RENAISSANCE 71 



Richelieu lent the weight of his all-powerful 

 example to the fast-growing passion for pussies, 

 although he limited his own appreciation to their 

 infant charms. He delighted in kittens, — the most 

 bewitching playthings in the world, — because they 

 amused him, and saved him now and then from the 

 bleak melancholy which lay ever waiting for a leisure 

 hour. But though he petted and fondled them, 

 smiled at their absurdities, and humoured their love 

 of mischief, the grace of attachment to these frolic- 

 some little friends was denied him all his life. 

 When they matured into sobriety, and put on the 

 delicate charm of mingled intelligence and caprice, 

 he sent them away, and gave their place in his 

 cabinet, and in what was by courtesy called his 

 heart, to a younger and gayer generation. 



Mazarin's love for cats was a more sincere and 

 steadfast emotion. He cherished his beautiful pets 

 all their lives, and took pleasure in the supercilious- 

 ness of their behaviour. His attitude towards them 

 was one of parental care, sweetened and softened 

 by humility. Like Cardinal Wolsey, he reserved 

 his arrogance for men, whose knees are supple to 

 bend ; and, like Wolsey, he found in the companion- 

 ship of his cat the sure road to meekness and self- 

 abasement. For there is nothing so lowering to 

 one's self-esteem as the affectionate contempt of a 

 beloved cat. 



