The Wit of the Wild 



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But my neighbor's tabby is evidently of the 

 opinion that all work and no play will make of 

 her Jack a dull cat ; and there is no room in the 

 city of New York for a dull cat ! Its wits must 

 be as sharp as its claws ; it must be armed cap-a- 

 pie, so to speak, if it is to hold its own in the 

 nocturnal competition of the back fence. What 

 but the brightest wits would enable a cat to do 

 as the one in the following story, related by 

 Romanes, did? 



An English family had been accustomed dur- 

 ing a season of severe cold to throw crumbs 

 from the breakfast-table to the birds, and pres- 

 ently their cat got into the habit of waiting in 

 ambush, in the expectation (often realized) of 

 obtaining a hearty meal from one or two of the 

 assembled sparrows. After a time the servant 

 neglected the practice of throwing out the 

 crumbs, whereupon the cat was observed by sev- 

 eral persons to get crumbs and scatter them 

 on the grass with the obvious intention of entic- 

 ing the birds anew. Dr. Romanes says he has 

 no reason to doubt the accuracy of this narra- 

 tive; and furnishes in corroboration other simi- 

 -$264 So* 



