io2 THE FIRESIDE SPHINX 



&quot; The cat, with eyne of burning coal, 

 Now couches fore the mouse s hole.&quot; 



How keenly descriptive of the struggle we have all 

 of us witnessed between Pussy s caution and cupid 

 ity, is Lady Macbeth s scornful jibe : 



&quot; Letting / dare not wait upon / -would, 

 Like the poor cat i the adage.&quot; 



Yet in all this there is no touch of kindness ; and 

 when we go further, we fare worse. 



&quot; Every cat and dog, 

 And little mouse, every unworthy thing,&quot; 



moans Romeo, who ought to have been ashamed of 

 such a speech, even in the extremity of his anguish. 



&quot; Creatures vile, as cats and dogs, 

 Of no esteem ; &quot; 



says Cornelius in &quot; Cymbeline.&quot; 



&quot; Hang off, thou cat, thou burr : vile thing, let loose ! &quot; 



cries Lysander to poor Hermia ; and Bertram, in 

 &quot; All s Well that Ends Well,&quot; must needs air his 

 unwelcome views. 



&quot; I could endure anything before but a cat, and now he s a cat 

 to me : &quot; 



is the angry word he flings at Parolles ; and, as his 

 resentment flames hotter and hotter, he can appar 

 ently find no more stinging reproach : 



&quot; He is more and more a cat.&quot; 

 &quot; He s a cat still.&quot; 



