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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a1448a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65665 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65665) diff --git a/old/65665-0.txt b/old/65665-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6bc1f9b..0000000 --- a/old/65665-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2032 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of My household of pets, by Théophile Gautier - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: My household of pets - -Author: Théophile Gautier - -Translator: Susan Coolidge - -Release Date: June 21, 2021 [eBook #65665] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing, Suzanne Shell, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY HOUSEHOLD OF PETS *** - -[Illustration: THE FALSE CAGNOTTE.] - - - - - THÉOPHILE GAUTIER. - - MY - HOUSEHOLD OF PETS. - - - Translated - - BY SUSAN COOLIDGE. - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. - -[Illustration] - - BOSTON: - - ROBERTS BROTHERS. - - 1882. - - - - - _Copyright, 1882_, - BY ROBERTS BROTHERS. - - - UNIVERSITY PRESS: - JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. OLD TIMES 5 - - II. THE WHITE DYNASTY 25 - - III. THE BLACK DYNASTY 45 - - IV. OUR DOGS 66 - - V. CHAMELEONS, LIZARDS, AND MAGPIES 100 - - VI. HORSES 119 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - THE FALSE CAGNOTTE _Frontispiece_ - - AS FOR THE EYES OF THE CAT, THEY WERE RIVETED ON THE - BIRD WITH A FASCINATED INTENSITY 17 - - THE WHITE DYNASTY 23 - - PIERROT 29 - - THE BLACK DYNASTY 43 - - LEAVE IS GIVEN HER TO PLACE HER FOREPAWS ON THE EDGE OF - THE TABLE 57 - - OUR DOGS 67 - - MONSIEUR WAS STUDYING HIS LESSON 81 - - WHEN PAYING LITTLE ATTENTIONS TO HIS LADY-LOVES HE STOOD - ALWAYS ON HIS HIND LEGS 85 - - THE CHAMELEON 101 - - - - - MY HOUSEHOLD OF PETS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - OLD TIMES. - - -Caricatures are in existence which represent us clothed in Turkish -fashion, sitting cross-legged on cushions, and surrounded by cats, who -are fearlessly climbing over our shoulders and even upon our head. -Caricature is nothing more than the exaggeration of truth; and truth -compels us to own that for animals in general, and for cats in -particular, we have, all our lives long, had the tenderness of a Brahmin -or of an old maid. The illustrious Byron carried a menagerie of pets -about with him even when on his travels, and raised a tomb at Newstead -Abbey to his faithful Newfoundland, “Boatswain,” which bears an epitaph -of the poet’s own composition. But although we thus share his tastes, we -must not be accused of plagiarism; for in our case the tendency -manifested itself even before we had begun to learn the alphabet. - -We are told that a clever man is about to prepare a “History of Educated -Animals;” so we offer him these notes, from which, so far as our animals -are concerned, he will be able to extract reliable information. - -Our earliest recollections of this nature date back to our arrival in -Paris from Tarbes. We were then precisely three years of age,—a fact -which renders difficult of belief the statements of MM. de Mirecourt and -Vapereau, who assert, that at that time we had already “received a bad -education” in our native city. A homesickness of which one would hardly -believe so young a child to be capable took possession of us. We could -speak only in _patois_, and those who expressed themselves in French -seemed to us like foreigners and aliens. In the middle of the night we -would wake up and disconsolately ask if we might not soon be allowed to -go back to our own country. - -No dainty could tempt us to eat. No plaything gave amusement. Drums and -trumpets even, failed to rouse us from our melancholy. Among the things -most mourned over was a dog named Cagnotte who had necessarily been left -behind. His absence produced such wretchedness that, one morning, after -having thrown out of window our tin soldiers, a German village painted -in gaudy colors, and our reddest of red fiddles, we were on the point of -following by the same road in hopes of finding the sooner Tarbes, -Gascony and Cagnotte, and were only dragged back in the very nick of -time by the collar of our jacket. The happy thought occurred to -Josephine, our nurse, to tell us that Cagnotte, impatient at being -separated from us, was coming to Paris that very day in the diligence. -Children accept the incredible with an artless faith; nothing seems -impossible to their minds; but it is dangerous to deceive them, for once -their opinions are formed the attempt to alter them is hopeless. All -that day long we asked every quarter of an hour if Cagnotte had not come -yet. At last, to pacify us, Josephine went out and bought on the _Pont -Neuf_ a little dog who somewhat resembled the dog of Tarbes. At first we -were mistrustful, and would not believe him to be the same; but we were -assured that travelling produces strange changes in the looks of dogs. -This explanation was satisfactory, and the dog of the Pont Neuf was -received as the authentic Cagnotte. He was an amiable dog, gentle and -pretty. He licked our cheeks amicably, and his tongue condescended to -stretch farther and extend itself to the bread-and-butter which had been -cut for our luncheon. The best understanding existed between us. In -spite of this, the false Cagnotte little by little became sad, dull, and -constrained in his motions. He no longer curled himself up easily for a -nap; all his joyous agility vanished; he panted for breath, and ate -nothing. One day, when caressing him, we discovered on his stomach what -appeared to be a seam, tightly stretched as if swollen. The nurse was -called; she came, she cut a thread with the scissors, and lo! Cagnotte, -emerging from a sort of jacket of curly lamb’s-wool with which the -dealers on the Pont Neuf had invested him in order that he might pass -for a poodle, stood revealed in all his poverty and ugliness as a common -street cur, ill-bred and valueless. He had grown fat, and his tight -garments were suffocating him. Relieved from his cuirass, he shook his -ears, stretched his legs, and gambolled joyfully round the room, not at -all disquieted at his own ugliness, now that he once more found himself -at ease. His appetite came back, and in his moral qualities we found -compensation for his loss of good looks. In the companionship of -Cagnotte, who was a true child of Paris, we forgot by slow degrees -Tarbes and the high mountains which we had been used to see from our -windows. We learned French, and we also became Parisian. - -Let no one suppose that this is an imaginary tale invented to amuse the -reader. The facts are strictly true, and they show that the -dog-merchants of that period were as ingenious as are the jockeys of -to-day in disguising their wares to cheat unsuspecting country-folk. - -After the death of Cagnotte our affections turned to cats as more truly -domestic animals and better friends for the fire-side. We will not -attempt to give a detailed history of all of them. Whole dynasties of -felines, as numerous as those of the Egyptian kings, succeeded one -another in our house; accident, death, escape, in turn carrying them -away. All were loved, and all were regretted; but life is made up of -forgettings, and the remembrance of departed cats is gradually effaced -like the remembrance of men. - -It is a sad fact that the lives of these humble friends, our inferior -brothers, are not better proportioned to those of their masters. - -After briefly alluding to an old gray cat, who took our part against our -own flesh and blood, and bit our mother’s ankles whenever she scolded or -seemed about to punish us, we pass on to Childebrand, a cat belonging to -the days of romance. From his name the reader will detect the secret -desire which we felt to dispute Boileau, whom at that time we did not -love, though since we have made peace with him. Does he not make Nicolas -say:— - - “Oh charming thought of poet, most ignorant and bland, - Among so many heroes to choose out Childebrand”? - -It did not seem to us that it argued such a depth of ignorance to select -a hero of whom no one knew anything. Beside Childebrand struck us as an -impressive name; very long-haired, very Merovingian, Gothic and Mediæval -to the last degree, and much to be preferred to a Grecian name,—be it -Agamemnon, Achilles, Idomeneus, Ulysses, or any other. These names, -however, were the fashion of the day, especially among young people; -for—to use a phrase taken from the notice of Kaulbach’s frescoes on the -outside of the Pinacothek at Munich—“Never did the Hydra of wigginess -dress more bristling heads than at that period;” and persons of a -classical turn doubtless gave their cats such names as Hector, Ajax, or -Patrocles. Our Childebrand was a magnificent cat of the house-tops, with -shaven hair, striped fawn color and black like Saltabadil’s clown in “Le -Roi s’Amuse.” His great green eyes of almond shape, and his velvet, -striped coat, gave him a resemblance to a tiger, which we found -extremely pleasing; for, as we have elsewhere said, cats are nothing -more than tigers under a cloud. Childebrand has the honor to figure in -some verses of ours, also intended for the discomfiture of Boileau:— - - Then I for you will paint that picture of Rembrandt - Which pleases me most greatly; and meanwhile Childebrand, - According to his custom soft couched upon my knee, - Lifts up his pretty head and watches anxiously - The movement of my finger, which traces in the air - The outline of the picture to make it clear and fair. - -Childebrand came in nicely as a rhyme to Rembrandt; for this fragment -was a sort of confession of faith and romance to a friend, since dead, -who at that time shared all our enthusiasms for Victor Hugo, -Sainte-Beuve, and Alfred de Musset. - -We must say of our cats as said Ruy Gomez de Silva to the impatient Don -Carlos, when giving him the names and titles of his ancestors, which -began with “Don Silvius, three times elected Consul of Rome,” “I have -skipped some of the best——,” and so pass on to Madame Theophile, a -reddish cat, with a white breast, pink nose, and blue eyes, who was thus -named because she lived with us in an almost conjugal intimacy, sleeping -on the foot of our bed, or on the arm of our writing chair; following us -in our walks in the garden, assisting at our meals, and not infrequently -intercepting the morsels which we were conveying from our plate to our -mouth. - -One day a friend, who was leaving home for a short time, left in our -charge a favorite parrot. The bird, feeling lonely in a strange house, -climbed by the help of his beak to the top of the perch, and sat there -rolling about in a scared way his eyes, which glittered like gilt nails, -and wrinkling over them the white membranes which served for eyelids. -Madame Theophile had never before encountered a parrot, and the novelty -awoke in her mind an evident astonishment. Motionless as an Egyptian cat -embalmed in its network of bandages, she sat regarding the bird with an -air of profound meditation, and putting together all the ideas of -natural history which she had been able to collect during her excursions -on the roofs or in the courtyard and garden. The shadows of her thoughts -flitted across her changeful eyes, and it was not difficult to read the -decision at which she finally arrived: “This is—decidedly it is—a green -chicken!” - -This conclusion reached, the cat jumped from the table which she had -chosen as her observatory, and crouched in a corner of the room, her -belly on the floor, her knees bent, her head lowered, her spine -stiffened like that of the black panther in Gérome’s picture as it -glares at the gazelles who are drinking by the lake. - -The parrot followed each movement of the cat with a feverish -disquietude. His feathers bristled; he rattled his chain, raised one of -his claws and exercised its talons, while he whetted his beak on the -edge of the feeding cup. Instinct revealed to him that this was an enemy -who was plotting mischief. - -[Illustration: AS FOR THE EYES OF THE CAT THEY WERE RIVETED ON THE BIRD -WITH A FASCINATED INTENSITY.] - -As for the eyes of the cat, they were riveted on the bird with a -fascinated intensity, and said plainly as eyes could speak, and in a -language which the parrot understood only too well, “Green though he be, -this chicken is without doubt good to eat.” - -While we watched this scene with interest, ready to interfere whenever -it should seem necessary, Madame Theophile was imperceptibly drawing -nearer to her prey. Her pink nose quivered, her eyes were half shut, her -elastic claws projected and then disappeared again in their velvet -sheaths. Little shivers ran down her spine: she was like an epicure as -he seats himself at table before a dish of truffled chicken, and smacks -his lips in advance over the choice and succulent repast which he is -about to enjoy. This exotic dainty tickled all her sensuous -capabilities. - -Suddenly her back curved like a bow which is bent, and with one strong -elastic bound she alighted on the perch. The parrot, seeing his danger, -remarked in a deep bass voice, as low and solemn as that of M. Joseph -Prudhomme, “Hast thou breakfasted, Jacquot?” - -This remark created in the mind of the cat an evident dismay. She took a -sudden leap backward. A blast from a trumpet, a pile of plates crashing -to the floor, a pistol shot close to the ear, could not have inspired -more sudden and giddy terror in an animal of her race. All her -ornithological ideas were in one fell moment overturned. - -“And on what? On the roast beef of the king?” continued the parrot. - -The face of the cat now said, as distinctly as words, “This is not a -bird. It is a gentleman! He speaks!” - - “When I on wine have feasted free, - The tavern turns around with me,” - -sang the bird in a tremendous voice; for he perceived that the alarm -caused by his words was his readiest means of defence. The cat cast a -questioning glance toward us, and, getting no reassurance in reply, took -refuge under the bed, from which place of safety she could not be -enticed for the remainder of that day. - -People who are not accustomed to live with animals, or who, like -Descartes, see nothing in them but irrational organisms, will no doubt -suppose that these designs and reflections which we attribute to birds -and beasts, are pure inventions of our fancy. In this they are mistaken: -we but interpret their ideas, and faithfully translate them into human -speech. - -Next day Madame Theophile, regaining courage, made another attempt on -the parrot, which was repulsed in the same way. After that she gave it -up, and accepted the bird as a man. - -This sensitive and charming animal adored perfumes. Patchouli, the scent -of cashmeres, threw her into ecstasies. She had also a taste for music; -perched upon a pile of score, she would listen attentively and with -evident pleasure to vocalists who came to test their voices at our piano -and receive criticism. Sharp notes, however, made her nervous, and at -the upper “la” she was apt to close the mouth of the songstress with a -tap of her little paw. It was an experiment which caused us much -amusement, and was unfailing. Our feline amateur never mistook the note, -and never let it pass unrebuked. - -[Illustration: THE WHITE DYNASTY.] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - THE WHITE DYNASTY. - - -Let us now come down to a more modern epoch. From a cat imported by -Mademoiselle Aita de la Penuela, a young Spanish artist whose studies of -white Angoras adorned and still adorn the windows of the print-shops, we -obtained the tiniest possible kitten, which looked like one of those -puffs of swan’s-down which people use in rice-powder boxes. On account -of this immaculate whiteness, he received the name of Pierrot, which, as -he grew larger, was amplified into that of Don Pierrot de Navarre,—a -name infinitely more majestic and having a savor of real grandeur about -it. Don Pierrot, like all animals who are petted and spoiled grew up -charmingly amiable. He shared our family life with that enjoyment which -cats find in being admitted to the intimacies of the fire-side. Seated -in his wonted place beside the fire, he seemed always to understand the -conversation and to be interested in it. He followed the eyes of the -talkers, emitting from time to time a little mew, as if he too had -objections to make, and would like to add his opinion on the literary -topics which were usually the theme of our discourse. He adored books; -and whenever he found one lying open on the table he would seat himself -by it, looking earnestly at the pages, and sometimes gently turning one -with his claw. He usually finished by going to sleep, as soundly as -though he had in reality been reading a modern novel! - -When we sat down to write he always jumped upon the writing-table, and -watched with a profound attention the point of the steel pen as it -scattered flies’ legs over the white surface of the paper, making a -little movement of his head at the beginning of each new line. Sometimes -he took a fancy to join in the work, and would try to get the pen away -from us, doubtless with the intention of using it in his turn; for he -was an æsthetic cat, like the cat Murr, described by Hoffman, and we -strongly suspected him of spending nights in some hidden gutter writing -his memoirs by the light of his own phosphoric eyes. Unfortunately these -lucubrations, if they ever existed, are forever lost. - -Don Pierrot de Navarre would never settle himself to sleep till we had -come home. He always waited just inside the door, and, the moment we -stepped into the antechamber, rubbed himself against our legs, arching -his back, and purring in a joyous and friendly manner. Then he would -walk in, preceding us like a page, and no doubt with a very little -urging would have consented to carry the candlestick. - -Having thus conducted us to our bedroom, he waited till we were -undressed, and then, jumping into bed, embraced our neck with his little -paws, rubbed his nose against ours, and licked us with a small pink -tongue, rough as a file, uttering meanwhile short, inarticulate cries, -which expressed as clearly as possible his joy at our return. Then, -having expressed his affection by these demonstrations, and the hour for -sleep being come, he would mount the head-board of the bed, and slumber -there, poised like a bird on a bough. As soon as we awoke in the morning -he would descend, and, stretching himself out close to us, wait quietly -till it was time to get up. - -[Illustration: PIERROT.] - -Midnight, in his opinion, was the hour at which it was our duty to -return to the house. Pierrot and the _concierge_ were entirely of one -mind on this point. Just then we had joined with a few friends in -getting up a little club, which we called “The Society of the Four -Candles,” from the fact that the room in which we met was lighted by -four candles in silver candlesticks, which were placed on four corners -of a table. Sometimes the talk became so engrossing that, like -Cinderella, we forgot the hour, at the risk of finding our carriages -changed into pumpkins and our coachmen into rats. Several times Pierrot -waited for our return until two or three o’clock in the morning; then -his feelings were so deeply hurt that he actually went to bed without -us. This dumb protest against our innocent irregularities was so -touching that afterwards we made a point of coming in punctually at -midnight; but Pierrot for a long while retained a grudge against us. He -wanted proof that our penitence was genuine; and not till time had -convinced him of the sincerity of our regret did he again take us into -favor, and resume his old position inside the door of the antechamber. - -A cat’s friendship is a hard thing to conquer. Cats are philosophical -animals,—sedate, quiet, fixed in their habits, true believers in decency -and order, and not at all given to the bestowing of a thoughtless -affection. They will be your friends if you prove worthy of friendship; -but they will never be your slaves. Even in moments of tenderness a cat -preserves his freedom of will, and cannot be made to comply with demands -which seem to him unreasonable. But once he surrenders himself to you as -a friend, what absolute confidence he gives! what fidelity of affection! -He constitutes himself the companion of your solitary hours, of your -melancholy, of your work. He will pass whole evenings purring on your -knees, happy in your company, and forsaking that of animals of his own -species. In vain do enticing mews re-echo from the roofs, calling him to -join one of those cat-soirees where juicy red-herrings take the place of -tea: he will not be tempted away, and shares your vigil to the end. If -you put him on the floor, he jumps back to his place with a murmuring -noise which is like a soft reproach. Sometimes, standing near, he looks -at you with eyes so full of melting tenderness, so loving and so human, -that you are half-frightened; for it seems impossible that in such a -regard reason can be lacking. - -Don Pierrot de Navarre had a companion of the same race, no less white -than himself. All the comparisons which we have heaped together in “The -symphony in white, major” cannot express the idea of this immaculate -snowiness, which makes even the fur of the ermine look yellow. This -second cat was named Seraphita, in honor of Balzac’s Swedenborgian -romance. Never did the heroine of that marvellous legend radiate a purer -whiteness, not even when, accompanied by Minna, she climbed the icy -peaks of the Falberg. Seraphita was of a contemplative and dreamy -disposition. She would lie for long hours on her cushion, not asleep, -but following, with an intense expression of the eyes, sights which were -invisible to common mortals. She liked to be caressed; but she caressed -in return only a favored few to whom her hard-won esteem was accorded. -She loved luxury; and it was always upon the softest chair and the piece -of stuff best calculated to show to advantage her swan-like fur that we -were sure to find her. Her toilet took an enormous deal of time; every -particle of her fur was made glossy each morning of her life. She washed -herself with her paws; and every hair of her coat, carefully brushed -with her rosy tongue, glistened like new silver. Whenever any one -stroked her, she instantly removed all trace of the contact: the least -untidiness disturbed her. Her elegance and distinction were truly -aristocratic: in the cat-world she must have ranked as a duchess at the -very least. She doted on perfumes, plunging her head into bouquets of -flowers, and nibbling with little quivers of satisfaction handkerchiefs -steeped in odors. She would walk up and down the dressing-table sniffing -at the essence bottles, and would willingly have allowed herself to be -dipped bodily into the scented rice-powder. Such was Seraphita, and -never did a cat better justify a poetical name. - -About this time two of those counterfeit sailors who sell striped -table-covers, handkerchiefs woven of pineapple thread, and other foreign -commodities, chanced to pass through our street at Longchamps. They -carried in a tiny cage two Norway rats, with the prettiest pink eyes in -the world. White animals were a passion with us just then, and we -carried this passion so far that even our poultry-yard was stocked with -white cocks and hens. We bought the white rats, and had a large cage -made for them, with interior staircases which led to different -stories,—to dining-rooms, sleeping-chambers, and gymnasiums fitted up -with trapezes. In this cage they were happier and better lodged than -even the rat of La Fontaine in the middle of his Dutch cheese. - -These pretty creatures—of which so many people, for reasons that we -cannot understand, have a silly fear—grew tame to an astonishing degree, -so soon as they became certain that no harm was intended them. They -allowed themselves to be stroked like kittens; and taking our finger -between their tiny pink paws, delicate to an ideal degree, would lick it -in a friendly way. They were usually let loose at the end of our meals, -and climbing on our arms, shoulders, and head, would dart in and out of -the sleeves of our jacket or dressing-gown with singular skill and -agility. The motive of all these exercises, so gracefully performed, was -to win leave to rummage among the remains of the dessert. Placed upon -the table, in the twinkling of an eye the pair would make away with -every walnut or hazel-nut, every dried raisin, every bit of sugar, which -remained. Nothing could be droller than the eager and furtive glances -which they cast about them while doing this, or their look of surprise -when they found themselves on the edge of the table-cloth. When a tiny -board was laid from the cage to the table, they would joyfully run -across it and store their plunder away in their private cupboard. - -The couple multiplied rapidly, until whole families of equal whiteness -ascended and descended the staircases of the cage. At last we found -ourselves at the head of thirty rats, all so much at home with us that -when the weather was cold they burrowed in our pockets without the least -ceremony, and lay there, keeping themselves warm. Sometimes leaving open -the door of the Ratopolis, we would go up to the second floor of the -house, and give a whistle well known to our pupils. Then the tiny crew, -who with great difficulty could climb from one step of the stairs to the -other, would swarm upward, clutching the rail, pulling themselves along -by the balusters, following each other in a file with the regularity of -acrobats, up the steep road, down which occasionally one slipped, and -run to find us, uttering little cries and manifesting the liveliest joy. - -We must now confess to an act of brutality. We had so often heard it -said that a rat’s tail resembled a pink worm and detracted from the -beauty of the animal, that at last we selected one from our menagerie, -and cut off the much-abused appendage. The little rat bore the operation -well, grew up bravely, and became a master rat, with a fine pair of -moustaches; but in spite of being lightened of the weight of his caudal -extremity, he was always less agile than his companions, was wary in -gymnastic exercises, and frequently experienced a tumble. When the troop -ran up the staircase, he invariably came last; and he always had the air -of an acrobat who is testing his tight-rope and is not quite sure of his -balance. This experiment convinced us of the usefulness of a tail to -rats. It holds them in equilibrium as they run along cornices and narrow -projections. When they swiftly turn to right or left the tail turns too, -serving as a counterpoise; and this is the cause of the perpetual wiggle -which characterizes it. Nature seldom makes a superfluous thing, and for -this reason we should be very cautious in trying to improve her -handiwork. - -You will doubtless wonder how our rats and cats, creatures so totally -unsympathetic,—one in fact being the natural prey of the other,—managed -to live together. In the most amicable way imaginable. The cats never -showed their claws to the rats; the rats never exhibited the least fear -or distrust of the cats. This conduct on the part of the cats was -thoroughly sincere, and never once were the rats called upon to mourn -the death of a comrade. Don Pierrot de Navarre showed the tenderest -affection for these tiny neighbors. He would lie down by the cage for -hours together, watching them at play. If by accident the door of the -room was shut, he would scratch and softly mew to have it opened, that -he might rejoin his little white friends, who not infrequently would -come from their cage and go to sleep by his side. Seraphita, of a -loftier nature than he, and not so fond of the musky odor of rats, never -took part in these games; but she did the rats no harm, and suffered -them to pass before her without once extending a claw. - -The end of these rats was strange enough. One sultry day in summer when -the thermometer marked the ordinary heat of Senegal, their cage was -placed in the garden, under the shade of a vine-covered arbor; for they -seemed to suffer from the heat. A heavy storm came up, with great gusts -of wind, lightning and rain. The tall poplars on the river’s bank bent -like reeds. Armed with an umbrella, we were on the point of going out to -look for our pets, when a vivid lightning flash, which seemed to split -the very depths of the heavens, stopped us on the first step of the -flight which led from the terrace to the garden. A tremendous -thunder-clap followed, louder than the discharge of a hundred cannon. -The shock was so violent that we were almost thrown down by it. - -After this explosion the storm grew a little calmer; and hastening to -the arbor we found the thirty-two rats lying with their paws in the air, -all killed by the same thunderbolt. - -The wire of their cage had without doubt attracted the lightning. Thus -perished together, as they had lived together, thirty-two Norway -rats,—an enviable death, and one not often granted by implacable fate! - -[Illustration: THE BLACK DYNASTY.] