Concerning Cats 



all over their chubby little sides; Jane must sleep 

 with them nights, and be ready to furnish sustenance 

 at any moment of day or night ; and above all, Jane 

 must watch them anxiously and incessantly in waking 

 hours, uttering those little protesting murmurs of 

 admonition which mother cats deem so necessary 

 toward the proper training of kittens. And, poor 

 Jane ! As lady's maid she must bathe Lady Betty's 

 brow every now and then, as the more finely strung 

 Angora succumbed to the nervous strain of kitten- 

 rearing, and she turned affectionately to Jane for 

 comfort. A prettier sight, or a more profitable study 

 of the love of animals for each other was never seen 

 than Lady Betty, her infants, and her nurse-maid. 

 And yet, there are people who pronounce cats stupid. 

 One evening I returned from the theatre late and 

 roused up the four fluffy kittens, who, seeing the gas 

 turned on, started in for a frolic. The lady mother 

 did not approve of midnight carousals on the part of 

 infants, and protested with mild wails against their 

 joyful caperings. Finally, Orange Pekoe got into 

 the closet and Lady Betty pursued him. But sud- 

 denly a strange odor was detected. Sitting on her 

 haunches she smelled all over the bottom of the skirt 

 which had just been hung up, stopping every few 

 seconds to utter a little worried note of warning to 

 the kittens. The infants, however, displayed a quite 

 human disregard of parental authority and gambolled 

 on unconcernedly under the skirt; reminding one of 



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