MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV) by FREDERICK MARRYAT (leveled readers txt) π
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- Author: FREDERICK MARRYAT
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Take A Certain Aim. I Therefore Allowed the Dogs To Bark As Much As They
Pleased, And Forced my Way To My First Victim, The Tail Of Which I Also
Severed, As A Proof Of My Prowess. It, However, Occurred to Me That If
There Were Many More Panthers In the Cover, It Would Be Very Unsafe To
Return Alone To Where I Had Left My Horse. I Therefore Made Sure That My
Rifle Was In good Order, And Proceeded towards The Place Where The Dogs
Were Still Baying. There I Beheld Another Panther, But This Time It Was
A Sport Unattended by Any Danger, For The Animal Was A Very Young Cub,
Who Had Taken Refuge Fifteen Feet From The Ground Upon A Tree Which Had
Been Struck By Lightning, And Broken Off About Three Yards From Its
Roots. The Animal Was On The Broken Part Which Had Its Summit Entangled
In The Lower Branches Of Another Tree.
It Was Truly A Pretty Sight, As The Little Animal'S Tail, Hanging Down,
Served as A _Point De Mire_ To All The Dogs, Who Were Jumping Up To
Catch It. The Cub Was Delighted, Mewing With High Glee, Sometimes
Running Up, Sometimes Down, Just To Invite His Playfellows To Come To
Him. I Felt Great Reluctance To Kill So Graceful And Playful An Animal,
But It Became A Necessity, As No Endeavours Of Mine Could Have Forced
The Dogs To Leave It. I Shot Him, And, Tying Him Round My Neck, I Now
Began To Seek, With Some Anxiety, For The Place Where I Had Left
My Horse.
There Is But Little Twilight In america, In the Spring Of The Year
Especially; Great Was My Hurry, And Consequently Less Was My Speed. I
Lost My Trail, Bogged myself In a Swamp, Tore My Hands And Face With The
Briars, And, After An Hour Of Severe Fatigue, At Last Heard My Horse,
Who Was Impatient At Being Left Alone, Neighing Loudly. Though My
Distance To The House Was Only Eighteen Miles And The Road Quite Safe, I
Contrived to Lose Myself Three Or Four Times, Till, _En Desespoir_, I
Threw The Bridle On My Horse'S Neck, Trusting To His Instinct To
Extricate Me From My Difficulties.
It Was Nearly Midnight When I Approached the Back Fences Of Mr.
Courtenay'S Plantation, And I Wondered very Much At Seeing Torches
Glaring In every Direction. I Galloped rapidly Through The Lane, And
Learned from A Negro That The Family Had Long Returned home, And That
Supper Had Been, As Usual, Served at Eight O'Clock; That They Had Been
Anxiously Waiting For Me, And That Mr. Courtenay, Fearing Some Accident
Had Happened, Had Resolved to Go Himself In search Of Me With The Major
Portion Of His Negroes. Leaving My Horse To The Care Of The Slave, I Ran
Towards The House, Where The Dogs Had Already Announced my Arrival. The
Family Came Under The Portico To Welcome Me, And Simultaneously Asked me
What Could Have Detained me So Long. "I Have Caught The Robbers,"
Replied i, Approaching The Group, "I Have Killed them And Lost Two Dogs;
Here Are My _Spolia Opima_."
My Host Was Thunderstruck; He Was Too Much Of A Hunter Not To Be Able To
Estimate The Size Of The Animals By The Tokens I Had Brought With Me,
And He Had Believed that For The Last Twenty Or Thirty Years, Not One Of
These Terrible Animals Was Actually Living In the Country. The Fact Was
So Very Remarkable, That He Insisted on Going Himself That Very Night
With His Negroes To Skin The Animals; And, After A Hasty Meal, He Left
Us To Fulfil His Intentions. Relating My Adventures To My Kind Hostess
And Her Niece, I Had The Satisfaction Of Feeling That My Narrative
Excited emotions Which Could Only Arise From A Strong Interest In
My Welfare.
This Panther Story Got Wind, And Nothing Could Convince The Neighbouring
Farmers But The Very Sight Of The Skins. All The Western Newspapers
Related the Matter, And For Two Months At Least I Was Quite A "Lion."
