224 The Common Cat. [Sess. 



the Fiddle " illustrated most realistically. How interested we 

 were to hear nurse repeating — 



" ' Pussy cat, pussy cat, 

 Where have you been ? ' 

 * I've been to London, 

 To see the Queen,' 



' Pussy cat, pussy cat. 



What did you there ? ' 

 ' I frightened a little mouse 



Under her chair.' " 



This referred to Queen Anne. Then at a later time we were 

 never weary of listening to the adventures of Dick Whitting- 

 ton and his cat. We positively refuse to believe even now 

 that he was a coal merchant, and brought his goods from 

 Newcastle to London in a vessel called the Gat, in 1381. 

 Then the story of Puss-in-Boots fascinated us as we heard of 

 how the all-powerful cat obtained not only a fine castle, but 

 a princess also, for his master, the Marquis of Carabas, who 

 really was only a miller. We were told when we smiled 

 too broadly that we were like Cheshire cats, and only long 

 afterwards did we learn that these were cheeses moulded in 

 the shape of a grinning cat. Did we not try to excuse our- 

 selves for any error by laying the blame on poor pussy ? As 

 Calverley says in his ' Sad Memories ' — 



" Should ever anything be missed — milk, coals, umbrellas, brandy, 

 The cat's pitched into with a boot, or anything that's handy." 



The, Cat as an Object in Art. — After the female form, I am 

 sure that no other animal has been so often the subject of the 

 artist's brush as the cat. The exquisite beauty and graceful- 

 ness of pose makes it pre-eminently suitable for a picture. The 

 old Italian masters, as well as the Dutch school of painters, 

 very frequently introduce a cat or kittens into their composi- 

 tions. In recent times " the Raphael of Cats " was Mind, 

 who pictured cats in every conceivable position. Madame 

 Henriette Ronner and Monsieur Lambert are two French 

 artists who excel in depicting cats ; and who has not en- 

 joyed the immensely amusing caricatures of Mr Louis Wain 



