Pret how a kitten ought to be carried. After a while, shs 

 seemed to comprehend the state of things, and ever afterwards 

 carried her ofispring by the nape of the neck. 



At one time, when she was yet in her kittenhood, anothel 

 kitten lived in the same house, and very mnch annoyed Pret 

 by coming into the room and eating the meat that had been 

 laid out for herself. However, Pret soon got over that diffi- 

 culty by going to the plate as soon as it was placed at her 

 accustomed spot, picking out all the large pieces of meat, and 

 hiding them under a table. She then sat quietly and placed 

 herself sentry over her hidden treasure, while the intruding cat 

 entered the room, walked up to the plate, and finished the little 

 scraps of meat that Pret had thought fit to leave. After the 

 obnoxious individual had left the room, Pret brought her con- 

 cealed treasures from their hiding-place, and quietly consumed 

 them. 



Clever as Pret was, she sometimes displayed a most unex- 

 pected simplicity of character. After the fashion of the cat 

 tribe, she delighted in covering up the remnants of her food with 

 any substance that seemed most convenient. She was accus- 

 tomed, after taking her meals, to fetch a piece of paper and 

 lay it over the saucer, or to put her paw in her mistress's 

 pocket and extract her handkerchief for the same purpose. 

 These little performances shewed some depth of reasoning in 

 the creature, but she would sometimes act in a manner totally 

 opposed to rational action. Paper and handkerchief failing, 

 she has been often seen, after partly finishing her meal, to fetch 

 one of her kittens, and to lay it over the plate for the purpose 

 of covering up the remaining food. When kitten, paper, and 

 handkerchief were all wanting, she did her best to scratch up 

 the carpet, and to lay the torn fragments over the plate. She 

 has been known, in her anxiety to find a covering for the super- 

 abundant food, to drag a table-cloth from its proper locality, 

 and to cause a sad demolition of the superincumbent fragile 

 ware. 



A year or two since, the budget of the Imperial Printing 

 Office in Prance, amongst other items, contained one for oats, 

 which caused some merriment in the legislative chamber during 

 its discussion. According to the "Pays" these cats are kept 

 for the purpose of destroying the numerous rats and m^<v 

 which infest the premises and cause considerable damage to 

 the large stock of paper which is always kept there. Tliis 

 fpline staff is fed twice a day, and a man is employed to look 



