in the
Temple of Heliopolis, sacred to the sun, because the size of the pupil
of the cat's eye is regulated by the height of the sun above the
horizon.

"Other authorities suggest a rather more subtle--and, in my opinion,
more probable--reason, namely, that the link between the sun and the cat
is not merely physical but superphysical, that the cat is attracted to
the sun not only because it loves warmth, but because the sun keeps off
terrifying and antagonistic occult forces, to the influences of which
the cat, above all other animals, is specially susceptible; a fact fully
recognized by the Egyptians, who, to show their understanding and
appreciation of this feline attachment, took care that whenever a temple
was dedicated to the sun an image or symbol of the cat was placed
somewhere, well in evidence, within the precincts.

"To make this theory all the more probable, images and symbols of the
cat were dedicated to the moon, the moon being universally regarded as
the quintessence of everything supernatural, the very cockpit, in fact,
of mystery and spookism. The nocturnal habits of the cat, its love of
prowling about during moonlight hours, and the spectacle of its two
round, gleaming eyes, may, of course, as Plutarch seems to have thought,
have suggested to the Egyptians human influence and analogy, and thus
the presence of its effigy in temples to Isis would be partially, at all
events, accounted for; though, as before, I am inclined to think there
is another and rather more subtle reason.

"From endless experiments made in haunted houses, I have proved to my
own satisfaction, at least, that the cat acts as a thoroughly reliable
psychic barometer.

"The dog is sometimes unaware of the proximity of the Unknown. When the
ghost materializes or in some other way demonstrates its advent, the
dog, occasionally, is wholly undisturbed--the cat never. I have never
yet had a cat with me that has not shown the most obvious signs of
terror and uneasiness both before and during a superphysical
manifestation.

"Now, although I won't go so far as to say that ghostly demonstrations
are actually dependent on the moon--that they occur only on nights when
the moon is visible--experience has led me to believe that the moon most
certainly does influence them--that moonlight nights are much more
favourable to ghostly appearances than other nights. Hence--there is
this much in common between the moon and cats--the one influences and