THE CAT= 



The Strength Which Lies in Delicacy 



The cat's energy is subdued into an exquisite 

 moderation. Other animals roughly employ what 

 strength they happen to possess, without reference 

 to the smallness of the occasion; but the cat uses 

 only the necessary force. One day I watched a 

 kitten playing with a daffodil. She sat on her 

 hind legs, and patted the flower with her paws, 

 first with the right paw, then with the left, making 

 the light yellow bell sway from side to side, yet 

 not injuring a petal or a stamen. She took de- 

 light, evidently, in the very delicacy of the exer- 

 cise; whereas a dog or a horse has no enjoyment of 

 delicacy in its own movements, but acts strongly 

 when it is strong, without calculating whether the 

 energy used may not be in great part superfluous. 

 This proportioning of force to the need is an evi- 

 dence of refinement in manners and in art. If 

 animals could speak, the dog would be a blunt, 

 blundering, outspoken, honest fellow; but the cat 

 would have the rare grace of never saying a word 

 too much. 



Philip Gilbert Hamerton. 



M 



