Ann Fraser Tytler

“NOW there is only one day more,” Matilda exclaimed, as she darted into the school-room, (which Mrs. Roberts had just left,) and clasped Selina round the neck so tightly as almost to choke her; “only one day more, my sweet sister Demure, and my punishment will be ended, and you will be, I do believe, as happy as I am; for I know you have not half enjoyed the stories without me, nor you either, Leila—now tell me, have you not missed me very much?”

Both assured her that they had.

“I knew it,” she continued, “for you are so tender-hearted; but I hope Mrs. Roberts has been tender-hearted also, and that she has not begun to read to you the account of Lavalette’s escape yet: you know she said she would abridge it for us, and last night, when I saw her writing, I was so afraid she would read it to you to-day—it would be very cruel of her if she has done so.”

“But she was not cruel,” Leila answered quickly; “I think she stopped on purpose that you might be with us—to-day she only read to us some anecdotes of cats.”

“Of cats! O I don’t care so much about cats; what could put that into Mrs. Roberts’s head?”

“I had been telling her of the sad fright Selina gave me last night, that made her think of cats.”

“And you did not tell me about Selina,” Matilda said, reproachfully; “though I don’t care much for other people’s cats, you know I always do for yours—I like every thing that you like, Leila.”

“Yes, I know you do; and you are not to look vexed now, for I don’t like that; the reason I did not like to tell you was, that we began lessons the moment I arrived, for I was later than usual to-day, because I staid to talk to Peggy Dobie about a bee-hive; I am going to get her a bee-hive; I have money for it now, and it will be ready for spring. She is so fond of bees; she says they are the best of company, an example to old and young, and the very hum of them is pleasant to her heart, and brings back her thoughts to her own land, and to days long gone by.”

“But what about Selina?” Matilda inquired.

“O yes, I was almost forgetting to tell you. She gave me such a fright. You know I am taming a linnet, for I read a story once about a little boy having tamed a linnet, and taught it to call persons by their names, and to imitate sounds, and whistle like nightingales and larks; and this linnet lived for forty years, and was only killed by an accident; so I thought if my linnet lived for forty years, it would be a comfort to me in my old age; and now I daresay it will be, for you can’t think how tame it is getting since you saw it, and it seems to love me more and more every day. Whenever I go into my room it flies to the side of the cage, and puts up its bill to kiss me, and then it hops down to the door, and stands watching till I open it and let it out. Yesterday, after I had let it out, I put a saucer of water on the table, that it might wash itself, for it likes so much to splash about in the water; and then I went into the drawing-room for a book. I staid a little, for I had opened the book at an interesting place, and I began to read, and forgot my dear little Mimi. Suddenly I heard something rush past me—it was Selina with my bird in her mouth. She darted under the sofa quite out of sight; I did not dare to lift up the cover of the sofa, for I thought I should see Mimi torn to pieces. I covered my face with my hands, and was trembling to hear it scream. Oh, I was so frightened! and so dreadfully angry, if I had had a stick, I believe I could have killed Selina. Think only if I had done it! My own Selina! I looked up and saw a strange cat with large eyes glaring at me: I flew at it, and dashed it out of the room in a great rage, and then Selina came softly out from below the sofa, and gently laid down Mimi quite safe at my feet. It was to save it from this strange cat that Selina had run away with it.”[A]

[A] A fact.

“Oh, what a dear creature!” Matilda exclaimed; “I do think no cat in the whole world can be so delightful as Selina. What a comfort that you did not hurt her. I was wishing so for a stick when you were telling it, I would have dashed her to pieces in a moment; and even if I had not had one, I think I would have trailed her out from below the sofa in some way or other. What a dreadful thing it would have been if I had killed her. But you see, Cousin Leila, we are a little like in some things, we both wished for sticks.”

“Yes, indeed, that is quite true; and I am sure you need never call me good. Only the day before yesterday I almost lost my life, because I was foolish and vain, and yesterday I might have killed a cat.”

“But you did not.”

