Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1858-07-29
IN BED WITH A SERPENT.

IN BED WITH A SERPENT.
might have slept some four or five
hours, and a dreamless and satisfying
sleep it was, but certain it is-sciolists
say what they will, and skeptics throw
doubts by handfulls on the assertions Of
metaphysicians-that, before / awoke.
and in my dreamless slumber, 1 had a Wis
ible perception Of peril, a consciousness
Of the lowering presence Of death How
to describe my feelings | know not but
as we have all read and heard that, if the
eyes OF a watcher are steadily fixed on
the countenance Of a sleeper for a certain
length of time, the s~lumberer vii! be sure
to start up, wakened by the magnetism Of
a reconcile principle of ~clairyoyance, so
it was that, with shut eyes and drowsed
up senses, an inward ability was confur-
red upon me to detect the living presence
of danger near me, to see through sleep
blind, the formless shape Of a mysterious
horror crouching beside me and as if
the peril that was my nightmare was Of
a nature to be quickened into fatal activ-
lty by any motion on my part. | felt it
In my very stupor the critical necessity
of lying quite still. SO that, when | at last
awoke and felt that, as | lay, with nv
face towards the roof, there was a thick.
heavy, cold creeping thing on my chest,
| stirred not, nor uttered a word of panic.
Danger and fear may occasionally dull
the senses and paralyze the faculties, but
they more frequently sharpen both and
ere | could twice wink my eyes, | was
broad awake and aware that, c~oiling it
self IN a circle of twists, an enormous ser
pent was ON my breast. When | tell YOU
that the whole of my chest and even the
pit Of my stomach were covered with the
cold scaly proportions Of the reptile, you
will own that it must have been one Of
considerable size. What my thoughts
were, 50 much made up of a%bhorrepce,
KSread and speedy expectation #pT, Bsur.'
Rance of speedy death that III follow
any movement on my part, | can never
hope to tell in language sufficiently dis
tinct and vivid to convey full force. 1t
was evident that the loathsome creature
had at last settled itself to sleep and |
felt thankful that, attracted by my breath
it had not approached the upper part of
my throat. it beda&aA6uite Still. and is
weighty preSsdreN@frs clammy chill
ness becoming srs9Sally $50 it seemed to
me) Of a buyningheat-and the odious in.
discribable odor which exhaled from its
body and pervaded the whole air, so over
whelmed ne, that it was only by a severe
struggle that | preserved myself from
shrieking.
AS it was, a cold sweat burst from eve
ry pore | could hear the beating of nv
heart and | felt, to my increased dismay,
that the palsy Of terror had begun to ag
itate my limbs. 1t Will wake, thought l.
and then all is over. At that iuncture
something's might have been a wall
lizard or a large beetle-fell from the
ceiling upon my left arm, whieh lay
stretched at my side. The snake, ~uncoil
ing its head, raised itself with q low hiss,
and then for the Grst time, | saw it, saw
the hood, the terrible crest glittering in
the moenshine. 1t was a Copra de Ca.
pella Shading my eyes to exclude the
dreadful spectacle, [ lay almost f~ainting
until all was again quiet. Had its fiery
encountered mine, all would have
been over but apparently, it was once
more asleep, and presently [ heard the
Lascar moving about undoing the
fastening of the tent, and striking a light.
A thought suddenly struck me, and with
an impulse | could hardly ascribe to moth
ing short OF desperation, though its effects
were SO p~rovidential, l uttered in a loud
but sepuTcral tone, "Kulassi ! Lascar !"
: Sahib !" was the instaneous response,
and my heart beat quicker at the success
Of my attempt.
lay still again, for the reptile, evil
IDENTIFY reused, made a movement. and it's
head, as | suppose, fell upon my naked
On, God the agony Of that mo.
nent, when suppressed tremor, almost
gave way to madness l debated with
myself whether | should again endeavor
to attract the attention of the Kulassi, or
remain perfectly quiet, or whether it
would not be better than either to start
Up at once and shake the disgustful bur
den from me-. But the latter suggestion
at once abandoned, because Of the as.
surance | felt that it would prove fatal
by the heavy coils Of the crea-
ture, weak aud nervous from excitement,
could not escape its fangs. Again,
therefore, | spoke with the hollow but
accents which ARISE from the
throat when the speaker is afraid to move
muscle. kulass;, chiragh Z Lascar,
lanthornl aLatah own, sahib |" | am
bringing it, sir, There was then a sound
Of clankiag metal ; light advancing, fash
ed across the roofof the yeraudah, and at
the noise Of coming steps, loi n afteg
another Of its terrible coils unwindjng,
the grizzly monster glided away from my
body and the last sounds which struck
my sense of hearing were the " va illahi
sampls @, God, q snake Aofthe lascar;
for | had tainted away for the first time
in nay life.