lady writing to me from New York makes the
following discriminating remarks upon the cat:--

"It seems to me that the reason which you ascribe for the
semi-humanizing of the dog, his long intercourse with man, might apply
in some degree to the cat. But it is necessary to be very fond of cats
in order to perceive their qualities. The dog is 'up in every one's
face,' so to speak; always in evidence; always on deck. But the cat is
a shy, reserved, exclusive creature. The dog is the humble friend,
follower, imitator, and slave of man. He will lick the foot that kicks
him. The cat, instead, will scratch. The dog begs for notice. The cat
must be loved much and courted assiduously before she will blossom out
and humanize under the atmosphere of affection. The dog seems to me to
have the typical qualities of the negro, the cat of the Indian. She is
indifferent to man, cares nothing for him unless he wins her by
special and consistent kindness, and throughout her long domestication
has kept her wild independence, and ability to forage for herself when
turned loose, whether in forest or city street. It is when she is much
loved and petted that her intelligence manifests itself, in such quiet
ways that an indifferent observer will never notice them. But she
always knows who is fond of her, and which member of the family is
fondest of her."

The correspondent who had the experience with his pointer dog relates
this incident about his blooded mare: A drove of horses were pasturing
in a forty-acre lot. The horses had paired off, as horses usually do
under such circumstances. The doctor's thoroughbred mare had paired
with another mare that was totally blind, and had been so since a
colt. Through the field "ran a little creek which could not well be
crossed by the horses except at a bridge at one end." One day when the
farmer went to salt the animals, they all came galloping over the
bridge and up to the gate, except the blind one; she could not find
the bridge, and remained on the other side, whinnying and stamping,
while the others were getting their salt a quarter of a mile away.
Presently the blooded mare suddenly left her salt, made her way
through the herd, and went at a flying gallop down across the bridge
to the blind animal. Then she turned and came back, followed by the
blind one. The doctor is convinced that his mare deliberately went
back to conduct her blind companion over the bridge and down to the
salt-lick. But the ac