REASON OF BRUTES ANECDOTE OF A CAT. 235 



stinct, common to both human and brute animals, 

 with the latter certainly in a regulated, subordinate, 

 and immensely inferior degree ? Still they do dis- 

 criminate and reason, as certainly as man himself 

 does. 



In years past I had a fine tomcat, which we named 

 Buonaparte, and which we suffered to retain that 

 plendid name, until his godfather became an apostate 

 and a tyrant. A poor aged stray cat, deserted by 

 some unfeeling wretches, appeared on the tilings of 

 an outhouse, and a more starved, distressed and 

 miserable creature I never beheld ; yet having been 

 probably so much frightened and harassed about, 

 it would suffer no one to approach with relief. It 

 attracted the attention of Buonaparte, who (he was 

 surely intituled to the personal) approached it with 

 compassion and kindness, not always shewn to dis- 

 tress by the monopolists of reason. At his meal- 

 time he carried to his unfortunate fellow-creature a 

 share of his meat, in which he regularly persisted 

 until it was observed, and the curious tidings were 

 then brought to me. On the next occasion, I 

 watched this pleasing trait of humanity in a brute, 

 from my window, and several times afterwards, I 

 saw Buonaparte sitting upon his haunches, appa- 

 rently with a consciousness of feeling and gratifica- 

 tion, whilst his poor protege was feasting on his 

 bounty ! And this I saw with mine own eyes, and 

 it stands dated in my common-place book. The 

 old animal, at length, judging of our benevolence 

 by that of our cat, lost his fearful apprehension of 

 us, and we took him in. But he was too far gone ; 



