thouse, with plenty of food, and kept there until it either recovered
or died. With the ancient Egyptians the cat was one of their favourite
animals. The death of a cat belonging to a family was considered a great
misfortune. Upon the occurrence of such an event the household went into
mourning, shaving off their eyebrows, and otherwise indicating their
sorrow. In Scotland it was believed that witches often assumed the cat
form while exercising their evil influence over a family.

It was pretty generally believed a few years ago that in large fires
kept continually burning there was generated an animal called a
salamander. It required seven years to grow and attain maturity, and if
the fires were kept burning longer than that there was great danger that
the animal might make its escape from its fiery matrix, and, if this
should happen, it would range round the world, destroying all it came in
contact with, itself almost indestructible. Hence large fires, such as
those of blast furnaces in ironworks, were extinguished before the
expiry of the seven years, and the embryo monster taken out. Such an
idea may have had its origin in a misinterpretation of some of St.
John's apocalyptic visions, or may have been a survival of the legend of
the fiery dragon whose very breath was fire, a legend common during the
middle ages and also in ancient Rome. Bacon, in his _Natural History_,
says--"There is an ancient tradition of the salamander that it liveth in
the fire, and hath force also to extinguish the fire"; and, according to
Pliny, Book X. chap. 67,--"The salamander, made in fashion of a lizard,
with spots like to stars, never comes abroad, and sheweth itself only
during great showers. In fair weather, he is not seen; he is of so cold
a complexion that if he do but touch the fire he would quench
it."--_Holland_. This is quite opposite to the modern notion of it that
it was generated in the fire, but such legends take transformations
suitable to the age and locality.

The goat has been associated both in ancient and modern times with the
devil, or evil spirit, who is depicted with horns, hoofs, and a tail. In
modern times, he was supposed to haunt streams and woods in this
disguise, and to be present at many social gatherings. He was popularly
credited with assisting, in this disguise, in the instruction of a
novice into the mysteries of Freemasonry, and was supposed to allow the
novice to ride on his back, and go withershins thr