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SAMUEL WRIGHT, Editor and' Proprietor.
VOLUME XXX, NUMBER 51.3
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Largerativertisement.in proportion
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earlyor:oarly t.ivertisers,who are strictl)confined
otheir business.
OR. HOFFER,
DENTIST. ---OFFICE, Front Rtrcet 4th door
Irons Locust. over Saylor & McDonald's sonk store
tColumbitt. Pa. 117Soucanee, 141100 It. PM.-
eograpb Gallery. [August 21, 1858
- THOMAS WELSH,
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, Columbia; Pa.
OPFI O ,E, in Wl,ipper's New 13uilding, below
Black's Hotel. Front street.
UPrompt intention given to all business entrusted
iscare.
November 29, 1857.
H. M. NORTH,
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAIL
Columbia . l'n •
Collections.i.ramptly made .in Lancaster and Yorl
'auntie*.
Columbia; May 4,155.0.
J. W. FISHER,
Attorney and Counsellor at Law,
40caliaricibia, "Mbar.
Ittn, September 6,..1bt56.11
OM
S. Atlee Bockius, D. XL S.
I)RACTICF.S the Operative. Surgical and Meehan
lent Departments °Wendel ry;
(Vries Locust street, lietwecn be Franklin ElouFe
and Post Office. Columbia, l'a
Al ay 7.11459.
GUSTAVUS HEGMAN,
Professor of 4.11.Ck1a and Modern , Languages
MADAME lIEGMAN,
Teacher of Vocal and Instrumental Music-
M , alma stie , ll ni3OVt Frnat, ,OULtirtide.
Colombo.. May 12. 1860. •
r•OMATO PILLS.---Extract of Tomatoes; a
embattle and Tonic For ~le ni
OF.I.I.ETT 3O :S
Golden Mortar Drug Store.
Dee 3'59
BROOMS. - --100 Doz. Brooms, at Wholesale
or !Retail. ut 11. PEA 'MEWS.
Dee 12. te27 I,nro-I =i reef.
SINE'S Compound of Syrnp of Tar, Wild
t:hel ry and Ifoarhound. for the CAD! of Cough..
Cold-, Whooping Cough. a "rouu...,e. For snit. it
11ieL•OItE1.Nh DIM.I.ETT'S
Family Medicine Store, Odd FellOWe 11 all
p ;ober 23. IStI.
v-atent Steam Wash Rollers.
Iloilrra are kept emi•mmtly on
Mahe ut HEN Rl' I.IVA H LEN'S,
Noma.% mreel.oppm.ite the Franklin House.
Columbia. July 18.1E457
( lots for sale by the bushel or larger quan
my by B. P. AVVOI.D.
Columbia Dec 13.1658. Conn:
TusT in store, a fresh lot of Breinig & Fronfield't ,
celenruted VegetoMe Cattle Powder. nod for ante by
R- %IS,
Front street, Conan no.
dept. 17, 1859
Harrison's Co umbian Ink
111C11 i• n -uperior article. permanently black.
77 nod not corroding the pro, can be hod in no,
uantity.nt the nuttily Medicine More, and blacker
eel a. dull Ettgh•it Hoot
Columbia. J nar-0.1e159
On Hand.
will
W;lN „ S u L L a i ? a ‘ , V al ' e .l
a r e soi r t o n c aL , S . s , ;7l ,.. ,
ut which
re
during itt . rion. pain..paaain ' oZ altio T n:
in very abort time. Vor sale lay
R. WILLIAMS,
4 . 4 . 1 p . Z 9. rumi .Irrei, Columbia.
iii l ) llDMN l G weme' S „ a ir " c 'e u l re o ri l h x is ier " ;
ena
Ailments Is now for .ale lay
R. WILLIAMS. Front st, Columbia.
sept. 94, 1959.
CISTERN PUMPS.
et -9E -sutuut4b e r hits a large stock of astern Pump
ireattapaa. to which he eNIIA the attention °Piller
public. the to prepared to put them up for Ipte to a
substantial and enduring manner.
11. VTA 111.F.R,
Lneutti street.
D.ceetbeo i 2.1557
Janet Received and For Sale,
nit .11:do. Gr f uind Pltmer; 50 tilihic EXAM Family
lour; 0 ., 1.1.1, No. Oil Lard of be,; qualm;
250 Lus.'l;round Alum :dolt. by
R. P. APPOLD,
Nn 1 and 4 Cuoul 11n-in.
4.lturob %.,:A
GoBAM, or, 'Bond's Boston Crackers, for
11), up.•puc., 11/11i Arrow Hoot Ceacio,s. for ur
vxltd•
siml Hubbell—new articles hi Columbia, at
Abe Family Medicine Store.