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - THE BLACK DYNASTY. - - -Don Pierrot de Navarre, being a native of Havana, needed a very warm -temperature. This temperature was provided for him in our rooms; but -about the house lay extensive gardens, separated by wire fences which -offered no difficulties to a cat, and which were planted with large -trees, in whose branches innumerable birds twittered and sang. Not -infrequently Pierrot, profiting by an open door, would make his escape -of evenings for the enjoyment of a private hunt over the lawns and the -flower-beds wet with dew. Sometimes he had to wait till daylight before -he could re-enter the house; for, though he mewed under the windows, his -signal did not always rouse the sleepers within. His chest had always -been delicate, and one chilly night he took a cold, which speedily -developed into consumption. Poor Pierrot! he became painfully thin after -a year of coughing. His fur, once so silky, lost its gloss, and reminded -one of the dull, opaque whiteness of a winding-sheet. His great -transparent eyes looked enormous by contrast with his poor little face. -His pink nose grew pale, and he dragged his feet slowly along his -favorite sunshiny wall, watching the yellow autumn leaves whirled along -in spiral flights by the wind, and looking as though he were repeating -to himself the elegy of Millevoye. - -There is nothing in the world more touching than a sick animal. It -submits to its sufferings with such a sweet, sad resignation. Everything -possible was done to save Pierrot. He had a skilful doctor, who -stethoscoped him and felt his pulse. Asses’ milk was ordered, and the -poor thing lapped it willingly enough from his little porcelain saucer. -He would lie for long hours on our knees, stretched out, and immovable -as the shadow of a sphinx. We could number his vertebræ with our -fingers, like the beads of a rosary. When he tried to respond to our -caresses by a feeble mew, it sounded like a death-rattle. On the day of -his death, as he lay panting upon his side, he raised himself with a -supreme effort and crept toward us, opening wide his dilated eyes with a -look which seemed to claim our help with an intense supplication. It -said plainly as words could say, “Come, save me, thou who art a man!” -Then he staggered; his eyes became fixed; and he fell with a cry so -desperate, so lamentable, so full of anguish, that we sat transfixed -with silent horror. He was buried at the bottom of the garden, under a -white-rose tree which still marks the place of his grave. - -Two or three years later Seraphita died also, of a mysterious disease -against which all the resources of science proved unavailing. She is -buried not far from Pierrot. - -With them the _Dynastie Blanche_ became extinct, but not the family. For -of this couple, white as snow, were born three kittens as black as ink. -Explain, who can, this mystery. The great excitement of the day was -Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables.” No one spoke of anything else, and -the names of its heroes and heroines were in every mouth. Naturally, -therefore, the two male kittens were christened Enjolras and Gavroche, -while their sister received the title of Eponine. When very young they -acquired a number of pretty tricks. Among the rest they were taught to -run like a dog after a ball made of rolled-up paper, and to fetch it -back when thrown to a distance. Even though the ball were tossed up to -the cornices of the wardrobes, hidden behind piles of sheets on a shelf, -or dropped into a deep vase, they would always discover and fetch it -safely in their paws. Later in life they learned to despise these -frivolous amusements, and acquired that calm and dreamy philosophy which -is the true characteristic of the cat nature. - -When people first land in one of the Southern States of America, the -negroes they see are to them simply negroes; they cannot tell one from -another. So to careless eyes three black cats are three black cats, and -nothing more. Observant persons, however, do not make such mistakes. The -physiognomies of animals differ from each other like those of men; and -we never had the least difficulty in distinguishing between these three -faces, all black as the mask of Harlequin, and lighted by emerald disks -with reflections of gold. - -Enjolras, by far the prettiest of the three cats, could be identified by -his large and lion-like head, his well-whiskered cheeks, strong -shoulders, long back, and a superb tail which expanded like a plume. -There was something theatrical and emphatic about him, and he was -addicted to _poses_ like a favorite actor. His slow and undulating -movements were full of majesty. He could be trusted to walk over -consoles loaded with treasures in china and Venice glass, so -circumspectly did he order his footsteps. He was not much of a Stoic in -character, and his taste for dainties would have horrified his namesake -Enjolras, that sober and pure young man, who would doubtless have said -to him, as the angel did to Swedenborg, “Thou eatest too much.” This -gluttonous turn, which was as droll as that of a gastronomic monkey, was -indulged; and Enjolras attained a size and weight most unusual in a -domestic cat. The idea occurred to us to have him shaved like a poodle, -in order to complete his resemblance to a lion. A mane was left to him, -and one thick tuft of hair at the end of his tail. We will not swear -that it was not part of the original design to furnish him with -leg-of-mutton whiskers like those in the portrait of Munito. Thus -accoutred, he looked, it must be confessed, less like a lion of the -jungle or of the Cape than like a Japanese chimera. Never was a more -absurd whim carried out upon the body of a living animal. His hair was -shaved so closely that it showed the skin, which exhibited odd bluish -tones, and contrasted in the most extraordinary way with the blackness -of his mane. - -Gavroche, as if to suit with the character of his namesake in the novel, -was a cat of a crafty and furtive disposition. Smaller than Enjolras, -his agility was most comical and surprising. His substitutes for the -jokes and slang of the Paris _gamin_ were capers, somersaults, and -ludicrous motions. We are forced to confess that, notwithstanding these -attractive qualities, Gavroche never lost an opportunity of stealing out -of the parlor in order to join in the street or courtyard with vagabond -cats,— - - “Of any sort of birth, and blood unknown to fame,” - -in parties of the most unrefined sort, quite forgetting his dignity as a -cat from Havana: son of the illustrious Don Pierrot de Navarre, grandee -of Spain of the first rank, and of the Marquise Seraphita, whose manners -were so lofty and disdainful. Sometimes by way of a treat he would -conduct to his porridge-plate some comrade emaciated by famine and all -skin-and-bone, whom he had picked up during his peregrinations; -introducing him with all the airs of a condescending prince. The poor -wretch, with drooping ears, sidelong glance, and tail between his legs, -fearing that his free lunch might at any moment be interrupted by the -housemaid’s broom, would gobble down double, triple, quadruple -mouthfuls, and like _Siete-Aguas_, or Seven Waters, of the Spanish -_posada_, make the plate in a few seconds as clean as though it had been -scrubbed by a Dutch housewife to serve as a model to Mieris or Gerard -Dow. - -Beholding these chosen protégés of Gavroche’s, that phrase with which -Gavarni illustrates one of his caricatures frequently came into our -head: “Fine friends these are which you have selected to go about with!” -But after all they were only a proof of Gavroche’s real goodness of -heart; for he might easily have eaten up everything himself. - -The cat who bore the name of the interesting Eponine was more slender -and delicately made than her brothers. Her nose was slightly longer; her -eyes set obliquely in the head like those of a Chinese, were of a green -hue like the eyes of Pallas Athene, to which Homer invariably applies -the epithet γλαυκώπις. Her nose of a velvety blackness, as finely -grained as a Perigord truffle; her moustaches perpetually waving, made -up a physiognomy full of expression. Her superb black fur was always in -a quiver, and glittered with changeful lustres. Never was there a -creature so sympathetic, nervous, and theatrical as Eponine. If you -passed your hand over her back once or twice in the dusk little blue -sparks would flash from the fur. Eponine attached herself to us as -devotedly as did the Eponine of the novel to Marius; but not being -pre-occupied with a Cosette, as was that dear young man, we were able to -respond to the affection of this tender and devoted cat, who is still -the companion of our labors and the joy of our suburban hermitage. At -the sound of the door-bell she runs out, receives the visitors, shows -them into the drawing-room, asks them to sit down, talks with them; yes, -_talks_, prattling on with murmurs and little cries which are not in the -least like those which cats use to one another, but which resemble the -speech of men. What does she say, do you ask? She says in the most -intelligible language: “Gentlemen and ladies, do not be impatient; look -at the pictures, or, if you please, converse with me. Monsieur will be -here soon.” When we enter she discreetly retires to an easy chair or the -corner of the piano, and listens to the conversation without trying to -take part in it, like a polite animal who is familiar with the habits of -good society. - -This charming Eponine has given so many proofs of merit, of -intelligence, and superior social qualities, that by common consent she -has been elevated to the dignity of a _person_; for there can be no -doubt that her conduct is governed by a reason which is far superior to -instinct. This dignity gives her the right to eat at table like a human -being, and not as cats do out of a saucer set on the floor in a corner. -Eponine therefore has her chair, which is regularly placed beside our -own, at breakfast and dinner. In consideration of her shape and size, -leave is given her to place her fore-paws on the edge of the table. She -has also her own plate and her own tumbler, but not a fork or spoon. She -watches the dinner through all its courses from soup to dessert, waiting -for her turn to be helped, and altogether comporting herself with a -wisdom and decency which we wish that children would oftener imitate. At -the first tinkle of the bell she makes her appearance, and when we enter -the dining-room there she is, already seated on her chair with her paws -crossed before her on the edge of the table; and she holds up her -forehead to be kissed precisely as a nice little girl does who has been -trained to show an affectionate politeness towards her parents and other -elderly friends. - -[Illustration: LEAVE IS GIVEN HER TO PLACE HER FOREPAWS ON THE EDGE OF -THE TABLE.] - -But there are flaws in the diamond, spots even on the sun, shadows upon -perfection, and Eponine, it must be owned, has an over-passionate love -for fish,—a passion which is shared by cats in general. In contradiction -to the Latin proverb - - “Catus amat pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas,” - -she will dip her paw into water without the least hesitation in order to -draw out a carp, a white bait, or a trout. Fish awake in her a sort of -frenzy; and like children who are in a state of excitement over the idea -of dessert, she sometimes looks sulkily at the soup, when preliminary -observations made in the kitchen have assured her that there is fish to -come, and that the cook has no need to expiate a failure by falling on -his sword, as did the noble Vatel. At such times she is left unserved, -and we say to her coldly, “_Mademoiselle_, a _person_ who is not hungry -for soup cannot be hungry for fish,” and the dish is carried pitilessly -past under her very nose. When matters reach this serious stage the -dainty Eponine gobbles up her soup in all haste to the very last drop, -despatches every crumb of bread or Italian paste, and then turns round -and looks at us with a proud glance as one who has done her duty, and -whose conscience is henceforth free from reproach. Her portion of fish -is then given her. She eats it with the utmost satisfaction, and having -tasted of all the other dishes, finishes her meal with a glass of water. - -When a dinner-party is projected Eponine, without seeing the guests, -understands perfectly well that there is to be company that evening. She -takes a look at her usual place, and, if she notices a knife, fork, and -spoon beside the plate, she decamps without a word and seats herself on -the piano-stool, which is her chosen refuge on such occasions. I should -be glad if people who deny the possession of reason to animals, would -explain this fact, apparently so simple and yet containing such a world -of inferences. From seeing beside her plate those utensils which man -only can use, this wise and observant cat argues that, for the day, she -must yield her place to a guest, and she makes haste to do so. She never -deceives herself about the matter, but sometimes, when the visitor is -one with whom she is on familiar terms, she will climb his knee and try -to coax a few tit-bits out of him by her grace and caresses. - -But enough of this; we must not weary our readers. Stories about cats -are less popular than those about dogs. Still, we feel obliged to tell -the end of Enjolras and Gavroche. In some text-books there is this -sentence: “Sua eum perdidit ambitio.” One might say of Enjolras, “Sua -eum perdidit pinguetudo”—he died of his own fat. He was mistaken for a -hare and killed by some idiotic hunters. His murderers, however, -perished within a twelvemonth, and in the most miserable manner. The -death of a black cat, that most cabalistical of creatures, never goes -unavenged! - -Gavroche, seized with a fanatical love of liberty, or perhaps with -sudden madness, leaped out of a window one day, crossed the street, -climbed the high fence surrounding St. James’ Church, which stands -opposite our house, and disappeared. In spite of our anxious enquiries -no traces of him could ever be found. A mysterious shadow hovers over -his fate. Thus of the black dynasty only Eponine remains. She is -faithful still to her master, and to all intents and purposes has become -an educated cat. - -She has for companion a magnificent Angora, of a silver-gray coat which -makes one think of clouded Chinese porcelain. His name is Zizi, which -means—“Too handsome to do anything.” This beautiful creature lives in a -sort of contemplative stupor like a _thekiari_ during his period of -inebriation. Looking at him one is reminded of the “Ecstasies of M. -Hochener.” Zizi’s passion is music. Not content with listening to it, he -is himself a performer. Occasionally at night when all are sleeping -there breaks upon the silence a strange, fantastic melody which Kreisler -and the musicians of the future might well envy. It is Zizi, walking up -and down the keyboard of the piano and enjoying the rapture of hearing -the notes sing under his feet. - -It would be unfair not to give a passing mention to Cleopatra, the -daughter of Eponine, who is a charming animal, but of too timid a nature -to be introduced to the public. She is of a deep fawn color, like -Mummia, the shaggy companion of Atta Croll, and her dark green eyes are -just like two enormous pieces of aqua-marina. She walks habitually on -three paws, and holds the fourth in the air, like the figure of a -classical line which has lost his marble ball. - -This then is the chronicle of the Black Dynasty,—Enjolras, Gavroche, -Eponine,—recalling to us the creations of a beloved master. Only, when -we now glance over “Les Miserables,” it seems as though the principal -characters in the romance are taken by black cats, but this fact does -not in the least diminish the interest of the story for us. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - OUR DOGS. - - -We have sometimes been accused of disliking dogs. This at first sight -does not seem to be a very grave charge, still, we feel bound to justify -ourselves, since the accusation carries with it a certain amount of -disgrace. People who prefer cats to dogs, pass in the eyes of most -persons as necessarily false, voluptuous and cruel; while dog-lovers are -supposed to be invariably pure, loyal, open characters, gifted, in -short, with all the attributes which are popularly ascribed to the -canine race. We could in no wise detract from the merits of Medor, Turc, -Merot, and other equally amiable beasts, and we are quite ready to agree -with the maxim formulated by Charlet: “The best thing which a man -possesses is his dog.” We have owned many, we still own some; and if our -calumniators will kindly call at our residence they will be greeted by -the shrill and furious barking of a small Cuban lap-dog, and by a large -greyhound who will take much pleasure in biting their ankles. - -[Illustration: OUR DOGS.] - -Still, we will not deny that our liking for dogs has a strong admixture -of fear. These animals, excellent, faithful, devoted as they are, may at -any moment run mad, and in that condition they are as dangerous and -deadly as the viper, the asp, the bell-serpent, or the cobra di capello. -This thought somewhat moderates our raptures over them. But, apart from -this, dogs somehow produce a disquieting effect upon us. Their eyes are -so deep, so intense; they place themselves before us with such an -interrogative air that it is almost embarrassing. Goethe did not like, -any more than ourselves, this gaze which seems to assimilate a man’s -most secret thoughts. He would drive the poor animals away, and say to -them “You have done your best: you shall not devour my identity.” - -The Pharamond of our canine dynasty was named Luther. He was a large -white pointer with red spots, and handsome brown ears, who, having lost -his master, and searched after him vainly for a long time, domesticated -himself in the house of our parents, who then lived at Passy. Having no -partridges to hunt he gave himself up to the pursuit of rats, in which -pursuit he became as proficient as a Scotch terrier. At that time we -were living in a room in that blind alley of Doyenné, no longer in -existence, where Gérard de Nerval, Arsène Houssaye, and Camille Rogier -had established themselves as the centres of a picturesque little -Bohemian circle of artists and literary men, whose freaks and -eccentricities have been too often described elsewhere to need further -mention now. There, in the very midst of the Carrousel, we lived a life -as free and as lonely as if in some desert isle of the ocean,—among -nettles and blocks of stone, under the shadow of the Louvre, and close -to the ruins of an old church, whose crumbling arches presented the most -picturesque effects by moonlight. Luther, with whom we had always been -on friendly terms, seeing us thus take our final flight from the family -nest, assumed the task of making us a daily visit. He left Passy each -morning at some time unknown, and, following the Quai de Billy and the -Cours-la-Reine, arrived about eight o’clock, just as we were waking up. -Scratching at the door, which was always opened for him, he threw -himself upon us with a joyous yelping, put his fore-paws on our knees, -received with great simplicity and modesty the caresses which his good -conduct had earned, made a rapid inspection of the room, and then set -out on his homeward journey. Arrived at Passy, he would at once run to -our mother, wagging his tail and uttering little barks which said as -plainly as words, “Do not be anxious, I have seen the young master, and -he is well.” Having thus given a report of his self-imposed mission he -would lap a bowl full of water, eat his porridge, and, stretching -himself near the easy chair of mamma, for whom he had a particular -affection, would refresh himself by an hour or two of sleep after the -long journey that he had taken. - -Those who hold that animals do not think and are incapable of putting -two ideas together, may explain as best they can this daily visit which -kept up the family relations, and gave to the old birds in the nest -regular news of their recently escaped fledgling. - -Poor Luther! he had a melancholy end. He gradually became silent and -morose, and one day fled from the house, apparently because he felt -himself attacked by hydrophobia and feared that he might be led to bite -his master. We have every reason to suppose that he was killed as a mad -dog. At all events we never saw him again. - -After rather a long interval, a new dog was installed at the house—a dog -called Zamore. He was half mongrel, half spaniel, small in size, and -with a black coat, excepting for a few spots of flame color beneath his -eyebrows and some tones of fawn color on the belly. He was, in short, -insignificant in appearance and rather ugly than pretty, but so far as -moral qualities are concerned he was really a remarkable dog. For women -he had an absolute contempt; he would neither follow nor obey them, and -our mother and our sisters tried in vain to win from him the least -evidence of friendship or respect. He would loftily accept their -attentions and their tit-bits, but he never deigned to give them a word -of thanks in return. No barking for them, no drumming of his tail -against the floor, none of those endearments of which dogs are so -prodigal. Toward these he maintained always an attitude impassive and -impassible, crouching in the position of a sphinx, like some serious and -dignified personage who disdains to mix in a frivolous conversation. - -The master he elected to serve was our father whom he recognized in the -head of the family and a man of weight and character. Zamore’s -tenderness, even for him, was of an austere and stoical sort, and never -expressed by merriment, or antics, or lickings of the tongue. But his -eyes were forever fixed on his master, his head turned to watch each -slightest movement, and everywhere he followed him, his nose close to -his master’s heel, never permitting himself to play the smallest prank, -or paying the least attention to any dog whom they met. This dear and -lamented father of ours was a great fisher before the Lord. The barbels -caught by him must have out-numbered the antelopes caught by Nimrod. It -could never be said of his fishing-rod that it was an instrument with a -hook at one end and a fool at the other, for he was a man full of wit -and