FIDELLE AT PRAYERS.
Mr. Lee was a religious man, accustomed to having morning and evening
devotions, at which all the family were present. Fidelle had for a long
time made it a point to be in the parlor on such occasions, and often
caused a smile by the eagerness with which she ran to join them on their
return from the table.
One morning, Mrs. Lee was quite ill, and unable to leave her chamber.
The family, however, assembled as usual for prayers, and Fidelle among
them. She seemed instantly to notice that the lady was not in her
accustomed place, and, after an earnest gaze into Minnie's face, started
off to call her.
Mrs. Lee was quite surprised to see the cat come walking quickly into
the room, up to the side of the sofa where she was lying. There she
stopped, and, gazing at her, cried, "Meow! meow!" Then she ran out to
the hall, and part way down the stairs. But finding the lady did not
follow, she returned again, and still more earnestly cried, "Meow!
meow!" trying to make her understand that, instead of lying there, she
ought to be below, attending prayers.
This she did three times; after which she concluded, perhaps, that she
had better not abstain from the service because the lady did so, and she
therefore quietly took her usual place near Mr. Lee.
It was invariably her custom to remain with her eyes tightly closed
while the gentleman read the Scriptures; then, when he closed the book,
and the family knelt for prayer, she arose, turned over, and sat down
again, which was the nearest approach she could make to imitating them.
In this position she remained quietly until the service was concluded,
when she at once began to caper and play as usual.
Minnie had sometimes been disposed to smile to see Fidelle sitting
upright, with her eyes tightly closed; and Ida acknowledged that the
first time she saw her looking so demure, as though she understood and
appreciated every word that was said, she had to bite her lips to keep
from laughing outright.
When Mrs. Lee told them what Fidelle had done, her husband was delighted
with this proof of her intelligence. He said her conduct while they were
engaged in devotion was an example to all of them, and wished Poll would
take a lesson of her.
With this incident occurring under their own notice, their interest in
the stories was increased, and after tea, Mr. Lee read among others the
following:--
"A little black spaniel had five puppies, which were considered too many
for her to bring up. As, however, they were a rare kind of dog, her
mistress was unwilling that any of them should be destroyed; and she
asked the cook whether she thought it would be possible to bring a
portion of them up by hand, before the kitchen fire. The cook answered
that the cat had several kittens, and she had no doubt, if they were
taken away, the puppies might be substituted.
"The cat made no objection, took to them kindly, and gradually all the
kittens were taken away, and she nursed the two puppies only.
"Now, the first curious fact was, that the two puppies were in a
fortnight as active, forward, and playful as kittens would have been.
They had the use of their legs, barked, and gamboled about, while the
other three nursed by the mother were whining and rolling about like fat
slugs.
"The cat gave them her tail to play with; and they were always in
motion. They soon ate meat, and long before the others, they were fit to
be removed. This was done; and the cat became inconsolable. She prowled
about the house, and on the second day of tribulation, fell in with the
little spaniel, who was nursing the other three puppies.
"'O,' said puss, putting up her back, 'it is you who have stolen my
children.'
"'No,' replied the spaniel, with a snarl, 'they are my own flesh and
blood.'
"'That won't do,' said the cat. 'I'll take my oath before any justice
of the peace, that you have my two puppies.' Thereupon there was a
desperate combat, which ended in the defeat of the spaniel; and then the
cat walked off proudly with one of the puppies, which she took to her
own bed.
"Having deposited this one, she returned, fought again, gained another
victory, and redeemed another puppy.
"Now, it is very singular that she should have taken only two, the
exact number she had been deprived of."
"Isn't that a nice story?" cried Minnie, joyfully clapping her hands.
"I had no idea there were such pleasant things about cats," said Ida,
laughing at her cousin's enthusiasm. "Fidelle has risen wonderfully in
my estimation. But don't let me detain you, dear uncle."
"I see here," he said, "a curious account of a cat, published by M.
Antoine in France."
"In a French cloister, the hours of meals were announced by the ringing
of a bell. A favorite cat belonging to the establishment was accustomed,
as soon as she heard the summons, to run quickly to the dining hall,
that she might be fed.
"One day it happened that puss was accidentally shut up in a room by
herself when the bell rang, and could not therefore obey the summons.
Some hours after, she was let out, and instantly ran to the spot where
dinner was always left for her; but no dinner was to be found.
[Illustration: PUSS RINGING FOR HER DINNER. Page 82.]
"In the afternoon, the bell was heard ringing at an unusual hour. The
inmates of the cloister ran quickly to see what was the cause of it,
when, to their surprise, they saw the cat clinging to the bell rope,
and setting it in motion as well as she was able, in order that she
might have her dinner served up to her."
"I hope they gave her a good one," urged Minnie. "I'm sure she deserved
it for being so smart."
"I have no doubt of it," remarked the gentleman, smiling. "Now, here is
a story of another French cat."
"It was of a kind known as the Angora variety, a very beautiful
creature, with silvery hair of fine silky texture, generally longest on
the neck, but also long on the tail. Some of them are olive, the color
of the lion; but they are delicate creatures, and of gentle
dispositions.
"This one belonged to a hotel in Paris, and having noticed that the cook
always left the kitchen upon the ringing of a certain bell, and thus
left the room clear for her to eat the dainties she had been preparing,
soon acquired the art of pulling the bell herself.
"This trick she practised for some weeks, in the mean time growing plump
and sleek from her abundance of rich delicacies, until the thieving
became so extensive that a person was set to watch for the rogue.
"Concealing himself, therefore, with fire-arms, ready to secure the
villain, the man had to wait but a short time before he saw puss steal
along near the wall, where she gently agitated the bell wire.
"Cook obeyed the summons, and left the kitchen, when the cat sprang from
her hiding place, and catching a pigeon, just ready for the oven, in her
mouth, ran into the cellar to enjoy her plunder."
This instance of intelligence caused a hearty laugh among the hearers,
which had not quite ceased when Mr. Lee said, "I have been told that a
garrison of disciplined cats was once kept on the island of Cyprus, for
the purpose of destroying the serpents with which it was infested. They
were so well trained that they came in to their meals at the sound of a
bell, and at a similar signal returned in order to the chase, where they
were equally zealous and successful."