Chapter 5

The Indian ichneumon, a small creature in appearance between the weasel and the mangoose, is of infinite use to the natives from its inveterate enmity to snakes, which would otherwise render every footstep of the traveller dangerous. This diminutive creature, on seeing a snake ever so large, will instantly dart on it, and seize it by the throat, provided he finds himself in an open place, where he has an opportunity of running to a certain herb, which he knows instinctively to be an antidote against the poison of the bite, if he should happen to receive one. A gentleman visiting the island of Ceylon saw the experiment tried in a closed room, where the ichneumon, instead of attacking his enemy, did all in his power to avoid him. On being carried out of the house, however, and laid near his antagonist in the plantation, he immediately darted at the snake, and soon destroyed it. It then suddenly disappeared for a few minutes, and again returned, as soon as it had found the herb and ate it.

ANECDOTE LXXX.

Monkey versus Snake.

The monkeys in India, knowing by instinct the malignity of the snakes, are most vigilant in their destruction; they seize them when asleep by the neck, and running to the nearest flat stone, grind down the head by a strong friction on the surface, frequently looking at it, and grinning at their progress. When convinced that the venomous fangs are destroyed, they toss the reptiles to their young ones to play with, and seem to rejoice in the destruction of their common enemy.

ANECDOTE LXXXI.

Musical Mice.

"One rainy winter evening, as I was alone in my chamber," relates an American gentleman, "I took up my flute and commenced playing. In a few minutes my attention was directed to a mouse that I saw creeping from a hole, and advancing to the chair in which I was sitting. I ceased playing, and it ran precipitately back to its hole; I began again shortly afterwards, and was much surprised to see it reappear, and take its old position. The appearance of the little animal was truly delightful; it couched itself on the floor, shut its eyes, and appeared in ecstasy; I ceased playing, and it instantly disappeared again. This experiment I repeated frequently with the same success, observing that it was always differently affected, as the music varied from the slow and plaintive, to the brisk or lively. It finally went off, and all my art could not entice it to return."

ANECDOTE LXXXII.

Soliciting Succour.

A party of a ship's crew being sent ashore on a part of the coast of India, for the purpose of cutting wood for the ship, one of the men having strayed from the rest was greatly frightened by the appearance of a large lioness, who made towards him; but on her coming up, she lay down at his feet, and looked very earnestly first at him, and then at a tree a short distance off. After repeating her looks several times, she arose, and proceeded onwards to the tree, looking back several times, as if wishing the man to follow her. At length he ventured, and coming to the tree, he perceived a huge baboon with two young cubs in her arms, which he supposed were those of the lioness, as she couched down like a cat, and seemed to eye them very steadfastly. The man being afraid to ascend the tree, decided on cutting it down, and having his axe with him, he set actively to work, when the lioness seemed most attentive to what he was doing. When the tree fell, she sprung upon the baboon, and after tearing him in pieces, she turned round and licked the cubs for some time. She then turned to the man and fawned round him, rubbing her head against him in great fondness, and in token of her gratitude for the service he had done her. After this, she took the cubs away one by one, and the man returned to the ship.

ANECDOTE LXXXIII.

A Charitable Canary.

A pair of goldfinches who had the misfortune to be captured, together with their nest and six young ones, were placed in a double cage, with a pair of canaries, which had a brood of young; there was a division of wirework between the cages. At first the goldfinches seemed careless about their young ones; but the cock canary, attracted by their cries, forced itself through a flaw in the wires, and began to feed them; an operation which it continued regularly, until the goldfinches undertook the office themselves, and rendered the humanity of the canary no longer necessary.

ANECDOTE LXXXIV.

Pugnacity.

The town of Bindrabund in India is in high estimation 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 residence of innumerable apes, whose propensity to mischief is increased by the religious respect paid to them in honour of a divinity of the Hindoo mythology, who is represented as possessing the body of an ape. In consequence of this superstition, such numbers of these animals are supported by the voluntary contributions 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, 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 this way, were attacked by a body of apes, at whom one of the gentlemen inadvertently fired. The alarm instantly drew the whole body, with the fakeers, out of the place, with so much fury, that the officers, though mounted upon elephants, were compelled to seek their safety in flight; and in endeavouring to pass the Jumna, they both perished.

