The Placer herald., 1857-11-07
A TERRIBLE SKETCH.
CHARMED BY A RATTLESNAKE.
BY W. GILMORE SIMMS.

A writer in the United States Magazine
pronounces the following description of
young girl, charmed by rattlesnake, one of
the most remarkable and beautiful descrip-
tions ever penned:
"Before the maiden rose little clump of
bushes-bright tangled leaves, Haunting wide
in glossiest green, with vines trailing over
them thickly decked with blue and crimson
flowers. Her eye communed vacantly with
these; fastened by a star-like shining glance,
a subtle ray that shot out from the circle of
green leaves, seeming to be their very eye,
and sending out fluid lustre that seemed to
stream over the space between and find its
way into her own eyes, very piercing and
beautiful was that subtle brightness of the
sweetest, strongest power. And now the
leaves quivered and seemed to float away
only to return, and the vines waved and
swung away in fantastic mazes, unfolding
ever charming varieties of form and color to
her gaze; but the star-like eye was ever
steadfast, bright and gorgeous, cleaning in
their midst, and still fastened with strange
fondness upon her own. How beautiful,
with wondrous intensity, did it CLEAN and
dllate, growing larger and more lustrous with
every beam it sent forth. And her own
glance became intense, fixed, also; but with
a dreaming sense which conjured up the
widest fancies, terribly beautiful, that took
her soul away from her and wrapt it about as
with SPELL She would have fed she would
have flown, but she had no power to move.
The will was wanting to her flight. She felt
that she could have bent forward to pluck
the gem-ike thing from the bosom of the
leaf in which it seemed to grow, and which
irradiated with its bright, white CLEAN; but
ever, as she stretched forth her hand, and
bent forward, she heard rush Of wings and
shrll scream from the tree above her
such a scream as the mocking bird makes,
when angrly it raises its dusky chest and
flaps its wings furious against its slender
sides. Such scream seemed like warning
and though yet unawakened to a full con-
scicusness, it startled and forbade her effort.
"More than once in her survey of this
strange object had she heard that shrill note
of warming and to her mind the same vague
consciousness Of an evil presence. But the
s'ar-like eye was still upon her own--a small,
bright eye, quick like that Of bird; now
steady in It's place, and observant seemingly
on of hers; now darting forward with all
the clustering leaves about it, and shooting
up toward her, as if wooing her to seize. At
another moment rivited to the vine which
lay around it, it would whirl round and
round, dazzingly bright and beautiful, even
as torch, waving hurliedly by night in the
hands of some playful boy; but in all this
time the glance was never taken from her
own-there it grew, fxed-a very principle
Of light-and such a bright, a subtle, burn
ing, piercing, fascinating CLEAN, such as
gathers in vapors above the old grave, and
binds us as we look-shooting, darting d.
rectly into her eye, dazzling her gaze, defeat
ing its sense Of discrimination, and confusing
strangely its sense of perception. She felt
dizzy for as she looked, cloud of coors,
bright, gay, various colors, hoated and
hung like so much drapery around the
single object that had so secured her at
tention, and spell-bound her feet Her limbs
felt momently more and more insecure; her
blood grew cold, and she seemed to feel
the gradual freeze of vein by vein, through
out her person. AT that movement rus
Ting was heard in the branches of the tree
beside her, and the Bird which had re-
peatedly uttered single cry above her,
as it were of warning, flew away from
his station with scream more piercing
than ever. This moment had the effect
for which it seemed intended, of bringing
back to her a portion of that consci
BUSINESS she had been nearly deprived of
before. She strove to move from the
beautiful but terrible presence but for a
while she strove in vain. The rich star
like glance still riveted her own, and
the subtle fascination kept her bound.
The mental energies, however, in the mo-
ment of their greatest trial, now gather
cred suddenly to her aid, and with des-
perate effort, but with feeling of most
annoying uncertainty and dread, she sue
ceeded partially in the attempt, and threw
her arms backward, her hands grasping
the neighboring tree, feeble, totterng,
and depending upon it for that support
which her own limbs almost entirely de-
MED her. With her movement came, howev-
er, the full development of the powerful
spell and dreadful mystery before her.
GAS her feet receded, though but a
single space, to the tree against which
she now rested, the audibly ortculated ring,
like that of the watch when wound up
with the verge broken, announced the ma
ture of the splendid yet dangerous pres
ence, in the form of monster rattlesnake,
now but few feet before her, lying coil
ed at the bottom of beautiful, shrub, with
which to her dreaming eye, many of its
own glorious hues had been associated.
She was at length conscious enough to per-
ceive and feel her danger; but terror had
deprived her of the strength necessary
to fly from her dreadful enemy. There
still glared the eye, beautifully bright and
piercing, fixed upon her own; aud, SEEM
ingly in the spirit of sport, the insidious
reptile slowly unwound himself from bis
coil, but only to wind himself up again