THE CAT TO-DAY 301 



cast by his tragic death lingered heavily for months 

 over the household he had graced, and over the lit- 

 tle circle of friends he had honoured with his confi- 

 dence and affection. No one knew the secret of his 

 charm ; he carried it to his grave, — his little pitiful 

 grave in the heart of London ; but, while he lived, 

 he added his share to the unconscious gayety of life. 

 There are many pretty stories about cats, and 

 many graceful allusions to them scattered lightly 

 through literature, and familiar to those whose wan- 

 dering attention can always be fixed by so irresisti- 

 ble a spell. Gautier wrote the fantastic " Paradis 

 des Chats ; " and Zola borrowed the title for a de- 

 lightful story of a pampered pussy, who grew so 

 tired of dulness and luxury that he ran away with 

 a vagabond acquaintance for one long delicious day 

 of liberty, at the close of which, jaded, spent, 

 starved, and broken, he crept meekly back to bond- 

 age and his evening cutlet. Those of us who read 

 in our youth that most dismal of novels, " Eugene 

 Aram," will not easily forget the Corporal's cat, 

 Jacobina, inasmuch as this truculent animal affords 

 the only gleam of amusement vouchsafed us in the 

 whole mournful tale. A somewhat similar sensa- 

 tion of relief is associated with the very charming 

 cat who makes her transient appearance in the first 

 chapters of " Robert Elsmere," and disappears for- 

 ever when the atmosphere becomes surcharged with 



