HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 233 



female herself, contrary to the established law of 

 Nature, which binds the parent to its offspring 

 by an almost indissoluble tie, is sometimes known 

 to eat her own young the moment she has produced 

 them. 



Though extremely useful in destroying- the ver- 

 min that infest our houses, the Cat seems little 

 attached to the persons of those who afford it pro- 

 tection. It appears to be under no subjection, and 

 acts only for itself. All its views are confined to 

 the place where it has been brought up; if carried 

 elsewhere, it seems lost and bewildered: neither 

 caresses nor attention can reconcile it to its new 

 situation, and it frequently takes the first oppor- 

 tunity of escaping to its former haunts. Frequent 

 instances are in our recollection, of Cats having 

 returned to the place from whence they had been 

 carried, though at many miles distance, and even 

 across rivers, when they could not possibly have 

 any knowledge of the road or situation that would 

 apparently lead them to it. This extraordinary 

 faculty is, however, possessed in a much greater 

 degree by Dogs ; yet it is in both animals equally 

 wonderful and unaccountable. 



In the time of Hoel the Good, King of Wales, 

 who died in the year 948, laws were made as well 

 to preserve, as to fix the different prices of animals; 

 among which the Cat was included, as being at 

 that period of great importance, on account of its 

 scarceness and utility. 



The price of a Kitten, before it could see, was 

 fixed at one penny; till proof could be given of its 

 having caught a Mouse, two-pence; after which it 

 was rated at four-pence, which was a great sum in 

 those days, when the value of specie was extremely 



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