Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1845-07-10

panion, whose strange friendship was
so little to be trdsted. He offered to
feed her with some nuts and dates, but
she looked upon them with supreme
contempt. However, as if sensible Of
his kind intentions, she licked his shoes
and purred. agag 's&' gasaa -}
"Wil she be so when she gets hun
Egry" thought the Frenchman. The
llsdea made him trcmble. fie looked at
Abe size of the panther She was three
iJeet hieh and fcur FEET long, without
| fincleding her tail, which was nearly
three feet more in length, and as round
asa great cudgeL jsa >sal y5i ~.
| Her head was as big as lions, and
her face was distinguished by a pecu-
liar expression of cunning, The cold
cruelty of the tiger reigned there: but
there was likewise something strange
ly like ecountenance ofan artIul woman,
in the gaiety and fondness of the pre-.
sent moment. She had her fill of blood
and she wished to frolic. Il ri, .f-, q
During the whole day If he attempt.
ed to walk away, the painter watched
him as dog does his master, and
never suffered him to be far out of sight!
He discovered the remains of his horse
which had been dragged near the
mouth of the cavern, and he easily
understood why she had respected his
slumbers, ..., r..! ,...E
Taking courage from the past, he
began to hope hecould get along very
comfortably with his new companion.
He laid himself by her in order to cons
clliate her good opinion He patted
her neck, and she began 10 wag her tail
and purr. He took hold of her paws,
felt her ears, and rolled her over the
grass. She suffered him to do all this;
and when he played with her paws
she carefully drew in her claws, lesI
she should hurt hin. The Frenchmar
again put bis hand upon his. weapon
with view of plunging it in her.throat
bu, he was still held by the fear Of the
animal would tear him to pieces in hel
agony. Besides, he really began te
!. have an unwillingness to kill her. ii
the lonely desert she seemed to hin
like a friend. His admiration o
her beauty, gentleness, graceful ,activi
ty, became mixed with less and less O
terror. He actually named her Mig
nome, in remembrance of a. lady
whom he had loved in his youth, ane
. who was abominably jealous Of him
By the end of the day he had become SC
familiar with his dangerous situa ton
, that he was almost in love with its ex
listing pcrlls. He had even taught the
panther her name. She looked upol
his face when he called "Magnonne."
; When the sun went down she ut
tered dread and melancholy cry."Sht
is we'll educated" exclaimed the sold
ier. "She has learned to say her eve
ming prayers" 8
He rejoiced to see the panther strctcl
herself out in drousy attitude.
. "That is right, my pretty littl'
blonde" said he-"You had better &c
, to sleep first"
He trusted TO bis own activity tc
, escape during her sumber. He wait.
, ed patiently, and when she seemed
sound asleep, he walked vigorously
toward the Nile. But he had no
gone EN- quarter of league over tht
. sand, when he heard the panther boun
!, ding after3him, uttering at intervals ;
, long sharp cry. .. a
"Ofa truth" said he, "'her FRIENDSHIP
is very flattering; it must be her frs
love-" Before she came up, the French
man fell into one of those dangerous
traps Of loose sand, from which it il
, impossible to exticate one.s self. Ths
panther seized him by, the collar, ami
with incredible strength brought him t,
!, ther side Of the ditch at single bound
"My dear Magnonne!' exclaimed
; the soldier, caressing her with the en-.
thusiasm, sour friendship is for life AM
DEATH"
!, He retraced her steps. Now, h
had a creature that loved him. t
whom he could talk, il seemed as if tn
desert were psopled. Having made
signal flag Of his shirt, he concluded +
t wait patiently for human 'succor.
was his intention to have watched dur
ing The night. sbut sleep overpowere'
him. When he awoke, Mignonne wa
gone. He ascended the eminence t
look for her, and soon perceived her a
a distance clearing the DESERT witt
t those long high bounds, peculiar to ne
species. She arrived with bloody
jaws. When receiving his caresses
ffshe purred aloud and fixed her ey'
upon him with even more fondness thar
usual. The soldier patted her neck
, and talked to her as he would to |
domestic animal--"Ah, ah, Miss! yo'
have been eating some Of the Maugra
bins. Amt you ashamed! Neve
lmind-they are worse animals thar