d between them. A
French author of a work on the Language of Brutes tells the following
story: "I had 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 of food, he was sure to divide it with his whiskered
friend. They always ate sociably out of one plate, slept in the same
bed, and daily walked out together. Wishing to put this apparently
sincere 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, being desirous to see what sort of a
meal she would make without her friend, who had hitherto been her
constant table companion. The cat enjoyed the treat with great glee, and
seemed to have entirely forgotten the dog. I had had a partridge for
dinner, half of which I intended to keep for supper. My wife covered it
with a plate, and put it into a cupboard, the door of which she did not
lock. The cat left the room, and I walked out upon business. My wife,
meanwhile, sat at work in an adjoining apartment. When I returned home,
she related to me the following circumstances: The cat, having hastily
left the dining-room, went to the dog, and mewed uncommonly loud, and in
different tones of voice; which the dog, from time to time, answered
with a short bark. They both then went to the door of the room where the
cat had dined, and waited till it was opened. One of my children opened
the door, and immediately the two friends entered the apartment. The
mewing of the cat excited my wife's attention. She rose from her seat,
and stepped softly up to the door, which stood ajar, to observe what was
going on. The cat led the dog to the cupboard which contained the
partridge, pushed off the plate which covered it, and, taking out my
intended supper, laid it before her canine friend, who devoured it
greedily. Probably the cat, by her mewing, had given the dog to
understand what an excellent meal she had made, and how sorry she was
that he had not participated in it; but, at the same time, had explained
to him that something was left for him in the cupboard, and persuaded
him to follow her thither."

[Illustration: THE CAT.]

In Lawrence's History of the Horse occurs the following anecdote, in
which the cat is quite as much concerned as the horse: "A celebrated
Arabian horse and a black cat were for many years the warmest friends.
When t