5 o THE FIRESIDE SPHINX 



from the life of Saint Benedict ; and the Flemish 

 sculptor, deeming no convent complete without its 

 cat, has slyly introduced several into his pious 

 work. One stall shows us Pussy quarrelling in a 

 most unsanctified spirit with Benedict s blessed 

 raven ; and, in another, we see her eating a mouse 

 under the bed of a sleepy brother whom the Saint 

 is vainly endeavouring to arouse. The elaborate 

 oak panellings which surround the altar in the 

 upper sala of the Scuola di San Rocco are of a 

 much later date, so that we are hardly surprised at 

 the frank admission of a cat into Saint Roch s com 

 pany. She sits on a well-curb, regarding him with 

 thoughtful indifference. The anxious solicitude of 

 his dog, the sleepy affection of Saint Jerome s lion, 

 the humble fidelity of Saint Anthony s pig, find no 

 reflection in her steadfast gaze. She merely stares 

 at the Saint, as she stares at Venice from one of 

 the columns of the Ducal Palace. Some subtle 

 lack of sentiment renders her curiously ill-adapted 

 for pious parts, notwithstanding her constant and 

 very charming presence in Italian art, of which 

 much may be said. Certain it is that she was 

 deliberately ignored throughout those earlier years, 

 when the great cathedrals rose slowly and superbly 

 into being. We cannot believe with M. Champfleury 

 that the sculptors of the Middle Ages failed to rec 

 ognize the cat s beauty and grace ; she must have 



