A Cat Blessing »

WELLERAN POLTARNEES has a lifelong love of gardens. His first memory is falling out of his baby carriage and landing on a bed of odorous white flowers which not only kept him from injury, but made the experience a sensual delight. He collects books about, and pictures of, gardens — but there are few timeless things that he does not so honor. He uses a book called Great Gardens of the World as a guide whenever he travels, and, with the exception of the Boboli Gardens in Florence, which came highly recommended and which he found monotonous — the gardens have always refreshed him. His favorite time for gardens is night. His favorite garden music is Manuel De Falla's "Nights in the Gardens of Spain," and his favorite garden poem is "The Garden" by Andrew Marvell.

Cats have lived among us as friends for at least 8000 years. At first the relationship was one of mutual service - the cat exchanging rodent control for a warm place to sleep. The interdependence has grown deeper and subtler with the passage of time. In this volume Welleran Poltarnees speaks of the traits he values in cats, among which are: grace, dignity, self-reliance, creative playfulness and mystery. Each of his eloquent statements is accompanied by two pictures. Some of the artists included are: Steinlen, Renoir, Foyita, George Stubbs, Henriette Ronner-Knip, Oliver Herford, A.E. Kennedy, Edwin Noble. and Louis Wain.