i82 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



A. There might be a difBculty in proving that ; but if the ticket, in 

 addition to the other matter which was on it, had printed upon it, " All 

 rights reserved," or something of that sort, it would be a sufficient 

 notice. 



STEANGE ANIMAL-FEIENDSHIPS. 



WHY married folk, so ill-mated as to agree only to diflfer, should 

 be said to lead a cat-and-dog life, is not very clear, since those 

 household pets, being intelligent, affectionate, cheerful, and sociable 

 creatures, very frequently contrive to live harmoniously enough together. 

 The Aston Hall cat, that ate, associated, and slept, with a huge blood- 

 hound, only did what iimumerable cats have done. Such companion- 

 ships are too common to be reckoned among strange animal-friendships, 

 such as that most singular instance of attachment between two animals 

 of opposite natures and habits, related to Mr. Jesse by a person on 

 whose veracity he could depend. The narrator boasted the proprietor- 

 ship of an alligator which had become so tame that it would follow him 

 up and down stairs ; while it was so fond of his cat's society that, when 

 slie lay down before the fire, the alligator followed suit, made a pillow 

 of puss, and went off to sleep ; and when awake the reptile was only 

 happy so long as puss was somewhere near, turning morose and ill- 

 tempered whenever she left it to its own devices. 



Many equine celebrities have delighted in feline companions, fol- 

 lowing in this the example of their notable ancestor, the Godolphin 

 Arab, between whom and a black cat an intimate friendship existed for 

 years, a friendship that came to a touching end ; for, when that famous 

 steed died, his old companion would not leave the body, and, when it 

 had seen it put underground, crawled slowly away to a hay-loft, and, 

 refusing to be comforted, pined away and died. 



One of Miss Braddon's heroines says : " It is so nice to see a favor- 

 ite horse looking over the door of his loose-box, Avith a big tabby-cat 

 sitting on the window-ledge beside him." The big tabby would prob- 

 ably prefer being on horseback, for puss takes very kindly to the sta- 

 ble, and the horse takes as kindly to puss. A cat belonging to the 

 royal stables at Windsor made herself so agreeable to one of the horses 

 there that, rather than put her to any inconvenience, he would take his 

 night's rest standing. This was held detrimental to his health, and the 

 stable authorities, unable to hit upon any other plan, banished poor 

 pussy to a distant part of the country. 



Mr. Huntington, of East Bloomfield, New York, owns a thorough-bred 

 horse named Narragansett and a white cat. The latter was wont to 

 pay a daily visit to Narragan sett's stall, to hunt up the mice and 

 then enjoy a quiet nap. Mr. Huntington removed to Rochester with 

 his family, leaving the cat behind ; but she complained so loudly and 



