To Miss Seward’s Cat by Erasmus Darwin

Cats I scorn, who, sleek and fat,
Shiver at a Norway Rat;
Rough and hardy, bold and free,
Be the cat that’s made for me.

He, whose nervous paw can take
My lady’s lap-dog by the neck;
With furious hiss attack the hen,
And snatch a chicken from the pen.

If the treacherous swain should prove
Rebellious to my tender love,
My scorn the vengeful paw shall dart,
Shall tear his fur, and pierce his heart.

From: The Parterre of Poetry and Historical Romance; with Essays, Sketches, And Anecdotes, Volume V, 1836, Effingham Wilson Junior: London, p. 233.
(http://books.google.com.au/books?id=AG8EAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA233&lpg=PA233&dq=erasmus+darwin+cat+norway+rat&source=bl&ots=GOGiNQDc-b&sig=bs_ASvpYaqCGBpff6DTMQaShqHs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6cnJT8qrPM2iiAen1eXpBg&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=erasmus%20darwin%20cat%20norway%20rat&f=false)

Date: 1780

By: Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)