raised them from the rank of emblems, to that of representatives of the Deity herself. The Cynocephalus kept in the temple of Hermopolis, or the sacred hawk adored at Heliopolis, enjoyed, in like manner, a consideration far beyond the rest of their species, though all were sacred to Thoth and Rê, the Gods of those cities: and this remark equally applies to all the sacred animals of Egypt. I have already observed, that in places where the Deities, to whom particular animals were consecrated, held a distinguished post in the sanctuary, the ceremony of removing them, after death, to another city was dispensed with.* We consequently find that the bodies of cats were embalmed and buried at Thebes, and other towns, where the rites of Pasht were duly observed: and if some individuals, as already stated, preferred, from a bigoted fancy or extravagant affection, to send the body of a favourite to the Necropolis of Bubastis, it was done with the same view, as when a zealous votary of Osiris requested, on his death-bed, that his body should be removed from his native town to "the city of Abydus. This, as Plutarch says, "was in order that it might appear to rest in the same grave with Osiris himself;" but it was merely a caprice, in no way arguing a common custom. A few instances of a similar kind probably induced Herodotus to infer the general practice of removing the cats which had died in other places to Bubastis, as the Ibis to Hermopolis. + * Vide suprà, p. 100. + Plut. de Is. s. 20. After showing how prolific Egypt was in domestic animals, Herodotus mentions* two peculiarities of the cats, by which he accounts for their numbers not increasing to the extent they otherwise would. But these, like other prodigies of the good old times, have ceased in Egypt, and the actions of cats, like other things, have been reduced to the level of common-place realities. He tells us, that "when a house caught fire, the only thought of the Egyptians was to preserve the lives of the cats. Ranging themselves therefore in bodies round the house, they endeavoured to rescue those animals from the flames, totally disregarding the destruction of the property itself; but, notwithstanding all their precautions, the cats, leaping over the heads and gliding between the legs of the bystanders, rushed into the flames, as if impelled by divine agency to self-destruction." Were this true the love of their domestic animals must frequently have sacrificed several contiguous houses, during their exertions to prevent the suicide of a cat; but, however great the grief of the Egyptians, in witnessing these wonderful cases of a feline felo de se, we may make some allowance for the exaggeration of a Greek t, and doubt the neglect of their burning dwellings‡ stated by the historian. That their numbers do not diminish in Egypt, *Herodot. ii. 66.; and Ælian, vii. 27. + I have had occasion to observe, that Herodotus has sometimes sacrificed truth to the pleasure of setting forth an amusing contrast to Greek customs, and striking his readers or hearers with surprise. Several instances of this may be pointed out in his Euterpe, 35 and 36. - “ Αμελησαντες σβεννύναι το καιομενον.” is perceptibly felt by the present inhabitants of Cairo; who are frequently obliged to profit by the privilege of sending their surplus Cat population to the house of the Kadi, where a fund is charitably provided for their maintenance. When they are found to have increased, as is often the case, to a troublesome extent in a house, the inmates send a basket full of cats to be set loose in the Kadi's court-yard; without much regard to the feelings of the neighbours, who happen to live in so disagreeable a vicinity. Daily at the asser*, a person, employed for this purpose, brings a certain quantity of meat, cut into small pieces, which is thrown into the middle of the court-yard, and a prodigious number of cats is seen about that hour, coming down from the walls on all sides, to partake of their expected repast. The weak and the newly arrived fare but badly, the whole being speedily carried off by the veterans, and the most pugnacious of the party, the former excelling in rapidity of swallowing, the latter in appropriating; and many only obtain a small portion, while the claws and teeth of their stronger competitors are occupied. A similar feeling in favour of this animal provides food for other communities of cats, in various parts of the city; and though they no longer enjoy the same honours as their predecessors, they are invariably well treated by the modern Egyptians, from their utility in freeing the houses from the * In the afternoon, between midday and sunset. numerous rats and reptiles which so often infest them. Such favourites are they, that, while the dog is looked upon as an unclean animal, whose touch is carefully avoided by the Moslem, the cat is often allowed to partake of the same dish with its master; unless there be reason to suppose it has been contaminated by eating a scorpion, or other unclean reptile. The origin of the respect paid to the Cat by the ancient Egyptians, was owing to the benefits it was thought to confer on mankind, by destroying various noxious reptiles.* And though, as I have already observed, Diodorus, in considering it as the enemy of the asp, and other serpents, gives it more credit than it really deserved, its utility in a country like Egypt must have been universally allowed. This predilection for it is frequently alluded to in the paintings, where a favourite cat is represented accompanying the master of the house in his fowling excursions, or when seated at home with a party of friends. "The care they took of the Cat, and other sacred animals," says Diodorus †, "was remarkable. For these and the ichneumons, they prepared bread sopped in milk, or fish of the Nile cut up into small pieces, and each was supplied with the kind of food best suited to its habits and taste. As soon as they died, they were carried amidst bitter lamentations to the embalmers, and their bodies having been prepared with oil of cedar, and other aromatic * Diodor. i. 87. + Diodor. i. 83. substances capable of preserving them, were deposited in sacred vaults." Numerous embalmed Cats are found in tombs at Thebes, and other places in Upper and Lower Egypt. They are frequently accompanied by the mummies of dogs, — probably from these two being looked upon as the favourite domestic animals of the country. They are generally enveloped in the same manner, the legs bound up with the body, and the head alone left in its real shape. This, from the ears and painted face, readily indicates the animal within the bandages; which are sometimes of various colours, arranged in devices of different forms. Cat mummies were sometimes deposited in wooden boxes or coffins; but in all cases they were wrapped in linen bandages, which, as Diodorus observes*, were employed for enveloping the bodies of cats, and other sacred animals. According to Plutarch†, the Cat was placed upon the top of the Sistrum, "to denote the Moon; its variety of colour, its activity in the night, and the peculiar circumstances attending its fecundity, making it a proper emblem of that luminary." For it is reported, that at first it brings forth one, then two, afterwards three, and so on; adding one to each former birth till it reaches seven; so that it brings forth twenty-eight in all, corresponding to the several degrees of light which * Diodor. i. 83. + Plut. de Is. s. 63. |