ANIMALS OF TO- DAY 135 



evening, two years since, ' he would a-wooing go, 

 whether his missis would let him or no ! " and he 

 was terribly punished for his disobedience. 



He did not come back for a fortnight, and he 

 was mourned as lost. At length, however, his 

 missis (our cook) heard a faint wailing down the 

 garden. She doted on him, and so ran out to 

 see what was the matter and what an object 

 met her view ! There was Charlie, but he was wild, 

 he would not come near her. He was ashamed, 

 no doubt, of his personal appearance, for he was 

 literally nothing but skin and bones there was 

 not a particle of hair or fur on his whole body 

 his skin was bare as parchment. It was quite 

 evident that some inhuman two-legged beast had 

 caught him, and probably dipped him in petroleum 

 and then set him afire. He was truly a heart- 

 rending spectacle. His missis shed tears, mostly 

 because he wouldn't come near her. She put down 

 food for him in the garden, and when there was no 

 one near he would come up and greedily devour 

 it. This went on for a day or two. At last she 

 coaxed him into the kitchen, and there he was 

 tenderly nursed for many a day, till his hair began 

 to grow again, and he gradually became a cheerful, 

 happy cat. Now he is a picture of grave respect- 

 ability. There is no frolicsome nonsense about 

 him all that has been burnt out of him. He is 

 mostly confined to the kitchen, and he knows his 

 position exactly. Formerly he was given to 

 scratching my dining-room chairs to pieces, so he 



