=THE CAT 



can see him now, standing on the sill, looking about 

 at the sky, as if he were thinking whether it were 

 worth while to take an umbrella, until he was near 

 having his tail shut in. 



His friendship was constant rather than demon- 

 strative. When we returned from an absence of 

 nearly two years, Calvin welcomed us with evident 

 pleasure, but showed his satisfaction rather by 

 tranquil happiness than by fuming about. He 

 had the faculty of making us glad to get home. 

 It was his constancy that was so attractive. He 

 liked companionship, but he wouldn't be petted, or 

 fussed over, or sit in any one's lap a moment; he 

 always extricated himself from such familiarity 

 with dignity, and with no show of temper. If 

 there was any petting to be done, however, he 

 chose to do it. Often he would sit looking at me, 

 and then, moved by a delicate affection, come and 

 pull at my coat and sleeve until he could touch 

 my face with his nose, and then go away contented. 

 He had a habit of coming to my study in the 

 morning, sitting quietly by my side or on the table 

 for hours, watching the pen run over the paper, 

 occasionally swinging his tail round for a blotter, 

 and then going to sleep among the papers by the 

 inkstand. Or, more rarely, he would watch the 

 writing from a perch on my shoulder. Writing 

 106 



