18 THE JONATHAN PAPERS 



these things might be had from my neighbors 

 barnyards. What I primarily value my own 

 hens for is their companionship. Talk about 

 the companionship of dogs and cats! Cats 

 walk about my home, sleek and superior; 

 they make me feel that I am there on suffer 

 ance. One cannot even laugh at them, their 

 manner is so perfect. Dogs, on the other 

 hand, develop an unreasoning and tyrannous 

 devotion to their masters, which is not really 

 good for either, though it may be morbidly 

 gratifying to sentimental natures. 



But hens ! No decorous superiority here, no 

 mush of devotion. No; for varied folly, for 

 rich and highly developed perversities, com 

 bining all that is choicest of masculine and 

 feminine foible for this and much more, 

 commend me to the hen. Ever since we came 

 to the farm, my sister the hen has entertained 

 me with her vagaries. Jaques s delight at his 

 encounter with Touchstone is pale compared 

 with mine in their society. Nothing cheers 

 me more than to sit on a big rock in the barn 

 yard and watch the hens walking about. 

 Their very gait pleases me --the way they 

 bob their heads, the &quot;genteel &quot; way they have 



