all in a fingle furvey! Watts. 2. To congratu late. They might proceed unto forms of fpeeches, felicitating the good, or depreciating the evil to follow. Brown. * FELICITOUSLY. adv. [from felicitous. Happily. Dia. * (L.) FELICITY. n. f. [ felicitas, Lat. ; felicité, Fr] Happinefs; profperity; blifsfulness; bleffednefs. The joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin, May live for ever in felicity. Spenser's Sonnets. But virtue join'd with riches and long life, (2.) FELICITY. See FELICITAS & MACARIA. FELECUDI, one of the LIPARI islands, 28 miles W. of Lipari. Lon. 32. 21. E. of Ferro. Lat. 39. 32 N. * FELINE. adj. felinus, Lat] Like a cat; pertaining to a cat-Even as in the beaver; from which he differs principally in his teeth, which are canine, and in his tail, which is feline, or a long taper. Greau's Museum. FELINES, a town of France, in the department of Aude, 6 miles W. of Graffe. FELIPE, SAN, or ST PHILIP, a large bay on the N. fide of Efpirtu Santo. FELIS, in zoology, the CAT, &c. a genus of quadrupeds, belonging to the order of Feræ. The characters according to Dr Gmelin and Mr Kerr, are thefe: Six cutting teeth, all equal, and two tulks in each jaw, and 3 tufks on each fide in both jaws: the tongue befet with rough papilla, which point backwards: The feet are provided with fharp hooked claws, which are lodged in a fheath, and may be extended or drawn in at pleafure: The head is mostly round and the vi fage hort. See PLATES CXLIX. and CL. All the animals of this gebus, though ferocious, are temperate, very agile in climbing trees; alight on their feet, when falling from a height; and feize their prey by furprize. The females bring a confiderable number at a birth, and have all 8 paps. This genus comprehends 28 fpecies and 12 varieties. Mr Pennant has arranged it in two fubdivifions, viz. 1. thofe having long tails and plain ears; and, 2. thofe with fhort tails and ears pencilled at the tips. The latter comprehends 9 different fpecies of lynxes, (See N° XI-XIX.) and the former 19 fpecies, confifting of the lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, cats, and all the reft of the genus. This arrangement is adopted by Mr Kerr. 1. FELIS BENGALENSIS, the BENGAL TIGER CAT, is a very elegant animal, rather lefs than the domeftic cat. The head, upper jaw, neck, back," and fides are of a beautiful pale yellowith brown colour; the head and face triped with black; 3 rows of fhort black ftripes run along the back, towards the tail; a black line behind each fhoulder points downwards; the chin and throat are white furrounded with a black femicircle; the breaft," belly, and infides of the limbs, are white, and, with the legs and rump, marked with black pots: the cars, are large and of a dufky colour, with a white fpot in the middle; a white line runs between each eye and the nofe; the whifkers are white; the tail long, hairy, and brown, annulated with black. A male of this fpecies fwam on board a fhip on the coaft of Bengal, and afterwards produced young ones with female cats in England. II. FELIS CAPENSIS, the CAPE TIGER, or TICER-CAT of the Cape, is the Nsusst of Labat, who was the firft that noticed this fpecies, which he defcribes as "of the fize of a dog, with a coat as much striped and varied as that of a tiger. Its appearance befpeaks cruelty, and its eyes fiercenefs; but it is cowardly, and gets its prey only by cunning and infidious arts." All these characters are perfectly applicable to the Cape cat; and it is found in all parts of Africa, from Congo to the Cape of Good Hope, in an extent of country of about 11 degrees of latitude. Kolben also speaks of a tiger bush-cat, which he defcribes as the largest of all the wild cats of the Cape countries, and as fpotted fomething like a tiger. A fkin of this ani mal was feen by Mr Pennant in a furrier's fhop in London, who thought it came from the Cape of Good Hope; from this fkin Mr Pennant gave the firft defcription which could be of any utility to a natural hiftorian. All the other authors mention this animal in a vague manner. When Dr Forfter touched the fecond time at the Cape of Good Hope in 1775, an animal of this fpecies was offered him to purchase; but he refused buying it becaufe it had a broken leg, which made him apprehenfive of lofing it by death during the paffage from the Cape to London. It was very gentle and tame. It was brought in a basket to his apartment, where he kept it above 24 hours; which gave him the opportunity of defcribing it more accurately than had hitherto been done, and of obferving its manners and economy. Thefe he found to be perfectly analogous to thofe of our domeftic cats. It ate frefli raw meat, and was very much attached to its feeders and benefactors: though it had broke the fore leg by accident, it nevertheless feemed very eafy. After it had been feveral times fed by our author, it followed him like a tame favourite cat. It liked to be ftroked and careffed; it rubbed its head and back always against the perfon's clothes who fed it, and defired to be made of. It purred as our domeftic cats do when pleafed. It had been taken when quite young in the woods, and was not above 8 or 9 months old; but had already very nearly, if not quite, attained its full growth. The Doctor was told, that the tiger-cats live in mountainous and woody tracts; and that in their wild ftate, they are very great deftroyers of hares, rabbits, jerboas, young antelopes, lambkins, and of all the feathered tribe. A very particular techrichal defeription of this fpecies is given in the Phil. Tranf. vol. 71. p. 4. with a figure, which the reader will find copied in Plate CXLIX. III. FELIS CATUS, the common Car, inhabits the 2. FELIS CATUS AUREUS, the long-headed cat, is of a reddifh yellow colour, and has a longthaped head, fharp fnout, fhort legs with weak claws, and round flat ears. It inhabits New Spain. 