4 THE FIRESIDE SPHINX 



Egypt, as the granary of the ancient world, had 

 especial need for Pussy's services, and the Egyptian 

 cat was a mighty hunter, not only of rats and mice, 

 — ancestral prey, — but of wild fowl caught in reedy 

 marshes, and in shallow waters where she could 

 swim with ease. Her sacred character was in no 

 wise impaired by her usefulness. She was the 

 favourite of Pasht, who, in smiling mood, had given 

 her to the world ; and the deep veneration in which 

 she was held provoked biting jests from travellers, 

 who then, as now, lacked sympathy for strange 

 customs and strange gods. Herodotus was plainly 

 of the opinion that the devotion manifested for 

 these cherished beasts produced some uncomfort- 

 able results. In the first place, there were too 

 many cats. The maintenance of those who lived 

 apart in temples, and who were fed with fish, and 

 bread soaked in milk, was a heavy burden upon the 

 state ; and the officials, whose privilege it was to 

 take care of them, seem to have been naturally, but 

 unendurably, proud. Then again, the enforced 

 mourning, the shaving of eyebrows, and all the 

 "mockery of woe" which followed the death of 

 even the smallest kitten, lent a funereal aspect to 

 many homes. Last, but not least, the law which 

 forbade the sinful slaying of a cat occasionally 

 brought vengeance upon the head of the unfortu- 

 nate who unwittingly killed one. For such an evil 



