Page:The fireside sphinx.djvu/297

 Rh sapphire blue or pale amber, and they possess the human and undesirable accomplishment of shedding tears in moments of anger or agitation. Of a gentle and affectionate disposition, they are said to make devoted husbands and fathers,—an uncommon but by no means unknown trait among cats whose family ties are fostered by kindness and sympathy.

Notwithstanding the blueness of their blood, and the princely seclusion in which they have lived for centuries, Siamese cats are ardent mousers, and love the pleasures of the chase as well as any stable-born animal, bred to the sport from tenderest kittenhood. This is the ruling passion of the race, as we are told by Æsop and La Fontaine. The fair cat-bride of fable slipped from her husband's arms to chase a flying mouse; and among the happiest pussies to-day are probably those hard-worked servants of the public who do not know their own utility. The National Printing Office of France employs a large staff of cats to guard the paper from devastating rats and mice. No salary is paid them; but the cost of their daily meals and the wages of their custodian are regular items of expenditure. Cats are kept also in some of the French military magazines; and a recent report states with becoming gravity that the authorized allowance is not sufficient for their comfortable maintenance.