ii 4 THE FIRESIDE SPHINX 



accurate study of his feline model. What he sought 

 was that decorative touch which Pussy imparts so 

 graciously when in accord with her surroundings. 

 Her supple limbs, her thick soft fur, her air of ease 

 and arrogance harmonize beautifully with the rich 

 Venetian setting. The utmost point of splendour 

 and self-indulgence reached by nations can do no 

 more than meet and suffice the ordinary tastes of 

 a cat. 



A very different view of the subject is afforded 

 us by the Florentine Cenacolas, those monastic 

 frescoes which, with exquisite taste and feeling, 

 adorned the refectory walls. In them we find the 

 sleek convent cat, who appears to have presented 

 herself invariably to the painter's notice, and to 

 have met with every possible attention at his hands. 

 Over and over again we see her ; sometimes curled 

 sleepily on the floor, as in Allori's fine but defaced 

 picture in the Carmine ; sometimes pilfering gravely 

 from the bread-basket ; often est sitting — where 

 we least like to see her — at the feet of Judas. In 

 that most lovely fresco by Ghirlandajo in the smaller 

 refectory of San Marco, the Apostles are ranged 

 round the board on high-backed settles. Saint John 

 as usual rests his head upon the table. Judas, quite 

 apart from the others, is balanced uncomfortably on 

 a three-legged stool. An open arcade beyond re- 

 veals rich glimpses of leafy trees, with peacocks and 



