The Book of Cats. WJ 



them, and then fled precipitately. The faces of the 

 assassins showed, for the first time, signs of guilt : 

 they were afterwards brought to trial, condemned, 

 and, before execution, confessed. 



In September, 1850, the mistress of a public 

 house in the Commercial Road, London, going late 

 at night into the tap-room, found her Cat in a state 

 of great excitement. It would not suffer itself to 

 be stroked, but ran wildly, to and fro, between its 

 mistress and the chimney-piece, mewing loudly. 

 The landlady alarmed, summoned assistance, and 

 presently a robber was discovered up the chimney. 

 Upon his trial it was proved that he had robbed 

 several public-houses, by remaining last in the tap- 

 room, and concealing himself in a similar manner. 



An old maiden lady, rich and miserly, had, in 

 the latter years of her life, placed all her affections 

 upon a Cat she called " Minny," for w^hich she had 

 made a fine bed-place in the wainscot, over a closet 

 in the parlour, where she kept the animal's provi- 

 sions. The food in question was stowed away in a 

 drawer, and under the drawer which served as 

 Minny's safe, was another, very artfully concealed, 

 and closing with a spring. To the latter the Cat 

 had often seen its mistress pay lengthened visits. 

 When the old lady died, her heirs came to live in 



