The king's curiosity, however, prevailing, I am sorry to say, even over his sound religious principles, induced him for this once to postpone the fulfilment of his vow until next morning, for the purpose and with the hope of hearing that night how it fared in the end with the
black cat (a
black cat, I think it was) and the rat.
In speaking of his intelligence, my wife, who at heart was not a little tinctured with superstition, made frequent allusion to the ancient popular notion, which regarded all
black cats as witches in disguise.
He was soon joined here by the
black cat of which the voice had spoken, who came as usual to say good-morning to his master.
Sir Jervis took me into the dining-room--and there sat Miss Redwood, with a large
black cat on her lap.
A low, purring sound, from some quarter, announced that another being, besides myself, was pleased with the change; a
black cat, roused by the light from its sleep on a little cushioned foot-stool, came and rubbed its head against Frances' gown as she knelt; she caressed it, saying it had been a favourite with her "pauvre tante Julienne."
In the kitchen a kettle was singing on the fire, and a large
black cat lay coiled up in the basket; but there was no sign of the woman whom I had seen before.
Two young, graceful women--ladies in every point--sat, one in a low rocking-chair, the other on a lower stool; both wore deep mourning of crape and bombazeen, which sombre garb singularly set off very fair necks and faces: a large old pointer dog rested its massive head on the knee of one girl--in the lap of the other was cushioned a
black cat.
In his huge, hairy hands, a long whip, made of green snakes and
black cats' tails twisted together, swished through the air in a dangerous way.
He made his carpet in circles--first a circle of old gray tomcats, with their tails all pointing toward the center; then a circle of yellow cats; next a circle of
black cats and a circle of white ones; then a circle of all sorts of cats; and, finally, a centerpiece of assorted kittens.
He possessed illegal convictions in his mind along the subjects of
black cats, lucky numbers, and the weather predictions in the papers.
"An' black as a stack of
black cats." He shivered, buttoned his coat, and tossed several sticks on the fire.
Now there are more adjectives in this language than there are
black cats in Switzerland, and they must all be as elaborately declined as the examples above suggested.