The progress., 1904-12-03

nor with law. But, laI>ely. with that
necessity which. being impolitic. knows
NO law.
remember. In college. whep studying
James psychology. running across q
se..lence which l here quote from mem.
ory with verbal errors no doubt, but
substantially correctly):
MANY q mans heroism or cowardic>
10 determined by the state OF his nerves
and stomach at the moment when au
exigency arises"
hold this to be true. The average ex-
igency calls for quick action. for In
stantaneous thought. The ''mens sana In
corpore sano." as we term In law
(sound mind in sound body Jrises with
equal speed to the emergency. The mind
connected with ill-strung or exhausted
nerves falters or delays. And thus. In
mapent. q watching world brands 4
man rs q hero or q coward. do no,
think deserve either appellation. The
adventure wherein was engaged, al
the time to which refer. gave me ample
time for planning. But the situation
was such that clever and feasible plans
did not come readily to hand.
ask the reader. therefore, before con-
demning or praising me, to reflect what
he or she would have done in like cir
cumstances and to decd whether or not
! acted for the st.
A Family Quarrel.
1t was several years -aeo. / = was
spending the winter atSAlbany, where
both houses Of the legislature were ID
session. business cslled me 70 New
YORK one Saturday. and accepted the
long-standing invitation of we'll
known writer (whom ! will here call
Fletcher) to stay at his house over Suns
day.
1t was, and is. a delightful home to
visit. but on my arrival on Friday night
I found the usus1ly.peacefur and har-
monious household sadly upset. In fact.
my host and his charming wife were
dangerously near quarrel.
The cause will recite in . Few words;
Netcher's brother, 4 man Of wealth
and leisure, e,.lived in Orange, N. I He
had q rich mans hobby" He called 1t
"ophiology." In other words. he was
a snale fancier. In huge glass house.
carefully heats4 and watched over by
skilled attendants, he keptsone Of the
finest private collections of reptiles In
America. He had spent thousands Of
dollars in irnportirgfrom every country
on earth specimens Of rare snakes, ~ He
had everf variety, from the deadly fer
de lance Of Venezuela to the king cobra
of India ~
The king cobra is. from d money
stand point. the most valuable serpent on
earth. The danger Of capture ard the
difficulty of transportation brings the
price Of one full-gro~n specimen up to
nearly $1,000. Consequently ~ king
cobra was the pride of this wealthy
mans collection. And when his. one
hing cobra deliberately starve1 itself to
death (refusins tho most toqbome
frogs, rats and watefsnakes hsnswas
He sent at once to his agent
In Calcutta and soon had the Joy Of hear.
Ing that two u the finest specimens OF
kirg cobra ever caught were on their
way to him. He foolishly boasted OF bis
expected acquisitions to sbme friends
on the train. The train crew heard-of It
and vowUd they would handle 20 such
perilous lu9kagess.
Consequently .wf.n. the big box con-
tanning the serpents arrived the bag
yagemaster fatly vowed he would not
toucH 1t. 1t was necessary to carry the
box. therefore, In a truck from Jersey
City to Orange. -
A heavy snbwstorfB. FOLLOWED by zero
weskher,' had rendered the roads unsafe,
Ind their owner, knowing the necessity
Of keeping his treasures warm, had car
lied them to Fleteher's home. there to
9main until the wagon roads should
lgain bepassables
This WAS the cause of the ferment In
The Fletcher homa Fletcher had re-
eived the box. and had 1t placed In his
study. Mrs. Fletcher vowed she would
rot sleep under the same roofswith such
leadly monsters.
into this family jar I descended on
hat Friday evening. Husband and wife
lad ut last come to compromise. The
makes were to be allowed to remain In
Fletcher's study in their securely locked
,ox. but the.stu door was to be kept
lightly locked, and no one was to be Al
owed to 60 near the apartment.
This being agreed on. the household
'nce more resumed wonted calm, andf|
ceased to regret a. Intrusion.
After breakfast Saturday morning
ounDf had half an hour to spare before
seeping my business appointment
vas sitting with Fletcher In the library
Mss.- Fletcher had gone out to do the
lays marketing). when he suddenly ex-
:laimed: -
'gt's as coldks Greenland In here. The
urnace hks so1fen out of orderagain."
His .eupposition proving true. . mes-
'eussr was dispatchS the nearest tin
mith. 1
"It1l.sa.an hodr hefors-b can get
lsrs." mused Flsfches. 'and in>the
seanQUG upoee 70 treese.
there's an. open npeplpce in my study
md . big fire laid and ready for light |
ng. Let's 60 and finish our cigars |
here" -
But Mrs Fletcher's orders!" I pro-
ested.
sThey must be waived for once, /" he re- |
lied. Besides. now that the furnace |
'ont work. those wretched snakes Of |
ny brothers have got to have heat of |
ONE sort or they'll freeze to death"
Five minutes later my host and ! were |
Gated on opposite sides OF roaring |
|uod ere n his COY study.
visving Torpid cobeaA
9ut 10 We talked my eye ever ruved |
owarc that big boz In the corner.
Like to have . peep st thsmf" asked
" host at last. divin:ng my thoughtR
-I-Ivs never Ussa Q ulus ocbsa." |
a,tRsd. sandy. "but = III ~
Fuuble-
'7soss at an" b ssursd w\ -ThsSS
b tev 70 the box End t6ugfs but1 % |
urpl6 With cnld that thsrp1 % d1Aow."
He uncisspsS the padlocks ana can
|pus1y oponod he boz q lftfIo wny.