The Book of Cats. 259 



gloried than otherwise, in the knowledge that she 

 is regarded as a cunning and manoeuvring beast, 

 that first, by hypocritical representations, induced 

 an honest Cat to obtain for her a situation, and 

 afterwards ungratefully contrived to push out her 

 benefactress and progeny, and install herself in their 

 place." 



From the Autobiography of Miss Cornelia Knight^ 

 Lady Companion to the Princess Charlotte of 

 Wales, I take the following scrap : — 



" An old woman, who died a few years ago, in 

 Ireland, had a nephew, to whom she left by will all 

 she possessed. She happened to have a favourite 

 Cat, which never left her, and even remained by the 

 corpse after her death. After the will was read, in 

 the adjoining room, on opening the door the Cat 

 sprang at the lawyer, seized him by the throat, and 

 was with difficulty prevented from strangling him. 

 This man died about eighteen months after this 

 scene, and, on his death-bed, confessed that he had 

 murdered his aunt to get possession of her money." 



The oft-quoted lines by Gray should not be 

 omitted from The Book of Cats : — 



