The round, yet delicate form of the Mouse, and the better expression of
its countenance, make it an object much more worthy of admiration than
the rat, of which it is but a diminished representative. It has the same
destructive propensities, assembles also in vast numbers, and is equally
carnivorous; but with all these, it is a more tamable and lovable
animal. There is a white variety which is often nurtured as a pet. Mr.
Darwin says, that with other small Rodents, numbers live together in
nearly desert places, as long as there are a few blades of vegetation
left; and that they swarm on the borders of salt-lakes, where not a drop
of fresh water can be procured. Some of them lay up stores of food,
especially those which inhabit northern countries.
Field mice do an infinity of harm to young plantations, by nibbling off
the young shoots, and, in order to catch them, pits from eighteen to
twenty inches deep, are sunk in the soil, which are wider at the bottom
than the top, so that they cannot easily get out. One hundred thousand
were destroyed in this manner in the Forest of Dean, and about the same
number in the New Forest. They make very beautiful round nests, of
curiously plaited blades of wheat, split into narrow strips with their
teeth, and in them will often be found nine little mice. These nests are
suspended to some stalks, or thistles.
I can bear witness to the possibility of taming mice, for I kept six in
a box for several months, which were so well fed, that they did not
attempt to gnaw their dwelling. I had a sort of little cart constructed
for them, with bone buttons for wheels, and a packthread harness; and on
being taken out of the box, they remained perfectly quiet till the
harness was put upon them, and when that was done, they started at full
gallop along the top of a square piano. Of course, care was taken to
turn them back when they reached the end; but they soon learned to turn
of their own accord, and performed their journey with as much regularity
as well-trained horses. Death deprived me of my steeds; but I suspect it
was in consequence of the injudicious cramming which I bestowed upon my
favourites.
During an illness of some week's duration, mice were to me a source both
of amusement and annoyance; the former certainly predominating. A
wainscot ledge ran round the room in which I lay, and it was their
delight to scamper after one another upon this projection; but as the
head of my curtain-less bed was close to it, they so frequently diverged
on to my face, that I was obliged to have it drawn at least a yard from
the wall. Sometimes also, they dragged away my pocket handkerchief,
which, from not being immediately missed, was not recovered till sundry
holes had been nibbled in it. A small table stood by my bed-side; having
on it a basin full of cold tea, which formed my night beverage. On one
occasion, my light was extinguished, and I heard a scratching against
the legs of the table. I guessed the cause, and tried to frighten the
climber away; but I suspect he mounted by the bed clothes, for I
presently heard something flop into the tea. All was silent; and I
concluded the intruder was drowned; but of course, whatever my thirst, I
did not attempt to drink. When daylight came, there sat a poor mouse,
holding up his little chin just above the liquid. Had he moved he must
have been suffocated; and he had been all those hours in this position.
It was impossible to take away a life so hardly earned, and he was
allowed to rejoin his companions.
The head-quarters of my mice seemed to be a large closet in one corner
of the room, from which they constantly issued, and to which they
retreated on the least alarm, for it was always accessible, in
consequence of the door not closing properly. They often appeared to me
to hold a council, for they would sally forth in a body; not giddily,
and as if by chance, but with all the gravity of diplomatic characters,
and form a circle, when deliberations commenced. They were carried on
in a language between a squeak and a chatter, and occasionally one would
rise, and place himself in another part of the circle. I would have
given a great deal to have understood what was going on; but as I could
not, I occasionally disturbed them by laughing, when they huddled back
to the closet; and when I grew stronger, I sometimes dashed a pillow in
among them, which made the poor senators breathless with agitation, and
scuffle under the furniture, till they thought they might gain the
closet in safety. I little imagined the deeds committed in that
domicile, or I might not have been so indulgent to them; it was no less
than gnawing holes in some valuable antelope, monkey, and leopard skins,
which were to have been sent to my friends by the next departing vessel.
When I was allowed to eat, my appetite was kindly tempted by dainties
sent to me by friends, and which were placed under tin covers, on the
top of a chest of drawers. The endeavours of my rodent companions to get
at these were excessively droll; but as fast as they clambered an inch
or two up the sides, the slippery metal caused them to slide down again;
then they thought if they could but get to the top of the cover, they
should succeed; so they mounted upon each others' shoulders, and
accomplished the feat, but not their purpose; instead of getting
inside, down they came in a body again, but they became so used to my
laughter, that they did not mind it. Many of them combined together to
push the cover off the dish; but it was too firmly retained by the rim
to be moved. One day they thought they had triumphed, for the cover was
not quite put down in one place. A summons was evidently given, and
presently a number of little paws were inserted to raise it still
higher; but instead of doing this, the cover slipped on to their paws,
and it was very ludicrous to see their pain and mortification. After
this they so far abandoned the attempt that only one would be
occasionally seen walking round, as if by reconnoitering the fortress
again, his genius would suggest a successful termination to the
enterprise.
In an American scientific journal, there is a well-authenticated account
of a strange and overpowering sensibility to music, as evinced by a
mouse. It says, "that one evening, as a few officers on board a British
man-of-war, in the harbour of Portsmouth, were seated round the fire,
one of them began to play a plaintive air upon the violin. He had
scarcely performed ten minutes, when a mouse, apparently frantic, made
its appearance in the centre of the floor. The strange gestures of the
little animal strongly excited the attention of the officers, who, with
one consent, resolved to suffer it to continue its singular actions
unmolested. Its exertions appeared to be greater every moment; it shook
its head, leapt about, and exhibited signs of the most ecstatic delight.
It was observed that in proportion to the gradations of the tones to the
soft point, the feelings of the animal appeared to be increased. After
performing actions, which an animal so diminutive would, at first sight,
seem incapable of, the little creature, to the astonishment of the
delighted spectators, suddenly ceased to move, fell down, and expired
without evincing any symptoms of pain."