The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-07-12

ThackeraY says: "In India, the small
ills Of life are more particularly harassing.
Ii is not so much the intense heat Or the
unhealthy climate that renders residence
there SO trying to the European, as the
constant series Of petty prosecutions
which keep the unfortunate exotic In .
perpetual simmer Of fever and excitement
He may get over q coup de sOLetL, or IN
attack of cholera, and'leel almost as well
as ever again till the next one; but he
has no escape from the small woes and in
finitesimal vexations that increasingly Rf-
fiict q native Of the temperate zone trans
planted to the tropics.
"In this country, according to Mr.. Hen.
~ Mayhem, the greatest plaques OF ones
life are servants. In IndiR, .'hegYt - ,,n@-
quitoes. The peninsula Of Hindostan
'Noskd &R. E[Stst2.., -.-..>.>.-.>>.ssys -, >-S
gallant couDtrymen, if the terrible plenti.
iulncss Of mosquitoes was not in some
measure counlerbalanced by cOFrespOn-
ding number of rupees. 1t is some con-
ISOLATION to the tingling soldier or the
ser"sy,lns c;yAisN ,FSe5, oT rising from his
sleepless couch, he ruefully contemplates
his inAamed cuticle, to reflect that on the
first Of every month he will receive from
a sympathizing government a bag Of sill
yer coin, presenting an equally swollen
appearance.
"ThoSe fortunate persons who live at
home Mt ease, can form no idea of the in
veterate malignity of these little black
beasts of our Eastern Empire. Their own
experience can, happily for them, furnish
no parallel inflictiOR.- Even the dweller
in London lodging house, who, l fancy,
runs the whole gauntlet OF British carni-
vora, sufferskeSs during an entire season
x >t.,;t,~ : x * ~ -, - * = %;,s.,1s
has to endure in one night. Let the cock
ney, therefore, abuse his landlady, but be
thankful.
In the incessant warfare waged be-
tween man and the mosquitoes, it is mel
ancholy to reflect how unequal Is the con.
test. No amount of clothing permitted
by the climate is sufficient to repel their
attacks. White trousers Of the stoutest
duck seem only to sharpen their appetite
and leather, notwithstanding its proverb.
ial efficacy, is, if manufactured by native
tanners, powerless to withstand such de.
tcrmined assailantS Even in the improb.
able case Of mans outerworks being
sufficiently strong to resist their regular
assaults, there are undelended spots in
his intrenchments which these skillful
little sappers and miners discover with
unerrng sagacity and success. With a
gallantry worthy Of a better cause, they
insinuate themselves between his neck
and his shirt collar, they reconnoiter the
interior Of his coat sleeves, they make
foTaging excursions up the legs of his
pantaloons, and otherwise take advantage
generally of those weak points which must
exist in every system of fortifcation.
"The only consolation under these dis
tresSing circumstances, is that such as
saults are usually forlorn hopes. The en-
euny is in a cuL de sac from which there is
no retreat. Directly the breach is made,
a sharp blow with the palm of tue hand
on the spot attacked, places the assailant
hOrs dc combat. The consequence Of this
maneuver is, that the sufferer, on disro.
bing at night, has the melancholy satis-
faction of seeing the carpet strewed with
fiattened cOrpses Of adventurous mosqui-
toes, weltering, alas, in his blood"