Retrospective Criticism. 717 



to Wandsworth ; and carried poor puss, tied up in a bag, 

 with him, to his new abode : he enquired after her, in the 

 course of a few days, and heard that she was nowhere to be 

 found. Having occasion to visit Streatham, at the end of the 

 week, he was welcomed by his old favourite at the door, who 

 had reinstated herself in her accustomed place, apparently as 

 happy as if she had never experienced the removal. Upon 

 enquiry, he found she had traced her way back on foot, as no 

 communication had taken place between the houses, and had 

 returned to her old haunts the day before he arrived: of 

 course, he left her, as a legacy, to the new residents. Yours, 

 &c. — Cattus. uv 



Cats mthout Tails in the Isle of Man, (p. 674.) — A friend 

 of mine has twice brought cats without tails from the Isle of 

 Man, where there is a considerable number, and they may be 

 purchased for a trifle. They are the most plentiful, I be- 

 lieve, in that part of the Island called the Calf of Man. 

 They are rather taller (if I may be allowed the expression), 

 than the common cat, but not so broad and strong; their 

 colour is generally a lightish grey. They resemble more the 

 hare and rabbit, in their movements, than the domestic cat ; 

 which, perhaps, may be owing to their hind legs being so 

 much longer than those of the common cat. I cannot speak 

 to their qualities as mousers ; one of those which I have seen 

 had four kittens (by a common cat), two of which had very 

 short thick tails (about 2 in. long). I saw them almost every 

 day, and paid rather particular attention to them. The only 

 work in which I have found any account of this species [variety 

 rather] is Le Keux's Illustrations of Natural Histor^^ vol. i. 

 p. 356., in these words : — *' There is also a hereditary va^ 

 riety of the cat in this country without any visible tail. It 

 is not uncommon in Cornwall ; and Dr. Leach received one 

 from the Isle of Wight, which, however, could not be recon- 

 ciled to its new habitation." The " Isle of Wight," I think, 

 ought to be the " Isle of Man." I have conversed with a native 

 of the former island on this subject ; and he says he never 

 saw or heard of one there. Le Keux gives also the following 

 anecdote from Dr. Anderson's Recreations in Agriculture, 

 " A cat belonging to Dr. Coventry, the ingenious professor 

 of agriculture in Edinburgh, which had no blemish at its 

 birth, but had lost its tail by accident when it was young, had 

 many litters of kittens, and in every litter there was one or 

 more that wanted a tail." I hope the above will prove 

 acceptable to some of your readers.. <.,i,LejCQaiiv Sir, yours, 

 &c. — Ma7icuniensis. Sept. f5. 1832., ^^liifli le hiijiii s; oJ ^n' 



The last fact seems to answer my question (p. 674<.) affirm- 

 atively. — J. D. 



