couragement and condescension which I threw into my countenance and
manner. I sat down in front of the bookcase, and holding my head on one
side, looked up at her with an expression of gentle benevolence, which I
thought must re-assure the most timid spirit. It had some effect. She
ceased running from side to side, and stopped opposite me, her yellow
eyes fixed on mine. I returned her gaze, and wagged my tail. She lowered
hers, which bad been held up like a peacock's, and reduced to its
natural dimensions. After a sufficient amount of staring, we began to
understand one another, and Pussy's mews were in a very different tone,
and one much more satisfactory to me.

[Illustration: 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