For, now that these Con, cats, I should say, (frizzle 'em!)
Are masters, they exterminate like Islam[1]!
How shall we deal with them? I'll tell you how:—
Let none but kittens be allowed to miaow!
The Liberal kittens seize us but in play,
And, while they frolic, we can run away:
But older cats are not so generous,
Their claws are too Conservative for us!
Then let them keep the stable and the oats,
While kittens, rats, and mice have all the votes.
'Yes; banish cats! The kittens would not use
Their powers for blind obstruction[2], nor refuse
To let us sip the cream and gnaw the cheese—
How glorious then would be our destinies[3]!
Kittens and rats would occupy the throne,
And rule the larder for itself alone[4]!'
So rhymed my friend, and asked me what I thought of it.
I told him that so much as I had caught of it
- ↑ 'It is as exterminating as Islam.'
- ↑ 'Their powers would scarcely be exercised for the purposes of fanaticism, or in a spirit of blind obstruction.'
- ↑ 'These narrow local bounds, within which our thoughts and schemes have hitherto been pent, will begin to disappear, and a far wider sphere of action will open on the view.'
- ↑ 'Those councils must be freely opened to all who can serve her well and who will serve her for herself.'
