Evening star., 1924-12-21
Heard and Seen

Capital are rallying to the defense OF
the feline tribe. For long time
this writer has seemed alone in his
friendship for the night providers, but
now others are maRifesttng an inter
est in felis domesticUs.
Amid the silence of the multitude.
under the scorn of cat hsters, he has
gone ahead praising the tiger in the
house" pointing out the good points
Of the species, and the extenuatine
circumstances attending the detection
Of his four-footed friends.
Seemingly results are being OBJ
tanned, for other friends of the cat
are writing in to tell of their own
pets, thus bringing out the good in
the animal, as we'll as furnishing
proof to the cat haters that the beast
really has good many friends after
all.
This is as 1t ought to be. The cat
has an ancient and royal lineage.
He, like the dog, has had his place
upon mans hearth since the early
days. II the cat lacks some of the
attributes of the dog, it possesses
merits OF its own which ought 20 en-
dear 1t to mankind.
The friends of cats, / believe, are
not noisy people, therefore they do
not ordinarily put up much of
holler when some cat-hater goes out
OF MS way 10 siam the animal.
Friends of cats have some of the
animals independence and indiffer-
ence, and smile when the defamer
of the species uses sly" "speaking.
malicious" and few other assort
ed adjectives such as that.
"Four-footed Jack Spratts are al
ways interesting" writes one. Il
once had a Jenny Spratt that was
as interesting and affectionate as any
dog. She would follow me around
like g. spaniel. We lived in the Sum
mer in a suburb of New York, near
a small village, and Jennie would
frisk about me whenever | walked
thither, until we reached y thicket
beyond which she feared TO go, as d
few steps farther would take US to
a bridge over a railroad.
There Jane would disport herself
until my return from the village, and
escort me home. If for any reason
took another road. there Jane re-
manned until,after dark until sought
her out. when she knew my voice
and came bounding to my side. More
than once 1 went on the dimly lighted
street to the thicket in a heavy rain
ere Jenny would desert her post
A boy writes:
IT have been interested in the
stories you have written for The Star
paper about your cat, Jack Spratt.
l would like you to hear about our
cat, Mosquito, Sketa for short. We
| named him Sketa because he was SO
very tiny when we got him. He is
now over years old. He has many
cute little tricks of his own. Every
| morning when my mother is gettinG
| breakfast and she does not pay much
attention TO him he nibbles her stock
ings until she gives him something
to eat.
when my sister and I go to school
in the morning, he runs and jumps
up on the post at the foot Of the
| When it is nearly time for US to come
home he gets up there and waits
until we get home.
HE is a great lover of raw 20
tatoes, and when he wants some he
goes in the pantry and rattles the
potato bag and comes out and looks
/ at US. He is now large and >has
you will write some more about Jack
| Spratt,"
Somehow ] have the decided CON
viction that life is by no means made
up entirely or politics, grand strategy,
great moments, intense thrills. All
| the actors therein are by no means
generals, captains, bishops. kings.
senators and representatives.
1 have a suspicion that many a fine
| man and woman turns over the page
bearing the great political news and
reads some of the lighter stuff he
finds back in the paper somewhere.
have more than a suspicion that
there are a great many more clerks,
housewives, plumbers, builders, re
porters, f1appers, children and Just
| ordinary folks In the world than there
are generals, captains. politicians, etc.
| From news of the Democratic CON
| vention most of us turned with relief
to the story of a good dog fight,
IN this great world, and in this
cosmos OF events and things, persons
and creatures, the humble house cat
has his place. c. L. TRACEWELL.