Madeline Leslie

“ A lady was once visiting at the house, who said she liked dogs, especially such splendid great ones as Leo; but she couldn’t see any thing agreeable or intelligent in a cat.
“There are some wonderful accounts of the sagacity of cats,” remarked Mr. Lee, smiling at Minnie’s quick flush of indignation. “If my little daughter [21] will bring me that book we were looking at yesterday, I think I can soon convince you that they are certainly not wanting in intelligence.”
“They are capable of strong attachments,” said Mrs. Lee, as the child rose and left the room, followed closely by Fidelle. ”

“ But whatever we may think on the subject, the king of Guinea, once thought a cat so valuable that he gladly gave a man his weight in gold if he would procure him one, and with it an ointment to kill flies. ”

“ As soon as they were out of sight, puss started off by herself, and enjoyed it so much, that for years, except when the weather was very stormy, the little creature might be seen walking demurely down the avenue into the street, from which direction [125] she usually returned in the course of an hour, walking as quietly as she went.
One day a gentleman from the neighboring city came to pass the night with her father, and, knowing Minnie’s fondness for animals, told her he had heard a curious account of a cat, which he would relate to her if she pleased. ”

“ Nearly a week after the kittens had been drowned, a servant had occasion to go to an unfrequented part of the cellar, where, to his great astonishment, he saw the cat lying in one corner, with the chicken hugged close to her [28] body, and one paw laid over it as if to protect it from injury.
“Puss and her adopted chicken were brought into a closet in the kitchen, where they continued some time, the cat treating her little charge in every respect as a kitten. ”

“ Here the cat left her, and darted forward, when, to her surprise, she saw her youngest child stuck fast in the mud of a ditch, unable to move.
“When the mother extricated the child, the cat testified her [129] pleasure in every possible way, jumping on the lady’s dress, and purring as loudly as possible.”
“I imagine,” remarked Mr. Lee, “that the power of observation in the inferior animals is greater than is generally supposed. ”

“ PUSS TAKING A JOURNEY.
Fidelle had one singular habit which I have not yet noticed. She used to take a solitary walk every evening at about dusk. The custom began in the following manner. For a long time Mr. and Mrs. Lee, with Minnie, were in the habit of taking a walk at sunset, and sometimes Fidelle went with them; but [124] finding the frolics of the kitten fatigued the child, causing her to run up and down in pursuit, they ordered the cat to be kept at home. ”

“ Lee?” asked the lady. “My little Marie Louise is only four, and she can read almost as well as I can. [24] She is learning to write, too, and really pens a letter very prettily.”
“I dare say,” added the gentleman, gravely, after giving his wife a comical look; “your daughters are all geniuses, which, I am happy to say, Minnie is not. She is only an obedient, affectionate, practical little girl,” giving her a tender caress.
“But come, we were discussing, not the child’s merits, but the cat’s.” ”

“ One day, the youngest ran a splinter into her little foot, which caused her to scream out most violently.
“At first, her cries were disregarded, as it was supposed they [131] proceeded, as they often did, from impatience. At last, the elder sister, who had been asleep, was awakened by the screams, and as she was just getting up to quiet the child, she observed a favorite cat, with whom they were wont to play, and who was of a remarkably gentle disposition, leave its place under the stove, go to the crying girl, and strike her on the cheek with one of its paws so as to draw blood. ”

“ Weuzel, “to put their friendship to the proof, I one day took the cat by herself into my room, while I had the dog guarded in another apartment. I entertained the cat in a most sumptuous manner, wishing to see what sort of a meal she would make without her friend.
“She enjoyed the treat with [65] great glee, and seemed to have entirely forgotten her table companion. I had had a partridge for dinner, half of which I intended to keep for my supper; my wife covered it with a plate, and put it in a cupboard, the door of which she did not lock. ”

“ I mean to try Fidelle, and see whether she likes chickens.”
“More likely she’ll make a meal of them,” said the lady, laughing. “At any rate, your story [31] only proves my opinion of cats, as thieving, mischievous creatures, to be true. Even she stole a chicken from the hen, the rightful owner of it, and alienated its affections from its own mother.”
“But all her kittens had been taken away from her, and pussies must have something to love, as well as people,” exclaimed Minnie, while her quivering lip and flushed cheeks showed how [32] much she was in earnest in what she said. ”

“ Puss shook one foot and then another in the most dainty manner imaginable, and then, going [89] to a dry place, sat down to lick her paws.
“What can be the reason cats don’t like water?” Minnie asked her mother. “Leo thinks a bath very refreshing, and I suppose Tiney would if Kate did not scrub her so hard.”
“I don’t know, my dear, why it is so; but they do almost always dread the water. Though they are extremely fond of fish, they seldom venture into the [90] water after it, but wait for it to be brought to them.
“But there are cases where they have become expert fishers. ”

