot 

 him; he was a big fellow of the old black 

 species. Did you ever hear of rats destroying 

 fruit trees in a similar way before? — C." This 

 has been seen by the veteran, Charles 

 Waterton, whose rejoinder I send you, as it 

 ought, of course, to appear in the Public's " Own 

 Journal" : — 



" The Hanoverian Mat. — Although nobody 

 can dislike the Hanoverian rat more than I do, 

 nevertheless, I will not add injustice to antipathy 

 by supposing for one moment that this voracious 

 foreigner ever fills its craving maw with rind 

 from the Moor-park apricot. That it will devour 

 the fruit of this valuable tree I had yearly expe- 

 rience, ere I adopted vigorous and effective 

 measures against the intruder. At present, were 

 I to offer a reward of £10, I could not procure 

 an individual of this rat within the park wall. 

 The tree in question has been preyed upon by 

 my favorite water rat, which seems to have been 

 mistaken for one of ' the old black species.' 

 The chief winter support of the water rat is 

 derived from the bark of osiers, and different 

 shrubs in the vicinity of its watery haunts. It 

 is never molested here ; and, if I only make a 

 cautious approach, I can see it sitting upon a 

 stone in the brook, and looking at me whilst I 

 am admiring its beautiful symmetry. I always 

 consider it in the light of a pretty little English 

 beaver, to the habits of which it seems to make a 

 nearer approach than to those of the mischievous 

 rat originally from Hanover.— Charles Wa- 

 terton."— It is quite delightful, Mr. Editor, is 

 it not, to read anything emanating from Walton 

 Hall? What a happy man must its possessor 

 be ! — Alexander F. 



[It is quite refreshing to read anything that 

 proceeds from the pen of Mr. Waterton, and we 

 thank you for bringing the above before our 

 readers.] 



On the Death of a Canary.— Dew Mr. Editor, 

 at page 228 of your Journal occurs a piteous 

 tale of the death of a much -loved pet Canary. 



May I be your poet-laureate, and sing his 

 requiem? 



ON THE DEATH OF A CANARY. 



BY HELEN HETHERINGTON. 



(Vide Kidd's Own Journal, No. 15, p. 228.) 

 Alas! we never more shall see 

 Thy little form, with lightsome glee, 

 Hop, skip, and jump so merrily, — 

 Dear little bird! 



Nor shall we ever hear again 

 Thy little chirp, and mellow strain. 

 Low, in the silent grave, thou'rt lain, — 

 Poor little bird ! 



No more by care or cold opprest, 

 Shall fear disturb thy happy breast, 

 Or foes intrude upon thy rest, — 



Dear little bird ! 



For nearly twenty summers, we 

 Loved thee — oh, how tenderly ! 

 And well we were repaid by thee, — 

 My pretty bird ! 



Enchanted I have listened long 



To thine endearing notes. What strong 



Affection warbled in thy song, — 



Dear little bird ! 



When age and sickness seized thy frame, 

 And dreaded gout had made thee lame, 

 We lov'd each other still the same,— 

 Poor little bird ! 



Tears to thy memory, we shed 

 Upon thy lowly little bed ; 

 We lov'd thee living ; mourn thee " dead"-— 

 Dear little bird ! 



I have sent you this, hoping it may recal to the 

 mind of its once happy possessor many pleasing 

 hours of by-gone days. — H. H. 



[Far be it from us, to stand in the way on an 

 " interesting " occasion like this.] 



Curious Particulars connected with the Domestic 

 Leech. — I send you the subjoined, which I have 

 copied from the " Annals of Practical Che- 

 mistry." It is worthy a place in your excellent 

 Paper. — " The Leech. — Recent observations on 

 the comparative anatomy of this little animal, 

 have made known to us, that just within its 

 mouth it is furnished with three little jaws, tri- 

 angularly arranged, on each of which are inserted 

 a row of very minute sharp-pointed teeth, 

 much resembling the teeth of a saw. Each jaw 

 has its appropriate muscular apparatus for its 

 peculiar action, and thus is explained the con- 

 stant shape of the wound observed after the 

 application of this very useful animal." — As this 

 little animal is so extensively used, it is only 

 right that we should know something about him. 

 — William H. 



" Extraordinary " Tameness of the Robin.—' 

 "During the present season," say the News- 

 papers credulously, " a robin's nest was found in 

 the grounds of Mr. Miles, a market gardener, 

 on the Lower Woolwich-road, Greenwich, 

 wherein the old ones brought forth four young 



