unfeeling tricks with them; a single look from their fierce, fiery eyes,
glaring from the branches of a tree, round which they twist their long
tails, would send the boldest of you scampering away. They grow larger,
and their fur becomes much richer, when in a wild state. The good
providence of God supplies them with very warm, thick coat, when they
have no longer the benefit of a corner by the fireside. Oh that we would
learn lessons of tender mercy by seeing how compassionately the Lord
cares for the meanest creature that he has made!

But about young kittens: there are two things, often done through
thoughtlessness, which are both very cruel indeed. One is to kill all
her little ones, which not only causes great distress, but severe pain
too, to the poor mother. God gives her milk to nourish the little
creatures, and if one is not left to draw it off, the animal suffers
much torment and fever from it. The other thing is one that no
kindhearted person could do, or allow to be done, after being once told
how exceedingly inhuman it is: I mean, putting the young ones to death
in the mother's sight. The agonies of a bitch, when she sees her puppies
drowned, are really a call for divine vengeance on the wretch who could
purposely be guilty of such an outrage on the tenderest feelings of
nature. The cat, though inferior to the dog in many points, is a most
loving mother, and very sagacious in protecting her young. She will
often hide them so cunningly, that nobody can reach them; and I have
seen a family astonished by the return of a cat which they had supposed
was lost, with four or five wild-looking, lean kittens behind her, all
their faces being well scratched by the sticks or other rubbish among
which they were hidden. The dog never does so: its confiding character
leads it to commit its young to its master's care, little as he
sometimes deserves such a trust.