The Adventures of a Squirrel, Supposed to be Related by Himself Part 1

The Adventures of a Squirrel, Supposed to be Related by Himself.

by Anonymous.

PREFACE.

To MISS ANNE S*****.

_My dear Anne,_

_When I was upon a visit at your good mamma's, I promised to make you a present. Now a present for a girl of your age (if I only considered your age) is easy enough to find; but when I think on your good sense, I cannot reconcile myself to buy for you what I otherwise should. Not to keep you in suspense, I have at last found out a present, which I hope will be agreeable to you. Attend to the following adventure: I was walking, about a week ago, in the fields adjoining my house at Croydon. The evening was so delightful, I wandered insensibly much farther than I at first intended to go. The prospect was so charming, and the hay smelt so agreeably, that I never thought of returning, till I found myself rather tired, so sat down by one of the hayc.o.c.ks to rest myself.

After having sufficiently rested, I made the best of my way towards home; when, (guess my surprise!) putting my hand in my pocket, I felt something soft, which seemed as if it moved, and pulling it out, I found it to be as pretty a Squirrel as you would wish to see. He ran round the table several times, and giving a good spring, seated himself on the dumb waiter. I immediately said to one of my servants: "I wonder how this squirrel got in my pocket," when my surprise was greatly increased by hearing it say, "If you will use me kindly, I will relate my history, and then you will learn what made me get into your pocket." My dear Anne immediately came in my mind, for I thought nothing would be more agreeable to her than, "The Adventures of a Squirrel, related by himself." "Come and sit nearer to me," said I, "that I may hear better all you are going to relate." After having seated himself once more, he began as follows._

_ADVENTURES_

OF A

SQUIRREL, &c.

_CHAPTER I._

I was born in Caen Wood, near Hampstead. Being taken out of the nest, (in which were my mother and my brother,) very young, I shall begin by telling you, I was carried to the house of him that stole me, which was at Hackney. Here I was tied to a long pole, till he could procure a cage, which was not till the end of three weeks; when (what he termed) a very nice one came home, with a chain to fasten round my neck, with a padlock, when I came out of the cage. The chain he fastened on me directly, and it remained on, till my house was properly aired. When he thought I might with safety enter my house, he took off the chain, and carried me, exulting in his prize, to his sister; for he had kept me quite secure, till he could present me to her politely. She thanked him for his kind present, and then proposed making a trial of my abilities in the exercising way. You, perhaps, may wonder what this exercise was. My cage was made to go round upon wires, so that whenever I moved it went round, and caused a tinkling with some bells that were fixed for that purpose. At this exercise I remained nearly half an hour, and whenever I attempted to stand still, they p.r.i.c.ked me with a pin. Luckily the dinner bell rang, or they might have kept me at it half an hour more.

I will now give you some account of my master and his family.

His name was Thomas Howard, upon the whole, I believe, a very good-natured boy. His sister's name was Sophia; and he had a father and mother. While my master and the family were at dinner, I made the best use of my time, and devoured every thing that I found in my cage. Having finished my repast, I was alarmed at hearing the voice of Thomas, (whom I wished at York,) bawling to his sister, "Shall I bring him down;" and still more alarmed by hearing her squeaking voice (which I wished at Dover) p.r.o.nounce, "Yes." I sat in my cage trembling, every minute expecting to be taken down and exercised; but was relieved by hearing Tom fall almost from the top of the stairs to the bottom. In a minute the whole house was in an uproar. Mr. and Mrs. Howard came running out: she applied the hartshorn to his nose and temples; the servants were running some one way, some another. Sophia, too, was not silent. At last, when poor Thomas was lifted up, and his wounds examined, there was nothing found but a great b.u.mp on the back part of his head; which, when he found out, he gave a loud laugh, and ran up stairs as fast as he did before. Now I was more alarmed than ever, imagining that, as he had fell down in coming to fetch me, he might look upon me as the cause of his fall, and might therefore use me with greater violence. When he came up, he took me in my cage into the parlour. Here I had an opportunity of seeing the company: at the top sat Mrs. Howard; on her right hand Miss Sophia Howard; next to her sat Tom Wilkins, one of Tom Howard's schoolfellows; at the bottom sat Mr. Howard, next to him Miss Eliza Wilkins, and next to her Tom Howard. I was now made to exercise again, for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the company; who, in return, very generously gave me cherries, and any other nice thing I chose to eat. At last they ventured to let me out, and Tom Howard forgot to put my chain on. The love of liberty being too strong in me, I jumped off the table without farther ceremoney. All the company rose up, (which, by the bye, had they not done, they might have caught me much sooner than they did,) and ran after me. The room not being quite wide enough to admit so many as tried to pa.s.s by the table at once, Eliza Wilkins tumbled and tripped up Tom Howard, who was behind her, and could not stop himself. Sophia was very near down, but saved herself at the expence of young Wilkins, whose waistcoat she caught hold of, by which he fell on young Howard and Eliza. While they were in this confusion, I jumped upon a pier-gla.s.s which hung in the room, where I sat all the time.

