SMALLER CATS. 



421 



Darwin considered that the origin of the domestic cat could not be determined 

 with certainty; and concluded by remarking that whether domestic cats have 

 descended from several distinct species, or have only been modified by occasional 

 crosses, their fertility, so far as is known, is unimpaired. 



That the ancient Egyptians had succeeded in taming thoroughly the cats of 

 which the mummified bodies are found in such numbers at Bubastis and Beni- 

 Hassan, is perfectly well ascertained. This is indeed demonstrated by a painting 

 in the British Museum, representing a fowling scene. Commenting upon this 

 picture, Mr. P. H. Gosse observes that it apjiears to have been the custom for the 

 fowler to enter upon .such expeditions accompanied bj^ some of the female members 



THE CAFFRE CAT (\ nat. size). 



of his family. " Embarking on board a boat, with a few decoy-birds and a trained 

 cat, they proceeded to such parts of the river as were fringed with dense masses of 

 the tall papjTUS-reed. Waterfowl of various species swarmed in these rushy 

 covers : and, by the number of nests with eggs and young usually represented, we 

 are doubtless to infer that the possession of this sort of stock was no less desired 

 than that of the birds themselves. The cat, strange as it appears, was certainly 

 taught to seize upon the birds ; in the picture before us she has just caught one in 

 her mouth, while she holds another with her two fore-paws, and a third between 

 her hind-paws. It is probable also that the repugnance of this animal to wet her 

 feet having been overcome by training, she was accustomed to fetch such birds as 

 fell into the water." In a footnote Mr. Gosse adds that it is " interesting to find 

 the cat domesticated at so early a period. In the ochreous tints of the brindled fur, 

 the two dark spots near the extremity of the tail, and a trace of the curved line 

 upon the cheek, we think we recognise the F. onanicvJnfn [ = F. cafra], to which 

 modem naturalists have referred our domestic cat : though the Egyptian figure 



