134 MARK TWAIN'S SKETCHES. 



and uncontrolled mob — uncontrolled and likewise uncontrollable, for the whole 

 army, down to the very sentinels, were mad like the rest, by reason of the drink. 

 We were seized upon by these reckless creatures, and within the hour we, even we, 

 were undistinguishable from the rest — the demoralization was complete and 

 universal. In time the camp wore itself out with its orgies and sank into a stolid 

 and pitiable stupor, in whose mysterious 'bonds rank was forgotten and strange 

 bed-fellows made, our eyes, at the resurrection, being blasted and our souls petrified 

 with the incredible spectacle of that intolerable stinking scavenger, the Tumble- 

 Bug, and the illustrious patrician my lord Grand Daddy, Duke of Longlegs, lying 

 soundly steeped in sleep, and clasped lovingly in each other's arms, the like., 

 whereof hath not been seen in all the ages that tradition compasseth, and doubtless 

 none shall ever in this world find faith to master the belief of it save only we that 

 have beheld the damnable and unholy vision. Thus inscrutable be the ways of 

 God, whose will be done ! 



" This day, by order, did the Engineer-in-Chief, Herr Spider, rig the necessary 

 tackle for the overturning of the vast reservoir, and so its calamitous contents were 

 discharged in a torrent upon the thirsty earth, which drank it up and now there is 

 no more danger, we reserving but a few drops for experiment and scrutiny, and to 

 exhibit to the king and subsequently preserve among the wonders of the museum. 

 What this liquid is, has been determined. It is without question that fierce and 

 most destructive fluid called lightning. It was wrested, in its container, from its 

 store-house in the clouds, by the resistless might of the flying planet, and hurled at 

 our feet as she sped by. An interesting discovery here results. Which is, that 

 lightning, kept to itself, is quiescent ; it is the assaulting contact of the thunderbolt 

 that releases it from captivity, ignites its awful fires and so produces an instantaneous 

 combustion and explosion which spread disaster and desolation far and wide in 

 the earth." 



After another day devoted to rest and recovery, the expedition proceeded upon 

 its way. Some days later it went into camp in a pleasant part of the plain, and the 

 savants sallied forth to see what they might find. Their reward was at hand. 

 Professor Bull Frog discovered a strange tree, and called his comrades. They 

 inspected it with profound interest. — It was very tall and straight, aiid wholly 



