Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1867-03-30
THE BLASK CAT
A MOST HORRIBLE . STORY.
~ The LATE EDGAR 4. POE.

Fur the most wild, yet most homley mar
rs,is- which | an ab"ut to pen, / neither
expect or so.iui, belief Mad indeed would
l 10 ~ expect It, In u ca-e where my very
senses reject their own evidence. Y.t, mad
sm | ho.- AID very surely do | not dream.
Bn, 70 mursow die, snd tod~y l would un
burth-n my soul. Ny Immediate purpose 10
to place before the world, pisi"iy, succinct'y,
And w.,b0ut Soa,m-n At. = series Of mere house.
hou e.snts. La their consequences, these
events have terri6-d--have tortured-have
desnoy.d u,e. Y-, will sot attempt 10 ex.
pua"d them. To me, they have presented
mule tut II rror-to many they viii seem
less terrible Than (tu'roq"es) Hereafter.
perhaps. soln" int Iisci may b. found which
VIII reduce NY pba"tasn to the commo"
pl~c.-sou- ioteiIec more calm, more log
90, aud Tar less excnabie than my own,
which will p,rcs,vr, IN the cir, ums,soces !
de ait With awe, nothing. more than an ord.
nar; successiun OF very natural causes and
effects.
FROM my infancy was noted for the do
cihsy anu humanity Of my d'sposi'io". My
tenderness "t he 'rt was even so conspicuous
~ to make ms the jest oi my companions
l WAS especially foud Of animals, and vas
INDUCED by ny parents with great variety
Of pe,s. With the | spent most of my
time, and never WAS 50 happy ss when feed
ing and earessi"g 'h"m This peculiarly of
character grew with my growth. and, i" my
man"uod, | derived fro" It one Of my prin
c,pai sources OF pleasure. To those Who
have cherished sn stf .ction for . faithful aud
-ug"cIous dug. need hardly be At the tro"-
bic Of explaining the nature Of The in,en>i'y
0. the qualification thus derN able There
is something Ia the unsei6sh aud self sacri
6c,ng love vi . bIGt-, which goe. directly to
the heart ut him whn has had frequent occa
>io" to test the pAIry friendship and gsssa-
mer Of mere Man,
lm,rr'-d early, and Vas happy to 6nd in
my wife ulspus,tIOn not uncOugenial with
my Nv" Observing my par,isi,y for do
nestle pets, che los, no opportunity OF pro-
curing those of the IN st agreeable Kind
W. had b''ds, = gold fish, n 6ne1isg. rabbits
II small monkey, aud cat
Thus latter was a remarkably large and
beautiful animal, entirely black, anh saga
chou, t" An astonishing degree In speakn,
OF iis ,nt",i ~ nee, my wife, who 1T hear, vas
not u little unc,ured with superstition, made
frequent sllusun to the ancient popular no
on, which regarded alI black cats Ms vito hes
in disguise. Mt that she vas ever serious
upon 'h,s point-and | mention the matter
Al all for nu reason than that It happens, JUS,
now, to be remembered
Plut"-,hat WAS the cats name-was my
faVor'te pc, aud playmate. | alone fed him,
and he ATTENDED the wherever | went about
tue house. 1t VAS even with difficulty tha' |
could prevent him from following me through
The streets.
Oar fiji ndship p lasted. IN This manner. for
several years, during which my general t-m-
permanent aud chnracn r-'hrough the instru.
mentality 1T the Fed 1",-mperance-had
Il blush TO &C enfess 't) experienced y radical
a!ter~nsn for w"r.e. | g'e~, day by day,
mure moud. aud mri'atle, nor- rrgxrIess
OF the t,sh"gs of Others. | suffered myself
/" Use n,tmp~'a'- Ia gusse to my wife. At
lenatn | eve" utf red her p-rs'nai Vi l'nce.