3. FELIS CATUS CARULEUS, the BLUE or CYPRUS CAT is of a blue grey colour, or greyish black. It is much cultivated in Siberia on account of its fine fur; and was brought there with the other domeftic kinds by the Ruffians. the woods of Europe and Asia, and is domeftica- and confequently of being educated to any exted almost every where. Of this fpecies there are tent. However, we are told that the Greis many varieties. Mr Kerr describes 9 of these, viz. in the ifland of Cyprus trained this animal I. FELIS CATUS ANGORENSIS, the Angora to catch and devour serpents, with which that cat, with hair of a filvery whitenefs and filky tex- iland was greatly infefted. This, howet, ture, and very long, especially about the neck, was not the effect of obedience, but of a general where it forms a fine ruff. It is a large variety; tafte for flaughter; for he delights in watching, found about Angora, the fame country which attacking, and deftroying all kinds of weak aniproduces the fine haired goat. It degenerates af- mals indifferently. He has no delicacy of fcent, ter the firft generation in our climate. A variety like the dog; he hunts only by the eye: neither of this kind is found in China with pendent ears, does he properly purfue; he only lies in wait, and of which the Chinese are very fond, and ornament attacks animals by surprise; and after he bu their necks with filver collars. They are cruel caught them, he fports with and torments them enemies to rats, and fuppofed to be the domeftic a long time, and at laft kills them (when tis animals which the Chinese call fumxi. belly is full), purely to gratify his fanguinary ap petite. The eye of the cat differs greatly from that of most other animals. The pupil is capable of a great degree of contraction and dilatation. It is narrow and contracted like a line during the day, round and wide in the dark. It is from this conformation of the eye that the cat fees beft in the night, which gives him a great advantage in discovering and feizing his prey. Although cats live in our houfes, they enjoy full liberty; for they never act but according to their own inc ination. Befides, a great part of them are half wi'd; they do not know their maiters, and frequent only the barns, out houses, &c. unless when preded with hunger. Cats have a natural antipatay at cold and wetnefs. They likewife hate bad fineils; but they are fond of certain aromatics, and particularly of marun, catmint, and valerian. Cats take about 18 months before they come to full growth; but they are capable of propagation in 12 months, and retain this faculty all their life, which generally extends to 9 or 10 years. They eat flowly, and are peculiarly fond of fish. They drink frequently; their fleep is light; and they often affume the appearance of fleeping, when in reality they are meditating mifchief. They walk foftly, and without making any noife. As their hair is always dry it eafily gives out an electrical fire, which becomes vifible when rubbed across in the dark. Their eyes likewise sparkle in the dark like diamonds. The cat, when pleased, purrs, and moves its tail: when angry, it fpits, hiffes, and ftrikes with its foot. It washes its face with its fore paws before rain, and stretches itself by fcratching the feet of tables, chairs, &c. at the approach of a form. Thefe peculiarities are probably owing to its abounding with the electric fluid. It always lights on its feet: it is even preverbially tenacious of life. Our ancestors feem to have had a high sense of the utility of this animal. That excellent prince Hoel Dda, or Howel the Good, did not think it beneath him, among his laws relating to the prices, &c. of animals, to include that of the cat; and to defcribe the qualities it ought to have. The price of a kitten before it could fee was to be a penny; till it caught a moufe, two-pence; when it commenced moufer, four-pence. It was required befides, that it fhould be perfect in its fenfes of hearing and feeing, be a good moufer, have the claws whole, and be a good nurse; but if it failed in any of thefe qualities, the feller was to forfeit to the buyer the 3d part of its value. If any one stole or killed the cat that guarded the prince's granary, he was 4. FELIS CATUS DOMESTICUS, the DOMESTIC or TAME CAT, is of a smaller size, and has the hair fhorter and thicker than the wild cats. It is an ufeful, but deceitful domeftic. Although when young they are playful and gay, they poffefs an innate malice and perverfe difpofition, which increafes as they grow up, and which education learns them to conceal, but never to fubdue. Conftantly bent upon theft and rapine, though in a domeftic ftate, they are full of cunning and diffimulation; they conceal all their defigns; feize every oppor. tunity of ftealing, and then fly from punishment. They cafily take on the habits of fociety, but never its manners; for they have only the appearance of friendship and attachment. This difingenuity of character is betrayed by the obliquity of their movements and the ambiguity of their looks. In a word, the cat is totally deftitute of friendship; he thinks and acts for himself alone. He loves eafe, and fearches for the fofteft and warmeft places to repofe in. The cat is extremely amorous; and which is very fingular, the female is anore ardent than the male: she not only invites, but fearches after and calls upon him to fatisfy the fury of her defires; and, if the male difdains or flies from her, the purfues, bites, and in a man ner compels him. This heat of paffion in the females lafts but 9 or 10 days, and happens twice in the year, namely, in fpring and autumn; however, in fome it happens thrice or four times in the year. The female goes with young 55 or 58 days, (Mr Kerr fays 63 days,) and generally produces from 3 to 6 kittens, which are blind for 9 days, at a litter. She takes care to conceal them, and when he is apprehenfive of a ditcovery, the takes them up in her mouth one by one, and hides them in holes or inacceffible places. When fle bas nursed a few weeks, she brings them mice, fmall birds, &c. to learn them to eat fleth. But it is faid thefe tender mothers fometimes become unnaturally cruel, and devour their own offspring. The male is alfo accused of this propenfity, but we have never me with any inftances of it in either fox. The cat is incapable of reftraint, |