190 NAT tin A LIST'S CABINET. 



Cats formerly held in great esteem. 



greai importance, on account of its scarcity and 

 utility. The price of a kitten before it could see, 

 was fixed at one penny; till proof could be given 

 of its having caught a mouse, two-pence ; after 

 which'lt was rated at four-pence; a great sum in 

 those days, when the value of specie was ex- 

 tremely high. It was likewise required, that the 

 animal should be perfect in its senses of hearing 

 and seeing, should be a good mouser, have its 

 claws whole, and, if a female, be a careful nurse. 

 If it failed in any of these qualifications, the 

 seller was to forfeit to the buyer the third part of 

 its value. If any one should steal or kill the cat 

 that guarded the prince's granary, the offender 

 was to forfeit either a milch ewe, with her fleece, 

 and lamb ; or as much wheat as, when poured on 

 the cat suspended by its tail (its head touching 

 the floor), would form a heap high enough to 

 cover the tip of the tail. 



M. Baumgarten inform us, that when he was 

 at Damascus, he saw there a kind of hospital for 

 cats: the house in which they were kept was 

 very large, walled round, and was said to be quite 

 full of them. On enquiring into the origin of 

 this singular institution, he was told, that Maho- 

 met, when he once lived there, brought with 

 him a cat, which he kept in the sleeve of his 

 gown, and carefully fed with his own hands. 

 His followers in this place, therefore, ever after- 

 wards paid a superstitious respect to these ani- 

 mals; and supported them in this manner by 



