Harbingers of Death.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 332, 9 January 1889, Page 6

Harbingers of Death.

Do animals have some mysterious psycho- I logical intuition of the approach of death to the family in which fchoy are domiciled ? It would seem so from the many cases on record in which domestic animals luvvo acted in a strango and excited manner just. I previous to the decoaso of some mombor ot tho household. Sir Walter Scott frequently alluded to this feature of the dumb creation. Edgar Allan Poo wrote a Irightful tale of a black cat. Truth and superstition ha\o been both called upon to help eontributo the^e remarkable stories to tho lilciature of the pa^t. There arc people to-day who believe tho cit is invested with the power ot the evil eye ; that the puning tabby of the lirc-sido will suck Lho bre.itli of a sleeping infant. A well-known j piofes-ional nm>c who lias an invotmntin<r mind aavo her experience to a representative oi tho American 'Free I'loss.' ' lam not hiipeistitioiw-,' she said. ' but 1 am ne\er called out to nuivse in a new plnco without loeling glad when 1 learn that there is no cat/ about the houso. J lind it impossible to di\e;«t mvbcH ot a feeling oi fear that wi- iriounded in me when a child. An infant member of my tamilv wa- d^iii'?. There w:i« a great scratching and nicwinjj at the doot, and a stiango cat walkuei in 1 when the door was opened. It was a area I \\ ild-looking ci eat ure md it crept stealthily to the side of the sick child, which it icgaulod with the most serious attention Then it wont "lowly out, and my mothei said in awe stiuck tone- : ' The child will not live/ The little one died next morning. ' What became of the cat >' ' It lcmnined with us and w-o could not get rid oi it : for a long 1 time it was a constant source of annoyance. At last we put it into a basj and took ifc away. I suppose we w pro at raid ot another superstition — that if wo killed a cat, we would always ha\e bad huk.' ' 1* that the only instance you know of a cat forciunning death ?' 'Xo. 1 knew a family wheio the \oungcst child, a boy of 13, had a pet cat which he had raised himself, lie w.i- out one day playing, when the cat walked into the parloiu and standing beloic the sofa mowed piteouslv. It was impo-siblo to dii\ctho animal trom that paitieula/ spot or -top iH ci ies. A little later the child wa- bioujjht indead — he had been do wned — and w«ilaid on the sofa at the \ciy .-pot whcie the cat had eiied.' The Howl of a D)? ' I have had great trouble witli mv -iek people,' remarked the tame uuk-c, 'fiom dogs howling 1 under the window.' ' Cannot that be prevented by chaining up the clog ?' 'It is not always the family don. I ha\e known dogs go a long distance to sit and howl under a window wheie someone was lying ill.' 1 How do you account for that '' 'I have hcaid it said by people who had looked into the matter that it is the unusnal light and noises that disturb the dogs. Then there is another theory that the powerful sense of smell in these animals enable^ them to detect in the atmosphere odours noxious to them. 5 ' ITavc you eve: noticed any peculiar iosult from the howling of a dog '' 'jN'o thing but the nervousne.-s an 1 d°piestion of the patient. I must say it i-5 an appalling bound to hear at the dead of night. 1 have known the patient to ieco\er in tc\ere cases. In one, death had aheady set in, and it was a fa\ourito lsou^e dog that howled all night. Even if one has no superstition, it causes a thrill of fear to hear such a melancholy and unusual sound.' It i> well know n that bat*-, me icaicd nnd '-hunned by nearly c\eryonc andaieu^td as de.-ign« to pierage and ill-luck. The Indians believe that birdc contain depai ted spirits They consider this jiarticikuly tiuuof tho parti idgc and dove. All races have supci' a titions concerning birds. Jt is I bclic\od to be unlucky if a biul ttic^ into a loom and out. Tleie is ati uc ciicuni'-tance w iiitli iccenth ha|)pcncd • A lady boatding witli her hu-band at on liotc' in Chicago was sealcfl aftci flinniM in her private parlour when a do\e flew into tl'C loom, ciiclcd iL once oi twice and (lew out aoiin. The lady looked at her hu»b.md and -aid • ' If [ woie «upcr-tition« I should -ay that we wetc Lconig to he: t r bad newt.

Bir<I f ; »{ 111 omen. The iicntlcniiiti smiled and went on i< adni£ hi-- piper undisturbed. But m 'p^ than half an liom a '-ci \aut 1 apped at the doot, btinjrinrr ihe mail. Only one Ictlci lay on the jil.'ite he extended, but that had a w'dc black bolder. Jfc brought to the liii-baiul the new-, of the iw-t death m In--family foi maiiy \cmis— that of hib eldest -i=tct. Ko'v fiic fl^iiicjin of M'.e bird wn* wilho'it doubt Lhu ineicsb eonicidonee— it w.is a week later than {.he death acLually oe<in led, but iL jxavo an impressive serminy; to an old siipci?tition and emphasised the leccinfc of bad tiding