THE WILD CAT OF BRITAIN, 157 



hunteth and riseth on them in privy places ; and when he 

 taketh a mouse, he playeth therewith, and eateth him after 

 the play ; and is a cruel beast when he is wild, and dwelleth 

 in woods, and hunteth there small wild beasts as conies and 

 hares." 



The next appears in John Bossewell's "Workes of 

 Armorie," folio, a.d. 1597 : 



** This beaste is called a Musion, for that he is enimie to 

 Myse and Rattes. He is slye and wittie, and seeth so sharpely 

 that he overcommeth darknes of the nighte by the shyninge 

 lyghte of his eyne. In shape of body he is like unto a 

 Leoparde, and hathe a great mouth. He dothe delight that 

 he enioyeth his libertye ; and in his youthe he is swifte, 

 plyante, and merye. He maketh a rufull noyse and a gaste- 

 full when he profereth to fighte with an other. He is a 

 cruell beaste when he is wilde, and falleth on his owne feete 

 from most high places : and vneth is hurt therewith. 



*' When he hath a fayre skinne, he is, as it were, prowde 

 thereof, and then he goeth faste aboute to be seene. . . ." 



Those who have seen the wild cat of Britain, especially 

 in confinement, will doubtless be ready to endorse this 

 description as being "true to the life," even to the "rufull 

 noyse," or his industry in the way of fighting. Yet even this 

 old chronicler mentions the fact of his being " wilde," clearly 

 indicating a similar animal in a state of domestication. Later 

 on we find Maister Salmon giving an account of the cat in 

 his strangely-curious book, " Salmon's Compleat English 

 Physician; or, the Druggist's Shop Opened/' a.d. 1693, in 

 which he relates that marvellous properties exist in the brain, 

 bones, etc., of the cat, giving recipes mostly cruel and in- 

 credible. He describes " Catus the Cat " in such terms as 

 these : 



" The Cat of Mountain^ all which are of one nature, and 

 agree much in one shape, save as to their magnitude, the 

 wild Cat being larger than the Tame and the Cat of Afomi- 

 tain much larger than the wild Cat. It has a broad Face, 

 almost like a Lyon, short Ears, large Whiskers, shining Eyes, 

 short, smooth Hair, long Tail, rough Tongue, and armed on 



