AN EXPOSE. 



241 



yield, so that the now mad beast got himself pinioned. 

 His power was terrific, every stru^^gle caused the 

 heavily-loaded waggon to tremble, and what between 

 him on one side, and the horses, who were tied to 

 the other, pulling back upon their head-stalls, for a 

 moment or two I had my doubts whether the con- 

 veyance would not be turned over on its side. Of 

 course, if the pig had lowered his head, he would 

 easily have got it out of Coventry, but this was 

 exactly what one of his species would not do, and 

 the result was that the gallant beast had got himself 

 in a position that made him quite defenceless. The 

 natives were not slow to avail themselves of such 

 an advantage, and their assegais, taken from the 

 waggon's side, where they are usually tied when 

 travelling, soon accomplished what the dogs had 

 failed to perform. 



In the meantime I had been skipping about, sans 

 culotte^ to retain my position for the short time that 

 I was so situated, long as it may have taken me to 

 narrate the details. 



At the moment that the poor beast was rendered 

 hors de combat^ I heard a shriek. It was a woman's, 

 evidently, and a white woman's, too. I raised my 

 head to discover who produced the sound, and was 

 just in time to observe a very portly lady disappear- 

 ing over the front waggon kist into the recesses of the 

 newly-arrived " ship of the desert." I am a modest 

 man, and naturally desire only to be seen by the 

 fair sex under advantageous circumstances, so I felt 

 quite the reverse of pleased at this most unbecoming 

 introduction. Without delay I hastened to dress 

 and advance to the habitation of the new comer to 

 offer her what hospitality I had at my disposal, and 

 ask pardon for my incomplete costume, but my over- 

 tures were received with hauteur ^ even with reproach. 

 I protested in the most fluent and eloquent language 

 that I could command, that my fault was uninten- 



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