6 The Book of Cats. 



since somebody wrote that pretty fable about the 

 "Babes in the Wood." And apropos of the Robin, 

 do you remember Canning's verses ? 



" Tell me, tell me, gentle Robin, 

 What is it sets thy heart a-throbbing ? 

 Is it that Grimalkin fell 

 Hath killed thy father or thy mother, 

 Thy sister or thy brother. 

 Or any other ? 

 Tell me but that, 

 And I'll kill the Cat. 



But stay, little Robin, did you ever spare, 

 A grub on the ground or a fly in the air ? 

 No, that you never did, I'll swear; 

 So I won"t kill the Cat, 

 That's flat." 



But all the cruel and unjust things that have been 

 said about poor pussy I will tell you in another 

 chapter. I mean to try and begin at the beginning. 

 In the first place, what is the meaning of the word 

 " Cat." Let us look in the dictionary. A Cat, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Johnson, is " a domestick animal 

 that catches mice." But the word has one or two 

 other meanings, for instance: — 



In thieves' slang the word "Cat" signifies a lady's 

 muff, and " to free a cat " to steal a muff. Among 

 soldiers and sailors a " Cat " means something very 

 unpleasant indeed, with nine tingling lashes or tails, 



