124 The Book of Cats. 



had a Cat called Sandy, on account of his colour, 

 which he found in the first instance, in a sort of half- 

 wild state, on Hampstead Heath, mostly living up a 

 tree. It had been left behind by the people who had 

 last occupied the house, and locked out by the land- 

 lady. It was about nine or ten years old, and good- 

 ness knows how many dwelling places it may have 

 had; with its new friends, I know of five or six 

 changes, and am told that it always made itself per- 

 fectly at home in half an hour after entering a new 

 house. It was taken from place to place in a 

 hamper, and the lid being raised would put out 

 its head and sniff the air in the drollest manner. 

 Getting out very cautiously, it would then make a 

 tour of the premises, and inspect the furniture ; at 

 the end of about half an hour it washed its face 

 and seemed settled. 



A lady residing in Glasgow had a handsome 

 Cat sent to her from Edinburgh : it was conveyed 

 to her in a close basket in a carriage. The animal 

 was carefully watched for two months ; but having 

 produced a pair of young ones at the end of that 

 time, she was left to her own discretion, which she 

 very soon employed in disappearing with both her 

 kittens. The lady at Glasgow wrote to her friend 

 at Edinburgh, deploring her loss, and the Cat was 



