Mitrailleuse

“ Oh, stay! Life 's in thine eyes.
Ah, if thou couldst do something," the lad cries,
"For him,—the poor old basket-weaver there,—
My father, worn with toil!" In her despair,
Mirèio bathes the wound, while some bring lint,
And some run to the hills for healing mint.
Then the maid's mother spake: "Let four men rally,
And to the Fairies' Cavern,4 in the valley
They call Enter, bear up this wounded man.
The deadlier the hurt, the sooner can
The old witch heal. Scale first the cliffs of Baux,
And circling vultures the cave's month will show." ”

“ All eyes were bent on the ship. Her row of lights gave a great heave up, then rapidly disappeared. A heavy, booming cavernous plunge, and then a great volume of white water shot upward in the dimness.
The Baleka had disappeared; but the lives of those on board her were saved so far—all but one.
All but one, we repeat, for the other life which that one had been sacrificed to save was safe too, for at that moment the missing child was being transferred from the boat into which it had been handed in the scurry to the one which contained its still unconscious mother. ”

“ Bancharam paid no heed to their remarks; and when he had at last burst in the door, he rushed into the house, with the sergeant of police, and went into the zenana.
Just at that moment, Matilall's wife and his stepmother, taking hold of the hands of the old woman, and wiping the tears from their eyes, as they exclaimed, "Oh, Lord God, protect these poor helpless women!" went out of the house by the back door. Matilall's wife then said, "Friends, we are women of good family: we are utterly ignorant: where shall we go? ”

“ Matilall's mother hastened outside in some trepidation when she heard the sound of the girl's weeping, and the miscreants thereupon took to their heels. Seeing the mistress of the house, the young girl fell at her feet and said in her distress: "Oh dear lady, protect my honour! You must be a devoted wife yourself." None but a faithful and virtuous wife can understand the danger of a virtuous woman. Baburam Babu's wife at once lifted the girl off the ground and wiped away her tears with the border of her sari, saying as she did so: "My dear child, do not weep, you have no further cause for fear ”

“ The naib was like a log, and the ryots sat round in utter dejection, resting their heads on their hands. Where the master is a competent man, there is not much chance of the servant carrying on his tricks. The naib, seeing how utterly dense Matilall was, soon began to show himself in his true colours. The proprietor being altogether incompetent to enter into the numerous cases that had come before him, his agent threw dust in his eyes, to effect his own ends; and the ryots soon got to know that to have an interview with the Babu was a mere waste of breath. ”

“ No one can have an idea of the sufferings which women in confinement have to bear with their innocent children on board these ships. Few of this class escape with their lives; many a mother is cast into the water with her child as soon as she is dead. One day, just as we had a heavy gale, a woman in our ship, who was to give birth and could not give birth under the circumstances, was pushed through a loop-hole [port-hole] in the ship and dropped into the sea, because she was far in the rear of the ship and could not be brought forward. ”

“ The Turks then seized him, and dragged him struggling to the major-domo, who ordered the poor wretch to receive 1,000 blows with a stick, so that he swelled up all over like a frog, or a bladder. The prisoners then took him, half buried him in a dunghill, and let him lie till the third day, when he gradually came to, like a fly, so that he did not die, but was always pale as a sheet, and had a swollen belly. Incredible, but true, that a man could suffer so much. ”

“ The carving on the slab, which was much mutilated and of very inferior art, represented Mithra, in flowing mantle and tunic, sacrificing a bull, on which he was kneeling in the usual attitude. To the left and right of this central subject was an attendant—he to the left holding out one arm, apparently to hold the bull’s horn. Below this device the slab seemed hollowed out, and though the rocks in front were too large to remove without artificial aid, it seemed quite possible that there might be a Mithraic cavern underneath. ”

“ We have also added a figure of our Mitra acuminata, to shew how beautifully Mitreola is represented by the fourth type of the genus Mitra, as now restricted, to which type (represented by M. Zebra) , acuminata also belongs: both, as prototypes of the Strombidæ, have the outer lip gibbous near the top; but the plaits of the pillar are totally different, while the spire of one is acute, and of the other papillary. ”

