e to my mother,--that tender mother!--but I
had trespassed upon the property of others: I had taken that to which I
had no possible right; I had caused the death of three little creatures;
and I had not even had the consolation of putting the smallest bit of
one of the innocents into my own mouth. All these reflections passed
through my Cat's brain, as I sat shivering on my elevated perch; and
I resolved, as I had so often resolved before, that if I got safely
out of this danger, nothing should induce me to commit such sins, or
trust to such worthless _friends_ again.

Whether my repentance had anything to do with my escaping from my
difficulties with a whole skin, I cannot say; but it is certain that
when, after darkness had settled on the earth and all around was silent,
I ventured to descend from my hiding-place, I succeeded in making my way
out of the "preserve," and park beyond, in safety, when I took to my
heels with all speed; nor did I stop till I had reached my own quiet
home, which I stealthily entered through an open window.

A NEW LEAF.

A great change was made in my manner of life very soon after this last
adventure, which may be looked upon as the closing scene of my wild and
thoughtless Kittenhood. I was now entering upon a new course of
existence, where far different pursuits had to engage my attention.

A distant relation of my mother's, who had never been married (a very
singular circumstance in our city), and who lived in a house with only
two servants to keep her company, invited me to spend some time with
her, and, as she was very clever and accomplished, my mother was most
pleased to let me go, as she considered that I might obtain great
advantages from her society and conversation.

The sort of life I had been leading made my first days spent at Hum
Villa very dull and tedious, for my cousin, although most gentle and
kind, was precise to an extraordinary degree, and could not bear the
least disorder either in her house, her person, or the manners or
appearance of those about her. Truly both she and her servants were
orderly enough; for they were washing at least ten times a day, and
never sat down to a meal or got up from it without licking themselves
all over for a good half hour.

By degrees however what seemed to me irksome and fussy wore
imperceptibly away, and I was not long in discovering that cleanliness
of body has a good deal to do with promoting purity of mind. I am
certai