ORDER V. THE CARXIVORA. l-l!) 



smart .1 blow on tlic clieck ;is to draw blood, and with tlic utmost gravity 

 resume lier seat ilnder tlic stove, and relapse into slumber. As she was 

 otherwise so harmless, the conclusion was, tli'at she intended this as a chas- 

 tisement tor being disturbed, in hopes that she might enjoy her morning nap 

 without interruption. 



A Case of Eecollectiox. — A lady, residing in Glasgow, had a 

 handsome cat sent her tVom Edinburgh. It was comeycd to her in a close 

 basket, and in a carriage. She was carefully watched for two months, but 

 having produced a pair of young ones, at that time she was left to her own 

 discretion, which she very soon employed in disappearing with both her 

 kittens. The lady in Glasgow wrote to her friend in Edinburgh, deploring 

 her loss, and the cat was supposed to have strayed away. About a fortnight, 

 however, after her disappearance from Glasgow, her well-known mew was 

 heard at the street door of her old mistress in Edinburgh, and there she was 

 with both her kittens ! they in the best condition, but she very thin. It is 

 clear that she could only carry one kitten at a time. The distance from 

 Edinburgh to Glasgow being forty miles, she must have travelled one hun- 

 dred and twenty miles at least ! Her prudence must likewise have sug- 

 gested the necessity of journeying in the night, with many other precautions 

 for the safety of her young. 



The AVatcidiaiv's Cat. — "One of the most singular instances of attach- 

 ment or fancy in the common cat, took place with one which we have often 

 seen in attendance upon the watchman in St. James's Square, Edinburgh. 

 AA'lien the man connncnccd his rounds, the cat was as regularly at its post, 

 and continued walking M'ith him during the whole night. This continued, 

 we believe, for nearly two years ; and when we last saw the man, the cat 

 was in his company. Upon the approach of any person, the cat would run 

 uj) to the guardian of the night, and ml/ against his legs until the individual 

 liad passed. In the quieter hours, towards morning, he ventured to a greater 

 distance, but would always appear at the call or whistle of his protector." 



A PiiiLOSOniiCAL Cat. — "I once saw," says De la Croix, " a lecturer 

 upon experimental philosophy place a cat under the glass receiver of an air- 

 pump, for the purpose of demonstrating that very certain fact, that life 

 cannot be supported without air and respiration. The lecturer had already 

 made several strokes with the piston, in order to exliaust the receiver of its 

 air, when the animal, who began to feel herself very uncomfortable in the 

 rarefied atmosphere, was fortunate enough to discover the source from which 

 her uneasiness proceeded. She placed her paw ujion the hole through 

 which the air escaped, and thus prevented any mure from j^assing out of tlic 

 receiver. All the exertions of the jihilosophcr were now unavailing. In 

 vain he drew the piston; the cat's paw eliectiially prevented its operation. 



