Cat-and-dog Love

[April 13, 1878.]



Would you allow me, as a cat fancier of nearly thirty years' standing,

to corroborate, by a personal experience, Mr. Balfour's testimony in

your last issue to the possibility of a genuine attachment between a cat

and a dog? A few weeks ago, I called upon a bachelor friend who has two

pets, a handsome black female cat, of the name of Kate, and a bright

little terrier, responding to the ca l of David. My friend assured me

that they lived on the most affectionate terms. They were certainly not

demonstrative, but they were importations from Scotland, and refrained

from "spooning" before folk. The character of the attachment was soon

tested. Another acquaintance entered the room, accompanied by a terrier

of about the same size as David, although not of the same variety. This

dog made at once for the cat, then resting in front of the fire. She

backed against the wall, and prepared for a fight, in which, if I may

judge from her size, she would have been victorious. But she was saved

the trouble of using her claws. Before she could utter a feline

equivalent for "Jack Robinson," before the door could be closed, David

rushed at the intruder, and literally ran him out of the room and down

two flights of stairs, with a rapidity worthy of a member of the Irish

Constabulary. By the time he returned, his Dulcinea had arranged herself

for another nap, but she opened one eye as her companion took his place

by his side, and--



"Betwixt her darkness and his brightness,

There passed a mutual glance of great politeness."



I witnessed a similar scene some years ago in a country inn in the north

of Scotland. On that occasion, one dog defended against another a

favourite cat and a favourite hen.



Speaking of cats, can any one say what has become of the late Pope's

black cat, Morello? Did he die before his master, or has some one

adopted him? Chateaubriand, as everybody knows, adopted Micetto, the

grey favourite of Leo XII.



WILLIAM WALLACE.