intelligence, which, however, did not hinder his filling his -fish-basket every day. Zamore always accompanied him on these -excursions, and during those long nocturnal watchings, which are -necessary for the capture of such fish as only bite when the line -touches bottom, he would place himself close to the water’s edge and -seem to explore the darksome depths with his eyes, as if searching for -the prey. Though he now and then pricked up his ears at those numberless -vague and distant sounds which are audible even in the deepest silence -of the night, he never uttered a bark, for he perfectly understood that -it is indispensable for a fisherman’s dog to be dumb. Diana might lift -her alabaster brow above the horizon and the river give back the -reflection; it was all in vain; not even at the moon would Zamore bark, -though such midnight bayings are among the chief pleasures of animals of -his species. Only when the bell on the fishing-line tinkled did he -indulge in a yelp, for then he knew that the prey was secured, and he -took intense interest in those after manœuvres which are requisite for -landing a barbel of three or four pounds weight. - -Who could have guessed that under this calm and self-contained exterior, -so philosophical, so far removed from all frivolity, lurked one -imperious and extravagant passion, in utter contradiction to the -apparent character, moral and physical, of this animal so serious and so -thoughtful that one would have almost called him sad? - -What, you say, has this admirable Zamore then some hidden vice? No. Was -he a thief, a libertine? No. Had he a taste for brandy-cherries? No. Did -he bite? Ten thousand times, no! Zamore’s passion was for dancing. In -him, a true Terpsichorean artist was lost to the world. - -This vocation was discovered in the following manner. One day there -appeared in the public square at Passy a grayish ass, one of those -luckless donkeys belonging to a juggler, which Decamps and Fouquet have -so successfully painted. Two panniers, balanced across his galled back, -held a troop of trained dogs, costumed according to sex as marquises, -troubadours, Turks, Swiss shepherds, and queens of Golconda. The -show-man lifted out the dogs, cracked his whip, and instantly all the -actors exchanged the horizontal position for the perpendicular, and -transformed themselves from quadrupeds into bipeds. A fife and a -tambourine sounded, and the ballet began. - -Zamore, who was strolling gravely past, stopped short, astonished at the -spectacle. These gayly caparisoned dogs, with laced seams and clinking -ornaments, plumed hats and turbans on their heads, and such an odd -resemblance to men and women, seemed to him supernatural beings. Their -measured steps, their courtesies, their _pirouettes_ enchanted but did -not discourage him. Like Correggio before the pictures of Raphael, he -cried in the canine language, “Anch’io son pittore,” “I also am a -painter,” and, seized with noble emulation as the troop defiled before -him in a ladies’ chain, he raised himself on his hind legs which visibly -shook, and, to the vociferous delight of the bystanders, made a movement -to join them. But the show-man was not so much charmed as the -bystanders. He gave Zamore a sharp cut of his whip and drove him from -the circle, just as one might expel from the door of a theatre a -spectator who, during the progress of the play, took it into his head to -climb on to the stage and join in the ballet. - -This public humiliation, however, did not deter Zamore from following -his vocation. He ran back to the house with his tail between his legs -and an air of deep thought. All that day he was more silent, -pre-occupied and morose than usual. That night our two little sisters -were roused from their sleep by a low, mysterious noise which seemed to -come from an unoccupied chamber next to their own, where Zamore was in -the habit of passing the night on an old arm-chair. The sound was a sort -of rhythmic stamping, which in the quiet of the night sounded louder -than it really was. At first the children thought that it must be the -mice giving a ball, but the steps and the jumps were too loud and heavy -for mice. At last the bravest of the two crept out of bed, half opened -the door, and peeped in. What did she see by the light of a struggling -moonbeam but Zamore, erect on his hind legs, beating time with his -fore-paws, and practising as in a dancing class the steps which he had -so much admired that morning in the street. Monsieur was studying his -lesson! - -[Illustration: MONSIEUR WAS STUDYING HIS LESSON.] - -This was not, as might be supposed, a random fancy, pursued for one -night only. Zamore persisted in his Terpsichorean aspirations, and in -time became an admirable dancer. Every day, as soon as the fife and the -tambourine began to sound, he ran to the square, glided between the legs -of the spectators, and with the deepest attention watched the trained -dogs going through with their exercises. Mindful, however, of that cut -of the whip, he never again tried to join in the dance, but, noting -carefully each step, each movement, each graceful attitude, rehearsed it -at night in the privacy of his own room,—while by day he maintained his -usual austerity of demeanor. After a time, to imitate no longer sufficed -him; he began to invent, to compose new steps, and we are bound to say -that few dogs have ever surpassed him in this noble accomplishment. - -We ourselves, concealed behind the half-open door, have often watched -him at his practice. He put so much energy and fire into his exercise -that, morning after morning, the huge bowl of water set for his -refreshment in the corner of the room the night before would be found -drained of every drop. - -At length the day came when, all his difficulties conquered, he felt -himself the equal of any four-legged dancer in creation, and now it -seemed only proper to remove the bushel which had hitherto obscured his -candle, and give the world the benefit of his talents. - -[Illustration: WHEN PAYING LITTLE ATTENTIONS TO HIS LADY-LOVES HE STOOD -ALWAYS ON HIS HIND LEGS.] - -The courtyard of the house was closed on one side by a grating which -had openings wide enough to allow of the passage of dogs of an -ordinary size. One morning fifteen or twenty such friends of -Zamore’s—connoisseurs, without doubt, to whom he had sent cards of -invitation for his debut in the choregraphic art—were noticed -assembling round a level square of earth (which the artist seemed to -have swept clean with his tail), and the performances commenced. The -audience was enthusiastic, and manifested its approbation with -bow-wows which sounded extremely like the “Bravos!” of opera-goers. -With the exception of one old water-spaniel of a muddy and degraded -appearance, who seemed an adverse critic, and yelped out something -about “sound traditions ignored and forgotten,” all united in -pronouncing Zamore the Vestris of dogs and the true genius of the -dance. A minuet, a jig, and a waltz _à deux temps_ were included in -the programme. Quite a number of two-legged spectators joined the -four-legged ones before the entertainment was concluded, and Zamore -had the honor and satisfaction of being applauded by the clapping of -human hands. - -After this his habits became so entirely those of the dancer that, when -paying casual attentions to his lady-loves, he stood always on his hind -legs, making courteous little bows and turning out his toes like a -gallant marquis of the _ancien régime_; nothing was lacking but the -plumed opera-hat under the arm. - -Except for these occasional interludes Zamore’s character was as -splenetic as that of other comic actors, and he took no share whatever -in the ordinary life of the house. He never stirred except when he saw -his master take his hat and cane, and he died finally of brain fever, -caused, as we supposed, by the over-exertion and excitement of learning -the _Schottische_, which just then came into fashion. From his grave -Zamore might say, like the Greek dancer in the epitaph, “Lie on me -lightly, earth, for I have very lightly weighed on thee.” - -Some may ask why, with such remarkable talents, Zamore was not engaged -as one of the troupe of M. Corvi. Even then we had sufficient influence -as a critic to negotiate such an arrangement had it been desirable. But -Zamore would not leave his master; he sacrificed his self-love to his -love,—a devotion which one cannot hope very often to find among men. - -Our dancer was replaced by a singer named Kobold,—a King Charles spaniel -of the purest breed, brought from the famous kennels of Lord Lauder. -Nothing earthly was ever so like a chimera as this droll little -creature, with his enormous, bulging forehead, his prominent eyes, his -nose which seemed broken off at the base, and his long ears which swept -the ground. Carried over to France, Kobold, who spoke only English, -seemed at first to be half-stupefied. The orders given were perfectly -unintelligible to him. Trained to obey “Go on,” “Come here,” he stood -motionless and perplexed at the sound of “Va” and “Va-t’en.” - -It took him a year to learn the language of his new country well enough -to be able to join in conversation. Kobold was very sensitive to music, -and sang several little songs himself, though with a strong English -accent. The key-note was given him on the piano, he caught the exact -tone, and in a flute-like and sighing voice warbled passages which were -really musical, and bore no relation whatever to barkings or yelpings. - -When we wanted him to begin again it was only necessary to say, “Sing a -little more,” and he at once recommenced the cadence. For a creature -brought up in the most delicate luxury, and with all the care which one -would naturally give to a tenor and a gentleman of distinction, Kobold -had the most singular tastes. He devoured earth like a Digger Indian; -and this habit, of which he could not be cured, brought on a disease of -which he died. He had a strong turn for grooms, horses, and stables in -general, and our ponies had no comrade more devoted than he. In fact, he -may be said to have divided his time between the box-stalls and the -piano. - -From Kobold, the King Charles, we pass to Myrza, a small Cuban lap-dog, -who at one time had the honor to belong to Giula Grisi, from whom we -received her as a present. She is white as snow, especially when freshly -washed, and before she has had time to roll in the dust,—a mania which -some dogs share with a certain kind of dusty-winged birds. She is the -gentlest of animals, very demonstrative, and guileless as a dove. -Nothing can be droller than her shaggy head, her face composed of two -eyes as glittering as furniture nails, and a little nose which might -easily be mistaken for a Piedmont truffle. Long locks of hair, as curly -as Astrakan wool, fly about this nose in picturesque confusion, -sometimes getting into one eye, sometimes into the other,—the whole -making up the most whimsical countenance imaginable, as odd and as -unreal as the face of a chameleon. - -In Myrza’s case nature has imitated art with such perfection that any -one would be ready to swear that she came straight from the show-case of -a toy-shop. With her blue collar, silver bell, and her hair of the -regulation frizz, she looks exactly like a pasteboard dog; and when she -barks, one instinctively examines her feet to see if there is not a tiny -squeaking-machine fastened under the paws. - -Myrza, who spends three quarters of the day in sleep, so that life would -seem pretty much the same to her if she were in reality stuffed, and who -under ordinary circumstances is anything but bright, nevertheless gave -one day a proof of intelligence such as we have never known in any other -dog. Bonnegrace, who painted those portraits of Tchoumakoff and of M. E. -H.,—which were so much talked about when exhibited, had brought a -portrait for us to look at, painted after the style of Pagnest, which is -so full of vivid color and lifelike light and shadow. Although we have -always lived in such intimate relations with animals, and could cite -hundreds of instances in which cats, dogs, and birds have proved -themselves wise, philosophical, and ingenious, we are forced to admit -that the taste for art is totally lacking among them. We have never seen -an animal who took the slightest notice of a picture, and the story of -the birds who pecked at the grapes painted by Apelles has always -appeared to us a pure invention. The one essential distinction between -man and beast seems to be just this sense of art and feeling for -decoration. A dog would be as likely to put on earrings, as to waste -time over pictures. - -Well, Myrza, catching sight of Bonnegrace’s portrait set up against the -wall, jumped from the stool where she was lying rolled up like a ball, -rushed to the canvas, and began to bark furiously, trying to bite the -intrusive stranger who had entered the room. Her surprise was extreme -when she recognized the fact that she had a flat surface to deal with, -on which her teeth made no impression, and which was only a deceitful -show. She smelt the picture, tried in vain to get behind the frame, -looked at us both with a questioning expression in her eyes, and then -went back to the stool and resumed her nap, taking no further trouble -about the gentleman in oil-colors. Her own countenance, meanwhile, will -not be lost to posterity, for a beautiful portrait of her is in -existence, painted by M. Victor Madarasz, an Hungarian artist. - -We will conclude our chapter on dogs with the history of Dash. One day a -rag-and-bottle man stopped at our door in search of scraps of broken -glass and old bottles. In his cart was a puppy some three or four months -old, which he had been told to drown,—an order which troubled the honest -fellow, at whom the puppy was casting tender and supplicating looks, as -if he understood the situation of affairs. The reason of the severe -sentence passed on the poor brute was that one of his fore-paws was -broken. - -Pity stirred in our heart, and we adopted the condemned victim on the -spot. A veterinary surgeon was sent for, who set the leg and put it in -splints; but Dash persisted in gnawing off the bandages, so that the -bones did not unite, and the paw remained dangling uselessly, like the -sleeve of a man who has lost his arm. This infirmity, however, did not -hinder Dash from being one of the gayest, liveliest, and most alert of -dogs; and he ran on three legs quite as fast as was desirable. - -He was the commonest of street dogs, a veritable mongrel, on whose breed -Buffon himself would have been embarrassed to decide. He was ugliness -personified, but possessed an expressive face, which sparkled with -intelligence. Everything that was said to him he understood,—his -expression changing according as the words, spoken in the same tone of -voice, were flattering or abusive. He rolled his eyes, turned up his -chops, abandoned himself to unrestrained, nervous wriggles, or laughed, -showing a row of white teeth; and, in short, produced the most comical -effect, of which he was quite conscious. Very often he tried to speak. -With paws placed upon our knee, he would eye us with an intense look, -and begin a series of murmurs, sighs, and growls, so varied in -intonation that it was easy to see that they were parts of a regular -language. Now and then, in the midst of this conversation, Dash would -interject a sudden and noisy yelp. Then we would look severely at him, -and say: “That is barking, not talking. Can it be that after all you are -only an animal?” Whereupon Dash, much humiliated by the insinuation, -would recommence his vocalization, throwing into it a still more -pathetic expression. No one could doubt that at these times he was -giving an account of his misfortunes. - -Dash adored sugar. He always came in with the coffee after dessert, and -went round the table begging a lump of sugar from each person with an -urgency which seldom failed of success. In the end he grew to consider -these benevolent gifts in the light of a regular tax, which he -rigorously exacted. This cur, in the body of a Thersites, carried the -soul of an Achilles. Disabled as he was, he constantly attacked, with -the frenzy of an heroic courage, dogs ten times as big as himself, and -was frightfully beaten. Like Don Quixote, the brave knight of La Mancha, -he set out in triumph, and came back in most piteous plight. Alas, he -fell a victim to this mistaken courage. He was brought home, a few -months since, torn to pieces by an amiable brute of a Newfoundland, who -the very next day broke the backbone of a greyhound. - -The death of Dash was followed by all sorts of catastrophes. The -mistress of the house in which he had received his deathblow was burned -to death in her bed a few days after; and her husband, in trying to save -her, met with the same fate. It was not an expiation, it was only a -fatal coincidence,—for they were the best people in the world, loving -animals like Brahmins, and not in the least to blame for the sad fate of -our poor Dash. - -We have now another dog, who is called Nero, but he is too recent an -acquisition to have a history. - -In the next chapter we propose to give a chronicle of the different -chameleons, lizards, magpies, and other small creatures who have made -part of our household of pets. - - -N. B. Alas, Nero is dead! He was poisoned a day or two since as -thoroughly as if he had supped with the Borgias, and the first chapter -of his life begins and ends with an epitaph. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - CHAMELEONS, LIZARDS, AND MAGPIES. - - -Once upon a time we happened to be at the port of Santa-Maria in the Bay -of Cadiz, a little village which seems cut out of the white loaf of -Spain, between the indigo of the sea and the lapis-lazuli of the sky. It -was noon, and on that particular day such a warm noon that the sun -appeared to be amusing himself by dropping spoonfuls of melted lead on -the heads of travellers, as the garrison of a beleaguered fortress, by -some well-planned artifice, pours boiling oil or pitch on the heads of -its assailants. This picturesque little port is made famous by the -celebrated song in the Andalusian _patois_ of Murillo-Bravo, “The Bulls -of Puerto,” in which the gallant boatman says to the lady about to -embark, “Lleve V. la patita.” We hummed the refrain in a voice which -sings no less falsely in Spanish than in French, following with our -eyes, as we sang, the line, straight as the selvage of a piece of linen, -which was cast by the shadow at the foot of the wall. - -[Illustration: THE CHAMELEON.] - -It was a market day, and foreign commodities of all sorts were exposed -for sale on the square, which were of colors gorgeous enough to enchant -Ziem himself. Garlands of fiery-red peppers swung above deep-green -melons, some of which had been cut in halves to show the rose-colored -pulp within, dotted with black spots like a shell from the South Seas. -Heavy clusters of clear, yellow grapes, like amber beads, reminding one -by their fair transparency of Turkish rosaries, hung by the side of -bunches of a bluish color, and others which were of an amethystine hue -shading into deeper purple. Chickpeas in weedy mats rounded their globes -of paly gold; pomegranates, bursting their rinds, showed caskets of -rubies within. The fruit-sellers, with their scarlet and yellow capes, -their black silk petticoats, bare feet thrust into satin slippers,—and -what feet, hardly bigger than a Savoy biscuit!—their paper fans held -against the cheek to take the place of a parasol, sat proudly beside -their vegetables chattering with that Andalusian volubility which is so -full of grace. Here and there some passing gallant, balancing himself on -the point of his white cane, his jacket swinging from his shoulders, a -broad sash from Gibraltar encircling his waist from armpit to hips, his -elastic breeches open at the knee, and leathern boots from Ronda -unbuttoned all the way up the leg, in what seems to be the height of the -style, lingered a moment to cast a seductive glance while rolling -between thumb and forefinger his cigarette of alcoy paper. It was one of -those blinding effects of southern light and color which would be called -an exaggeration of nature if any artist should attempt to reproduce in -full its crude and dazzling truth. - -We sought a refuge from the fiery sun shower in the patio of The Three -Moorish Kings. A _patio_, as all the world knows, is an inside court -surrounded by arcades, whose arrangement reminds one of the ancient -_impluvium_. In place of a roof it is shaded by a linen awning striped -with gay colors, called in Spanish a _velarium_, which is kept -constantly wet, in order to secure greater coolness. In the middle of -this patio a slender thread of water rose and fell from a marble basin, -throwing a fine spray over boxes of myrtles, pomegranates and oleanders, -which were grouped about it. Sofas covered with horse-hair, and -cane-seated chairs, were scattered about under the arcades. Guitars, -suspended on the walls, cast brilliant reflections out of the shadow, as -the light glinted on their varnished surfaces, and beside them hung the -brown disks of tambourines. - -These patios are common in the Moorish houses of Algeria, and no better -contrivance to secure coolness can be imagined. They are a device of the -Arabs adopted by the Spaniards. Upon the capitals of the smaller -columns, in many dwellings, can still be read verses from the Koran -glorifying Allah, or laudations of some caliph long ago driven back into -the heart of Africa and forgotten. - -After draining an unglazed jug of cold water we retired to one of the -rooms opening on the patio for a siesta. Our drowsy eyes wandered to the -ceiling of the low chamber, which, like all Spanish ceilings, was -whitewashed, and ornamented in the middle by a rosette picked out into -yellow, black, and red sections like the sides of a ball. From this -rosette hung a cord meant, without doubt, to hold a lamp; and along this -cord a mysterious object was moving upward. We fitted our eyeglass into -its place under the arch of our eyebrow, and at last made out that the -thing, which with so much pains was climbing on the cord toward the -ceiling, was a kind of lizard, of a grayish yellow, and a shape which -had about it something monstrous, recalling in miniature those vast -Saurians which disappeared from earth at the close of the antediluvian -epoch. - -The maid of the inn was summoned,—Pepa, Lola, or Casilda, we cannot -recall the exact name, but are ready to swear that she was an excellent -person,—and she explained that the creature on the cord was a chameleon. - -Lola,—if Lola it was,—taking pity on our ignorance, and perhaps not -sorry to exhibit her own zoölogical knowledge, said to us in an -instructive way, “These animals change their color, you know, according -to the place where they happen to be, and they live on air.” - -During our brief conversation the chameleons (for there were two) -continued their ascension of the cord. Nothing more absurd than their -appearance could be imagined. It must be admitted that the chameleon is -not beautiful, and, although people say that Nature does everything -well, it strikes us that by taking a very little more trouble she might -easily have made a prettier animal than he. But, like all great artists, -Nature has her caprices, and she occasionally amuses herself by -modelling grotesque shapes. The eyes of the chameleon, which are almost -completely detached from the head, are fitted into external membranous -sacs, and have complete independence of movement. They can look to the -right with one and to the left with the other, cast one up to the skies -and the other down to the floor, producing thereby a variety of squints -which have the most extraordinary effect. A swollen pouch under the jaw, -not unlike a goitre, gives the poor animal an air of haughty complacency -and stupid conceit, of which he is as unconscious as he is innocent. His -awkwardly formed paws make a projecting angle above the line of his -back, and his movements are alike ungraceful and meaningless. - -One of the chameleons had now reached the top of the string and the -centre of the rosette. Putting out a pitiful little paw, he tried the -ceiling to see if it were possible to cling to it, and in that way to -effect an escape. In making this experiment, for the hundredth time -perhaps, he squinted with his eyes in the most desperate and touching -way, as if invoking aid from heaven and earth; then, seeing no hope of -egress on that side, he slowly began to descend the cord again, with a -sad, resigned, and piteous look,—emblem of useless labor, a Sisyphus of -wasted energies. Half-way down the two creatures met, exchanged glances -meant to be friendly, perhaps, but horrible from their squints, and for -a moment or two formed a group which was like a hideous bunch on the -perpendicular line of the string. - -After a few ludicrous contortions the group disentangled, each chameleon -continuing its journey, the one which was coming down reaching the end -of the cord, stretching out a hind leg, sounding the air cautiously and -finding no place of support, drawing it in again with a discouraged -movement whose heart-breaking and absurd melancholy baffles all -description. By one of those associations of ideas which cannot be -accounted for, but which the mind conceives without understanding why, -the chameleons reminded me of one of Goya’s gloomiest etchings, in which -are represented spectres, who, with feeble and shadowy arms, are trying -to lift heavy stones which roll back upon and crush them,—an unequal -conflict of weakness with destiny. - -In order to deliver these poor animals from their sufferings we bought -for them a rough sort of cage. It was of good size, and, once installed -therein, they were able to dispense