THE RAT. 331

another rat had hold of the other end of it, and thus con-
ducted its blind companion.
‘The Some remarkable illustrations of the intelligence
Intelligence of rats have been recorded from time to time.
of Rats. The following which occurred recently seems to
show both thought and reason. A Burley rat found a dead
hen in a field, one evening, and departed to inform his
brethren of the discovery, when a gentleman, who afterwards
reported the incident to the Leeds Evening Post—removed
the prize, which the speedy return of half-a-dozen rats was
too late to secure. The first rat plainly evinced his dis-
appointment, but his friends suspected him of hoaxing them,
turned upon him suddenly, and in a few moments he was
as dead as the chicken which had disappeared, and was left
lying on almost the same spot which it had occupied. Captain
Brown tells the following story of the ingenuity of the rat in
self-preservation. “ During the great flood of September, the ath,
1829, when the river Tyne was at its height, a number of
people were assembled on its margin. A swan at last appeared,
having a black spot on its plumage, which the spectators were
surprised to find, on a nearer approach, was a live rat. It
is probable it had been borne from its domicile on some hay
rick, and, observing the swan, had made for it as an ark of
safety. When the swan reached the land, the rat leapt from
its back, and scampered away.
Saved bya Perhaps no better example of the intelligence
Rat. of the rat could be given than that afforded by
the incident quoted by Jesse from Mr. Ferryman. Mr. Ferry-
man records that he had an old friend, a clergyman, of
retired and studious habits. When sitting in his room one
day, he saw an English rat come out of a hole at the bottom
of the wainscot; and threw it a piece of bread. In process
of time, he so familiarised the animal, that it became per-
fectly tame, ran about him, was his constant companion, and
appeared much attached to him. He was in the habit of