A Few Days After That Adventure, The _Caroline_, The Largest And Finest
Steamboat Upon The Mississippi, Struck A Snag In coming Down The Stream,
And Sank Immediately. The River, However, Being Very Low, The Upper
Decks Remained above Water, And Help Coming Down From The Neighbouring
Plantations, All The Passengers Were Soon Brought On Shore Without Any
Loss Of Life. Three Hundred sheep, One Hundred hogs, Eighty Cows, And
Twelve Horses Were Left To Their Fate, And It Was A Painful Sight To
Witness The Efforts Of The Poor Brutes Struggling against The Powerful
Current And Looking Towards The People On Shore, As If To Implore
For Help.
Only One Pig, Two Cows, And Five Horses Ever Reached the Bank Of The
River, Many Disappearing Under The Repeated attacks Of The Gar-Fish, And
Other Monsters, And The Remainder Carried by The Stream To Feed the
Alligators And The Cawanas Of The South. But Very Few Objects On Board
Were Insured, And Hundreds Of Hogsheads Of Missouri Tobacco And Barrels
Of Kentucky Flour Were Several Days Afterwards Picked up By The Arkansas
And Tennessee Wreckers. Articles Thus Lost By Shipwreck Upon The
Mississippi Are Seldom Reclaimed, As The Principal Owners Of The Goods,
On Hearing The News, Generally Collect All The Property Which They Can,
Run Away, Change Their Names, And Enter Upon New Speculations In
Another State.
Among The Passengers On Board, Mr. Courtenay Recognized several Of His
Friends, Whom He Directly Invited into The Mansion, While Temporary
Sheds Were Erected for The Others, Till Steamboat Should Pass And Take
Them Off. So Sudden Had Been The Catastrophe, That No Luggage Of Any
Kind Had Been Saved, And Several Englishmen, Travelling To Purchase
Cotton And Minerals, Suffered very Serious Loss. As To The Americans
Themselves, Though They Complained very Loudly, Vowing They Would Bring
An Action Against The River, The Steamboats, Against Every Boat, And
Every Thing, For I Don'T Know How Many Millions Of Dollars, Their Losses
Were Very Trifling, As It Is The Custom For A Man In the Western States
To Carry All His Money In his Pocket-Book, And His Pocket-Book In his
Pocket; As To Luggage, He Never Has Any Except A Small Valise, Two Feet
Long, In which Are Contained a Shirt, Two Bosoms, Three Frills, A Razor,
And A Brush, Which May Serve For His Head, Clothing, Boots, And
Perhaps Teeth.
It Was Amusing To Hear All The Complaints That Were Made And To
Enumerate The Sums Which Were Stated to Have Been Lost; There Was Not
One Among The Travellers, Even Among Those Who Had Taken A Deck-Passage,
Who Had Not Lost From Ten To Fifty Thousand Dollars, With Which He Was
Going To Purchase A Cotton Plantation, A Steamboat, Or A Whole Cargo Of
Havannah Cigars. What Made It More Ridculous Was The Facility With Which
Everybody Found A Witness To Certify His Loss, "I Had Five Thousand
Dollars," One Would Say; "Ask The General, He Will Tell You If It Is
True." "True, As I Am An Honest Man," Would Answer The General, "To Wit,
That I Swapped with The Judge My Eastern Notes For His Southern Ones."
It Would Be Impossible To Explain To A Sober Englishman The Life That Is
Led on, And The Numerous Tricks That Are Played in, A Mississippi
Steamboat. One I Will Mention, Which Will Serve As A Sample. An
Itinerant Preacher, Well Known As A Knave Upon Both Banks, And The Whole
Length Of The River, Used (Before He Was Sent To The Penitentiary For
Picking Pockets) To Live Comfortably In the Steamboats Without Ever
Paying a Farthing. From St. Louis He Would Book For New Orleans, And The
Passage-Money Never Being asked in the West But At The Termination Of
The Trip, The Preacher Would Go On Shore At Vicksburg, Natches, Bayou,
Sarah, Or Any Other Such Station In the Way. Then He Would Get On Board
Any Boat Bound To The Ohio, Book Himself For Louisville, And Step On
Shore At Memphis. He Had No Luggage Of Any Kind Except A Green Cotton
Umbrella; But, In order To Lull All Suspicion, He Contrived always To
See The Captain Or The Clerk In his Office, And To Ask Them
Confidentially If They Knew The Man Sleeping In the Upper Bed, If He Was
Respectable, As He, The Preacher, Had In his Trunks Considerable Sums
Intrusted to Him By Some Societies. The Consequence Was, That, Believing
Him Rich, The Captain And Officers Would Pay Him A Great Deal Of
Attention, Inviting Him To Wine And Liquor. When He Disappeared, They
Would Express How Sorry They Were To Have Been Obliged to Leave The
Gentleman Behind, But They Hoped they Would See Him At St. Louis, New
Orleans, Or Louisville, Or Hear From Him, So As To Know Where To Direct
His Trunks. But They Would Soon Ascertain That There Were No Trunks Left
Behind, That There Had Never Been Any Brought On Board, And That They
Had Been Duped by A Clever Sharper.
