A CONVENTION BROKEN UP IN A ROW. 119 



" Still it did'nt do much good in the way of relieving me 

 from the annoyance of these cat conventions. They con- 

 tinued to congregate nightly on that long shed in the rear 

 of my rooms. I wasted more wood upon them than I could 

 well afford to spare. I used up all the brickbats I could lay 

 my hands on. I threw away something less than a ton of 

 coal ; and on two occasions came near being taken to the 

 watch-house for smashing a window in the opposite block. 

 All this proved of no avail. Indeed, my tormentors began 

 at last to get used to it, to regard it as part of the perform- 

 ance. 



" The matter was getting serious. It became evident that 

 either those cats or myself must leave the premises. I had 

 paid my rent in advance, and was therefore entitled to 

 quiet use and enjoyment, according to the terms of my lease. 

 I made up my mind to try one more experiment. So I 

 bought me a double-barrelled gun, and a quantity of powder 

 and shot, and gave fair warning that I intended to use 

 them. 



" Well, the moon came up one night, with her great round 

 face, and went walking up the sky with a queenly tread, 

 throwing her light, like a mantle of brightness, over all the 

 earth. I love the calm of a moonlight night, in the pleasant 

 spring time, and the cats of our part of the town seemed to 

 love it too, for they came from every quarter ; from the 

 sheds around the National Garden, from the stables, the 

 streets, the basements, and the kitchens, creeping stealthily 

 along the tops of the fences, and along the sheds, and clam- 



