time swinging the spool
out of the kitten's sight.

"Tom, how old you are?"

The spool was swung back, the kitten began again hitting at it, solemnly
the professor counted to twenty, and whisked the spool away. "Twenty
year. Correc'.

"You see, ladees and gentlemans, ze venerable cat he cannot make
mistake," he observed amid laughing applause.

"Now Tom, tell some odder ting. How old is ze chairman?" indicating the
dignified elderly man at the farther end of the platform. "Five? Correc'.

"You see, he always is right, yes.

"Now, Tom, how old is ze Rev. Mr. Borden?... Seven? Correc' again."

When the laughter which followed this "demonstration" had subsided the
professor took up a new line. Earlier in the evening a certain John
Peters, one of the town's foppish young gallants, and who now occupied a
prominent front seat, had widely announced the fact that he was present
for the express purpose of "showing the mind-reader up." At him
accordingly the first quip was directed.

"Now Tom, tell ze audience, how many girl have Mr. John Wilberforce
Peters?" was asked. "What? None?" For, the spool being held out of sight,
the kitten gazed before it stolidly, without raising a foot. "Well, how
many does he think he have?"

The spool being returned, the kitten tapped it ten times, paused, and
struck it eight more, while the resulting wave of amusement grew, and the
over-dressed object glowered threateningly at the figure on the platform.

"And how many will he marry?... What? Not one? Well, well," commented the
seer, to further hearty laughter.

"Now tell us about some of ze young ladies," the professor went on. "How
many beaux has Miss K. O.?" While Kate Orr bridled indignantly the spool
was lowered, and the kitten tapped several times on one side, several
times on the other, then, to an outburst of laughing and clapping, sat up
and began hitting it rapidly with both paws.

"I was unable to keep ze count," announced the seer, "but apparently
about ze seventy-five. Miss O. she is popular wiz ze young men, yes.

"And now, Tom," continued the magician, "how many special lady friend
have Mr. Kumming (an extremely bashful member of the choir)?...
Twenty-two! And how many young lady are in ze choir? Twenty-two!

"Ah! A strange coincidence," observed the learned professor amid much
merriment.

With similar quips and jokes the mind-reader continued, then giving the
kitten into the charge of a little girl in a front sea