Hearing that the little patients in a London hospital had scarcely any
toys, and that they especially desired a very large doll, I had one
dressed for them, and various other interesting items, such as an album
of pictures, bags of shells, a stamp snake, &c., were prepared; but a
large box was needed in which to pack all these treasures; and one which
had been for months in the wine-cellar was brought up for that purpose
into the hall.
It was filled with straw, and as I was watching this being taken out I
noticed some small black animals darting about in it.
"They must be young rats," I exclaimed, "and the rare kind, too--the
black rat, which has been almost entirely eradicated by the stronger
brown species." A curious instance, by the way, of a foreign interloper
driving out the native.
I immediately resolved to secure these animals, whatever they might
prove to be, and, armed with leather gloves, and an empty glass globe to
place my captures in, I began to search in the straw, and soon secured
the supposed rats, but they proved to be a pair of water shrews--jet
black, lively little creatures, with sharply-pointed snouts and teeth,
as I soon discovered to my cost. I had taken off my gloves and was
watching the activity of the shrews, when suddenly they flew upon each
other, biting and screaming with rage, and, thinking they would kill
each other at that rate, I tried to separate them, but one turned and
bit me pretty severely, and it was with some difficulty they were
parted. One I put into a zinc fern case, and the other into a large
empty aquarium, with shingle at the bottom, moss and wool for bedding,
and a large pan of water for swimming and bathing.
They were rather larger than the common mouse, jet black above, and
greyish-white beneath--restless, active creatures, usually found near
ponds and ditches; and how ever these two had found their way into a dry
cellar, and lived in a box of straw will always remain a mystery. I
learnt from books that they fed on worms and insects, and that diet was
provided, though much to my distress, for it is a miserable thing to see
any living creature tortured and devoured alive, even though it may be
in obedience to natural instincts. Happily I soon found a substitute. I
was showing one of the shrews to a fellow-student of natural history,
and with a long feather soon attracted the little animal's attention; he
always came out of his bed and sprang upon the feather like a little
tiger, dragging it about and holding on with the grip of a bull-dog, so
that one could lift him off the ground and keep him swinging a minute in
the air to see the pretty white fur underneath. My friend suggested that
it probably fed on small birds and thought the feather was part of its
daily fare.
I obtained a fowl's head from the larder, and then it was a sight to see
how it was pounced upon and dragged about until securely hidden under
the moss, when we could hear our little friend crunching the bones and
tearing it to pieces as if he had not had anything so good for a long
while.
One shrew died in a few days, but the other lived three weeks in perfect
health, and I believe it was an accidental failure of sufficient food
that led to the death of the second; their appetite seems to be, like
that of the mole, most voracious, and unless they obtain a constant and
ample supply of food they quickly die of hunger.
They are worth studying for a few days, but their dreadful odour and
fierce character make them anything but pets. I suppose there is hardly
any animal in England so fierce and combative, and probably that may
account for the fact that one so often comes across a dead shrew lying
on the path in summer.
When swimming, the shrew's furry coat perfectly resisted the entrance of
moisture; it always came out absolutely dry. The said coat was most
carefully kept in order; a daily brushing and cleansing went on, the
little tongue was often at work licking off every little speck of dust;
the toes were spread out and examined; the small amount of tail kept in
order. I could but think how many a lesson we may learn from the small
as well as the great creations of God's hand--habits such as this little
animal possessed might, in the way of cleanliness, lead to the
prevention of endless diseases, if imitated by those who never dream of
daily cleansings as being necessary to health and life.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SQUIRREL.]