When they had all scrambled up they began to look for me again, but in a more cautious manner than they had done before. At last Wilkins spied me, and winked at young Howard, who, mounting the table which stood under the gla.s.s, made me once more his prisoner.

I was then put into my cage and exercised, but presently taken out again, and my chain fastened on, to hinder my escape if I attempted it a second time. Mr. Howard told Tom that he was sure, by having me out so soon after my fright, I should certainly get loose; however, Tom began to play with me, till a lucky accident put an end to his joy, and gave me my liberty. A nice plate of apples was placed between young Howard and Wilkins. Now there happened to be one among them much finer than the rest; on this apple they had both fixed their eyes, and both tried which could finish eating what they had begun, that they might take the fine one, which had so charmed them only by looking at it. But Miss Wilkins, who had likewise seen it, and most likely longed for it as much as they did, asked her brother to hand her the plate. He seized, (or tried to seize, for Howard was as quick as he,) the favourite apple, and a skirmish ensued; in which glorious skirmish I was knocked off the table. The maid coming in at the very moment, I ran down stairs and out at the street door, where the milkman was standing; which was, I suppose, the reason the maid came up stairs. I continued running as fast as I could, (for my chain sadly hindered me,) till I came to some fields, where I climbed a tree and stayed in it all night.

_CHAPTER II._

When night came I found myself very hungry, so ventured to come down. My chain rattling at my heels, hindered me from running; but, however I got, on a good way, when I felt myself stopped, and found I was entangled in a gooseberry bush, in a very handsome garden. Fortunately, the owner used to walk in it every morning before breakfast; I saw her pa.s.s me once or twice, (for I waited very patiently till morning,) but one time, as she was walking by, I made an effort to get loose, which made her turn, and perceiving me, she called her servant to extricate me. She then carried me into the parlour, and put me into a cage; not such a one as I had inhabited before, it was a very nice one, without any bells. In the parlour was a young lady about fourteen years old; between whom and the lady I heard the following dialogue.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _I made an effort to get loose._]

_Niece._ Dear, aunt! what have you got another squirrel? What a pretty one it is! where did you get it?

_Aunt._ I found it in the garden, entangled in a bush. If I had not been walking in the garden, very likely he might have died.

I should have been very sorry to have found him dead.

_Niece._ How fortunate this is: but I cannot help pitying poor Tom--what a pretty fellow he was, and how sad a death it was to be devoured by the cat. I think he was the prettiest squirrel I ever saw.

_Aunt._ Well, now really, I think this much prettier. Poor fellow!

how he trembles.

_Niece._ What a pretty chain. I dare say some young lady has lost him, by his having such a nice chain.

_Aunt._ Well, then all we have to do, is to feed him well, and, if we find the owner, return him.

_Niece._ I hope we may never find out who it belongs to.

_Aunt._ You should not say so, my dear. Now suppose, Nancy, you had a squirrel and it ran away from you, how should you like never to see it again? and should not you think it wrong, if any body had found it, and knew who it belonged to, and would not return it? To be sure you would.

_Niece._ True, madam, but I did not think of that. But Aunt, very likely he is hungry: shall I get him something to eat?

_Aunt._ Do, my love.--Nancy then ran, but presently returned with a nice mess of bread and milk, which I eat very heartily. She then put some clean hay, and a handful of nuts into my cage. A knock at the door called off the attention of Nancy, and presently entered two young ladies and a young gentleman. One of the young ladies was Miss f.a.n.n.y Hudson; the other was Miss Kitty Bell; and the young gentleman, Master Henry Hudson, brother to f.a.n.n.y. As soon as they entered the room, they paid the usual compliments to Mrs.

Greville, (which was the name of the good lady who found me,) but had their eye upon me all the time. The following discourse I can pretty well remember, as it began concerning me; and we usually listen with greater attention when the conversation is concerning ourselves.

