

136 ANIMALS OF TO-DAY 



had to be sent away. He comes up, however, at 

 breakfast-time, rubs himself against my legs, looks 

 up at me, and cries " Mew ! " by which he means 

 to say, " Good-morning ! How are you ? Have 



you used ?" I reply, "Good-morning, Charlie !" 



pat him and stroke him, and then he toddles off 

 down-stairs. He never shows the least desire to 

 eat anything ; his only object is to show himself, 

 ask after my health, and then to retire. Notwith- 

 standing this friendly familiarity indoors, if I meet 

 him in the garden he is off like a shot ; he won't 

 come near me. Clearly, he still retains some bitter 

 memory of the past, and suspects even me. Only 

 this morning I met him, and he shot away as usual ; 

 but that was owing to his guilty conscience, for I 

 found he had been scratching big holes in the beds 

 which the gardener had only yesterday neatly 

 covered over with tan to protect the young bulbs 

 such is the aggravating nature of even the best of 

 cats ! As for his torturers, I charitably hope some 

 day to see them tarred and feathered on Hampstead 

 Heath. 



Mr. Cornish tells us that the North-American 

 puma is positively friendly to man, and quotes 

 many instances of this friendliness. I may say, 

 that when I was travelling in the Rocky Moun- 

 tains some years ago, I encountered one of these 

 remarkable animals. He is without the mane 

 of the African lion, is much smaller, and of a 

 more genial aspect, and the opinion I formed 

 of him entirely coincides with and confirms Mr. 



