Concerning Cats 



acteristic of cats. He had his own place near the 

 fire, and there he would sit with a convincing air of 

 comprehension of all that was talked of and of inter- 

 est in it ; he followed the looks of the speakers, and 

 uttered little sounds toward them as though he, too, 

 had objections to make and opinions to give upon 

 the literary subjects which were most frequently dis- 

 cussed. He was very fond of books, and when he 

 found one open on a table he would lie down on it, 

 turn over the edges of the leaves with his paws, and 

 after a while fall asleep, for all the world as if he 

 had been reading a fashionable novel. He was 

 deeply interested in my writing, too ; the moment 

 I took up my pen he would jump upon the desk, and 

 follow the movement of the penholder with the 

 gravest attention, making a little movement with 

 his head at the beginning of each line. Sometimes 

 he would try to take the pen out of my hand. 



" Don-Pierrot-de-Navarre never went to bed until I 

 had come in. He would wait for me just inside the 

 outer door and rub himself to my legs, his back in an 

 arch, with a glad and friendly purring. Then he 

 would go on before me, preceding me with a page- 

 like air, and I have no doubt, if I had asked him, he 

 would have carried the candlestick. Having thus 

 conducted me to my bedroom, he would wait quietly 

 while I undressed, and then jump on my bed, take 

 my neck between his paws, gently rub my nose with 

 his own, and lick me with his small, pink tongue, as 



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