.April 16. 1649
NEW CROP SEEDLESS RAISINS.
T HE beta for INen, Padding,:. c Arch .cippir at
H -f.71 - ; n , rt
Grorory :Store, Corner Frontann UlllOll Mo.
. Nor. 10. Aso.
Seedless Raisins!
A LOT of very choice tfecclic-a receive
/I at rt. F. EItER.LEIN'S
N0v.19, Grocery 'Store. No. 71, Loaost at.
SHAKER. CORN
J USI received. n fir‘t rote loi or Qiniker Coro
If. SUYDAM'S
Groeery Store, corner Front and Union M.
Nov. 28 1""59
p„PALDING'S PRSPARED GLOS.—The want of
4.1.14f:14.1e is felt in every Gunny. and uow
it• eon be supplied; for mending fm maitre. ebinn
ware,oroomenual work, lnyo Str dere iu nothing
oupbranr. We have found it w•efu lln rep.rirntg ninny
antrte• which hnve been* ueeless for mouthy. You
Jars *la it at dm •
.d.a.ounA t FNIILY MEDICINE. STORE.
AFIRST-BATE article of Dried Beef, and
onii., dui. I. ll . lnighl HI
EI3ER LEI' S nroerry Store,
&Lamb 10, 1960, - N 0.71 hoeu.tt etreet
flijefeE TELS,lllaek and Green, of differ
1J eat varieties. A 'fir-h Im ju.t rneeived at
EBEILLEIN'st Grocery Store.
Hare' 10.000. No. 71. LCCUPI street.
TER FATE alt SIR 101 IN FRANKLIN, the au
thorized edition. 11 cClustock. I.c.ce $1,40.
TER
oo lam Zoupdary of Atwater World.—
IPriee. x1,'15.
"Memoirs of Gum's°, Prier. Wigents.
EIIM4 lIARR & CO.,
/apposite. Court 110111. e.
Feb. IL.
lON'S PUSS CLTAWBL BRINDL-4 wiry
_AA .uperior and genaiil . al s r . ilgeytr i. 47 r drig a l
,pur
- Agents for Columbia.
'oars.
Feb-11.360
_pea. OIL REIROIRTERS.—Beware of spu
-v—riiiiisComl 03 Owing In lite - large inerea.e in
IdseßldelomPtion of Coal'Oil-IMo market se full bo
goa.ahi, the ream= 'triple eau stomas be bad at
DELLIKTT & GO'S
Golden Monet. Drug Store.
Feb.ll,lllll
pot IRKING SOIL Ruperiet article of
4304 a. Asbomband whaler sale by
,B. WJL,LIA
Frew street
itaith:lit 1960.
grtertiono.
Boggs on the Horse
I hate horses. From the time I firstread,
"The horse is a noble and useful animal,"
my youthful scepticism merged into an
unconquerable dislike for that useful and
noble animal. I have endeavored to o%er
come my repugnance from a deference to
popular opinion, and have not succeeded.—
have made peaceful overtures to their in
dignant "manes," which have been scorn
fully rejected. Falling back on my natural
principles, I hate horses, and am confident
the feeling—like most indefinable dislikes—
is reciprocal.
EEO
MI:1
I very much doubt whether horses were
ever intended for the use of mankind. The
Aztecs, a highly intelligent race of pew; le,
now unhappily extinct, held the nugat, , ry
opinion. I believe the mythological fable
of the Centaur to be simply a figurative sa
tire upon a barbarous custom, and the inci
dents connected with the fall of Troy I have
ever looked upon as a typical judgement.
I never could ride, but have always
envied good riders. It was, however, when
I imagined it to be an accomplishment
within the ranged human acquirement. I
am now fully convinced that some men are
burn riders, as others are born poets, and
that a knowledge of equilibrio possessed by
the meanest member of the profession, and
instinctive in monkeys, is all that is requir
ed. If I formerly envied, I now pity such
men, nod place them on an intellectual level
with Mons. Caribmari, who suspends his
ridiculous anatomy from a perpendicular
pole.
Barring that silly stuff about Pegasus, I
do not think horses can be considered poet
ically. Byron, who sung their praises, on
the authority of Lady-Blessiugton, was a
snob and cockney in this equine practice ; I
never heard that Shakspere—whom, you re
member, extolled Adonis' horse like a jock
ey—was a rider; and that absurd indiiidual
who wanted but an •".Irab steed" as a pre
liminary to feats of great valor and renown,
was, I shrewdly suspect, some low horse
thief or high,vayman.