with those acrobatic exercises which -seemed to make them so miserable. As to the question of food, with all -respect for Southern frugality, this living on air by its very name -seems insufficient. A Spanish lover may, perhaps, be able to breakfast -on a glass of water, dine on a cigarette, and sup on a tune from his -mandolin; but the tastes of chameleons are less refined, and they crave -and devour flies, which they catch, in the oddest manner, by darting out -from the throat a sort of long lance covered with a viscous slime, which -adheres to the wings of the insect, and, when drawn in again, carries -him bodily along with it into the gullet. - -Do chameleons change their color according to the place where they -happen to be? In the literal sense of the words they do not, but their -skins, broken by little facet-shaped roughnesses, absorb the hues of -surrounding objects more easily than other bodies do. Placed near a red -thing, or a yellow or a green one, the chameleon seems to steep itself -in that color, but, after all, it is but an effect of refraction. A -plate of polished metal will be colored in the same way; there is no -real power of absorption. In its ordinary state the chameleon is of a -gray-green or a yellowish gray. However, those who have a taste for -marvels may, if they like, assert that the chameleon changes its color -at will, and is thus the proper emblem of political versatility; but we -must be permitted to say in our turn that after the minutest -observations, continued for a long time, we are convinced that -chameleons are entirely indifferent to affairs of state and everything -connected with them. - -We were anxious to carry our chameleons home with us, but the autumn was -near at hand, and, though the sun still had a great deal of heat as we -followed the coast northward from Tarifa to Port Vendres, passing by -Gibraltar, Malaga, Alicante, Almeria, Valencia, and Barcelona, the poor -beasts faded away before our very sight. As they wasted, their eyes -seemed to project from their heads, and day by day to increase in -prominence. Their squint increased; under their loose and flabby skins -their tiny skeletons grew more and more distinct with every mile. It was -a piteous sight,—these consumptive lizards feebly going through the -death dance, and too weak even to thrust their sticky tongues out for -the flies which we collected for them in the galley of the steamer. They -died within a few days of each other, and the blue Mediterranean was -their grave. - -From chameleons to lizards the transition is easy. Our youngest daughter -once received the present of a lizard which had been caught at -Fontainebleau, and which became very fond of her. Jacques’ color was the -most beautiful Veronese green that can be imagined. His eyes were very -bright, his scales overlapped each other with the most perfect -regularity, and his movements were extraordinarily swift. He never left -his little mistress, and usually lay hidden in a loop of her hair near -the comb. Nestled there, he accompanied her to the play, to walk, to -evening parties, without once betraying his presence; only, when the -young girl was playing on the piano, he would desert his retreat, -descend her shoulder and creep out to the end of the arm, always -preferring the right hand, which plays the air, to the left, which makes -the accompaniment,—thus testifying to his preference for melody over -harmony. - -Jacques’ house was a glass box lined with moss, which had once contained -Russian cigars from the Eliseïeph manufactory. His private life may -therefore be justly said to have lain open to the public. His food -consisted of drops of milk, which he preferred to take from the end of -his mistress’s finger. He died of grief and hunger during her absence on -a journey, to which she had not dared to expose him on account of the -severity of the weather. - -There is nothing to be told of Balylas, the sparrow, but that he died. -One blow under his wing, from a claw, finished his career, and he was -buried in a domino-box. - -It now only remains for us to describe Margot, the magpie,—a most -intelligent and chatty gossip, worthy to live in an osier cage in the -window of a concierge and be fed with white cheese. We wasted much time -in trying to teach her the dead languages. She never could be taught to -pronounce correctly the Latin for “Bonjour,” as did the Pompeiian -magpies. She could not say “Ave,” but she said a great many other -things. She was a most comical and entertaining bird, who would play at -hide-and-go-seek with the children, dance the Pyrrhic dance, and -fearlessly attack any number of cats, absolutely running after them and -nipping the ends of their tails; which malicious act she always -supplemented with a loud burst of laughter. She was as thievish as the -“Gazza Ladra” herself, and equal to getting ten servants hung on false -accusations. In the twinkling of an eye she would rifle every knife, -fork, and spoon from the table. Money, scissors, thimbles, anything that -glittered, she would seize upon and swiftly fly away with to her hiding -place. As the corner where she deposited her stolen goods was well known -to us all, we allowed her to do this; but the servants of a neighboring -family were less indulgent, and they killed her one day because, as they -stated, she had stolen a pair of new sheets,—an accusation which made us -think of that minute cat in “How to succeed,” which devoured four pounds -of butter and only weighed three quarters of a pound after it! The -master and mistress of the house scouted the idea, and turned the fools -of servants off at once; but this reprisal did not mend the matter, Dame -Margot’s neck was none the less wrung. She was lamented by all the -neighborhood, which had been kept in a state of constant diversion by -her good humor and her pranks. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - HORSES. - - -Do not be in a hurry to accuse us of coxcombry on seeing the heading of -this chapter. Horses!—a glorious word indeed for the pen of a literary -man. _Musa pedestris_ (the muse goes on foot), says Horace, and all -Parnassus together had but a single horse in its stable,—the well known -Pegasus; and he, if we may believe Schiller’s ballad, was a beast with -wings, and not at all easy to harness. We are no sportsman, alas, and we -deeply regret the fact, for we are as fond of horses as though we had an -income of five hundred thousand francs a year, and entirely agree with -the Arabs in their contempt for people who are forced to walk. A horse -is the natural pedestal for a man, and the perfect existence is that of -the Centaur,—that ingenious mythological invention. - -However, notwithstanding that we are a simple man of letters, we once -had horses. About the year 1843 or 1844, when engaged in sifting the -sands of journalism through the sieve of the daily newspapers, enough -golden particles appeared, to allow of the hope that, in addition to -dogs, cats, and magpies, we might be able to find food for a couple of -pets of larger size. At first it was a pair of Shetland ponies, about -the size of a large dog, and shaggy as bears, who looked at us through -their long, black manes with such friendly faces that we felt much more -inclined to take them with us into the parlor than to send them to their -stable. They helped themselves to sugar out of our pockets, just like -trained horses. For use, however, they were entirely too small. They -would have answered very well to carry an English child eight years old, -or as coach horses to Tom Thumb; but, even at that date, we were blessed -with the same athletic frame as now, and crowned with the same plenteous -flesh which still characterizes us, and which we have been enabled to -support, without giving way under its weight, for forty consecutive -years. The difference in size between master and beasts was quite too -apparent to the eye, though it must be said for the ponies that they -made no difficulty at all about drawing their light phaeton, to which -they were fastened by a tiny harness of pale fawn-colored leather, which -looked as though it might have been purchased at a toy-shop. - -At that time illustrated comic journals were not so plentiful as to-day, -but there were plenty in existence to caricature us and our equipage. Of -course, with the exaggeration permissible in such cases, we were -invested with elephantine proportions, like those of Ganesa, the Indian -god of wisdom, while the ponies dwindled to the size of puppies,—or, -even less, to that of rats and mice. It is true that, without great -difficulty, we might have carried the little creatures, one under each -arm, and the phaeton to boot upon our back. For a moment we debated the -possibility of harnessing four, but this Liliputian four-in-hand would -have been still more conspicuous. With great regret therefore (for we -had already grown fond of the gentle creatures) we exchanged them for a -pair of dappled-gray ponies of a larger size, with strong necks, wide -chests, and massive shoulders, which, though far enough from being -Mecklenburgers, at least looked capable of drawing grown people about. -They were mares,—one named Jane and the other Betsey. - -In appearance they were as much alike as two drops of water. Never was a -better match so far as looks went; but in proportion as Jane was -mettlesome, Betsey was indolent. While the former pulled at the collar, -the other trotted by her side contentedly, shirking work, and giving -herself no sort of trouble. These two animals, of the same breed, the -same age, fated to live in stalls side by side, felt for each other the -strongest antipathy. They could not endure each other, fought in the -stable, and snapped and bit when prancing in the traces. Nothing could -reconcile them. It was a pity too, for with their brush-like manes cut -like those of the horses of the Parthenon, their snorting nostrils and -eyes dilated with fury, they presented rather a triumphant appearance -when going up and down the Champs Elysées. - -We were obliged to look for a substitute for Betsey, and found one in a -small mare with skin of a somewhat lighter color,—for the shade we -wanted could not be exactly matched. Jane approved at once of this -new-comer, with whom she seemed charmed, and did the honors of the -stable in the most graceful way. The tenderest friendship was soon -established between them; Jane would rest her head on the shoulder of -Blanche,—thus named because her shade of gray bordered on white,—and -when let loose in the courtyard for an airing, they would play together -like dogs or children. If one was driven out in single harness, the -other, left behind, seemed sad, gave signs of feeling lonely, and, when -far away she heard the hoofs of her comrade sounding on the pavement, -she raised a joyful neighing like the blast of a trumpet, to which her -approaching friend never failed to respond. - -They came to be harnessed with remarkable docility, and would go of -their own accord to their proper places on either side of the pole. Like -all animals who are loved and kindly treated, Jane and Blanche soon -acquired the most perfect confidence and familiarity. They would follow -us about on their hind legs like dogs, and when we stood still, put -their heads on our shoulders to be petted. Jane loved bread, Blanche -sugar. Both of them adored watermelon rind, and there was nothing that -they would not do to obtain these dainties. - -If only men were not so odiously ferocious and brutal as they too often -are, how happily and good-naturedly animals would play about them! This -being, who can think, can speak, can do so many things which they cannot -understand, fills their dimly understood thoughts, and is for them a -perpetual astonishment and mystery. How frequently animals look at us -with eyes which are full of questionings—questionings to which we cannot -reply, as we have not the key to their language! They have a language, -nevertheless, by which, through sounds and intonations which we scarcely -notice, they exchange ideas,—confused, perhaps, but still ideas, such as -creatures of their sphere of sentiment and action can understand. Less -stupid in this one instance than ourselves, they succeed in learning a -few words of our idiom, but not enough to enable them to talk with us. -These words are mostly answers to our demands upon them, so our -intercourse is naturally brief. But that animals talk with each other no -one can doubt who has ever lived familiarly with dogs, cats, horses, or -any other sort of beasts. - -As an example of this, Jane, who by nature was perfectly fearless, -shying at no obstacle whatever, and afraid of nothing, changed her -character after living for a few months in the same stable with Blanche, -and began to exhibit sudden and unaccountable fears. Her more timid -companion had, without doubt, told her ghost stories at night. At times, -when dashing along in the dusk through the Bois de Boulogne, Blanche -would stop short and shy sharply to one side as if to avoid some -phantom, which, invisible to us, had appeared to her. Trembling all -over, with loud breathings, and body covered with sweat, she would rear -straight on end if we tried to make her go on by touching her with the -whip. Jane could not force her to follow, however hard she might try. In -these cases there was nothing to be done but to get out, cover Blanche’s -eyes and lead her along for a few paces till the vision took flight. -Jane ended with allowing herself to be conquered by these terrors, which -Blanche, when safely back in her stable, doubtless explained to her in -full. We must frankly own that when, in the middle of a dusky lane -checkered by moonlight into fantastic lights and shadows, Blanche, -usually so docile,—Blanche, who, to excite her into a gallop, needed -nothing heavier than that whip of Queen Mab’s which was made of -cricket’s bone with gossamer lash,—planted herself suddenly on her four -feet as though some spectre had seized her bridle, and with -unconquerable obstinacy refused to move a step forward, we could not -prevent a cold chill from running down our spine. Searching the shadow -with unquiet glances, we almost imagined that we could detect therein -the ghastly countenance of one of Goya’s “Caprices,” where in reality -were only innocent silhouettes of leafy birch-trees or beeches. - -It was one of our great pleasures to drive these charming animals -ourselves, and an intimate understanding was soon established between -us. If we held the reins in our hands, it was mainly for the look of the -thing. The least click of the tongue sufficed to guide them to right or -to left, to make them go slower or bring them to a stop. In a very short -time they learned all our habits. They went of their own accord to the -newspaper office, to the printers, to the editors, to the Bois de -Boulogne, to the houses where we dined on particular days of the week, -all with such exactitude that at last it became absolutely compromising. -By consulting Jane or Blanche any one could have procured the address of -our most mysterious visiting-places. If, while pursuing some interesting -or tender conversation, we forgot the flight of time, they would recall -it to our minds by neighing, and stamping with their hoofs under the -balcony. - -Notwithstanding the pleasantness of going about the city in a phaeton -with our little friends to pull it, we could not help sometimes finding -the wind sharp and the rain cold, when those months came in so fitly -christened in the Republican calendar as “Brumaire, Frimaire, Pluviôse, -Ventôse, and Nivôse.” We therefore purchased a blue coupé lined with -white reps, so small that people compared it to one belonging to the -most famous dwarf of the day, an insult about which we were troubled -very little. A brown coupé lined with garnet succeeded the blue, and was -replaced at a later date with one of the color of a crow’s eye -upholstered with deep blue; for we luxuriated in carriages, in spite of -being nothing but a poor scribbler, with no income stated in the big -book, and no legacies left us for years back; and our ponies, though -nourished on literature, so to speak, with nouns for hay, adjectives in -place of oats, and adverbs instead of straw, were none the less fat and -glossy because of that. Alas, just then came, no one knew exactly why, -the Revolution of February. Paving-stones were being dug up on all sides -to serve patriotic ends, and the streets were no longer accessible for -wheeled vehicles. We might easily have scaled the barricades with our -agile ponies and their light equipage, but unluckily we had no credit -left anywhere but at the cook-shop. Horses cannot be fed on roast -chicken. The horizon was lowering with heavy black clouds, across which -red lightnings flashed. Money took alarm, and made haste to conceal -itself. The newspaper for which we wrote suspended publication, and we -thought ourselves fortunate when a purchaser turned up and took horses, -harnesses, and carriages off our hands at a quarter of their value. It -was a bitter grief to us to have them go, and we will not swear that a -salt tear or two may not have dropped on the manes of Jane and Blanche -as they were led away. - -They are driven past their old home occasionally by their new owner; and -always the light feet make an instant’s pause under the windows, to -testify that they have not forgotten the dwelling where they were once -so cared for and so tenderly loved. Then we breathe a bitter and -sympathetic sigh, and say in the depths of our heart, “Poor Jane! Poor -Blanche! Are they happy?” - -In the overwhelming of our tiny fortunes theirs is the only loss which -caused us a real regret. - - - University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY HOUSEHOLD OF PETS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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} - </style> - </head> - <body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of My household of pets, by Théophile Gautier</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: My household of pets</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Théophile Gautier</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: Susan Coolidge</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 21, 2021 [eBook #65665]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing, Suzanne Shell, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY HOUSEHOLD OF PETS ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div id='Frontispiece' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/ill01.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE FALSE CAGNOTTE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='large'><span class='sc'>Théophile Gautier.</span></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div> - <h1 class='c002'><span class='sc'><span class='xlarge'>MY</span><br /> Household of Pets.</span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>Translated</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='large'><span class='sc'>By</span> SUSAN COOLIDGE.</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='small'>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/tp.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>BOSTON:</div> - <div class='c004'>ROBERTS BROTHERS.</div> - <div class='c004'>1882.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='small'><i>Copyright, 1882</i>,</span></div> - <div><span class='small'><span class='sc'>By Roberts Brothers</span>.</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='xsmall'><span class='sc'>University Press:</span></span></div> - <div><span class='xsmall'><span class='sc'>John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.</span></span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary='CONTENTS'> -<colgroup> -<col width='15%' /> -<col width='72%' /> -<col width='11%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <th class='c006'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Chapter</span></span></th> - <th class='c007'> </th> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Page</span></span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>I.</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Old Times</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_5'>5</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>II.</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The White Dynasty</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_25'>25</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>III.</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Black Dynasty</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_45'>45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IV.</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Our Dogs</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_66'>66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>V.</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Chameleons, Lizards, and Magpies</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_100'>100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VI.</td> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Horses</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_119'>119</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary='ILLUSTRATIONS'> -<colgroup> -<col width='80%' /> -<col width='20%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The False Cagnotte</span></td> - <td class='c009'><i><a href='#Frontispiece'>Frontispiece</a></i></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>As for the Eyes of the Cat, they were riveted on the Bird with a Fascinated Intensity</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_17'>17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The White Dynasty</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_23'>23</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Pierrot</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_29'>29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Black Dynasty</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_43'>43</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Leave is given her to place her Forepaws on the Edge of the Table</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_57'>57</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Our Dogs</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_67'>67</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>Monsieur was studying his Lesson</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_81'>81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>When paying Little Attentions to his Lady-loves he stood always on his Hind legs</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_85'>85</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Chameleon</span></td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_101'>101</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>MY HOUSEHOLD OF PETS.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <span class='large'>OLD TIMES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c010'>Caricatures are in existence -which represent us clothed in Turkish -fashion, sitting cross-legged on cushions, -and surrounded by cats, who are -fearlessly climbing over our shoulders and -even upon our head. Caricature is nothing -more than the exaggeration of truth; -and truth compels us to own that for -animals in general, and for cats in particular, -we have, all our lives long, had -the tenderness of a Brahmin or of an -old maid. The illustrious Byron carried -a menagerie of pets about with him even -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>when on his travels, and raised a tomb -at Newstead Abbey to his faithful Newfoundland, -“Boatswain,” which bears an -epitaph of the poet’s own composition. -But although we thus share his tastes, -we must not be accused of plagiarism; -for in our case the tendency manifested -itself even before we had begun to learn -the alphabet.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We are told that a clever man is about -to prepare a “History of Educated Animals;” -so we offer him these notes, from -which, so far as our animals are concerned, -he will be able to extract reliable -information.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Our earliest recollections of this nature -date back to our arrival in Paris from -Tarbes. We were then precisely three -years of age,—a fact which renders difficult -of belief the statements of MM. de -Mirecourt and Vapereau, who assert, that -at that time we had already “received a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>bad education” in our native city. A -homesickness of which one would hardly -believe so young a child to be capable -took possession of us. We could speak -only in <i>patois</i>, and those who expressed -themselves in French seemed to us like -foreigners and aliens. In the middle of -the night we would wake up and disconsolately -ask if we might not soon be allowed -to go back to our own country.</p> - -<p class='c011'>No dainty could tempt us to eat. No -plaything gave amusement. Drums and -trumpets even, failed to rouse us from -our melancholy. Among the things most -mourned over was a dog named Cagnotte -who had necessarily been left behind. His -absence produced such wretchedness that, -one morning, after having thrown out -of window our tin soldiers, a German -village painted in gaudy colors, and our -reddest of red fiddles, we were on the -point of following by the same road in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>hopes of finding the sooner Tarbes, Gascony -and Cagnotte, and were only dragged -back in the very nick of time by the collar -of our jacket. The happy thought occurred -to Josephine, our nurse, to tell us -that Cagnotte, impatient at being separated -from us, was coming to Paris that -very day in the diligence. Children accept -the incredible with an artless faith; -nothing seems impossible to their minds; -but it is dangerous to deceive them, for -once their opinions are formed the attempt -to alter them is hopeless. All that -day long we asked every quarter of an -hour if Cagnotte had not come yet. At -last, to pacify us, Josephine went out and -bought on the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Pont Neuf</span></i> a little dog who -somewhat resembled the dog of Tarbes. -At first we were mistrustful, and would -not believe him to be the same; but we -were assured that travelling produces -strange changes in the looks of dogs. