A Desperate Fight

Mr. Henry Todd, one of our oldes' and wealthiest citizens, tells the following amusing alligator story: "It is now about tifty year since I happencd to make the acquaintanoe of a young English naval offlcer who had oome to visit some relatives on this side of the Atlantic. He was fiery, ambitious and daring to such an extent that to encourage hita in some of his plans would have led to the most Quixotic enterprises. Luckily, his hrst visit was of short duration, and as he always looked to me for co-operation in his wild schemes, a feeling of relief carne over me when he was ready to bid farewell. " 'Next year I return,' he said. as he vigorously shook my hand, 'and we will haye some glorious sport.' I thought that once in his nativo land he would soon forget the promise, but it proTed otherwise. He returned a year later as full of life as ever. Dayafterday passed and.startlingproposalsfollowedinquiek succession. To kill rattlesnakes and moccasins seemed to him one of the charming occupations of life, and the greater the danger that accompanied any of his plans the less he could resist it. One day he carne and proposed to go alligator-hunting, ana, displaying a gleaming dagger, he said: 'I propose to finish one with this to-day.' He had two white duck suits, and he donned one, while he made me put the other on in honor of his antieipated victory. I feit nervous as to tho result of his foolhardy resolution to battle an alligator with such :i weapoii, but nevertheless determined to humor him so far as it was safe to do so. High up on a mud nat a monster soon appeared, basking himself in the sun. The water beiug at a low stage wo had hard work getting our boat up to where he was lying. He was fast asleep, however, and we managed to get within thrce or four feet of turn. I touched him with the oar. He seemed dazed, and with his jaws wide open he made for the bow of the boat. I aw the Englishman's dagger glitter in the sun, but, appehending danger, I shoved the end of tho oar into the threateuing !jap. Resistance seemed of no avail, however. The brute appeared determined to get into the boat. I sw the Engli8hman keel over, and in a second he was completely buried in the mud. 1 made an attempt to pass the alligator and go to my friend s assistance, but a violent stroke from tho monster's tail laid me in the mud on the opposite side of tho boat. Aiter a desperate effort I managed to got hold of the boat, but was completely blinded with the mud. Thinking of my friend, Isangoutafainthalloo, and in,respons6 carne a despairing groan. Wo presented a pitiful spoctaelo - a strange contrast to the gay, duck-clothed gentlemen of an hour ago. The Englishman never proposed a hunt after this experience. "Many years after this, in glancing through an Engliish newspaper giving an account of the social life of the officers of a certain English squadron, I found that an alligator story of a Captain had madthim quite a name, and in perusing this story I recognized every