Chapter I: Preface

Let not my readers suppose that in writing THE RAMBLES OF A RAT I have simply been blowing bubbles of fancy for their amusement, to divert them during an idle hour. Like the hollow glass balls which children delight in, my bubbles of fancy have something solid within them,-- facts are enclosed in my fiction. I have indeed made rats talk, feel, and reflect, as those little creatures certainly never did; but the courage, presence of mind, fidelity, and kindness, which I have attributed to my heroes, have been shown by real rats. Such adventures as I have described have actually happened to them, unless they be those recorded in the 19th chapter, for which I have no authority. For my anecdotes of this much-despised race I am principally indebted to an interesting article on the subject which appeared in the "Quarterly Review."

I would suggest to my readers how wide and delightful a field of knowledge natural history must open to all, when there is so much to interest and admire even in those animals which we usually regard with contempt and disgust. The examination of the wondrous works of nature is a study elevating as well as delightful; for the more deeply we search into the wonders around us, the more clearly we discover the wisdom which is displayed even in the lowest forms of creation!

A. L. O. E.

[Decoration]

CONTENTS

Chap. Page.

I. The Family of Rats 9
II. A Clap-trap Discovery 15
III. Poorer than Rats 19
IV. How I made a Friend 26
V. How Bob met with an Adventure 33
VI. How I visited the Zoological Gardens 38
VII. Finding Relations 43
VIII. How I heard of Old Neighbours 51
IX. How we found a Feast 59
X. The want of a Dentist 67
XI. A Removal 74
XII. A New Road to Fame 79
XIII. How I set out on my Voyage 86
XIV. A Terrible Word 94
XV. First View of St. Petersburg 103
XVI. A Russian Kitchen 109
XVII. A Ramble over St. Petersburg 118
XVIII. How we were Transported 125
XIX. A Storm and its Consequences 132
XX. Catch him--Dead or Alive! 137
XXI. A new kind of Watch-dog 146
XXII. The Farmer and his Bride 153
XXIII. A Peep through the Roses 163

[Decoration]

THE RAMBLES OF A RAT.