208 THE CHAUS. 
tonched a morsel until their hostess had finished her own dinner. My informant heard 
this narrative from the owner of the chateau. 
In the conduct of this hospitably minded Cat there seems to be none of the com- 
mercial spirit, which actuated the two Mincing Lane Cats, but an open-pawed liberality, as 
beseems a Cat of aristocratic birth and breeding. The creature had evidently a sense of 
economy as well as a spirit of generosity, and blending the two qualities together, became 
the general almoner of the neighbouring felines. There must have also been great 
powers of conversation between these various animals, for it is evident that they were 
able to communicate ideas to each other and to induce their companions to act upon the 
imparted information. 
THE CHAUS.—Chaus Lybicus, 
RETURNING once more to the savage tribe of animals, we come to a small, but clearly- 
marked group of Cats, which are distinguishable from their feline relations by the sharply 
pointed erect ears, decorated with a tuft of hair of varying dimensions. These animals 
are popularly known by the title of Lynxes. In all the species the tail is rather short, and 
in some, such as the Peeshoo, or Canada Lynx, it is extremely abbreviated. 
The CHaAvs, our first example of the Lyncine group, is not unlike the lion in the general 
tawny hue of its fur, but is extremely variable both in the depth of tint and in certain 
indistinct markings which prevail upon the body, limbs, and tail. The fur, however, is always 
more grizzled than that of the lion, and there seem to be ‘in almost every individual 
certain faint stripes upon the legs and tail, together with a few obscure stripes or dashes 
of a darker colour upon the body. 
Along the back, the hue is deeper than on the sides, and on the under parts of the body 
the fur is of a very pale tint. The extremity of the tail is black. The markings which 
are found on this animal are caused by the black extremities of some of the hairs. When 
these black-tipped hairs are scattered, they produce the grizzly aspect which has been 
mentioned as belonging to this animal, but when they occur in close proximity to each 
other, they produce either spots, streaks, or dashes, according to their number and arrange- 
ment. On the tail, however, they always seem to gather into rings, and on the legs into 
