The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-07-04
The Cobra.

The preferences OF men, and even ami
mails, are very remarkable. Why will
parrot at once prefer one human being,
and reject another? Sometimes it may
happen that this bird will 20 to perfect
stranger, and suddenly turn on it's we'll
known owner if he attempts to touch it.
Dogs exercise this mysterious prefer
cnce or aversion in a very marked degree.
Natural philosophers assume that these
preferences and diversions are the result of
certain occult skin OF flesh odors, of which
we ourselves have no knowledge.
ALI animate nature seems to be submit
ted to these mysterious doctrines. which
are far beyond the ken of man.
Helios Dolah Babrodoor commonly call
ed Hellos, was Parsee-one Of those few
remaining Of the old caste of sun-worship-
ers, who recognize the Divine love in the.
lite-giving power Of the sun, and who
derry revelation Of all kinds.
They are now only to be found in
Hindostan, where the natives are pretty
equally divided into Mussulmans ard
Rindoos.
| Helios hated the Mussulmans, and de-
voted himself to reducing their powers in
India.
Rich, intellectual and pure, he was a
great power in Hindostan, and, in 1857,
gave valuable information to the East In
dia Company, such as naturally helped to
overthrow the native Mussulnan power
in North India.
| From that time to the hour in which
the crash came, he never ceased to oppose
the Musselman cause in India.
1t was even said that he had given
valuable information to the Russians con-
corning military affairs in Turkey, and
M anticipation of the war upon the great
Mohammedan power which has now
broken out.
Three years since, Helios reached En-
gland, evidently the bearer of important
intelligence, for he was received at the
India Office whenever he presented him.
self there.
When the winter, however, approached
he found that he could not bear the En-
glish climate. But his work evidently
not being done, he did not return to In
dia, but drjfted to Nice, where his great
god, the sun, plays at summer time, while
in the distance the snow covered Maritime
Alps may be seen: white in the midst OF
winter.
Here he took some rooms at the very
top of hotel. He was humble mind
ed man, who hated display and loved
quiet.
He was solitary enough under the tiles.
A hotel servant, going into Helios's
bedroom one morning while the occupier
was out, was astonished to find man
evidently an East Indian by his COM
p|exion, seated near the stove, the iron
pipe OF which passed out on to the roof.
! Asked what he wanted, he said he was
waiting for the sahib's return.
| Told that the gentleman would not be
back until night, he took his leave very
humbly.
It was after he had gone that the man.
servant noticed that the door of the small
cylinder iron stove which warmed the
room when there happened to be cool
day, had been broken sharp off, and re-
moved from the room.
He did not associate this danger with
the visitor. He assumed that careless
servant had snapped the cast-iron door of
the stove.
That night one of the bed room bella
was rung softly several times, and until
the night porter gave the alarm.
During the winter at Nice, most Of the
visitors resident in the hotels are invalids;
and; therefore, call in the middle Of the
night is very common.
The properly appointed person accer
tanned that the bill was that of the room
occupied by NJ. Helios, the Parsee.
lie never fastened his dor.
"Monsicur!'
"Bring plate of milk, for Heavens
sake!'
"Monsiear!"
"Some milk, for Heavens sake, in a
plate! It is matter Of life or death!'
Walters in tn ,se- winter hotels are ac-
customed to very strage requests; and,
therefore, the man, with civil affirma-
tive, went down stairs, SOON returned with
the plate of milk, and entered the room,
bearing light.
"Set it down on my breast" said the
Parsee, in low voice.
The wondering man did as he was
hidden.
1t was only after he had done So that
he saw small brown snake coiled upon
the Parsee's left arm.
! Its horrid eyes were fixed upon his
beating jugular artery.
The waiter, paraly zed, could not move.