ii6 THE FIRESIDE SPHINX 



with contemptuous scrutiny, as if she fully under- 

 stood the deception which was being practised, but 

 forbore, in indifference, to betray it. On another 

 dish, Orpheus plays to the ravished beasts ; and 

 here a stately cat, very courteous and attentive, has 

 a whole section of the border to herself, the bigger 

 animals keeping at a respectful distance. 



Raphael has introduced Pussy into at least one 

 of his cartoons, — the " Supper at Emmaus." He 

 has presented her in a most aggressive and dis- 

 agreeable humour. She crunches a big bone greed- 

 ily, eyeing meanwhile an unhappy dog that would 

 fain share the feast. Her roughened fur and undu- 

 lating tail betray the angry disturbance of her mind. 

 If we contrast this cat, so true to nature's self, 

 with some of the other animals wrought into the 

 Vatican tapestries ; — with that more than doubt- 

 ful elephant, upon whose back a playful ape is sport- 

 ing ; or with those curious, portly, short-necked 

 beasts, having heads like horses, and rings through 

 their noses to prove to the world they are camels, 

 we see the supreme advantage of the living model, 

 however seldom she may sit, however slightingly 

 she may be handled. Think of the infinite variety 

 of lions — none of them in the least like lions — that 

 accompany Saint Jerome in art ! Sometimes these 

 faithful creatures stand on their hind legs, or trot 

 by their master's side, like amiable dogs ; sometimes 



