The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-06-04
THE HUMAN MOSQUITO.
A Creature Which Exists But to
Torment.
How He Wounds and Tortures his Hap
less Viotims-The Different Varieties
of the Species-A Possible Rea-
son for his Existence.

He is ubiquitous; and, taking him
morally, he has solved the problem OF
perpetual motion; for he is never quiet,
never tranquil. and as for letting well
or his fellow-ereatures alone, he does
that as little as he pays the national
debt. Like his chronological proto-
type, the human mosquito has various
methods of attack. Now he comes on
you silly, without note of warning pre-
facing attack, and the first proof of his
presence sting: now the shrill dis
cordance of his challenge rouses you to
attention and the vain attempt at de-
tense and retaliation. For YOU can not
defend yourself nor yet retaliate The
human mosquito is too subtle in his at
tack to be evaded, too quick in his re-
treat to be. caught and your hands only
tight the ar, when they do not fall, like
boomerangs, with sounding blow on
your own pate.
The life's business of the human
mosquito is to wound, and his mildest
pleasure is to annoy. Woe to you, poor
hapless wight, if, in a weak moment,
you have allowed the tormentor to find
out your sore places or discover the
secret of the weak joint in your armor.
Henceforth you may bid aleu- to peace
Tor so long as this creature is within
hail. He never lets drop subject which
ne knows is painful; and when he has
once been able to make you vince, he
never wearies of repeating the expert
ment. 1t is such fun to him to see your
lip culver, your cheek blanch, your eyes
flash with ill-suppressed fury, if you are
man-with voiceless scorn or darken-
ing tears, if you are a woman--such
fun! he would not forego that pleasure
for worlds, life. indeed, having no
greater to bestow. Fivisection? Are
there not men who would vivisect for
the mere love of torturing. and the
brutal curiosity of seeing the victim S
behavior under pain? So in like man
ner does the human mosquito torment
and torture you for the mere love of
the SPORT and to make you dance to
his piping, shod in the red-hot shoes of
the German fairy tale, is as exquisite
delight to q him as were the
cries OF the racked hereto to Toruue
mada, as are the fiuttering aeonies
OF the wounded bird to the snake. Has
your faVor1te son proved failure, with
passages in his history you would
rather not remember, still less have
remembered by othersp The human
mosquito never meets you without ask
mg carefully after young Graceless-
Where ls he-what is he doing-and has
ne paid his debts yet? and is that SEN
tence OF outlawry rescinded? and what
SrieI IL must be to you that one who
promised so well when he was lad
snoulo have kicked over the traces to
such an extent as he has done, Did
Your daughter run of, f,with the nenn;Iess
raoo'll n,ouIenan'' and are you notoriously un-
leccnclled to the marriage-hopeless
as Is your displeasure? The human
s,'os srolIG,'o lakes every opportunity of
spoaAihg IN Your presence of the reo;-
men. 10 which your unwelcome .son-in-
Jaw oeiongs; and though he can NOT tell
you personally, does tell your .neiohbor
"a your hearing, where If is What
IL IS DONG, and how this officer
ana that have distinguished themselves
anu oeen rewarded, your undesirable
connection conn being consplcuouslv absent sem
from arom the roll-call of merit. If your old
aunt aunt mas died and left YOU nothing.
S;s Mnlls she favored your cousin and made 81
n,m ner heir. to your not unnatural dis
appointment, the human MOSQUITO de-
- Ups tne most extraordinary interest
~ mat cousins doings, and either asks
you OF his well-being under his now
a,,l, mJnors, or gives you anecdotes of the
sP'enaor OF his surroundings and the
SSs.oundlng luxury of his horne-anecss
bo Soses which set your teeth on etlge.
n nalnpered as you are in all YOUR goinrs
ana comings. Or, if it be the other
way, and you have been the favored
ana the rlghtful heir has been disnos-
SesSea' then does the tormentor regale
you with narrowing accounts of the dis.
siscea B;t,o one's trials and penury, and the
ol'ass lsserness OF his disappointment, which
S;nass ;na & 10 INN like Nessus shirt, poison
eae very current of his blood.
N9' 70 be successfully fought, not