The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-10-19

my custom to meet Oswald. And it
would be but very seldom that we were
to meet hencefoTth, since, poor fellow,
he was to sail by the Lord DalhOatsie,
expected at Point de Gale on the 31st
of the month.
On my way | paused now aud then,
familiar as was the prospect, to gaze
upon the wide expanse of the lake, the
silvery waters of which rolled away so
grandly that it was hard TO conceive
tnat what seemed almost entitled to take
rank as an inland sea could be actually
the work of human hands. Flocks of
wild fowl, with white wings and shrill
scream, hOvered above the swarms of
gorgeously tinted fish that swan around
the huge weed beds, while here and
there among the red lotus blossoms ap-
lpeared what might have been easily
mistaken for a floating log, but which
knew to be an alligator drowsily bask-
ing in the glad sunshine.
The heavy heat seemed to render ex-
ertion, even for the natives, difficult, for
| saw no fisher, as usual, padding his
light canoe or preparing his tough nets
of cocOa-nut fibre; and the very Gin
galese wOod-cutters had deserted their
work, leaving behind them great heap
of hewn timber, in front of which, i'm
bedded in the spongy wood of a cy-
press, four or Eve short bright axes re-
manned sticking. Some few PAGES from
this heap was the ruinous summer
! house, and beyond it there lowered
aloft the giant talipOt-tree, with its vast
! serrated leaves that serve the Cingalese
for sail and thatch and screen, beneath
which Oswald and | were accustomed
/ to meet.
To my surprise, and perhaps chagrin,
did not at first see him for whom |
| looked, and began to fear that he had
! forgotten to keep his wonted tryst; but
! on drawing nearer beheld a sight that
for the moment froze my very veins
with horror, and caused the cry Of an
guish that rose to my lips to die away
Oswald, lying on the turf among the
roots of the gigantic palm-tree, seemed
to be asleep, overcome, probably, by
the unusual heat, while around him was
loosely coiled something that resembled |
stout rope, curiously streaked with |
black and orange and white-sOmething |
that caused the withered leaves and /
crisp grass to rustic, as it stirred, writh- |
ing.
l had never seen a living tic palunga,
bnt knew at the first glance that the |
snake before my eye was no other than |
a large specimen of that dreaded rep |
tile, which in Ceylon takes the position |
that in continental India belongs to the |
cobra, and for the bite of which there |
is no known remedy. Twice within the .
last three years laborers on my fathers |
plantation had been brought in dying /
from the venom of the tic palunga, but |
in each instance the skill of the native |
snake-charmer had led to the capture !
of the reptile, and it was not believed |
that any Of this species, rare as well as
dangerous, had been left alive in our
immediate neighborhood. This, how
ever, was unquestionablya tic palunga,
many feet long, and it had wrapped its
coils, as though in hideous sport,
around Oswald's limbs as he lay there
unconscious.
The great fiat head of the enormous
snake rested on the ground among the
flowers and ferns. could see its eyes,
bright as jewels, fixed upon me. 1t
showed, for the moment, however, no
BtsI AlCulelA Lo VI sLuGCI Vi VI bloll uSls
but contented itself with quietly con-
templating the intruder on its haunts.
As | stood gazing on my sleeping lover
and the monstrous creature that lay,
wakeful, but quiescent, so near to him,
all the stories of snakes that l
had ever heard or read came
crowding in upon my men,
ory. l knew that the tic palunga, in
common with most of the venomouS va
rieties of its race, seldom employed its
pOison-fangs except when attacked or
annoyed; but always knew that the
hardest elephant-hunter of the forests
would sooner confront the charge of
herd of incensed tuskers than face the |
lance-like dart and rancorous bite of
this dreaded denizen of the Jungle.
The tic palunga, unlike the boa and
the python, rarely, if ever, preys upon
the larger animals, such as deer or cat
tie, confining its diet, for the most part,
to birds and frogs and lizards. Some |
caprice, most likely, had caused it to
twine part of its supple conovlutions
around Oswald as he lay, and so long
as he remained asleep and motionless,
there was little probability that the SER
pent would harm him. Ny great fear
was lest he should awake, and, awak-
ing, by some hasty movement, arouse
the ire of the res stless foe. Oswald !
was brave and strong, but it was a .
mockery to speak of strength or cour-
age when so terrible an antagonist was |
in question.
Suddenly, as if it had been a whisper
from Heaven, there came into my mind .
a thought that promised hope, even in
that dire extremity of need. had often /
seen harmless snakes kept tame in CO.
lonial households, and was aware of .
their habits, and of their love for Ger
tain kinds of food, aid, above all, for |
mix. Could but bring to that spot a
supply of milk, and place it, before Os- 1
wald should awake, temptingly near to |
the tic palunga, all might yet be well
And vet to desert him-poor fellow! -
in such terrible company seemed cruel; |
yet it was for his sake, and felt that / |
must go. Very slowly, then, lest my
footsteps should disturb the sleeper or |
frritate the huge reptile that kept watch |
beside him, | stole away, and when at
a safe distance, hew rather than ran
along the forest path.
The nearest European dwelling was |.
Oswald's own home. There were Gin |
galese huts nearer, no doubt, where |
dwelt some of Mr.. Forster's hired men, /
but | should not be able to procure what |
l sought save from the planters house. |
At another time | should not have will |
lingly trespassed on the domains of Os- |
wald's father; but this was no occasion /.
for scruple or punctilio. Life and death, |
as | knew, depended on my speed.
There, at length, rose up before me /
the Inilkthorn hedge, the impenetrable /.
thorns of which are often useful in
keeping out leopard and jackal, which
surrounded the planters homestead
and passing through an open gate, I
entered the compound. The first ser
want that / met, and who lifted his
hand TO his snow-white turban with a
polite SO Sslaamln and a smile that
showed the white teeth between his
bearded lips, was man whom l knew,
a Mahratta groom, who had formerly
been in my fathers service, and whose
child | had nursed through an attack of