Cardinal Richelieu had many a kitten, too; and morose and ill-tempered
as he was, found in them much amusement. His love for them, however, was
not that unselfish love which led Mahomet to cut off his sleeve; but
simply a selfish desire for passing amusement. He cared nothing for that
most interesting process, the development of a kitten into a cat, and
the study of its individuality which is known only to the real lover of
cats. For it is recorded of him that as soon as his pets were three
months old he sent them away, evidently not caring where, and procured
new ones.
M. Champfleury, however, thinks it possible that there may not be any
real foundation for this story about Richelieu. He refers to the fact
that Moncrif says not a word about the celebrated cardinal's passion for
those creatures; but he does say, "Everybody knows that one of the
greatest ministers France ever possessed, M. Colbert, always had a
number of kittens playing about that same cabinet in which so many
institutions, both honorable and useful to the nation, had their
origin." Can it be that Richelieu has been given credit for Colbert's
virtues?
In various parts of Chateaubriand's "Memoires" may be found eulogiums on
the cat. So well known was his fondness for them, that even when his
other feelings and interests faded with age and decay, his affections
for cats remained strong to the end. This love became well known to all
his compeers, and once on an embassy to Rome the Pope gave him a cat.
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