The Book of Cats. 223 



" ' Why, sir,' said one of the dealers, ' can you 

 tell me how many people's in London ?' On Mr 

 Mayhew's replying, upwards of two millions; 'I don't 

 know nothing whatever,' said the man, ' about 

 millions, but I think there's a Cat to every ten 

 people, aye, and more than that; and so, sir, you 

 cafi reckon.'" 



Mr. Mayhew told him this gave a total of 200,000 

 Cats in London, but the number of inhabited 

 houses in the Metropolis was 100,000 more than 

 this, and though there was not a Cat to every house, 

 still, as many lodgers as well as householders kept 

 Cats, he added, " that he thought the total number 

 of Cats in London might be taken at the same 

 number as the inhabited houses, or 300,000 in all." 



" 'There is not near^half so many Dogs as Cats; I 

 must know, for they all knows me, and I serves 

 about 200 Cats and 70 dogs. Mine's a middling 

 trade, but some does far better. Some Cats has a 

 hap'orth a day, some every other day; werry few 

 can afford a penn'orth, but times is inferior. Dogs 

 is better pay when you've a connection among' em/ 



" A Cats'-meat carrier who supplied me with in- 

 formation," says the same writer, " was more com- 

 fortably situated than any of the poorer classes 

 that I have yet seen. He lived in the front room 



