The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-05
THEOPHILE GATHERS CATS.
Some Wonderful Animals That Belonged
to the Great Novelist.

Some Wonderful Animals That Belonged
to the Great Novelist.
Theophile Gautier, one of the most
famous and artistic French authors of the
present century, had an especial fondness
for all animals. but cats were his particular
favorites. In his book called "La Mena-
gerie Intime," he describes his household
of pets.
One of the first was Childebrand, a short
haired, fawn-colored beauty, striped with
black velvet, like the clown in Hugo's "Roi
s'amuse." He had great green eyes,
almond-shaped and surrounded by bands
of black. Madame Theophile was another
favorite, reddish and white breasted, pink
nosed and blue-eyed. She dwelt with him
on terms of great intimacy, sleeping with
him, sitting on the arm of his chair when
he wrote, following him on his walks
through his garden, and always present at
meals, when she sometimes stole attrac
tive bits from his plate.
He tells an amusing story about her and
parrot left in his charge for short time
by an absent friend. Madame Theophile
had never beheld parrot and it aston
ished her greatly by its gyrations with
beak and claw and the strange motions of
it's awkward green body She sat for
long time as still as an Egyptian mum
mied cat watching it with meditation, for
she had never witnessed such peculiar
example of natural history. Finally she
seemed to say: 81 have it now; it is
green chickenr" Meanwhile the parrot
watched the cat with increasing alarm,
ruffiing its feathers and whacking its beak
uneasily against its cage. Presently the
cat seemed to say: "Well, even if 1t is
green chicken, very likely it is good TO
eat"
az watched the scene," says Gautier,
"her paws gradually spread and con-
tracted, she gave alternately purr and
growls, and prepared for spring. The
deep bass voice: "Have you breakfasted,
Jocquot?"
A blare from trumpet, pistol shot,
an earthquake could not have frightened
her more. All of her pathological ideas
were upset. "What more?" said the par.
rott, 'the Kings roast beef?"
The cats face expressed terror. "He Is
not bird; he is a monster" she seemed
to say. The green creature then sang a
French couplet about good wine, and the
cat, fleeing for her life, took refuge under
the bed.
Nine. Theophile had all the tastes OF a
great French lady, being especially fond
of perfumes, but patchouh and vertivert
would throw her into ecstacies. She liked
HUSH, lOO, puG oiidl y, Ai4Sh i-OtCS dliCO1Cu
her and she would put her paw upon a
singers lips when such high note dis
tressed her.
A third favorite was brought to Gautier
from Havana by a friend. This was an
Angora, white as a swan, the founder of
the white Dynasty" He received the
name of Pierrot, and as he grew older
anu more dignified this was extended to
Don Pierrot de Navarro. He always loved
to be with people, adored Gautier's literary
friends, and used to sit silently when they
discussed great questions, sometimes put
ting his head on one side and occasionally
making little cry. He used to play
| with books, turning over the leaves with
his paws and going to sleep on top of
them. Like Childebrand he used to sit
by the author when he was at work and
watch his pen move across the paper with
intense interest. He never went to bed
until Gautier returned home, and no mat
ter how late 1t was he would bound out of
the dark to meet him, and so soon as the
candle was lit scamper ahead like page.
His companion was beautiful puss, white
as snow, and owing to her celestial purity
she was named 'Seraphita" for Balzac's
romance.-Philadelph Inquirer.