The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1881-01-15

neither nam$nOr representation out O
Great Britain.
VARIETIES OF CATS.
The varieties of the cat are very nu
merouS: it is either entirely black (blacl
and whitc:) black. fulvous. and whit,
(called tortoise-shell or Spanish eat:
| entirely white: fulvous and white; din
color or downy. either plain or striped
tabby. boldly striped: slatc-colored OF
blue gray (called the Chartreux cat:
with very long fur. cspecialllson the mech
and tail (thc Persian cato long hair o
Silvery Wilderness and silky texture (cailcC
the -tngora cat:) and lastly. with pen.
cied OF tulted ears. like a lynx. which
sometimes. though rarely. takes place
OF all the above varieties. the Persian
the Angora and gray Malta varieties are
the most remarkable. The Isle of Man
variety. When these are crossed will
al ordinary tailed cat, the progeny ex-
hbits the intermediate stages between
tail and no tail. From long local usage
the word - tabby is applied indiscrimi-
nateIy to almost all varieties Of cats after
they have passed out Of kittenhood
"HITTINGToN AND HIS CAT"
The familiar nurSe-story of whit
tington and His Cat can be traced fan
back. Sir William Gore Ouseley, we'll
known Oriental scholar. who was British
Ambassador to the Court of Persia in
script that in the tenth century one kcis.
the sch Of poor widow in Sir:ti. en-
barked for India with his sole property
"A cat. He fortunately arrived there
when the palace was SO infested with
mice or rats that they carried off the
king food, and persons were employed!
to drive them from the royal banquet.
keis produced his cat; the noXiouS ami
mails disappeared and magnificent re-
turned to :5iraf rich man. There is
mention of Sir Richard Wilmington in
Shirley's Constant Maid, play pub
lished in 1910, thus:
Faith, how many churche, do you mean to
build
Before you die? Six bells in every steeple
And let them all 90 To the city time.
Turn again, Wilmington" who, they say,
Grew rich, and let his land out for nine
lives,
'tluse all came i'll by :, cat.
This refers to the English custom OF
letting dwelling houses on leases for a
term of three lives. Wilmington. it
seems. trebed that term, which was a
great advantage to his tenants. Whit
tington died in 1921, having completed
his third mayoralty of London in 1920.
GOOD QUALITIES OF CATS.
1t is said that eats are cruel and treach.
erous, yet with all the prejudice that ex.
lists against t,'em they possess qualities
which well entitle them to the regard
and protection of mankind. 1t is an in.
tereSting ght. that of cat teaching /:
kitten its future duties. in which doneS.
tic cleanliness as well as mice hunting
bears an important place. Some instances
| are given in which greatness is reproveG
by the mother, but not one III reproof OF
the errors of late hoars. Cats are serc.
| nadng animals. and often in the opel
air swear and spit at each other, lur-pull
ing and blood letting being their great
delight, which nothing short Of de-
Scending boot Jack. backing brush OF
poker seems sufficient to disturb. There
have been many queer cats. We knew 1
cat that used to sit compacently on the
| table and assist himself to the cream by
inserting his paw i'll 4 narrow-necked
pitcher and luXurinusly licking the pro-
ceeds off from it. In concluding this
essay-We say Scat.