"You are looking at the flowers!" said my uncle. "After dinner we will go and see them nearer."
At that moment something made an odd scratching noise on the glass door which led into the garden. Sambo looked at his master, who smiled and nodded. He opened the door and in walked a stately creature, which I should hardly have guessed to be a mere cat, only for his loud musical purr. He was immensely large, and had fur that almost dragged on the ground, a bushy tail, and a mane or collar of much longer fur round his neck, and as he was of a yellowish color, he looked not unlike a little lion. He marched up to my uncle's side, where Sambo had already set a joint-stool for his accommodation, but seeing a stranger at table, he turned and greeted me with great politeness, rubbing his head on my arm as if to invite my caresses.
"Do not be afraid," said my uncle, seeing me shrink a little, for indeed the creature's great size and strength made him somewhat formidable to a stranger. "He is the best-tempered fellow in the world, and a famous playmate, as you will soon find out."
Hearing this, and seeing the cat was evidently a favorite of my uncle's, I ventured—having finished my dinner—to stroke him, an attention which he received with condescending kindness. My aunt poured some cream into a saucer, and Turk drank it as calmly as if it were a matter of course—as indeed it was for him—to sit at table and eat cream.
"Loveday opens her eyes!" said my aunt. "I dare say she never saw a cat sit at table and be served like a Christian before. Do you like pets, Niece Loveday?"
"Yes, madam!" I answered, and indeed I had a kind of passion for them, which I had heretofore gratified almost on the sly, for my Lady Peckham did not like pet animals of any kind.
"That is well, for we have plenty of them," said my aunt. "Sambo must show you his popinjay."
Sambo bowed, and grinned till his face seemed all white teeth.
"There, run away, children, and play in the garden if you like!" said my uncle. "Take Loveday to see the flowers."
We went out into the garden, and the girls showed me many lovely flowers, such as I had never seen before.