_f.a.n.n.y._ What a pretty squirrel you have got, Miss Greville: what is become of the other?

_Nancy._ Oh dear, f.a.n.n.y! if I have not told you, you have a dreadful piece of news to hear. Oh dear! how my heart did jump up and down for two hours after it. The cat had no dinner on Thursday. I was playing with my squirrel, when the maid entered the room, and did not see the cat till my poor Tom was in her mouth; and what was almost as bad, I flung my work-bag at her in a rage, it caught in the lock of the door, and tore this large hole in it. I was so vexed.

_Kitty._ Enough to make you vexed, indeed. But you seem to have got a squirrel just as pretty as Tom was.

_Nancy._ And we got it in the oddest manner. My aunt was walking in the garden, and found it, with its chain on, entangled in the bushes.

_Henry._ Exactly the way I found my dog. He was in the garden with a great stick tied to his tail, all over mud and dirt; but I cleaned him, and now I would not part with him for a guinea.

_Kitty._ Suppose, Nancy, we let him out: I think he seems very tame.

_Nancy._ I really do not think he is very tame; we have not had him a day yet.

_f.a.n.n.y._ Well! but if he was to be let out, tame or not tame, what do you think he would do?

_Henry._ Why jump off, and run away, to be sure. Are you such a stupid creature, not to know that?

Here the conversation was interrupted by a squeak from the further corner of the room. The case was this: Kitty, like an obstinate girl, had come to my cage, and, while Nancy was looking another way, opened my door; upon which I walked out very composedly, and should have staid on the table, had she not screamed in such a manner as quite startled me. I jumped off, and ran under her chair. The whole company started up, and ran toward Kitty, who began to cry, conscious of its being her fault; but presently Nancy desired her not to cry, as there was no harm done; for I had run into the dear girl's hand, the moment she stooped to try to catch me. The young folks now departed. When I was put into my cage again, (after having received two kisses from Nancy, for being so tame,) she brought me some food, and let me take a little rest after my fright. In short, I lived a fortnight in the happiest manner I could have wished. But, alas! one day, as Nancy was playing with me, (without my chain,) the murderer of my predecessor entered. I was so shocked, that in two jumps I was out of the window, which two jumps I shall regret as long as I live; for I never was happier than at the good Mrs. Grevilles. I ran, as fast as I possibly could, close by the wall, till I came to some fields, where I climbed up a tree, and stayed in it till night; when a company of thieves coming to divide their spoils, laid a cloth and went to supper, which, when they had finished, they went to sleep on their backs, all in a row. I then ventured to come down, and see what I could find to eat; which was nothing but a piece of bread, which I carried into the tree, and eat very heartily.

_CHAPTER III._

When I had finished it, I amused myself with chucking nuts, (of which there was plenty in the tree, though I did not notice them before,) into the men's mouths, as they lay asleep. The nuts rattling against their teeth awakened them: but I continued these pranks too long; for day beginning to appear, they had an opportunity of seeing who it was that thus tormented them. They vowed revenge, which I did not mind, not being aware of traps; but, however, the next morning, I found myself caught so fast, I could not get loose. One of the men came and took me, and after giving me two or three good blows, carried me to his little boy.

The boy luckily loved money better than squirrels, so went and sold me at a shop where they buy and sell all sorts of birds and animals. Here I led a quiet but stupid life, shut up in a cage, till somebody chose to buy me. However, in about a week's time after I had been there, a lady and her daughter went by the shop, and seeing me, the little girl begged her mamma would ask the price of me, which she did; and the man surprised me greatly, by asking four shillings for me, as he only gave the boy sixpence, who sold me to him. The lady said that was rather too much, and that she would give him three shillings. Upon hearing this, as the man made no answer, the little girl said, "Well then, mamma, if you will give three shillings, I will give the other; so you will send it home to my mamma's house, (giving him her direction,) and there is your money." You may be sure she left me no less happy than she seemed herself; for the thoughts of getting once more into such hands as Mrs. Grevilles, made me forget all former troubles. In about an hour I was sent home, where, as soon as my former master was out of the house, I had the pleasure of hearing the lady lay down the following conditions.

1st. That if any thing whatever should make her forget to give me, twice a day, my victuals, I was to be sent away.

2nd. She was never to let me out, except Mrs. Dixon (her mamma) was in the room, and gave her permission.