THE CAT TRIUMPHANT 153 



as grand a dignitary, if not as austere an ecclesias- 

 tic, as his master. 



It was perhaps by way of compensation for 

 their evil repute, and for the unholy nature of their 

 associations throughout the Middle Ages, that cats, 

 when struggling back to respectability, should have 

 been so widely patronized and encouraged by the 

 Church. The shadow that rested on their fair 

 fame gave them, it may be, an added interest to 

 the clerical mind, which has ever a turn for exor- 

 cism. Washington Irving, sitting in the library of 

 Abbotsford, observed how attentively Hinse lis- 

 tened to the Arthurian legends which Scott was 

 reading aloud. "Ah ! " said the wise Sir Walter, 

 " cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is 

 more passing in their minds than we are aware of. 

 It comes no doubt from their being so familiar with 

 warlocks and witches." 



By this time they were equally familiar with the 

 Christian hierarchy. Gregory the Great was not 

 the only Pope who delighted to honour his cat. 

 Richelieu and Mazarin were not the only Cardinals 

 who cultivated the companionship of kittens. The 

 Abbe Galiani was not the only ecclesiastic who had 

 a passion for the race, though few others manifested 

 it in so strenuous a manner. Losing one of his pets 

 through the negligence of a servant, the inconsol- 

 able Abbe marked the severity of his displeasure 



