Such talk only encourages the mind to continue its empty imaginings." Just at that point the Stuben-madchen trod on the cat's tail, and the cat let fly a frenzy of cat-profanity.

I asked, with caution: "Is a cat's opinion about pain valuable ?" "A cat has no opinion; opinions proceed from mind only; the lower animals, being eternally perishable, have not been granted mind; without mind, opinion is impossible." "She merely imagined she felt a pain--the cat ?" "She cannot imagine a pain, for imagining is an effect of mind; without mind, there is no imagination.

A cat has no imagination." "Then she had a real pain ?" "I have already told you there is no such thing as real pain." "It is strange and interesting.

I do wonder what was the matter with the cat.

Because, there being no such thing as a real pain, and she not being able to imagine an imaginary one, it would seem that God in His pity has compensated the cat with some kind of a mysterious emotion usable when her tail is trodden on which, for the moment, joins cat and Christian in one common brotherhood of--" She broke in with an irritated-- "Peace! The cat feels nothing, the Christian feels nothing.