American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-10-29
From the n. o. Picayune.l
AN UNEASY PREDICAMENT.

We were the witnesses of ludicrous incl
dent which occurred in this city few days
since, for relating which we crave the indul-
gence OF the gentleman directly concerned
deeming it too good joke to be lost.
While sitting at our desk and laboring ASST
duously with pen, scissors and paste, to make
out readable paper for our patrons, we were
suddenly enlightened from our propriety" by
the hasty entrance of a gentleman, exclaiming,
"For Gods sake, help me to see what's the
matter! I've got some dreadful thing-scor-
pon or tarantula---n the leg of my pantaloons
Quck-quck-he mel"
We instantly rose from our chair, half-fright-
ened ourselves. Our friend had broken in SC
suddenly and Unexpectedly upon us, and was
so wonderfully agitated, that we knew not whe-
ther he was indeed in his senses or not. We
looked at him with a sort of suspicion mixed
with dread, and hardly knew whether TO speak
with or seize and con6ne him for mailman
The latter we came near attempting. There
he stood quivering and pale, with one hand
tightly grasped upon part of his pantaloon'
Just in the hollow the knee.
"What's the matter?" at last we asked.
"The matter" he exclaimed, ooh, help me
I've got something here, which Just ran up my
leg! Some internal scorpion or lizard, | ex
pect! Oh, can't let go; must hold it, All
there" he shrieked, 81 felt it move just then
Oh, these pants without straps! I'll never veal
another pair open at the bottom as long as
live. All! feel it again."
"Feel what?" we inquired, standing at the
same time at a respectful distance from the gen.
tleman; for we had just been reading our Cor.
lizards and tarantulas, and began to imagine
,,,ca rpntiIa in the lar of
our friends "unmentionablss," as they are
sometimes called.
~ don't know what it is" answered the gen.
tleman; help me to see what it is was just
passing that pile of old rubbish there, IN front
of your office, and felt it dart up my leg as
quick as lightning, and it stopped just here
where have my hand;" and he clenched his
fist still more tightly. If it had been the neck
of an anaconda we believe he would have
squeezed it to jelly
Bv this time two or three of the neWsboys
had come in; the clerks and packing hoys, hear.
ing the outcry, stopped working, and editors
and all hands stood around the sufferer with
looks of mingled sympathy and alarm.
"Bring chair, Fitz," said VIC, "and let the
gentleman be seated"
"Oh, | can't sit!'' said the gentleman; 81
can't bend my knee!-f do, it will bite Oh
sting me; no, can't st''
Certainly you can Sit" said we, "keef
your leg straight out, and we'll see what it is
you've got"
"Well, let me give it one more hard squeeze
I'll crush 1t to death, said he, and again he put
the force of an iron vice upon the thing. If it
had had any life by this time, this last effort
must have killed it. He then cautiously seat
ed himself, holding out his leg as stiff and
straight as a poker. A sharp knife was pro-
cured; the pants were cat open carefully, MAX
ing hole large enough to admit hand; the
gentleman put on thick glove and slowly III
serted his hand, but be discovered nothing
We were all looking OH in almost breathless
silence to see the monstfous thing-wba:evcr
It might be; each ready TO scamper out of
harms way should it ba alive; when suddenly