204 PRESCIENCE OF THE CAT. 
times. He took the Cat in his arms, and when he attempted to put her down, she clung 
tightly to his breast, and gave him to understand in her own feline language that she was 
going home with him. Six hours after this return of the wanderer the mill was discovered 
to be on fire, and in a short time was reduced to a heap of blackened and smouldering 
ruins. 
Since that time the Cat has remained complacently with her former companions at 
Bigeiesknowe, in spite of the ancient adage, which says that, “in Biggiesknowe, there is 
neither a bannock (7/.e. oatmeal cake) to borrow nor lend.” Reference will be made to this 
mill in a future portion of this work. 
An objection may be made to the term “prescience ” in this case, on the grounds that 
the fire might possibly have been smouldering when the Cat left the mill, and that the 
creature might have taken the alarm from seeing the fire in existence, and not from a 
prospective ‘intimation of the future conflagration. But even supposing that this conjec- 
ture were true, it must be remembered that Cats are remarkable for their strong attachment 
to a fire, and that this animal would rather be attracted than alarmed by the grateful 
warmth of the burning wood. Moreover, from the time when the Cat found her former 
master to that when the fire was discovered, six hours had passed, and we may reasonably 
conclude that the animal had left the mill for some little time before renewing her broken 
acquaintance. It would be hardly probable that if the fire had been sufficiently powerful 
to make the Cat decamp from her residence, so many hours would have elapsed before the 
flames manifested themselves. 
Among other differences between the habits of wild and domesticated animals, the 
effect which fire has upon them is very remarkable. We all know how the domestic Cat 
is always found near the fire, perched on the hearth-rug, or sometimes sitting inside the 
fender, to the imminent danger of her fur and whiskers. Yet there is nothing which so 
utterly terrifies the wild felidee as the blaze of a glowing fire. Surrounded by a fiery 
circle the traveller sleeps secure, the way ing flames being a stronger barrier between 
himself and the fierce hungry beasts than would be afforded ‘by stone or wood of ten times 
the height. 
Another Cat, also an inhabitant of Scotland, exhibited a mysterious intuitive power, 
which equalled, if not surpassed, that which has just been narrated. 
She was the property of a newly-married couple, who resided towards the north of 
Scotland, where the country narrows considerably by reason of the deeply-cut inlets of 
the surrounding sea. Their cottage was at no great distance from the sea, and there they 
remained for some months. After a while the householders changed their locality, and took 
up their residence in a house near the opposite coast. As the intervening country was so 
hilly and rugged that there would have been much difficulty in transporting the household 
goods, the aid of a ship was called in, and after giving their Cat to a neighbour, the man 
and his wife proceeded by sea to their new home. After they had been settled for some 
weeks, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of their Cat, which presented itself 
at their door, weary, ragged, and half-starved. As might be expected, she was joyfully 
received, and soon recovered her good looks. 
It is hardly possible to conceive whence the animal could have obtained her information. 
Even if the usual means of land transport had been taken, it would have been most 
wonderful that the Cat should have been able to trace the line of journey. But when, as 
in the present instance, the human travellers went by water, and the feline traveller went 
by land, there seems to be no clue to the guiding power which directed the animal in its 
course, fall brought it safely to the desimeds goal. 
A rather quaint use was lately made of “the strange capacity which is possessed by 
Cats of finding their way home under difficulties which would cause almost every other 
animal to fail. Eighteen .cats, belonging to different persons, were put in baskets, and 
carried by night to a distance of three miles, when they were set at liberty at a given 
moment. A wager was laid upon them, and the Cat that got home first was to be the 
winner. One of the animals arrived at its residence within an hour, and carried off the 
prize. Three only delayed their arrival until the next morning. 
Although the natural disagreement of Cat and dog is so oreat that it has passed into a 
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