THE CAT TO-DAY 297 



mendicants, but as honoured guests ; slipped easily 

 into the soft and pleasant grooves assigned to them, 

 and seemed very soon as much at home as if they 

 had been born and bred upon the spot. For nearly 

 four months they remained, and the three kittens 

 grew into three fine young cats. Then one day 

 they all disappeared as unaccountably as they had 

 come, and no one of them ever returned again. 



These are not easy things to explain. We can 

 more readily understand an instinct which the cat 

 shares with the wild creatures of the woods, and 

 which bids her die alone. She seldom affords mate- 

 rial for the pitiful scenes which Gautier and Loti de- 

 scribe with so much art ; and even Moumoutte Chi- 

 noise tried to escape her master's eye, when she felt 

 the awful moment drawing near. There is some- 

 thing which commands our deepest respect in the 

 dignity and delicacy of spirit which impel this ani- 

 mal, however loved and pampered during life, to face 

 alone, and seeking help from none, the insult and 

 the agony of dissolution. 



Even the exaggerated affection felt for the cat 

 by those who are sensitive to her charm, is not alto- 

 gether legitimate. In old days such exclusive and 

 ill-placed devotion lighted the witch's pyre. Now 

 we only laugh at each new proof of Pussy's in- 

 fluence, or wonder at the mental attitude of a wo- 

 man who can advertise in the London "Standard" 



