The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-11 00:00:00

COLONIA.L.

TEA—The market has been dull owing to the approach
of the public sales, which commence on Tuesday next.
Good shipping congou is quoted 12d to 121 d per lb.
SUGAR—A moderate amount of business has been done
in West India, and prices have not varied to any important
extent. Business in the refined market has slightly im-
proved, and good samples have advanced to 41s 6d to 45s
per cwt,

COFFEE---The operations in colonial descriptions have
been to a fair extent, end full rates have been realised for
good and five qualities.

RlCE—Only a limited business has been reported, but
superior qualities of East India have fully maintained pre-
vious quotations.

TALLOW—The market has been more active, and prices
have showed an upward movement. P.Y.C. on the spot
is quoted 42s to 42s 3d, and last three months 43s 6d per
cwt.

Fight between an Ichneumon and a Cobra.

In a letter to the Madras Times, dated Trichinopoly, July
15, and signed by three officers of the Indian service, we
find the following interesting account of a fight between a
mongoose or ichneumon and a cobra :—" We think the long-
vexed question whether the mongoose, on being bitten by
the cobra, retires into the jungle and finds some herb as an
antidote for the poison, or whether the venom of the serpent
produces no effect on the animal, has been at last settled.
On Saturday morning last, whilst seated in the messhouse
with several officers of the regiment, a servant came and
stated that a snake had been seen by one of the guard to
enter a hole in the ground close to where the guard was.
We immediately sent for a mongoose (a tame one, and the
property of an officer), and put him to the hole. He soon
began to scratch away the earth, and in half an hour a fine
cobra, about a yard long, came forward, with head erect, and
hood distended, to attack the mongoose, who seemed to care
nothing for the reptile, but merely jumped out of the way to
avoid the blows which the snake struck at him. The mon-
goose unfortunately had just been fed, consequently did not
show sufficient inclination to go in at him and kill him ; so
we secured the snake and carried him over to one of the offi-
cer's quarters to have the contest carried out there, after the
mongoose should have had a little time to get over his break-
fast. After a couple of hours rest we placed the cobra in a
room, with closed doors (we having in the meantime taken
up a secure station in the room fromwhichwe could observe
all the movements of the combatants) the mongoose was let
in and the fight commenced. The,mongoose approached the
cobra with caution but devoid of any appearance of fear.
The cobra, with head erect and body vibrating, watched his
opponent with evident signs of being aware of how deadly
an enemy he had to contend with. The mongoose was soon
within easy striking distance of the snake, who, suddenly
throwing back his head, struck at the mongoose with tre-
mendous force. The mongoose, quick as thought, sprung
back out of reach, uttering at the same time savage growls.
Again the hooded reptile rose on the defensive, and the mon-
goose, nothing daunted by the distended jaws and glaring
eyes of his antagonist, approached so near to the snake that
he was forced, not relishing such close proximity, to draw
his head back considerably. This lessened considerably his
distance from the ground ; the mongoose at once seeing the
advantageous opportunity, sprang at the cobra's head, and
appeared to inflict as well as to receive a wound. Again the
combatants put themselves in a position to renew the en-
counter, again the snake struck at his wily opponent, and
again the latter's agility saved him. It would be tedious to
recount the particulars of about a dozen successive rounds,
at the end of which time neither combatant seemed to suffer
more than the other; We will limit ourselves to describe
the final and most interesting encounter. The fight had
lasted some three-quarters of an hour, and both combatants
seemed to nerve themselves to a final encounter. The cobra
changing his position of defence for that of attack, seemed
determined now to do or dia.' Slowly on his watchful
enemy the cobra advanced; with equal courage the mon-
goose awaited the advance of his still unvanquished foe.
The cobra had now approached so close that the mongoose
(owing to want of space behind, was unable to spring out of
reach by jumping backwards, as he had done in the previous
encounters) nimbly bounded straight up in the air. The
cobra missed his object, and struck the ground under him.
Immediately on the mongoose alighting, the cobra, quick
as thought, struck again, and to all appearances fixed its
fangs in the head of the mongoose. The mongoose, as the
cobra was withdrawing his head after having inflicted the
bite, instantly retaliated by fixing his teeth in the head of
the cobra. This seemed to convince the cobra that he was
no match for his fierce and watchful antagonist; and now
no longer exhibiting a head erect and defiant eye, unfolded
his coil, and ignominiously slunk away. Instantly the
mongoose was on his retrating foe,
and burying his teeth
in his brain, at once ended the contest. The mongoose now
set to work to devour his victim ; and in a few minutes bad
eaten the head and 2 or 3 inches of the body, including the
venom so dreaded. We should have mentioned before, that,
previous to this encounter,the snake had struck a fowl, which
died within half an hour of the infliction of the bite, show-
ing, beyond doubt, its capability of inflicting
a deadly
wound. After the mongoose had satisfied his appetite,we pro-
ceeded to examine, with a pocket lens, the wounds which
he had received from the cobra; and, in washing away the
blood from one of those places, the lens disclosed the broken
fang of the cobra imbedded in the head of the mongoose. To
discover whether there was any truth in the assertion that
the mongoose owes its impunity from the bite of the mos
venomous of serpents to its knowledge of a herb which is
an antidote to the poison, or whether, on the other hand, a
prophylactic exists in the blood of this extraordinary ani-
mal, rendering it innocuous to the bite of a reptile fatal to
all other animals, we have had the mongoose confined over
since (now four days ago), and it is now as healthy and
lively as ever; but should it in the course of a fortnight
show the slightest indisposition, we, in the cause of truth,
will not fail to inform you. We consider, therefore, there
no longer exists a doubt that in the blood of the mongoose
there is a prophylactic, and that the idea that if derives its
impunity from a herb is one of many popular errors."

INCREASE OF GOLD AND DIMINUTION OF ITS
VALUE.—When the American mines were dis-
covered they added so largely to tbo then scanty stock of
gold held by European nations as to increase
prices on an
average by about 400 per cent.; but the change, large as
it was, was scarcely peroeptible at the time,
not less than a
century having elapsed before prices settled down on their
new basis. It may be assumed that the consequences of
the new discoveries will repeat, in this respect, the wo-
rience of the 16th century; but it would be idle to hug the
belief that the impending revolution is at all less certain,
because it promises to be gradual and slow. It will come,
if not in our time, in the time of our sons ; and prudent
men, in making their provision for the future, will take into
account the fact that £l,OOO in the next
generation will
Probably be very much lebs valuable %au £l,OOO nor,