164 PRESCIENCE OF THE CAT. 



quietly levying contributions during the whole day and a considerable portion of the night, so 

 that these two plates of biscuits were only taken in the usual course of events. 



The Manx Cat is a curious variety, on account of the entire absence of tail, the place 

 of which member is only indicated by a rather wide protuberance. This want of the usual 

 caudal appendage is most conspicuous when the animal, after the manner of domestic Cats, 

 clambers on the tops of houses, and walks along the parapets. How this singular variation of 

 form came to be perpetuated is extremely doubtful, and at present is an enigma to which 

 a correct answer has yet to be given. It is by no means a pretty animal, for it has an 

 unpleasant weird-like aspect about it, and by reason of its tailless condition is wanting in that 

 undulating grace of movement which is so fascinating in the feline race. A black Manx Cat 

 with its glaring eyes and its stump of a tail, is a most unearthly looking beast, which might 

 fitly be the quadrupedal form in which the ancient sorcerers were wont to clothe themselves on 

 their nocturnal excursions. 



The prescience with which all animals seem to be in some measure gifted, has often excited the 

 admiration of those who have witnessed its effects. The Cat appears to possess an extremely large 

 share of this gift, as has been frequently shown. An instance of this previsional capacity occurred 

 in England, in 1853. A long account of this occurrence has been kindly sent to me, authenti- 

 cated by the names of the various persons concerned in the matter, as well as by that of the writer. 



A family resided for some time on the southern side of the Cuddie Bridge, and had in 

 their house a favorite Cat. The family changed their residence, and took a house on the 

 opposite side of Eddlestone Water, leaving behind them the Cat, which refused to stir from her 

 accustomed haunts. Pussy, however, took a dislike to the new inhabitants of the house, and 

 finding her way across the bowling-green, entered into possession of the mill, where she doubtless 

 found plenty of game. Here she remained for some eighteen months in spite of several attempts 

 made by her former owner to recover his lost favorite. Several times she had been captured and 

 brought to his house, and on one occasion a kitten was retained as a hostage. But every endeavor 

 was vain, and leaving her offspring in the hand of her detainers, and resisting all temptations, 

 she set off again for her quarters at the mill ; in her eagerness to get back to the mill even 

 fording the river, "taking Cuddie at the broadside," as that action is popularly termed. 



On the 18th of October, 1853, at ten o'clock in the evening, as the former owner of the 

 Cat was standing by the church porch, his attention was caught by the fugitive Cat, which 

 was purring and rubbing herself against his legs as affectionately as in the olden 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 

 Biggiesknowe, in spite of the ancient adage, which says that, "in Biggiesknowe, there is 

 neither a bannock (i.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 conjecture 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 