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>This explanation was satisfactory, and the -dog of the Pont Neuf was received as the -authentic Cagnotte. He was an amiable -dog, gentle and pretty. He licked our -cheeks amicably, and his tongue condescended -to stretch farther and extend itself -to the bread-and-butter which had -been cut for our luncheon. The best -understanding existed between us. In -spite of this, the false Cagnotte little by -little became sad, dull, and constrained in -his motions. He no longer curled himself -up easily for a nap; all his joyous agility -vanished; he panted for breath, and ate -nothing. One day, when caressing him, -we discovered on his stomach what appeared -to be a seam, tightly stretched as -if swollen. The nurse was called; she -came, she cut a thread with the scissors, -and lo! Cagnotte, emerging from a sort -of jacket of curly lamb’s-wool with which -the dealers on the Pont Neuf had invested -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>him in order that he might pass for a -poodle, stood revealed in all his poverty -and ugliness as a common street cur, ill-bred -and valueless. He had grown fat, -and his tight garments were suffocating -him. Relieved from his cuirass, he shook -his ears, stretched his legs, and gambolled -joyfully round the room, not at all disquieted -at his own ugliness, now that he -once more found himself at ease. His -appetite came back, and in his moral qualities -we found compensation for his loss -of good looks. In the companionship of -Cagnotte, who was a true child of Paris, -we forgot by slow degrees Tarbes and the -high mountains which we had been used -to see from our windows. We learned -French, and we also became Parisian.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Let no one suppose that this is an imaginary -tale invented to amuse the reader. -The facts are strictly true, and they show -that the dog-merchants of that period were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>as ingenious as are the jockeys of to-day -in disguising their wares to cheat unsuspecting -country-folk.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After the death of Cagnotte our affections -turned to cats as more truly domestic -animals and better friends for the fire-side. -We will not attempt to give a detailed history -of all of them. Whole dynasties of -felines, as numerous as those of the Egyptian -kings, succeeded one another in our -house; accident, death, escape, in turn -carrying them away. All were loved, and -all were regretted; but life is made up of -forgettings, and the remembrance of departed -cats is gradually effaced like the -remembrance of men.</p> - -<p class='c011'>It is a sad fact that the lives of these -humble friends, our inferior brothers, are -not better proportioned to those of their -masters.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After briefly alluding to an old gray cat, -who took our part against our own flesh -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>and blood, and bit our mother’s ankles -whenever she scolded or seemed about to -punish us, we pass on to Childebrand, a -cat belonging to the days of romance. -From his name the reader will detect the -secret desire which we felt to dispute -Boileau, whom at that time we did not -love, though since we have made peace -with him. Does he not make Nicolas -say:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Oh charming thought of poet, most ignorant and bland,</div> - <div class='line'>Among so many heroes to choose out Childebrand”?</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>It did not seem to us that it argued -such a depth of ignorance to select a hero -of whom no one knew anything. Beside -Childebrand struck us as an impressive -name; very long-haired, very Merovingian, -Gothic and Mediæval to the last degree, -and much to be preferred to a Grecian -name,—be it Agamemnon, Achilles, Idomeneus, -Ulysses, or any other. These -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>names, however, were the fashion of the -day, especially among young people; for—to -use a phrase taken from the notice of -Kaulbach’s frescoes on the outside of the -Pinacothek at Munich—“Never did the -Hydra of wigginess dress more bristling -heads than at that period;” and persons of -a classical turn doubtless gave their cats -such names as Hector, Ajax, or Patrocles. -Our Childebrand was a magnificent cat of -the house-tops, with shaven hair, striped -fawn color and black like Saltabadil’s clown -in “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Roi s’Amuse</span>.” His great green -eyes of almond shape, and his velvet, -striped coat, gave him a resemblance to -a tiger, which we found extremely pleasing; -for, as we have elsewhere said, cats -are nothing more than tigers under a -cloud. Childebrand has the honor to figure -in some verses of ours, also intended -for the discomfiture of Boileau:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>Then I for you will paint that picture of Rembrandt</div> - <div class='line'>Which pleases me most greatly; and meanwhile Childebrand,</div> - <div class='line'>According to his custom soft couched upon my knee,</div> - <div class='line'>Lifts up his pretty head and watches anxiously</div> - <div class='line'>The movement of my finger, which traces in the air</div> - <div class='line'>The outline of the picture to make it clear and fair.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>Childebrand came in nicely as a rhyme -to Rembrandt; for this fragment was a sort -of confession of faith and romance to a -friend, since dead, who at that time shared -all our enthusiasms for Victor Hugo, Sainte-Beuve, -and Alfred de Musset.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We must say of our cats as said Ruy -Gomez de Silva to the impatient Don -Carlos, when giving him the names and -titles of his ancestors, which began with -“Don Silvius, three times elected Consul -of Rome,” “I have skipped some of the -best——,” and so pass on to Madame Theophile, -a reddish cat, with a white breast, -pink nose, and blue eyes, who was thus -named because she lived with us in an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>almost conjugal intimacy, sleeping on the -foot of our bed, or on the arm of our writing -chair; following us in our walks in the -garden, assisting at our meals, and not infrequently -intercepting the morsels which -we were conveying from our plate to our -mouth.</p> - -<p class='c011'>One day a friend, who was leaving home -for a short time, left in our charge a favorite -parrot. The bird, feeling lonely in a -strange house, climbed by the help of his -beak to the top of the perch, and sat there -rolling about in a scared way his eyes, -which glittered like gilt nails, and wrinkling -over them the white membranes which -served for eyelids. Madame Theophile -had never before encountered a parrot, and -the novelty awoke in her mind an evident -astonishment. Motionless as an Egyptian -cat embalmed in its network of bandages, -she sat regarding the bird with an air of -profound meditation, and putting together -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>all the ideas of natural history which she -had been able to collect during her excursions -on the roofs or in the courtyard and -garden. The shadows of her thoughts -flitted across her changeful eyes, and it -was not difficult to read the decision at -which she finally arrived: “This is—decidedly -it is—a green chicken!”</p> - -<p class='c011'>This conclusion reached, the cat jumped -from the table which she had chosen as -her observatory, and crouched in a corner -of the room, her belly on the floor, her -knees bent, her head lowered, her spine -stiffened like that of the black panther -in Gérome’s picture as it glares at the -gazelles who are drinking by the lake.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The parrot followed each movement of -the cat with a feverish disquietude. His -feathers bristled; he rattled his chain, -raised one of his claws and exercised its -talons, while he whetted his beak on the -edge of the feeding cup. Instinct revealed -to him that this was an enemy who was -plotting mischief.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span> -<img src='images/ill02.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>AS FOR THE EYES OF THE CAT THEY WERE RIVETED ON THE BIRD WITH A FASCINATED INTENSITY.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>As for the eyes of the cat, they were -riveted on the bird with a fascinated intensity, -and said plainly as eyes could speak, -and in a language which the parrot understood -only too well, “Green though he be, -this chicken is without doubt good to eat.”</p> - -<p class='c011'>While we watched this scene with interest, -ready to interfere whenever it should -seem necessary, Madame Theophile was -imperceptibly drawing nearer to her prey. -Her pink nose quivered, her eyes were -half shut, her elastic claws projected and -then disappeared again in their velvet -sheaths. Little shivers ran down her spine: -she was like an epicure as he seats himself -at table before a dish of truffled chicken, -and smacks his lips in advance over the -choice and succulent repast which he is -about to enjoy. This exotic dainty tickled -all her sensuous capabilities.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>Suddenly her back curved like a bow -which is bent, and with one strong elastic -bound she alighted on the perch. The -parrot, seeing his danger, remarked in a -deep bass voice, as low and solemn as that -of M. Joseph Prudhomme, “Hast thou -breakfasted, Jacquot?”</p> - -<p class='c011'>This remark created in the mind of the -cat an evident dismay. She took a sudden -leap backward. A blast from a trumpet, -a pile of plates crashing to the floor, -a pistol shot close to the ear, could not -have inspired more sudden and giddy -terror in an animal of her race. All her -ornithological ideas were in one fell moment -overturned.</p> - -<p class='c011'>“And on what? On the roast beef of -the king?” continued the parrot.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The face of the cat now said, as distinctly -as words, “This is not a bird. It -is a gentleman! He speaks!”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>“When I on wine have feasted free,</div> - <div class='line'>The tavern turns around with me,”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>sang the bird in a tremendous voice; for -he perceived that the alarm caused by his -words was his readiest means of defence. -The cat cast a questioning glance toward -us, and, getting no reassurance in reply, -took refuge under the bed, from which -place of safety she could not be enticed for -the remainder of that day.</p> - -<p class='c011'>People who are not accustomed to live -with animals, or who, like Descartes, see -nothing in them but irrational organisms, -will no doubt suppose that these designs -and reflections which we attribute to birds -and beasts, are pure inventions of our -fancy. In this they are mistaken: we -but interpret their ideas, and faithfully -translate them into human speech.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Next day Madame Theophile, regaining -courage, made another attempt on the parrot, -which was repulsed in the same way. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>After that she gave it up, and accepted the -bird as a man.</p> - -<p class='c011'>This sensitive and charming animal -adored perfumes. Patchouli, the scent of -cashmeres, threw her into ecstasies. She -had also a taste for music; perched upon -a pile of score, she would listen attentively -and with evident pleasure to vocalists who -came to test their voices at our piano and -receive criticism. Sharp notes, however, -made her nervous, and at the upper “la” -she was apt to close the mouth of the -songstress with a tap of her little paw. It -was an experiment which caused us much -amusement, and was unfailing. Our feline -amateur never mistook the note, and never -let it pass unrebuked.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id003'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span> -<img src='images/ill03.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE WHITE DYNASTY.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <span class='large'>THE WHITE DYNASTY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c010'>Let us now come down to a more -modern epoch. From a cat imported -by Mademoiselle Aita de la Penuela, -a young Spanish artist whose studies -of white Angoras adorned and still adorn -the windows of the print-shops, we obtained -the tiniest possible kitten, which looked -like one of those puffs of swan’s-down -which people use in rice-powder boxes. -On account of this immaculate whiteness, -he received the name of Pierrot, which, as -he grew larger, was amplified into that of -Don Pierrot de Navarre,—a name infinitely -more majestic and having a savor of -real grandeur about it. Don Pierrot, like -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>all animals who are petted and spoiled -grew up charmingly amiable. He shared -our family life with that enjoyment which -cats find in being admitted to the intimacies -of the fire-side. Seated in his wonted -place beside the fire, he seemed always to -understand the conversation and to be interested -in it. He followed the eyes of the -talkers, emitting from time to time a little -mew, as if he too had objections to make, -and would like to add his opinion on the -literary topics which were usually the -theme of our discourse. He adored books; -and whenever he found one lying open on -the table he would seat himself by it, looking -earnestly at the pages, and sometimes -gently turning one with his claw. He usually -finished by going to sleep, as soundly -as though he had in reality been reading -a modern novel!</p> - -<p class='c011'>When we sat down to write he always -jumped upon the writing-table, and watched -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>with a profound attention the point of the -steel pen as it scattered flies’ legs over the -white surface of the paper, making a little -movement of his head at the beginning of -each new line. Sometimes he took a fancy -to join in the work, and would try to get -the pen away from us, doubtless with the -intention of using it in his turn; for he -was an æsthetic cat, like the cat Murr, described -by Hoffman, and we strongly suspected -him of spending nights in some -hidden gutter writing his memoirs by the -light of his own phosphoric eyes. Unfortunately -these lucubrations, if they ever -existed, are forever lost.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Don Pierrot de Navarre would never settle -himself to sleep till we had come home. -He always waited just inside the door, -and, the moment we stepped into the antechamber, -rubbed himself against our legs, -arching his back, and purring in a joyous -and friendly manner. Then he would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>walk in, preceding us like a page, and no -doubt with a very little urging would -have consented to carry the candlestick.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Having thus conducted us to our bedroom, -he waited till we were undressed, and -then, jumping into bed, embraced our neck -with his little paws, rubbed his nose against -ours, and licked us with a small pink -tongue, rough as a file, uttering meanwhile -short, inarticulate cries, which expressed as -clearly as possible his joy at our return. -Then, having expressed his affection by -these demonstrations, and the hour for -sleep being come, he would mount the -head-board of the bed, and slumber there, -poised like a bird on a bough. As soon -as we awoke in the morning he would descend, -and, stretching himself out close to -us, wait quietly till it was time to get up.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span> -<img src='images/ill04.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>PIERROT.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Midnight, in his opinion, was the hour -at which it was our duty to return to the -house. Pierrot and the <i>concierge</i> were -entirely of one mind on this point. Just -then we had joined with a few friends in -getting up a little club, which we called -“The Society of the Four Candles,” from -the fact that the room in which we met -was lighted by four candles in silver candlesticks, -which were placed on four corners -of a table. Sometimes the talk became -so engrossing that, like Cinderella, we forgot -the hour, at the risk of finding our -carriages changed into pumpkins and our -coachmen into rats. Several times Pierrot -waited for our return until two or -three o’clock in the morning; then his feelings -were so deeply hurt that he actually -went to bed without us. This dumb protest -against our innocent irregularities was -so touching that afterwards we made a -point of coming in punctually at midnight; -but Pierrot for a long while retained a -grudge against us. He wanted proof that -our penitence was genuine; and not till -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>time had convinced him of the sincerity of -our regret did he again take us into favor, -and resume his old position inside the door -of the antechamber.</p> - -<p class='c011'>A cat’s friendship is a hard thing to -conquer. Cats are philosophical animals,—sedate, -quiet, fixed in their habits, true -believers in decency and order, and not at -all given to the bestowing of a thoughtless -affection. They will be your friends if -you prove worthy of friendship; but they -will never be your slaves. Even in moments -of tenderness a cat preserves his -freedom of will, and cannot be made to -comply with demands which seem to him -unreasonable. But once he surrenders -himself to you as a friend, what absolute -confidence he gives! what fidelity of affection! -He constitutes himself the companion -of your solitary hours, of your -melancholy, of your work. He will pass -whole evenings purring on your knees, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>happy in your company, and forsaking -that of animals of his own species. In -vain do enticing mews re-echo from the -roofs, calling him to join one of those cat-soirees -where juicy red-herrings take the -place of tea: he will not be tempted away, -and shares your vigil to the end. If you -put him on the floor, he jumps back to his -place with a murmuring noise which is -like a soft reproach. Sometimes, standing -near, he looks at you with eyes so full of -melting tenderness, so loving and so human, -that you are half-frightened; for it -seems impossible that in such a regard -reason can be lacking.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Don Pierrot de Navarre had a companion -of the same race, no less white than himself. -All the comparisons which we have -heaped together in “The symphony in -white, major” cannot express the idea of -this immaculate snowiness, which makes -even the fur of the ermine look yellow. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>This second cat was named Seraphita, in -honor of Balzac’s Swedenborgian romance. -Never did the heroine of that marvellous -legend radiate a purer whiteness, not -even when, accompanied by Minna, she -climbed the icy peaks of the Falberg. -Seraphita was of a contemplative and -dreamy disposition. She would lie for long -hours on her cushion, not asleep, but following, -with an intense expression of the -eyes, sights which were invisible to common -mortals. She liked to be caressed; -but she caressed in return only a favored -few to whom her hard-won esteem was -accorded. She loved luxury; and it was -always upon the softest chair and the piece -of stuff best calculated to show to advantage -her swan-like fur that we were sure to -find her. Her toilet took an enormous -deal of time; every particle of her fur was -made glossy each morning of her life. She -washed herself with her paws; and every -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>hair of her coat, carefully brushed with her -rosy tongue, glistened like new silver. -Whenever any one stroked her, she instantly -removed all trace of the contact: -the least untidiness disturbed her. Her -elegance and distinction were truly aristocratic: -in the cat-world she must have -ranked as a duchess at the very least. -She doted on perfumes, plunging her head -into bouquets of flowers, and nibbling with -little quivers of satisfaction handkerchiefs -steeped in odors. She would walk up and -down the dressing-table sniffing at the -essence bottles, and would willingly have -allowed herself to be dipped bodily into -the scented rice-powder. Such was Seraphita, -and never did a cat better justify a -poetical name.</p> - -<p class='c011'>About this time two of those counterfeit -sailors who sell striped table-covers, handkerchiefs -woven of pineapple thread, and -other foreign commodities, chanced to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>pass through our street at Longchamps. -They carried in a tiny cage two Norway -rats, with the prettiest pink eyes in the -world. White animals were a passion with -us just then, and we carried this passion so -far that even our poultry-yard was stocked -with white cocks and hens. We bought -the white rats, and had a large cage made -for them, with interior staircases which -led to different stories,—to dining-rooms, -sleeping-chambers, and gymnasiums fitted -up with trapezes. In this cage they were -happier and better lodged than even the -rat of La Fontaine in the middle of his -Dutch cheese.</p> - -<p class='c011'>These pretty creatures—of which so -many people, for reasons that we cannot -understand, have a silly fear—grew tame -to an astonishing degree, so soon as they -became certain that no harm was intended -them. They allowed themselves to be -stroked like kittens; and taking our finger -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>between their tiny pink paws, delicate to -an ideal degree, would lick it in a friendly -way. They were usually let loose at the -end of our meals, and climbing on our -arms, shoulders, and head, would dart in -and out of the sleeves of our jacket or -dressing-gown with singular skill and agility. -The motive of all these exercises, so -gracefully performed, was to win leave to -rummage among the remains of the dessert. -Placed upon the table, in the twinkling -of an eye the pair would make away -with every walnut or hazel-nut, every dried -raisin, every bit of sugar, which remained. -Nothing could be droller than the eager -and furtive glances which they cast about -them while doing this, or their look of surprise -when they found themselves on the -edge of the table-cloth. When a tiny board -was laid from the cage to the table, they -would joyfully run across it and store their -plunder away in their private cupboard.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>The couple multiplied rapidly, until -whole families of equal whiteness ascended -and descended the staircases of the cage. -At last we found ourselves at the head of -thirty rats, all so much at home with us -that when the weather was cold they burrowed -in our pockets without the least -ceremony, and lay there, keeping themselves -warm. Sometimes leaving open the -door of the Ratopolis, we would go up to -the second floor of the house, and give a -whistle well known to our pupils. Then -the tiny crew, who with great difficulty -could climb from one step of the stairs to -the other, would swarm upward, clutching -the rail, pulling themselves along by the -balusters, following each other in a file -with the regularity of acrobats, up the steep -road, down which occasionally one slipped, -and run to find us, uttering little cries and -manifesting the liveliest joy.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We must now confess to an act of brutality. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>We had so often heard it said that -a rat’s tail resembled a pink worm and detracted -from the beauty of the animal, that -at last we selected one from our menagerie, -and cut off the much-abused appendage. -The little rat bore the operation well, -grew up bravely, and became a master rat, -with a fine pair of moustaches; but in -spite of being lightened of the weight of -his caudal extremity, he was always less -agile than his companions, was wary in -gymnastic exercises, and frequently experienced -a tumble. When the troop ran up -the staircase, he invariably came last; and -he always had the air of an acrobat who -is testing his tight-rope and is not quite -sure of his balance. This experiment convinced -us of the usefulness of a tail to rats. -It holds them in equilibrium as they run -along cornices and narrow projections. -When they swiftly turn to right or left -the tail turns too, serving as a counterpoise; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>and this is the cause of the perpetual -wiggle which characterizes it. Nature -seldom makes a superfluous thing, and for -this reason we should be very cautious in -trying to improve her handiwork.