Wauling, just outside,
Where the bridge of Batter-
Sea surmounts the tide,
At my window, seated,
Gazing on its span,
Prayerfully I greeted
Chelsea’s Cat’s-meat man.
Leader of the legions,
Stalked a stalwart brute,
Target, in these regions,
Of the hostile boot;
Mourning for that lost Ro-
Mance I once began,
Thusly I apostro-
Phized the Cat’s-meat man:
“Hamelin’s famous piper
Pacing Weser’s flats,
Was not half so hyper-
Critical of rats;
Heedless he of sample,
None escaped his ban;
What a good example
For a Cat’s-meat man!
“Worse than bandsman Teuton
Is that Fiend, who riles
With his weird love suit, on
Chelsea’s echoing tiles;
Heed my ruined rapture,
Verse that wouldn’t scan;
Compass me his capture,
Oh, my Cat’s-meat man.
“Friend, would you deliver
One who’d fain indite
Rhymelets to the river
In the shrieking night,
Plunge that feline vagrant,
On the piper’s plan,
In those waters fragrant,
Gentle Cat’s-meat man.
“Gratefully I’ll bless you
O’er the midnight oil,
Rhymefully address you
When you’ve eased my toil.
Nay, when that Tom-cat you
Drown, as well you can,
I’ll erect a statue
To you, Cat’s-meat man!”
Chelsea’s meat purveyor
Never said a word;
Knew not what to say, or
Haply, never heard.
Still in feline phrases
Thomas leads the van,
Hymning midnight praises
To the Cat’s-meat man.
PUSSY-CAT AND MOUSE ON THANKSGIVING.
It was a hungry pussy-cat
Upon Thanksgiving morn,
And she watched, and she watched,
And she watched, and she watched,
She watched a thankful little mouse,
That ate an ear of corn.
“If I ate that thankful little mouse,
How thankful he should be,
When he has made a meal himself
To make a meal for me.
Then with his thanks for having fed,
And his thanks for feeding me,
With all his thankfulness inside—
How thankful I shall be.”
But the little mouse had overheard
And declined with thanks to stay.
So before the cat could make a spring
Dear little mouse did glide
Right through a very tiny hole
Into the window-frame.
Thus did the hungry pussy-cat
Upon Thanksgiving Day
Lose a gloriously fine feed
By musing time away.
JET AND SNOWFLAKE.
_Dialogue for One Boy and One Girl._
SNOWFLAKE—
Good evening, pretty Pussy Cat, I’m glad to find you here,
I want a playfellow so much, there’s nothing you need fear.
I knew that you were coming soon, for pretty Mistress May
Told me she had a pussy-cat that would be here to-day.
“Snowflake,” she said, and gave my head a gentle pat.
“I hope that you’ll be very kind to my new pussy-cat,
She’s really handsome, you will see, her coat is black as jet,
But, Snowflake, please remember now, that you’re my earliest pet.”
JET—
Oh, doggie, doggie, I’m afraid, you’ll bark and growl and fight,
You’ll look so very angry that you’ll put me in a fright.
All cats, you know, are timid things, but if you will be kind,
I’ll be the merriest playfellow that ever you can find.
SNOWFLAKE—
O pussy! I should be afraid to frighten you at all,
For I’m a big, strong dog, and you, well, really, you are small.
You are quite black, except for one white spot upon your breast;
I’m glad you are not a tortoise-shell, I like black cats the best.
JET—
Yes, you are white, and I am black, we go together well,
Now do you see that from my neck there hangs this little bell;
Your pretty mistress gave it me, and said: “Now little Jet,
To frighten all the mice away, be sure you don’t forget.”
SNOWFLAKE—
Ah! what is that? I hear a sound, ’tis pretty Mistress May;
Now, Jet, be good, and let her see you know how to obey.
Her eyes are blue, her cheeks are pink, her dress is soft as silk,
She is bringing me a fine big bone, and you some nice warm milk.
THE MODEL CAT.
MRS. FREDERICK W. PENDER.
_Written especially for this book._
Now, there’s a cat who’s gaining fame,
And Tootsy Werner is her name.
And all her manners are so nice,
She can’t be bought at any price.
In beauty she is hard to beat;
Is clever, too, and very neat;
And cats of high or low degree,
Can never “Tootsy’s” equal be.
A ball she rolls with grace and skill,
Or tangles twine at her sweet will;
And often in some box or pail
You’ll find her chasing her own tail.
For she is full of fun and play,
And sometimes likes to have her way;
Tho’ still no fault in her you’ll find,
This _model cat_, so good and kind.
She never goes upon the street
For fear some tramp cat she might meet,
And she will never bring disgrace
On WERNER’S CELEBRATED PLACE.
For there Miss Tootsy got her name,
And there she made a start in fame;
And should you wish, why, more to know,
To Tootsy’s home you’ll have to go——
To EDGAR S. WERNER & CO.,
43 & 45 East 19th Street, New York City.
[Illustration]