dark a kitchen candle was quickly brought upon the scene of action, when, as if by the stroke of enchantment, the reptile vanished, or rather was changed into a walking-stick carved to imitate a dog's head, with two white beads for eyes, which the intended dragon-slayer instantly recognized as the property of his master.
The demise of the Noombat had left a vacancy in our ménagerie which, thanks to the unsolicited interposition of our neighbours, was of no long duration. Possibly we had gained the reputation of people to whom no sort of pets could come amiss.
We had heard the name of Lennard in the colony, but had never seen its owner; nevertheless one morning a boy appeared at our door, hugging in his arms a bag very full of something, and with the words, "Mr. Lennard's compliments, and he has sent you a kangaroo," the boy put his bag on the ground and let out its contents.
"Jacky," as we named the gift of our unknown benefactor, must have been at that time from four to five months old, and was as tame as are all marsupial animals that have been caught and petted when quite young. If, for instance, anyone walking through the bush happens to pick up a young kangaroo rat, and carries it in his pocket for an hour or two, the rat, when set down upon the ground again, will come hopping after the man, or rather perhaps alter the coat-pocket which has no doubt brought back to the little creature's mind its reminiscences of the maternal pouch.
Jacky's fore paws were extremely small, even fragile-looking, and when he boxed our cat's ears, as he soon learned to do for any fancied affront, I did not think that
