In the meantime the cat slowly recovered. The socket of the lost eye presented, it is true, a frightful appearance, but he no longer appeared to suffer any pain. He went about the house as usual, but, as might be expected, fled in extremeterror at my approach. I had so much of my old heart left, as to be at first grieved by this evidentdislike on the part of a creature which had once so loved me. But this feeling soon gave place to irritation. And then came, as if to my final and irrevocable overthrow, the spirit of PERVERSENESS. Of this spirit philosophy takes no account. Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart - one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such? This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow. It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself - to offer violence to its own nature - to do wrong for the wrong's sake only - that urged me to continue and finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute. One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; - hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; - hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; - hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin - a deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul as to place it - if such a thing wore possible - even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God.

On the night of the day on which this cruel deed was done, I was aroused from sleep by the cry of fire. The curtains of my bed were in flames. The whole house was blazing. It was with great difficulty that my wife, a servant, and myself, made our escape from the conflagration. The destruction was complete. My entire worldlywealth was swallowed up, and I resigned myself thenceforward to despair.

I am above the weakness of seeking to establish a sequence of cause and effect, between the disaster and the atrocity. But I am detailing a chain of facts - and wish not to leave even a possible link imperfect. On the day succeeding the fire, I visited the ruins. The walls, with one exception, had fallen in. This exception was found in a compartment wall, not very thick, which stood about the middle of the house, and against which had rested the head of my bed. The plastering had here, in great measure, resisted the action of the fire - a fact which I attributed to its having been recently spread. About this wall a dense crowd were collected, and many persons seemed to be examining a particular portion of it with very minute and eager attention. The words "strange!" "singular!" and other similar expressions, excited my curiosity. I approached and saw, as if graven in bas relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat. The impression was given with an accuracy truly marvellous. There was a rope about the animal's neck.

When I first beheld this apparition - for I could scarcely regard it as less - my wonder and my terror were extreme. But at length reflection came to my aid. The cat, I remembered, had been hung in a garden adjacent to the house. Upon the alarm of fire, this garden had been immediately filled by the crowd - by some one of whom the animal must have been cut from the tree and thrown, through an open window, into my chamber. This had probably been done with the view of arousing me from sleep. The falling of other walls had compressed the victim of my cruelty into the substance of the freshly-spread plaster; the lime of which, with the flames, and the ammonia from the carcass, had then accomplished the portraiture as I saw it.

Although I thus readily accounted to my reason, if not altogether to my conscience, for the startling fact just detailed, it did not the less fail to make a deep impression upon my fancy. For months I could not rid myself of the phantasm of the cat; and, during this period, there came back into my spirit a half-sentiment that seemed, but was not, remorse. I went so far as to regret the loss of the animal, and to look about me, among the vile haunts which I now habitually frequented, for another pet of the same species, and of somewhat similar appearance, with which to supply its place.

One night as I sat, half stupified, in a den of more than infamy, my attention was suddenly drawn to some black object, reposing upon the head of one of the immense hogsheads of Gin, or of Rum, which constituted the chief furniture of the apartment. I had been looking steadily at the top of this hogshead for some minutes, and what now caused me surprise was the fact that I had not sooner perceived the object thereupon. I approached it, and touched it with my hand. It was a black cat - a very large one - fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every respect but one. Pluto had not a white hair upon any portion of his body; but this cat had a large, although indefinite splotch of white, covering nearly the whole region of the breast. Upon my touching him, he immediately arose, purred loudly, rubbed against my hand, and appeared delighted with my notice. This, then, was the very creature of which I was in search. I at once offered to purchase it of the landlord; but this person made no claim to it - knew nothing of it - had never seen it before.

I continued my caresses, and, when I prepared to go home, the animal evinced a disposition to accompany me. I permitted it to do so; occasionally stooping and patting it as I proceeded. When it reached the house it domesticated itself at once, and became immediately a great favorite with my wife.

meantime [´mi:ntaim]   n.&ad.其间；同时   (初中英语单词)

extreme [ik´stri:m]   a.尽头的 n.极端   (初中英语单词)

terror [´terə]   n.恐怖；惊骇   (初中英语单词)

evident [´evidənt]   a.明显的，明白的   (初中英语单词)

dislike [dis´laik]   vt.&n.不喜爱，厌恶   (初中英语单词)

philosophy [fi´lɔsəfi]   n.哲学；人生观   (初中英语单词)

account [ə´kaunt]   vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目   (初中英语单词)

primitive [´primitiv]   a.原始的 n.原始人   (初中英语单词)

primary [´praiməri]   a.主要的 n.居首位的   (初中英语单词)

character [´kæriktə]   n.特性；性质；人物；字   (初中英语单词)

violence [´vaiələns]   n.猛烈；暴力(行)   (初中英语单词)

injury [´indʒəri]   n.伤害；毁坏；侮辱   (初中英语单词)