“ Ormazd struggling with a giant of evil—the Mithraic gigantomachy. The second group represents, first, the birth of Mithras; then the god nude, cutting fruit and leaves from a fig-tree in which is the bust of a deity, and before which one of the winds is blowing upon Mithras; the god discharging an arrow against a rock from which springs a fountain whose water a figure is kneeling to receive in his palms; the bull in a small boat, near which again occurs the figure of the animal under a roof about to be set on fire by two figures; the bull in flight, with Mithras in pursuit ”

“ MITRA, when speaking, stirreth men to labour: Mitra sustaineth both the earth and heaven. Mitra beholdeth men with eyes that close not. To Mitra bring, with holy oil, oblation. 2. Foremost be he who brings thee food, O Mitra, who strives to keep thy sacred Law, Aditya. He whom thou helpest ne'er is slain or conquered, on him, from near or far, falls no affliction. 3. joying in sacred food and free from sickness, with knees bent lowly on the earth's broad surface, Following closely the Aditya's statute, may we remain in Mitra's gracious favour. ”

“ Some women had come to the riverside to draw water: as soon as they saw the master, they veiled their faces slightly and began to chatter hard to each other, laughing quietly the while. 'Ha what a lovely bridegroom!' they cried, 'what a sweet champac flower for a lucky girl to fondle in her braided hair!' Said one of them: 'Old or young, whichever he may be, the girl will have no difficulty in seeing him with her eyes: that of itself is something. May the wretched lot that has befallen me befall no one else: married at the age of six, I have never even set eyes on my husband. ”

“ To my unspeakable and heartfelt relief we were now on the upheave of the curling combers, and those horrible fins were still behind.
But we were not out of the wood yet—no, not by any means; for here before us lay a peril almost as formidable in itself. My little companion swam gracefully and with ease, but when we came within the breakers I kept tight hold of her, and indeed such precaution was needed, for she began to regain her terrors as the huge combers whirled us high in the air, to throw us, half smothered into a hissing cauldron of milky foam. ”

“ Instead of penetrating his body, the nippers of the monster had struck upon the metal box. The thought nerved him. Wrenching his arm partly free beneath the horror, he sought a joint in the horny armour, and drove the bone dagger into its body—drove it into the very butt.
Throwing up its head convulsively, the fearful creature began to spin round and round, and its would-be victim realized somewhat of its enormous muscular strength, for wiry and in hard training as he was, he was dragged with it, rolled over and over in the wreathings of the black, hairy tentacles. ”

“ Infested as the tropical seas are with these horrible creatures, yet from the swiftly moving steamer none had hitherto been sighted. In all the excitement of getting clear of the sinking ship, in the hour of effort and of action, his whole mind had been centred on the means of keeping themselves afloat, and once afloat, of the wherewithal to sustain life as long as possible. Now the imminence of this hideous peril was forcibly thrust upon him. He momentarily expected to feel the sudden crunch of one of these voracious monsters “rising” him from the depths beneath. ”

“ Mitra is born from a rock; he makes water flow from the rock by striking it with an arrow, makes an alliance with the sun, and enters into a struggle with a bull, whom he conquers and sacrifices. The sacrifice of the bull appears to indicate that the worship of Mitra in its most ancient form was that of a sacred bull, conjoined to or representing the sun, which was sacrificed as a god, and its flesh and blood eaten in a sacrificial meal. ”

“ And now that it has come to the point, I feel in no hurry to leave the old barkie, cockroaches and all.”
“That’s right, my lad,” said his senior, looking at him approvingly. “We haven’t had such a bad time aboard the old ship after all. And she’s brought us over safe and sound. No—you’ll do; I can sea you’ll do, wherever you are.” ”

“ Your father thinks there is every reason to believe that the man with the black mask has got it and he is much distressed, for our mistress has used words to him which have hurt his feelings deeply. Now, if any of you scream and make a noise, it may draw the attention of that wicked man in the ship to this place and he may discover the way to our mistress’s cave, which lies, as I suppose you all know, behind that piece of rock shaped like a fish’s head sticking out in yonder corner. ”

