St. Landry democrat., 1883-07-28
LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE.

duced important ReSultS-Accfdents and
Incidents Bringing Death to Some and
Fortunes to Others-What Fate Had in
Store.
How slight thing causes death, and
yet through what beatings and failings,
explosions and shootings, wars and bat
ties, shipwrecks and perils on land and
sea, some persons pass and still survive
to good old age. A short time ago a
child in this city choked to death on a
grain of coffee. Mrs Marks, a lady
of sixty-two, undertook to remove a
wart on her forefnger by an application
of concentrated I've exhibiting degree
of wisdom similar to that of the man
who fired his barn in order to burn out
wasp-nest in the eaves), and her sys-
tenn waS thus poisoned. A Mr.. Nc
,Cabe, of St. Louis, had a slight
pimple on his cheek. '.Cut it off,
he said to the barber. He did,
and in ten days time cancer deyel-
oped, and Mr.. McCabe paid the forfeit
with his life.
Fear causes many accidents, showing
how powerful some people Imagination
is to hatch out the eggs of disaster into
full-fedged chickens Of death and sick
ness. General w. S. Harvey, the In
.dian-fghter, used to tell a story of a
young Lieutenant who went with him to
an Indian banquet. Among other deli
cacies they had some rattlesnake,
stewed, fried and boiled. The meat,
+. was white, tender and juicy. The Lieu
tenant ate heartily of it, and pronounced
Z it finer than any spring chicken he had
ever eaten. At last the General said to
him: ''Do you know that was rattle
snake you liked somuch?n The Lieuten-
ant turned deadly pale, was seized with
violent retchings, and died before morn
ing with spasms of the stomach, brought
on entirely by imaginary fear.
Surgeon General Francis, of the In
dian Medical Service, tells Of drum
smer who was suddenly aroused from
his sleep by something crawling over
his naked legs. He imagined it was
cobra, and his friends collected by the
'outcry thought so, too, and he was
treated accordingly. lamentations, such.
as are customary with the natives on
these, occasions, were resorted to, and |
the poor fellow was Negotiated with /
twisted cloths on the arms and legs in |
view partly to arouse him, but princi-
.pally to drive out the evil influence /
(spirit) that for the time being had taken
possession Of him. With the first dawn /
of light the cause Of the fright was dis
covered in the shapefo harmless
lizard, which was lying crushed and
half killed by the side of the poor drum
mer, but it was too late. From the /
moment when he believed that poison
GUS snake had bitten him he passed into
an increasing collapse until he died.
The drummer was nota strong lad, and
the shock was too much for him.
The most remarkable death from the
accident Of fright was that of the Dutch
painter, Penteman, in the seventeenth
century. He was atwork on picture
in which were represented several death
heads, grinning skeletons, and other
objects calculated to inspire the beholder
with contempt for the vanities and :
follies of the day. In order to do his
work the better he. went to an anatom-
ical room and used it for studio. OneI
sultry day, as he was drawing these
relics of mortality BY which r
be was surrounded, he fell off into !
quiet sleep, from which he was suddenly
aroused. Imagine his horror at behold !
ing Jne SKuIlS anu bones uaHcln5 around |
him like mad, and the skeletons which /
hung from the ceiling dashing them !
selves together. Panic-stricken, he +
rushed from the room and threw him /
,elf headlong from window onto the (,
pavement below. He sufficiently recov- |
red to learn that the cause of his fear Z
vas slight earthquake, bit his nervous 6
ystem had received SO severe a shock i
hat he died in a few days. S
Frederick + of Prussia, was killed by.1 t
ID accident Of fear. He was one day i
leeping in an armchair, when his wife,
4ouisa, of Mecklenberg, who had for.
ONE time been hopelesslY insane, es-l i