Is reported to adore him.
And close by his side sits his great Tom cat,
So indolent, lazy, so sleek and fat,
That marauding mouse and rebellious rat
In safety keep up their revels,
’Neath tapestry, arras, and wainscot board,
Till the servants declare their departed lord
From his warm berth below must have wandered abroad
To play hide-and-seek with the devils.
And bitter blows the wind without, and fiercely drifts the rain,