[Illustration: "DAISY." (FROM THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH.)]
Daisy
_The Autobiography of a Cat_
BY MIRANDA ELIOT SWAN
Boston NOYES BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY NOYES BROTHERS.
Norwood Press J.S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
This little story of one cat's life has been written during the intervals of a long and painful illness, when I missed the love and sympathy of my little four-footed friend of eighteen years, now, alas! nothing but a memory. Indeed, so vividly did his spirit speak to me, that I readily acknowledge him the author of this book, being myself his amanuensis.
From my earliest childhood the love of animals, particularly cats, has been inherent with me. One tale of cruelty, heard by me when a child, distressed me and made me ill, and nightly the panorama of the disgusting crime would haunt my pillow. But I never regret the suffering it caused me, for it taught me my duty to our dumb friends so dependent on us.
If the little stories in this book touch the hearts of its readers as that story touched mine, it will indeed have accomplished its mission. Just such stories are needed to create interest in the many societies now forming in aid of dumb animals.
There are cases where one must not spare the knife, even though our tenderest and most sensitive feelings recoil, for the cure will be sure. There are crimes perpetrated every day, in the name of Science, that need just such stories to expose their iniquity. For I believe ignorance is the cause of cruelty in many instances, and a little story told attractively, where retribution follows the deed, will have more effect than reproof. I do not believe there are many hearts so callous, that a little anecdote of cruelty to these helpless creatures will not touch them.
There are many who will read this book who have lost dear little pets, and I would say to them that the dear Father has them all in his care. In the boundless and beautiful fields of Paradise they will find the dear little friends they have lost waiting for them.
I trust my readers will pardon the many imperfections of this little book, believing that an earnest wish to help our dumb animals is my heart's desire.
MIRANDA ELIOT SWAN.
BOSTON, December 11, 1899.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I PAGE EARLY DAYS 1
CHAPTER II MY MOTHER'S STORY 4
Table of contents (by pages)
- 1: Daisy by Miranda Eliot Swan
- 2: Daisy by Miranda Eliot Swan
- 3: Though I was young and full of frolic
- 4: I hated to leave my kittens to take my food
- 5: We gave old Tabby three cheers
- 6: Completed this homelike picture
- 7: When Bridget brought me some warm milk
- 8: Though Topsy never cared for me
- 9: But no one makes more of me on the sly than Master Karl
- 10: The door of the laundry was open
- 11: Wondering at the war whoop given by Stacy
- 12: Stacy and Will gave a song in nasal style
- 13: Karl had lighted all the tapers
- 14: Chewed a little catmint and was quite hilarious over it
- 15: My chief offence being my collar and padlock
- 16: He also may be a philanthropist
- 17: Excited by the power of the catmint
- 18: And then there was that collar and padlock
- 19: Crunching the gravel as I went
- 20: Forepaugh told me sad stories of the cats around
- 21: Forepaugh also said that their friend
- 22: After this I did have a real friendship for Forepaugh
- 23: I wondered how Sol would like that
- 24: And wondering what Miss Milly would do without him
- 25: My eyes were closed up by cobwebs
- 26: And seeing Miss Milly bending over me
- 27: We had nice times sitting in the porch or on the piazza
- 28: Miss Milly told her this interesting story
- 29: Big enough to entitle her to the name of Pasht
- 30: Topsy had a great many kittens
- 31: Miss Milly held Topsy in her arms
- 32: They moved to Boston and were perplexed about Topsy
- 33: But Miss Milly was equal to her
- 34: They did not say anything about my naughty act
- 35: He brought me very nice catmint from his country home
- 36: Chico had trouble with his teeth
- 37: Could make cats perform tricks very easily
- 38: And the new place assumed an air altogether homelike
- 39: As Miss Milly prepared for the ride
- 40: Just like the steak our good doctor ordered for Mrs
- 41: He was asked why he called her an Episcopalian
- 42: Miss Eleanor gave her some money
- 43: For I remembered that Karl could not get a kidney
- 44: While I had a hassock in front of them
- 45: And Grandpa and Uncle Jim with tiger cat wigs
- 46: I believe the critter knows all we say
- 47: It makes one a convert to cremation
- 48: Because the cat was an English tabby
- 49: And kidney instead of chickens
- 50: Where the platter usually rested
- 51: But I tried to chase the moonbeams
- 52: I would chew up my ribbon to provoke them
- 53: When Tabby told me her sad tale
- 54: The family allowed Tabby to go out and in as she pleased
- 55: I comforted poor Tabby all I could
- 56: Flossy would lie down with her head on Friskey
- 57: Friskey barked and wagged his tail
- 58: Adonis had been fretful and snappish
- 59: The story of Freida is an instance
- 60: And it crushed over poor Freida
- 61: Cats never have step fathers or mothers
- 62: Then I cowered down with real vertigo
- 63: My opinion is that Sim just used her wits
- 64: You are going to have a real Thanksgiving
- 65: Uncles and aunts and cousins were old turkeys and chickens
- 66: He pulled my ear and yelled Sassage meat in it
- 67: And them's the creeters I despise
- 68: And she kept her kittens out of their reach
- 69: And when nothing was left but crackers
- 70: She cowered down over her kittens
- 71: In his anxiety to end my mother's sufferings
- 72: Think of the heathen cannibals
- 73: And when I saw the big white snowflakes coming down
- 74: Pussy and extended hand had been met with disdain
- 75: And they all cried out Valerian
- 76: And refused to believe in Priggy
- 77: When he magnified his load by double firkins
- 78: Looking at Miss Milly as if to say
- 79: ' The catmint was soon produced
- 80: For the dear God that loveth us
- 81: Tom spent the night at a neighbor's
- 82: 'Why do you mourn so for your precious pet
- 83: When Miss Eleanor read about his death
- 84: 'You need not take the boy's bassinet
- 85: They had a picture of Dido taken with the baby
- 86: As Jett belonged to this little girl
- 87: Modest but bound to be noticed for their rare fragrance
- 88: This day Joanna was particularly unsatisfactory
- 89: Dear old Pipkin is better off away from her
- 90: Jack had a parrot called Bimbo
- 91: Did you ever hear Bimbo swear before
- 92: To enter her complaint of Jett
- 93: Here catmint grew in rank profusion
- 94: They had the greatest trouble with Jett
- 95: They had kept track of Jett all they could
- 96: She flew at Tinker in great wrath
- 97: Bruno would not notice the poor
- 98: Wanting to see that they buried Mossy as they ought to
- 99: Castor and Pollux grew up to be very fine cats
- 100: She was very affectionate to Cassy and Polly
- 101: This was very exasperating to Chloe
- 102: She took hold of Amminadab by her dress
- 103: Chloe was very fond of that well
- 104: Discovered they had left Amminadab behind
- 105: She was very unhappy about leaving Blackie
- 106: At last Blackie was to have her first kittens
- 107: She had no chance to ask after Blackie
- 108: She said Blackie had four kittens
- 109: She trusted Nino with the children
- 110: Sometimes we really see retribution follow crime
- 111: His friends believed he had recklessly thrown away his life
- 112: Her mistress had received several letters
- 113: Your little friend and neighbor
- 114: And finding a bottle of chloroform near
- 115: And Little Blossom will be avenged
- 116: I did get very nervous over that silly Pussy Cat
- 117: Primrose was away when they were decorated
- 118: Both boot jacks and bootjacks used in this text