The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-09-01
FOLK TALES OF CATS.
THE ORIGIN OF TABBY is TRACED
BACK TO THE EGYPTIANS.

Sir Henry wyxt's Feline Friend and How
1t Saved Him From Death by Starvation
as Decreed by the Wicked King Rich
ard III.
Some scholarly enthusiast should wrile
q volume on the folklore Of cats. So long
as we believed that the domestic cat de-
scended from the wild European species
it's appearance In legends and fairy tales
was In no way more puzzling than that OF
the fox or the wolf, but science has
wrecked that comfortable theory, and 1t
seems to follow that all the folklore Of cats
has arisen in historic time-a conclusion
well worth the study Of those who take in.
terest in such subjects. Our cats are
heritage from ancient Egypt Max Muller
pronounces that even the Sanskrit word Is
ICON paratively recent" India received
the animal probably from the Greeks, who
themselves had only lately become &C.
Quainted with 1t.
The intelligent schoolboy will jeer at
this assertion. Does not Aristophanes re-
fer to the gale, and is not gallo cat: The
husbandman in 1.-The Peace suspects it
Of stealing game from his larder. Any
how" he says, ~ heard the gale making
a great noise there last night What
could this household pet be unless catY
Professor Rolleston has demonstrated that
it could be the white breasted marten and
was, in fact delightful little creature
for those who could bear its smell, and
one not to be surpassed at mousing. 1t
would seem that the Romans were not
familiar with cats, even in Pliny's day,
for he evidently thinks that they smelled
like gale. 1t is alleged that the whole
| Roman literature contains less than half q
| dozen illusions to cats before the Christian
| era.
Upon the other hand, cat is represent
| ed in one of the grandest and apparently
| one of the oldest Etruscan tombs. 1t has
lust caught a mouse and holds It, NO
| doubt there was intercourse between the
Tuscans and the Egyptians. But in north
ern mythology the chariot Of Freyga, or
Frigga, is drawn by two cats. She was
goddess of love and luck, very properly as
ISOLATED with q creature which is gentle
and tender at the domestic hearth, but en-
terprising in courtship and fearless in
| meeting a rival. Is it to be credited that
Freyga's cats were the wild variety? The
matter is not SO unimportant as it looks,
but decidedly this is not the place for an
excursus upon the date of the Asa gods.
In q very early saga we find wicked
man, Thorolf Sleggja, defying the venge-
ance of his neighbours under protection OF
20 cats. At length the chief of the district
mustered Is men and assaulted the house.
Thorolf posted his cats at the door, land
they looked very fierce, lnewing and roll
ing their eyes" When the chief ap-
preached, "they cried out and began to
act hideously" So he remar' ed, ''This IL
a wicked company" and withdrew to the
| lol Aroh dc
on the roof and set it blazing. Thorol1
burst out presently with a chest Of silver
under each arm, caught one of his enemies
and jumped into the neighboring bog
holding him tight Neither bodies nol
treasure could be recovered. The site OF
his house was haunted by cats ever after
ward, land evil was thought to dwell
there"
A volume is needed for this subject, be
cause among other reasons it must be Il
Illustrated by stories, or the public will bt
bored, and stories fill up. nero string
of facts "goes in at one ear and out at th'
other In such a volume the legend O
Dick Wilmington would require severa
scores OF pages for proper treatment. Her
we say nothing about it.
But there is another folklore tale OF tn
same class not nearly so familiar to tn
public Sir Henry Wyatt was committed
to the tower by Richard III and pitifull.
treated He had neither bed nor clothe
and only food enough to keep him JUS
alive Winter set in, and he was like t.
perish with cold. One night cat slit
down tho chimney, came to him purrtnI
and confident, as to it's master, curled 1t
self upon his chest and kept him warm til
morning. Then it passed up the Gimme.
again, to reappcar presently with pigeon
which it put into Sir Henry's hand an
vanished for the day.
When the jailer came, he begged TO
moro food, but the man replied that b
burst not. Then wilt thou dress any
provide?" asked Sir Henry. Very willing
" the jailer promised, and he kept hi
word, though startled and alarmed a
sight of the pigeon. So things went on 70
! time. But wicked Richard determine
! to starve his enemy to death and gave OF
ders to that effect. Then the cat paid se1
eral visits during the day, bringing a p
geon each time and the jailer, rightly COZ
I GLIDING that there were miracles about,
/, reverently cooked them. So Henry out
1 lived his prosecutor, and the story is 81
. tant to this day among the muniments {
I that ancient family, but not transcribe
e by the hero, as we understand, nor in hi
n generation. The account states, however
g that picture of Sir Henry, with the CO
9 and the pigeon, was to be seen. Like ev
} dence is put forward in Wilmington
r case.
e Since all things are possible, it must nc
n be said that either wondrous narrative
0 untrue. But meantime we class thel
both among folk tales.-Pall Mall G.
| Zatte.