A black cat in Tuntorp, Sweden. Although the title suggests a children’s book, The Life and Adventures of a Cat was a satirical look at life in eighteenth-century England, and some of the celebrities, newsworthy events and contentious causes of the day.
Tom was not long relating the occasion, and after having held a short conference with the gravest and most sagacious, he appointed the hour and place of assignation, which was at the mouse-trap- maker’s house between the hours of twelve and one at night.
They met according to appointment, when all the house was asleep, and he shewed the machines, at the fame time interpreting the use of them to his brethren, and the next thing that came upon the tapis,* was what to do with them, how to dispose of them, and in fine* how to destroy: them; and the result of this short conference was to burn them on the spot; they accordingly gathered the chips and shavings that lay about the shop, and dragging about two hundred of them, which were finished, they in an hour’s time set fire to them all; as there was a fire in the shop* it was easily done by sixty Cats, who were as busy as their indignation could make them, nor did they much care whether they set the house on fire as they detested every thing in it, both the house and the master.
From ‘The Life and Adventures of a Cat’ (1760) by an anonymous author. With acknowledgements to ‘Tom - the Life and Adventures of a Cat The First Cat Novel in World Literature’ (2024) by Frank-Daniel Schulten.
* To be ‘on the tapis’ is to be up for discussion. A tapis (from Greek tapetion, little carpet, via Middle French) is a cloth, such as a tablecloth, a carpet, a rug or a curtain. The phrase mettre quelque chose sur le tapis (‘put something on the rug’) is still used in French to mean ‘put something up for discussion’.
* In fine is Latin for ‘in the end’, that is, at the close of debate.
* That is, there was a hearth with a domestic fire on it still burning at that late hour, which allowed Cats (who are not known for their ability to strike matches) to kindle their wood-shavings.
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Précis
At the hour they had agreed, Tom and his sixty allies gathered at the mousetrap shop. There they piled up all the combustible materials they could lay a paw upon, and set the shop and its contents ablaze; for by this time, they were so enraged that it did not matter to them who or what went up in flames. (60 / 60 words)
At the hour they had agreed, Tom and his sixty allies gathered at the mousetrap shop. There they piled up all the combustible materials they could lay a paw upon, and set the shop and its contents ablaze; for by this time, they were so enraged that it did not matter to them who or what went up in flames.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, if, just, must, since, unless, until, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Both. Structure. Upon.
2 Appoint. How. Traverse.
3 Go. Much. Over.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
x
0
Add
Your Words ()
Post Box : Ask Nicholas
Grok : Ask Grok
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Post Box.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
Related Posts
A herd of goats is threatened by a pride of lions, and it falls to one brave billy to face the danger alone.
Picture: © Samyan Bahga, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted May 14 2022
In this fable from India, a sly little insect teaches a jackdaw that all that glisters is not necessarily edible.
Picture: © Forza, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted May 13 2022
On his travels through China and Tibet, Roman Catholic missionary Évariste Huc came across a novel way of telling the time.
Picture: By Su Hanchen (12th century), via the National Palace Museum (Taipei and Taibao, Taiwan) and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted May 26 2018
Picture: © T. R. Shankar Raman, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted February 24 2018