Conscious of this, I might go down to my
grave, satisfied With myself and the world,
but for a solitary incident embittering the
past—an event that never recurs to me
without a sigh, a flushed cheek, an accel
erated pulse, and a glance at these four
white walls of my bachelor apartment as I
think how they might once have been chang
ed fur the purple hangings of Hymen.
I loved Kate Trotter; and why? Was it
that small classical head with little round
curls clustering over her alabaster forehead,
like purple grapes over a marble wall ; that
complexion, chaste and delicate as the flush
of some pink-dyed shell; the flank, daring
eve, and lithe, sinuous figure, graceful and
indolent as a Spanish poem P None of these,
though each and all might have melted the
heart of an anchorite ; but simply because
she could ride! Alas ! following the mag
netic affinity of opposite poles, I lured her
for the existence of those qualities which I
myself lacked.
We walked and talked together. Our
tastes, with one exception, were mutual.—
We talked of books and poetry, and by de
grees our theme merged insensibly into the
one passionate principle from which the
charm of song and minstrelsy had sprusg
As a neighbor of the Trotters, my visits
were not remarkable; and recognizing
blandly the prejudices of the paternal Trot
ter, and gossiping with the maternal Trotter,
and suffering, the society, of the fraternal
Trotter—who, gracefully assuming the
claims of relationship, borrowed my money
an I em• ked my cigars—l became the ad
mirer of Kate Trotter.
They were happy, blissful days. To sit
with her uuder the friendly shade of the
Trotter portico, her soft white hand sup
porting her dimpled cheek, and her stray
ing curls made darker and glossier by .the
contrast, to hear her sweet contralto voice
melting with pathos, or swelling with every
line of the spirited page she read, was hay -
piness too ecstatic fur duration, I felt it so,
and knew that fate was preparing for me a
crusher.
For there were moments when my joy was
tinged with an indefinable dread. It was
when I have watched her, with girlish glee
petting and bullying a little agile pony, in
my eyes a fiend incarnate, but which she
persisted in styling her "bonny Bess. "
She always became her equestrian habit,
and, omitting the ungraceful masculine
headpiece, she wore a charming little affair,
all fur and feathers, with a grace peculiarly
her own. It was a pleasant part of it stroll
to doff my hat to her in some shady lane in
return for the graceful wave of her riding
whip, and turn and watch the fleeting,
graceful figure as she rode by.
It was shortly after meeting her on one of
these occasions; that I fixed upon a fatal re
solve.
I began to practice equitation secretly. I
bought me a horse warranted kind and gen
tle, Ile was quite meek and obliging when
I bought him, but under my gentle treat
ment, the innate devil, which I firmly be
lieve animates these brutes to a greater or
less degree in propo . rtion to their subjection,
.gradually developed itself. dint of hard
practice I managed to get up‘ri show of con
fidence I'w:is far .from feeling, and soon be
came hitbisuated to the dizziness which a
mount to the saddle invariably -occasioned.
"NO ENTERTAINMENT IS SO CHEAP AS READING, NOR ANY PLEASURE SO LASTING."
COLUMBIA, PENNSYLVANIA, SATURDAY MORNING, JULY 21, 186
I then practiced equestrian exercises at the
lonely hours of twilight, in unfrequented
and sequestered by-roads. My ingenious
companion at such times being too lazy to
be actively vicious, assumed a. quiet obstina
cy which never deserted him. So I soon
discovered that, with far-seeing equine
penetration, he had fathomed the character
of . his rider and cherished for him a suita
ble contempt. An unlooked-for event inter
rupted my experience. It was just after
nightfall, after a month's such practice—
jogging homeward to the inflexible trot of
my noble brute—that I was startled by t.m
rapid clattering of hoofs along the lonely
road, and bending all my energies to guid
ing my horse to the roadside, I looked up
just in time to catch the happy glance of
Kate'A bright eyes, and felt the electrical
thrill of her riding dress as she brushed by
me.
Well, my secret was out—discerned by
her, too, from whom I most wished it con.
cealed. In vain I met the difficulty boldly;
and when Kate rallied me on what she
called my solitary and selfish amusement,
I calmly alluded to the necessity of regular
and limited exercise, as ordered by my phy
sician. Alas ! a few days afterward 1 re
ceived a delicately written epistle, in Kate's
own dear little hand, inviting me to join a
select party of equestrians to the neighbor
ing town of Pumpkinville on the next Sun
day afternoon.
I knew what that "select party" meant.
It was papa Trotter, mamma Trotter, and
Tom Trotter—in whose sublime creation an
admirable horse-jockey had been spoiled—
and a certain Captain Echellon, of the dra
goons, who was disagreeably friendly to
Kate, I thought, and a good rider. In the
first feeling of mortification which accom
panied the perusal of this note, I thought of
declining—excuses, indisposition, dc., as I
eagerly compared my own unskillfulness
with those practiced riders.