ANECDOTE LXXXV.

A Carrier's Dog.

A carrier on his way to a market town had occasion to stop at some houses by the road side, in the way of his business, leaving his cart and horse upon the public road, under the protection of a passenger and a trusty dog. Upon his return he missed a led horse, belonging to a gentleman in the neighbourhood, which he had tied to the end of the cart, and likewise one of the female passengers. On inquiry he was informed that during his absence the female, who had been anxious to try the mettle of the pony, had mounted it, and that the animal had set off at full speed. The carrier expressed much anxiety for the safety of the young woman, casting at the same time an expressive look at his dog. Oscar observed his master's eye, and aware of its meaning, instantly set off in pursuit of the pony, which coming up with soon after, he made a sudden spring, seized the bridle, and held the animal fast. Several people having observed the circumstance, and the perilous situation of the girl, came to relieve her. Oscar, however, notwithstanding their repeated endeavours, would not quit his hold, and the pony was actually led into the stable with the dog, till such time as the carrier should arrive. Upon the carrier entering the stable, Oscar wagged his tail in token of satisfaction, and immediately relinquished the bridle to his master.

ANECDOTE LXXXVI.

Humane Society.

A large colony of rooks had resided many years in a grove on the banks of a river. One serene evening the idle members amused themselves with chasing each other through endless mazes, and in their flight they made the air sound with an infinitude of discordant noises. In the midst of these playful exertions it unfortunately happened that one rook, by a sudden turn, struck his beak against the wing of another. The sufferer instantly fell into the river. A general cry of distress ensued. The birds hovered with every expression of anxiety over their distressed companion.

Animated by their sympathy, and perhaps by the language of counsel known to themselves, he sprang into the air, and by one strong effort reached the point of a rock that projected into the river. The joy became loud and universal; but, alas! it was soon changed into notes of lamentation, for the poor wounded bird, in attempting to fly towards his nest, dropped again into the river and was drowned, amid the moans of his whole fraternity.

ANECDOTE LXXXVII.

Fox Chasing.

During a fox hunt, Reynard, being hard pressed, was reduced to the necessity of taking refuge up a chimney of a hothouse. He was followed by one of the hounds, who, passing through a flue upwards of fifty feet in length, came out at the top of the chimney, but missed Reynard in its murky recess. By this time a number of people were collected at the top of the chimney, who let down a terrier, who soon made him come in view, holding fast by his brush.

ANECDOTE LXXXVIII.

Escape of Jengis Khan.

The Mogul and Kalmuc Tartars attribute to the white owl the preservation of Jengis Khan, the founder of their empire; and they pay it on that account almost divine honours. The prince, with a small army, happened to be surprised and put to flight by his enemies. Forced to seek concealment in a coppice, an owl settled on the bush under which he was hid. At the sight of this animal the prince's pursuers never thought of searching the spot, conceiving 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.

ANECDOTE LXXXIX.

A Refugee Squirrel.

A squirrel, whose bad luck it was to be captured, was lodged for safe custody in a trap used for taking rats alive. Here he remained for several weeks, till at length, panting for liberty, he contrived to make his escape through a window, and repaired once more to his native fields. The family in which he had been a sportive inmate, were not a little vexed at the loss of their little favourite, 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; but on proceeding to discharge his duty, he found to his surprise that the squirrel, all wet and ruffled by the storm, had reassumed his station, and again taken up his lodgings in a corner of the trap.

ANECDOTE XC.

Retaliation.

A wild stork was brought by a farmer into his poultry yard to be the companion of a tame one, which he had long kept there; but the tame stork, disliking a rival, fell upon the poor stranger, and beat him so unmercifully that he was compelled to take wing, and with some difficulty escaped. About four months afterwards, however, he returned to the poultry yard, recovered of his wounds, and attended by three other storks, who no sooner alighted, than they all together fell upon the tame stork, and killed him.

