free
from the Norway rat, and the greater the number, of course the more
impudent they become. In Ceylon, I am told, where they are innumerable,
they perch on the top of a chair, or screen, and sit there till
something is thrown at them, at which they slowly retreat. A noise is
heard in the verandah close by you, and you see a party of rats,
disputing with a dog for the possession of some object. A traveller in
Ceylon saw his dogs set upon a rat, and making them relinquish it, he
took it up by the tail, the dogs leaping after it the whole time; he
carried it into his dining-room, to examine it there by the light of the
lamp, during the whole of which period it remained as if it were dead;
limbs hanging, and not a muscle moving. After five minutes he threw it
among the dogs, who were still in a state of great excitement; and to
the astonishment of all present, it suddenly jumped upon its legs, and
ran away so fast that it baffled all its pursuers.

One evening, when at Bathurst, St. Mary's, I was sitting at work in an
upper room, and in the midst of the stillness, heard somewhat breathing
close to me. There was no other person in the chamber except my child,
who was asleep in bed. Although startled, I did not move, but casting my
eyes round I saw a huge rat, sitting upon the table at my elbow,
watching every movement of my fingers. I could scarcely help laughing at
his cool impudence, and suppose I had been too much absorbed by thought,
or employment, to notice his approach. I gradually laid down my work,
and slipping quietly out of the room, as if I had not perceived him,
called the servants. It was supposed that there were nests of rats in
the chimney; for that Government House had been wisely provided with the
possibility of having fires in the rooms during the rainy season; and
the hunt began. I jumped on to the bed, not only to be out of the way,
but to keep the rats from the place where my child was. Two of the men,
furnished with sticks, routed the enemy from their hiding-places, and
four others squatted at the corners of the room, holding a cloth spread
between their hands. They said it was most likely the rats would run
round the walls, and they should therefore catch them in the open cloth.
The event proved them to be right; the frightened animals rushed to
them, were immediately enclosed, and their necks were wrung in a moment.
After the hunt was ended, they were thrown over the verandah into the
garden, to th