Then I half changed my mind. I looked
from my window, where my sagacious friend
was cropping the tall grass, and reflected
that after all he was not such a bad looking
animal ; that I had• him (partly) under sub
jection. Then I flattered myself that my
unskillfulness might be overlooked, and
resolutely set myself against any anncces
•sary display. Latterly, I thought of Kate.
That last was a fruitful subject. I looked
forward to the dim Inture of tb-morrow, and
saw only myself and Kate riding side by
side down a pleasant shadowy lane. We
were alone, save the sighing winds and the
whispering of leafy boughs; her bridle
hanging loosely upon her arm, my hand
clasping hers. Heaven knows how faraway
I might have wandered; but I was awakened
from a blissful dream, in which Kate re
clining in my arms, those ravishing curls
nestling in my bosom, and that dear little
hat hanging over my shoulder, by the Trot
ter courier, who requested an answer.—
Seizing my pen, I hurriedly indited a few
irrevocable lines, accepting the invitation,
and sealed my destiny forever. •
I slept well that night; they say that
doomed culprits usually do on the night
preceding the fatal day ; and I have heard
my friend Trigger aver that he has been
awakened by his second from a most bliss
ful repose for the morning's conflict. I ate
my breakfast and mid-day meal-calmly, and
bestowing a little extra care on my-'.toilet in
view of my reflections of the preceding day
(thirty years ago I did not call it vanity,)
at the appointed hour I mounted .my steed
and set out for the Trotters'. •
It must have been.that my. beast.wanted
exercise, for he actually.exldbited coriaidera
ble animation in that short ride. It was
therefore, with a feeling of redoubled assur
ance that I entered the courtyard where the
company were already assembled. I had
no eyes for aught but Kate. She looked
supremely beautiful. A light blue boddice
clasped her lovely waist (as well it might,)
from which a black riding skirt fell in
graceful folds. I even cast nn approving
glance on "Bonnie Bess," so had the
proximity of her lovely mistress beautified
her. We rode out: Trotter, senior and
junior, taking the lead; the Captain, who
mounted a superb black charger, looking. as
I thought, diabolically self-possessed and
satisfied; and lastly—blissful arrangement
—Kate and mr.elf.
My pen falters at the bare recollection.—
As we emerged from that gate, sir, Kate by
my side and the gallant Captain bef•ae me,
my infernal beast stopped! r attempted to
urge him on, but to -no purpose. Crimson
with shame, I frantically applied my whip
to his insensible shoulders. Be did not
move. I might as well have bestrode a
whipping post., Ire stood there, grim, im
passive, immovable as the nightmare, only
he was a dreadful fact! I dismounted and
the cavalcade halted, my own Kate among
them, and eyed•me, I felt, critically. I re-
Mounted' him, and a like scene ensued. I
looked appealingly at the elder Trotter,
"lie won't go?" said that venerable pa
rent. inquiringly.
"Staky.?" said Master Tom.
"Perhaps Mr. Boggs had better lot Miss
Trotter lead him!" said somebody. I look
ed at. Captain. Echellon—that gentleman
was busy in fixing his stirrup, just then,
but our eyes met, and we knew we were
deadly rivals henceforth and forever.
•'Oh, papa I papal I've just thought of it
—it would be a pity to lose'any. of our com
panyTet Mr. Boggs have Selim; ; do, pa I"
and -the diar girl made up - an- enchanting
mouth which might have softened the iteurt
Of &chancery lawyer. • .
The old gentleman eyed me dubiously for
a moment, and a half-intelligent half-suspi
cious glance passed from father to-son
• as
the latter proceeded to ob - ...y the paternal
command.
In the meantime I proceeded to extricate
my beast from Miss Trotter's geraniums.
among which he had been impelled- by his
extraordinary voracity, which was one of
his least objectionable qualities—and had
silently and sadly removed the saddle, when
Master Tom reappeared loading my intended
charger.
I looked at him anxiously. I know noth
ing of the points of a horse, and detest the
mention of such details ns flank, fetlock,
pastern, gambrel, &c. I did not look •at
anything but his face, and as I looked I
made up my mind to lose a leg or an arm
for Miss Trotter. Ilia eyes had a dim, forge
like glow, and revolved in eccentric orbits,
with occasional white flashes of heat-light
ning, but with afixed expression of deviltry
that their wanderings could not conceal.—
"He was gay," said Master Tom; "feels
his oats, and you have but to hold his head
up end let him slide." I mounted him
carefully. Master Torn holding his head, and
he acknowledged the act by a sinuous,
snake-like contraction of the dorsal muscles,
which at once had the effect of destroying
whatever preconception I might have had of
the solidity of the saddle. I then followed
my charmer out of the gate with the solem
nity of a chief mourner. We had not pro
ceeded many rods before the exuberant
gayety of Selim manifested itself with most
marked and painful distinctness. First he
proceeded up the road sideways, occasional•
ly preferring the green path to the dusty
road ; then he disphised the most charming
hesttation, backing from Trotter senior to
Trotter junior; then he persisted in carrying
his head up and his tail down, and then
changing his mind be stuveyed the road,
backward, from between his fore-legs.
