In the foregoing chapters, I have quoted largely from the best anatomists, physiologists, naturalists, pathologists, philologists and linguists, in support of my theses, the most important of which are:

First—That the Cat is of a more delicate organism than the dog and, therefore, more susceptible of refinement and everything that goes toward making it a superior animal.

Second—That it possesses a higher order of intelligence than any other of the quadrumina, and, consequently, more brain-power equal to that of man, in the ratio of its size.

Third—That with the same advantages or association with man and equal advantages of time and opportunity, the Cat will prove herself possessed of all the attributes which have been so much admired in the dog, besides the many admirable personalities accorded to her, and disprove the faults which have been ascribed to the feline by a prejudiced people.

If the reader will admit my arguments to be good enough to prove my theses, it will go a long way toward the admission of my theories concerning the language of the Cat, which my investigations have proven to me to be not only a possibility, but a fact beyond dispute. I have been thus particular in the foregoing chapters, in order to lay a foundation for what follows concerning the interpretation of a sign and word language, given to the Cat as language was given to man by his Maker. The possibility of the cultivation of such a language is an important point in my argument, and I give, in support thereof, no less, as there cannot be any greater, authority in the English language than Prof. A.H. Sayce, the eminent philologist, who, in his "Introduction to the Science of Language," remarks: "We must be careful to remember that language includes every kind of instrumentality whereby we communicate our thoughts and feelings to others, and that the deaf mute who can communicate only with the fingers and lips is as truly gifted with the power of speech as the man who can articulate his words. The latter has a more perfect instrument at his command, but that is all. Indeed, it is quite possible to conceive of a community in which all communications were carried on by means of the hands alone. To this day the savage tribes make large use of gestures, and we are told that the Grevos, of Africa, admirably imitate the persons and tenses of the verbs by this means only."

In the word part of the language of the Cat there are, probably, not more than six hundred fundamental words, all others being derivatives. Consonants are daintily used, while a wide berth is given to explosives and the liquid letters "l" and "r" enter into the great majority of sounds. The sounds of the labials are not frequently heard, but the vowels, a, e, i, o and u, go far toward making up the entire complement of words in the language of the Cat.

I say that there are not, probably, more than six hundred primitive words, because I have not, after years of search, discovered more than that number, and am of the opinion that the spoken words will not number more. The difficulty of fixing the number of spoken words may be realized from the fact that the signs are so universally used, to the neglect of the sounds, that the opportunity afforded to catch the sound and interpret the meaning is rare. In short, while the words do exist, they are never used excepting when actual necessity requires their use. Signs are not only more comprehensive than sounds, but the meaning is conveyed more quickly and with greater ease emphasized. Sounds are used chiefly to attract attention where signs would fail. Therefore, signs are used to the exclusion of sounds, whenever they will answer the purpose.

The Chinese language is more nearly like the Cat language than any of the existing languages, and so closely resembles it in very many respects as to almost persuade me that the language of the Cat was derived from it. It is a wonderful thing, and well worth our attention, that no people are more fond of the feline than the Chinese, who utilize the little animal to a greater extent than people in any other part of the world. It is not a fact generally known, but it is a fact that reveals itself to all foreigners who visit the Celestial Empire, all of whom assure us of its truth, that the Chinese use the Cat to tell the time of day. This they are enabled to do by a close observation of the contraction and elongation of the pupil of the eye. It is said to be an unerring sign and always answers the purpose of correctly indicating the hour and part of an hour where a clock is not at hand, or may be too costly an article of household furnishing for the poorer classes among the moon-eyed creatures of the Orient.

In the Chinese language there are few words, and, like the Chinese, the sounds uttered in the Cat language are musical tones, mellifluous and pleasing to the senses. Like the Chinese, too, the words have various meanings, according to the inflections of the voice. The resemblance in the use and disuse of certain letters, is significant, and never more so than in the constant infusion of the vowels. Take, for instance, the word "mieouw," so frequently heard, uttered by the feline, and meaning, literally, "here," and we find in it a word of five letters, three absolute and one "possible" vowels.

Give attention, for a moment, to the word "purrieu," which is a note of satisfaction and content, and give attention to the number of vowels and the Frenchman's roll of the liquid "r," so that it comes to the ear like "pur-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rieu," with a gradually ascending inflection. In plain English, it means "happy," or, more comprehensively, perhaps, "all is quiet along the Potomac," and "I am as happy as a clam at high water," expressions whose weight and importance were better understood by the soldiers of the army of the Potomac, after the Battle of Bull Run, and by lovers of the crustacean, than by ordinary people.

A matronly Cat will always use the last-mentioned word in calling together her family under ordinary circumstances, and continue it while caressing them, frequently merging it into a song much lower and sweeter to the sense than the lullaby we all have heard from the lips of the gentle mother while nestled tenderly upon her heart. The meaning of this word is never so well understood by kittens as when uttered in a sharp tone and repeated a number of times more as an explosive than otherwise, for it is a warning of danger and a call for instant action from the mother-Cat, who is imperious in her demands for obedience, which is the first law in her family life.

The sounds of the labials, b, f, m, p, v, w and y, are more frequently heard in words of anger than otherwise, as, for instance, in the significant war-cry and notes of defiance, out on the woodshed, in the hours of the night when fair Luna is enthroned in the peaceful sky, in contradistinction to the battle-field in the back yard. This may be written "mie-ouw, vow, wow teiow yow tiow, wow yow, ts-s-s-s-syow!" ending in an explosion. The signification is both a defiance and a curse, and comes so near to bold, bad swearing that I hesitate to put in words the English of it. The word "yow," means extermination from the face of the earth, and when the common word "mieouw" is used with strong emphasis upon the first syllable, it means "beware!" for the fur is about to fly.