Concerning Cats 



other cheek," and he turns his furry chops for her to 

 kiss. He also plays " dead," and rolls over at com- 

 mand. He, too, is fond of literary work, and superin- 

 tends his mistress's writing from a drawer of her 

 desk. Goody Two-eyes is another of Mrs. Wilcox's 

 pets, and has one blue and one topaz eye. 



Who has not read Agnes Repplier's fascinating 

 essays on "Agrippina" and "A Kitten"? I cannot 

 quite believe she gives cats credit for the capacity 

 for affection which they really possess, but her 

 description of " Agrippina " is charming : — 



" Agrippina's beautifully ringed tail flapping across 

 my copy distracts my attention and imperils the 

 neatness of my penmanship. Even when she is dis- 

 posed to be affable, turns the light of her countenance 

 upon me, watches with attentive curiosity every stroke 

 I make, and softly, with curved paw, pats my pen as 

 it travels over the paper, even in these halcyon 

 moments, though my self-love is flattered by her con- 

 descension, I am aware that I should work better and 

 more rapidly if I denied myself this charming com- 

 panionship. But, in truth, it is impossible for a lover 

 of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminat- 

 ing little friends, who give us just enough of their 

 regard and complaisance to make us hunger for more. 

 M. Fee, the naturalist, who has written so admirably 

 about animals, and who understands, as only a French- 

 man can understand, the delicate and subtle organiza- 

 tion of a cat, frankly admits that the keynote of 



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