60 Gleanings from the 



frequently made into a mummy. It probably had a 

 myftical fignificance, for "dans quelques-unes des 

 peintures parvenues jufqu'a nous, les anciens 

 Egyptiens fe montrent accompagnes de leurs 

 chiens et de leurs finges favoris, auxquels ils 

 donnaient des noms comme on le fait aujourd'hui ; 

 le chat n'y figure jamais." The camel, again, is 

 never reprefented on any of the furviving monu- 

 ments, yet it was known to the Egyptians in the 

 time of Abraham (Chabas, " Etudes," pp. 406, 

 408: Paris, 1873). 



Cats and hares mare an equal notoriety in the 

 annals of witchcraft. " When one of us " (fays 

 one of the Culdean witches) " is in the fhape of 

 a cat, and meet with any others of our neighbours, 

 we will fay, ' Devil fpeed thee, go thou with 

 me,' and immediately they will turn to the fhape 

 of a cat and go with us." There was a large 

 aflembly and fight with fuch cats at Scrabfter, in 

 the north of Scotland, 1718. The marvellous 

 recital tells how one Mr. William Montgomery 

 valoroufly ftuck one with his dirk through the 

 hinder quarters to a cheft, " yet after all me 

 efcaped out of the cheft with the dirk in her 

 hinder quarters " (J. H. Burton, " Criminal Trials 

 in Scotland," vol. i., p. 290: London, 1852). 

 Freja, in the " Northern Mythology," rides to the 

 battlefield in a waggon drawn by two cats, this 

 animal being facred to her. Hence it is popularly 

 afligned to hags, witches, etc. When a bride goes 

 to her wedding in fine weather the Germans fay, 

 " She has fed the cat well ;" /'.<?., not offended the 