“ She took her regular walk along the rocks at the edge of the point, looking out for her prey, and ready to dive in at a moment’s notice.”
“We have a neighbor at home,” [99] said Ida, “who cannot endure the sight of a cat. I wish she could hear some of these incidents; it is probable that it might change her opinion of their intelligence.”
“They are really affectionate little creatures,” rejoined Mr. Lee, “as this story would convince any one.” ”

“ Lee, having watched Minnie’s shudder of horror. “I hope you have something more lively.”
[63] “Yes, here is an account of an attachment which was formed between a cat and a dog. The story is quite amusing.”
“Mr. Weuzel, a writer on natural history, gives an account of a cat and dog, which became so attached to each other that they would never willingly be asunder. Whenever the dog got any choice morsel, he was sure to divide it with his whiskered friend. They always ate sociably out of one [64] plate, slept in the same bed, and daily walked out together. ”

“ I remember a curious story, which is told of Cambyses, a Persian general, who conquered Thebes by placing in front of the Persian army a corps of cats, giving to each of his soldiers, employed in the attack, instead of a buckler a live cat, and other animals venerated by the Egyptians. ”

“ Davis’s Mouser did.
“A lady named Madame Helvetius had a favorite kitten, which [118] constantly lay at her feet, seemingly always ready to defend her. It never molested the birds which she kept; it would not take food from any hand but hers, and would not allow any one else to caress it.
“At the death of its mistress, the poor cat was removed from her chamber; but it made its way there the next morning, went on the bed, sat upon her chair, slowly and mournfully paced over [119] her toilet, and cried most piteously, as if lamenting its poor mistress. ”

“ A lady had a tame bird which she was in the habit of letting out of its cage every day. When at liberty, it would fly to [33] the top of the mirror, or on the picture frames, and then to the floor, to pick up crumbs.
“One morning, as it was busily picking crumbs of bread from the carpet, her cat, who had always before showed great kindness for the bird, suddenly seized it, and jumped with it in her mouth upon the table. ”

“ De la Croix, a lecturer on experimental philosophy, was one day proving to his class that no creature could live without air. For this purpose he placed [141] a cat in a large glass jar, under the receiver of an air pump, and began to exhaust the air.
“Puss flew about, feeling decidedly uncomfortable, but, after a quick examination of her situation, saw a small aperture, upon which she placed her paw. ”

“ Ida kissed her; then they adjourned to the dining hall, where they had been summoned to tea. Fidelle, knowing she was not allowed there at meal times, reluctantly remained behind.
In the evening, when the candles were lighted, Minnie begged her father to go on with the stories, to which he willingly consented; but first he said,—
“I suppose you know, Minnie, that the cat belongs to the same [51] family as the lion, the tiger, the panther, the leopard, and several other wild animals. The tiger and cat are very similar in form and feature; they have the same rounded head and pointed ears ”

“ Do you wonder, Minnie, that I love Mouser; and other kittens for her sake?”
The lady was somewhat surprised, when the enthusiastic child, instead of answering, started suddenly and gave her a kiss. From this time, a warm [117] friendship was established between them.
When she had gone, the child had a refreshing nap, and then asked her mother to get the book and read her a story.
“Here is an affecting one,” remarked Mrs. Lee, after having looked over the pages, “where puss loved her mistress as much as Mrs. ”

“ They had been taught to beat a drum, turn a spit, strike upon an anvil, turn a coffee roaster, and ring bells.
“Two of them, who seemed to be more sagacious than the rest, drew a bucket suspended by a pulley, like a draw well. [144] The length of the rope was about six feet, and they perfectly understood when the bucket was high enough to stop pulling. Most of the time they stood upright on their hind legs.
“One of them would turn a wheel when a piece of meat stuck on a spit was put before it. ”

“ He stood more than ten minutes gratified at the unusual sight, when the hare, alarmed at seeing a stranger ap [37] proach, ran into a thicket of fern, and was followed by the cat.”
“I’m sure, father, Fidelle and Tiney are good friends,” cried Minnie, exultingly. “They often play together.”
“Tiney is getting too fat and lazy to play much with any body,” remarked Mrs. Lee, smiling. ”

“ This one belonged to a hotel in Paris, and having noticed that the cook always left the kitchen upon the ringing of a certain [85] bell, and thus left the room clear for her to eat the dainties she had been preparing, soon acquired the art of pulling the bell herself.
“This trick she practised for some weeks, in the mean time growing plump and sleek from her abundance of rich delicacies, until the thieving became so extensive that a person was set to watch for the rogue. ”