seemed saturate with the spirit of the Gnome king, Umbriel, in the
drama, when he

----'stalked abroad
Urging the wolf to tear the buffalo.'

'The death of one of these noisy belligerents being determined on,
I looked round my room for the tools of retribution. Not a
moveable thing, however, could I discover, save a new pitcher,
which had been sent home that very day, and to which my name and
address were appended on a bit of card. I clutched it with
desperate fury, and pouring into my bowl the water contained in
it, I poised it in my hand for the deadly heave. I had been a
member of a quoit club in the country, and the principles of a
clever throw were familiar to me. I resolved to make the vessel
describe what is called in philosophy a _parabolic curve_, so that
while it knocked out the brains of one combatant, it should
effectually admonish the survivor of the iniquity of his doings. I
approached the window--balanced the pitcher--and then drave it
home. Its reception was acknowledged by a loud, choking squall--a
faint yell of agony, and then a respectful silence. Satisfied that
my pitcher had been broken at the fountain of life, and that the
silent tabby would not soon tune her pipes again, I retired to
bed, and slept with the serenity and comfort of one who is
conscious of having performed a virtuous action.

'In the morning, the cat was found 'keeled up' on a bed of pinks,
with her head broken in, and her ancient and venerable whiskers
dabbled in blood. The shattered pitcher lay by her side. The
vessel had done its worst--so had my victim.'

The story proper, upon the consecutive incidents of which we shall not
touch, closes with the annexed whimsical anecdote:

'An anonymous wag not long ago, placed an advertisement in each of
our city journals, signed by an eminent house on the Delaware
wharf, and stating that FIVE HUNDRED CATS were wanted immediately
by the firm. The said firm in the meantime knew nothing of the
matter.

'On visiting their counting-house the next morning, the partners
found the streets literally blocked up with enterprising
cat-sellers. Huge negroes were there, each with ten or fifteen
sage, grave tabbies tied together with a string. Old market-women
had brought thither whole families of the feline genus, from the
super