</p> - -<p class='c011'>You will doubtless wonder how our rats -and cats, creatures so totally unsympathetic,—one -in fact being the natural prey -of the other,—managed to live together. -In the most amicable way imaginable. The -cats never showed their claws to the rats; -the rats never exhibited the least fear or -distrust of the cats. This conduct on the -part of the cats was thoroughly sincere, -and never once were the rats called upon -to mourn the death of a comrade. Don -Pierrot de Navarre showed the tenderest -affection for these tiny neighbors. He -would lie down by the cage for hours together, -watching them at play. If by accident -the door of the room was shut, he -would scratch and softly mew to have it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>opened, that he might rejoin his little white -friends, who not infrequently would come -from their cage and go to sleep by his side. -Seraphita, of a loftier nature than he, and -not so fond of the musky odor of rats, -never took part in these games; but she -did the rats no harm, and suffered them -to pass before her without once extending -a claw.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The end of these rats was strange -enough. One sultry day in summer when -the thermometer marked the ordinary heat -of Senegal, their cage was placed in the -garden, under the shade of a vine-covered -arbor; for they seemed to suffer from the -heat. A heavy storm came up, with great -gusts of wind, lightning and rain. The -tall poplars on the river’s bank bent like -reeds. Armed with an umbrella, we were -on the point of going out to look for our -pets, when a vivid lightning flash, which -seemed to split the very depths of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>heavens, stopped us on the first step of -the flight which led from the terrace to -the garden. A tremendous thunder-clap -followed, louder than the discharge of a -hundred cannon. The shock was so violent -that we were almost thrown down -by it.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After this explosion the storm grew a -little calmer; and hastening to the arbor -we found the thirty-two rats lying with -their paws in the air, all killed by the same -thunderbolt.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The wire of their cage had without doubt -attracted the lightning. Thus perished -together, as they had lived together, thirty-two -Norway rats,—an enviable death, and -one not often granted by implacable fate!</p> - -<div class='figcenter id005'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span> -<img src='images/ill05.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE BLACK DYNASTY.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <span class='large'>THE BLACK DYNASTY.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c010'>Don Pierrot de Navarre, being a -native of Havana, needed a very -warm temperature. This temperature was -provided for him in our rooms; but about -the house lay extensive gardens, separated -by wire fences which offered no difficulties -to a cat, and which were planted with large -trees, in whose branches innumerable birds -twittered and sang. Not infrequently Pierrot, -profiting by an open door, would make -his escape of evenings for the enjoyment -of a private hunt over the lawns and the -flower-beds wet with dew. Sometimes he -had to wait till daylight before he could -re-enter the house; for, though he mewed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>under the windows, his signal did not always -rouse the sleepers within. His chest -had always been delicate, and one chilly -night he took a cold, which speedily developed -into consumption. Poor Pierrot! -he became painfully thin after a year of -coughing. His fur, once so silky, lost its -gloss, and reminded one of the dull, opaque -whiteness of a winding-sheet. His great -transparent eyes looked enormous by contrast -with his poor little face. His pink -nose grew pale, and he dragged his feet -slowly along his favorite sunshiny wall, -watching the yellow autumn leaves whirled -along in spiral flights by the wind, and -looking as though he were repeating to -himself the elegy of Millevoye.</p> - -<p class='c011'>There is nothing in the world more -touching than a sick animal. It submits -to its sufferings with such a sweet, sad -resignation. Everything possible was done -to save Pierrot. He had a skilful doctor, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>who stethoscoped him and felt his pulse. -Asses’ milk was ordered, and the poor -thing lapped it willingly enough from his -little porcelain saucer. He would lie for -long hours on our knees, stretched out, -and immovable as the shadow of a sphinx. -We could number his vertebræ with our -fingers, like the beads of a rosary. When -he tried to respond to our caresses by -a feeble mew, it sounded like a death-rattle. -On the day of his death, as he lay -panting upon his side, he raised himself -with a supreme effort and crept toward -us, opening wide his dilated eyes with a -look which seemed to claim our help with -an intense supplication. It said plainly as -words could say, “Come, save me, thou -who art a man!” Then he staggered; his -eyes became fixed; and he fell with a cry -so desperate, so lamentable, so full of anguish, -that we sat transfixed with silent -horror. He was buried at the bottom of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>the garden, under a white-rose tree which -still marks the place of his grave.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Two or three years later Seraphita died -also, of a mysterious disease against which -all the resources of science proved unavailing. -She is buried not far from -Pierrot.</p> - -<p class='c011'>With them the <i>Dynastie Blanche</i> became -extinct, but not the family. For of -this couple, white as snow, were born -three kittens as black as ink. Explain, -who can, this mystery. The great excitement -of the day was Victor Hugo’s novel -“Les Miserables.” No one spoke of anything -else, and the names of its heroes -and heroines were in every mouth. Naturally, -therefore, the two male kittens were -christened Enjolras and Gavroche, while -their sister received the title of Eponine. -When very young they acquired a number -of pretty tricks. Among the rest -they were taught to run like a dog after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>a ball made of rolled-up paper, and to -fetch it back when thrown to a distance. -Even though the ball were tossed up to -the cornices of the wardrobes, hidden behind -piles of sheets on a shelf, or dropped -into a deep vase, they would always discover -and fetch it safely in their paws. -Later in life they learned to despise these -frivolous amusements, and acquired that -calm and dreamy philosophy which is the -true characteristic of the cat nature.</p> - -<p class='c011'>When people first land in one of the -Southern States of America, the negroes -they see are to them simply negroes; they -cannot tell one from another. So to careless -eyes three black cats are three black -cats, and nothing more. Observant persons, -however, do not make such mistakes. -The physiognomies of animals differ from -each other like those of men; and we never -had the least difficulty in distinguishing -between these three faces, all black as the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>mask of Harlequin, and lighted by emerald -disks with reflections of gold.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Enjolras, by far the prettiest of the three -cats, could be identified by his large and -lion-like head, his well-whiskered cheeks, -strong shoulders, long back, and a superb -tail which expanded like a plume. There -was something theatrical and emphatic -about him, and he was addicted to <i>poses</i> -like a favorite actor. His slow and undulating -movements were full of majesty. -He could be trusted to walk over consoles -loaded with treasures in china and Venice -glass, so circumspectly did he order his -footsteps. He was not much of a Stoic -in character, and his taste for dainties -would have horrified his namesake Enjolras, -that sober and pure young man, who -would doubtless have said to him, as the -angel did to Swedenborg, “Thou eatest -too much.” This gluttonous turn, which -was as droll as that of a gastronomic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>monkey, was indulged; and Enjolras attained -a size and weight most unusual -in a domestic cat. The idea occurred to -us to have him shaved like a poodle, in -order to complete his resemblance to a -lion. A mane was left to him, and one -thick tuft of hair at the end of his tail. -We will not swear that it was not part of -the original design to furnish him with -leg-of-mutton whiskers like those in the -portrait of Munito. Thus accoutred, he -looked, it must be confessed, less like a -lion of the jungle or of the Cape than -like a Japanese chimera. Never was a -more absurd whim carried out upon the -body of a living animal. His hair was -shaved so closely that it showed the skin, -which exhibited odd bluish tones, and -contrasted in the most extraordinary way -with the blackness of his mane.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Gavroche, as if to suit with the character -of his namesake in the novel, was a cat of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>a crafty and furtive disposition. Smaller -than Enjolras, his agility was most comical -and surprising. His substitutes for the -jokes and slang of the Paris <i>gamin</i> were -capers, somersaults, and ludicrous motions. -We are forced to confess that, notwithstanding -these attractive qualities, Gavroche -never lost an opportunity of stealing -out of the parlor in order to join in the -street or courtyard with vagabond cats,—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Of any sort of birth, and blood unknown to fame,”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>in parties of the most unrefined sort, quite -forgetting his dignity as a cat from Havana: -son of the illustrious Don Pierrot -de Navarre, grandee of Spain of the first -rank, and of the Marquise Seraphita, whose -manners were so lofty and disdainful. -Sometimes by way of a treat he would -conduct to his porridge-plate some comrade -emaciated by famine and all skin-and-bone, -whom he had picked up during -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>his peregrinations; introducing him with -all the airs of a condescending prince. -The poor wretch, with drooping ears, -sidelong glance, and tail between his legs, -fearing that his free lunch might at any -moment be interrupted by the housemaid’s -broom, would gobble down double, triple, -quadruple mouthfuls, and like <i>Siete-Aguas</i>, -or Seven Waters, of the Spanish <i><span lang="es" xml:lang="es">posada</span></i>, -make the plate in a few seconds as clean -as though it had been scrubbed by a -Dutch housewife to serve as a model to -Mieris or Gerard Dow.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Beholding these chosen protégés of Gavroche’s, -that phrase with which Gavarni -illustrates one of his caricatures frequently -came into our head: “Fine friends these -are which you have selected to go about -with!” But after all they were only a -proof of Gavroche’s real goodness of heart; -for he might easily have eaten up everything -himself.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>The cat who bore the name of the interesting -Eponine was more slender and -delicately made than her brothers. Her -nose was slightly longer; her eyes set -obliquely in the head like those of a Chinese, -were of a green hue like the eyes of -Pallas Athene, to which Homer invariably -applies the epithet <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">γλαυκώπις</span>. Her nose -of a velvety blackness, as finely grained -as a Perigord truffle; her moustaches perpetually -waving, made up a physiognomy -full of expression. Her superb black fur -was always in a quiver, and glittered with -changeful lustres. Never was there a creature -so sympathetic, nervous, and theatrical -as Eponine. If you passed your hand -over her back once or twice in the dusk -little blue sparks would flash from the -fur. Eponine attached herself to us as -devotedly as did the Eponine of the novel -to Marius; but not being pre-occupied -with a Cosette, as was that dear young -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>man, we were able to respond to the affection -of this tender and devoted cat, -who is still the companion of our labors -and the joy of our suburban hermitage. -At the sound of the door-bell she runs -out, receives the visitors, shows them into -the drawing-room, asks them to sit down, -talks with them; yes, <i>talks</i>, prattling on -with murmurs and little cries which are -not in the least like those which cats -use to one another, but which resemble -the speech of men. What does she say, -do you ask? She says in the most intelligible -language: “Gentlemen and ladies, -do not be impatient; look at the pictures, -or, if you please, converse with me. Monsieur -will be here soon.” When we enter -she discreetly retires to an easy chair or -the corner of the piano, and listens to -the conversation without trying to take -part in it, like a polite animal who is -familiar with the habits of good society.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>This charming Eponine has given so -many proofs of merit, of intelligence, and -superior social qualities, that by common -consent she has been elevated to the dignity -of a <i>person</i>; for there can be no doubt -that her conduct is governed by a reason -which is far superior to instinct. This -dignity gives her the right to eat at table -like a human being, and not as cats do -out of a saucer set on the floor in a -corner. Eponine therefore has her chair, -which is regularly placed beside our own, -at breakfast and dinner. In consideration -of her shape and size, leave is given -her to place her fore-paws on the edge -of the table. She has also her own plate -and her own tumbler, but not a fork or -spoon. She watches the dinner through -all its courses from soup to dessert, waiting -for her turn to be helped, and altogether -comporting herself with a wisdom -and decency which we wish that children -would oftener imitate. At the first tinkle -of the bell she makes her appearance, and -when we enter the dining-room there she -is, already seated on her chair with her -paws crossed before her on the edge of -the table; and she holds up her forehead -to be kissed precisely as a nice little girl -does who has been trained to show an -affectionate politeness towards her parents -and other elderly friends.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id006'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span> -<img src='images/ill06.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>LEAVE IS GIVEN HER TO PLACE HER FOREPAWS ON THE EDGE OF THE TABLE.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>But there are flaws in the diamond, -spots even on the sun, shadows upon perfection, -and Eponine, it must be owned, -has an over-passionate love for fish,—a -passion which is shared by cats in general. -In contradiction to the Latin proverb</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Catus amat pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas</span>,”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>she will dip her paw into water without the -least hesitation in order to draw out a carp, -a white bait, or a trout. Fish awake in her -a sort of frenzy; and like children who are -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>in a state of excitement over the idea -of dessert, she sometimes looks sulkily at -the soup, when preliminary observations -made in the kitchen have assured her -that there is fish to come, and that the -cook has no need to expiate a failure by -falling on his sword, as did the noble -Vatel. At such times she is left unserved, -and we say to her coldly, “<i>Mademoiselle</i>, -a <i>person</i> who is not hungry for -soup cannot be hungry for fish,” and -the dish is carried pitilessly past under -her very nose. When matters reach this -serious stage the dainty Eponine gobbles -up her soup in all haste to the very last -drop, despatches every crumb of bread or -Italian paste, and then turns round and -looks at us with a proud glance as one who -has done her duty, and whose conscience is -henceforth free from reproach. Her portion -of fish is then given her. She eats -it with the utmost satisfaction, and having -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>tasted of all the other dishes, finishes her -meal with a glass of water.</p> - -<p class='c011'>When a dinner-party is projected Eponine, -without seeing the guests, understands -perfectly well that there is to be company -that evening. She takes a look at her -usual place, and, if she notices a knife, fork, -and spoon beside the plate, she decamps -without a word and seats herself on the -piano-stool, which is her chosen refuge on -such occasions. I should be glad if people -who deny the possession of reason to animals, -would explain this fact, apparently so -simple and yet containing such a world of -inferences. From seeing beside her plate -those utensils which man only can use, -this wise and observant cat argues that, for -the day, she must yield her place to a -guest, and she makes haste to do so. She -never deceives herself about the matter, -but sometimes, when the visitor is one with -whom she is on familiar terms, she will -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>climb his knee and try to coax a few -tit-bits out of him by her grace and caresses.</p> - -<p class='c011'>But enough of this; we must not weary -our readers. Stories about cats are less -popular than those about dogs. Still, we -feel obliged to tell the end of Enjolras and -Gavroche. In some text-books there is -this sentence: “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Sua eum perdidit ambitio.</span>” -One might say of Enjolras, “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Sua -eum perdidit pinguetudo</span>”—he died of -his own fat. He was mistaken for a hare -and killed by some idiotic hunters. His -murderers, however, perished within a -twelvemonth, and in the most miserable -manner. The death of a black cat, that -most cabalistical of creatures, never goes -unavenged!</p> - -<p class='c011'>Gavroche, seized with a fanatical love of -liberty, or perhaps with sudden madness, -leaped out of a window one day, crossed -the street, climbed the high fence surrounding -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>St. James’ Church, which stands -opposite our house, and disappeared. In -spite of our anxious enquiries no traces -of him could ever be found. A mysterious -shadow hovers over his fate. Thus -of the black dynasty only Eponine remains. -She is faithful still to her master, -and to all intents and purposes has become -an educated cat.</p> - -<p class='c011'>She has for companion a magnificent -Angora, of a silver-gray coat which makes -one think of clouded Chinese porcelain. -His name is Zizi, which means—“Too -handsome to do anything.” This beautiful -creature lives in a sort of contemplative -stupor like a <i>thekiari</i> during his period of -inebriation. Looking at him one is reminded -of the “Ecstasies of M. Hochener.” -Zizi’s passion is music. Not content with -listening to it, he is himself a performer. -Occasionally at night when all are sleeping -there breaks upon the silence a strange, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>fantastic melody which Kreisler and the -musicians of the future might well envy. -It is Zizi, walking up and down the keyboard -of the piano and enjoying the rapture -of hearing the notes sing under his -feet.</p> - -<p class='c011'>It would be unfair not to give a passing -mention to Cleopatra, the daughter of -Eponine, who is a charming animal, but of -too timid a nature to be introduced to the -public. She is of a deep fawn color, like -Mummia, the shaggy companion of Atta -Croll, and her dark green eyes are just like -two enormous pieces of aqua-marina. She -walks habitually on three paws, and holds -the fourth in the air, like the figure of a -classical line which has lost his marble -ball.</p> - -<p class='c011'>This then is the chronicle of the Black -Dynasty,—Enjolras, Gavroche, Eponine,—recalling -to us the creations of a beloved -master. Only, when we now glance over -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“Les Miserables,” it seems as though the -principal characters in the romance are -taken by black cats, but this fact does not -in the least diminish the interest of the -story for us.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <span class='large'>OUR DOGS.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c010'>We have sometimes been accused of -disliking dogs. This at first sight -does not seem to be a very grave charge, -still, we feel bound to justify ourselves, -since the accusation carries with it a certain -amount of disgrace. People who prefer -cats to dogs, pass in the eyes of most -persons as necessarily false, voluptuous and -cruel; while dog-lovers are supposed to -be invariably pure, loyal, open characters, -gifted, in short, with all the attributes which -are popularly ascribed to the canine race. -We could in no wise detract from the -merits of Medor, Turc, Merot, and other -equally amiable beasts, and we are quite -ready to agree with the maxim formulated -by Charlet: “The best thing which a man -possesses is his dog.” We have owned -many, we still own some; and if our calumniators -will kindly call at our residence -they will be greeted by the shrill and furious -barking of a small Cuban lap-dog, and -by a large greyhound who will take much -pleasure in biting their ankles.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id007'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span> -<img src='images/ill07.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>OUR DOGS.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>Still, we will not deny that our liking -for dogs has a strong admixture of fear. -These animals, excellent, faithful, devoted -as they are, may at any moment run -mad, and in that condition they are as -dangerous and deadly as the viper, the asp, -the bell-serpent, or the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">cobra di capello</span>. -This thought somewhat moderates our -raptures over them. But, apart from this, -dogs somehow produce a disquieting effect -upon us. Their eyes are so deep, so intense; -they place themselves before us -with such an interrogative air that it is -almost embarrassing. Goethe did not like, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>any more than ourselves, this gaze which -seems to assimilate a man’s most secret -thoughts. He would drive the poor animals -away, and say to them “You have -done your best: you shall not devour my -identity.”</p> - -<p class='c011'>The Pharamond of our canine dynasty -was named Luther. He was a large white -pointer with red spots, and handsome -brown ears, who, having lost his master, -and searched after him vainly for a long -time, domesticated himself in the house -of our parents, who then lived at Passy. -Having no partridges to hunt he gave -himself up to the pursuit of rats, in which -pursuit he became as proficient as a Scotch -terrier. At that time we were living in a -room in that blind alley of Doyenné, no -longer in existence, where Gérard de Nerval, -Arsène Houssaye, and Camille Rogier -had established themselves as the centres -of a picturesque little Bohemian circle of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>artists and literary men, whose freaks and -eccentricities have been too often described -elsewhere to need further mention -now. There, in the very midst of -the Carrousel, we lived a life as free and -as lonely as if in some desert isle of the -ocean,—among nettles and blocks of stone, -under the shadow of the Louvre, and -close to the ruins of an old church, whose -crumbling arches presented the most picturesque -effects by moonlight. Luther, -with whom we had always been on friendly -terms, seeing us thus take our final flight -from the family nest, assumed the task of -making us a daily visit. He left Passy -each morning at some time unknown, and, -following the Quai de Billy and the Cours-la-Reine, -arrived about eight o’clock, just -as we were waking up. Scratching at -the door, which was always opened for -him, he threw himself upon us with a -joyous yelping, put his fore-paws on our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>knees, received with great simplicity and -modesty the caresses which his good conduct -had earned, made a rapid inspection -of the room, and then set out on his -homeward journey. Arrived at Passy, -he would at once run to our mother, -wagging his tail and uttering little barks -which said as plainly as words, “Do not -be anxious, I have seen the young master, -and he is well.” Having thus given a report -of his self-imposed mission he would -lap a bowl full of water, eat his porridge, -and, stretching himself near the easy chair -of mamma, for whom he had a particular -affection, would refresh himself by an hour -or two of sleep after the long journey that -he had taken.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Those who hold that animals do not -think and are incapable of putting two -ideas together, may explain as best they -can this daily visit which kept up the -family relations, and gave to the old birds -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>in the nest regular news of their recently -escaped fledgling.