New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1884-09-10
WHOLE NUMBER 34a

began to heavo signs Of relisf, and
could not help being impressed BY the
| picturesqueness Of the scene. The
lady's black velvet bodice showed OF
to great advantage the large snake
coils, with their curious markings, and
her rich brown hair was soon charm-
ingly rufaed by the caresses Of the
snakes as they poked their noses
through it In . few minutes two lit
tie girls appeared, and, tripping up to
their mother. began playing with tho
dear, y and actually kissing its nose
until the snake tried impatiently TO
withdraw its neck from their fond lit
tie hands. s
Mrs. NJ. who seemed overweiehted
with the two snakes. asked her hus.
band to relieve her Of the python. and
she then proposed that we should have
some coffee, which was brought in by
the little girls. By this time I had "a
gained my self possession. and watched
her with the keenest interest Of IN
artist as she poured out the coffee and
tapped occasionally
THE HEAD OF THE BOA.
which was inquisitively stretched ont
toward me. During this time the
smaller snakes were all about tho,
room. q green ono half hidden In the
blotting book. and others hanging from
the tables and chairs, and from Mr..
NJ. Is pockets.
Several months after this adventure.
happened to be at q rather smart
wedding, and meeting Lord Arthur
Russell (who knew was lover Of
snakes) I narrated the circumstances
to him, and was rather taken aback by
his proposal that We should 60 away,
there and then. in hanson cab to
Chelsea. Surely" exclaimed, ..you
don't propose to leave this goodly
company" (Mr. Gladtone was there
among many other celebrities) .'and
this goodly cheer. to see the snakesa
=: 1.-THE guests are met, the feast 10 sets
Mays't hear the merry din
But he was evidently determined.
So off we drove to Cheyne Walk, where
we fortunately found the snake-charm.
ers at home. and saw much the same
scene that have already described.
Lord Arthur was more venturesomo
than I was. andsgot one Of tho smaller
reptiles up his sleeve, and Mr.. NJ. had
to come to the rescue and draw It
forth through his shirt cuff. We were
shown very perfect skin, apparently
about three yards long, which Mr.. NJ.
coolly told us tho boa had cast while
in bed with him one cold night. He
felt 1.-THE poor thing fretting about, "
and kept telling it to be quiet, but It
would persist in squeezing between his
legs and feet and in the morning he
found that it had shed its skin.
Mr.. and Mrs. M. informed us that
once, when they wero away for two
months, they left the two big snakes In
charge Of keeper at the Zoo. On
their return the keeper said that II they
had delayed much longer the hos
would have died, as it was refusing
food; and when he produced the snake
it recognized Mrs. MS voice, and
sprang at her with
SUCH VEHEMENT AFFECTION
as nearly to upset hor. coiling itself
closely round her until they reached
home in = cab. Our hosts also IN.
formed us that one summers evening,
when tho family, including oil tho
snakes, were having ten in the garden.
Cleopatra kept swinging from tree By
its tail, and Mr.. NJ, thinking 1t good
opportunity to gauge the strength o.
the boa, placed himself under the tree
and allowed the snake to coil itself
round his waist. He then found that
he could lift his feet from the ground.
We were also informed that Il tho big
snakes once made pets Of live animals
given for food-which they were apt 10
do when not hungry they would never
eat them. but would wait until fresh
beasts or birds were provided.
Some years later, while / Wa
abroad. / noticed in the English news
papers an account 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 stray snake
having frightened neighbor's servant
into fit, wrote letter to the Times
in defense of the snakes, which will be-
found quoted in DR.. Romane's book on
animal Intelligence. !" In spite Of my
protestations the serpents were de-
clared to be dangerous nuisance, and
my friends were turned ont nearly
broken-hearted and ruined.
| After long interval heard Of them
again from the late Frank auckland,
who was kind friend to tho 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 q faint
ing fit, and remained on his bed insen-
sible while Mrs. M. fastened ont for
the doctor. On her return with Buck
land, they found Mr.. NJ. still on the
bed. but regaining his consciousness.
He was weeping over the prostrate
body Of his beloved Cleopatra. The
snake, suspecting something wrong,
had evidently crept upstairs, and when
it found its beloved master insensible
had experienced some kind Of shock.
Partly on the bed and partly trailing
on the floor. the poor boa was found
stone-dead!
The center Of human happiness. sayl
DR.. Ward Richardson, Is not in the
brain. but in the vital nervous system,
in the great ganglia Of the sympathetic,
lying not in the cerebro- spinal cavities,
but in the cavities of the body itself,
near the stomach and in the heart.
The man who is miserable 10 . hypo-
chondriac; his affection Is seated under
the lower ribs. No man ever felt ulser.
80. ~ b - -.