282 
THE WOLF. 
brought up partake of the characteristics 
of their foster-mother. The peasants in 
many parts of France and Germany believe 
to this day in the existence of wehr-wolves 
or war-wolves,—sorcerers, who are capable 
of assuming for a time the form and manners 
of the wolf, still keeping their own indivi¬ 
duality, and under this guise working all 
sorts of mischief to the lives and property 
of their neighbours. It is believed that if 
the clothes of one of these human wolves 
be destroyed while he is in a state of trans¬ 
formation he can never return to his original 
form, but must forever remain in that of a 
wolf.” 
“How ridiculous!” exclaimed Kate. “I 
should think a magician would do much 
more harm in the shape of a man than in 
that of a wolf, if harm was his object.” 
“Popular superstitions, my dear, do not 
often pause to consider the reasonableness 
of a notion. The malignant sagacity which 
seems to belong to the wolf, his burning 
eyes, his fearful bowlings, and, above all, his 
habit of constantly digging up graves in 
order to devour the remains of the dead, 
all conspire to point him out as an object 
