246 RABBITS, CATS, AND CAVIES 



wildest of those frequenting a barn belonging to a farm 

 on the borders of a wood in Argyllshire, so wild, indeed, 

 as to be seldom even seen by any of the people about the 

 place, was observed on several occasions during a severe 

 frost to pass and repass into the adjacent farmhouse, 

 which caused no little surprise, as it had not for some 

 years been known either to enter or even approach the 

 premises. 



" Had it not been the best season for catching birds and 

 abundance of rats and mice about the place, it might have 

 been inferred that it was impelled by hunger. 



"But on one of these stealthy visits, it was found 

 snugly coiled up in the infant's cradle, to the horror of the 

 mother, who imagined, in accordance, with a popular idea 

 amongst ignorant people, that it had come with the object 

 of * sucking away the baby's breath.' 



" All that could be said to persuade her of the im- 

 possibility of the cat doing this, and that it had merely 

 selected the cradle for its warmth and softness, was of no 

 avail, and orders were immediately given to all the 

 servants on the farm to kill the poor cat wherever she 

 might be found. 



" Her caution and agility were long successful in saving 

 her, and though the persecution she suffered rendered her, 

 if possible, much wilder than before, yet she was not 

 thereby deterred, not even by the showers of missiles 

 which assailed her on every appearance, from paying 

 constant visits to the cradle, because it was the warmest 

 place within her knowledge, and she considered warmth as 

 indispensable as life. 



