THE BLOOMEES AND THE KATS. 
43 
•whicli, from being seldom molested, liad eventually become 
so daring and bold that they even disputed the right of 
ownership with regard to the food that people might carry 
upon their persons. One day, the dried skin of a monkey, 
■which had been suspended from a nail in the cellar, 
preparatory to its being stuffed and preserved, was sud- 
denly missed, when, upon examining the premises, it was 
discovered behind some • loose lumber, cut and torn into 
a hundred remnants, and fashioned into a commodious nest, 
in which were encradled five young rats. The infantine 
progeny were summarily destroyed ; but the much-valued 
skin of the monkey had been rendered entirely useless by 
the mischievous and destructive parents. 
A lady, residing at Malvern, had occasion to leave her 
home for a time ; but on returning, after three months' 
absence, she fancied her pianoforte sounded very curiously, 
and, on sending for a tuner, he discovered that a rat 
had gnawed a hole through the bottom, and taken up 
his residence in the interior, where he had built himself a 
commodious nest with the leather coverings of the hammers, 
with some portions of silk, and other articles of delicate 
composition, whicli he had foraged from the establish- 
ment. 
The Bloomers and the Rats. 
In a retired spot in the neighbourhood of London there 
resides an elderly couple, who, in the downhill of life, are 
enjoying a comfortable independence. They have only one 
child, an amiable and interesting daughter, by the name of 
Eliza. They originally came from Yorkshire, and possess 
the peculiar qualities of the humbler class of that county to 
their fullest extent, namely, an unqualified respect for them- 
selves and for good living. They keep no company, for two 
ostensible reasons : first, because they never learned to read 
or write, and consequently are utterly disqualified for superior 
society ; and secondly, because their independent means 
have elevated their notions far above anything less than 
carriage acquaintance. In this retired establishment the 
daughter is the only one that can read, and is of course the 
oracle of the house. It happened that a few years back she 
read a great deal in the newspapers about Bloomerism, and 
