A gentleman, some time ago, travelling through Mecklenburgh, was witness to a very singular circumstance respecting one of these animals, in the post-house at New Hargarel. After dinner, the landlord placed on the floor a large dish of soup, and gave a loud whistle. Immediately there came into the room a mastiff, an Angora cat, an old raven, and a large Rat with a bell about its neck. They all four went to the dish, and without disturbing each other, fed together; after which, the dog, cat, and Rat lay before the fire, while the raven hopped about the room. The landlord, after accounting for the familiarity which existed among these animals, informed his guest that the Rat was the most useful of the four; for that the noise he made had completely freed the house from the Rats and mice with which it had been before infested. [Illustration: THE WATER RAT, (_Arvicola amphibia_,)] INHABITS the banks of rivers and ponds, where he digs holes, always above the water-mark, and feeds on roots and aquatic plants. This animal is nearly as large as the brown Rat, but has a larger head, a blunter nose, and smaller eyes; its ears are very short, and almost hidden in the fur, and the tip of its tail is whitish; the cutting-teeth are of a deep yellow colour in front, very strong, and much resembling those of the beaver. Its head and back are covered with long black hair, and its belly with iron gray. Tail more than half the length of the body, covered with hairs. Fur thick and shining; of a rich reddish brown, mixed with gray above, yellowish gray beneath. The female produces a brood of five or six young ones once (and sometimes twice) a year. THE LEMMING, _(Myodes Lemmus_,) WHICH is a near relation of the water-rat, and of about the same size, is covered with fur of a yellowish colour variegated with black. This animal resides in the mountains of Norway and Sweden, and is remarkable for performing extraordinary migrations in vast bodies at the approach of a severe winter, and making their appearance so suddenly and unexpectedly that people formerly asserted they had fallen from the clouds. Notwithstanding their supposed celestial origin, they are, however, very unwelcome visitors, as they devour everything eatable that comes in their way, and commit devastations almost as serious as those of the locusts. THE SHORT-TAILED FIELD-MOUSE, OR FIELD-VOLE.