It was a hot day. lat least suppose so,
fur the perspiration rolled down my cheeks
as I worked away at my cursed brute.—
Kate directed a few words to me, in hope,
dear girl, to change the current of my
thoughts; but I had no devotion for any
thing but the vicious quadruped beneath me.
She finally joined the Captain ahead.—
Master Tom attended me, occasionally issu
ing orders as to "holding his head," and
"giving him the spur," and otherwise "put
ting it to him," but he soon rode forward,
and I was loft alone with my four-footed
devil. Whatever luve I might have had for
the dear girl who placed me in this diaboli
cal situation, had vanished when I mounted
the moievolent Selim.
So I watched her retreating figure with n
dogged feeling of dislike, and saw her bend
ing to the gallant Captain's compliments.
Then my fear grew wrath, and my wrath
waxed fierce.
I dashed my spurs into the sides of the
revolting beast, who acknowledged the act
by two or three bounds, which brought my
heart to my throat and my head between
his ears; and Kate—oh, Kate!—turning
back, looked at me and laughed ! had it
been a smile, a tender smile, such as love
may wear—had it been arch or playful—
but a laugh at such a moment, a distinct,
palpable grin, an audible cachination, was
too much for my excited nerves.
I had the remembrance of that laugh in
my "mind's eye" long after she and her
companions had disappeared at the entrance
of the green lane which led to the pleasant
town of Pumpkinville. I and Selim were
alone.
I checked him gently, and walked along
the green sod, my mind occupied with horrid
thoughts of vengeance on the Captain, and
incomprehanaible hatred for Kate. Per
haps the stillness of the warm summer air
and the absence of embarrassing spectators
caused me to make a last attempt at gain
ing the mastery of my quadrupedal enemy.
• Co go back I could nut; to go forward in
my present condition, was impossible ; and
so, gathering the reins and the remnant of
my self-possession, I braced myself fur a
final struggle.
I sunk the spur into his flank rowel deep,
at the same moment bringing down the
whip over his haunches. Ile balanced him
self fur a single instant on•bis hind leg-s,
gave a sickening leap, and the next moment
was off like a sky-rocket.
The first shook threw me forward on his
neck, and grasping his mane with both
' hands, I dropped the hollow mockery of a
whip, and clung to him as the shipwrecked
mariner clings to a tossing spar. The
stones flew from the track and the fences
twinkled by 'us as the clattering hoofs
trampled down the road. I had no control
over him, but I was prepared for the worst.
Bat, oh! not such n denouement! We
had already rushed into the wooded lane
with the speed of an express train, which
was momentarily increasing, for the reek
less combination of bone and sinew beneath
me was beginning to "feel his oats" with a
vengeance.
Not far ahead of us the Captain and Kate
were riding together. The road was nar
row, scarcely permitting two to ride abreast.
and was fenced to keep out the rank under
brush. I comprehended the danger in
stantly, but was powerless to help it ; my
shout would not bare been beard in time,
and I was too much exhausted for a pro
tracted effort of any kind. They did not
bear me till we were upon them I I saw the
Captain hurriedly rein in his steed; and his
placid, self-satisfied expression gave way to
a look of alarm. I saw the blood depart
from poor Kate's cheek and her happy smile
vanish as she urged .her Bonnie Bess for
ward. I remember experiencing a wicked
satisfaction as Salim and I dashed down
upon the gallant Captain. The shock was
terrific ! • The Captain was a good rider, his
steed a gallant one; but Selina "felt hi s
oats," and down they went, rider and horse,
at my resistless charge, and Selim, with a
neigh like a trumpet call, sped onward.—
And now I was Kate's side. Bonnie Bess
was doing her best, but I swept past them.
There was a momentary struggle ; I
felt myself entangled in the folds of Kate's
riding skirt. My heart grow sick as the
poor girl was almost dragged from the sad
dle as she clung in terror to her pony's
mane; but, thank God heitrings are fragile
and hooks and eyes will break, and I shot
ahead at last with the poor thing's riding
skirt fluttering entire—a trophy of victory—
from my dangling stirrup!
