little kitten ciirled up on a mossy bank in all the security of a 

 mid-day nap. It was a beautiful little creature, and the lady 

 gently approached in order to stroke it, when suddenly down 

 swooped an hawk, pounced upon the sleeping kitten, and com- 

 pletely hid it from her sight. It was a kestrel. Our friend 

 was greatly shocked, and tried to rescue the little victim ; but the 

 kestrel stood at bay and refused to move. There he stood on 

 the bank, firmly facing her; and all her efforts to drive him 

 from his prey failed. The lady hurried on to a fisherman's 

 cottage, which was near at hand, and told of the little tragedy 

 with the eloquence of real feeling. But the fisher-folk were 

 not so disconcerted, and, laughingly, said, — ' It is always so ; 

 that hawk always comes down if anybody goes near the kitten. 

 He has taken to the kitten, and he stays near at hand to watch 

 whenever it goes to sleep.' 



" The case was so remarkable, that the lady inquired further 

 into its history, and learned that the kitten's mother had died, 

 and that the fisherman's family had suddenly missed the little 

 nm-seling. After some time they observed a kestrel hawk 

 loitering about the cottage. They used to throw h^m scraps 

 of meat, and they observed that he always carried off a portion 

 of every meal, dragging even heavy bones away out of sight. 

 His movements were watched, and they saw that he carried 

 the stores to the roof of his cottage. A ladder was placed, 

 some one ascended, and there, nestling in a hole in the thatch, 

 lay the lost kitten, thriving prosperously under the tender care 

 of its strange foster-father. The foundling was brought down 

 and restored to civilized life ; but the bandit protector was not 

 disposed to resign his charge, and ever kept at hand to fly to 

 the rescue, whenever dangerous ladies threatened it with a 

 caress." 



That a long course of domestic drill is insufficient to win a 

 cat from its native savagery is proved by the following scrap, 

 lately culled from the Swansea Herald : — 



" A fight of more than ordinary interest took place on the 

 bank of the canal near Kidwelly Quay, a few days ago. A 

 domestic cat, making her usual walk in search of prey along 

 the embankment, was attacked by an otter of no small dimen- 

 sions, and was in an instant tossed into the middle of the 

 canal, and there had to fight, not for the ' belt,' but for her 

 Ufe, in an uncongenial element. But very soon they were ob- 

 served by some sailors and shippers, employed not far from the 

 scene of contest, who hastened to witness the strange occur- 



