footsteps through the world. Much of his 

 happiness will depend on his acceptance of 

 the gift and on the manner in which he treats 

 it when it is his. 



"% How, then, shall we make the most of 

 these friends? Some men seem to think they 

 have done all that is necessary when they have 

 given a dog a kennel in a yard and have at- 

 tached him to a chain as a preventive against 

 burglars and an ineffectual terror to butcher- 

 boys. It is pitiful to hear the poor beast 

 barking his throat to bits and to see him 

 wasting all his noble qualities and wearing his 

 great soul away under a mask of carefully 

 cultivated ferocity. Others again look upon 

 their cats as mere mousers, reject their reticent 

 and comfortable friendship, and banish them 

 to kitchens and larders and the cold hospitality 

 of passages. This may, no doubt, temporarily 

 gratify the cat, but think what is lost in giving 

 play only to one part (and that the murderous 

 one) of her otherwise amiable nature. No, 

 let us have none of this. Let us, on the con- 

 3 ft trary 



