WhenIfirstbeheldthisapparition-forIcouldscarcelyregarditasless-mywonderandmyterrorwereextreme。Butatlengthreflectioncametomyaid。Thecat，Iremembered，hadbeenhunginagardenadjacenttothehouse。Uponthealarmoffire，thisgardenhadbeenimmediatelyfilledbythecrowd-bysomeoneofwhomtheanimalmusthavebeencutfromthetreeandthrown，throughanopenwindow，intomychamber。Thishadprobablybeendonewiththeviewofarousingmefromsleep。Thefallingofotherwallshadcompressedthevictimofmycrueltyintothesubstanceofthefreshly-spreadplaster；thelimeofwhich，withtheflames，andthe_ammonia_fromthecarcass，hadthenaccomplishedtheportraitureasIsawit。
AlthoughIthusreadilyaccountedtomyreason，ifnotaltogethertomyconscience，forthestartlingfactjustdetailed，itdidnotthelessfailtomakeadeepimpressionuponmyfancy。FormonthsI
couldnotridmyselfofthephantasmofthecat；and，duringthisperiod，therecamebackintomyspiritahalf-sentimentthatseemed，butwasnot，remorse。Iwentsofarastoregretthelossoftheanimal，andtolookaboutme，amongthevilehauntswhichInowhabituallyfrequented，foranotherpetofthesamespecies，andofsomewhatsimilarappearance，withwhichtosupplyitsplace。
OnenightasIsat，halfstupified，inadenofmorethaninfamy，myattentionwassuddenlydrawntosomeblackobject，reposingupontheheadofoneoftheimmensehogsheadsofGin，orofRum，whichconstitutedthechieffurnitureoftheapartment。Ihadbeenlookingsteadilyatthetopofthishogsheadforsomeminutes，andwhatnowcausedmesurprisewasthefactthatIhadnotsoonerperceivedtheobjectthereupon。Iapproachedit，andtoucheditwithmyhand。Itwasablackcat-averylargeone-fullyaslargeasPluto，andcloselyresemblinghimineveryrespectbutone。Plutohadnotawhitehairuponanyportionofhisbody；butthiscathadalarge，althoughindefinitesplotchofwhite，coveringnearlythewholeregionofthebreast。Uponmytouchinghim，heimmediatelyarose，purredloudly，rubbedagainstmyhand，andappeareddelightedwithmynotice。This，then，wastheverycreatureofwhichIwasinsearch。I
atonceofferedtopurchaseitofthelandlord；butthispersonmadenoclaimtoit-knewnothingofit-hadneverseenitbefore。