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Poor Luther! he had a melancholy end. -He gradually became silent and morose, -and one day fled from the house, apparently -because he felt himself attacked by -hydrophobia and feared that he might be -led to bite his master. We have every -reason to suppose that he was killed as -a mad dog. At all events we never saw -him again.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After rather a long interval, a new dog -was installed at the house—a dog called -Zamore. He was half mongrel, half spaniel, -small in size, and with a black coat, -excepting for a few spots of flame color -beneath his eyebrows and some tones of -fawn color on the belly. He was, in short, -insignificant in appearance and rather ugly -than pretty, but so far as moral qualities -are concerned he was really a remarkable -dog. For women he had an absolute contempt; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>he would neither follow nor obey -them, and our mother and our sisters tried -in vain to win from him the least evidence -of friendship or respect. He would loftily -accept their attentions and their tit-bits, but -he never deigned to give them a word of -thanks in return. No barking for them, -no drumming of his tail against the floor, -none of those endearments of which dogs -are so prodigal. Toward these he maintained -always an attitude impassive and -impassible, crouching in the position of -a sphinx, like some serious and dignified -personage who disdains to mix in a frivolous -conversation.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The master he elected to serve was -our father whom he recognized in the -head of the family and a man of weight -and character. Zamore’s tenderness, even -for him, was of an austere and stoical -sort, and never expressed by merriment, -or antics, or lickings of the tongue. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>But his eyes were forever fixed on his -master, his head turned to watch each -slightest movement, and everywhere he -followed him, his nose close to his master’s -heel, never permitting himself to play the -smallest prank, or paying the least attention -to any dog whom they met. This -dear and lamented father of ours was a -great fisher before the Lord. The barbels -caught by him must have out-numbered the -antelopes caught by Nimrod. It could -never be said of his fishing-rod that it -was an instrument with a hook at one -end and a fool at the other, for he was -a man full of wit and intelligence, which, -however, did not hinder his filling his fish-basket -every day. Zamore always accompanied -him on these excursions, and during -those long nocturnal watchings, which -are necessary for the capture of such fish -as only bite when the line touches bottom, -he would place himself close to the water’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>edge and seem to explore the darksome -depths with his eyes, as if searching for -the prey. Though he now and then -pricked up his ears at those numberless -vague and distant sounds which are audible -even in the deepest silence of the -night, he never uttered a bark, for he -perfectly understood that it is indispensable -for a fisherman’s dog to be dumb. -Diana might lift her alabaster brow above -the horizon and the river give back the -reflection; it was all in vain; not even -at the moon would Zamore bark, though -such midnight bayings are among the chief -pleasures of animals of his species. Only -when the bell on the fishing-line tinkled -did he indulge in a yelp, for then he knew -that the prey was secured, and he took -intense interest in those after manœuvres -which are requisite for landing a barbel of -three or four pounds weight.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Who could have guessed that under -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>this calm and self-contained exterior, so -philosophical, so far removed from all frivolity, -lurked one imperious and extravagant -passion, in utter contradiction to the -apparent character, moral and physical, of -this animal so serious and so thoughtful -that one would have almost called him -sad?</p> - -<p class='c011'>What, you say, has this admirable -Zamore then some hidden vice? No. -Was he a thief, a libertine? No. Had -he a taste for brandy-cherries? No. Did -he bite? Ten thousand times, no! Zamore’s -passion was for dancing. In him, -a true Terpsichorean artist was lost to -the world.</p> - -<p class='c011'>This vocation was discovered in the -following manner. One day there appeared -in the public square at Passy a -grayish ass, one of those luckless donkeys -belonging to a juggler, which Decamps -and Fouquet have so successfully painted. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>Two panniers, balanced across his galled -back, held a troop of trained dogs, costumed -according to sex as marquises, -troubadours, Turks, Swiss shepherds, and -queens of Golconda. The show-man lifted -out the dogs, cracked his whip, and instantly -all the actors exchanged the horizontal -position for the perpendicular, and -transformed themselves from quadrupeds -into bipeds. A fife and a tambourine -sounded, and the ballet began.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Zamore, who was strolling gravely past, -stopped short, astonished at the spectacle. -These gayly caparisoned dogs, with laced -seams and clinking ornaments, plumed -hats and turbans on their heads, and such -an odd resemblance to men and women, -seemed to him supernatural beings. Their -measured steps, their courtesies, their <i>pirouettes</i> -enchanted but did not discourage -him. Like Correggio before the pictures -of Raphael, he cried in the canine language, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>“<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Anch’io son pittore</span>,” “I also am -a painter,” and, seized with noble emulation -as the troop defiled before him in -a ladies’ chain, he raised himself on his -hind legs which visibly shook, and, to the -vociferous delight of the bystanders, made -a movement to join them. But the show-man -was not so much charmed as the bystanders. -He gave Zamore a sharp cut -of his whip and drove him from the circle, -just as one might expel from the door of -a theatre a spectator who, during the progress -of the play, took it into his head -to climb on to the stage and join in the -ballet.</p> - -<p class='c011'>This public humiliation, however, did -not deter Zamore from following his vocation. -He ran back to the house with his -tail between his legs and an air of deep -thought. All that day he was more silent, -pre-occupied and morose than usual. That -night our two little sisters were roused -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>from their sleep by a low, mysterious noise -which seemed to come from an unoccupied -chamber next to their own, where Zamore -was in the habit of passing the night on -an old arm-chair. The sound was a sort -of rhythmic stamping, which in the quiet -of the night sounded louder than it really -was. At first the children thought that -it must be the mice giving a ball, but the -steps and the jumps were too loud and -heavy for mice. At last the bravest of -the two crept out of bed, half opened the -door, and peeped in. What did she see -by the light of a struggling moonbeam -but Zamore, erect on his hind legs, beating -time with his fore-paws, and practising -as in a dancing class the steps which he -had so much admired that morning in -the street. Monsieur was studying his -lesson!</p> -<div class='figcenter id008'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span> -<img src='images/ill08.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>MONSIEUR WAS STUDYING HIS LESSON.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>This was not, as might be supposed, a -random fancy, pursued for one night only. -Zamore persisted in his Terpsichorean -aspirations, and in time became an admirable -dancer. Every day, as soon as the -fife and the tambourine began to sound, -he ran to the square, glided between the -legs of the spectators, and with the deepest -attention watched the trained dogs going -through with their exercises. Mindful, -however, of that cut of the whip, he -never again tried to join in the dance, -but, noting carefully each step, each movement, -each graceful attitude, rehearsed it -at night in the privacy of his own room,—while -by day he maintained his usual austerity -of demeanor. After a time, to imitate -no longer sufficed him; he began to -invent, to compose new steps, and we are -bound to say that few dogs have ever surpassed -him in this noble accomplishment.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We ourselves, concealed behind the half-open -door, have often watched him at his -practice. He put so much energy and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>fire into his exercise that, morning after -morning, the huge bowl of water set for -his refreshment in the corner of the room -the night before would be found drained -of every drop.</p> - -<p class='c011'>At length the day came when, all his -difficulties conquered, he felt himself the -equal of any four-legged dancer in creation, -and now it seemed only proper to -remove the bushel which had hitherto -obscured his candle, and give the world -the benefit of his talents.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id006'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span> -<img src='images/ill09.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>WHEN PAYING LITTLE ATTENTIONS TO HIS LADY-LOVES HE STOOD ALWAYS ON HIS HIND LEGS.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>The courtyard of the house was closed -on one side by a grating which had openings -wide enough to allow of the passage -of dogs of an ordinary size. One morning -fifteen or twenty such friends of Zamore’s—connoisseurs, -without doubt, to whom -he had sent cards of invitation for his debut -in the choregraphic art—were noticed -assembling round a level square of earth -(which the artist seemed to have swept -clean with his tail), and the performances -commenced. The audience was enthusiastic, -and manifested its approbation with -bow-wows which sounded extremely like -the “Bravos!” of opera-goers. With the -exception of one old water-spaniel of a -muddy and degraded appearance, who -seemed an adverse critic, and yelped out -something about “sound traditions ignored -and forgotten,” all united in pronouncing -Zamore the Vestris of dogs and the true -genius of the dance. A minuet, a jig, -and a waltz <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">à deux temps</span></i> were included -in the programme. Quite a number of -two-legged spectators joined the four-legged -ones before the entertainment was -concluded, and Zamore had the honor -and satisfaction of being applauded by -the clapping of human hands.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After this his habits became so entirely -those of the dancer that, when paying -casual attentions to his lady-loves, he stood -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>always on his hind legs, making courteous -little bows and turning out his toes like -a gallant marquis of the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">ancien régime</span></i>; -nothing was lacking but the plumed opera-hat -under the arm.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Except for these occasional interludes -Zamore’s character was as splenetic as -that of other comic actors, and he took -no share whatever in the ordinary life of -the house. He never stirred except when -he saw his master take his hat and cane, -and he died finally of brain fever, caused, as -we supposed, by the over-exertion and excitement -of learning the <i>Schottische</i>, which -just then came into fashion. From his grave -Zamore might say, like the Greek dancer -in the epitaph, “Lie on me lightly, earth, -for I have very lightly weighed on thee.”</p> - -<p class='c011'>Some may ask why, with such remarkable -talents, Zamore was not engaged as -one of the troupe of M. Corvi. Even -then we had sufficient influence as a critic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>to negotiate such an arrangement had it -been desirable. But Zamore would not -leave his master; he sacrificed his self-love -to his love,—a devotion which one cannot -hope very often to find among men.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Our dancer was replaced by a singer -named Kobold,—a King Charles spaniel -of the purest breed, brought from the famous -kennels of Lord Lauder. Nothing -earthly was ever so like a chimera as this -droll little creature, with his enormous, -bulging forehead, his prominent eyes, his -nose which seemed broken off at the base, -and his long ears which swept the ground. -Carried over to France, Kobold, who spoke -only English, seemed at first to be half-stupefied. -The orders given were perfectly -unintelligible to him. Trained to -obey “Go on,” “Come here,” he stood -motionless and perplexed at the sound of -“Va” and “Va-t’en.”</p> - -<p class='c011'>It took him a year to learn the language -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>of his new country well enough to be able -to join in conversation. Kobold was very -sensitive to music, and sang several little -songs himself, though with a strong English -accent. The key-note was given him -on the piano, he caught the exact tone, -and in a flute-like and sighing voice warbled -passages which were really musical, -and bore no relation whatever to barkings -or yelpings.</p> - -<p class='c011'>When we wanted him to begin again it -was only necessary to say, “Sing a little -more,” and he at once recommenced the -cadence. For a creature brought up in -the most delicate luxury, and with all the -care which one would naturally give to a -tenor and a gentleman of distinction, Kobold -had the most singular tastes. He -devoured earth like a Digger Indian; and -this habit, of which he could not be cured, -brought on a disease of which he died. -He had a strong turn for grooms, horses, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>and stables in general, and our ponies had -no comrade more devoted than he. In -fact, he may be said to have divided his -time between the box-stalls and the piano.</p> - -<p class='c011'>From Kobold, the King Charles, we pass -to Myrza, a small Cuban lap-dog, who at -one time had the honor to belong to Giula -Grisi, from whom we received her as a -present. She is white as snow, especially -when freshly washed, and before she has -had time to roll in the dust,—a mania -which some dogs share with a certain kind -of dusty-winged birds. She is the gentlest -of animals, very demonstrative, and guileless -as a dove. Nothing can be droller -than her shaggy head, her face composed -of two eyes as glittering as furniture nails, -and a little nose which might easily be -mistaken for a Piedmont truffle. Long -locks of hair, as curly as Astrakan wool, -fly about this nose in picturesque confusion, -sometimes getting into one eye, sometimes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>into the other,—the whole making -up the most whimsical countenance imaginable, -as odd and as unreal as the face -of a chameleon.</p> - -<p class='c011'>In Myrza’s case nature has imitated art -with such perfection that any one would -be ready to swear that she came straight -from the show-case of a toy-shop. With -her blue collar, silver bell, and her hair of -the regulation frizz, she looks exactly like -a pasteboard dog; and when she barks, -one instinctively examines her feet to see -if there is not a tiny squeaking-machine -fastened under the paws.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Myrza, who spends three quarters of the -day in sleep, so that life would seem pretty -much the same to her if she were in reality -stuffed, and who under ordinary circumstances -is anything but bright, nevertheless -gave one day a proof of intelligence -such as we have never known in any other -dog. Bonnegrace, who painted those portraits -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>of Tchoumakoff and of M. E. H.,—which -were so much talked about when -exhibited, had brought a portrait for us -to look at, painted after the style of Pagnest, -which is so full of vivid color and -lifelike light and shadow. Although we -have always lived in such intimate relations -with animals, and could cite hundreds -of instances in which cats, dogs, and -birds have proved themselves wise, philosophical, -and ingenious, we are forced to -admit that the taste for art is totally lacking -among them. We have never seen an -animal who took the slightest notice of a -picture, and the story of the birds who -pecked at the grapes painted by Apelles -has always appeared to us a pure invention. -The one essential distinction between -man and beast seems to be just this -sense of art and feeling for decoration. -A dog would be as likely to put on earrings, -as to waste time over pictures.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>Well, Myrza, catching sight of Bonnegrace’s -portrait set up against the wall, -jumped from the stool where she was lying -rolled up like a ball, rushed to the -canvas, and began to bark furiously, trying -to bite the intrusive stranger who -had entered the room. Her surprise was -extreme when she recognized the fact -that she had a flat surface to deal with, -on which her teeth made no impression, -and which was only a deceitful show. -She smelt the picture, tried in vain to get -behind the frame, looked at us both with -a questioning expression in her eyes, and -then went back to the stool and resumed -her nap, taking no further trouble about -the gentleman in oil-colors. Her own -countenance, meanwhile, will not be lost -to posterity, for a beautiful portrait of her -is in existence, painted by M. Victor Madarasz, -an Hungarian artist.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We will conclude our chapter on dogs -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>with the history of Dash. One day a rag-and-bottle -man stopped at our door in -search of scraps of broken glass and old -bottles. In his cart was a puppy some -three or four months old, which he had -been told to drown,—an order which troubled -the honest fellow, at whom the puppy -was casting tender and supplicating looks, -as if he understood the situation of affairs. -The reason of the severe sentence passed -on the poor brute was that one of his fore-paws -was broken.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Pity stirred in our heart, and we adopted -the condemned victim on the spot. A -veterinary surgeon was sent for, who set -the leg and put it in splints; but Dash -persisted in gnawing off the bandages, so -that the bones did not unite, and the paw -remained dangling uselessly, like the sleeve -of a man who has lost his arm. This infirmity, -however, did not hinder Dash from -being one of the gayest, liveliest, and most -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>alert of dogs; and he ran on three legs -quite as fast as was desirable.</p> - -<p class='c011'>He was the commonest of street dogs, -a veritable mongrel, on whose breed Buffon -himself would have been embarrassed to decide. -He was ugliness personified, but possessed -an expressive face, which sparkled -with intelligence. Everything that was -said to him he understood,—his expression -changing according as the words, -spoken in the same tone of voice, were flattering -or abusive. He rolled his eyes, -turned up his chops, abandoned himself to -unrestrained, nervous wriggles, or laughed, -showing a row of white teeth; and, in short, -produced the most comical effect, of which -he was quite conscious. Very often he -tried to speak. With paws placed upon -our knee, he would eye us with an intense -look, and begin a series of murmurs, sighs, -and growls, so varied in intonation that it -was easy to see that they were parts of a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>regular language. Now and then, in the -midst of this conversation, Dash would interject -a sudden and noisy yelp. Then -we would look severely at him, and say: -“That is barking, not talking. Can it be -that after all you are only an animal?” -Whereupon Dash, much humiliated by the -insinuation, would recommence his vocalization, -throwing into it a still more pathetic -expression. No one could doubt -that at these times he was giving an account -of his misfortunes.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Dash adored sugar. He always came -in with the coffee after dessert, and went -round the table begging a lump of sugar -from each person with an urgency which -seldom failed of success. In the end he -grew to consider these benevolent gifts in -the light of a regular tax, which he rigorously -exacted. This cur, in the body of a -Thersites, carried the soul of an Achilles. -Disabled as he was, he constantly attacked, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>with the frenzy of an heroic courage, dogs -ten times as big as himself, and was -frightfully beaten. Like Don Quixote, the -brave knight of La Mancha, he set out in -triumph, and came back in most piteous -plight. Alas, he fell a victim to this mistaken -courage. He was brought home, a -few months since, torn to pieces by an -amiable brute of a Newfoundland, who the -very next day broke the backbone of a -greyhound.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The death of Dash was followed by all -sorts of catastrophes. The mistress of the -house in which he had received his deathblow -was burned to death in her bed a -few days after; and her husband, in trying -to save her, met with the same fate. It -was not an expiation, it was only a fatal -coincidence,—for they were the best people -in the world, loving animals like Brahmins, -and not in the least to blame for the -sad fate of our poor Dash.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>We have now another dog, who is called -Nero, but he is too recent an acquisition -to have a history.</p> - -<p class='c011'>In the next chapter we propose to give -a chronicle of the different chameleons, -lizards, magpies, and other small creatures -who have made part of our household of -pets.</p> - -<p class='c014'>N. B. Alas, Nero is dead! He was -poisoned a day or two since as thoroughly -as if he had supped with the Borgias, -and the first chapter of his life begins -and ends with an epitaph.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <span class='large'>CHAMELEONS, LIZARDS, AND MAGPIES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c010'>Once upon a time we happened to be -at the port of Santa-Maria in the -Bay of Cadiz, a little village which seems -cut out of the white loaf of Spain, between -the indigo of the sea and the lapis-lazuli -of the sky. It was noon, and on that particular -day such a warm noon that the -sun appeared to be amusing himself by -dropping spoonfuls of melted lead on the -heads of travellers, as the garrison of a beleaguered -fortress, by some well-planned -artifice, pours boiling oil or pitch on the -heads of its assailants. This picturesque -little port is made famous by the celebrated -song in the Andalusian <i>patois</i> of -Murillo-Bravo, “The Bulls of Puerto,” in -which the gallant boatman says to the lady -about to embark, “<span lang="es" xml:lang="es">Lleve V. la patita</span>.” -We hummed the refrain in a voice which -sings no less falsely in Spanish than in -French, following with our eyes, as we -sang, the line, straight as the selvage of -a piece of linen, which was cast by the -shadow at the foot of the wall.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id006'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span> -<img src='images/ill10.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE CHAMELEON.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>It was a market day, and foreign commodities -of all sorts were exposed for sale -on the square, which were of colors gorgeous -enough to enchant Ziem himself. -Garlands of fiery-red peppers swung above -deep-green melons, some of which had -been cut in halves to show the rose-colored -pulp within, dotted with black spots -like a shell from the South Seas. Heavy -clusters of clear, yellow grapes, like amber -beads, reminding one by their fair -transparency of Turkish rosaries, hung by -the side of bunches of a bluish color, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>others which were of an amethystine hue -shading into deeper purple. Chickpeas -in weedy mats rounded their globes of -paly gold; pomegranates, bursting their -rinds, showed caskets of rubies within. -The fruit-sellers, with their scarlet and yellow -capes, their black silk petticoats, bare -feet thrust into satin slippers,—and what -feet, hardly bigger than a Savoy biscuit!—their -paper fans held against the cheek -to take the place of a parasol, sat proudly -beside their vegetables chattering with that -Andalusian volubility which is so full of -grace. Here and there some passing gallant, -balancing himself on the point of his -white cane, his jacket swinging from his -shoulders, a broad sash from Gibraltar encircling -his waist from armpit to hips, his -elastic breeches open at the knee, and -leathern boots from Ronda unbuttoned all -the way up the leg, in what seems to be -the height of the style, lingered a moment -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>to cast a seductive glance while rolling -between thumb and forefinger his cigarette -of alcoy paper. It was one of those -blinding effects of southern light and color -which would be called an exaggeration of -nature if any artist should attempt to -reproduce in full its crude and dazzling -truth.