THE LIVELY FLEA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 197, 9 August 1875, Page 2

THE LIVELY FLEA.

His Favorite Playground— How He EsThe average woman hntos a flea with an intensity almost diabolical iv its natme Phe will pursue one of these little inooeents with the remorselessnees of a fiend, and if you exrect to s?e a beautiful exemplification of womanly traits nev.r look for it when a flea is about. 'And in proportion as. the 'woman hates, the flea aeema to love, and is never enjoying ecstatic bliss unless favored with her society. He likes to seek her couch in the stilly hoar of theniglit.woo-her from slumber, . and from some sheltered nook witness her feverish exertions to earape his caresses; bufe pehapa he do:;s not reach the acme of enjoyment until he <au slyly accompany her to church and not make his presence known until she has satisfactorily settle! her furbelowi and flounces on the. cushioned seat all ready to be admired and make note of how others look. And thea the flea begins his manipulations, knowing full well that he ha? Ina vict'm at a disadvantage. Here there can be no hasty flinging of skirts, no assuming of unbecoming postures, while making iranttc grabs at the mischievous and inacceslble monster. If you note the woman aloaely you will ccc a compressing of. the lips, and a look of hate and paia creeping into the face which she would fnin conceal and not reveal, for are not many eyes upon her? One moment she settli s heraelf a little more firmly on one side, aa tbough hoping to crush the aggressor, tut the m>xt moment feels bim scampering upward, when she settles buckward quickly to catch him between hep back and the rail, but all in vain — his flag is still tlic-re. One dainty gaiter may rub up against its fellow as far as may be. done without digarranging drapery, ahi there ttftyX'te' a quiet yet nevertheless vicious clutch. o£ a jewelltd hand under the pretence of arranging How ing drapery, but all in vain. And the flea, how he does enjoy it! He roams hither and thither at his own fres will, nnd uccariog for the boiling wrath which fairlr makes the white flesh upon which he plays shiver beneath his light touch. And perhaps the flea has his mate, and thea the anguish is doubled. At one moment they are playing tig ; another hide and seek, and while the one is coiily nestled. away the other rushes about to find it, in a wny which is maddening ; aud thea they act the part of explorers, and prospect every portion of the form divine. But one thing ttiey do not do, they do not go to sleep. And during this hour of martyrdom how the wrath of the woman gathers, and how only thoughts of dire vengeance make the brief aeony endurable! But at laat the service, which has seemed so lonjr, is ended, and with 1 as much majesty as her writhing form will permit, she anils home without loitering, you may be sure. The house reached, with one bound she is within the privacy of her own chamber, and there all restraint is cast aside. With lightning lmte off come ihe barricades behind which fie flea f >und retrenchment, and at hat she stands like agliidiator stripped lor the fight, and then the fate of the invader is sealed. He is pursued with remorseless fury, and the battld do»s not end until the victor shakes aloft the scalp of the foe, and vows that so alnll perish always the flea who dares to invade the sacred territory of her person.