Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-11-22

brooded the eggs TO generate the little
ones. At the back of his apartment there
was a small garden, and next kind OF
orchard court, where merchant of
chickens and fowls had nursery of these
domestic animals, which he kept for trade.
At that time Mr.. NJ had in his bedroom
two enormous boa constructors, which slept
with him as two little babies, as Mr.. NJ.
was confident that no treason or mischief
could come from them, so beloved and well
trained by him. So he took his sleep con-
fidently every night. But the wild ibrld
animals, with natural bad instinct
for rapine and murder, would smell often
their prey, the poor innocent chick
ems, and when Mr.. NJ. peacefully
slept, the horrid reptiles oozed
from the bed, and silently creeped to
the gardens where the chickens were, kill
ing and eating often of them. During this
assault the chickens begun to crock, and
sometime the proprietor was awaked and
visited the garden, and when he discovered
a chicken dying and Others destroyed, he
began for to watch during many nights,
till what was the horror and fright of the
master when, at the feeble light of the
break of day, he discovered a sterminate
serpent with large chicken strangled in
its coils At sudden he gave the alarm and
called the police; all the neighbors'
houses were also frightened; at last he dis
covers that Mr. VI. was the keeper of such
extraordinary nuisible things, and went to
the Court, where the magistrate summoned
Mr.. NJ; but, strange to say, there was not
a slight intention found on the part of the
unconscious Mr. NJ. to give harm to any
body, and he was not at all punished for
it, but only warned to take measures as to
assure that the two serpents would have
not in the future to make so romantic
assays in like excursions nightly to the
mild and useful race of bipeds so good for
human food"
Some wears later. while | was abroad,
noticed in the English newspaper an ac-
count Of chancery suit affecting my
friends and their beloved snakes, and on
my return, finding that they were likely to
be turned out of their house, owing to a
stray snake having frightened a neighbors
servant into fit, | wrote Il letter to the
Times, in defense of the snakes, which will
be found quoted in DIR. Romanes' book on
Animal Intelligence" In spite of my
protestations, the serpents were declared to
be a dangerous nuisance and my friends
were turned out, nearly broken-hearted
and ruined.
After long interval | heard Of them
again from the late Frank auckland, who
was kind friend to the family. They were
living quietly with their snakes in small
lodgings near Leicester Square. One day,
Mr.. NJ, who was delicate man, was seized
with fainting fit, and remained on his bed
insensible while Mrs. NJ. fastened out for
the doctor On her return with auckland |
they found Mr.. NJ. still on the bed, but re-
gaining his consciousness. He was weep |
ing over the PROSTATE body of his beloved
Cleopatra. The snake suspecting some
thing wrong, had evidently crept up stairs,
and when it found its beloved master in
sensible had experienced some kind of
shock. Partly on the bed and partly trail
ing on the ground, the poor boa was found |
stone dead = Cassell's Family Magazine.