My Dear Helen:
I am so glad to know that you are coming home next week, that I cannot
think of any thing else. There is only one drawback to my pleasure, and
that is, I am so ashamed to have you see me in such a plight. I told
you, in my last letter, that my fur was beginning to come off. Your
grandfather has tried several things of his, which are said to be good
for hair; but they have not had the least effect. For my part I don't
see why they should; fur and hair are two very different things, and I
thought at the outset there was no use in putting on my skin what was
intended for the skin of human heads, and even on them don't seem to
work any great wonders, if I can judge from your grandfather's head,
which you know is as bald and pink and shiny as a baby's. However, he
has been so good to me, that I let him do any thing he likes, and every
day he rubs in some new kind of stuff, which smells a little worse than
the last one. It is utterly impossible for me to get within half a mile
of a rat or a mouse. I might as well fire off a gun to let them know I
am coming, as to go about scented up so that they can smell me a great
deal farther off than they can see me. If it were not for this dreadful
state of my fur, I should be perfectly happy, for I feel much better
than I ever did before in my whole life, and am twice as fat as when you
went away. I try to be resigned to whatever may be in store for me, but
it is very hard to look forward to being a fright all the rest of one's
days. I don't suppose such a thing was ever seen in the world as a cat
without any fur. This morning your grandfather sat looking at me for a
long time and stroking his chin: at last he said, "Do you suppose it
would do any good to shave the cat all over?" At this I could not resist
the impulse to scream, and your mother said, "I do believe the creature
knows whenever we speak about her." Of course I do! Why in the world
shouldn't I! People never seem to observe that cats have ears. I often
think how much more careful they would be if they did. I have many a
time to see them send children out of the room, and leave me behind,
when I knew perfectly well that the children would neither notice nor
understand half so much as I would. There are some houses in which I
lived, before I came to live with you, about which I could tell strange
stories if I chose.
Caesar pretends that he likes the looks of little spots of pink skin,
here and there, in fur; but I know he only does it to save my feelings,
for it isn't in human nature--I mean in cat's nature--that any one
should. You see I spend so much more time in the society of men and
women than of cats, that I find myself constantly using expressions
which sound queerly in a cat's mouth. But you know me well enough to be
sure that every thing I say is perfectly natural. And now, my dear
Helen, I hope I have prepared you to see me looking perfectly hideous. I
only trust that your love for me will not be entirely killed by my
unfortunate appearance. If you do seem to love me less, I shall be
wretched, but I shall still be, always,
Your affectionate Pussy.