Morning journal and courier., 1893-03-04

we must look In other Proverbs than hii
| for critical mention of the familiar animal
| Among the oldest of the sayings Is the
| one still often quoted: "a cat may look ai
a king" 1t Is found in a collection Of
| proverbs and epigrams published by John
Haywood about the middle of the sixteenth
| century, and the comment made upon II
by Photographer, who had included q
| collection of proverbs in his dictionary,
was, "This Is saucy proverb, generally
made use of by pragmatical persons.
Haywood, who was q learned and accom-
plished man, was also sort of jester at
the court of Henry VIII, and with the
liberty accorded to q Jester, he may have
said 1t many a time, ssucily enough, to
that portly and ''merry" monarch.
But It shows that which Is akcertain IN
alIensble right of the humble-the right of
looking on. They may take in at the eyes
as much as these who are of more exalted
station, and 1t may do them more good.
eyes were made for SEEING" and the eye
that recognizes the beauty of flower, or
the glory of the sunset is the onefor which
the beauty and the glory were created.
In this old saying, pussy is an example
of a class In the next, ga cat has nine
lives" another of her privileges Is men
toned, but 1t is doubtful one. This also
is found in Heywood's collection ex-
tended to women. "A woman hath
nyne lyves like a est"-praotical-
ly indestructable, you see. The
next in order is, "Care will kill q cat {"
This ought also to be extended to women,
since in spite of a certain toughness of fibre
and elasticity of epirit even women will
succumb to care, as the est is said to do,
for all it's plurality of existences. 'Ils
laugh and be fatte, for care kills a cate, I"
IL I,ll l.
his "Poem on Christmas" advises:
Hang sorrowl Care will kill a cat,
And therefore let's be merry"
While Shakespeare makes Claudio cay to
Benedict: "What, courage, nsni What
though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle
enough in thee TO kill care"
One accomplishment attributed to Puss
by the old sayings, is the ability to speak
when supplied with strong drink. 'Good
liquor will mako a cat speak," how, we are
not told, but perhaps as wisely and as well as
would her master 'when the wine is in the
man." This curious fancy is found, with
some variety of phrasing, in many of the
English writer's from Shakespeare down.
On allusion to the cats sharpness and
tricky little ways, especially with the mice,
is found in this saying, although the
cat winks, she is not blind" Sir Thomas
winked when her eye was oute"-bad,
treacherous creaturel pretending to be al
most overcome with sleep. but all the time
alert and keenly observant.
"When the cat Is away the mouse will
play" needs no word of explanation; nor
does this one, "The cat in gloves catches
no mice;" while "to watch as cat watches
a mouse" plainly expresses the fullest ex-
ercise of quiet but intense vigilance.
In the "Adagia" of Erasmus, as collect
ed by one Taverner, also of the time of
Henry the Eighth, is found this quantity
worded proverb: s'The cate will fYshe
cate, but she wyl not her feete wette."
The dainty neatness of the tribe In this
respect Is we'll known, but cats are ardent
lovers of fish, and many a pussy has for
gotten her distsste for wet paws and has
gone q. fishing in goldfish globe, or pond,
or river. OF this fact numerous well au-
thenticated instances are given by natural
lists.
When this saying is applied to human
beings it seems to denote hesitation or
cowardice. So Lady Macbsth upbraids
her trembling spouse
Live coward in thine own esteem,
Letting dare not wait upon 4 would
Like the poor cat + tbs adage.'
To descend here from the tragic to the
absurd, there ia story of a school boy at
Rugby, who, to the masters question,
"Whst Is the meaning of the word adager
replied, ga place to put cats into" Laugh
ter was general, except on the part of
young Bsrttlelot, who, when afterwards
queer answer, somewhat su1kily replied,
"Well, sir, doesn't it say in Shakespeare
Like the poor cat in the adageP"
ga cat snd dog life" What could be
more expressive of pickering and disagree
ment among human beings, of continual
scratching and teasing, of fault-fnding,
and retslistionl
But tins fails us to bring up all these
curious phrases. There are a few, how
ever, that are very mysterious. exciting
our wonder as to their origin. Why does
a "Cheshire cat grin" any more than a
cat or Come cticut catt
And why, when q secret is divulged, or a
plot exposed, do we say that "the cat is
let ont of the bag" And why do We sit on
the fence and wait to see (which way the
cat is going to jump" before we make up our
minds what course to pursue in politics
or business venturesl "Who will bell the
cst7" may be traced back to "Fhe Vision
of Piers Ploughman." first printed in 1850
and written about two handred years be-
fore that date. But why child, swsying
to and fro, ever slower and slower, until
there is complete cessation of motion in
ths swing, should ssy she is "letting the
old cat die," is question for wise men to
ponder over. And while they are meditat-
ing-we have Shakespeare's authority for
1t, and he seems to know more about cats
than Solomon did
'tLet Hercules himself do what hs may,
The cat will NEW, aud dog will have his day"
HILARY