MY CAT SHIPMATE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10381, 26 June 1899, Page 2

MY CAT SHIPMATE.

Mr Frank > T. Bullen,, author, of "The Cachalot," one of the best collections of whaling adventures ever published,, writes in the Spectator about-his -with cats at sea:— • When I joined the Brinkburn in London for the West Indies as boy, I happened to be the first on .board to take up'my quarters in the fo'c's'le. I crept lonely bunk that night feeling very small and for-, gotten, and huddled myself into my ragged blanket, trying to get warnr atfd gfy'td'sleep. It was quite darkj and the sudden appari--1 tion of two glaring green eyes over,, the* edge of my bunk eemt a spasm of fear'thrduglkine fora, moment, until I felt soft feeb walking over mc and heard the pretty little crooning sound usually made by a complacent J mother cajt over her kittens. T i hands, and felt the,warm fur, quite of pleasure 'trickling as * giissy pleasantly responded-, with a loud satisfied purr. . x Wfr were, quite glad of each other I know,* tfetf as F'fcuddfea'her,closely to mc, the./vvibra*ioms . of Ker Spurring • ; comforted me>so 'that in£a shpri time I/waa sound asleep, .. ' •' '_ r .^,; v - '.-• -;; ■'_■ ~' . - Thenceforward puss and 1 were the firmest.' of friends,, .In fact/..she was,t&e .only.friend I had on. board, tha.t--hate&l';ship.- -For the crew hard-Beartod, lot, 'whose-treat- i ment of mc?, was consisteiitly barbaroU?, and ' even the ot&er boy, being much bigger and stronger than I- wis, used tio treait ine as badly as any of them. But when night came and the -faithful oat nestled in by m© side during my watch below,-1 would actually forget my misery for a abort time m the pleasant consciousness ~aat something was , fond of mc. It' was to my bunk she invari- ' ably fledfor refuge from the ill-natured little terrier who lived aft, and never missed an opportunity of flying at her when she,saw her, on deck. Several times during the, pa* sage she found flying fish tha'b dropped on deck at night, and, by some instinct I c"-> not pretend to explain, brought Item to where I crouched by the cabin-door. Then she would munch the sweet "morsel contentedly, looking up at mc between mouthf ills'as if to tell mc how much she w£s enjoying hpr unwonted meal, or actually leaving it for a minute or two to rub her--self against nic and arch her back under my fondling hand.'' before left Falmouth, Jamaica, onthe homeward passage, she had kittens; five tiny slug-like things, that lived in my bunk jn their mother's old nest. The voyage ended abruptly on the firsb day out of harbour by the vessel runnjng upon an outlying spur of*coral only a' few^inilee , " from" the port, After <a day and< night of great exertion and exposure, the ship slid off *he sharp pinnacles of the reef into deep us soant time to escape, on board one of the small craft that clustered alongside salving the cargo. The few rags *

