ary
drawings of Grandville, who had an uncanny talent for merging human and
animal characteristics. The volume was translated into English by J.
Thompson and published in London in 1877, but for obvious reasons _The
Afflictions of an English Cat_ was not included in the translation,
although Balzac's name would have added lustre to the collection. But in
the Victorian age such a rough satire would scarcely have been
tolerated. Even in French the story is not easily accessible. Aside from
its original setting I have found it in but one edition of Balzac, the
_OEuvres Completes_ issued in de luxe form by Calmann-Levy in 1879,
where it is buried in the twenty-first volume, _OEuvres Diverses_.

Therefore I make no excuse for translating and offering it to my
readers, for although perhaps it was not intended for a picture of cat
life, the observation on the whole is true enough, and the story itself
is too delicious to pass by. I should state that the opening and closing
paragraphs refer to earlier chapters in the _Vie privee et publique des
animaux_. I have, I may add, omitted one or two brief passages out of
consideration for what is called American taste.

CARL VAN VECHTEN.

_April_ 6, 1920.
_New York_.

CONTENTS

PREFACE, vii

I MARY E. WILKINS FREEMAN: THE CAT, 1

II GUY WETMORE CARRYL: ZUT, 11

III ALGERNON BLACKWOOD: A PSYCHICAL INVASION, 29

IV HONORE DE BALZAC: THE AFFLICTIONS OF AN ENGLISH CAT, 103
(translated from the French by Carl Van Vechten)

V BOOTH TARKINGTON: GIPSY, 124

VI G. H. POWELL: THE BLUE DRYAD, 131

VII MARK TWAIN: DICK BAKER'S CAT, 144

VIII EDGAR ALLAN POE: THE BLACK CAT, 149

IX THOMAS A. JANVIER: MADAME JOLICOEUR'S CAT, 163

X W. H. HUDSON: A FRIENDLY RAT, 198

XI WILLIAM LIVINGSTON ALDEN: MONTY'S FRIEND, 203

XII PEGGY BACON: THE QUEEN'S CAT, 220

XIII CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER: CALVIN, 226

LORDS OF THE HOUSETOPS
THIRTEEN CAT TALES