92 
THE RAT. 
and as for the hams and bacon, they were a luxury with 
them. Thus were his losses beyond all calculation. They 
used also to walk upstairs into every room in the house, and 
would take off any small article of wearing-apparel they took 
a fancy to. 
At last, so numerous and endless were their depredations, 
that our victim seemed to have entirely resigned himself 
to his fate. One day, however, he took it into his head to 
have his warehouse altered, in order to make room for 
a larger stock of flour. Consequently he sent for his brick- 
layer, to knock down the projecting chimney, and also the 
copper flue and copper fixings, — indeed to clear everything 
away, so that there would be room for about twelve more 
sacks of flour. The bricklayer went into the warehouse 
to examine the old chimney, and on looking up to see how 
it was situated, he there saw, to his astonishment, that the 
inside of the chimney was completely lined with rats. He 
told me they were crammed in all the crevices ; and on the 
projecting bricks they were standing upon each other's backs 
two and three deep. This, it appears, upon the least alarm, 
was their retreat. The bricklayer walked quietly away into 
the area and cellar that ran beneath the street, to see if there 
were any holes to escape by. He only found one, and that 
was about the size of his hat, and led direct into the sewer. 
This he speedily stopped up, as well as the drain. Then 
there was a hole in the back of the chimney, which led into 
the coopers' kitchen in the next house. This he dared not 
touch for fear of disturbing the rats ; so he secured the door, 
and went for his dog Pincher, at the same time putting the 
coopers on the alert, who quickly took their stations with 
sticks and staves in their hands to knock them on the head as 
they jumped through. The bricklayer took his dog down, and 
secured the door, then, with a well-directed blow peculiar to 
the profession, he brought down some feet of the chimney at 
once. In an instant there was nothing but dust and rats 
flying in all directions. The dog set to work, and his 
master hammered away most lustily, while the coopers were 
roaring and banging with all their might. Thus the battle 
and confusion lasted for about ten minutes, when, for the want 
of more rats, something like tranquillity was restored. The 
battle now was over. The coopers killed about two dozen | 
