might
burrow under a large rhododendron clump, but after a day or two they
disappeared, and I suppose they made their escape to a neighbouring
wood, so that I have little hope of ever seeing them again.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

A MOLE.

A live mole above-ground is a somewhat rare sight, for, as a rule, his
habits are altogether subterranean; but now and then he may be captured
by a sudden grasp as he scrambles along in his odd, unwieldly fashion,
and a curious fellow he is in many ways.

Strolling quietly along a country lane one summer's evening, I heard a
great rustling in a dry ditch, the dead leaves were being scattered
right and left, and I stopped to see what could be the cause. In a
minute the black velvet coat of a mole appeared, and I at once resolved
to endeavour to catch it, though with little hope of success, for the
creature is apt to dive into the ground in an instant when alarmed.
However, watching my opportunity, I managed to seize and hold him
firmly; but I had nothing to put him in, and he struggled furiously to
escape. All I could do was to roll him up in one end of my black lace
shawl and hurry home with my capture. Alas! for the unlucky shawl--the
mole soon began rending and tearing it into shreds with his powerful
feet and teeth. I was rapidly becoming acquainted with the habits of
moles, and in a way that I should not soon forget; still, that mole must
be brought home somehow, and I next transferred him to my dress pocket,
which I held fast, whilst he scrambled and pushed his strong little
snout in all directions to find some way of escape. He was soon placed
in a zinc fern case, with glass sides, supplied with earth to burrow in,
and fed with worms. I also gave him a pan of water, as I remembered
seeing a plan of a mole's burrow which always includes a place for
water. It was a really painful sight to watch the creature feeding; he
pounced upon a worm with the fury of a tiger, and holding it in his
mouth, tore it to pieces with his sharp claws and rapidly devoured all
the pieces, and snuffing about to make sure he had quite finished it, he
then darted off to seek another. The mole has a most voracious appetite
and dies very quickly if unable to obtain food. I was interested to
watch the bustling, active life of the little creature; his morning
toilet when the black velvet coat was attended to, carefully brushed and
licked by a tiny red tongue (though it never seemed to pick