a favourite tabby and tortoiseshell cat, which was well known to the frequenters of the hall. The cat had a family of four kittens, which she was allowed to keep in a basket at the rear of the stage. Soon after the fire was discovered, the cat was seen rushing about frantically. She several times attempted to make her way down the corridor in the direction of the stage, but each time was beaten back by the smoke. Presently she reappeared with one of the kittens in her mouth. This she laid carefully down at her master’s feet in the small hall which the fire had not touched. Again she rushed through the smoke, and again reappeared with a kitten, and this manœuvre she repeated the third time. She was now apparently half-blinded and choked by the smoke she had passed through, and it was thought that she would be content; but she seemed unable to rest while she knew that one of her kittens was still in danger; and, giving a look at the little struggling group on the floor, the cat, evading some one who tried to stop her, once more dashed down the corridor towards the seething mass of flames, which by this time had enveloped the stage and the lower end of the hall. Her return was anxiously awaited, but she did not come back. Afterwards, when examining the ruins, some of the firemen came across the charred and blackened remains of the mother and kitten, lying side by side where the fire had overtaken them.”

CHAPTER V.

DOMESTIC VARIETIES.

In the estimation of persons who have no appreciation of the beautiful in animal life, a cat is a cat, and nothing but a cat. I have often observed some surprise expressed by visitors at a large cat-show on seeing an assemblage of so many different sorts of cats. These same persons had often seen examples of every class before—in the houses of friends, in shops, gardens, etc., etc.; but the beauties had been passed unobserved. At a good show, where well-selected specimens of the common house cat are arranged in line, and classed according to colour, sex, etc., a novice cannot but be surprised at the unexpected sight of so interesting an array of feline beauty. At the leading shows the animals are arranged in two main divisions; viz., long-haired and short-haired cats. These two divisions are again sub-divided into he-cats, she-cats, kittens, and gelded cats. The he and she-cats are again divided in classes according to colour, as tortoiseshell and tortoiseshell and white, brown, blue or silver, and red tabby, tabby and white, and spotted tabby; also cats of unusual colour, and Manx, or tailless cats. A brief description of the characteristic points of the different classes, as at the Crystal Palace, will be given in this chapter.

The 13th of July, 1871, was a memorable day in the cat world, and an eventful one at the Crystal Palace, for it was then and there that the very first cat-show took place. Mr. Harrison Weir, F.R.H.S., the well-known animal painter, has the honour of being the originator of these interesting exhibitions; and he has kindly placed at my disposal a few particulars respecting the primary arrangements. He suggested the idea to Mr. Isaac Wilkinson, manager at that time, drew up the schedule of prizes, the way in which the classes were to be judged, the amount of prize-money, etc.; and he also acted as judge. The show was put under the management of Mr. Wilson, of the Natural History Department, who very ably conducted it; and the whole affair proved a gratifying success—so much so, that Mr. Weir received the thanks of the Directors, and a very handsome, large silver tankard, with suitable inscription. So great a success did the exhibition prove, that it was immediately decided to repeat it later in the year.[2] The show was also held twice in the year following (1872), and has been continued annually ever since. “My idea,” Mr. Weir remarks, “for holding a show was that the cat was a truly useful domestic animal, though a much neglected one, and if I could only induce the multitude to take a pride in their cats, and select them more for their beauty and ultimate value in the market, I might achieve a good result in the way of kindly treatment to an animal much neglected by some.”

The great success and the good example of the Crystal Palace show was very naturally soon followed up at Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow, and many large centres of population, and now even the smaller provincial towns can boast an annual exhibition of feline favourites.

The varieties of our short-haired cat will now deserve our attention.

Tortoiseshell.—Cats of this breed are also sometimes called Spanish cats, and display a very marked contrast to the tabby varieties. The general colour is a kind of reddish tawny, or sandy, more or less thickly covered with blotches or dabs of black. So very irregular are the markings in these cats, that some individuals are very handsome creatures, and some, on the other hand, are far from prepossessing in appearance. Tortoiseshell cats are of somewhat smaller growth. But, in our comparative estimate of size, we are apt to be somewhat misguided, from the fact that all the tortoiseshell cats we meet with are she-cats, and can never attain the large size of the tom tabby cats, with which they are often compared. The tortoiseshell male cat is a treasure often sought for, but very, very seldom found. Ever since the commencement of the shows just alluded to, there has been only a single specimen of the pure tortoiseshell male cat exhibited. Experiments have been tried in every way to breed to this colour, but without the desired result. But tortoiseshell and white he-cats are occasionally to be seen. At the last Crystal Palace show there were two very fine toms of this description.

Our common favourites, the tabby cats, are, on the whole, the handsomest and the best. They are of every shade, but three distinct varieties are known as brown, blue or silver, and red.

TABBY CAT.

Brown Tabby.—Although there is considerable individual variation in these cats, the general characteristics are as follows:—The ground-colour should be a deep, rich brown grey, striped with black. These markings converge from a central stripe of black, more or less broken, which follows the line of the spine, a mark in some degree characteristic of the whole feline race. The tail is barred with black, and a line of narrow stripes runs from the forehead, passes between the ears, and, passing down the neck, it disappears. The face is adorned with little swirls and stripes, so disposed as to give the general expression of the countenance that air of satisfaction so peculiar to puss. The under parts of the body may be of a paler colour, but no pure white is seen in a true tabby tom-cat. The tip of the nose, the lips, and the pads of the paws are to be desired of a dark colour. One, if not two, bold swirls of black across the chest are to be looked for in these cats. They have been appropriately termed