GLAUCUS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XII, Issue XI, 10 March 1894, Page 239

GLAUCUS.

BOUT midsummer a few years ago my little boy burst into the room in high glee, holding * something in his closed hand. ; VW " he cried. ‘ Look at what I have got 1’ Going to his two sisters, who were playing ■* on the floor, he put down before them a very small turtle. M ‘Josie gave it to me,’ he said, ‘ and I mean * to keep it. Can’t I, papa ?’ This proposition, although warmly seconded by the two girls, met with but little favour from their mother, who •did not want the thing around.’ Still less did I approve, for I remembered too well a short, tear-blistered chapter about a little turtle like this one, which had been given to me when I was small, and which, owing to my carelessness, had been blinded by a heap of ashes.

I urged my boy to carry his turtle down to the water and liberate it. I feared that some childish carelessness would cause the turtle to suffer bodily and the children mentally. But the children pleaded so hard to be allowed to keep him that we yielded, on condition that they would take proper care of him, and return him to the water when we were about to start south.

After a few days it was discovered that the little fellow was quite interesting in his way. His shell, no larger than a silver quarter of a dollar, was beautifully marked in black and yellow mottles. His feet were like elfin bands, and his wrinkled face with its bright, intelligent eyes, looked almost like a wee old man’s. We named him Glaucus, because when the house of Glaucus, the Pompeian, was excavated, after having been buried for centuries under the ashes of Vesuvius, the shell of a pet turtle was discovered in the garden.

We kept the little creature in a large tumbler of water, on the surface of which floated a block of wood. At first small crumbs of bread were put into the tumbler, but as the turtle never seemed to touch them, and they soon soured in the water, we ceased to put them in. After repeated experiments one of the children discovered that Glaucus would eat flies if they were cast upon the water. Then several flies were caught and fed to him every day. Soon we noticed with pleasure that he seemed to know his name, and before long, when one of us called ‘ Glaucus ! Glaucus i’ he would swim around to the caller, and reach up his mouth for a fly. Then, as he grew more used to his new life, he ate shreds of meat in the same way. Sometimes one of us would take him from the tumbler and let him rest in his hand. He seemed to enjoy the warmth, and always stretched out his little neck to have bis head stroked until he fell asleep. By the time we were to start for the South all the family had grown so fond of our sedate little friend that it was decided to take him with us. Our journey was one of hard travel for four days, and we feared that when the children became wearied with the trip, Glaucus would be a source of trouble ; but for once the children did not tire of a plaything. Glaucus never ceased to amuse them.

Sometimes they would partly fill with water a toy bucket carried for the purpose, and let the turtle have a swim. At others he was put on the broad window-sill of the sleepingcar, while the children watched him as he crawled about, carefully guarding the edge meanwhile lest he should fall