PUSS AND THE CAPTAIN. [Page 46]
Though every animal makes use of a dialect of its own, so different as to appear to men a distinct language for each race,—for instance, the barking of a dog, the mewing of a cat, the bellowing of a bull, &c.,—still, a general mode of expression is common to all, and all can understand and be understood by one another. The reason of this is, that the universal language is that of feeling only, which is alike to every one, and can be made evident by the most inarticulate sounds. Moans, murmurs, sighs, whines, growls, roars, are sufficient to express our feelings: our thoughts, when we have any, we must keep to ourselves; for they cannot be made intelligible by mere sound without speech, and speech we know belongs to man alone. In fact, I suppose it is the power of thinking and speaking which makes him our master; without it, I am not at all sure that he would have so much the upper hand of us, for we are often the strongest. But a man can always know what he means to do, and why he means to do it; and he can tell others, and consult them about it; which, of course, gives him an immense advantage over us, who only act upon the spur of the moment, without knowing whether we are right or wrong.
Good-nature was all that Pussy and I wanted to express just now, and that is always easy to show, with or without words. Mews in various tones from her were met by small, good-humoured half-barks and agreeable grunts from me, till at last she fairly left off mewing, and began to purr. Much pleased with my success so far, I now lay down, stretching out my front paws to their full length before, and my tail behind, brushing the floor in a half-circle with the latter. Then I yawned in a friendly way, and finally laid my head down on my paws to watch my little protégée quietly, in hopes of enticing her from her fortress.
This last insinuating attitude decided her. She gently placed first one little white paw, and then another, on projecting ornaments of the bookcase, one step on the lion, and the next on the unicorn; and without hurting either herself or the delicate carved work which she chose to use as her staircase, she alighted harmless and unharmed within my reach. Then she mewed once more; but that was her last expression of doubt or dread. I soon reassured her; and that moment was the first of a confidence and intimacy seldom seen between our uncongenial races.
We had now, in our way, a long conversation, during which we became pretty well acquainted with each other's dispositions; and in due time we descended the stairs together in perfect amity; I gravely walked step by step, and looking up benignly at the gambols of little Pussy, who, now in high spirits, had no idea of coming down in a regular way, but must scramble up the banisters, hang by her claws from the hand-rail, recover herself instantaneously when within an inch of falling headlong into the hall, and play a hundred other wild tricks. A short time before, I should have thought all this a most despicable waste of time and strength; but now I could see that it did her good and made her happy, and I looked on rather with approbation.
I shall never forget the surprise of the gardener's wife when Puss and I entered the kitchen side by side. She screamed as if we had been a couple of wild beasts.
"Oh," cried she, "there's that poor little kitten just under Captain's nose! He'll be the death of her. What shall I do?"
She seized a broom, and held it between us, ready to beat me if I ventured to attack the kitten. But I wagged my tail, and Puss jumped over the broomstick.
"Well to be sure!" said Mrs. Gardener, letting fall the broom, and holding up her hands; "did any body ever see the like of that!"
She placed a saucer of milk on the floor, and I sat quietly and let the kitten drink it. The kitten herself was a little surprised at this, and hesitated before beginning, not knowing exactly what it might be proper for her to do; indeed, I could scarcely expect her to understand the etiquette of so unusual a circumstance; but she had a great deal of tact, and soon perceived that I wished her to go on naturally; so she began lapping, though looking round at me between every two or three mouthfuls, to make sure that she was not taking a liberty. But meeting with nothing but encouragement, she finished her repast with great satisfaction, and we both laid ourselves down by the kitchen-fire, as if we had been friends all our lives.