“No, I did not; but I made papa very grieved, and he spoke to me a great deal about it, and said that when these fits of anger were not restrained in youth, they often led to the most dreadful crimes. He put me in mind of how I snatched my work out of Nurse’s hands, and danced upon it; and he said it grieved him to see that the same spirit of anger often possessed me, that though I was so much older now——”

“Well, don’t let us talk about that,” Matilda said. “Did Mrs. Roberts read to you any thing interesting about cats, any thing worth telling? Selina, you have such a good memory, I daresay you can remember something worth telling me.”

“Yes, she read us several anecdotes that I think you would have liked. She read to us about a favourite cat that belonged to a Madame Helvetius. It never touched the birds which she kept, almost constantly lay at her feet, and seemed to be always watching over her, and would never take any food but what she gave it. When Madame Helvetius died, the poor cat was removed from her chamber, but it made its way there next morning, got upon her bed, then upon her chair, slowly and mournfully passed over her toilet, and cried most piteously, as if lamenting her poor mistress; it refused all food, and after the funeral it was found stretched out on the grave quite dead.”

“Oh, dear, what a melancholy story; I don’t think I would have cared much to hear that. Did Mrs. Roberts read you nothing better than that? nothing merry about cats?”

“She read us also an anecdote which we thought interesting. A lady went to visit a friend in the country, and this friend had a favourite cat and dog; they were very fond of each other, ate together from the same plate, and slept on the same rug. Puss had kittens while the lady was staying with her friend, and Pincher went regularly every day to visit the kittens, whose nursery was at the top of the house. One morning there was a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning; Pincher was in the drawing-room, and the cat was watching her little family in the garret. Pincher seemed quite frightened by the bright flashes of lightning, and trembled all over; and just as he had crept close to the visitor, and laid himself down at her feet, (as if for protection,) some one came into the drawing-room, followed by puss, who walked in with a most disturbed air, and mewing with all her might, came up to Pincher, rubbed her face against his cheek, touched him gently with her paw, and then walked to the door, stopped, looked back, mewed again, and seemed to say, as plainly as words could have done, ‘Do come with me, Pincher;’ but Pincher was too much frightened himself to give any comfort to poor puss, and took not the least notice of her invitation. She came back and renewed her request with increased mewing. But the hard-hearted Pincher was immovable, though he seemed perfectly to understand her meaning, for he turned away his head with a conscious guilty look, and crept still closer to the lady; and pussy, finding all her entreaties useless, left the room. But soon after her mewing became so very piteous, that the lady could no longer resist going to see what was the matter. She met the cat at the top of the stairs, close to her bed-room; she ran to her, rubbed herself against her, and then went into the room, and crept under the wardrobe. A mewing was then heard as if from two voices, and the lady discovered that she had brought down one of her kittens and hidden it there for safety; but her mind being in an unhappy state of anxiety for the kittens above, and this little one below, she had wished Pincher to have the kindness to watch by this one while she went for the others. She seemed to trust, however, to having now found a better friend, for she came out from below the wardrobe and hastily left the room. The lady followed, carrying with her the kitten, placed it with the others, and moved their little bed further from the window, through which the lightning had flashed so brightly as to alarm poor pussy, who then lay down beside them quite happy, and the lady remained in the room till the sun shone out again, and all was quite calm. Next morning, to the lady’s surprise, she found pussy waiting for her at the door of her bed-room; she went down with her, sat by her, and caressed her in every possible way. Before that she had always been in the habit of going down to breakfast with the lady of the house, but on this morning she had resisted all her coaxing, and would not move a step with her. As soon as breakfast was over, she returned to her family in the garret; and she never did this again. She seemed to think she had shown her gratitude and done her duty. But for a long time after she took very little notice of Pincher, and always looked distant and huffy when he came near her.”

“Well,” Matilda said, “this anecdote is interesting; I should have liked very much to hear Mrs. Roberts read it. But I am glad it is only about animals that she is reading to you now, for it interests me much more to hear about men and women, and, above all, about children, especially when they get into scrapes.”