Chatterbox, 1906 Part 5

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

True Tales of the Year 1806.

I.--'THE b.u.t.tERFLY'S BALL.'

Just a hundred years ago the well-known poem, 'The b.u.t.terfly's Ball and the Gra.s.shopper's Feast,' was published, and we reproduce it here because it is not always easy to get a copy of it nowadays, and some of our readers may never have seen it. The author, William Roscoe, was a noted historian and critic, and he wrote these verses to amuse his little son, Robert, who is supposed to be telling how he saw the wonderful ball. The lines about little Robert, however, were not in the poem as it was when it first appeared, and other alterations were made here and there. The poem soon became famous, and a great many imitations of it were written. It came to the notice, too, of King George and Queen Caroline, and they had it set to music to amuse the little Princess Mary.

Come, take up your hats, and away let us haste To the b.u.t.terfly's ball and the Gra.s.shopper's feast: The trumpeter Gad-fly has summoned the crew, And the revels are now only waiting for you.

So said little Robert, and pacing along, His many companions came forth in a throng, And on the smooth gra.s.s, by the side of a wood, Beneath a broad oak, which for ages had stood, Saw the children of earth and the tenants of air To an evening's amus.e.m.e.nt together repair.

And there came the Beetle, so blind and so black, Who carried the Emmet, his friend, on his back; And there was the Gnat, and the Dragon-fly too, And all their relations, green, orange, and blue.

And then came the Moth, with her plumage of down, And the Hornet, in jacket of yellow and brown; Who with him the Wasp, his companion, did bring, But they promised that evening to lay by their sting.

Then the shy little Dormouse peeped out of his hole, And led to the feast his blind cousin, the Mole; And the Snail, with her horns peeping out of her sh.e.l.l, Came, fatigued with the distance, the length of an ell.

A mushroom the table; and on it was spread A water-dock leaf, which their table-d'hote made.

The viands were various, to each of their taste, And the Bee brought the honey to sweeten the feast.

Then close on his haunches, so solemn and wise, The Frog from a corner looked up to the skies; And the Sparrow, well pleased such diversions to see, Mounted high overhead, and looked down from a tree.

Then out came the Spider, with finger so fine, To show his dexterity on the tight line.

From one branch to another his cobwebs he slung, Then quick as an arrow he darted along.

But just in the middle, oh, shocking to tell!

From his rope in an instant poor Harlequin fell.

Yet he touched not the ground, but with talons outspread, Hung suspended in air at the end of a thread.

Then the Gra.s.shopper came with a jerk and a spring; Very long was his leg, though but short was his wing; He took but three leaps, and was soon out of sight, Then chirped his own praises the rest of the night.

With steps most majestic the Snail did advance, And he promised the gazers a minuet to dance; But they all laughed so loud that he drew in his head, And went in his own little chamber to bed.

Then as evening gave way to the shadows of night, Their watchman, the Glow-worm, came out with his light: So home let us hasten, while yet we can see, For no watchman is waiting for you or for me.

So said little Robert, and pacing along, His many companions returned in a throng.

HIS MASTER'S HAT.

Not long ago, a fine collie dog was running happily after an omnibus, on the top of which his master was seated. Every now and then the man turned round to encourage the dog, and at last, as he did this, a gust of wind blew off his hat, which went careering down the road by the side of the omnibus. Quick as thought, the dog darted after the hat, chased it and 'rounded it up,' as if it were a stray lamb or sheep, and by the time his master had descended from the top of the omnibus to get his lost property, the dog was waiting for him, wagging his tail, with the hat safely in his mouth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "The dog darted after the hat."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "The dog took kindly to her foster-children."]

WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY.

Notwithstanding all the care which is now bestowed upon wild animals in our zoological gardens and menageries, nearly all of them suffer a little in some way or other by confinement. When we think of the great difference which exists between the surroundings natural to a free wild animal, and those of even the best zoological gardens, we cannot but be surprised that so many animals from all parts of the world can be kept alive and in good condition in a climate so changeable as ours. Every effort is made by the keepers to copy as far as possible the natural conditions to which each animal is accustomed.

