[166] Arab.'Sinnaur'（also meaning a prince）. The common name is Kitt which is pronounced Katt or Gatt；and which Ibn Dorayd pronounces a foreign word （Syriac？）. Hence，despite Freitag，Catus （which Isidore derives from catare，to look for） = gatto，chat，cat，an animal unknown to the Classics of Europe who used the mustela or putorius vulgaris and different species of viverrae. The Egyptians，who kept the cat to destroy vermin，especially snakes，called it Mau，Mai，Miao （onomatopoetic）： this descendent of the Felis maniculata originated in Nubia；and we know from the mummy pits and Herodotus that it was the same species as ours. The first portraits of the cat are on the monuments of'Beni Hasan，'B.C. 2500. I have ventured to derive the familiar'Puss'from the Arab.'Biss （fem. ：Bissah'），which is a congener of Pasht （Diana），the catfaced goddess of Bubastis （PiPasht），now Zagazig. Lastly，'tabby （brindled）cat'is derived from the Attabi （Prince Attab's） quarter at Baghdad where watered silks were made. It is usually attributed to the Tibbie，Tibalt，Tybalt，Thibert or Tybert （who is also executioner），various forms of Theobald in the old Beast Epic；as opposed to Gilbert the gibcat，either a tomcat or a gibbed （castrated）cat.
[167] Arab.'Ikhwan alSafa，'a popular term for virtuous friends who perfectly love each other in all purity： it has also a mystic meaning. Some translate it'Brethren of Sincerity，'and hold this brotherhood to be Moslem Freemasons，a mere fancy （see the Mesnevi of Mr. Redhouse，Trubner 1881）. There is a wellknown Hindustani book of this name printed by Prof. Forbes in Persian character and translated by Platts and Eastwick.
[168] Among Eastern men there are especial forms for'making brotherhood.'The'Munhbolabhai'（mouthnamed brother） of India is wellknown. The intense'associativeness'of these races renders isolation terrible to them，and being defenceless in a wild state of society has special horrors. Hence the origin of Caste for which see Pilgrimage （i. 52）. Moslems，however，cannot practise the African rite of drinking a few drops of each other's blood. This，by the by，was also affected in Europe，as we see in the Gesta Romanoru，Tale lxvii.，of the wise and foolish knights who'drew blood （to drink） from the right arm.'