One night as I sat, half stupified, in a den of more than infamy, my attention was suddenly drawn to some black object, reposing upon the head of one of the immense hogsheads of Gin, or of Rum, which constituted the chief furniture of the apartment.
I now habitually frequented, for another pet of the same species, and of somewhat similar appearance, with which to supply its place.
When I first beheld this apparitionfor I could scarcely regard it as lessmy wonder and my terror were extreme. But at length reflection came to my aid. The cat, I remembered,
The words strange! singular! and other similar expressions, excited my curiosity. I approached and saw, as if graven in bas relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat.
The plastering had here, in great measure, resisted the action of the firea fact which I attributed to its having been recently spread. About this wall a dense crowd were collected, and many persons seemed to be examining a particular portion of it with very minute and eager attention.
