rights but more especially with the wrongs of
whites, natives and the stranger within the gates.
“Now I have done speaking about Mrs. Cunning
ham,’’ as Herodotus would say.
Now Mrs. Thorpe was one of tnose fair large
women whose bodily frame would seem to entitle
them to domineer, were it not joined with the
spirit ot a mouse. Not even Mrs. Cunningham’s
sage and eloquent lectures could raise even the
ruffle of a breeze between the young wife and her
spouse, to whom she deferred in everything, and
gladly; partly from positive weakness of will, part
ly from that comphte confidence and pride in J. T.
which made him feel that he must be really about
the ablest man in town. Over such a nature one
can hardly domineer, the occasion is lacking; you
can hardly fight non-resistance. And as he, like
all young lawyers and some old ones, really loved
to brow-beat his friends and could find at home so
little ground for even a well conducted argument
he set himself to combat her prejudices and regu
late her antipathies.
Now M's. Thorpe’s antipathy was snakes, and
with reason; an antipathy compounded in equal
parts of genuine fear and amoral loathing for a
reptile that knew too much of all that was deep
and primeval and corrupt. On one occasion they
had returned to their bungalow, faithfully swept
and garnished by a set of servants not worse than
the average, who emulously took the entire Hin
doo pantheon to witness that their duties had been
well performed, and especially that no snake lin
gered in the garden of Eden enlightened by the
presence of their mistress. Nevertheless, within
the first few hours after his return, Mr. Thorpe
killen a full-sized and flourishing female cobra
neatly coiled on a blanket in Mrs. Thorpe’s own
private and particular room. Mrs. T. helped her
husband kill the beast, by screaming vigorously
and hanging on his right arm, to Mr. T’s sublime
disgust. Which being expressed, his wife fled in
tears to the garden. Careful search failed to shew
any other intruder about the house and grounds,
pnd Mr. Thorpe was content. Yea, more. He
E LANCE.
THE FRE
was determined that his wife should be equally
content. Determined that she should not trade up
on a pet antipathy, to the increase of her own ner
vousness and his discomfort. For he was of a
hardened spirit, this J. T., and set himself to cure
her antipathy once for all and in a very practical
way, worthy of his enlightened omniscience!
Here was the chance to frighten her out of her fear
of a snake.
Coiling the dead reptile neatly in position on
the bed in his wife’s room and calling his wife in,
he nimbly skipped out and locked the door upon
her. After a moment of silence a piercing shriek
rent the air, then another and another in quick
succession. But the Monumental Ass. in the next
room calmly rubbed his hands and grinned at the
obvious success of his plan. It was exactly what
he expected. The servants crowding in were or
dered back and told that the shrieks would cease
in a short time, —and they did ! When all was
still the M. A. opened the door. Yes, all was
still, as he had expected. And yet the mere sus
picion dawned upon him that perhaps his success
had been too complete. His wife lay at full
length on the floor with her head jammed against
the jalousies lending into the veranda, which were
lashed fast. She lay so still that even the steady
heart of the M. A. seemed to pause in its beating
and his conscience to suggest whether this were
well. To doubt succeeded horrible certainty
when the servants in horror pointed out a fine spec
imen of cobra, a full-grown male, gliding along
the floor close to the opposite wall of the room ;
and ventured then the information that these ser
pents always go in pairs and one follows up the
other and haunts the place where its mate has been
killed. Important information if stated in time, —
not now !
For about five minutes the M. A. debated blow
ing out his brains. Then he made the mistake of
his life, —he did not do it! So said half the men
of his acquaintance when they heard of the trag
edy, while the other half agreed that the exceed
ing mistake was in debating the matter with him