N, r.'s, t Course, sers made TO feel he
,ba,g- in my drsros,tion. | not only neg
cd, cut II us'd them For Pluto. how
'v-'. | still retained s.thcl-E; regard 10 re-
sttn'n N" trom m~lue,ta"g him ~ | made
no acr"pie f mali'eating the rabbits. tn.
monhry. ar even the dog, when by accident,
OF ,nr"ueh affection, they came in my way.
But IN, uistns- grew upon me-t"r what dis
ease ~ ike Alcohol land a. length even
Pluto, VITO was now becoming Old, and con-
sequen,'y somewhat pe-vish-even Pluto
be- u tv exl erieuce the effects of my Ill
temper.
One night, returning home. much intoxi-
Gated, from ohe 1t my haunts about town, !
ta"eied that The ca. avoided my presence. !
seized hun; when, in his fright at my vio.
Irnce, h. Inflicted = Sigh, wound uppn my
hand with his teeth Th- fury # u demon
in.tan'ly p"ssessrd me. | knew myself no
longer. Nv original soul seemed, 1T once.
70 take it's fight from my body; and more
,hs" fend sh m,levolence gin-"ur,rred.
thrilled ever, fibre IF my frame. took from
my waist coat pocket a psn-k"ite, open" it,
grssp-d the poor beast by Tho 'hr ut, snl
d-Iihe' ately cut one Of its eyes from the
sorhe, ] blush, ! burn. | shudder, while
pc" the damuable atrocity.
Wh-n reasuh returned with the morning
when | had slept of the fumes Of the
n,g' u d-hauch-l experienced . sentiment
h.l' Of horror, hall Of remorse. for the crime
OF which ] had teen guilty; but il was, Al
best, . feeble aud tqu,vocsl {. cling, and the
soul remained unit 'uched. | again plunged
into excess, and soon drowned IN vine sll
memory Of III" deed
In the mean ime the cat slowly recovered
The socket OF The lost eye presented, it is
true, fr'gh'ful appearance, bit he 40 long~r
appeared to suffer any pai". He vent about
the house ~ usual, bur, as might he expect
I'd. fed in extreme terror At my app o ich.
hrd 50 much Of my olt heart l. +. ~ t, hs
Al frs, pri.v-d by this evident dislike o" 'h-
par, Of u creature which had 50 loved me
But this feeling s"on gave place TO irritation,
aud then came, a. il to my final and irrevo
cable overthrow. the spirit Of PGRvERsENEss
Of this spiri, phi osophy takes no account
Yet am not surer that my scul lives, tha"
nm hal perver>eness 10 one OF the priml-
iv- impulses OF the human heart--snd Of
The ind,v'sibie primary faculties. "r s4"ti-
1'-.,s, which give p,rection to the character
& Man. VITO has nut. . hundred times,
tound himself committing a vile Or \ silly
actl u, for no otter reason than because he
sho"'d notf Have we not , perpetual in
.cl"nt,uu, in the tech Of our BIS, Judgment,
10 violate lha, viii h is Lac, merely tec.us-
we understand it 10 be such? This spirit Of
perverse"ess, | say, came TO my 6nxl over
throw. Il vas hi. unfathomabIc longing "t
the soul to rer itse!f-to offer violence to its
own n".ure-to do wrong for the wrongs
SAKE only bat urged me TO continue aud
fl ally to consam@ste the injury had in
tiicted upon the un,ortunate brute. One
morning, 10 cool blood, | alipped aoose
sbou. i,s neck and hung it to the limb of a
tree hung it with the tears streaming from
my eyes, aud with the bi,,ersst remorss st
any heart hung it because knew tha. j,
loved me. and bscause felt !, had given no
reason for offence hung II bec0use | knew
that i" 10 doing l was committing 4 sin "A
urad'y sin 'ha, would 20 jsopardizs my i'm
mortal soul - to place it-if soch thing
were p".siblr---e,rn beyond The reach Of tho