writing, he
has never been seen the least intoxicated, nor has been heard to utter a
single oath."

[Illustration: CHAPTER END DECORATION]

The Cat.

Cats, say what you will against them, have some excellent traits of
character. They are capable of the strongest attachment. A cat which had
been brought up in a family, became extremely attached to the oldest
child, a little boy who was very fond of playing with her. She bore with
the utmost patience all the rough treatment of the mischievous child,
without ever making the least resistance. As the cat grew up, she used
to catch mice, and bring them alive into the room where the little boy
was, to amuse him with her prey. If he showed an inclination to take the
mouse from her, she let it run, and waited to see whether he was able to
catch it. If he did not, she darted at it, caught it, and again laid it
before him. In this manner the sport continued, as long as the child
showed any taste for it.

At length, the boy was attacked with the small-pox, and during the early
stages of his disorder, the cat rarely left his bed-side; but as his
danger increased, it was thought necessary to remove the cat, and lock
her up. The child died. On the following day, the cat, having escaped
from her confinement, immediately ran to the apartment where she hoped
to find her playmate. Disappointed in her expectations, she sought for
him, with symptoms of great uneasiness and loud lamentations, all over
the house, till she came to the door of the room in which the corpse
lay. Here she lay down in silent grief, till she was again locked up. As
soon as the child was buried, and the cat set at liberty, she
disappeared; and it was not till a fortnight after that event, that she
returned to the well-known apartment, sad and emaciated. She refused to
take any nourishment, and soon ran away again, with dismal cries. At
length, compelled by hunger, she made her appearance one day at
dinner-time, and continued to visit the house after that, every day, at
about the same hour, but always left as soon as she had eaten the food
that was given her. No one knew where she spent the rest of her time,
until she was found, one day, under the wall of the burying-ground,
close to the grave of her favorite; and so strong was the attachment of
the cat to her lost friend, that, till his parents removed to another
place, nearly five years afterward, she never, except in the severest
winter weather, passed