ANECDOTE XCI.

A Newsman Extraordinary.

One of the carriers of a large newspaper having become indisposed, his son took his place; but not knowing the subscribers he was to supply, he took for his guide a dog which had usually attended his father. The animal trotted on a-head of the boy, and stopped at every door where the paper was in use to be left, without making a single omission or mistake.

ANECDOTE XCII.

The Bear Cubs.

A female bear, with two cubs, approached near a whaler, and was shot. The cubs not attempting to escape, were taken alive. These animals, though at first evidently very unhappy, became at length in some measure reconciled to their situation, and being tolerably tame, were allowed occasionally to go at large about the deck. While the ship was moored to a floe, a few days after they were taken, one of them having a rope fastened round his neck, was thrown overboard. It immediately swam to the ice, got upon it, and attempted to escape. Finding itself, however, detained by the rope, it endeavoured to disengage itself in the following ingenious way. Near the edge of the floe was a crack in the ice of considerable length, but only eighteen inches or two feet wide, and three or four feet deep. To this spot the bear turned; and when, on crossing the chasm, the bight of the rope fell into it, he placed himself across the opening; then suspending himself by his hind feet, with a leg on each side, he dropped his head and most part of his body into the chasm; and with a foot applied to each side of the neck, attempted for some minutes to push the rope over his head. Finding this scheme ineffectual, he removed to the main ice, and running with great impetuosity from the ship, gave a remarkable pull on the rope; then going backward a few steps, he repeated the jerk. At length, after repeated attempts to escape this way, every failure of which he announced by a significant growl, he yielded himself to his hard necessity, and lay down on the ice in angry and sullen silence.

ANECDOTE XCIII.

Noble Perseverance.

Elephants were, of old, employed in India in the launching of ships. It is related of one, that, being directed to force a very large vessel into the water, the work proved superior to its strength; his master, with sarcastic tone, bid the keeper take away the lazy beast, and bring another: the poor animal instantly repeated his efforts, fractured his skull, and died on the spot.

ANECDOTE XCIV.

The Catcher Caught.

During a sudden inundation of the Rhine, a hare, unable to escape through the water to an eminence, climbed up a tree. One of the boatmen rowing about to assist the unfortunate inhabitants, observing puss, rowed up to the tree, and mounted it, eager for the game, without properly fastening his boat. The terrified hare, on the approach of its pursuer, sprang from the branch into the boat, which thus set in motion floated away, leaving its owner in the tree in dread of being washed away by the current. After several hours' anxiety, he was perceived, and taken off by some of his companions.

ANECDOTE XCV.

Deceiving the Fowler.

A young pointer, out with his master hunting, ran on a brood of very small partridges. The old bird cried, fluttered, and ran trembling along just before the dog's nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable distance; when she took wing and flew farther off, but not out of the field. On this the dog returned nearly to the place where the young ones lay concealed in the grass; which the old bird no sooner perceived, than she flew back again, settled first before the dog's nose, and a second time acted the same part, rolling and tumbling about till she drew off his attention from the brood, and thus succeeded in preserving them.

ANECDOTE XCVI.

Old Habits.

