, 1873-05-11
II THE. GUARDIAN: CAT.

have grown tired Of photography, partly be-
cause my angers were continually black, partly
because people who meant to praise me aiuays
said that my results "ero very good Tor the work
Of IN amateur; but eome Je6ls Ago WAS nitd.
about it. :, My mania WAS to photograph bits Of
scenery and ruins which had nsser been focua ed
before: aud, in seeking to indulge it 1:wAs per-
petually getting away into cornera.. The corner.
est corner over explored LII n taefs 1asnb!e. was
Scotland. Ireland, and Wales have atourist-taint
about them; elimY touts aud ciceroni have
crawlad over thar surface With snai.-hke perae-
ysranee and stolidity, and left traces; But no
one has ever written handbook OF :Doud; no
one would buy itn be did. DoWo haa no scenery
in particular. no waterfall, no antiquities Of his
toricaI or philosophical interest," TLete Wns q
ruin, indeed; but commonplace tmpecuniosity,,
not romantic Val nor mysterious haunting, had
caused it's decay, MD, What FAA no1e, d follow
lived in it,-not q: .smuggler For coiner, either,
~ / should not hare found that OUT Ii Il had not
been for thunderstorm, vas; hard At work
with my apparatus .ad im.ggnat'on,-., g1. Kui9
supposed remaina Of Kesp," otc.,--uhen tho sky
became 50 black that you would have thought It
was going 10 rain ink, and the first electric gun
was f1ed. Nov, Dond, a village consisting ot q
farm, q few laborers' cottages, aforge, and q
quite four miIes OF. ! had my knApaack, and
some bread aud cheese With me; 40 it was peK-
foctIy Indifferent rhereI PASSED the day or tho
night, 30 long a. I got eha1tsx. Part Of The roof
seemed to be: in good enough xers!r; i; 80 struck
my camern and little tent It once, and commenc-
drops tegan to make their half-crown-sized
splsshes. Aitsr penetrating the dlfapidated
outer walls. ! ought to have Reen that tho kernel
OF the place wAs in = more habltablo condition;
for there had been: an attempt at cultlyat!ng
work OF certain windows WAS glazed. Bat was
90 eager to get my apparatus under ahelter be-
fore the rain came on in earnest, that I noticed
nothing OF this and so it happened that blum
dored into furniahed apartment Not thet the
furniture was extensive but there WAS enough
to swear by; a. deal-table, three cherry-Hood
chairs, and q portrait Of a gentleman, in oils,
about tota1ed it. 4 man was sitting at the deRl-
table when entered He jumped up At the in
trusion; and saw that he was tall, young, thin;
and dressed iu a suit Of shepherds Plaid coneid-
erably the worse for wear.
= ~ beg your pardon" stammered I. "Iran
in out OF the thunder-htorm, no! knowing that
the house was inhabited"
"You thought that BAT, or, at best, an orl,
would be tho only tenant OF 80 tumble-down 4
place. be said. smiling somewhat bitterly at my
questionable apology; "bnt come in. havo
nothing besides ehelter to offee gou, fear; but
to that you are welcome"
intrude On you, il it were not that have been
them 70 b. spoiled. Not that am sorry to keep
my skin out OF such a deluge ~ this"
For the storm had now burst With great fury.
Flashes Of lightning averaged about three to the
explosions than tho normal roll; and the rain
came down as il all the gargoyles Of Europe
were ha7ing N international spouting match
overhead
Deposited my traps in q corner, and irnmedi-
ate1y became awaro Of = thard parsonage, hitl-
erto unnotlced. This was = very large black
cat, which emerged from under the table,
stretched himself, and, without taking tho
slightest notice Of myself, proceeded to az
amino my luggage with great interest. Do not
tell me that he had no reason. The way he
pcered about, gently lifting up cloths, and
letting them down again, alone proved the
contrary. That he perfectly mastered the uses
Of the camera, am not prepared to avow; but,
be satisfied himself that there was no great mis-
chief to be apprehended; for presently be came
knee, and then began to groom himself With hia
tongue.
Poor old Dabble n said his mnster, scratch
nseaa Of puns fe aahi s
murn'u1ed '' YoW, 20" pas evident an attempt
to speak as possible. r -:
.'Dabb1e. Polite for diable ?" I inquired. :
."Yes. Ho is 1ny familiar, and, With one e1-
you not, Dabblat"
"Yow, yoH:"
'sIs he old ?"
every. Fifteen Year,, / should say"
do not think am very curious about other
peoples private affairs, ns general rule; but
certainly confess to havin felt that impairment
passion in the present instance. Who WAS this
young man, whose manners, ph1aseology and &C.
cent bespoke him as an educated gentleman
And why did he lire in ruin alone With black
cat double the size and intelligence Of other
black cats? Well, he didn't quite. There Was
witch connected with the establishment; and
presently she came In. Her hooked nose,
curved chin. .nd general appearance @ might fair,
haze 1honR snnSd este hi e7dsses ' hut 9Ss Ss
carried her broom in her hand; md the
black cat ran to hor, rubbed against her
old legs, sat up, and plunged bis claws again End
again into her dreas with ecstatlc grasps- DAM
natory sigma against the whole family: Tor
lures for. three /" the order peremptorily
demanded BY the htuess OF things, Mr. Toole.
Yet she v=s poor, degenerate, harmless witch;
perhaps lapsed witch, who had been baptized
for shc WAS afraid Of the thunder, and shook like
screw steamer in q gale whenever fresh c1sp
came. sho had takeu refuge IN vault which
was once cellar, and had been flooded out. The
sight Of me frightened her alnoat rs m1ch as
tho thunder and the water: ...-
"Wo are not used to visitors" said the young
man, With smile Of explanation. :" This gen.
tlenan has come In for, shelter, Molly Have
We anything to Offer him besides dry bread aud
hard cldor 7"
' Dabble brought in rabbit early this mo1n-
ing, Master Wslter." mumbled tha old woman~.~
:" Good Dabble !" and be patted the cat's head.
!" Well, cook the rabbit for us, please, Molly"
Thera we're some smolde1ing wood -embers on
the large hearth, which the old noman rated to-
gether, and blew up into flame and then add :
Ing freah fuel, abe disappeared to skin The Dab
ble-captured bunny, which was in due time boiled
and set before us- Our tablecloth, though very
coarse, was cloan and the same might be said
Of the iron forks. i added the bread and cheese
from my kuapsAck' to the common stock MT
host took the head Of his table with tho air
Of = BelgraTian entertainer; Dabble stood
At his, side on his hind-leGs, with
his fore-paws and black head appear
ing over the edge OF tho board till he received
suitable morse1 when he vent down and dis
patched it On the floor, reappearing uhen it was
finished. IT his master proved dilatory, he put
out paw sideways, and dabbed his arm, at the
same time uttering plalntivs meaow. When We
three had finished our meal, We left the table
and tho harmless witch sat down, nnd had her
dinner before clearing away. OF course I had
bean ahatemioua. One rabbit amongst four is
not gorge: try it. ii
I hava gono into these detsils OF my frat
meeting with Walter MusgraYe in his ruin, be-
cause they made great impression upon me-.