ANECDOTE OF A CAT. 269 



of attachment in animals to particular persons, and 

 the demonstrations of it in acts of kindness and de- 

 fence, are innumerable. The denial of a limited por- 

 tion of the faculty styled reason to brutes, can only 

 result from superficial thinking, from silly, over- 

 weening human prejudice, and defective observation. 

 In fact, what is reason itself but discriminative 

 instinct, common to both human and brute animals, 

 with the latter certainly in a regulated, subordinate, 

 and immensely inferior degree ? Still they do discri- 

 minate and reason as certainly as man himself does. 



In years past I had a fine torn cat, which we named 

 Buonaparte, and which we suffered to retain that 

 splendid name until his godfather became an apostate 

 and a tyrant. A poor aged stray cat, deserted by 

 some unfeeling wretches, appeared on the tilings of 

 an outhouse, and a more starved, distressed, and 

 miserable creature I never beheld ; yet, having been 

 probably so much frightened and harassed about, 

 it would suffer no one to approach with relief. It 

 attracted the attention of Buonaparte, who (he was 

 surely intituled to the personal) approached it with 

 compassion and kindness, not always shown to dis- 

 tress by the monopolists of reason. At his meal- 

 time he carried to his unfortunate fellow-creature a 

 share of his meat, in which he regularly persisted 

 until it was observed, and the curious tidings were 

 then brought to me. On the next occasion, I 

 watched this pleasing trait of humanity in a brute 

 from my window, and several times afterwards, I 

 saw Buonaparte sitting upon his haunches, appa- 

 rently with a consciousness of feeling and gratifica- 

 N 3 



