THE

ADVENTURES

OF A

SQUIRREL,

SUPPOSED TO BE

RELATED BY HIMSELF.

PREFACE.

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 haycocks 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 pricked 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) pronounce, "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 bump 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 amusement 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 pass 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-glass 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