I had expected a fatal termination to this
day's mishaps; and after this last ckastro
pile I looked upon death—utter annihilation
—as a welcome relief. I was destined to
another mortal shame, however; for as
Selim and I, with unabated speed, entered
the long street of Pumpkinville, I heard a
faint familiar voice imploring me to stop.—
I looked around, and—oh! why didn't the
earth open a terrible pitfall in my cursed
brute's track ?—there ens Kate, pour Kate,
scarce a length behind me, Bonnie Bess put
ting her best foot foremost and perfectly un-
controllable, with her blushing mistress
cowering over her mane, and striving, oh !
how vainly, to cover her pretty ankles with
her all-too•abbreviated—well, I must any it
—petticoat.
Church had just been dismissed, and the
youth, beauty and fashion of Puutpkinville.
lounged down its one broad street. The
Rev. Jedediah Higgins, his wife and six.
lovely daughters, were standing nt the
church door ; the parson engaged in past
sermonial explanation, the daughters con
soling themselves for three hours' past va
cuity by the most violent flirtatiou with
youthful Pumpkinvillians. I closed my
eyes as I swept by the sacred edifice, and
wished myself quietly "inurned" in one of
the-grassy, vaults beside it. I dared not
.look at Kate, but oh, they did
The Pumpkiaville hotel affords entertain:
ment for man anti beast. There were a
number of both species scattered about its
vicinity. I remember papa and mamma
Trotter rushing out frantically as we dash
ed up to the horse trough at the door. I
mu not quite certain, but I think I won the
race down the Pumpkinville road about a
length. I rentembor nothing more until
was found the next morning lying in my bed
—drunk.
I was some time recorei•ing: When I got
able to be out, I found n challenge front
Captain Echelion lying on my Wile. Unless
some person connected with the establish
ment has removed it, it lies there yet.
I never saw. Kate afterward
I have nct ridden since.
Ten years after, walking down Broadway
my attention was attracted by a crowd of
of people standing around an omnibus that
blocked up the thoroughfare: Making my
way through the crowd, I found that one of
the horses had been vicious and uncon
trollable, and had now persistently refused
to budge an inch. lie wasa wicked look
ing brute, standing over the omnibus pole,
surveying the crowd with a dogged look,
while two men were engaged in boating him
over the head with cl-bs. I think some
foolish persons endeav , red to interfere.—
Why did I suddenly dash forward, seize the
weapon from the assailant's hand, and my-
self frantically break it over the animal's
devilish forehead? In that moment, sir, I
saw only retribution and my old' never-to-be
forgotten enemy and blaster of all my hap
piness on earth, the incorrigible Selim 1 I
was avenged I
Snakes I Have Met.
If there is anything in the world of which
I entertain a deep-rooted hatred and an un
controlable dread, that object undoubtedly
is a snake, and next to a snake, anything
in the shape of a lizard, scorpion, toad, or
other reptile ; nevertheless, it seems to have
been decreed that from my earliest infancy
upwards, I should be doomed to be exposed
to perpetual encounters and adventures
with these loathsome creepers upon the
earth. The first clear, tangible object that
fixed itself upon my memory—l could hare
been very little more than two years old at
the time of the occurrence—was a hideous
cobra coiling itself under the pillow of my
Indian nurse, who slept on a mat on the
floor ; and the first word I could distinctly
articulate was "Pamboo," (tamul-snake,)
with which cry, and pointing with my
finger. I drew attention to the unwelcome
intruder, and forthwith got him dispatched.
Then a long blank intervenes, reaching over
nearly three years ; after which my adven
tures may be terteed legion. The next
incident relating to reptiles which I can re
call to mind is connected with my brother
Bill—who was older than myself—and a
small white scorpion. Bill bad been trying
to unlock a large padlock on the fowl house;
and being unsuccessful, poked his little
finger into the keyhole, and immediately, to
risyl immense astonishmentandamnsenuret,
performed a moat extraordinary dance
round the yard, accompanying the same by
the most hideous bowls, contortions and
griznacei. But I bad no idea at the sno-
$1,50 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE; $2,00 IF NOT IN ADVAN ;
ment, of course, that he had been stung by
a Venomous reptile.
One very heavy monsoon at Madras, when
the rain had swollen the river to such an
extent that it flooded the country for miles
around, I was standing in the billiard-room
surveying the dreary aspect out of the win
dows, when my attention was suddenly ar
rested by the moribund groans of a frog,
and 'turning round, I saw a huge snake un
der the billiard-table in the very act of
engorging it. Sliding in at the opposite
door was Mrs. Cobra and her young family.
driving before them some wretched little
frogs, which were vainly endeavoring to es
cape from their relentless pursuers. One
bound on to the billiard-table, and another
oft it, and into the veranda, cleared me of
my disagreeable neighbors ; but, before
nightfall that day, twenty-seven snakes of
all descrip - tions and sizes were killed in that
billiard-room by the servants. The waters
rose so high that every house in Madras
suffered from a perfect visitation of reptiles,
and not only reptiles, but jackals nod
birds, sought an asylum in the homey of
men, with bandicoots, rats, scorpions—in
short, sufficient reptile material to fit a very
decent museum of natural history.
