THE CAT- 



A Wanderer 



Every one is aware that a perfectly comfortable, 

 well-fed cat will occasionally come to his house and 

 settle there, deserting a family by whom it is la- 

 mented, and to whom it could, if it chose, find its 

 way back with ease. This conduct is a n^stery 

 which may lead us to infer that cats form a great 

 secret society, and that they come and go in pur- 

 suance of some policy connected with education, or 

 perhaps with witchcraft. We have known a cat 

 to abandon his home for years. Once in six months 

 he would return, and look about him with an air 

 of some contempt. " Such," he seemed to say, 

 " were my humble beginnings." 



Andrew Lang. 



149 



