July 20, 1896

The Dickenses named their firstborn Charles Dickens, (January 6, 1837 to July 20, 1896) after his famous father. The son, lacked the genius and the drive of his father. He edited his father's magazine, All the Year Round, a periodical succeeding to the Dickens weekly Household Words. Here is a story that appeared in 1884, in a Dickens periodical. I am quoting the story in its entirety:

An American Cat.

Mr. Willis, who lives in Oldham county, Kentucky, had a cat which daily remained away from the house several hours at a time. One day Mr. Willis was walking through a small wood about a mile from his house when he saw his cat a few yards ahead of him, sitting in a kind of recess under a rock. It would sit still for a long time, then walk over to some object near it in the hole and rub its head against it, purring most contentedly. What was his astonishment when he came up to the edge of the rock, and saw that the object of the cat's attention was nothing more or less than a large snake. The snake was curled up in a ring, and when the cat would approach it the snake would thrust, up its head to receive the cat's caresses. This continued for about half an hour, when the cat evidently grew weary, and, after turning around several times to ensure a comfortable position, lay down beside the snake and was soon fast asleep. The next day Mr. Willis took a couple of friends with him to witness this strange spectacle. The manoeuvres were repeated. At length they resolved'to kill the snake, and did so. This seemed to completely overwhelm the cat with grief, and it used to visit the rock daily, as usual, for several days, without, however, finding out what had become of its companion.