260 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 
“hung up,” as soundly as if slipping his hold did not 
depend upon his own will. This “ tail hold” is so firm, 
that shooting the animal will not cause him to let go, 
even if you blow his head off; on the contrary, he will 
remain hung up, until the birds of prey and the elements 
have scattered his carcass to the winds; and yet the 
tail will remain an object of unconquered attachment to 
its last object of circumlocuting embrace. 
An old backwoods ‘“ Boanerges” of our acquaint- 
ance, who occasionally threw down his lap-stone and 
awl, and went through the country to stir up the people 
to look after the “ consarns of their latter end,” en- 
forced the necessity of perseverance in good works, by 
comparing a true Christian to an opossum up a tall 
sapling, in a strong wind. Said he, ‘My brethren, 
that’s your situation exactly; the world, the flesh, and 
the devil, compose the wind that is trying to blow you 
off the gospel tree. But don’t let go of it; hold on as 
a possum would in a hurricane. If the fore legs of 
your passions get loose, hold on by your hind legs of 
conscientiousness ; and if they let go, hold on eternally 
by your tail, which is the promise that the saints shall 
persevere unto the end.” 
As an animal of sport, the opossum is of course of 
an inferior character ; the negroes, however, look upon 
the creature as the most perfect of game, and are much 
astonished that the fox and deer should be preferred ; 
and the hilarity with which they pursue the sport of 