I owned were hardly ■ w£> t«A' • \ i ndeed I did not tthink of -Cw, v I>ir , xixy cwp wus for <on old slouoh \\\\L v, s; ,&§» ky-tW ' .' five kittens snug and ffcsu, while the anxious mother clung to mo bo do«ety.ttal \'l I had no difficulty in taking her #lt?&g too; ; , When we got ashore, although it cost mc a' /' hitter pang, I handed the rescued' family . - " over to the hotel-keeper's daughter, -; ly mulatto girl, who. promised mc Ifliat'iiiy x *\ old sliipmate should from that time • luxury, '"'■'*?•' It caime to pass that I joined a verj-large ." end. splendid v ship in Adelaide a*,' ifeoqncM' -' mate. hoard- for the &st tiitie,i" * v a-tinv-blaek-kltten followed mc pera&tently ';:'' along the wharf. ,It had evidently' stray ea '*, a long way; and. would notbVput 0ff,.«3->"-& though' I attempts to ©seaite,' -V from it, feeling „ thafc perhaps I'-mighfeifc., taking it away from a better Koine' thari;"Vs. could possibly give ifc. It succeeded infioK lowing meon board,; And .when , "'! took gosy --,•% session of the handsome cabin.3provid6d,;4pr fi§« mc in the, after end of tha'aitya , SecMionsft'l'Vfacing the saloon, it; installed-itself purring complete approval- of-its - • _ -J , -' \:.;"?- JTow, ■in spite of the „ splendour af ship, and the natural pride 1/ felt in J»ln|'', .*: an officer on board her, it must bo confessed that.l was exceedingly lonely., ' TM-chief officer w«s an elderly man of about, '",s&s*?-ss.) five, who had long commanded ships/ he considered it beneath his , dignity jsociata with a mere lad of ,tweuty-oria , w M'.',."',. I was. Besides, he lived uVthe grand d fc.ja.~- •=■"' 1 could not foregather ,with ii* aalboa'paa-OfO sengers, .who rarely came on , the mam*: , yd deck sfb all, where I lived,'and I.vras bidden to go forward and.' visit those in thfrp ,$• second Baloon. Therefore," during my watdij'jj** "below I was doomed to solitary state, off from the companionship •of my. Idnd;' with the sole exception of 'the urbane gentlemanly chief steward, who ciiS ot'casionally (about once a week) spend a frao tion of hie sca(nty leisure in. oonveraetioa r sa^ with mc, -■" , . /- i • *.- si Thus it came about that' the pany of "Paaht" as I called my little \fl,i cat, was a."perfect Qpdsend. \k fleptr! my pillow when I wao.in my bunk, jsat-ab my table writing or leading close to my ihand. And if I .wrote , long,. v{\" paying no cittention to out a velvety paw and fouch-the my pen ever so gently,* looking up atface immediately to see,if my attention had been diverted. Often I took' no notice, but ~> 4 | kept on with my work, quietly putting back:; v ' the intruding paw, when it \ became -too troublesome. At last, as if unable to ea«- '| dure my neglect any longer, he would get t i j, and wo3k on to ■ the papa , , sitting down m the centre of the sheet with "a own, as-; surance tihat now I must notice »«m that • ; was very funny.- Then wo wo't'd sit l«ik'~;;s| iiig into the depths of cadi other's eyes, aS;I->i| if trying mutual mesmerism. • It generally, ended by his climbing tip on to my shoulder - ( -|g and settling into' the hollow>of my neck, purring Boftly into my ear, whil6l wrote or .h|a read on until I was quite stiff with the strained position I kept for fear of disturbing him. -' J ,'- • ''* ' l^ Whenever I went on deck at night to'keep- ||? my watch he invariably, came with mc, keeping mc company throughout my four jyp| hours' vigil on the Always accus-.xjjg tomed to going barefoot, from,which I was precluded'duiing the day, owing ; to tion, I invariably,enjoyed, the any covering for my feet id this night,watches. little companion .evidently ;,J|' thought my bare feet .were-specially put tta-j\*-$ for his amusement; for after a ftw sedate turns -fore and aft by my side/he would' hide behind the skylights and leap", out them as I passed, darting ofl'< instantly. ra high glee "at the feat Ixe-had/nerfonned; ' Occasdonally I would turn the. tables; :<a '%' him by going a few feet up th,e rigging* when h& would sit and cry, baby-like/atntd :>& I returned and comforted him, I'bshevft 1 JX >he knew ©very stroke of the bell as well W\ v $ I did. One of the apprcnticesi always the small bell at the break',of the every half-hour, being answered by look-out main on the big bell forward..; :| "Pasht" never took the slightest, notice of - vS any of the strok^- until the four pairs an» « nounoed the close of the watch. Then ,l '.}*£ always mfesed him suddenly. But V« e . n aftor mustering the mote's watch, end band* ing over my charge to my superior, I went to my berth, a little black head invariably peeped over tlie edge of my bunk, as if say*.;; ■£ ing, "Coin© along; I'm so sleepy 1" So, out ■ ■■£.* pleasant companionship went on, urtil one , day, when"about the Line in I found my pretty pet lying on. the g&togS ■--§/ in my bertli. He had beea"feeized with, a. Nt,- ns and imder ite influence liad rushed into the fo'c's'le, where some unspeakable wretch haa shamefully maltreated Mm under,the that he was mad. • ' " ~^/x