Page:Reading for winter evenings.pdf/6

6 times round the room, at length caught me. He was proceeding instantly to hang me, when his sister, by many entreaties and tears, persuaded him—after a good whipping—to forgive me, upon the promise that I should be sent away. Accordingly, the next market-day I was despatched in the cart to a relation of theirs in town, who wanted a good cat, as the house was overrun with mice.

"In the service of this family I continued a good while, performing my duty as a mouser, extremely well. I soon became acquainted with all the particulars of a town life; and distinguished myself by my activity in climbing up walls and houses, and jumping from roof to roof, either in pursuit of prey, or upon gossiping parties with my companions. Once, however, I had like to have suffered for my venturing; for, having made a great jump from one house to another, I lighted upon a loose tile, which giving way with me, I fell from a vast height into the street; and should certainly have been killed, had I not had the luck to light in a dung-cart, whence I escaped with no other injury than being half stifled with filth.

"Notwithstanding the danger I had run from killing the linnet, I am sorry to confess that I was again guilty of a similar offence. I contrived, one night, to leap down from a roof upon the board of some pigeon-holes, which led to a garret inhabited by those birds. I entered; and, finding them asleep, made sad havoc among all that were within my reach—killing and sucking the blood of about a dozen. I was near paying dearly for this, too; for, on attempting to return, I found it was impossible for me to leap up again to the place whence I had descended: so that, after several dangerous trials, I was obliged to wait trembling till the owner came up in the morning to feed his pigeons. I rushed out between his legs, as soon as the door was opened, and had the good fortune to get safe down stairs, and make my escape through a window unknown. Let my double danger be a warning to you, my children, to control your appetites, and on no account to do harm to those creatures which, like ourselves, are under the protection of man.

“Well—but my breath begins to fail me, and I must hasten to a conclusion. I still lived in the same family, when our present kind mistress, Mrs. Petlove, having lost a favourite tabby, advertised a very handsome price for another that should as nearly as possible resemble her dead darling. My owners, tempted by the offer, took me for the good lady's inspection; and I had the honour of being preferred to a multitude of rivals. I was immediately settled in the comfortable