OUR FOUR-FOOTED COMPANIONS. 273 



lady who died some years since was one of the most pa- 

 thetic of mourners, insisting with affectionate persistence 

 upon sitting by the body, wailing as if his heart would 

 break, and remaining for a long time inconsolable. In- 

 stances of this sort are by no means uncommon. 



7. It is true that, in general, the cat is fonder of places 

 than of people. He likes the old home because he knows 

 it thoroughly ; because he has investigated its every mouse- 

 hole and studied the advantages of its every retreat from 

 dogs and other enemies ; because he, a weak animal, feels 

 sure that he can there feed and protect himself. More- 

 over, his bump of locality is prodigious, as is shown by the 

 ease with which he finds his way back to the familiar 

 spot, though carried blindfold a long distance from it. A 

 friend of mine transported a cat several times five miles 

 from home, and dismissed it into the wide liberty of earth, 

 only to find it at his house when he returned, or very shortly 

 afterward. 



8. Do cats have intellect ? Observe the patient intelli- 

 gence with which he performs his special duty of watching 

 for prey. He loves ease and warmth ; but he will sit for 

 hours in the cold beside a mouse-hole ; and before he 

 commenced his siege he had examined the whole room, to 

 see if there was any other exit for the vermin ; he had ef- 

 fected a reconnoissance which would have done credit to a 

 Mohawk scalp-hunter or an experienced general. During 

 the last summer my two youthful cats accomplished such a 

 slaughter of birds as made my heart ache, bringing in 

 one or two nearly every day. Now it must require no 

 little reflection, caution, and adroitness to enable an ani- 

 mal who has merely legs to catch one who has both legs 

 and wings. If the reader doubts, let him try it, and, 

 though he take a bag of salt with him, I wager that he 

 does not bring home a robin. It was amusing to ob- 

 serve the plaintive mew of annoyance with which my 



