THE CAT. 



booming sound of thunder smote lier with terror, and she most 

 cordially hated grinding organs and singnlor costumes. At the 

 sound of a thunder-clap poor Fret would fly to her mistress 

 for succour, trembling in every limb. If the dreaded sound 

 occurred in the night or early morning, Pret would leap 

 on the bed and crawl under the clothes as far as the very foot. 

 If the thunder-storm came on by day, Pret would jump on her 

 mistress's knees, put her paws round her neck, and hide her 

 face between them. 



She disliked music of all kinds, but bore a special antipathy 

 to barrel-organs ; probably because the costume of the organ- 

 grinder was unpleasing to her eye as his doleful sounds to 

 her ears. But her indignation reached its highest bounds at 

 the sight of a Greenwich pensioner accoutred in those grotesque 

 habiliments with which the crippled defenders of their country 

 are forced to invest their battered frames. It was the first 

 time that so uncouth an apparition had presented itself to her 

 eyes, and her anger seemed only equalled by her astonishment. 

 She got on the window-sill, and there chafed and growled with 

 a sound resembling the miniature roar of a lion. When thus 

 excited she used to present a strange appearance, owing to a 

 crest or ridge of hair which used to erect itself on her. back and 

 extend from the top of her head to the root of her tail, which 

 latter member was marvellously expanded. Gentle as she was 

 in her ordinary demeanour, Pret was a terrible cat when she 

 saw cause, and was undaunted by size or numbers. 



She had a curious habit of catching mice by the very 

 tip of their tails, and of carrying the poor little animals about 

 the house dangling miserably from her jaws. Apparently her 

 object in so doing was to present her prey uninjured to her 

 mistress, who, she evidently supposed, woiild enjoy a game with 

 a mouse as well as herself; for, like human beings, she judged 

 the character of others by her own. 



This strange custom of tafl-bearing was carried into the pri- 

 vacy of her own family, and caused rather ludicrous results. 

 "When Pret became a mother, and desired to transport her 

 kittens from one spot to another, she followed her acquired 

 habit of porterage, and tried to carry her kittens about by the 

 tips of their tails. As might be supposed, they objected to this 

 mode of conveyance, and, sticking their claws in the carpet, 

 held firmly to the ground, mewing piteously, while their mother 

 was tugging at their tails. It was absolutely necessary to 

 release ^e kittens from their painfiQ position, and to teach 