An eminent Scotch lawyer, having cause to visit London, decided to perform the journey on horseback in preference to posting, for this was before the days of railways. He therefore purchased a horse before starting, and on his arrival at the metropolis, following the usual custom, disposed of his nag, deciding to purchase another for the return journey. When he had completed his business, and had decided to set out for home, he went to Smithfield to purchase a horse. About dusk, a handsome horse was offered to him at so cheap a rate, that he was led to suspect the animal to be unsound; but as he could discover no blemish he became the purchaser. Next morning he set out on his journey; his horse had excellent paces, and the first few miles, while the road was well frequented, our traveller spent in congratulating himself on his good fortune. On Finchley Common the traveller met a clergyman driving a one-horse chaise. There was nobody within sight, and the horse by his manoeuvre plainly intimated what had been the profession of his former master. Instead of passing the chaise, he laid his counter close up to it, and stopped it, having no doubt that his rider would embrace so fair an opportunity of exercising his vocation. The clergyman, under the same mistake, produced his purse unasked, and assured the inoffensive and surprised horseman that it was unnecessary to draw his pistol. The traveller rallied his horse, with apologies to the gentleman, whom he had unwillingly affrighted, and pursued his journey. The horse next made the same suspicious approach to a coach, from the windows of which a blunderbuss was levelled, with denunciations of death and destruction to the rider, who was innocent of all offence in deed or word. In short, after his life had been once or twice endangered by the suspicions to which his horse's conduct gave rise, and his liberty as often threatened by peace officers, who were disposed to apprehend him as a notorious highwayman, he found himself obliged to part with the animal for a mere trifle, and to purchase at a dearer rate a horse of less external figure and action, but of better moral habits.

ANECDOTE XCVII.

A Philosophic Cat.

A young cat, which sometimes was permitted the indulgence of taking her place in the domestic circle, upon the carpet before the fire in the parlour, one day came in when one of the party was spinning upon a line wheel. Having never seen such a thing before, she became extremely alarmed by its appearance and motion. She couched down in an attitude of fear and of investigation; and yet at such a distance as would admit of a speedy retreat if it should prove to be alive, and an enemy. She crept slowly all along the wheel, with her eyes steadily fixed on it, and with a very singular expression of countenance, till at length, not being able to satisfy herself, she retreated towards the door, impatiently waiting to make her escape; which she did the moment it was in her power, with great precipitation.

The next morning, when she came into the room, the wheel then standing still, she advanced courageously towards it, and after an apparently careful examination, walking all round, ventured upon the further experiment of endeavouring to ascertain with her paw whether there was really anything to be apprehended from it. Still not finding any motion, our philosopher of the Newtonian school, satisfied that she had nothing to fear, seated herself quietly by the fire; and the next time she saw it in motion, she sprang gaily forward, and enjoyed her triumph, by playing with the object of her former terror.

ANECDOTE XCVIII.

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 which, however, there seemed but little chance, for the sea was running so high, that a boat which left the ship was lost. A few days after, when the gates of Gibraltar were opened in the morning, the guard were surprised by Valiant, as the ass was called, presenting himself for admittance. On entering, he proceeded immediately to the stable of a merchant, which he had formerly occupied. The poor animal had not only swam safely to the 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, intersected by streams, which he had never traversed before, and in so short a period, that he could not have made one false turn.

ANECDOTE XCIX.

Honours Paid to Living and Departed Worth.

The people of Athens, when they had finished the temple called _Hecatompedon_, set at liberty the beasts of burden that had been chiefly employed in that work, suffering them to pasture at large, free from any further service. It is said that one of these afterwards came of its own accord to work, and putting itself at the head of the labouring cattle, marched before them to the citadel. The people were pleased with this spontaneous action, and made a decree that the animal should be kept at the public charge as long as it lived. Many have shown particular marks of regard in burying animals which they had cherished and been fond of. The graves of Cimon's mares, with which he thrice conquered at the Olympic games, are still to be seen near his own tomb. Xanthippus, whose dog swam by the side of his galley to Salamis, when the Athenians were forced to abandon their city, afterwards buried it with great pomp upon a promontory, which to this day is called the _Dog's Grave_. In Pliny, we have an amusing account of a superb funeral ceremony, which took place during the reign of Claudius; in which the illustrious departed was no other than a crow, so celebrated for its talents and address, that it was looked upon as a sort of public property. Its death was felt as a national loss; the man who killed it was condemned to expiate the crime with his own life; and nothing less than a public funeral could, as it was thought, do justice to its memory. The remains of the bird were laid on a bier, which was borne by two slaves; musicians went before it, playing mournful airs; and an infinite number of persons, of all ages and conditions, brought up the rear of the melancholy procession.

ANECDOTE C.

A Child Saved.