Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-29
NUMBER %.
III FED With a Serpent.

tErorn Calnphels Rough Recollections ]
might have slept ssme four or FIVE hours,
and dseamless and satisfying sleep it was.
but certain it is-scioiists say what they
viii, and sceptics throw doubts by handfuls
on the assertions Of metaphysicians-that,
Before awoke, in my dreamless slumbcr.
Il had . visible perception Of peril: con-
iscousness 81 the hovering presence of death
How to describe ny feelings know not,
but as We have all read and heard that, If
the eyes Of watcher are steadily fixed On
the countehance Of sleeper for a certain
length Of tiale, she glumberer will be sure
| to start up, wakened by the mysterious
magnetism Of a reconcile principle of Clair
voyance 10 it was that; with shut eyes and
dsovscd up senses, an inward ability was
conferred upon me to detect the living pre-
tsence Of danger near me, to see. though
slreep- blind, the formIess shape Of ,nys-
serious horror croaohing beside me; and as
if tie peril that was my nightmare was ola
nature to be quickened into fatal activity by
any motion on my part, felt in my very
stupor the critical necessity of lying quite
still, so that, when at last awoke and felt
| that, as [ lay with my face towards this
roof, there was thick, heavy. cold, creep
| ing thing on my chest, I stirred not, nor
uttered q 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, coling and ceiling
itself up il circle Of tEists, an enormous
serpent 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 viii own that it must have been one Of
considerable size What my thoughts were.
SO much made up Of adherence, dread and
the expectation, nay, assurance of speedy
death that must follow any movement or
my part, can never hope to tell, in Ian
guage sufficiently distinct and vivid to con-
vey their full force 1t was evident thas
the loathsome creature had at length settled
itself to sleep, and felt thankful that, at
tracted by ray breath, it had not approach
ed the upper part Of my throat. It became
quite still, and its weighty pressure, its first
cammy ohillness, became gradually ESQ il
seemed to -me) Of a burning heat-and the
| JULIUS, lUlCSCl lUdDlc ONO- "uiIh CAbA.CN
from its body and pervaded the whole air,
50 overwhelmed me that it was only by q
severe struggle I preserved myself from
shrieking
| AS it was, cold sweat burst from every
pore; I could hear the beating of my heart;
and felt, to my increased dismay that the
palsy of terror had began to agitate my
! limbs. Il will wake, thought !, and then
all is overi At that juncture something
| it might have been wall lizard, or q large
beetlo-reii from The ceiling &poa hly LETT
arm, which Icy stretched at my side, This
snake, uncoiling it's head, raised itself with
low hiss, and then for the first time saw
| it, saw the hood, the terrible crest glitter
I ing in the moonshine. 1t was Cobra de-
Capello! Shading my eyes to exclude the
dreadful spectacle, / lay almost fainting
IN til again all was quiet. Had its fiery
glance encountered mine, all would have
been over; but apparently it vas once more
asleep, and presently I heard the Lascar
moving about. undo..ng the fastening of the
tent, and striking light. A thought sud-
denly struck me, and with an impulse
could ascribe to nothing short of despera-
ton, though its effects were so provilential.
I uttered il a loud but sepulchral tone,
sKulassi! I4aacacr' ''Sahib." was the
instantaneous response, and my heart beat
quicker at the success Of my attempt.
| lay still again, for the reptile, evident.
| y reused made movement, and its head,
as | suppose, fell upon my naked arm. Oh
God the agony Of that moment, when sup
pressed, almost gave way to madness de-
bated with myself whether | should again
endeavor to attract the attention Of the ku-
lassi, or remain perfectly quiet, or whether
it would not be better than either to start
up at once and shake the disgusting bur
then from me- But the latter suggestion
was at once abandoned, because of the as
surance | felt that it would prove fatal;
impeded by the coils of the creature, weak,
nervous from excitement, could not ea-
cape its fangs Again, therefore, / spoke
with the hollow but distinct accents which
arise from the throat when the speaker IS
afraid to move muscle. 'tKulassi, CHI
ragh" I.ascar lanthorn ''Latah own.
sahib," am bringing it, sir. There was
then clanking sound of metal; light adj
vancing, flashing across the roof of the ver~
anda, and at the coming steps. 10 one afr
ter another of its terrible coils unwindiag.
the grizzly monster glided away from my
body; and the last sounds which struck my
sense of hearing were the ''Ya illahi, sam
PIP! Oh God a snake of the Lascar;
for I tainted away fer the first time IN my
| life.