_Merits_.--For house-hunting they are the _best_ cats you can have. They are very beautiful and graceful; and, indeed, a well-bred, well-trained black Tom is a veritable prince of the feline race. The finest cat of this sort I ever saw was at Glasgow Show, "Le Diable" to name. He _was_ a beauty. What attitudes he did! What grace in every movement! and such a colour and coat and eye! I forget now who owned him, but I remember I gave him first prize after only one glance at the others. Black cats are not so easily seen at night, and their hearing is extremely keen; so, likewise, is their eyesight. As a rule, they kill rats and mice more for sport than anything else, and are fonder of tackling larger game. In the field, however, their colour is against them, and makes them a good mark for the keeper's gun. I prefer seeing black Tom in the parlour, or on a hosier's counter, or coiled up in a draper's window. _Points_.--1. _Size_: You want them large--as large an possible, and with great grace of motion. 2. _Head_: The head is medium-sized, and not too bullety; a sharp nose, however, is an abomination in a black cat. The ears must be rather longish, and shapely, and well-feathered internally, and set _straight_ on. 3. _Eyes_: A brown eye is best, next best is hazel, which in turn is better than green, but green is better than yellow. 4. _Colour_: All black; not even a toe must be white, nor _one hair of the whiskers_. 5. _Pelage_: A beautiful, soft, though not too fine, fur, and inclining rather to length than otherwise, and as sheeny as a boatman beetle. Points of the black cat. Size, 15. Head, 5. Eyes, 5. Colour, 15. Pelage, 10. Total, 50. CHAPTER FIVE. THE BLACK-AND-WHITE CAT AND THE PURE WHITE. I have been asked to give a few hints as to the best and most useful classification for show purposes, and may as well do so here. For a large show, the classes can hardly be better arranged than they are in the Crystal Palace catalogue, or that of the Edinburgh or Glasgow Shows. For smaller shows I beg to suggest the following:-- ONE. Long-haired cats, any colour, male or female. TWO. Short-haired black and black-and-white, and white. THREE. Short-haired tabbies, any colour. FOUR. Short-haired tortoiseshell and tortoise-and-white. FIVE. Anomalous, as Manx, etc.