The suburban citizen., 1901-10-26

cat, IN q country Town ana quiet IUul-
lily. References exchanged. Vegeta-
rian family preferred
This advertisement caught my eye
and haunted my imagination We
were a quiet family Of vegetarian ten
denotes, and moreover, we were in
need of a little more help in the house
keeping department. So it was that
we answered the advertisement The
arrangements were quickly made, and
Miss Mullen and her cat came.
We had decided that she would be a
slight, delicate little lady and that
she would bring the cat in a large COW
cred basket. When she came she
proved to be just what we had i'm
ngined her.
She put the basket on a chair, and
then fastened to unfasten the cover
She raised it cautiously and there ap-
peared over the edge of the basket a
cats head. He was a large black and
white cat, entirely commonplace save
for one thing. His face was mostly
white, but on his under lip was a tiny
black spot This little imperial gave
him a sort of distinction. He looked
calmly about the room, the settled
back in his place and closed his eyes.
"Therew said Miss Mullen trium-
phantly. you see what a vegetable
diet does for 4 cat 1t he had been
fed on flesh he would have been tear
inc all around tbn room "
She stood regarding the cat fondly.
won't you take off your thlngs?" 1
suggested.
"Oh, yes" She recollected herself
suddenly and unfastened her coat. 1
showed her to her room and left her
there
Presently she returned to the sitting
room. She tiptoed to the basket and
looked in, then came and sat near me.
George is still asleep" she said
George" 1 said. "Oh, the cat.
What an odd name for a cat"
She colored the least bit possible.
II named him for somebody l used to
know" she said with dignity.
Did 1 understand you to say that
be is a vegetarian cat?"
Yes. never could see why II
should not be as good for cats as foz
humans, and 1 think that George is
proof that my theory is correct. You
see how steady his nerves are. He
never has had a morsel Of flesh to eat
in his life. l have kept the closest
watch on his diet He is old enough
now so that l think his habits are
pretty well formed, and / doubt If he
would touch meat If it were put before
him. 1t is partly on his account that
I wanted a home in a vegetarian fam.
lily"
She had been rocking gently back
and forth, but now she suddenly sat
bolt upright and listened, a quite fierce
expression on her face.
do hear English sparrows?' she
demanded.
II shouldn't wonder l said. "There
are some around here"
"Oh, dearw she cried in a tone OF
great concern. IL don't believe !
can stay, then, and am so sorry, for
everything else is just what l wanted
Why didn't l remember to put it in
my advertisement that 1t must be al
English-sparrow-less placer
After some coaxing l persuaded hel
to stay with us for a little while
though she was still very doubtful anC
wished she had worded her advertise
nent differently.
Thus in our first interview I came
upon her two ruling pasions-her love
for her cat and her hatred of Englisl
sparrows. In the weeks that followed
we all got to be very fond of her. Sht
was CHEEKY and helpful and seemed
contented. She had the gentlest dis
! position and there was but one sub
! ject on which she ever showed temper
That was the English sparrow. Some
times l would pretend to champion
the much-abused birds, and then he
! indignation knew no bounds. She wa
fiercely sarcastic, vindictive and re
vengefuL 1t was very amusing to hea
her express such bloodthlrsty sentl
lcent.
"If you think the English sparrow
such a fine thing" she said one day
'just read that" and she laid n booI
before me. 1t was a United State
agricultural report. and it was abou
the English sparrow-Passer Domesti
cus-and it contained some 400 page
of statistics. did not read it all, bu
looked it through, and in one place
found an old tintype, which had prot
ably been put in for a book-mark.
glanced at it and saw that 1t was
picture Of a young man. was abou
to replace it when l noticed that h
wore a small black imperial "Tha
must be George" said 70 myself an
1 smiled at the resemblance. as Georg
the cat walked in just then.
Most cats have marked characters
tics, but George seemed to be a sort 0
nonentity. am not saying that hi
vegetable diet had anything to do wit
II. l merely state the fact. He sleu
most Of the time, and his eyes had