split into most determined cat and dog
factions, and all strangers that entered the gates
were instantly absorbed in the dog and cat
vortex, and whirled actually round and
round in this terrible fray, which every now
and then broke out with fresh fury,
notwithstanding all the vigilance of the Rajah's
guards. And yet even these valiant heroes
were in some degree infected, giving sly cuts
at dog or cat men, just as they themselves
inclined to support the cat and dog question.

And so matters might have remained, either
to the day of the final depopulation of Shorapoor,
or Doomsday itself, but for the wise old
Brahmin who had given such timely warning
to turn out the stranger.

He had in reality been quietly chuckling a
little, as many are wont to do who have lived
to see their prophecies first despised and then
fulfilled; but his heart relenting, he hastened
to the palace, and prostrating himself before
the Rajah with hands joined together, he thus
spoke:—

'May I be your sacrifice, O thou eater of
mountains and drinker of rivers! I have a
petition to make in this matter of the cat and
dog!'

'It shall be heard,' replied the Rajah. 'Thou
art a wise man; what dost thou say?—dog—
cat—dog and cat, or cat and dog? For my
own part, I still reserve my decision, though
somewhat inclining to the opinion that the
cat caused all the mischief, and for this
reason,—because if the dog had not seen the
cat, he very probably would not have chased
her—"out of sight out of mind" being one of
our oldest as well as truest proverbs.'

'Alas! that I should differ with your Highness
—Brave Falcon, terrible in War—the most
valiant of the State—the Tiger of the Country,'
replied the Prime Minister. 'How could the
cat help being worried by the dog?—and did
not nature give her a right to go where she
pleased?'

So the whole Court took at once different
sides, and matters might have come to a
serious explosion, even within the sacred walls
of the palace itself, but for the Brahmin, who
again lifted up his voice and said:—

'May it please your Highness! Let me
declare to you that it was neither the dog nor
the cat that caused all this misery, but the
Fly and the Honey!'

'The fly and the honey! The fly and the
honey!' exclaimed the astonished Rajah.
'What honey, and what fly?'

And, as this was a perfectly new idea, the
assembly listened with profound attention
while the holy man unfolded the true history
of the case. His having seen the stranger,
and warned the people against him. How
accurately he had observed the drop of honey
dabbed against the wall. Then the approach
of the fly, the sly gliding of the lizard,
the wily creeping of the cat, and the
stealthy vindictive movements of the dog—
involving all these creatures in much pain
and difficulty, and which afterwards
overspread the city.

'Hold, learned man,' cried the Rajah, 'thou
hast well said; my eyes are opened!' and he
desired search to be made for the man who
had too well earned the title of Mischief-
Maker. But he was no where to be either
found or heard of; and the poor flour-dealer,
who stood among the prisoners with a
bandaged head, declared that the villain had not
even paid for the honey that had caused the
whole tumult.

'Well,' exclaimed the Rajah, after a
profound pause; 'here now may most plainly be
seen a proof—if any such were required—that
my subjects only want a pretext, no matter
what, to quarrel, and they are sure to go to
loggerheads.

'I now throw no blame upon either the
cat or the dog; for each animal followed its
own peculiar instinct. The blame and the
punishment too, must light upon the owners
of the dog and cat for fighting, and thus
inducing others to espouse so ridiculous a
quarrel.'

And forthwith he ordered all the principal
rioters into confinement, saying also to the
rest of the people:—

'Go home now, fools that ye are, and try
whether you cannot make up your minds to
live at peace with one another. I cannot
prevent your keeping cats and dogs, because
were I to do so, we should be devoured by
vermin or exposed to robbery. But this I tell
you, you shall not turn yourselves into cats
and dogs for the future with impunity—
DEPART!' So they all sneaked off; and the
active little man whose head somebody had
broken, scratched it and said:—

'Only think how well that strange fellow
knew us all!'

A CARD FROM MR. BOOLEY.

MR. BOOLEY (the great traveller) presents
his compliments to the conductor of Household
Words, and begs to call his attention to
an omission in the account given in that
delightful journal, of MR. BOOLEY'S remarks,
in addressing the Social Oysters.

MR. BOOLEY, in proposing the health of
MR. THOMAS GRIEVE, in connexion with the
beautiful diorama of the route of the Overland
Mail to India, expressly added (amid
much cheering from the Oysters) the names of
MR. TELBIN his distinguished coadjutor; MR.
ABSOLON, who painted the figures; and
MR. HERRING, who painted the animals.
Although MR. BOOLEY'S tribute of praise can
be of little importance to those gentlemen, he
is uneasy in finding them left out of the
delightful Journal referred to.

MR. BOOLEY has taken the liberty of
endeavouring to give this communication an air
of novelty, by omitting the words 'Now, Sir,'
which are generally supposed to be essential
to all letters written to Editors for publication.