deadly [´dedli]   a.致命的 ad.死一般地   (初中英语单词)

immortal [i´mɔ:təl]   a.不死的n.不朽的人物   (初中英语单词)

destruction [di´strʌkʃən]   n.破坏，毁灭   (初中英语单词)

wealth [welθ]   n.财富，财产   (初中英语单词)

weakness [´wi:knis]   n.虚弱；弱点，缺点   (初中英语单词)

disaster [di´zɑ:stə]   n.灾难，不幸   (初中英语单词)

exception [ik´sepʃən]   n.例外；反对，异议   (初中英语单词)

measure [´meʒə]   n.量度；范围 vt.测量   (初中英语单词)

portion [´pɔ:ʃən]   n.嫁妆；命运 vt.分配   (初中英语单词)

curiosity [,kjuəri´ɔsiti]   n.好奇；奇事；珍品   (初中英语单词)

impression [im´preʃən]   n.印刷；印象；效果   (初中英语单词)

beheld [bi´held]   behold的过去式(分词)   (初中英语单词)

reflection [ri´flekʃən]   n.反射；映象；想法   (初中英语单词)

victim [´viktim]   n.牺牲者；受害者   (初中英语单词)

readily [´redili]   ad.乐意地；容易地   (初中英语单词)

altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə]   ad.完全；总而言之   (初中英语单词)

conscience [´kɔnʃəns]   n.良心；道德心   (初中英语单词)

immense [i´mens]   a.广大的，无限的   (初中英语单词)

apartment [ə´pɑ:tmənt]   n.一套房间   (初中英语单词)

steadily [´stedili]   ad.坚定地；不断地   (初中英语单词)

thereupon [,ðeərə´pɔn]   ad.因此；于是   (初中英语单词)

landlord [´lændlɔ:d]   n.地主；房东；店主   (初中英语单词)

disposition [,dispə´ziʃən]   n.安排；性情；倾向   (初中英语单词)

occasionally [ə´keiʒənəli]   ad.偶然地；非经常地   (初中英语单词)

frightful [´fraitfəl]   a.可怕的；不愉快的   (高中英语单词)

overthrow [´əuvəθrəu]   n.推翻；打倒   (高中英语单词)

perpetual [pə´petʃuəl]   a.永恒的；终身的   (高中英语单词)

inclination [,inkli´neiʃən]   n.倾斜；爱好；天资   (高中英语单词)

longing [´lɔŋiŋ]   n.&a.渴望(的)   (高中英语单词)

infinite [´infinit]   a.无限的，无穷的   (高中英语单词)

accuracy [´ækjurəsi]   n.准确(性)；精密度   (高中英语单词)

chamber [´tʃeimbə]   n.房间；议院；会议室   (高中英语单词)

cruelty [´kru:əlti]   n.残忍；残酷行为   (高中英语单词)

plaster [´plɑ:stə]   n.灰泥 vt.厚厚地涂抹   (高中英语单词)

startling [´stɑ:tliŋ]   a.惊人的   (高中英语单词)

species [´spi:ʃi:z]   n.(生物的)种，类   (高中英语单词)

violate [´vaiəleit]   vt.违背；冒犯；侵害   (英语四级单词)

remorse [ri´mɔ:s]   n.懊悔；自责；同情   (英语四级单词)

worldly [´wə:ldli]   a.现世的；世俗的   (英语四级单词)

sequence [´si:kwəns]   n.继续；顺序；程序   (英语四级单词)

imperfect [im´pə:fikt]   a.不完全的；未完成的   (英语四级单词)

compartment [kəm´pɑ:tmənt]   n.间隔；隔室   (英语四级单词)

adjacent [ə´dʒeisənt]   a.接近的；紧接着的   (英语四级单词)

carcass [´kɑ:kəs]   n.(动物的)尸体   (英语四级单词)

accomplished [ə´kʌmpliʃt]   a.完成了的；熟练的   (英语四级单词)

touching [´tʌtʃiŋ]   a.动人的 prep.提到   (英语四级单词)

delighted [di´laitid]   a.高兴的；喜欢的   (英语四级单词)

socket [´sɔkit]   n.窝，穴，孔；插座   (英语六级单词)

irritation [,iri´teiʃən]   n.(被)激怒；疼痛处   (英语六级单词)

consummate [kɔn´sʌmit]   a.完美的 vt.完成；圆房   (英语六级单词)

merciful [´mə:sifəl]   a.仁慈的；宽大的   (英语六级单词)

apparition [,æpə´riʃən]   n.(幽灵)出现；鬼；幻影   (英语六级单词)

compressed [kəm´prest]   a.压缩的   (英语六级单词)

habitually [hə´bitjuəli]   adv.习惯地   (英语六级单词)

indefinite [in´definit]   a.模糊的；无限期的   (英语六级单词)