The Shasta courier., 1861-11-23
All COURIER. Err
Mrs Tubbs' Cat.

Nv name is Tubbs. and / am separated
from nv wife. The latter is not, be 1t un-
derstood. a consequence Of the former ior
altbonoh I admit that Tubbsas n1ta very
eunbonious name, still it suits me, and as iiaf
asI know. was always satisfactory to Argus
fine Her mother did, | believe, at the ear
: Gest stage of my intimacy with her daughter,
sniff disdainfully when it was pronounced :
but nv good conduet sand the stealtiness OF
mv~deyotion oyerca.ie her objections, II she
had anv. and Tubbs, by maternal consent,
was aided to Augustine Clarissa. No! the
cause Of Sur separation grew wup in our fami-
". Could I have looked into futurity-tlad
Iforeseen-but no matter. Augustine IS with
her mother, and as that old lady is up to the
average of mothers in law, she is very likely
to stay there.
will be concise in my statement. I am
not fond of cats. Candidly, | detest them.
NY CONSERVATION can therefore be imagined
when upon returning home one evening saw
slumbering serenely in the lap of Augustine
young specimen of this species Of animal.
mildly protcsted-my mother-in law state
ment to the contrary notwithstanding. re-
presented, as glowingly as ! was able, the
treachery of the animal, its immortality, its
proneness to dissipation and late hours, and
expressed it as my unalterable opinion that
no well regulated family should tolerate them.
But no; g wished to deprive her of every
comfort" and the inevitable mother, who
was present, added, that ~ was Jealous of
the cat" yielded. Under my wife's care
the beast prospered. Itspowcrs for mischief
rapidly matured. III say nothing of lis fo
article offood before ipartook oft, but come
IL, DIo 1,o% J n1,Ia 4
home. The cat grew dissolutc, as knew it
would. Absent all night, and completely
done up in the morning | was shocked, and
objected strcnuously Augustine wept and
restrained it of its liberty. Always confident
of the integrity of the animal, she resented
my expressed doubts of it3 purity of charac
ter. Our estrangement began here. We
had retired belligercntly. We slept. | was
aroused suddenly by Augustine exclaiming
They are numbering child somewhere!h
listened. 1t was a cat. \ male cat be-
meath our window. | said so. Whether our
interesting female had made an engagement
that she was unable to keep, Or that the gem
tleman below was merely warbling his at
taehment to her, 1cannot say. There was a
vigor in his squalling suggestive of broken
promises, and a finish that stamped him as
an old performer. His initial note was ter
rife, and he rose by slow stages to gran
deur that curdled the blood. A brick would
have been of incalculable value. My propo-
sition to Augustine to throw out her cat to
appease him, turned on the tears, and / aban-
doned the idea. / resolved to expend the
water pitcher. The movement was arrested
by squall so rasping, so defiant, that Au-
gustine shrieked. The minstrel below had
been joined by another cat. There was
short, fierce colloquy-a noise like an engi-
neer testing the water in his boiler, and a
contest ensued. conceived am idea. had
seen on the stage the heroine of the piece
throw herself between two rivals, and crying
50 forbear," spoil a very pretty fight. | acted
on this. l tore from her nightly resting
place the cause of the contention outside, and
hurried to the window. Augustine OWNED
my intention, and threw herself upon her IA
forte.
Let 60"