74 
THE RAT. 
times worth more than two-thirds of the promissory-notes 
in circulation. 
Suffice it to say, the morrow saw me master of six of the 
finest rabbits that money could purchase ; and for twelve 
months they absorbed my every exertion and attention. 
Time went on merrily ! Litter after litter came forth in 
rapid succession, and grew and strengthened, and, indeed, 
everything was thriving and prosperous. It was a pretty 
sight. The passers-by would throng round the areas to see 
them fed. It was only necessary for me to give the well- 
known whistle, and out came rabbits and pigeons in all 
directions, till the place seemed to be one mass of living 
creatures ; and such was the confusion, that there was no 
possibility of counting them. There were all sorts, colours, 
and sizes. But to touch them, though they appeared so 
tame, they would dash and plunge like mad things, because 
no human hand had ever before been on them, and they 
would be shy and distant for days. They had burrows in 
the ground like wild rabits. Thus they prospered for about 
eighteen months, when, at a rough calculation, there must 
have been at least from a hundred to a hundred and fifty 
live rabbits. But on going into the cellars one morning, 
there lay the remains of four young ones. Their bodies and 
bones were entirely eaten away, leaving the heads and legs 
of two hanging merely by bits of skin, while the other two 
were without heads, leaving only a portion of their skins, 
feet, and ears. I concluded it must have been the cats. So 
to make all things secure, when evening came I fastened 
all the doors, and went to bed perfectly satisfied as to the 
safety of my rabbits ; but what was my surprise and morti- 
fication, on the following morning, to find the contrary ; for 
there lay the remains of twelve mutilated young ones, of 
various ages, besides a magnificent full-grown, fawn-coloured 
buck. The latter had only just been killed ; for he was per- 
fectly limp, and the warm blood was still oozing from a 
wound in the neck. In deep lamentation, I took it to a 
rabbit fancier, who, upon asking me a few questions, very 
soon explained the mystery. " Ah ! my young friend," he 
said, the rats, at last, have paid you a visit, and now its 
good-by to your rabbit-warren." And so it turned out, for 
