Tome，unfortunatelyperhapsforIspeakmerelyofindividualtaste，acatisawildanimal。AcatisNaturepersonified。LikeNature，itissomysteriousthatonecannotquitereposeeveninitsbeauty。ButlikeNatureagain，itissobeautifulthatonecannotbelievethatitisreallycruel。Perhapsitisn\'t；andthereagainitislikeNature。Menofoldtimeworshippedcatsastheyworshippedcrocodiles；andthosemagnificentoldmysticsknewwhattheywereabout。Themomentinwhichonereallylovescatsisthesameasthatinwhichonemoderatelyandwithinreasonlovescrocodiles。Itisthatdivineinstantwhenamanfeelshimself——no，notabsorbedintotheunityofallthingsaloathsomefancy——butdelightinginthedifferenceofallthings。Atthemomentwhenamanreallyknowsheisamanhewillfeel，howeverfaintly，akindoffairy-talepleasureinthefactthatacrocodileisacrocodile。Allthemorewillheexultinthethingsthataremoreevidentlybeautifulthancrocodiles，suchasflowersandbirdsandeats——whicharemorebeautifulthaneither。Butitdoesnotfollowthathewillwishtopickalltheflowersortocageallthebirdsortoownallthecats。
Noonewhostillbelievesindemocracyandtherightsofmanwilladmitthatanydivisionbetweenmenandmencanbeanythingbutafancifulanalogytothedivisionbetweenmenandanimals。ButinthesphereofsuchfancifulanalogythereareevenhumanbeingswhomIfeeltobelikeeatsinthisrespect:thatIcanlovethemwithoutlikingthem。Ifeelitaboutcertainquaintandaliensocieties，especiallyabouttheJapanese。TheexquisiteoldJapanesedraughtsmanshipofwhichweshallseenomore，nowJapanhasgoneinforProgressandImperialismhadaqualitythatwasinfinitelyattractiveandintangible。Japanesepictureswerereallyratherlikepicturesmadebycats。Theywerefulloffeatherysoftnessandofsuddenandspiritedscratches。Ifanyonewillwanderinsomegalleryfortunateenoughtohaveafinecollectionofthoseslightwater-coloursketchesonricepaperwhichcomefromtheremoteEast，hewillobservemanyelementsinthemwhichafancifulpersonmightconsiderfeline。Thereis，forinstance，thatoddenjoymentofthetopsoftrees；thoseairytraceriesofforksandfadingtwigs，uptowhichcertainlynoartist，butonlyacatcouldclimb。Thereisthatelvishloveofthefullmoon，aslargeandlucidasaChineselantern，hunginthesetenuousbranches。Thatmoonissolargeandluminousthatonecanimagineahundredcatshowlingunderit。Thenthereistheexhaustivetreatmentoftheanatomyofbirdsandfish；subjectsinwhichcatsaresaidtobeinterested。Thenthereistheslantingcat-likeeyeofalltheseEasterngodsandmen——butthisisgettingaltogethertoocoincident。Weshallhaveanotherracialtheoryinnotimebeginning\"AretheJapsCats？\"，andthoughIshallnotbelieveinmytheory，somebodyelsemight。Therearepeopleamongmyesteemedcorrespondentswhomightbelieveanything。ItisenoughformetosayherethatinthissmallrespectJapsaffectmelikecats。ImeanthatIlovethem。Ilovetheirquaintandnativepoetry，theirinstinctofeasycivilisation，theiruniqueunreplaceableart，thetestimonytheybeartothebustling，irrepressibleactivitiesofnatureandman。IfIwerearealmysticlookingdownonthemfromarealmountain，IamsureIshouldlovethemmoreeventhanthestrongwingedandunweariedbirdsorthefruitful，ever-
multiplyingfish。But，asforlikingthem，asonelikesadog——thatisquiteanothermatter。Thatwouldmeantrustingthem。
IntheoldEnglishandScotchballadsthefairiesareregardedverymuchinthewaythatIfeelinclinedtoregardJapsandcats。Theyarenotspeciallyspokenofasevil；theyareenjoyedaswitchingandwonderful；
buttheyarenottrustedasgood。Youdonotsaythewrongwordsorgivethewronggiftstothem；andthereisacurioussilenceaboutwhatwouldhappentoyouifyoudid。Nowtome，Japan，theJapanofArt，wasalwaysafairyland。Whattreesasgayasflowersandpeaksaswhiteasweddingcakes；whatlanternsaslargeashousesandhousesasfrailaslanterns!……but……but……themissionaryexplainedIreadinthepaperthattheassertionanddenialabouttheJapaneseuseoftorturewasamerematterofverbaltranslation。\"TheJapanesewouldnotcalltwistingthethumbsback\'torture。\'\"