The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-24

without his magnificent Angora. Books on
cats abound in almost every language, and
only quite recently French writer of some
distinction, ChampAeury-h published
quite superb work on the subject, from
which we derive some of the illustrations on
| A writer in Chambers Journal not long ago
gave happy explanation of the mysterious
| term 'caterwauling," Suppose, he says, you
| very much desired TO visit friend, a female
friend, lovely creature to whom you we're
paying your addresses; only an immense wall
which you could not blow down like the
Clerkenwell wall, because you had not the
Fenian carelessness of results-intervened
between you and the beloved object. Well,
that is exactly the case with these poor ma
| ligned pussies. "Come over the waur" (fe-
line for wall, just as it is Scotch for worse),
''the waur, the waur," cries the imprisoned
puss. "Why don't you come over the waur?"
Spikes, spikes, spikes, cries Tom, explain
! ing the nature of the obstruction, whereas we
call it swearing"
We may add that when the obstacle is
happily overcome, and Tom and Pussy meet
at last at their favorite trysting-place, the
lover begins to adjHre his beloved in such
strains of energetic, irrepressible love that
| his voice is apt, to rise above the subdued
tone of well-bred gentleman, and there is
not yet an end to what we contemptuously
call caterwauling. Be it modesty, be it fear,
the two lovers remain at some distance from
each other, watching every gesture. every
turn of the tail, and looking at each other
with the greenest eyes. At last they lift up
their voices and sing a duo which lasts for
hours
After they have told each other all they
must know before entering upon wedlock,
they crawl and creep most cautiously towards
each other; but no sooner does Tom come
near his flame than she runs and races and
skips and vaults to excite the envy of the
best of gymnasts. He follows, and being the
stronger and swifter, overtakes her soon
but, alas his re ward is nothing but blows
and fierce scratches, and thus they keep up
the dangerous and yet delightful game of
hide and seek. When poor Tom comes
home his nose is bleeding, his ears are torn,
his fur dishevelled, and his whole aspect is
piteous in the extreme. But such is man
He is happy in spite of his i'll treatment,
| and the fierce coquette is perfectly sure she
| will see him return ere long to receive his
reward.
But we must not judge hastily, and fancy
that caterwauling is poor Pussy's only vocal
| performance. So far from it, cats voices are
very peculiar, and so unusually flexible that
many notes approach the tones of the human
voice-mysterious sounds which made the
cat an object of superstitious veneration in
| olden times.
From the article on 'Our Civil Service"
| by A. r. Macdonough, we make this ex-
tract:--
One hundred millions of dollars, one
| fourth the revenue to be raised by our tax
and tariff laws, vanishes before it reaches the
Treasury. One-fourth of the impost laid for
the support of Government upon the labor of
the working classes and the ability and capi-
al e A I
maintain idlers and cheats in the public
offices. One-fourth the price paid by toll for
its protection by law feeds the worthless lives
of those who creep into place to corrupt or
break law. 1t has come to this, that the Gov
ernment founded for the greatest good of the
greatest number manages its pecuniary affairs
for the benefit of the worst few at the cost of
the many. In the customs department, it is
estimated by the highest authority that from
negligence and connivance, which defects in
the law assist, the Government does not re-
ceive more than one-half the duties it is enti-
tied to. At the port of New York alone there
is yearly loss to the revenue of over
thirty millions. The tax on spirits fails by
tens of millions to yield its due fruit The
journals TEEN with accounts of frauds and de-
falcations in the public service, in which the
successful scoundrel scorns to swoop at less
than fortune. These operations vary in
their methods; being conducted sometimes
with the secrecy of collusion, and sometimes
with the boldness of defiance The scent of
such corruption attracts from afar clouds of
obscene birds who settle upon our coasts as
fraudulent importers, thrive by the aid OF
venal accomplices, and return home with
their spoil to defame republican institutions
The gibbet, that melancholy sign of civil
zation which greeted the voyager to strange
Shore should rise beside our light houses tC
punish that combined breach of hospitality
and honesty committed by these Hessians o.
trade. Other plunderers along our extended
| frontier, uniting skill with daring, elud,
the payment of duties by smuggling, Il
, the ruin of honorable merchants as we'll a
to the injury of the Government. Still more
, outrageously, illicit distillers, trusting tn,
supineness and disdaining the safe purchas
> of official friends, intrench themselves in tn
/ heart of cities, and wage little war agains
) the troops sent to dislodge them. And other
A still, boldly steaming into the large ports
{ buy or watch the opportunity of landing
{ parts of their cargoes in fraud, and pay from
: the plunder for the desperate services ren
dered in some cases by their villainous tool
3 in manning and numbering the faithful off
q | cials set to watch them. No wonder that
with decency discouraged by such associs
/ tions, and honesty deferred by such dangers
! the civil service sinks steadily into deeper dis
v credit. No wonder, when Congress reject
v an enlightened plan for its reform, that o
b the very day that plan was defeated, a frau
bya Treasury clerk should have been detecte
70 to an amount that would have paid for th
d expense of establishing it. Thus, instead {
/, creating schools for training young men i
n the various branches of the civil service,
1t other governments have done, we CONVEX