The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-05-01
MisteIlanp.


A Stonington, Conn, lady was drawn
into curious cat and lobster affair in
that borough by the sea the other day.
The marketman had left large sea-
green lobster on the rear veranda of
her house, and he was basking in the
sun. He was alive, but he didn't look
it. With claws sprawled out and with
long smellers barely swaying, he looked
like sea-plant the wind was foolng
with. He was waiting for something
to turn up. Along came the sleek,
handsome Maltese family cat. The cat
saw the lobster and the lobster also saw
the cat, but made no advances. Gingerly
and suspiciously the cat picked her way
to the lobster aud smelt of him, but
still he gave no sign. 1t was evidently
question with her whether the lob
ster was merelya piece of fashionable
new emerald bric-a-brac, or something
that she could have fun with, and she
walked diflidently around the lobster
twice, and finally stepped up in front
of him. She put out one paw. The
lobster thrust out his claw, and there
was bony crackle aud creaking, as of
unloosing toggle joints as he did so.
! They shook-they shook for second,
and then the cat wanted to let go. The
lobster wouldn't. He was slayer, and
he had the cordial hand-shake of Ston-
ington bony fish captain. Then the cat
tried science to make him quit. She
suddenly described double back SON.
ersaut four feet in the air, but the lob
ster went along, too, and he came back
with her, and as he came down smOte
the veranda floor with sullen, hollow
whang. Next the cat spun down the
veranda boards as quickly as she
could with six-pound lobster still
shaking hands with her in tenacious
way, but the lobster held his own.
Then she waltzed back to the starting
place, the lobster going with her,
whirled over on her back and kicked,
and for ten seconds the veranda and
the air were full of flying lobster claws,
smellers, flying legs, bits of fur, a
swollen, plumelike tail that rose and
fell, and cat-calls, with stihed feline
splitting at every other second, mingled
with the dull thump of the lobster as
he came down on his back on the floor.
But at the end of the bout, when the
cat sat up, the lobster was still facing
her, and he still had hold. The cat
lOOhtu )llStu. nC lOUSJtI 5ttlUtu
to be relishing growing conviction that
there was more fun in the world than
he had ever dreamed of in the cradle
of the deep. He was fresh. But the
rumpus had brought the housewife to
the scene, who, beholding her favorite
Maltese in the grip and embrace of a
comparative stranger, at once darted
for the lobster to pull him off, while
the cat, seeing in her rescuing cham
pion, simultaneously. made a rush for
her ample lap. He was the quicker,
and thereupon it became triangular
affair of cat, lobster and woman. The
Maltese had the lady with his three dis
engaged claws, the lady had the cat, the
cat had the lobster, with his fourth
claw, and the lobster had the cat. Then
the whole performance had to be re-
hearsed again, and the lady was not
able to separate all the performers until
she dragged the cat and lobster into the
kitchen and pried open the Holsters
grip with an oyster-knife. Since the af-
fair the Maltese will have nothing more
to do with ea-food.-New York Sun.