There is, however, an interesting point which it would be well to have cleared up. Are cats susceptible to music? Without being able to affirm positively, I believe they are. When my cat was little, it several times seemed to us that it found a real pleasure in listening to some air of a pleasing cadence. For example, the waltz from Faust, provided it was sung by a very high and pure voice. We even thought that music caused it to assume almost a sentimental air. It is unnecessary to say that my cat, like all others, is very susceptible to caresses, and, for I must confess its faults, to flattery. In general, cats are less intelligent than dogs, but, by care and attention, their intelligence can be highly developed. I am sorry that I have not sufficient time, or I should undertake the education of my cat by a system of cards, as proposed by Lubbock.”
“Speaking of sailors' superstitions about cats,” said Mr. Webb, “a lady told me not long ago that she bought a Persian cat in Calcutta and brought it home on a sailing ship. Every time they were becalmed the sailors would try to get her cat and throw it overboard, for they think that doing so would raise a wind.
“This is an old superstition of the mariner. It would be hard to say how it originated, but it is probable that it was originally intended as a sacrifice to Neptune, the god of the sea; as on land the gods were propitiated by the offerings of the devout, so Jack sought to calm the sea god's fury by offering him a cat. The old sailor, even in this meaning of the word 'cat's-paw.' It is simply a quaint idea of the marine, who sees in the sudden and peculiar zephyr that ruffles the water, a resemblance to the frolics of the cat. Does pussy jump around good-humoredly there will be a good breeze and fair. But when she arches her back and swells her tail, then look out, for her scowling look will be as a calm to the storm it foreshadows, and the flashes from her eyes but as sparks to the blue streaks of zig-zag lightning which will certainly soon illuminate the sky.”
“I've a story about an intelligent cat that belonged to a doctor,” said Charley. “I found it in the Tribune; it is dated at Deposit, and signed O. T. Bundy.”
All listened while Charley read the following:
“My cat, which we knew by the name of 'Peter,' was a sufferer from a large abscess on the lower jaw, directly underneath. I attempted to lance it, with what proved to be a broken pointed instrument. He cried while the attempt was being made, but did not run away from me, advanced age, regards the cat as a veritable weather gauge. The old landsman is often puzzled to account for some of the strange sea terms, and questions are often asked as to the although I did not hold him, or try to. Of course I failed to introduce the instrument into the sore, and showed what I held in my hand. I then took a sharp lance from the case and showed it to him.
