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Show A MONSTROUS TOAD. UuiuccMtrul Attempt or a Swlaa OOI to Kilt IU M. Cha-los Offredus. a lieutenant in tho Swiss army, gives tho following account of n glgnnllo toad encountered by him ou tho const of Italy: "After having scon Rome, Naples and otlior principal cities of Italy. I returned through Vonlco. I had just left Aquaponddenlo, a town situated upon nn eminence, and passed down the mountain afoot to go to nn inn that lies out of tho town. M. Bus-chins, Bus-chins, tho companion of my journey, was a good ways beforo me, 1 having loltorod by tho way to examine somo peculiar plants indigenous to thoso iiarts. I had not ponctratcd far when heard n rustling in tho thicket upon which I had my eyos fixed. I looked down and saw at my feet nn enormous toad, so prodigious that, without exaggeration, ex-aggeration, It seemed to bo moro than a foot nnd a half across tho buck. Tho ugly monster wns bo near mo that it touched my loft foot. Seized wjth horror. hor-ror. I quickly drow buck my foot, having ouly strength enough left to run away as List us I could. Recovering Recover-ing my wits when I had reached n safo dlstanco from tho horrid creature I stopped awhllo nnd at last mado tip my mind to return to tho spot where I had seen the horrible beast. Sooing It iu tho same spot I came to tho conclusion conclu-sion that I could easily dispatch it with my aivord. Uncertain, however, . what wonpon I should uso iu making the attack, and judging that distance would bo moro prudent than a clnsa engagement, I laid hold of a largo Btono which I could scarco lift with both hands, nnd with my naked sword under my aim I presented mysolf before be-fore tho animal. His mouth was wido open, and his little, black, wicked-looking wicked-looking eyes wore sparkling, his whole aspect uotraylnjj not the least sign of fear at sight of danger; on tho contrary, con-trary, ho appeared anxious for tho fray. Having raised the stono ns high as my strength would permit, I measured meas-ured woll its fall, covering tho toad entirely, crushing It, so I thought, into in-to n shapeless mass. 'Horrible beast.' I said to myself, 'that is the last time over you will frighten n tired soldier out of his wits;" nnd, 'hero shall bo your gravo,' I again said, as I piled a number of smaller stones upon tho largo ono that had first crushed tho moustor. I had a great de.slro to ex-amino ex-amino the thing more closely und, it possiblo, to dissoct it, but hail not tho courago to touch oven thu stones undo un-do r which it lay buried. Standing, gazing intentlyntthtillttlurock mound which I had intended as n tomb for tho unsightly creature. I noticed that tho smaller stones hud commenced to move. Soou tho wholo mctitid top-plod top-plod over und tho beast wnlkcfl out ullvc, seemingly nono tho worse off for his late experience. Sooing that tho creature hud neither wuiind 011 Ids ugly skin nor broken bono iu his body, I snatched my oloak and sword mid passed out ot tho thicket, declaring that I woujd no longer make war against such ti monster. Arriving, ut the iun I called for a glass of wine, but no sootier had I drank it than I felt feverish symptoms, which turned luto a chill, lasting nunrly two weeks." During the fourteenth and tifteetith centuries some of tho Italian nnd oast German prisons were provided with tho monstrous poison toads of tho Mediterranean coast. In a rery short time tho air becamo contaminated by tho exhalations of tho venomous creatures creat-ures to such an extent us to cuuso thu death of many prisoners kept within tho bulldlnirs. |