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We sought a refuge from the fiery sun -shower in the patio of The Three Moorish -Kings. A <i>patio</i>, as all the world knows, -is an inside court surrounded by arcades, -whose arrangement reminds one of the -ancient <i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">impluvium</span></i>. In place of a roof it -is shaded by a linen awning striped with -gay colors, called in Spanish a <i><span lang="es" xml:lang="es">velarium</span></i>, -which is kept constantly wet, in order to -secure greater coolness. In the middle of -this patio a slender thread of water rose -and fell from a marble basin, throwing a -fine spray over boxes of myrtles, pomegranates -and oleanders, which were grouped -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>about it. Sofas covered with horse-hair, -and cane-seated chairs, were scattered -about under the arcades. Guitars, suspended -on the walls, cast brilliant reflections -out of the shadow, as the light glinted -on their varnished surfaces, and beside -them hung the brown disks of tambourines.</p> - -<p class='c011'>These patios are common in the Moorish -houses of Algeria, and no better contrivance -to secure coolness can be imagined. -They are a device of the Arabs -adopted by the Spaniards. Upon the capitals -of the smaller columns, in many dwellings, -can still be read verses from the -Koran glorifying Allah, or laudations of -some caliph long ago driven back into the -heart of Africa and forgotten.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After draining an unglazed jug of cold -water we retired to one of the rooms opening -on the patio for a siesta. Our drowsy -eyes wandered to the ceiling of the low -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>chamber, which, like all Spanish ceilings, -was whitewashed, and ornamented in the -middle by a rosette picked out into yellow, -black, and red sections like the sides of -a ball. From this rosette hung a cord -meant, without doubt, to hold a lamp; -and along this cord a mysterious object -was moving upward. We fitted our eyeglass -into its place under the arch of our -eyebrow, and at last made out that the -thing, which with so much pains was -climbing on the cord toward the ceiling, -was a kind of lizard, of a grayish yellow, -and a shape which had about it something -monstrous, recalling in miniature those -vast Saurians which disappeared from -earth at the close of the antediluvian -epoch.</p> - -<p class='c011'>The maid of the inn was summoned,—Pepa, -Lola, or Casilda, we cannot recall -the exact name, but are ready to swear -that she was an excellent person,—and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>she explained that the creature on the cord -was a chameleon.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Lola,—if Lola it was,—taking pity -on our ignorance, and perhaps not sorry -to exhibit her own zoölogical knowledge, -said to us in an instructive way, “These -animals change their color, you know, according -to the place where they happen -to be, and they live on air.”</p> - -<p class='c011'>During our brief conversation the chameleons -(for there were two) continued -their ascension of the cord. Nothing -more absurd than their appearance could -be imagined. It must be admitted that -the chameleon is not beautiful, and, although -people say that Nature does everything -well, it strikes us that by taking a -very little more trouble she might easily -have made a prettier animal than he. But, -like all great artists, Nature has her caprices, -and she occasionally amuses herself -by modelling grotesque shapes. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>eyes of the chameleon, which are almost -completely detached from the head, are -fitted into external membranous sacs, and -have complete independence of movement. -They can look to the right with one and -to the left with the other, cast one up to -the skies and the other down to the floor, -producing thereby a variety of squints -which have the most extraordinary effect. -A swollen pouch under the jaw, not unlike -a goitre, gives the poor animal an air -of haughty complacency and stupid conceit, -of which he is as unconscious as he -is innocent. His awkwardly formed paws -make a projecting angle above the line of -his back, and his movements are alike ungraceful -and meaningless.</p> - -<p class='c011'>One of the chameleons had now reached -the top of the string and the centre of the -rosette. Putting out a pitiful little paw, he -tried the ceiling to see if it were possible -to cling to it, and in that way to effect an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>escape. In making this experiment, for -the hundredth time perhaps, he squinted -with his eyes in the most desperate and -touching way, as if invoking aid from -heaven and earth; then, seeing no hope -of egress on that side, he slowly began -to descend the cord again, with a sad, -resigned, and piteous look,—emblem of -useless labor, a Sisyphus of wasted energies. -Half-way down the two creatures -met, exchanged glances meant to be -friendly, perhaps, but horrible from their -squints, and for a moment or two formed -a group which was like a hideous bunch -on the perpendicular line of the string.</p> - -<p class='c011'>After a few ludicrous contortions the -group disentangled, each chameleon continuing -its journey, the one which was coming -down reaching the end of the cord, -stretching out a hind leg, sounding the -air cautiously and finding no place of support, -drawing it in again with a discouraged -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>movement whose heart-breaking and -absurd melancholy baffles all description. -By one of those associations of ideas which -cannot be accounted for, but which the -mind conceives without understanding -why, the chameleons reminded me of one -of Goya’s gloomiest etchings, in which are -represented spectres, who, with feeble and -shadowy arms, are trying to lift heavy -stones which roll back upon and crush -them,—an unequal conflict of weakness -with destiny.</p> - -<p class='c011'>In order to deliver these poor animals -from their sufferings we bought for them -a rough sort of cage. It was of good size, -and, once installed therein, they were able -to dispense with those acrobatic exercises -which seemed to make them so miserable. -As to the question of food, with all respect -for Southern frugality, this living on -air by its very name seems insufficient. -A Spanish lover may, perhaps, be able to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>breakfast on a glass of water, dine on a -cigarette, and sup on a tune from his mandolin; -but the tastes of chameleons are -less refined, and they crave and devour -flies, which they catch, in the oddest manner, -by darting out from the throat a sort -of long lance covered with a viscous slime, -which adheres to the wings of the insect, -and, when drawn in again, carries him -bodily along with it into the gullet.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Do chameleons change their color according -to the place where they happen -to be? In the literal sense of the words -they do not, but their skins, broken by little -facet-shaped roughnesses, absorb the hues -of surrounding objects more easily than -other bodies do. Placed near a red thing, -or a yellow or a green one, the chameleon -seems to steep itself in that color, but, -after all, it is but an effect of refraction. -A plate of polished metal will be colored -in the same way; there is no real power -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>of absorption. In its ordinary state the -chameleon is of a gray-green or a yellowish -gray. However, those who have a -taste for marvels may, if they like, assert -that the chameleon changes its color at -will, and is thus the proper emblem of -political versatility; but we must be permitted -to say in our turn that after the -minutest observations, continued for a long -time, we are convinced that chameleons -are entirely indifferent to affairs of state -and everything connected with them.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We were anxious to carry our chameleons -home with us, but the autumn was -near at hand, and, though the sun still had -a great deal of heat as we followed the -coast northward from Tarifa to Port Vendres, -passing by Gibraltar, Malaga, Alicante, -Almeria, Valencia, and Barcelona, -the poor beasts faded away before our very -sight. As they wasted, their eyes seemed -to project from their heads, and day by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>day to increase in prominence. Their -squint increased; under their loose and -flabby skins their tiny skeletons grew more -and more distinct with every mile. It was -a piteous sight,—these consumptive lizards -feebly going through the death dance, -and too weak even to thrust their sticky -tongues out for the flies which we collected -for them in the galley of the -steamer. They died within a few days -of each other, and the blue Mediterranean -was their grave.</p> - -<p class='c011'>From chameleons to lizards the transition -is easy. Our youngest daughter once -received the present of a lizard which had -been caught at Fontainebleau, and which -became very fond of her. Jacques’ color -was the most beautiful Veronese green -that can be imagined. His eyes were very -bright, his scales overlapped each other -with the most perfect regularity, and his -movements were extraordinarily swift. He -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>never left his little mistress, and usually -lay hidden in a loop of her hair near the -comb. Nestled there, he accompanied her -to the play, to walk, to evening parties, -without once betraying his presence; only, -when the young girl was playing on the -piano, he would desert his retreat, descend -her shoulder and creep out to the end of -the arm, always preferring the right hand, -which plays the air, to the left, which -makes the accompaniment,—thus testifying -to his preference for melody over harmony.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Jacques’ house was a glass box lined -with moss, which had once contained Russian -cigars from the Eliseïeph manufactory. -His private life may therefore be -justly said to have lain open to the public. -His food consisted of drops of milk, which -he preferred to take from the end of his -mistress’s finger. He died of grief and -hunger during her absence on a journey, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>to which she had not dared to expose him -on account of the severity of the weather.</p> - -<p class='c011'>There is nothing to be told of Balylas, -the sparrow, but that he died. One blow -under his wing, from a claw, finished his -career, and he was buried in a domino-box.</p> - -<p class='c011'>It now only remains for us to describe -Margot, the magpie,—a most intelligent -and chatty gossip, worthy to live in an -osier cage in the window of a concierge -and be fed with white cheese. We wasted -much time in trying to teach her the dead -languages. She never could be taught to -pronounce correctly the Latin for “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bonjour</span>,” -as did the Pompeiian magpies. She -could not say “Ave,” but she said a great -many other things. She was a most comical -and entertaining bird, who would play -at hide-and-go-seek with the children, dance -the Pyrrhic dance, and fearlessly attack any -number of cats, absolutely running after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>them and nipping the ends of their tails; -which malicious act she always supplemented -with a loud burst of laughter. She -was as thievish as the “Gazza Ladra” herself, -and equal to getting ten servants hung -on false accusations. In the twinkling of -an eye she would rifle every knife, fork, -and spoon from the table. Money, scissors, -thimbles, anything that glittered, she -would seize upon and swiftly fly away with -to her hiding place. As the corner where -she deposited her stolen goods was well -known to us all, we allowed her to do this; -but the servants of a neighboring family -were less indulgent, and they killed her -one day because, as they stated, she had -stolen a pair of new sheets,—an accusation -which made us think of that minute -cat in “How to succeed,” which devoured -four pounds of butter and only weighed -three quarters of a pound after it! The -master and mistress of the house scouted -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>the idea, and turned the fools of servants -off at once; but this reprisal did not mend -the matter, Dame Margot’s neck was none -the less wrung. She was lamented by -all the neighborhood, which had been -kept in a state of constant diversion by -her good humor and her pranks.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <span class='large'>HORSES.</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c010'>Do not be in a hurry to accuse us of -coxcombry on seeing the heading of -this chapter. Horses!—a glorious word -indeed for the pen of a literary man. -<i>Musa pedestris</i> (the muse goes on foot), -says Horace, and all Parnassus together -had but a single horse in its stable,—the -well known Pegasus; and he, if we may -believe Schiller’s ballad, was a beast with -wings, and not at all easy to harness. We -are no sportsman, alas, and we deeply regret -the fact, for we are as fond of horses -as though we had an income of five hundred -thousand francs a year, and entirely -agree with the Arabs in their contempt for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>people who are forced to walk. A horse -is the natural pedestal for a man, and the -perfect existence is that of the Centaur,—that -ingenious mythological invention.</p> - -<p class='c011'>However, notwithstanding that we are a -simple man of letters, we once had horses. -About the year 1843 or 1844, when engaged -in sifting the sands of journalism -through the sieve of the daily newspapers, -enough golden particles appeared, to allow -of the hope that, in addition to dogs, cats, -and magpies, we might be able to find -food for a couple of pets of larger size. -At first it was a pair of Shetland ponies, -about the size of a large dog, and shaggy -as bears, who looked at us through their -long, black manes with such friendly faces -that we felt much more inclined to take -them with us into the parlor than to send -them to their stable. They helped themselves -to sugar out of our pockets, just -like trained horses. For use, however, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>they were entirely too small. They would -have answered very well to carry an English -child eight years old, or as coach -horses to Tom Thumb; but, even at that -date, we were blessed with the same athletic -frame as now, and crowned with the -same plenteous flesh which still characterizes -us, and which we have been enabled -to support, without giving way under its -weight, for forty consecutive years. The -difference in size between master and -beasts was quite too apparent to the eye, -though it must be said for the ponies that -they made no difficulty at all about drawing -their light phaeton, to which they were -fastened by a tiny harness of pale fawn-colored -leather, which looked as though it -might have been purchased at a toy-shop.</p> - -<p class='c011'>At that time illustrated comic journals -were not so plentiful as to-day, but there -were plenty in existence to caricature us -and our equipage. Of course, with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>exaggeration permissible in such cases, we -were invested with elephantine proportions, -like those of Ganesa, the Indian -god of wisdom, while the ponies dwindled -to the size of puppies,—or, even less, to -that of rats and mice. It is true that, without -great difficulty, we might have carried -the little creatures, one under each arm, -and the phaeton to boot upon our back. -For a moment we debated the possibility -of harnessing four, but this Liliputian four-in-hand -would have been still more conspicuous. -With great regret therefore (for -we had already grown fond of the gentle -creatures) we exchanged them for a pair -of dappled-gray ponies of a larger size, -with strong necks, wide chests, and massive -shoulders, which, though far enough -from being Mecklenburgers, at least -looked capable of drawing grown people -about. They were mares,—one named -Jane and the other Betsey.</p> - -<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>In appearance they were as much alike -as two drops of water. Never was a better -match so far as looks went; but in proportion -as Jane was mettlesome, Betsey was -indolent. While the former pulled at the -collar, the other trotted by her side contentedly, -shirking work, and giving herself -no sort of trouble. These two animals, of -the same breed, the same age, fated to live -in stalls side by side, felt for each other -the strongest antipathy. They could not -endure each other, fought in the stable, -and snapped and bit when prancing in the -traces. Nothing could reconcile them. It -was a pity too, for with their brush-like -manes cut like those of the horses of the -Parthenon, their snorting nostrils and eyes -dilated with fury, they presented rather a -triumphant appearance when going up and -down the Champs Elysées.</p> - -<p class='c011'>We were obliged to look for a substitute -for Betsey, and found one in a small -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>mare with skin of a somewhat lighter color,—for -the shade we wanted could not be -exactly matched. Jane approved at once -of this new-comer, with whom she seemed -charmed, and did the honors of the stable -in the most graceful way. The tenderest -friendship was soon established between -them; Jane would rest her head on the -shoulder of Blanche,—thus named because -her shade of gray bordered on white,—and -when let loose in the courtyard for -an airing, they would play together like -dogs or children. If one was driven out -in single harness, the other, left behind, -seemed sad, gave signs of feeling lonely, -and, when far away she heard the hoofs -of her comrade sounding on the pavement, -she raised a joyful neighing like the blast -of a trumpet, to which her approaching -friend never failed to respond.</p> - -<p class='c011'>They came to be harnessed with remarkable -docility, and would go of their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>own accord to their proper places on either -side of the pole. Like all animals who -are loved and kindly treated, Jane and -Blanche soon acquired the most perfect -confidence and familiarity. They would -follow us about on their hind legs like -dogs, and when we stood still, put their -heads on our shoulders to be petted. -Jane loved bread, Blanche sugar. Both -of them adored watermelon rind, and -there was nothing that they would not -do to obtain these dainties.</p> - -<p class='c011'>If only men were not so odiously ferocious -and brutal as they too often are, -how happily and good-naturedly animals -would play about them! This being, -who can think, can speak, can do so many -things which they cannot understand, fills -their dimly understood thoughts, and is -for them a perpetual astonishment and -mystery. How frequently animals look at -us with eyes which are full of questionings—questionings -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>to which we cannot -reply, as we have not the key to their -language! They have a language, nevertheless, -by which, through sounds and intonations -which we scarcely notice, they -exchange ideas,—confused, perhaps, but -still ideas, such as creatures of their sphere -of sentiment and action can understand. -Less stupid in this one instance than ourselves, -they succeed in learning a few -words of our idiom, but not enough to -enable them to talk with us. These words -are mostly answers to our demands upon -them, so our intercourse is naturally brief. -But that animals talk with each other no -one can doubt who has ever lived familiarly -with dogs, cats, horses, or any other sort -of beasts.</p> - -<p class='c011'>As an example of this, Jane, who by -nature was perfectly fearless, shying at -no obstacle whatever, and afraid of nothing, -changed her character after living -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>for a few months in the same stable with -Blanche, and began to exhibit sudden and -unaccountable fears. Her more timid -companion had, without doubt, told her -ghost stories at night. At times, when -dashing along in the dusk through the -Bois de Boulogne, Blanche would stop -short and shy sharply to one side as if to -avoid some phantom, which, invisible to -us, had appeared to her. Trembling all -over, with loud breathings, and body covered -with sweat, she would rear straight -on end if we tried to make her go on by -touching her with the whip. Jane could -not force her to follow, however hard she -might try. In these cases there was nothing -to be done but to get out, cover -Blanche’s eyes and lead her along for -a few paces till the vision took flight. -Jane ended with allowing herself to be -conquered by these terrors, which Blanche, -when safely back in her stable, doubtless -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>explained to her in full. We must -frankly own that when, in the middle -of a dusky lane checkered by moonlight -into fantastic lights and shadows, Blanche, -usually so docile,—Blanche, who, to excite -her into a gallop, needed nothing -heavier than that whip of Queen Mab’s -which was made of cricket’s bone with gossamer -lash,—planted herself suddenly on -her four feet as though some spectre had -seized her bridle, and with unconquerable -obstinacy refused to move a step forward, -we could not prevent a cold chill from -running down our spine. Searching the -shadow with unquiet glances, we almost -imagined that we could detect therein -the ghastly countenance of one of Goya’s -“Caprices,” where in reality were only innocent -silhouettes of leafy birch-trees or -beeches.</p> - -<p class='c011'>It was one of our great pleasures to -drive these charming animals ourselves, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>and an intimate understanding was soon -established between us. If we held the -reins in our hands, it was mainly for -the look of the thing. The least click of -the tongue sufficed to guide them to right -or to left, to make them go slower or bring -them to a stop. In a very short time they -learned all our habits. They went of their -own accord to the newspaper office, to the -printers, to the editors, to the Bois de Boulogne, -to the houses where we dined on -particular days of the week, all with such -exactitude that at last it became absolutely -compromising. By consulting Jane -or Blanche any one could have procured -the address of our most mysterious visiting-places. -If, while pursuing some interesting -or tender conversation, we forgot -the flight of time, they would recall it to -our minds by neighing, and stamping with -their hoofs under the balcony.</p> - -<p class='c011'>Notwithstanding the pleasantness of going -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>about the city in a phaeton with our -little friends to pull it, we could not help -sometimes finding the wind sharp and the -rain cold, when those months came in so -fitly christened in the Republican calendar -as “Brumaire, Frimaire, Pluviôse, Ventôse, -and Nivôse.” We therefore purchased a -blue coupé lined with white reps, so small -that people compared it to one belonging -to the most famous dwarf of the day, an -insult about which we were troubled very -little. A brown coupé lined with garnet -succeeded the blue, and was replaced at a -later date with one of the color of a crow’s -eye upholstered with deep blue; for we -luxuriated in carriages, in spite of being -nothing but a poor scribbler, with no income -stated in the big book, and no legacies -left us for years back; and our ponies, -though nourished on literature, so to -speak, with nouns for hay, adjectives in -place of oats, and adverbs instead of straw, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>were none the less fat and glossy because -of that. Alas, just then came, no one -knew exactly why, the Revolution of February. -Paving-stones were being dug up -on all sides to serve patriotic ends, and -the streets were no longer accessible for -wheeled vehicles. We might easily have -scaled the barricades with our agile ponies -and their light equipage, but unluckily we -had no credit left anywhere but at the -cook-shop. Horses cannot be fed on roast -chicken. The horizon was lowering with -heavy black clouds, across which red lightnings -flashed. Money took alarm, and -made haste to conceal itself. The newspaper -for which we wrote suspended publication, -and we thought ourselves fortunate -when a purchaser turned up and took -horses, harnesses, and carriages off our -hands at a quarter of their value. It was -a bitter grief to us to have them go, and -we will not swear that a salt tear or two -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>may not have dropped on the manes of -Jane and Blanche as they were led away.</p> - -<p class='c011'>They are driven past their old home occasionally -by their new owner; and always -the light feet make an instant’s pause under -the windows, to testify that they have -not forgotten the dwelling where they were -once so cared for and so tenderly loved. -Then we breathe a bitter and sympathetic -sigh, and say in the depths of our heart, -“Poor Jane! Poor Blanche! Are they -happy?”</p> - -<p class='c011'>In the overwhelming of our tiny fortunes -theirs is the only loss which caused -us a real regret.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='small'>University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span></div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c003'> - <li>Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY HOUSEHOLD OF PETS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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