Concerning Cats 



Now with the warm earth o"er thy breast, 

 O wisest of Ay kind and best, 

 Forevo' mayst thou softly rest^ 

 In pau, Petar. 



One only has to read this poem to feel that Mr. 

 Scollard knew what it is to love a gentle, intelligent, 

 affectionate cat — made so by kind treatment 



To Frangois Copp^ the cat is as sacred as it was 

 to the ^yptians of old. The society of his feline 

 pets is to him ever delightful and consoling, and it 

 may have inspired him to write some of his most 

 melodious verses. Nevertheless he is not the cat's 

 poet It was Charles Cros who wrote : — 



" Chatte blanche, chatte sans tache^ 

 Je te donande dams ces Teis 

 Quel secret dort dans tes yemc verts. 

 Quel sarcasme sous ta moustache ? " 



Here is a version in verse of the famous " Kilkenny 

 Cats": — 



« O'Flynn, she was an Irishman, as very well was known. 

 And she lived down in Kilkenny, and she lived there aU alone. 

 With only six great large tom-cats that knowed their ways about ; 

 And evaybody else besides she scrupulously shot out. 



^ Oh, very fond of cats was she, and whiskey, too, ^ said. 

 She didnH feed 'em vKy nmch, but she combed 'em well instead : 

 As may be guessed, these large tom-cats did not get very sleek 

 Upon a combing once a day and a 'haporth ' once a week. 

 i68 



