Chapter II

The black cat came to us a twelvemonth since;
The black cat is a stranger with us yet;
We treat him well; we call him our Black Prince.
So thick and glossy is his coat of jet
You well might say that you have never met
A cat so lordly, though he seems to brood
Over some wrong he never can forget.
We know that he could tell us, if he would--
Our dear Black Prince, so sad, so gentle, and so good!