The Florence tribune., 1899-03-11
Of his body. His bearing is abject and
 his gait sneaking. and a general air of might have seen better days" is ap-


 his gait sneaking. and a general air of might have seen better days" is ap- parent in bis conauct The story of Nictor's downfall is no less interesting 5han fl Is sad.
 < year ago he was frisking kitten 1 with a good home, good name and fine gicssy coat He was noted for his gent,e ways. never offering violence 1 to iAe geishhor's baby when that small parsonage made a tour of the premises carrying him by the tail. It was his custom 10 greet all strange cats with glad smile, and much of his time was spent at the aforesaid neighbor's yard, frolieking with a kitten of his own age who dwelt there, or basking in the sun under the watchful eye of the kit ten's mothsr.
 Victor had reached the comparative ly mature age of nine months, and was large and strong for his age, when he returned home one afternoon from a playful hour spent with the neighbor's kitten. Mrs. Parker had just put the finishing touches to a calico cat she was mixing for the neighbor's baby. The calico cat, plump from an abun- dance of cotton, had been placed in a corner of the sitting-room, so that it was the first object that greeted V,ctor's gaze when he entered the apartment.
 Victor may have been hungry, and it may have been the prosperous look of the stuffed cat that jared upon bis usually complacent spirit. At any rate, Victor bristled up, and with declaration of war wildly expressed in that part of his anatomy made use of by the feline race when reused to anger, hc approached the strange cat. He eireled around it several times. and finally sprang upon it in a frenzy of rage The two rolled over and over, and the carpet was strewn with cotton wool from one side of the room to the other before Victor could be separated from his hated rival
 Thenceforth Victor was a changed cat. T came, I saw, eouqperada seemed to be the dominating bought ia bis mind, and if ever cat was puiTed up with eonceit that eat was Victor He went proudly out of the house f5a fresn foes to vanquish. Peace, whici had hitherto reigned within his gentle breast, was dethroned, and gave war to wild and lofty ambition. He would fight evey cat in Cook county. He hnd toc4oJ hlaoJ o, x.,bot o,-r,-aro.1 in the place of blood, in the calico cat, and he would have more thereof. It was an easy task to vanquish the neighbours kitten, the same afternoon that he demolished his calico rival As an appetizer for breakfast the next morning he sallied forth and fought with the neighbor's kittens mother. He left large scratch on the neigh bor's baby's hand when the baby tried to dissuade him from his bloody pur- suit, and the baby shed large, juicy tears. Let no guilty cat escape" was his motto.
 Daily complaints about the disgrace ful exploits of Master Victor were brought to the ears of gentle Mrs. Parker. She called him naughty kitty" in tones that were meant to be stern, but he only gave her scornful looks. Victor simply would fight.
 But like all great fighters, he at last met his Waterloo. A black eat of roy- ing propensities and green eyes recent ly strayed into the neighborhood. lie was large, muscular cat. Victor heard of his arrival, and hissing villain, tho.t shalt die!" between his clinched teeth, CT words to that effect, he went forth to meet the newcomer on the field of honor The two cats eyed each other with every evidence of hate. At last they came together with mighty rush. The air was filled with yowls, fur, and dust, and they clinehed and rolled over and over. They separated. bui met again, the strange cat scoring 2 great point by closing one of his ad versary's eyes. 4 moment later, ana the strange cat spat out one of Vietos ears, and in the last round he bit seeers choice bites out of the soft part oi
 antagonists anatomy Then vie. sneal5ed home, his coat drenched w gore. And that cat never smiled again Chicago Inter Ocean.