I was sitting in a traveler's bungalow
once at a place called Outaglierry, between
Madras and the Malabar coast, and my
friend was sitting near tl o door, so as to
catch as much daylight as possible, reading i
some Work from the little library with which
government and voluntary contributions
furnish those bnngaluws. Suddenly, I per
ceived that a large snake had coiled itself
round the back of his chair, and was poking
its head between his arms and his body, as
though seeking fur some other hold. For a
moment I was paralyzed, and the next the
snake had shifted its search, and was rapid
ly coiling round the young officer's neck.—
At the fame instunt a servant made his ap
pearance opposite the door, and got so
frightened that lie fell to the ground in a
fainting fit, My friend was luckily a man
of immense nerve and great presence of
mind ; he saw at a glance that his' only
chance was to remain as still as a statue
the slightest move would have alarmed the
snuke, and then nothing could have saved
him. I, on my part, sat motionless, with
my heart frozen through and through. In
a very few seconds, fortunately, the servant
and palkee-bearers returned from the tope,
where they bad been hating their curry and
rice, and the noise of their approach alarm
ed the snake (then coiled round and round
the body of S—) so much that it unwrap
ped itself rapidly, and slid as rapidly away
to its hole. S— fainted instantly he
found himself safe; and my anxiety had
Ibeen so intense that I felt i ti, for many days
afterwards. On relating this adventure to
Major W—, whom we met at the very
next station, he told us one of his own ser
pent experiences.
"I commanded," said the Major, "the
detachment of fuut•artillery stationed in the
fort at Masalip:lt:tin—a horrid place, as you
know, gentlemen. for any Christian to be
quartered. Mrs. W— was just recover
ing from a severe illness, and. for the first
time fur many a day, was able to join me
at the titfm-table. Most fortunately I was
nn a garrison court-martial that day, and
had my sword hanging by its belt to the
chair-back. Our bungalow was a tiled one,
with no intervening platform or other roof;
and suddenly there dropped upon the table
between us an immen'se cobra, who had
been must likely hunting for squirrels' nests
amongst the conical tiles. Raising its hood
ed head, nnd hissing horribly, the reptile
threatened alternately to dart at ono or the
other of us, its venotned fangs protruding a
full inch. As fur Mrs. W----, she had
fallen back in her chair perfectly uncon
scious ; and never for a second removing my
eye from the snake's, I gradually unsheath
ed my sword, and suddenly bounding aside
at the same instant, severed its head from
its body. It was a hairbreadth e-•cape, I
can assure you. for both of us."
Some time afterwards, I was residing at
Chittoor, in North-Arcot, and there was it
little detached stern•house or go-down, as
they are called, where I hopt my supply of
beer and other European luxuries. I al
ways kept the key of this place myself, and
one morning, as was my wont, went in to
get out some articles for the day. The door
was the only place of ingress or egress, and
the go-down, which was thatched with palm
leaves, could not boast of a single window,
darkness being a requisite in those hot
countries for that kind of store house. What
I required took ma to the very further ex
tremity of the room from the door, and I
was just stooping down to select what I
wanted, when I hoard a tremendous flop be
hind me, and then a scuffle. Turning round
I saw a cobra and a rat having a regular
pitched battle. The cobra had been after
the rat's young ones, and the infuriated
mother was thirsting for revenge. Though
much alarmed for my own safety—for I had
no means of escape without passing the
cobra—l soon became intensely interested
in.the combat. At first, the rat fought with
the greatest caution, hopping from side to
side with remarkable agility, and avoiding
the poisoned fangs of the cobra; at last,
however, the snake—which in the interval
had received many severe bites—stung his
adversary, and then the rat, apparently
aware that its case VMS now hopeless, grew
reckless, and closed in with its opponent.—
In less than two minutes it =weeded in kil
ling the snake, and then crawling aside up-
[WHOLE NUMBER 1,561.
on some straw, the victor died, apparnetly
in the greatest agony
I had another illustration of the enmity
existing between rats and snakes,' many
years afterwards in Syria. I had satitp
late reading a file of the Times newspaper;
the servants had all been in bed for hours,
and when I withdrew to my own, it wanted
only a few hours till daylight. As I closed
my bedroom door, I was startled by a tus
sling under a chest of drawers close by, and
tho next instant a rat darted out, followed
by a huge black snake, and these two set to
work fighting right against the door. In
my alarm, I upset the chair on which I bad
placed the candle. and found myself at once
in utter darkness, locked in with a snake
and a ferocious rat. To jump upon my bed
was the work of an instant, andlondly did
I bellow fur assistance out of the window.