It was usual, for instance, to deprive all the flesh-eating animals of one of the greatest travelling menageries of food during one day in each week. It was found by experience that the animals were healthier when they suffered periods of fasting like this, than they were when they were fed regularly every day without a break. The explanation of this was very simple. These animals, when they were living wild in the jungles, forests, deserts, or ice-fields, obtained all their food by hunting. When game was scarce or difficult to catch, they were compelled to go hungry; and this occurred so often as to be a natural condition to which they were well accustomed. When, therefore, they were placed in cages, and were fed as regularly, though not as frequently as human beings, their health was more or less impaired.

Animals in confinement often undergo slight changes even when no alteration in their appearance or falling-off in health is noticeable.

Many of them, for instance, rarely have young ones, and even when they have, the young are seldom as healthy and robust as if born in a wild state. The keepers have frequently the utmost difficulty in rearing animals which are born in menageries and zoological gardens. Yet if these animals were born in their own countries and under natural conditions, they would grow up healthy and strong, without receiving any more care than a kitten receives from its mother.

An incident which occurred in the Zoo not long ago affords a striking ill.u.s.tration of these facts. A wolf had an ordinary family of eight young ones. The keepers, probably thinking that these were too many for the captive wolf to bring up alone, divided the family. Four of them were left with their mother, and four of them were placed in charge of a collie. The dog took kindly to her foster-children, and reared them successfully with her own. This was only what the keepers expected. But when they placed the young ones together again, and compared the collie's family with the wolf's family, they were surprised to find that the four which had been nurtured by the collie were stronger and better animals than their four brothers and sisters. The best explanation of this result is that the collie was living a healthy natural life, while the wolf, though to all appearance quite well, was not enjoying the full vigour which results from a free and active life.

W. A. ATKINSON.

UMBRELLA TREASON.

Some little time ago, there was what the newspapers described as 'unrest' in the West African colony of Lagos; telegrams were dispatched between that country and Great Britain, governors and deputy-governors were interviewed, and it was with difficulty that a native war was averted. The cause of all this commotion was an umbrella!

Now, in our country, as we all know, an umbrella is looked upon as a harmless possession--but not so in West Africa. There, amongst most of the native tribes, the umbrella is regarded as an emblem of royalty, and its possession is strictly confined to the chief or king of the tribe.

Therefore the indignation was intense on the part of one of these kings, when he found an inferior chief setting up an umbrella of his own. The king at once took a journey to Lagos, to lodge a formal complaint of the chief's treasonable conduct with the British Governor.

An African king's umbrella is a very elaborate affair, and it often costs large sums of money. Most of the umbrellas for Ashanti and the Gold Coast are made in London, and are of gigantic size, some of them when open measuring ten feet across.

The coverings of these umbrellas are of coloured silk--the brighter the better, with very deep fringes. The largest umbrellas are carried over the heads of chiefs, by bearers, while other bearers steady the umbrella by cords attached to the uppermost parts.

One state umbrella had for its apex a silver eagle standing on two silver cannons, whilst another umbrella had a gold hen on the top, the hen being surrounded by numerous chickens, to represent the chief and his tribe.

A cheap umbrella for a small chief can be had for ten pounds, but such state umbrellas as we have described are not to be had for less than sixty or even seventy guineas.

X.

THE WRONG WIND.

A breeze from the South made the rose-bushes quiver, And what did the South Wind say?

'I met with an accident, crossing the river, The ice-covered river, to-day.

''Twas frozen; and yesterday morning the skaters Were there in no end of a crowd, While Timothy Tubb in his scarf and his gaiters Was looking uncommonly proud.

'So, early this morning, on reaching the river, I looked at its surface and cried: If Tim, on that ice, can show skating so clever, Now why shouldn't I have a slide?

'But though I'm so light (oh, the thought makes me s.h.i.+ver), Crack! Bang! And from sh.o.r.e unto sh.o.r.e The water jumped out; I was half in the river, And don't mean to slide any more.

'Yet--isn't it strange?--in the coldest of winters Tim Tubb can go skating with glee; While bang! goes the ice, and it cracks into splinters 'Neath the foot of a South Wind like me.'