104 



THE RAT 



Men have eaten us, even for pleasure. During 

 sieges and times of starvation we often appear, even 

 on the tables of the wealthy ; but that compulsory 

 attendance can hardly be counted an honour. The 

 fact, however, remains that here and there a man 

 has been found possessed of sufficient taste to 

 declare that a fricassee of rats is a dish not to be 

 lightly rejected, and we are a common ingredient 

 in the very mixed stew-pots of the gipsies. The 

 stew-pots may be mixed, but the gipsies are an 

 ancient and honourable race, whose taste ought to 

 be beyond discussion, and the mixture is generally 

 savoury, and contains such notable ingredients as 

 chickens, partridges, hares, and rabbits, to say 

 nothing of hedgehogs, who put themselves far above 

 us in the social scale. So that those conceited 

 partridges need not give themselves such airs ! This 

 being so, I can never quite understand why your 

 anger is so kindled when one of your dogs, after 

 killing an honest rat, shows a desire to complete his 

 evil work by making a meal off the carcass. It 

 looks to me rather like an effort to dishonour the 

 slain, which I have always heard to be against your 

 principles. 



I reached my new quarters towards the end of 

 October, and I do not think that I could have 



