200 SAGACITY OF 



up the whole litter : but whether their disposition was 

 influenced by the nourishment of a foster-mother, is 

 not mentioned." 



Was it compassion, or the strong impulse of mater- 

 nal tenderness, seeking an object to satisfy it, that 

 overcame the instinctive aversion subsisting between 

 dogs and cats ? It is also difficult to discover by what 

 means Zara knew that the kittens were lodged in a 

 place to which she was supposed a total stranger ; or, 

 that they were abandoned by their mother ; and last- 

 ly, how such a large, heavy animal, could mount to so 

 great a height, and convey the helpless creatures down. 

 I can find no solutions to these enigmas : but such w^as 

 the fact. Your ingenuity may probably account for 

 them. I leave them to your consideration, and shall 

 conclude this letter with one more short anecdote. 

 . A lady who resided in Waterford, was in the con- 

 stant habit of sending all her servants to a place of 

 public worship in the afternoon of a Sunday. Orders 

 were given that the kitchen fire should be made up, 

 and the boiler put on to heat water for tea. One Sun- 

 day afternoon, as the family were sitting in the par- 

 lour, a little terrier, that belonged to the youngest 

 daughter, came into the room, barking in an unusual 

 manner, addressing herself, with dumb eloquence, to 

 the mistress of the house, with whom she was sel- 

 dom familiar. This drew general attention, and ex.- 



