Concerning Cats 



thing. The cat is a philosophical, methodical, quiet 

 animal, tenacious of its own habits, fond of order and 

 cleanliness, and it does not lightly confer its friend- 

 ship. If you are worthy of its affection, a cat will 

 be your friend, but never your slave. He keeps his 

 free will, though he loves, and he will not do for you 

 what he thinks unreasonable; but if he once gives 

 himself to you, it is with such absolute confidence, 

 such fidelity of affection. He makes himself the 

 companion of your hours of solitude, melancholy, 

 and toil. He remains for whole evenings on your 

 knee, uttering his contented purr, happy to be with 

 you, and forsaking the company of animals of his 

 own species. In vain do melodious mewings on 

 the roof invite him to one of those cat parties in 

 which fish bones play the part of tea and cakes; 

 he is not to be tempted away from you. Put him 

 down and he will jump up again, with a sort of coo- 

 ing sound that is like a gentle reproach ; and some- 

 times he will sit upon the carpet in front of you, 

 looking at you with eyes so melting, so caressing, 

 and so human, that they almost frighten you, for 

 it is impossible to believe that a soul is not there. 

 "Don-Pierrot-de-Navarre had a sweetheart of the 

 same race and of as snowy a whiteness as himself. 

 The ermine would have looked yellow by the side of 

 Seraphita, for so this lovely creature was named, in 

 honor of Balzac's Swedenborgian romance. Sera- 

 phita was of a dreamy and contemplative disposition. 



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