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 the horse died in 1753, the cat sat upon his carcass until it was
buried; and then, creeping slowly and reluctantly away, was never seen
again, till her dead body was found in a hay-loft."
Henry Wriothsly, earl of Southampton, having been some time confined in
the tower of London, was one day surprised by a visit from his favorite
cat, who must have reached her master by descending from the chimney of
the edifice.
The following instance of a cat's courage and maternal affection is
recorded in the Naturalist's Cabinet: "A cat who had a family of
kittens, was playing with them one sunny day in spring, near the door of
a farm-house, when a hawk darted swiftly down and caught one of the
kittens.
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