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CAT PHILES

The Cat Ascendant

Dr. Johnson’s Cat

Boswell assures us that Hodge, the affectionate,
Would rise to caresses with mien expectant
Of good things to follow, and, as we now know,
Dr. Johnson himself, solicitous, would go
To find and buy oysters, a personal quest,
To indulge and gratify his cat, lest
Servants vindictive with this annoying duty
Should punish poor Hodge with no one to see.

A domestic snippet from the great Doctor’s life
Who wrung achievement from privation and strife.
Famous for the first Dictionary in English
In an age when rewards did not distinguish
Poor scholars, he found success and the regard of a cat
And made Boswell quiver when he thought on that.

Copyright © 2000 Sandra Landfried
Written August 4, 2000

NOTE: This is based on a quote from from Boswell's
autobiography of Johnson found on the Internet.

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