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The Companionable Cat<br />
THE CAT<br />
My <strong>cat</strong> in winter time usually sleeps upon my<br />
dog, who submits in patience; and I have often<br />
found her on horseback in <strong>the</strong> stable, not from any<br />
taste for equestrianism, but simply because a horse-<br />
cloth is a perpetual warmer when <strong>the</strong>re is a living<br />
horse beneath it. She loves <strong>the</strong> dog and horse with<br />
<strong>the</strong> tender regard we have for foot-warmers and<br />
railway rugs during a journey in <strong>the</strong> depth of win-<br />
ter ; nor have I ever been able to detect in her any<br />
worthier sentiment towards her master. Yet of all<br />
animals that we can have in a room with us, <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>cat</strong> is <strong>the</strong> least disquieting. Her presence is sooth-<br />
ing to a student, as <strong>the</strong> presence of a quiet nurse<br />
is soothing to an invalid. It is agreeable to feel<br />
that you are not absolutely alone, and it seems to<br />
you, when you are at work, as if <strong>the</strong> <strong>cat</strong> took care<br />
that all her movements should be noiseless, purely<br />
out of consideration for your comfort. Then, if<br />
you have time to caress her, you know that she<br />
will purr a response, and why inquire too closely<br />
into <strong>the</strong> sincerity of her affection?<br />
Philip Gilbert Hamerton.<br />
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