I might as - well have called to the winds to
' aid me. I had neither match nor weapon
of defence save a bolster, and the room was
so dark that I could not distinguish my own
hand thuugh held close befuro my nose.—
When the scuffle ceased, I expected' every
instant to feel the horrid clammy snake
twisting itself round my legs, and in that
unenviable anticipation, I remained three
long hours, till broad daylight relieved red
of my fears, and I found both combatants
dead before the door.
I have never, in all my experience, found
snakes to be the aggressors, unless you get
them into a eta de .ac, or during" their pe
riod of breeding. Then the cobra is indeed
terrible, and I wan chased by one at Tel
licherry for nearly half an -hour, escaping
the brute only by doublittg quickly around
until-I stumbled over a stout bamboo, arm
ed with which weapon I soon dispatched it.
At the best of time, it is nervous work com
ing to close quarters with the cobra: ono
false aim and you are a dead man... People
have a notion that the green snake of India
—which is certainly a pretty specimen, if
any thing in the shape of a snake can be
pretty—is harmless ; I can prove to the
contrary. One day I sawn beautiful mango
bird dangling from a bough of - a bamboo
bush ; the glare was' intense, and 'I 'wore
blue spectacles, for which reason, perhaps,
I could not well distinguish-thocauseof the
phenomenon, and supposing it to have been
trappe i by some wile, I seized the bird as
a great prize, for I was making a collection
to bring home v ith me. In a second after
wards the glass of my right eye spectacle
was shattered to pieces, and I luirdlPrecor
ered from my amazement, when the anake,
disappointed of his aim, wriggled off into
the thickest of the bush. The glasses caved
my eye and my life, for the poor mango.bird
was riddled through and through the head,
front one eye to the other, and every atom
of brain had been abstracted.• They are
dainty gentlemen, some'of these snakes, and
I was well acquainted with one itliat pre
ferred turkeys' eggs for his breakfast to any
°then- used to 'watch my turkeys as they
strayed about the grounds and mark their
nests, leaving them undisturbed until they
began to set. One hen had fixed-;Upon a
myrtle bush, round which she used to MA-
Iter and scream every day, poking her stupid
looking head out in so strange a fashion
that I was once induced to watch• her. No
sooner . had she deposited her egg than a
cobra made his appearance, end with the
greatest dszteriv sucked the egg. With
greater wisdom than the fabled-destroyer of
the goose and the grlden eggs, the cobra
spared the turkey tosupply hisdainty break
fast. - • •
But if the reader wishes to study the
natural history of reptiles to perfection,: I
I recommend him to live a month or two at
Barig-kok, in Siam. He • will have the
satisfaction, when he wakes of a morning,
to see a snake peeping out of a hole in each
corner of the room, and two or three little
ones • amusing themselves-At-hide-and-seek
on the flour. - If he looks up at the
he will.perceive a specimen of. the 'lizard
tribe, called the Toquay—from its >Muller
cry—a lizard that looks as if it,was.afflicted
with leprosy, and which has the astonishing
faculty of throwing itself ten .yards across
from one upright wall to another: If -be
carry his inclination fur study still further,
he can investigate the mysteries, of a Sia
mese stew, and find alligator the chief
ingredient. He will find ample opportunity
of collecting out of his soup-plate„ tea-cop,
wine-glass, or the hair of his herd, or from
off the back of his hand, specimens .of the
mosquito-fly, ant, green-bag, grasshopper
bug, coigns, earwig, flea; in all, ths-diversi
fied branches of esob gentor.• Nor when the
fatigues of day are over, and he dons his
slippers for ease and comfort,. need he be
surprised to find-a.. scorpion in one, and a
centipede in the other, while: a colony of
white ants are investigating- the merits of
literature in his book-case.
How Apes Catch grabs
In "Frank Wildman's Adventures" is the
following nm using account of the manner of
catching crabs practiced by apes:
"-It length they reached the boundary of
the former settlement—a dry sandy soil and
strip of beach, where all vegetation ceased,
and only a single tall pandanas tree, whose
roots were thickly interlaced with creeping
plants, formed is it were the advanced poet
of the vegetable kingdom. Behind this they
crawled along, sridvantinueljerietaiiietheir
heads, they saw several ape., eta distance
of two or three bstniritik paces, 'some of
whom were looking:foil somethings they
walked op sad down tlieheach, while otheril
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