A BEAVER’S REASON 
then slowly advanced, facing the gunner, till he 
came to a point again, with the quail in a position 
to be flushed. After crediting the instinct and the 
training of the dog to the full, such an act, I think, 
shows a degree of independent judgment. The dog 
had not been trained to do that particular thing, 
and took the initiative of his own accord. 
Many authentic stories are told of cats which 
seem to show that they too have profited in the 
way of added intelligence by their long intercourse 
with man. A lady writing to me from New York 
makes the following discriminating remarks upon 
the cat: — 
“Tt seems to me that the reason which you ascribe 
for the semi-humanizing of the dog, his long inter- 
course with man, might apply in some degree to 
the cat. But it is necessary to be very fond of cats 
in order to perceive their qualities. The dog is 
‘up in every one’s face,’ so to speak ; always in 
evidence; always on deck. But the cat is a shy, 
reserved, exclusive creature. The dog is the humble 
friend, follower, imitator, and slave of man. He 
will lick the foot that kicks him. The cat, instead, 
will scratch. The dog begs for notice. The cat 
must be loved much and courted assiduously be- 
fore she will blossom out and humanize under the 
atmosphere of affection. The dog seems to me to 
have the typical qualities of the negro, the cat of 
the Indian. She is indifferent to man, cares nothing 
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