Nothing magnanimous has been recorded in feline history;
whereas the biography of dogs is full of heroism, self-sacrifice and
philanthropy. We must seek further then than the heroic virtues to
account for the privileges allowed to cats in the economy of home.
Their fur is sometimes very glossy and beautiful and this pleases the
PETS IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 341
eye. Their purr is suggestive of repose beside a cosy fire and of
the singing of the tea-kettle and of that social meal. The more
reserved and quiet manners of the cat as compared with the dog^
have operated in her favor with the female mind. The cat has more
of Jacob's, the supplanter's, nature ; the dog more of Esau's good-
hearted impulsiveness. Hence she often gets his birthright by
stratagem as well as her own, and the juicy bone which by divine
right is Tray's is given to Tabitha, The dog is like Tom Jones,
alv/ays getting into scrapes; the cat is like Joseph Blifil, a purring
hypocrite.
This characterization, however, is general. There are dogs who
are as deficient in honesty as cats, and there may be here and there
a cat of almost canine fidelity. We should not judge others severely
because they belong to a different race from ourselves. But the
exuberant affection with which the domestic cat is regarded in some
households has always astonished me. These remarks do not apply
to kittens, for, before, the development of cunning and hypocrisy in
the feline disposition, the happy alternations of play and sleep, the
innocent naivete of the kitten's movements, its evident enjoyment of
the mere fact of existence and the innocency of its sportive conduct,
are very endearing and commendable.
Parrots are sometimes made great pets of, although a natural diffi-
dence and aversion to having one's face or fingers bitten prevents
most of us from cultivating too close an acquaintance with them.
Their table-talk is amusing and occasionally instructive — sometimes,
perhaps, a little too personal. The small canary bird, whose bright
eye inspects the busy scene and whose solos are cheering in the
morning sunshine, is a safer pet, and less given to mischievous vocal-
ism than the parrot.
All pets, whatever their kinds and degrees of beauty, talent and
amiability, having been once adopted, have claims upon our protection
and good will which few arc mean and hard enough to repudiate.
The raven, the mouse, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, and even the tame
rat, when once admitted to intimacy, should never be forsaken so
, 342 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
long as they justify the confidence we have reposed in them. The
mutual affection existing between the wholesale keepers of such
domestic live-stock and their dependents is a sight worth seeing.
They know well the hand that feeds them from the hand reached out
in simulated kindness to annoy and teaze them. But it is not advis-
able for private families to keep a menagerie ; one or at most two pets
in the household are enough.
Page 223
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Nothing magnanimous has been recorded in feline history; whereas the biography of dogs is full of heroism, self-sacrifice and philanthropy. We must seek further then than the heroic virtues to account for the privileges allowed to cats in the economy of home. Their fur is sometimes very glossy and beautiful and this pleases the
eye. Their purr is suggestive of repose beside a cosy fire and of the singing of the tea-kettle and of that social meal. The more reserved and quiet manners of the cat as compared with the dog have operated in her favor with the female mind. The cat has more of Jacob's, the supplanter's, nature ; the dog more of Esau's goodhearted impulsiveness. Hence she often gets his birthright by stratagem as well as her own, and the juicy bone which by divine right is Tray's is given to Tabitha, The dog is like Tom Jones, always getting into scrapes; the cat is like Joseph Blifil, a purring hypocrite.
This characterization, however, is general. There are dogs who are as deficient in honesty as cats, and there may be here and there a cat of almost canine fidelity. We should not judge others severely because they belong to a different race from ourselves. But the exuberant affection with which the domestic cat is regarded in some households has always astonished me. These remarks do not apply to kittens, for, before, the development of cunning and hypocrisy in the feline disposition, the happy alternations of play and sleep, the innocent naivete of the kitten's movements, its evident enjoyment of the mere fact of existence and the innocency of its sportive conduct, are very endearing and commendable.
Parrots are sometimes made great pets of, although a natural diffidence and aversion to having one's face or fingers bitten prevents most of us from cultivating too close an acquaintance with them. Their table-talk is amusing and occasionally instructive — sometimes, perhaps, a little too personal. The small canary bird, whose bright eye inspects the busy scene and whose solos are cheering in the morning sunshine, is a safer pet, and less given to mischievous vocalism than the parrot.
All pets, whatever their kinds and degrees of beauty, talent and amiability, having been once adopted, have claims upon our protection and good will which few arc mean and hard enough to repudiate. The raven, the mouse, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, and even the tame rat, when once admitted to intimacy, should never be forsaken so
, 342 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
long as they justify the confidence we have reposed in them. The mutual affection existing between the wholesale keepers of such domestic live-stock and their dependents is a sight worth seeing. They know well the hand that feeds them from the hand reached out in simulated kindness to annoy and teaze them. But it is not advisable for private families to keep a menagerie ; one or at most two pets in the household are enough.