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Show IT KNDV NO rcAn, STt Otery "f llrlrf Mftlntsnca wltl M ltlndlj TRsr In Wo flnt bfearao ncquAlntnil on u rainy inght in October. I was Pitting nt my Are when I heard a faint nirtling In some rtper Unt 1 hail dropp! le-sido le-sido my cluUr, and glancing don I saw tbo bright eyes of n httlo mouse. 1 nay a little mouso, for this ono was so small Uiftt It wus cvldeutly not fully grown, and, m I soon saw, was not yet afraid of msn. It sat quietly watching mo for a full minute, whrn quietly extending lny arm I caught It In my hand. 1 mehed for the plate of cakes at mydhnw, crumbled a morsel and put It IWnra my liny captive. It was trembling a little, but presently, rwuwurcd, It began to nibble at the cake, pausing ccfy now nnd then to glanco nt me with Its bright, dark eyes. Then, having further refreshed It by a drop of aU-r proitered on a largo cii'ii point, I plactxl my little prltont r In n temporary strongliold funne-l of i siti Inkstand, a rifer weight and a ' stiiup Imx, from which It sat watching I rue without the slightest Appearnncj of uurAInem or dealre to ccipn. i My lon linen rlKH'nnl even by the I presence of thU scrap of life, I resumed j my writing, pausing every now anil , then to nml and speak to my guct, It was with real rrgnt that 1 felt I mutt rrtcnM) the little creature when my work wasflnUIiod nnd it had an other f.'ast of enkn. I heard tho clock's warning that It gtew late. With a parting part-ing smooth of Its satiny sUn with my finger, t put It on the flour and watched It steal n ay under tho wainscoting of tho room, and saw what bail twaped my observation bifnro, that the mouse wai tamoln ono limb. Of eourso I neve r etieetcd to seo It again, but on the following night was glad to see It come creeping lack nlut my feet, when I placsd it com more un my tublo. This time, feeling rather ruhamed that 1 bail oITcml It tho Indignity In-dignity before, I i nude no ntU-iupt to hold It In trlhon, but nllocd It to wander about the book nnd papers to It would, which It did In m gwtle and unobtru'ivo a wny as not to disturb me or the articles with which tin) tablo was strewn My (wn fwenied to greatly excite Its wonder, and M It hurried over th pa-pr, pa-pr, Jnnle, an I nameil my tnoue, would sit cUo to the sheet watching the tetters from Wnnnth tho mystcrl-loua. mystcrl-loua. swiftly tratellnirrnirlnp. All that winter Janlc nnd I kept each utlier company every nllit, two lm t coniiaii!ons, who never bored catIi ' other Itli eomcrsallon, and jet wire tlm lxtter for the i-otnpanloruUlp. We bad many a Jolly midnight leant to-gither, to-gither, when J an to sat upon tho edgo of ray plat, accepting such morsels as 1 proffored her, but never guilty of tho ' rudenftso( Appropriating even n truuib j uninvited, Poor little Jnnlet Her fate U unknown un-known to me, Ono night In arly spring ' I lo4ked for her In vain, and many nights after would glanco tip from my writing at the fatutent rustle In tho room, only to find that tho wind was Uierauso, or the falling of an cmler from my Uns. Hho cume no more, and though I hail no particular rauio to suspect hint, I cnnrelted an nicrJon to the household cat and alwn)s Imtkcil nwny whonevtr he sat and licked his chops before me, rhlladelphla Times. |
