it. Place her on a cushion with her front paws 

 either folded and tucked beneath her or knead- 

 ing her soft couch with a luxurious move- 

 ment, and she will make, not merely a corner, 

 but a whole library cosy. Her presence can 

 ennoble a hovel and invest a semi-detached 

 cottage with an appearance of feudal and 

 heraldic repose. If you call her she blinks 

 and purrs ; if you leave her to herself she is 

 willing to pass hours in serene abstraction 

 from the business of the world, conscious only 

 of her own comfortable decorative quality and 

 of her self-respecSting dignity. Sometimes she 

 will play, but only if she wishes to amuse 

 herself, differing in this from a dog, who will 

 often play in order that he may amuse you. 

 Her spirits are calm rather than high, and 

 boisterous fun has no attraction for her. It 

 seems to her that she ought to guard your 

 household gods (being herself one of them) 

 in silence rather than with a tempestuous 

 vigilance. Yet her sympathy and her friend- 

 ship never fail those in whom she has learnt 



45 & 10 



