FIFTH READER    77

 John Russell (b. 1793, d. 1863) graduated at Middlebury College, Vt., In 1818. He was at one time editor of the " Backwoodsman," published at Grafton, Ill., and later of the "Louisville Advocate." He was the author of many tales of western adventure and of numerous essays, sketches, etc. His language is clear, chaste, and classical; his style concise, vigorous, and sometimes highly ornate.

1. WHO has not heard of the rattlesnake or copperhead ? An unexpected
sight of either of these reptiles will make even the lords of creation recoil;
but there is a species of worm, found in various parts of this country,
which conveys a poison of a nature so deadly that, compared with it,
even the venom of the rattlesnake is harmless. To guard our readers
against this foe of human kind is the object of this lesson.

2. This worm varies much in size. It is frequently an inch in diameter, but,
as it is rarely seen except when coiled, its length can hardly be
conjectured. It is of a dull lead color, and generally lives near a spring or
small stream of water, and bites the unfortunate people who are in the
habit of going there to drink. The brute creation it never molests. They
avoid it with the same instinct that teaches the animals of India to shun
the deadly cobra.

3. Several of these reptiles have long infested our settlements, to the
misery and destruction of many of our fellow citizens. I have, therefore,
had frequent opportunities of being the melancholy spectator of the
effects produced by the subtile poison which this worm infuses.

4. The symptoms of its bite are terrible. The eyes of the patient become
red and fiery, his tongue swells to an immoderate size, and obstructs his
utterance; and delirium of the most horrid character quickly follows.
Sometimes, in his madness, he attempts the destruction of his nearest
friends.

5. If the sufferer has a family, his weeping wife and helpless infants are
not unfrequently the objects of his

frantic fury. In a word, he exhibits, to the life, all the detestable passions
that rankle in the bosom of a savage; and such is the spell in which his
senses are locked, that no sooner has the unhappy patient recovered
from the paroxysm of insanity occasioned by the bite, than he seeks out
the destroyer for the sole purpose of being bitten again.

6. I have seen a good old father, his locks as white as snow, his step
slow and trembling, beg in vain of his only son to quit the lurking place
of the worm. My heart bled when he turned away; for I knew the fond
hope that his son would be the "staff of his declining years," had 
supported him through many a sorrow.

7. Youths of America, would you know the name of this reptile ? It is
called the WORM OF THE STILL.

DEFINITIONS 1. Reptiles, animals that crawl, as snakes, lizards, etc. Re 
coil', to start back, to shrink from. 2. Cobra, a highly venomous reptile
inhabiting the East Indies. In fe sted, troubled, annoyed. 3. Sub'tile,
acute, piercing. In fuses, introduces. 4. Ob structs', hinders. De lir'i um,
a wandering of the mind. 5. Rankle, to rage. Par'ox ysm, a fit, a
convulsion. 7. Worm, a spiral metallic pipe used in distilling liquors.
Still, a vessel used in distilling or making liquors.