CATACOMBS
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CATALPA
than trie house cat, with yellowish-gray fur and dark stripes down the back, along the sides, across the legs, and rings on the tail. In common with all the wild members of the family, it is very fierce in disposition. The animal called wild cat in America is a lynx. The common domestic cat probably is a descendant of the Egyptian cat, which was tamed 13 centuries B. C. From Egypt it was carried into Europe, but was long scarce and very expensive. There are many varieties of cats. Some of the best known are the fawn-colored, royal Siamese cat, with blue eyes and small head; the Maltese cat, of a bluish-gray color; the large Angora or Persian cat, with long, generally whitish fur; and the beautiful Spanish or tortoise-shell cat. The Manx cat of the Isle of Man is tailless and has very long hind legs. In cats the senses of sight, hearing and touch are very highly developed, and the intelligence also is great. Their whiskers are sensitive hairs, and the pupil of their eye expands in the dark, enabling the animal to see with a small amount of light. The habits of domestic cats are well known, and they do many clever things. From early times cats have beeii the objects of superstition. In Egypt they are held in the highest reverence, and sacrifices were offered to them. In the middle ages they were believed to be the friends of witches, and the favorite shape of Satan was said to be that of a black cat. See Mivart's The Cat (1880) and Champfleury's Cats, Past and Present (1885).
Cat'acombs are ancient underground places for burying the dead. Those in Egypt, the burial places of the ancient kings, are very remarkable; but the most important are the famous Roman catacombs. These are to be found on almost all the roads leading out of the city, at a distance of two or three miles outside of the walls. More than 40 of these cemeteries are known to have existed, and two thirds of these were of considerable extent; and, if the galleries were extended in a straight line, they would reach at least 300 or 400 miles. Many of them are very old having been originally quarries; but a large number were dug solely for the purpose of burial and as places of worship. Each catacomb forms a network of passages or galleries, usually eight feet high by two or three wide. The graves are in tiers on the sides, and when undisturbed are found closed by marble slabs or tiles, on which are often found inscriptions or Christian emblems. The catacombs were used by the Christians during the ages of persecution as places of burial and also of worship; but the use of them was at various times forbidden, and at the beginning of the 5th century the practice of burial there entirely ceased. When the ages of persecution came to an end, a new era opened in the history
of the catacombs. Christian pilgrims flocked from all lands to see them and to do honor to the martyrs entombed there. Some of the more important tombs were decorated with marble and some with gold and silver. In the 6th and 8th centuries they were ravaged by the Goths and Lombards, and in consequences the sacred relics were removed to the churches. The catacombs then fell into neglect, and were almost forgotten by the Christian world. They were at this time thronged with outlaws and assassins. They were again somewhat cleared, and in 1578 an accidental landslip brought them to light and they soon attracted universal attention. They have since been much studied and written about. Other catacombs are those of Naples, Syracuse and Malta. The so-called catacombs of Paris are simply old quarries under the city, to which the contents of graveyards have been removed.
Catalan! (kd-td-lafne), Angelica, an Italian singer, was born in 1779 near Ancona, and in her seventh year displayed such wonderful powers that strangers flocked from all quarters to hear her. She began her professional career at Venice when 18 years old, and for more than thirty years passed through a series of triumphs in every country in Europe. Her large, queenly person and fine countenance, the immense volume and range of her voice and at the same time her lightness and ease in its use everywhere took her audiences by storm. She twice directed the Italian opera in Paris. She bought a villa near Florence after retiring from the stage, where she gave free instructions to girls who had a talent for singing. She died in 1849.
Catalonia, a former province of Spain, in the northeast of the kingdom and situated south of the Pyrenees, east of Aragon, and bounded on the south by the Mediterranean. It to-day comprises the provinces of Gerona, Lerida, Tarragona and Barcelona. Its area is 12,480 square miles, and in 1910 it had a population (known as Catalans) of 2,075,-033. It is the chief agricultural and manufacturing district of Spain. The soil is productive in the valleys, where grain, flax, grapes and fruits are raised, while much of the region is rich in minerals, including iron, copper, zinc, coal and marble. The principal seaport and seat of Spanish commerce is Barcelona; population (1910), 560,000.
Catalpa (ka-tal'pa}, a kind of tree of which there are seven or eight species, two being found in the United States. The common catalpa is a native of the southern part of the United States, and is cultivated as an ornamental tree in most of the cities of the northern states. It has silver-gray bark, and its showy flowers are white, slightly tinged with purple and violet in the throat. The flowers are followed by
