The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-10-23
PUSS AND HER FRIENDS

Through her love for puss, Jenny Lind
sang the childish song that helped her to
become one Of the brightest stars in the
musical world of art. Happy the life of
a puss to be such helper in life's great
work! Many another puss has been the
companion of the great and distinguished
ones of the world. Puss ever held an
honored place by the side of Cardinal
Wolsey, and helped him WELD his vast
power and give audience to princes.
Chateaubriand loved puss so we'll that,
when he was French Ambassador to
| Rome, the pope gave him, as the most
precious gift he could bestow upon him,
the cat that belonged to the former pope,
Leo XII; and he bore it tenderly to Paris.
The illustrious French author, Victor
Hugo, was seldom seen without his beau
tiful Angora cat. The learned DR.. John
son was very proud of his puss, named
Hodge, and was never too busy with his
literary work to go out and buy delica-
cies for his pet.
Sir Isaac Newton was a great lover of
puss; and, though he was one of the most
intellectual men that ever lived, yet puss
so blinded him to all philosophy that,
after having hole made in his door for
her to pass in and out, he also had a
smaller hole made for the kitten. Lord
| Chesterfield was SO fond of his puss and
her family that he left to them a pension,
and provided, also, for their posterity.
Horace Walpole was devoted to his favor
tie puss, Selma; and the poet Gray wrote
an ode ON her death. Not many years
ago, Offenbach wrote an opera in honor
of puss. Southey had happy family of
cats at Greta, which were carefully nurs-
ed by his household, and dosed by the
Keswick doctors. Petrarch not only sang
the praises of his cat, but had it en-
balmed.
Where puss was in the old Bible times
We do not know. 1t is said she did not
even have name in the Hebrew tongue.
Though the apostles do not say word
about her, puss was known to the Egyp-
tians long before New Testament times,
for on their monuments we find her
image. Herodotus tells us she was en-
balmed and buried in Bubastis, where
there was temple erected to her honor.
The Egyptians still love her; and the
Sultan provides for her feast every day
in mosque near Cairo-not for one puss
only, but for the whole tribe of pussies,
who hurry to the temple at the appoint
ed hour, and eat to their hearts content.
Perhaps one reason why the Oriental
people cherish puss so tenderly is because
their prophet Mohammed loved his pet
cat so we'll, and they tell us that one day,
when called hastily away on urgent bust
ness, he was unwilling to disturb puss
as she lay sleeping ON his robe, and so
cut off the flowing sleeve, and left her TO
her peaceful slumbers.
Not only in Egypt, but in many lands,
is puss cared for. In Bombay, India,
they have hospitals for animals, where
every poor, sick, ownerless puss is taken
in and tenderly cared for These Hindus
send out carts at night to pick up the
poor animals that have been cast out into
the street.
Puss has refined tastes and human-Iike
sympathies. In her dainty step she re-
veals her Egyptian ancestry. Born in a
land where there was little or no rain,
even now her feet shrink from the we