cries and screaming as before. On looking up in the direction in which
she seemed to gaze, I discovered a black spot just under the clouds, but
was unable at first to decide what it was. However, it soon appeared to
be a bird of prey, though at first at too great a distance to be
distinguished. I have seen one of those mother turkeys continue in this
agitated state for four hours at a stretch, and her whole brood pinned
down to the ground, as it were, the whole of that time, while their foe
has taken its circuits, has mounted and hovered directly over their
heads. When he, at last, disappeared, the mother changed her note and
sent forth a different sort of cry, which in an instant gave life to
the whole trembling brood, and they all flocked round her with
expressions of pleasure, as if conscious of their happy escape from
danger."
[Illustration]
XC
A REFUGEE SQUIRREL
A squirrel, whose bad luck it was to be captured, was lodged for safe
keeping in a trap used for taking rats alive. Here he remained for
several weeks, till at length, panting for liberty, he managed to make
his escape through a window, and went back once more to his native
fields.
The family in which he had been pet, were not a little vexed at the loss
of their little favorite, and the servant was ordered in the evening of
the same day to remove the trap, that they might no longer be reminded
of their loss. When he went to do this, he found to his surprise that
the squirrel, all wet and ruffled by the storm, had come back, and again
taken up his lodgings in the corner of the trap.
[Illustration]
XCI
ESCAPE OF JENGIS KAHN
The Mogul and Kalmuc Tartars give to the white owl credit for preserving
Jengis Khan, the founder of their empire; and they pay it, on that
account, almost divine honors. The prince, with a small army, happened
to be surprised and put to flight by his enemies. Forced to seek
concealment in a coppice, a white owl settled on the bush under which he
was hidden. At the sight of this bird, the prince's pursuers never
thought of searching the spot, thinking it impossible that such a bird
would perch where any human being was concealed. Jengis escaped, and
ever after his countrymen held the white owl sacred, and every one wore
a plume of its feathers on his head. The Kalmucs continue the custom to
this day, at all their great festivals; and some tribes have an idol in
the form of an owl, to which they fasten the real legs of this bird.
[Illustration]
XCII
A SHREWD GUESSER
A French officer, more remarkable for his birth and spirit than his
wealth, had served the Venetian republic for some years with great valor
and fidelity, but had not met with that preferment which he deserved.
One day he waited on a nobleman whom he had often solicited in vain, but
on whose friendship he had still some reliance. The reception he met
with was cool and mortifying; the nobleman turned his back upon the
veteran, and left him to find his way to the street through a suite of
apartments magnificently furnished.
He passed them lost in thought, till, casting his eyes on a most
beautiful sideboard, where a valuable collection of Venetian glass,
polished and formed in the highest degree of perfection, stood on a
damask cloth as a preparation for a splendid entertainment, he took hold
of a corner of the linen, and turning to a faithful mastiff which always
went with him, said to the animal, "Here, my poor old friend, you see
how these haughty tyrants indulge themselves, and yet how we are
treated!" The poor dog looked his master in the face, and gave tokens
that he understood him. The master walked on, but the mastiff slackened
his pace, and laying hold of the damask cloth with his teeth, gave one
hearty pull, and thus brought all the glass on the sideboard in
shivers to the ground, thus robbing the unkind nobleman of his favorite
exhibition of splendor.
[Illustration]
XCIII
ARE BEASTS MERE MACHINES?
A gentleman one day talking with a friend said that beasts were mere
machines, and had no sort of reason to direct them; and that when they
cried or made a noise, it was only one of the wheels of the clock or
machine that made it.
The friend, who was of a different opinion replied, "I have now in my
kitchen two dogs who take turns regularly every other morning to get
into the wheel. One of them, not liking his employment, hid himself on
the day that he should work, so that his companion was forced to mount
the wheel in his stead, but crying and wagging his tail, he made sign
for those about him to follow him. He at once led them to a garret,
where he found the idle dog, drove him out and killed him at once."
[Illustration]
XCIV
AN ASS CAST AWAY
An ass, belonging to a captain in the Royal Navy, then at Malta, was
shipped on board a frigate, bound from Gibraltar for that island. The
vessel struck on some sands off the Point de Gat, and the ass was thrown
overboard, in the hope that it might possibly be able to swim to the
land. Of this, however, there did not seem to be much chance, for the
sea was running so high, that a boat which left the ship was lost. A few
days later, when the gates of Gibraltar were opened one morning the
guard were surprised by Valiant, as the ass was called, presenting
himself there for admittance. On entering, he went at once to the stable
of a merchant, where he had formerly lived. The poor animal had not only
swum safely to shore, but without guide, compass, or travelling map, had
found his way from Point de Gat to Gibraltar, a distance of more than
two hundred miles, through a mountainous and intricate country, crossed
by streams, which he had never travelled over before, and in so short a
period, that he could not have made one false turn.
