The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-06-04

4Sul. 1oOo, W w LIZ OSeSNA oNAA'i
Special to The Herald and News.
Rome, Italy. May, 1904 very
long time ago. not a mere matter OF
twenty centuries. not in the age Of
the Imperial Caesars, but about IN
the spring Of 1890. which seems to me
an epoch infinitely farther distant, l
became deeply interested in that mon
umental work, "The Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire.'' Though
scarcely five years of age, I frequent
ly forsook toys and playmates to
spend long hours in my fathers Il
brary with an appreciative mind con-
centrated on the ponderous volumes
of the great English historian. They
made such excellent building blocks!
In that same epoch of kindergarten
kits and curlS, it occurred to 1ne one
afternoon that it would be nice to
have red roof to the top Of the mar
vellous palace I was constructing on
the rug before the open fire, and for
this purpose chose gorgeously bound
volume of Plutarch's s lives. 1t made
a splendid architectural effect, but
the title puzzled me 4 used to read
all the titles because they We're in
bic. shiny capital letters.) Why was
it t1lives'' instead Of ''life?' Who
wah this Plutarch whose biography
had to be written in the plural? That
night I lay awake in my little crib,
vaguely pondering the question, and
at last a great light broke upon me:
man has only ''life,' but cats have
"hves''-nine of them, so I had
been solemnly assured: ergo, Plutarch
was a cat! Now wasn't that trl-
umph of logic for five-year-old?
And it was evident from the size of
the book, that Plutarch could be no
common nursery-rhyme feline, no
ding-dong-bell-pussy's in the well"
kind of a beast, but rather an animal
of high degree, possibly bewitched
prince From that moment, | became
the admirer of the mysterious Plu-
tarch and secretely cherished the
hope that some day I might make
his acquaintance; every time a
strange cat arrived in the nelghbor-
hood, I spied upon its habits to see
If it might not be Plutareh in dis
suise, but I was always disappointed
and at last my hopes of meeting this
wondrous king of cats we're buried
with other childish dreams.
Well, yesterday I met Plutarch! l
recognized him Instantly by the no
bility of his countenance and the su-
perb dignity of his surroundings. He
was enthroned upon broken marble
column, in the centre Of TraJans
Forum; his tail was elegantly cnrled
among the acanthus leaves of the Co.
rinthian capital; his black fur gleam-
ed like onyx in the golden Italian
sunshine, and his green eyes were
contemplating with sphynx-like gray
ity the glorious ruins strewn around
his feet. 1t was quite easy to dlstln-
guish him from the forty or fifty
common cats who were proving
among the classic relics with their
vulgar minds bent on fsh-seraps.
The Forum Of Trajon is large rec
tangular pit, possibly 80 by 300 feet
in extent, in the center of modern
public square. 1t is eighteen or twen-
ty feet deep, and is surrounded by
an iron railing. Its soil is covered
with luxuriant grass, and down there, !
imbedded in the verdant sod, are
countless massive broken columns and
picturesque fragment Of the splen-
did temples which formerly stood on
the spot. This forum has been tor
Years the abode of all the homeless
cats Of Rome. Any day, rain or
shine. winter or summer, scores OF
them are visible, and on bright spring
mornings during the hours when the
sun imparts momentary warmth to
the mossy stones. they become the
chief feature of the landscape. They
do not seem incongruous or out OF
place, and, indeed, the forum would
loose half its desolate, impressive
beauty if they were chased away.
"They say the Lion and the Leopard
keep
The Courts where Jamshyd gloried
+ and drank deep,'
wrote Edward Fitzgerald, describing
the ruins of Babylon's departed gran
deur, and poets have always agreed
that il is necessary to have some kind