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 : — 



" It 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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