Chatterbox, 1905.

Excerpt

PRESENCE OF MIND.

A general had been very unfortunate in a battle, and his defeat so preyed on his mind that he lost his reason. He had to be kept confined in a room in his own house, and an attendant was always near to wait upon him, and to prevent him from doing harm. One day, an officer who had been paying him a friendly visit happened to leave his sword and scabbard in the general's room. As soon as the officer had gone, the general seized the sword. Then he rushed at the man who attended him, saying, 'Now I can cut off your head.' The attendant answered, 'Oh, sir, anybody can cut off one head; it would be a stroke more worthy of you to cut off two. Wait a moment till I go for another.' To this the general consented, and the man quickly made his escape from the room. Needless to say, he returned with help and overcame the madman; he owed his life to his ready presence of mind in this strange peril.

True Anecdotes.

The goodwill shown by one animal to another in time of need is an example to us all. Very lowly creatures are able to understand, and are ready to help each other like brothers, with no other motive than their comrade's need, and no other reward than the power to relieve it.

There is a kind of beetle which makes a ball or pellet of manure, in the middle of which it places its egg. This it rolls towards a hole previously dug, and drops it in. One of these beetles was seen painfully toiling to roll its little ball out of a cart-rut, into which it had tumbled; he was trying with all his tiny might, but all in vain. After pushing it up the side a great many times, the ball rolling back again, he went off to a manure-heap close by, and came back with two other beetles, his neighbours. All three set to work shoulder to shoulder, and between them shoved the ball out of the rut. Having done as they would be done by, the assistants then returned to their own business.

Sir Frederick Doyle, while watching some wasps eating plums on his trees, knocked one down without killing it. The wasp fell into a large spider's web below. To his surprise a fellow-wasp instantly flew down to the rescue. He poised himself close to the spider's web, whirling his wings till they looked like glittering rainbows, so fast that their shape could not be seen. This was to prevent them from being caught in the sticky web, and all the time he was striking deft and rapid blows at the threads that held his friend fast. At length he cut him out, but the poor rescued insect fell down to die upon the ground. The observer adds: 'I was so much struck with this proof of a heart as well as a brain in the case of wasps that I not only spared the "V.C." wasp who rescued his friend, but also the rest of the troop, and left the plums to their fate.'

The weasel, that terrible foe to rabbits and rats, is not famous for good temper, yet a pretty tale is told of one of them. A gentleman was riding home, when his horse trod on a weasel, which was unable to get out of the way in time. The poor little animal's spine seemed to be hurt, and it could not move its hind legs. Presently another weasel came out of the hedge by the roadside, and went up to the injured one. After carefully inspecting it, the second weasel picked up the first and carried it to the side of the road, out of the way of the traffic, where he gently laid it down.

Wild elephants seem unable to bear the sight of suffering friends without an attempt to save them, and in particular the wild herds of these noble beasts love and protect their leaders. When pressed by hunters, they place him in the midst and crowd in front of him, eager to save his life at the expense of their own. Professor Romanes gives an instance of a fine 'tusker' which, when badly wounded, was promptly surrounded by his companions. They supported him between their shoulders, and actually succeeded in covering his retreat to the forest....