“ In the course of his enquiries, made under pretence of conversation, her husband got to know that Matilall had been in the habit, under one pretext or another, of getting money out of her. She had not mentioned the matter to her husband for fear of his displeasure: the boy had been unfortunate, and she could not tell what might have happened if he had got angry. Wives ought to tell all that concerns their children to their husbands, for a disease that is concealed from the surgeon can never be cured. ”

“ A solitary speck away towards the sky-line; to those who had binoculars, and soon to those who had not, taking shape—that shape the hull of a ship. Little enough in all conscience.
But—was it? The submerged hull of a ship and no more, save for two stumps of mast of uneven length sticking out of her. The poop and forecastle were above water, and in the wash of the increasing evening swell part of the bulwarks heaved up as the hulk rolled lazily, her rusty red sides, glistening and wet, showing a line of encrusting barnacles. ”

“ Sabitri sitting with the dead body of Nobin on her lap
Sabitri. Let my dear child sleep; my dear keeps my heart at rest. When I see the sweet face, I remember that other face [1] (kisses) . My child is sleeping most soundly. (Rubs the hand over the head of the corpse) . Ah! what have the mosquitoes done? What shall I do for the heat? I must not lie down without letting the curtains fall. (Rubs the hand on the breast of the body.) Ah! Can the mother suffer this, to see the bugs bite the child and let drops of blood come out. No one is here to prepare the bed of the child ”

“ Inside her waist, obeying Vincen's will;
While he, "Hold out thy hands! there are more still!"
"Oh, sweet! The little eyes in each blue head
Are sharp as needles," as Mirèio said
Softly, three more of the wee brood she pressed
Into their smooth, white prison with the rest,
Who, when bestowed within that refuge warm,
Thought they were in their nest and safe from harm.
"Are there more, Vincen?"—"Ay!" he answered her.
"Then, Holy Virgin! you're a sorcerer!"
"Thou simple maid! About St. George's day,
Ten, twelve, and fourteen eggs, these tomtits lay,
Ay, often. ”

“ I have compared it with the Mitra groenlandica (specimens of which are in the British Museum) of Möller, a species which we may expect possibly to be preserved in the drift. The Greenland shell is about the same size as our fossil, but in other respects is very different. The existence of a Mitra in Greenland is an apparent anomaly in the distribution of the species of that genus, which would seriously militate against the idea entertained by many naturalists (and to which I am inclined to subscribe) of the existence of generic centres. ”

“ Against them he brings mighty destruction and terror; he bears away the heads of the men who deceive Mithra. Their arrows, swift-feathered, sent swiftly forth by the string from the well-stretched bow, strike the air only; the lances, sharp and running out with long shafts from the arm, strike the air only; the missiles from the strings strike the air only; the well-directed swords and well-slung clubs beat the air only; meanwhile, angry, enraged, and not propitiated, Mithra approaches, the lord of wide pastures. Thou, O Mithra, angry and mighty, takest the force from their arms ”

“ Inhabits the South Seas. In the Manchester Museum, and in our own.
MITRA carinata.
Shell slender, fusiform, brown; whorls with a single carinated ridge, and striated transversely near the suture; pillar 4-plaited.
The habit of this Mitra will place it with the fusiform species; from all of which, however, it differs in not having exterior plaits, nodules, or impressed sculpture. The aperture is smooth within, and white. We have only seen one specimen, received by Mrs. Mawe, from Sierra Leone, and this was covered with a brown epidermis. ”

“ Just inside the ring of trees, a sort of breastwork had been constructed with the loads—those containing the stores and barter-truck that is, for the precious cases of specimens had been placed in the centre, and buried flush with their lids, so as to be out of the way of damage from flying bullets. As far as possible, too, this breastwork had been supplemented by earth and stones, hastily dug up and piled.
The demeanour of those awaiting battle was varied and characteristic. Of the bearers, those of the more timid races were subdued and scared. ”