hesitated a moment, and then deposited the 

 kitten at my feet and mewed. The invitation 

 was too obvious to be neglected. I took up 

 her little burden, and carried it for her to her 

 leafy retreat. After that she was allowed to 

 have her way, and we rigged up an old um- 

 brella to protect her and her young barbarians 

 from rain. Never in the whole course of our 

 friendship did she suffer herself to become a 

 strictly domestic cat. She loved and trusted 

 human beings, but she did not like their 

 homes. 



% Here I must end my plea for the cat. She 

 is often misunderstood, and often scurvily 

 treated by those who are dull enough to reject 

 her affection. Those who accept her offer 

 know that she is 



Vanquished not, but reconciled, 

 Free from curb of aught above 

 Save the lovely curb of love. 



And, thus curbed, she too is not without a 

 spark divine. 



