THE OPOSSUM. 45 



over all tlie yelping of the Avolves and reduced tliem 

 to silence, as if by magic. Tlie silence endured for 

 some time, interrupted only by the sounds produced 

 upon the violin by the agitated fingers of the poor 

 old fiddler. This continued for some time, and as 

 long as the sound of the violin could be heard, the 

 Avolves kept their distance. By this means, he 

 managed to keep them at bay, until the convives, 

 anxious for the safety of their old friend and unable 

 to guess what it was that had delayed a man usually 

 so exact, sallied forth in quest of him, and at length 

 discovered him in the situation I have described. 



At the first appearance of the niggers, the wolves 

 seemed to think it high time to decamp, and the 

 poor fiddler, stupefied with fright and cold, fell 

 faintinc; into the arms of his deliverers. 



THE OPOSSUM. 



A Gascon who was very fond of jesting and whom 

 I knew well in the States, told me that one day when 

 he was walking in the forest, he met an opossum 

 {Dklcljjhys virgin'iana). Struck with the odd appear- 

 ance of the brute he threw the stick at him which he 

 held in his hand ; " the rascal," said he, telling me the 

 story, "stopped short, just as if my stick had broken 