[Illustration]
XCV
QUARRELSOME APES
The town of Bindrabund in India is in high regard with the pious
Hindoos, who resort to it from the most remote parts of the empire. The
town is surrounded by groves of trees, which are the homes of numberless
apes, whose fondness for mischief is increased by the religious respect
paid to them in honor of a divinity of the Hindoo mythology, who is
represented as having the body of an ape. Because of this superstition,
such numbers of these animals are supported by the free-will offerings
of pilgrims, that no one dares to resist or ill-treat them. Hence,
access to the town is often difficult; for should one of the apes take a
dislike to any unlucky traveller, he is sure to be assailed by the whole
community, who follow him with all the missile weapons they can collect,
such as pieces of bamboo, stones, and dirt, making at the same time a
most hideous howling. Of the danger attending a meeting with enemies of
this description, the following is a melancholy instance. Two young
cavalry officers, belonging to the Bengal army, having occasion to pass
through the town, were attacked by a body of apes, at whom one of the
gentlemen had foolishly fired. The alarm instantly drew the whole body,
with the fakeers, out of the place, with so much fury that the officers,
though they were mounted upon elephants, were compelled to seek safety
in flight; and in trying to pass the Jumna, they both of them were
drowned.
[Illustration]
XCVI
A FALSE ALARM
Some years ago, a soldier, who was doing duty at the castle of Cape
Town, kept a tame baboon for his amusement. One evening it broke its
chains unknown to him, and in the night it climbed up into the belfry,
and began to play with and ring the bell.
Instantly the whole place was in an uproar; some great danger was
feared. Many thought that the castle was on fire; others, that an enemy
had entered the bay, and the soldiers actually began to turn out, when
it was discovered that the mischievous baboon had caused the
disturbance.
On the following morning a court-martial was held, when Cape justice
decided that whereas the baboon had unnecessarily put the castle into
alarm, its master should receive fifty lashes. The soldier, however,
found someway to evade the punishment.
[Illustration]
XCVII
A CHILD SAVED
A shepherd, in one of his trips to look after his flock, took with him
one of his children, a boy three years old. After crossing his pastures
for some time, followed by his dog, he found it necessary to ascend a
hill at some distance, to obtain a better view of his range. As the
climb was too much for the little child, he left him on a small plain at
the bottom, telling him not to stir from it until his return. Scarcely
had he gained the top of the hill, however, when the sky was darkened by
a thick mist. The anxious father at once hurried back to find his child;
but owing to the unusual darkness, he missed his way. After a fruitless
search of many hours, he discovered that he had reached the bottom of
the valley, and was near his own cottage. To renew the search that night
was both vain and most dangerous; he was, therefore, compelled to go
home, although he had lost both his child and his dog, that had attended
him faithfully for many years. Next morning, by break of day, the
shepherd, with many of his neighbors, set out to look for the child; but
after a day of searching, he returned to his home, disappointed. He
found that the dog which he had lost the day before had been to the
cottage, and after getting a piece of cake, had at once gone away again.
For several days the shepherd kept up the search, and on his return
each evening, he found that the dog had been home, had received his
usual allowance of cake, and then had instantly disappeared. Struck with
this strange behavior on the part of the dog, he remained at home one
day; and when the dog, as usual, left with his piece of cake, he decided
to follow him, and find out the cause of this queer procedure. The dog
led the way to a cataract at some distance from the spot where the
shepherd had left the child. Down a rugged and almost perpendicular
descent the dog began, without hesitation, to make his way, and at last
disappeared by entering into a cave, the mouth of which was almost level
with the torrent. The shepherd with difficulty followed; but on entering
the cave, what was his joy, when he saw his lost baby boy eating with
much satisfaction the cake which the faithful dog had just brought to
him, while the noble creature stood by, looking at his young charge most
lovingly. The child had probably wandered to the brink of the precipice,
and then had either fallen or scrambled down till he reached the cave.
The dog had tracked him to the spot; and afterward kept him from
starving by giving up to him his own daily portion of food. He never
left the child by day or night, except when he went for the food; and
then he was always seen running at full speed to and from the cottage.
[Illustration]