The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1857-10-28
Char med by a Rattlesnake.
BY ". GILMORE sIMMs.

a writer IN the Unted States Maga
z"e p'"nou"c-s 'l''' following description
OF " young g'r, charmed by ratt'esnake
one Of the most reinai kahle and beauli
fu de criptIons ever pcnned
"l}eiore the maiden rose a little clump
H busii-s = hrigh. tangled leaves Haunt.
ing ~nie in piossiest green, with vines
trailing over them ihickly derked with
blue and crinIson flowers. Her eve com
mnnr'l vacantiy with these fastened by
st,r-Iike shining glance, u subtle ray
Hat shot out from the circle of green
leave, seeming 20 he their very eve, and
svn!'ng cut fud lsr,re that SCENE
10 steam over the space between and find
IT. w INTO her own eyes very piercing
and b@'utIpi was that subtle brightness
oi tie sweetest, stronges. power. Aud
now The leaves q"lrered and seemed 10
fort away only TO return, and the vines
waved and swung away in fnst,s ic ma
Zes, unfolding ever charming varieties Of
form aIi color to her gaze but the s.ar
Ike eye WAS ever sieadtast, bright and
g"rg-o'is, in their mids, aud still iaSten
I'd wish strange iondne>s upon her. !lw
beautiful, with wondrous in eusitv, did Il
CLEAN and dilate growing larger and
more lms,rous with every beam 1t sent
f"rlt. And her own glance became in-
tense, fixed, also; but with dreaming
sense which c"njured up the widest ian.
cies, terribly beautiful, that took h,r soul
away from her and wrap, it about as with
aspil, She would have fled, she would
have flown, tut she had no power TO
move. The will was wanting to her III gli,.
She felt that she could have bent forward
g pluck the gem like thing from III. ho-
so ~ Of the leaf in which It seemed To
pr'w, and which irritated with it, bright
white CLEAN; but ever, AS she stretched
forth her hand, and brnt forward she
heard "a rush OF wings aud shrlll scream
from the tree above her--such screaIn
~ the knocking bird makes, when amgrrIy
u raises lis dusky chest aud a 'ps Us wings
furiously against its slender sides. Suc!I
q scream seemed like warning, and
though yet uua~ akened to ~ full Conscious.
nesss, IT startled and forbade her effort.
More than orce III her survey of lhis
strange Object had she l,ear.l tina. shriIi
note ot warning, aud 10 her mind tie
same vague yDusrioIsness of an evil pres.
ence. But the siaT like eve WAS sI.l up
on her own--a smaii bright eye. quick
like that Of biFJi nov steady in its
place, snd nbsrrVant seemingly onlr of
hers: nov J,riIng forward with all tie
clustering ,saves about il, aud sbo0llag z
mi. Al ha.
AT another moment Iiveted TO lie vine
which lsy around il, il would wbirl rouud
and round, dazzlIngly bright and beautiful
even ~ \ torch waving hnrrisdly by night
IN the hands of some playful 10y |; but in
all this time the 'glsnce was never taken
hom her own-there it grew, fxed--a
very principle Of light--and with bright.
sui tie, burning. pierring. fascinating g!eam
such rs gathers IN vapors above the old
grave, and hnIds us as we eluok--shooiing,
daring directly into her eve, dazzling
her gaze, defeating its sense of discrmi
nation, and confusing strangely its sense
OF perrep,ion. She feIt DIZZY, for as she
looked. cloud of colors, bright, gay, va
rions colors. foaied aud hung like SO
much drapery around the single Object
that had no secured her attention, and
spell bound her feet. Ter limbs felt mo
men o lily more and more Insecure. her
blood grew cold, and she seemed TO feel
the gradual freeze OF vein by vein,
throughout her person. Az that moment
= sasiiiag WAS hear! IL the branches Of
the tree oeside her, and the bird, which
had repeatedly uttered = single cry above
her rs u were Of warning, few away
from his station with srresm more pier.
cling than ever, This movement had the
effect foI which il seemed intended. OF
bringing back TO her portion Of tha,
consciousness sle bad been nearly depri.
yed a before. she sirose TO move from
che bssutiiul but terrible Pressuce, bat