THE CAT 



The Companionable Cat 



My cat in winter time usually sleeps upon my 

 dog, who submits in patience; and I have often 

 found her on horseback in the stable, not from any 

 taste for equestrianism, but simply because a horse- 

 cloth is a perpetual warmer when there is a living 

 horse beneath it. She loves the dog and horse with 

 the tender regard we have for foot-warmers and 

 railway rugs during a journey in the depth of win- 

 ter ; nor have I ever been able to detect in her any 

 worthier sentiment towards her master. Yet of all 

 animals that we can have in a room with us, the 

 cat is the least disquieting. Her presence is sooth- 

 ing to a student, as the presence of a quiet nurse 

 is soothing to an invalid. It is agreeable to feel 

 that you are not absolutely alone, and it seems to 

 you, when you are at work, as if the cat took care 

 that all her movements should be noiseless, purely 

 out of consideration for your comfort. Then, if 

 you have time to caress her, you know that she 

 will purr a response, and why inquire too closely 

 into the sincerity of her affection? 



Philip Gilbert Hamerton. 



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