The Scottish Naturalist. 147 



The following is a sample of anonymous newspaper articles 

 of a commoner kind — representing incidents in animal life that 

 are of daily occurrence. Nevertheless such accounts, however 

 true to Nature, are valueless for the purposes of Science, by 

 reason of their anonymity. We want some guarantee as to the 

 reality of the facts — the veracity or credibility of their observers 

 and recorders. 



"A Four-Footed Friend. — We believe our Nero to have been 

 an English Cat, but we know nothing of his antecedents, for he 

 came into our house one wintry day, seated himself on the 

 hearthrug beside the chair of the house-father, and instantly 

 adopted him for his master — a relation to which he contrived to 

 give an entirely novel and much-varied significance, and which 

 remained unbroken to the end. He was then full-grown and 

 very beautiful, with a peculiar upright grandeur of demeanour, 

 which was different from the usual slinking and stealthy grace 

 of his tribe. His head was finely shaped, and his whiskers 

 were superb, as was the fur upon his snow-white breast. He 

 had large, green, wistful eyes, with such a gaze in them as I 

 never saw before, and sometimes, when he was in grief, as I 

 could hardly bear to look at ; and a small black mouth, the 

 most eloquent with which a dumb creature ever spoke. He had 

 powerful forepaws, and the daintiest little white hind feet, of 

 which he was proud and careful. He would dispose them in 

 the palm of his master's hand when he was carried up to bed 

 by him, laying, at the same time, one forepaw round the back 

 of his master's neck, and the other on his breast, while the face 

 rested confidentially against his cheek. He allowed himself, 

 especially after his health began to fail, to be carried about by 

 other members of the household, but this particular attitude was 

 strictly reserved for his master. He would sit with both fore- 

 paws hanging over my shoulder, or lie along my folded arms, 

 but he never put his paws round my neck, or rubbed his face 

 to mine. In this way he invariably saluted his master, and 

 occasionally, when he believed himself unobserved, he would 

 stand on his hind legs, lay a forepaw on each side of his 

 master's face, and laying his little white nose alongside of his, 

 remain in that position for several moments, uttering a peculiar 

 contented sound, not a purr, which we used to call his " bleat." 

 He instantly recognized any new article of dress worn by any 

 member of the family, and he iiiventcd for himself a method of 

 curling himself up so as to adapt his back to the arch of a new 