In Less Than Twenty-Four Hours Almost All The Passengers Had Got On
Board Some Other Boats, But Those Who Had Been Invited by Mr. Courtenay
Tarried a Few Days With Us, For We Were On The Eve Of A Great Fishing
Party On The Lake, Which In the Far-West Is Certainly A Very Curious
Scene. Among The New Guests Were Several Cotton Planters From The South,
And English Cotton-Brokers. One Of Them Had Passed a Short Time Among
The Mormons, At Nauvoo, And Had Many Amusing Stories To Tell Of Them.
One I Select Among Many, Which Is The Failure Of An Intended miracle By
Joe Smith.
Towards The Close Of A Fine Summer'S Day, A Farmer Of Ioway Found A
Respectable-Looking Man At His Gate, Who Requested permission To Pass
The Night Under His Roof. The Hospitable Farmer Readily Complied; The
Stranger Was Invited into The House, And A Warm And Substantial Supper
Set Before Him.
After He Had Eaten, The Farmer, Who Appeared to Be A Jovial,
Warm-Hearted, Humorous, And Withal A Shrewd Old Man, Passed several
Hours In conversation With His Guest, Who Seemed to Be Very Ill At Ease,
Both In body And Mind; Yet, As If Desirous Of Pleasing His Entertainer,
He Replied courteously And Agreeably To Whatever Was Said To Him.
Finally, He Pleaded fatigue And Illness As An Excuse For Retiring To
Rest, And Was Conducted by The Farmer To An Upper Chamber Where He
Went To Bed.
About The Middle Of The Night, The Farmer And His Family Were Awakened
By Dreadful Groans, Which They Soon Ascertained proceeded from The
Chamber Of The Traveller. On Going To Ascertain The Cause, They Found
That The Stranger Was Dreadfully Ill, Suffering The Most Acute Pains
And Uttering The Most Doleful Cries Apparently Quite Unconscious Of What
Was Passing around Him. Everything That Kindness And Experience Could
Suggest Was Done To Relieve The Sick Man; But All Efforts Were In vain,
And, To The Consternation Of The Farmer And His Family, Their Guest, In
The Course Of A Few Hours, Expired.
At An Early Hour In the Morning, In the Midst Of Their Trouble And
Anxiety, Two Travellers Came To The Gate, And Requested entertainment.
The Farmer Told Them That He Would Willingly Offer Them Hospitality, But
That Just Now His Household Was In the Greatest Confusion, On Account Of
The Death Of A Stranger, The Particulars Of Which He Proceeded to Relate
To Them. They Appeared to Be Much Surprised and Grieved at The Poor
Man'S Calamity, And Politely Requested permission To See The Corpse.
This, Of Course, The Farmer Readily Granted, And Conducted them To The
Chamber In which Laid The Dead Body. They Looked at It For A Few Minutes
In Silence, And Then The Oldest Of The Pair Gravely Told The Farmer That
They Were Elders Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, And
Were Empowered by God To Perform Miracles, Even To The Extent Of Raising
The Dead; And That They Felt Quite Assured they Could Bring To Life The
Man Who Laid Dead Before Them!
The Farmer Was, Of Course, "Pretty Considerably," Astonished at The
Quality And Powers Of The Persons Who Addressed him, And, Rather
Incredulously Asked if They Were Quite Sure That They Could Perform All
Which They Professed.
"O Certainly! Not A Doubt Of It. The Lord Has Commissioned us Expressly
To Work Miracles, In order To Prove The Truth Of The Prophet Joseph
Smith, And The Inspiration Of The Books And Doctrines Revealed to Him.
Send For All Your Neighbours, That, In the Presence Of A Multitude, We
May Bring The Dead Man To Life, And That The Lord And His Church May Be
Glorified to All Men."
The Farmer, After A Little Consideration, Agreed to Let The
Miracle-Workers Proceed, And, As They Desired, Sent His Children To His
Neighbours, Who, Attracted by The Expectation Of A
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