The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-08-15

= A1A III O1NI C111y ss
He raised his blade for that purpose; but q thai
moment she crouched down gently at his feet look
ing up IN his face with strange mixture Of afFtc
flonafe and native fercepess The ioor Fre,nrb.
man leaned against the tree eating come dafes ana
cast ms eye anxiously round the desert to see If no
one was coming to free him from his terrible crrn
panion whose strange friendship was 90 little to s.
trusted. He offered to feed her with sogne ,,,ts
and dates but she looked upon them with suprsre
contempt However, as II sensible to his kind ia.
tentions, she licked his shoes and purred
'sWill she be when she gets hunorv ~ 3.
thought the Frenchman. The idea made him trem.
BILE He looked At the size of the panther. She
three feet high, and four feet long, without in
cudng her TAIL which was nearly three feet moro
In length and as round Is great cudgel
Her head was as big as q lions and her face was
distinguished by peculiar expression of cunning
The cold cruelty of the tiger reigned there; bu;
there was likewise something strangely like the
fondness of the present moment. She seemed al
most like Nero drunk. She had her I'LL of blood,
and she wished to frolic.
During the whole day, if he attempted to walk
away, the panther watched him, as adog 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 re-
speeted his slumbers.
Taking courage from the past, he began to hope
companion. He laid himself by her, in order to
tenciliate her good opinion. He patted her neck,
and she began to wag her tail and purr. He took
noia OF her paws felt her ears and rolled over the
grass. She suffered him to do all this; and when
he played with her paws she carefully drew in her
claws, lest she should hurt him The Frenchman
again put his hand upon his weapon with view of
plungmg It IN her throat, but he was still held by
tne fear that ne should not succeed and that the
animal would tear him to pieces in her agony :.
Besides, he really began to have an unwilfngness
TO kill her. In the lonely desert she seemed like
friend. His admiration of her beauty, gentleness.
graceful activity, became mixed with less and less
OF terror. He actually named her Mignonne. in
remembrance of lady whom he had loved in his
youth, and who was abominably Jealous of him
By the end of the day he had become SO familiar
with his dangerous situation, that he was almost in
love with its exciting perils He had even taught
the panther her name. She looked up in his face
when he called ''Mignonne."
When the sun went down she uttered a deem
melancholy cry. 1She is well educated" exclaim
ed the gay soldier "She had learned to say her
evening prayers"
He rejoiced to the panther stretch herself
out in drowsy attitude.
.That is right, my pretty little blonde" said he
''You had better go to sleep first"
He trusted to his own activity to escape during
her slumber He waited patiently; and when she
seemed sound asleep, he walked vigorously to
wards the Nile. But he had not gone quarter oi
league over the sand, when he heard the panther
bounding after him, uttering at intervals loud
sharp cry ef3 ars
fattering it must be her first love-" Before she
came up the Frenchman fell into one of those dan
gerous traps of loose sands, from which it is i'm
possible to extricate ones SELL The panther seized
him by the collar, and with incredible strength
brought him the other side of the ditch single
bound.
..My dear Mignonne I" said the soldier, caressing
her with enthusiasm 'our friendship is for life and
DEATH"
He retraced his steps. Now, he had creature
that loved him, to whom he could talk; it seemed
as if the desert were peopled. Having made a sig
nal flag of his shirt, he concluded to wait patiently
for human succor. 1t was his intention to have
watched during the night but sleep overpowered
him. When he awoke Mignonne was gone. He
ascended the eminence to look for her, and soon
perceived her at a distance clearing the desert with
those long high bounds, peculiar to her Species
She arrived with bloody jaws. When receiving
his caresses, she purred aloud, and fixed her eyes
upon him with even more fondness than usual
The soldier patted her neck and talked to her he
Kpnld to damsstie e,.s15 anmalmAh n ah, Miss you
you ashamed Never .i.1d- srapH.. am :
mails than you are But please don't take fancy
to grind up Frenchman. If you do, you won't
have me to love you any more"
This animal was so fond of caresses and play.
that if her companion sat many minutes without
noticing her, she would put her paw in his lap to
attract attention Several days passed thus.
The panther was always successful in her excur
sions for food and always returned full of affection
and joy she became used to all the infections of the
soldiers voice, and understood the expressions of
his face Sometimes he amused his weary hours
by counting the spots on her golden fur, and OBJ
serving how beautifully they were shaded; she
showed no displeasure even when he held her by
the tail to count the splendid white and black rings
that glitered in the sunshine like precious stones
was pleasant to look upon the graceful outlines of
her form, the glossy smoothness OF her neck, and
the majestic carriage of her head. She delighted
him most when she was in frolic. Her extreme
gracefuness and agility she glded swiftly along
jumped bounded, and rolled over and over was
truly surprising. When she was darling up the
rocky eIninence at her swiftest speed, she would
stop suddenly and beautifully as the Frenchman
One day very large bird sailed through the air
over their heads. Inthe desert, anything that has
life is intensely interesting. The Frenchman quit
ted the panther to watch the flight Of the bird as
he slowly and heavily famed the air. In few
| minutes the Sultana of the Desert began to growl
"he is certainly Jealous" tho't the soldier as he
looked at her fierce and glttering eyes. They gaz-
ed intelligibly at each other, and the proud CO.
quette 1eaped as she felt his hand upon her head
her eyes flashed like lightning and she shut them
hard.
"The creature must have soul" exclaimed the
Frenchman
This account was given by the soldier himself,
while was adIniring the dociity of powerful ami
continued the narrator, what had done to dis
please Mignonne so much-or whether the creature
was merely in sport-but she turned and snapped
herteeth at me, and seized hold of my leg. She
did it without yiolence-but thinking she was about
to devour me, plunged my dagger at her neck
The poor creature rolled over, i,stering cry that
froze my heart. She made no attempt to revenge
my blow, but looked mildly upon me in her dying
agony. Iwould have given all the world to have
recalled her to life. twas as if / had murdered a
friend-some OF the French soldiers, who discover
ed my signal, found me some hours afterwards
weeping by the side of her dead body.
"Ah well" said he, after mournful silence 81
have been IN the wars in Germany Spain, Prussia
and France-butI never have seen anything thai
produced such sensations as the desert--oh, how
beautiful it vast"
"What feelings did ii EXETER asked l. s.
Feelings that are not to he spoken replied the
soldier solemnly. II do not always regret my clus
| ter OF palm trees and my panther; but sometimes
their remembrance makes me sad; in the desert
there ls every thing and there Is nothing"
What do you mean by thats
Il cannot tel" said he impatiently- pause
he added, "God is there without man.
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