Adventures of a Squirrel, Supposed to be Related by Himself Read online

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  Transcriber's Note

  The spelling, grammar and punctuation in this ebook are variable andunusual. These oddities have been preserved to match the original1807 document.

  A few minor corrections have been made where typographical errors weresuspected. Details of these changes can be found in a Transcriber'sNote at the end of this text.

  _FRONTISPIECE._

  _After having seated himself._

  _preface IV._]

  THE

  _ADVENTURES_

  OF A

  SQUIRREL,

  _SUPPOSED TO BE_

  RELATED BY HIMSELF.

  London:

  PRINTED BY AND FOR DARTON AND HARVEYGRACECHURCH-STREET.

  1807._Price Sixpence._

  PREFACE.

  To MISS ANNE S*****.

  _My dear Anne,_

  _When I was upon a visit at your good mamma's, I promised to makeyou a present. Now a present for a girl of your age (if I onlyconsidered your age) is easy enough to find; but when I think onyour good sense, I cannot reconcile myself to buy for you whatI otherwise should. Not to keep you in suspense, I have at lastfound out a present, which I hope will be agreeable to you. Attendto the following adventure: I was walking, about a week ago, inthe fields adjoining my house at Croydon. The evening was sodelightful, I wandered insensibly much farther than I at firstintended to go. The prospect was so charming, and the hay smelt soagreeably, that I never thought of returning, till I found myselfrather tired, so sat down by one of the haycocks to rest myself.After having sufficiently rested, I made the best of my waytowards home; when, (guess my surprise!) putting my hand in mypocket, I felt something soft, which seemed as if it moved, andpulling it out, I found it to be as pretty a Squirrel as you wouldwish to see. He ran round the table several times, and giving agood spring, seated himself on the dumb waiter. I immediatelysaid to one of my servants: "I wonder how this squirrel got in mypocket," when my surprise was greatly increased by hearing it say,"If you will use me kindly, I will relate my history, and thenyou will learn what made me get into your pocket." My dear Anneimmediately came in my mind, for I thought nothing would be moreagreeable to her than, "The Adventures of a Squirrel, related byhimself." "Come and sit nearer to me," said I, "that I may hearbetter all you are going to relate." After having seated himselfonce more, he began as follows._

  _ADVENTURES_

  OF A

  SQUIRREL, &c.

  _CHAPTER I._

  I was born in Caen Wood, near Hampstead. Being taken out of thenest, (in which were my mother and my brother,) very young, Ishall begin by telling you, I was carried to the house of him thatstole 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 threeweeks; when (what he termed) a very nice one came home, with achain to fasten round my neck, with a padlock, when I came out ofthe cage. The chain he fastened on me directly, and it remainedon, till my house was properly aired. When he thought I might withsafety enter my house, he took off the chain, and carried me,exulting in his prize, to his sister; for he had kept me quitesecure, till he could present me to her politely. She thanked himfor his kind present, and then proposed making a trial of myabilities in the exercising way. You, perhaps, may wonder whatthis exercise was. My cage was made to go round upon wires, sothat whenever I moved it went round, and caused a tinkling withsome bells that were fixed for that purpose. At this exercise Iremained nearly half an hour, and whenever I attempted to standstill, 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 verygood-natured boy. His sister's name was Sophia; and he had afather and mother. While my master and the family were at dinner,I made the best use of my time, and devoured every thing that Ifound in my cage. Having finished my repast, I was alarmed athearing the voice of Thomas, (whom I wished at York,) bawling tohis sister, "Shall I bring him down;" and still more alarmed byhearing her squeaking voice (which I wished at Dover) pronounce,"Yes." I sat in my cage trembling, every minute expecting to betaken down and exercised; but was relieved by hearing Tom fallalmost from the top of the stairs to the bottom. In a minute thewhole house was in an uproar. Mr. and Mrs. Howard came runningout: she applied the hartshorn to his nose and temples; theservants were running some one way, some another. Sophia, too,was not silent. At last, when poor Thomas was lifted up, and hiswounds examined, there was nothing found but a great bump on theback part of his head; which, when he found out, he gave a loudlaugh, and ran up stairs as fast as he did before. Now I was morealarmed than ever, imagining that, as he had fell down in comingto fetch me, he might look upon me as the cause of his fall, andmight therefore use me with greater violence. When he came up, hetook me in my cage into the parlour. Here I had an opportunityof seeing the company: at the top sat Mrs. Howard; on her righthand Miss Sophia Howard; next to her sat Tom Wilkins, one of TomHoward's schoolfellows; at the bottom sat Mr. Howard, next to himMiss Eliza Wilkins, and next to her Tom Howard. I was now made toexercise again, for the amusement of the company; who, in return,very generously gave me cherries, and any other nice thing I choseto eat. At last they ventured to let me out, and Tom Howard forgotto put my chain on. The love of liberty being too strong in me,I jumped off the table without farther ceremoney. All the companyrose up, (which, by the bye, had they not done, they might havecaught me much sooner than they did,) and ran after me. The roomnot being quite wide enough to admit so many as tried to passby the table at once, Eliza Wilkins tumbled and tripped up TomHoward, who was behind her, and could not stop himself. Sophia wasvery near down, but saved herself at the expence of young Wilkins,whose waistcoat she caught hold of, by which he fell on youngHoward and Eliza. While they were in this confusion, I jumped upona 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 lastWilkins spied me, and winked at young Howard, who, mounting thetable which stood under the glass, made me once more his prisoner.I was then put into my cage and exercised, but presently takenout again, and my chain fastened on, to hinder my escape if Iattempted it a second time. Mr. Howard told Tom that he was sure,by having me out so soon after my fright, I should certainly getloose; however, Tom began to play with me, till a lucky accidentput an end to his joy, and gave me my liberty. A nice plate ofapples was placed between young Howard and Wilkins. Now therehappened to be one among them much finer than the rest; on thisapple they had both fixed their eyes, and both tried which couldfinish eating what they had begun, that they might take the fineone, which had so charmed them only by looking at it. But MissWilkins, who had likewise seen it, and most likely longed for itas much as they did, asked her brother to hand her the plate. Heseized, (or tried to seize, for Howard was as quick as he,) thefavourite apple, and a skirmish ensued; in which glorious skirmishI was knocked off the table. The maid coming in at the verymoment, I ran down stairs and out at the street door, where themilkman was standing; which was, I suppose, the reason the maidcame up stairs. I continued running as fast as I could, (for mychain sadly hindered me,) till I came to some fields, where Iclimbed a tree and stayed in it all night.