" I remember very well, after this Accident, whenever I had Occasion to cross a Stile, in Pensylvania or Old England, I ever took Care to look before me; so lasting is the Impression of Fear and Danger upon the Minds of Men."
— Chetwood, William Rufus (d. 1766)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for John Watts
Date
1726
Metaphor
" I remember very well, after this Accident, whenever I had Occasion to cross a Stile, in Pensylvania or Old England, I ever took Care to look before me; so lasting is the Impression of Fear and Danger upon the Minds of Men."
Metaphor in Context
In the Heat of the Day I sometimes took a Walk with some of the Town to Fair Mount, a pleasant Place shaded with Trees on the River Schuylkill. As we were coming home one Day, deep in Discourse with one another, as I was stepping over a Stile, I saw stretch'd on the Ground before me a Snake, as I suppose asleep. I had not Power to draw my Leg back again, but my Foot fell just upon the Head and part of the Neck of the Reptile, more by the particular Direction of Providence, than my Design. It sprung up so quick, and twisted round my Right Leg and Body with such Force that I was in Fear of being strangled; however, I kept my Foot fix'd fast upon its Head, and in a little time it fell down dead. It is almost impossible for Words to describe what I felt at this Accident; the very Touch of it about my Leg and Body had very near taken away my Breath: and it was the greatest Providence in the World I did not take my Foot from the Head of the Snake; for if I had, it would certainly have bit me. It was a considerable time before I could shake off my Apprehension, and I was downright sick with the Fright the whole Day after. Some of my Companions had the Curiosity to measure it: It was in Length two Yards nine Inches, and ten Inches about from the Neck to within a Yard of the Tail. I remember very well, after this Accident, whenever I had Occasion to cross a Stile, in Pensylvania or Old England, I ever took Care to look before me; so lasting is the Impression of Fear and Danger upon the Minds of Men.
(p. 367)
(p. 367)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" in OTA
Citation
W. R. Chetwood, The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Robert Boyle, In several Parts of the World. Intermix'd with The Story of Mrs. Villars, an English Lady with whom he made his surprizing Escape from Barbary; The History of an Italian Captive; and the Life of Don Pedro Aquilio, &c. Full of various and amazing Turns of Fortune. To which is added, The Voyage, Shipwreck, and Miraculous Preservation, of Richard Castelman, Gent. With a Description of the City of Philadelphia, and the Country of Pensylvania. (London: Printed for John Watts, 1726). <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Sourced from the Oxford Text Archive <Link>
Text attributed to Chetwood, but also to Benjamin Victor and Daniel Defoe.
Sourced from the Oxford Text Archive <Link>
Text attributed to Chetwood, but also to Benjamin Victor and Daniel Defoe.
Date of Entry
06/21/2013
