THE CAT OF ALBION 95 



"cat's aunt ; " while a foolish boy who grins and 

 stammers instead of answering promptly is called 

 — Oh ! stinging reproach ! — the " cat's uncle." 

 There is even a name to denote this feline con- 

 sanguinity, — Grinagog, which sounds like the very 

 embodiment of contempt. 



The wild-cat, that splendid and courageous beast 

 which roamed the English woods in savage free- 

 dom, was hunted both for the beauty of its skin, 

 and because, though small in stature, its strength 

 and fierceness made it a noble quarry. In those 

 old rough days the chase was a dangerous diver- 

 sion, and men loved it for the peril that it brought. 

 Richard the Second granted to the Abbot of Peter- 

 borough, who was a man of mettle, a license to 

 hunt wild cats in the royal forest. In Beaumont 

 and Fletcher's " Scornful Lady," we find this allu- 

 sion to the sport : — 



" Bring out the cat-hounds ; I '11 make you take a tree." 



and Shakespeare does infinite honour to the animal's 

 spirit when he likens Katharine to one, in " Taming 

 of the Shrew." 



" But will you woo this wild-cat ? " 



It was the admitted courage of cats, both wild 

 and tame, which gave them their conspicuous place 

 in heraldry, ever since the days when Roman le- 

 gions and Vandal hordes carried their cat banners 



