Reflections on kittens

Title

Creator

Brown, Warren

Language

English

Year

1965

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

REFLECTIONS ON KITTENS When Prince Potemkin wanted to send a gift to Ca therine the Great that would distinguish him from all other suitors, he passed over such obvious possibilities as jewels, perfumes or rich fa brics, and presented her with a kitten. The success of his gift is reflected in history, but it is only one instance of the everlasting appeal of kit tens and cats through the ages. Ben Jonson’s favorite ex cursions were to the fish monger’s to get oysters for his fastidious pet; Sir Walter Scott took delight in encour aging his pet’s domination of a bloodhound; Lord Ches terfield left his cat a pension; Victor Hugo, Matthew Ar nold, Henry James, the Bron tes, Mahomet, Petrarch, Wal pole, Gregory the Great and Cardinal Wolsey were other devoted slaves of kittens and cats. Cardinal Richelieu depend ed on kittens for relaxation and entertainment. The me lancholy that threatened to weigh upon him in an hour of inactivity was always dis pelled by the appearance of a basket of frolicsome, tum bling, mischievous kittens. But Richelieu banished his feline jesters as they* ap proached maturity and re placed them with a younger, gayer generation. Perhaps the most innocent ly happy moment of Louis XV’s reign was provided by a kitten. The young king, only eight, had been presid ing wanly over a tedious, in comprehensible meeting of state when a kitten jumped upon the royal lap and then onto the council table where it rolled and romped amongst papers of national impor tance. The Renaissance was the Golden Age for cats; eccle siastical and royal approval was bestowed upon them, and 32 PANORAMA anyone who amounted to anything x in society had at least one of the animals for a pet. One royal lady, an accomplished harpist, insist ed her kitten had more than ornamental value; if she played well, the feline pur red; if she played badly the animal snubbed her. While cats may no longer enjoy the stamp of govern mental approval, affection for them has not waned. Not too many years ago, this ad vertisement appeared in a German newspaper: “Want ed by a lady of rank, for ade quate remuneration, a few well-behaved and respectablydressed children to amuse a cat, in delicate health, two or three hours a day.” Even those who profess to dislike cats weaken at the sight of a kitten. They ex cuse their weaknesss with such remarks as “Kittens aren’t cold and unfriendly,” or “But kittens don’t catch birds,” seeming to forget that the animals won their owners’ affections as kittens but re tained them as they grew up to become cats. — Warren Brown, from an American Magazine. A WORM The late King Edward VII was an indulgent grandparent, but he did not allow the children to interrupt him. At luncheon one day a small grand daughter, allowed as a special privilege to sit next to the king, suddenly started to say something to him just as the salad course was being served. He cut her short and continued with what he had been saying. The child watched him anxiously and present ly tried again to speak, but was again silenced. When the king was quite through with his remarks, he turned to the little girl and asked, “Now, my dear, what was it you wished to say to me?” "It’s too late now,” said the little princess. “I was trying to tell you there was a worm on your lettuce.” — Louise Lamprey. October 1965 33

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