Morning journal and courier., 1893-03-29
CATS, AND A BLACK CAT.

Inc Qomestlc CAT IL An interesting ana q
mysterious animal. 1t has long been init
mstsly connected with the human race,
and 1t has had a prominent place in the
history, the religion, the superstition and
the family life of mankind. 1t la not
known that 1t was In the Garden of Eden,
taking comfort with our first parents,
and 1t can therefore only be wondered
whether the devil was as successful in
charming 1t as he was with the woman,
whose descendants have been the cats
particular friends. We do not find it
mentioned as q member of Noah's men-
agerie, but 1t was undoubtedly there, for
do We not read that specimens of every
clean beast were in ita 1t Is spoken of in
the records of very ancient times, and
since then has managed to keep itself
conspicuously connected with the onward
march of humanity. We find 1t consid-
cred sacred in old Egypt. Temples were
erected in its honor; sacrifices were Of
fered up to 1t; when it died there
was mourning, even to the shaving of
eyebrows, and 1t was made q mummy, to
be dug up to-day with the mummies of
kings and queens. 1t prowlsd and purred
and wove about through Greece and Rome,
as aristocratie, as supple, as artistic, az
warlike, as philosophical and as successful
as any of the famous and the infamous
ones of those days. In the Middle Ages it
made itself respected and feared as the
companion of magiciaus, and the embodi-
ment of Satan. And since then 1t has
played prominent part wherever 1t has
been, whether In the palaces of kings, the
homes of the rich, or the novels of the
poor. 1t has everywhere lived it's life so
well and 30 successfully that it has been
looked on with admiration and wonder,
and has even been credited with having
eight more lives to use than other created
beings have.
With these thoughts in mind, as Lecturer
Stoddard would say, let us turn our stten.
ton to a cat-a black cat with not white
hair on it-that has honorsd the Office of
this paper by choosing 1t for its abode. 1t
came in out of the darkness tho other
night at the hour when graveyards yawn
and ghosts Fit about. 1t brought with 1t
all the mystery of its ancient and mysteri-
GUS tribe. It made no appeal for recogni-
ton or tolerance. It showed in every
movement its right to live wherever
1t might want to, and its confidence
that none would dispute that right.
And none did. All the weary night
toilers Immediately fell under it's
spell. A black cat and midnight
cat of that kind has in it wondrous
things. In Its eyes are mystery, magic and
superstition, and in its gentle yet tigerish
walk suggestions of Cleopatra, the glory
and the cruelty of Egypt, and the wild
beasts of the desert and the jungle. 1t
may be that such cats haveeven more than
nine lives. Perhaps the y live as long as
they will. 1t may be that this very cat
was once sacred and q worshipped being
in Egypt. Perhaps 1t purred with that
Egyptian queen whose purring brought
the proud Roman down. Perhaps 1t has
hobnobbed with Grecian philosophers and
Roman warriors. 1t may have been
the familiar of one of the mas
tors of tho black art In the
Middle Ages. Whatever 1t may have been
or is 1t is wonderful being. 1t has made
itself respected and admired in place
where sentiment is at discount, where
humbug cannot flourish and where pre-
tense withers. 1t has taken possession of
its own in q royal way. It has treated
every body as friend, but 1t has plainly
shown that it is not dependent upon any
body for favor. The stays which graoed
the palaces of New Haven this winter were
not a. graceful, as aristocratic and as well
bred as this cat is. It has taught even
the boy valuable lessons In behavior,
| and reckless, unebservant and inconsider-
i ate as he Is, he sees In this cat a superior
being aud treats it accordingly. A cal
! that can eubdue and rule q printers devil
needs no further mark of power.
Probably some black night-when there
In storm, and the forked lightning ID
rushing about-our mysterious visitor will
go, as quietly and suddenly as 1t came
We do not know what 1t has been or maj
be. But wherever it is 1t will easily hav.
what 1t wants, and will put upon al
around it sense of its mystery and
strength. No cat-worshipping Egyptian
and no necromanoer ever had more i'm
prsssive or moro mystic cat And a. 70,
intelligence 1t is superior to the wonderful
Office cat of the New York Sun. That ca
will eat spring poetry. Thiscat wont ever
look at It. It has no use for trashy sprin,
poetry when 1t carries in itself go much O
the real poetry and romance of the anoien
and the modern world.