Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 9 — page 1: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

i il © ol we 7 | | TT TT 1 ——— = —— a \ ———— > > es j ' anal i | (| 1 eee ——_— os ‘ arn | a i " * : Vol. I. Single N er. ue ADVENTURES OF Baron Munchausen. | Mors, as a mark of their gratitude for destroying, <b le \ Men | /< sora er \ . (nl a oa! it!!! Vt il UV SCE ag aS Copyrighted in 1877, by BEADLE AND ADAMS, No, 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. they were plundered were pining in poverty. Though the destruction of this tyrant was’ accidental, the people chose the cucumber-gatherers for their gover- though accidentally, their late tyrant. After we had repaired the damages we sustained Lal BEADLE AND ADAMS, PUBLISHERS, ‘ull i a i b\ = j = mM i ! t aAefatalalalalalalalalalal,sZ “A \S ial (at! Ina ba! | \ <q aT T\N Price, 5 Cents. SS —- No. 9. that without asking my consent. What was to be done. in horrible dilemma’. I had not even a mo- ment for reflection; my piece was only charged with swan-shot, and I had no other about me; however, though I could have no idea of killing such an ani- mal with that weak kind df ammunition, yet I had wats in this remarkable storm, and taken leavé of the new | some hopes of Pishiening him by the report, and CHAPTER I. overt and his lady, we sailed with a fair wind for rane Of wounding him also, 4 immediately let e object of our voyage hy, w ut waiting till he was within reach: and the ad to relate these adventures to his riends over a bottle.) THE BARON RELATES AN ACCOUNT OF HIS FIRST TRAVELS —THE ASTONISHING EFFECT OF A STORM—ARRIVES AT [The Baron is su | were received with In about six weeks we arrived at Ceylon, where we great marks of friendship and true politeness. The following singular adventure may not prove unentertaining. report did but enrage him, for he now quickened_his ce, and seemed to approach me full speed, I at- a to Carape, but that only added (if an addition could be made) to my distress: for the moment I CEXION; COMBATS AND CONQUERS TWO EXTRAORDI- | After we had resided at Ceylon about a fortnight, | turned about, I found a large crocodile, with his NARY OPPONENTS—RETURNS TO HOLLAND, _ I accompanied one of the governor’s brothers upon | mouth extended. almost ready to receive me; on m Some years before my beard announced approach- | a shooting-party. He was a strong, athletic man | right was the piece of water before mention ing manhood, or, in other words, when I was neither man nor boy, but between both, I expressed in re- peated conversations a strong desire of seeing the world; from which I was discouraged by my parents, and being used to that climate (for he had résided there some years), he bore the violent héat of the sun much better than I could; in our excursion he had made a considerable progress through a thick and on my left a deep precipice, said to have, as I have since learned, a receptacle at the bottom for venomous creatures; in short, I gave myself up as seat yned the lion was now upon his hind-legs, just in e though my father had been no inconsiderable trav- | wood, when I was only at the entrance. seizing me; I fell involuntarily to the eler ‘himself, as will appear before I have reached __ Near the banks of a piece of water, which fear, and as it afterward appeared, he the end of my singular, and, I may add, interesting | had en my attention, I thought I heard a rust- SPung over me. I lay some time in a situation adventures, cousin, by my mother’s side, took a _ ling noise behind; on turning about, I was almost | w no ss em De can describe, ot eee | to feel liking to me, often said I was a fine forward youth, _ petrified (as who would not?) at the sight of a lion, | his teeth or his talons in some part of me every mo- and was much inclined to gratify my curiosity. His eloquence had more effect than mine, for my father consented to my accompany- ing him in a voyage to the island of Ceylon, where his uncle had resided as governor many years. We sailed from Amsterdam with dispatches from their High Mightinesses the States which was evidently approaching with the intention of satisfying his appetite with my poor carcase, and oF (see ment, After waiting in this prostrate situation a few seconds, I heard a violent but unusual noise, differ- ent from any sound that ever before assailed my ears; nor is it at all to be wonde at, when I inform you from whence it proceeded. After listening for some time, I ven- tured to raise my head and look round, when, to my of Holland. The only circum- unspeakable Joy, I perceived stance which happened on our the lion had the eager- voyage worth relating, was ness with which he sprung the wonderful effects of a at me, ae forward as storm, which had torn up by I fell, into the crocodile’s the roots a great number of trees of enormous bulk and hight, in, an island where we lay at anchor to take in wood and water; some of these trees weighed h, that they ap- ] mo feathers of small birds floating in the air, for they were at least five miles above the earth; how- ever, as soon as the storm sub- sided, they all fell perpendicu- larly into their respective places, and took root again, except the largest, which ha pened, when it was blown int the air, to have a man and his wife, a very honest old couple, upon its branches, gathering cucumbers (in this part of the globe that. useful vegetable grows upon trees), The weight of this couple,.as the. tree de- scended, _overbalanced.. the trunk, and brought it down in a horizontal position; it fell upon the chief man of the island, and killed him on the spot; he had quitted his house in the storm, under an appre- hension of its falling upon him, and was returning through his own garden when this fortu- nate accident happened, The word fortunate, here, requires some explanation. The chief was aman of avery avaricious and oppressive disposition, and though he had no family, the natives of the island were half-starved by his oppressive mouth! which, as before ob- served, was wide open; the head of the one stuck in the throat of the other! and they were struggling to extri- cate themselves! I fortu- rage} recollected my couteau de chasse which was by m side; with this instrument severed the lion’s head at one blow, and the body fell at my feet! I then with the butt- end of my fowling-piece ram- med the head her into the throat of the crocodile, and destroyed him by suffocation, for he could neither gorge nor eject it! Soon after I had thus gained & complete victory over my two powerful adversaries, m companion arrived in searc of me; for finding I did not follow him into the wood, he returned, apprehending I had lost My way, or met with some accident, mutual congratula- tions, we measured the croco- dile, which was just forty feet in length. As soon as we had related this extraordinary adventure to the governor, he sent a wagon and servants, who brought home the two car- casses, The lion’s skin was roperly preserved with its baie on: after which it was made into tobacco-pouches, and presented by me, upon our return to Holland, to the burgomasters, who, in return, and infamous impositions. requested my acceptance of a The very zoods which he had thousand ducats. thus taken from them were The skin of the crocodile spoiling in his stores, while —_—_—. a was stuffed in the usual man- oots a bear, very much to his own and the bear’s astonishment. ner, and makes a capital ar Eomichboo eS