Danger in the Dark - ZseZse

106
DANGER IN THE DARK.
marked one of the circle, "we belong to the enlightening
society, you know."
" Even so; well then, I will explain: now just imagine
yourself being steeped in a frog-pond, with a
green scum over it, on a hot sunshiny day, and the
empty parts of your skull filled up with the slime,
'wiggletails and tadpoles at the bottom-and you have
some faint conceptionof ennui."
" And will rum clear away the green scum ~"
"Undoubtedly, and make the brain float on the
surface like a blubber; but soon as the gas is exhausted,
it sinks deeper in the slime than before; and
you think there's a buzzard gnawing at your liver
like a hungry hound."
" Horrible! Almost as bad as the delirium tremendous!"
" Ha! ha! ha! That must be awful!"
" Perhaps the fellowmeans, delirium tremens."
" Yes; his father died of it, and a most frightful
death it was! Poor old man! I saw him kick the
bucket: he had reached the last round upon the
ladder that lets sinners down to that place preachers
tell of-I remember well his last words."
" A prayer, no doubt j"
"No, no, he had too much pluck to pray after living
such a dare-devil life, his last words were these: 'By
jing! this is going hellward on a rough road!' then
uttering a horrid groan, as grim death cut short his
breath, he struggled for a moment, as if grappling
with fiends-and all was.over."