Connecticut western news., 1873-01-31
The Power of the Eye.

A y just beginning to make my way as an actor" says the late Edwin Forrest, who so we'll knew how to tell story, "I was down at Mobile. I had, let me tell you, quite enough to do. was the leading man., and sometimes had to cram with half @ dozen parts a week. However, I liked work then. The way I used to study was to take long walk before re- hearsal, and read the part through again and again, until I'd learned it. We'll, about four miles beyond the city-Mo- bile wasn't then as large as it is now, nor as cultivated and peopled round it's outskiTts-was a fine sweep of green and flat ground, continuing for some three-quarters of mile, and then bro- ken up by 8 thick belt of palm-trees and undergrowth. This meadow, as it would be called here, was favorite studying place of mine. One morning I'd gone out there with a tolerably long part-Octoroon in The Meuntaineers and, with my head bent over the book it was 8 printed copy of the play was hard at work. What made me look, I don't know; but did. Just coming out of the clump of palms, I saw what I at first fancied was large dog. Its three or four first bounds toward me, however, convinced me I was mistaken. It was a big wildcat, or 8 puma, or something of the sort; and, when I realized what the thing was, I began to shake with something that, if not fear, was remarkably like it. I had no weapon with mel never carried one. Even my penknife was left on my writing table, for felt in my pockets for it. Then, for moment, I thought of run ming away. What use would my legs have been against the animals in race for life ? Every instant the brute was my eyes fixed in a horrid sort of fasci- nation on the tiger-cat, while I calcu- lated what sort of chance would be mine in the coming struggle-mine for exist ence, it's for breakfast. All at once, about twenty yards from me, the thing crouched, it's eyes glaring into mine, and it's tail slowly wagging to and fro in very playful and interesting man. ner. What did this pause mean? All at once I remembered having read some where of the effect of the fixed glance of the human eye on the infuriated brute creation. Had mine magnetized it? Not at all. Rising, it made two more bounds forward, and then crouched as before, right opposite me, it's tail still wagging. I could scarcely keep my eyes from following its motion. However, I fastened the brute's gastro- nomical inspection of my carcass with an unwayering glance. Then it turned it's head on one side and then on the other. If I only had pistol with me! I had not, so waited, as the internal puma did-possibly, so it then seemed to me, some three or four hours-prob- ably some ten minutes. At last it rose again, slowly and earnestly conteM- plated me, and then, either appalled, by my eye, or taking me for carved im- age, as had not stirred, and not relish ing a meal of wood or stone, it paced slowly away. was about making tracks in the opposite direction from it, when it was lucky had not done so-about forty or fifty paces from me, it sprung round and once more crouched. There it lay again upon the grass, it's tail lash ing backward and forward, and it's head rocking from side to side, as if it wished to verify its ideas touching my not being a creature of flesh and blood. How long this continued was only en- abled to guess afterward. But it did come to an end. Slowly it again rose, and, allowing it's tail to drop between it's hind-legs, ranAyes, gentleman, it ran!-away in the most sneakingly, cowed manner possible. And so did I; not, however, until it had completely vanished in the palm and brush belt at the far end of the meadow. The four mi1es-this is mentioned to demonstrate my speed-between the spotupon which I had been standing and Mobile, were covered in less than half an hour.'
 "And how large, may ask, MT. For rest" inquired one of his auditory on this occasion, "was the puma ?"
 "I didn't measure it, sir"
 "Of course. But how large should you suppose it to have been ?"
 Thirty-fve feet from its snout to the top of it's tail, if reckon it's inches by the scare it gave me!' exclaimed For rest, with humorous twinkle in his eye. "Not half an inch less.'