PERSECUTION 63 



at midnight, with the open basket at her feet, and a 

 black cat clasped tightly in her arms. " Take back 

 your hand, my masters ! " she pleads ; and one of 

 the ghosts plucks it from the basket, whispering 

 grimly, " Were it not for the thing you carry, you 

 should walk this night by my side." 



The protection afforded by the cat in such an in- 

 stance was, after all, involuntary, and by no means 

 lessened her disrepute. One does not lightly love 

 a guardian so uncanny. It is probable also that 

 the sailors' wives of Scarborough, who filched their 

 neighbours' black kittens to insure their husbands' 

 safe return from sea, regarded these stolen prizes 

 with more respect than affection. Even in in- 

 stances where the animal has manifested its own 

 too rare regard, there is often a subtle horror 

 associated with its faithfulness. We remember 

 apprehensively the cat that loved the poisoner, 

 Wainewright, that would not leave his side, and that 

 was the sole witness of his sudden death. 



From Lyons comes a dreadful story of crime and 

 retribution. Towards the close of the last century, 

 a woman was found murdered in her home, her 

 throat brutally cut, her oaken chest rifled of its 

 scanty treasures. She had lived alone, with no 

 other companion than a great brindled cat, and this 

 cat was now discovered by the neighbours huddled 

 on a cornice of the cupboard, his glaring eyes fixed 



