The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-09-16
Three Instances.

1 had intended to head this article I'm.
stinct," but 1t struck me that two Of
the stories at least which I have to tell
can hardly be called instinct and as Edon't
know what else to name them ! call them
simply "Three Instances"
They are on the same principle as that
old story of the singer who had lived on
q canal boat before she became famous,
and one night as she stood before the au.
dience somebody shouted out "Low
bridgew and the woman ducked her
head
The first instance is about two young
fellows, who, baKfooted in the wilds of
America, we're turning hay IN a meadow.
The two were talking together as they
turned the hay. Suddenly one of the
boys heard a sound like the rattling of
very dry peas in pod. He never look
ed down to where the noise came from,
but with a suddenness that was puzzliDg
to his companion he gave one yell and
jumped at least half a rod.
His comrade, looking in amazement
from the boy to the place he jumped
from, saw coiled near spot where q
bare foot had been large rattlesnake.
Two or three blows from the pole with
which he was turning the hay killed the
rattler Now, the young man who
Jumped had never seen rattlesnake be-
fore, never had heard rattlesnake rat
tie, was not thinking of snakes at all,
did not even see the snake before he
jumped, yet if he lived to be one hun
dred years old he will never again take
such leap as that one was.
The second instance is about snake
that wasn't there. Twas up the other day
seeing a man who had spent most of his
life in India. noticed that one of the
panes of his window was broken.
GLOW did that happen ?" I asked.
"You see," was the answer, "it was
this way: Yesterday I went out for q
long tramp, and I wore hole in The toe
of my stocking, which I didn't notice at
the time and didn't notice this morning
when put it on. was absent minded
ly putting on my shoes when suddenly my
toe touched something cold, and before I
could remember that I was in England
and not in India I kicked that shoe
through the window. I never put my
shoes on in India without shaking them
out to see that nothing was in them in
the shape of snakes. This morning I
forgot that I was in England, and re-
membered that I hadn't shaken my
shoe."
The third instance was something of
the same sort. I was coming from the
Temple station to the Strand when I saw
shead of me we'll known war cores.
pondent. 1t was a nasty, slushy day
and I hurried to catch up with him.
On one of the streets leading from the
Strand to the embankment good deal of
building is going on. At the moment I
speak of cart filled with gravel backed
up to where the building operations were
proceeding and the man opened the back
of the cart. The gravel with q rush
and roar fell out on the road. Instantly
my friend, the war correspondent, flung
himself face down in the mud. He got
up rather sheepishly, looked around him
and brushed the mud off his trousers as
we'll as he could. When I came up to
him T said:
"What in the name of wonder made
trip. did your"
mo" he said, 81 didn't trip. I threw
myself down." and he laughed rather
uncomfortably. ut was like this, you
see. You heard that gravel shoot out of
the cart7 Well, that is exactly the
sound of shell overhead. Coming up
from the station I was thinking of the
Russo Turkish war, and was really at
I Plevna and not in London at that mo-
ment, and when heard that rush of the
she'll 1 was down on my knees before
thought of it. That's what we always
did when we heard shell coming during
the war. If you are down on your face
in the sand you are not so apt to be hit
! - tI,a f-oo,, onto - -,G T1Des RuInet