We have heard of a dog who saved money, and lent it out to usury; of a horse that would usually of a morning go out a hunting with the hounds; of the Elephant there are many strange accounts, among the rest of his surprising gratitude and love for his keeper, his vast memory, and retention, and his understanding the language of those among whom he is reared; I say, these and more excellencies of the several creatures are to be found all concentered in the Cat, therefore expecting an implicit belief to all we have advanced, concerning this most sagacious of all sagacious animals, we shall immediately enter upon, and to our history, still reserving to ourselves the honour of having said nothing but was necessary to introduce our hero into the world. CHAP. IV. Tom _the Cat is born of poor but honest parents. His mother dies in child-bed, his brothers and sisters, to the number of nine are sent adrift, and drowned._ _Mab_, the mother of _Tom_, was left a widow by a former husband, who had left behind him no great means to support her, and therefore she wisely thought it the best expedient she could make use of to change her condition once more, and enter into the state of matrimony. We are left in the dark, as to the person who performed the ceremony, nor are we certain, whether the _Feline_ gentleman who tied them together, was regularly qualified to do his office, but he discharged it to the great satisfaction of both parties; though some are malicious enough to insinuate, that he went snacks with the bridegroom that very night, who not having it in his power to provide a wedding-supper, is reported by the best historians, to have left his wife in very unuxorious manner to run after a Rat, which served him for supper. Now as it is a wise child that knows his own father, so we dare not insist upon _Tom’s_ being the lawful issue of _Mowser_, or the spurious child of the parson; be that as it will, he was brought into this troublesome world on the 29th. day of _September_, a day memorable for the perplexity which the generality of tenants are in, to find or raise money to pay their rents. On account of this day on which he was born, several of his father’s friends were for having him called _Michael_, but more solid arguments, which we never heard, being offered, he was called _Tom_. His poor mother having born nine helpless children beside himself, and being exhausted in spirits, by the hard labour which she underwent, expired in the company of the midwife, and some other good neighbours, of the Feline species, who performed their last office, and buried her in an adjacent Dunghill. Mab’s Mistress was seeking her, and having called to no purpose, found ten very fine bantlings lying under the bed, nine of which she drowned, and saved one, who happened to be our illustrious Hero, she took the care of Tom on herself, intending he should spend his days with her in regard to his mother Mab, of whom she never could get any tidings ever