Commonplace Book

'It is often said that a man may be judged by his dog; it may be said with equal truth that a woman may be judged by her cat.

Musidora's cat was white, but of a fabulous white - whiter than the whitest swan; milk, alabaster, snow, all that has served for white comparisons since the beginning of the world, would seem black by the side of this cat. Among the millions of imperceptible hairs which composed her ermine fur, there was not a single one that was not as dazzling as the purest of silver.

Imagine an enormous powder puff, with eyes adjusted into it. Never has the most coquettish and affected woman had in her movements the grace and perfect finish of this adorable cat. She had incomparable undulations of the spine, curvatures of the back, tosses of the head, curls of the tail, and unimaginable ways of advancing her paws.

Musidora copied her as far as she could, but without attaining the success she desired. But though the imitation was imperfect, it had made of Musidora one of the most graceful women in Paris - that is to say, in the world, for nothing exists here below but Paris.'

from Fortunio by Theophile Gautier (Chapter III)