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The round, yet delicate form of the Mouse, and the better expression of its countenance, make it an object much more worthy of admiration than the rat, of which it is but a diminished representative. It has the same destructive propensities, assembles also in vast numbers, and is equally carnivorous; but with all these, it is a more tamable and lovable animal. There is a white variety which is often nurtured as a pet. Mr. Darwin says, that with other small Rodents, numbers live together in nearly desert places, as long as there are a few blades of vegetation left; and that they swarm on the borders of salt-lakes, where not a drop of fresh water can be procured. Some of them lay up stores of food, especially those which inhabit northern countries.

Field mice do an infinity of harm to young plantations, by nibbling off the young shoots, and, in order to catch them, pits from eighteen to twenty inches deep, are sunk in the soil, which are wider at the bottom than the top, so that they cannot easily get out. One hundred thousand were destroyed in this manner in the Forest of Dean, and about the same number in the New Forest. They make very beautiful round nests, of curiously plaited blades of wheat, split into narrow strips with their teeth, and in them will often be found nine little mice. These nests are suspended to some stalks, or thistles.

I can bear witness to the possibility of taming mice, for I kept six in a box for several months, which were so well fed, that they did not attempt to gnaw their dwelling. I had a sort of little cart constructed for them, with bone buttons for wheels, and a packthread harness; and on being taken out of the box, they remained perfectly quiet till the harness was put upon them, and when that was done, they started at full gallop along the top of a square piano. Of course, care was taken to turn them back when they reached the end; but they soon learned to turn of their own accord, and performed their journey with as much regularity as well-trained horses. Death deprived me of my steeds; but I suspect it was in consequence of the injudicious cramming which I bestowed upon my favourites.

During an illness of some week's duration, mice were to me a source both of amusement and annoyance; the former certainly predominating. A wainscot ledge ran round the room in which I lay, and it was their delight to scamper after one another upon this projection; but as the head of my curtain-less bed was close to it, they so frequently diverged on to my face, that I was obliged to have it drawn at least a yard from the wall. Sometimes also, they dragged away my pocket handkerchief, which, from not being immediately missed, was not recovered till sundry holes had been nibbled in it. A small table stood by my bed-side; having on it a basin full of cold tea, which formed my night beverage. On one occasion, my light was extinguished, and I heard a scratching against the legs of the table. I guessed the cause, and tried to frighten the climber away; but I suspect he mounted by the bed clothes, for I presently heard something flop into the tea. All was silent; and I concluded the intruder was drowned; but of course, whatever my thirst, I did not attempt to drink. When daylight came, there sat a poor mouse, holding up his little chin just above the liquid. Had he moved he must have been suffocated; and he had been all those hours in this position. It was impossible to take away a life so hardly earned, and he was allowed to rejoin his companions.

The head-quarters of my mice seemed to be a large closet in one corner of the room, from which they constantly issued, and to which they retreated on the least alarm, for it was always accessible, in consequence of the door not closing properly. They often appeared to me to hold a council, for they would sally forth in a body; not giddily, and as if by chance, but with all the gravity of diplomatic characters, and form a circle, when deliberations commenced. They were carried on in a language between a squeak and a chatter, and occasionally one would rise, and place himself in another part of the circle. I would have given a great deal to have understood what was going on; but as I could not, I occasionally disturbed them by laughing, when they huddled back to the closet; and when I grew stronger, I sometimes dashed a pillow in among them, which made the poor senators breathless with agitation, and scuffle under the furniture, till they thought they might gain the closet in safety. I little imagined the deeds committed in that domicile, or I might not have been so indulgent to them; it was no less than gnawing holes in some valuable antelope, monkey, and leopard skins, which were to have been sent to my friends by the next departing vessel.

When I was allowed to eat, my appetite was kindly tempted by dainties sent to me by friends, and which were placed under tin covers, on the top of a chest of drawers. The endeavours of my rodent companions to get at these were excessively droll; but as fast as they clambered an inch or two up the sides, the slippery metal caused them to slide down again; then they thought if they could but get to the top of the cover, they should succeed; so they mounted upon each others' shoulders, and accomplished the feat, but not their purpose; instead of getting inside, down they came in a body again, but they became so used to my laughter, that they did not mind it. Many of them combined together to push the cover off the dish; but it was too firmly retained by the rim to be moved. One day they thought they had triumphed, for the cover was not quite put down in one place. A summons was evidently given, and presently a number of little paws were inserted to raise it still higher; but instead of doing this, the cover slipped on to their paws, and it was very ludicrous to see their pain and mortification. After this they so far abandoned the attempt that only one would be occasionally seen walking round, as if by reconnoitering the fortress again, his genius would suggest a successful termination to the enterprise.

In an American scientific journal, there is a well-authenticated account of a strange and overpowering sensibility to music, as evinced by a mouse. It says, "that one evening, as a few officers on board a British man-of-war, in the harbour of Portsmouth, were seated round the fire, one of them began to play a plaintive air upon the violin. He had scarcely performed ten minutes, when a mouse, apparently frantic, made its appearance in the centre of the floor. The strange gestures of the little animal strongly excited the attention of the officers, who, with one consent, resolved to suffer it to continue its singular actions unmolested. Its exertions appeared to be greater every moment; it shook its head, leapt about, and exhibited signs of the most ecstatic delight. It was observed that in proportion to the gradations of the tones to the soft point, the feelings of the animal appeared to be increased. After performing actions, which an animal so diminutive would, at first sight, seem incapable of, the little creature, to the astonishment of the delighted spectators, suddenly ceased to move, fell down, and expired without evincing any symptoms of pain."