SPECTACLE-MARKS OF THE COBRA. 147 



with much judgment, that the blood discovered by Mr. Faraday was probably that of the 

 native to whom the Snake-stone was applied. 



Another light has been thrown on the subject by Mr. R. W. H. Hardy, who states that 

 the Snake-stone is in use in Mexico, and that it is formed by cutting a piece of stag's-horn 

 into the proper shape, wrapping it tightly in grass or hay, folding it in sheet copper so as to 

 exclude the air, and calcining it in a charcoal fire. 



Being desirous of testing the truth of this recipe, I procured a piece of stag's-horn, cut it 

 into proper shape, and exposed it to the heat of a fierce charcoal fire for an hour and a half. 

 On removing it from the copper, the hay had been fused into a black mass, easily broken, and 

 forming a complete cast of the inclosed horn, which fell out like an almond from its shell. 



On comparing the charred horn with the veritable Snake-stones, I find them to be 

 identical except in the polish. The fracture of both is the same, and when exposed to a white 

 heat in the air, my own specimen burned away, leaving a white ash precisely as related of the 

 real specimen, and the ashes of both are exactly alike, saving that my own is of a purer white 

 than that specimen calcined by Mr. Faraday, which has a slight tinge of pink, possibly from 

 the absorbed blood. On throwing it into water it gave out a vast amount of air from its 

 pores, making the water look for a few seconds as if it were newly opened champagne, a 

 peculiarity which agrees with Thunberg's description of the Snake-stone used at the Cape, 

 and imported at a high price from Malabar. The rather high polish of the Cingalese Snake- 

 stone I could not rightly impart to my own specimen, probably for want of patience. I 

 found, however, that by rendering the surface very smooth with a file, and afterwards with 

 emery paper, before exposing it to the fire, it could be burnished afterwards by rubbing it 

 with polished steel. Even in the original objects, the polish is not universal, the plane side 

 being much rougher than the convex. 



We will now pass to the little pieces of woody substance, by which the natives assert that 

 they hold dominion over the Serpent tribe. It has already been mentioned that the native 

 who produced the Snake-stones, employed a small piece of wood as a charm to render the 

 Snake harmless while he handled it. Mr. Lavalliere, in the course of his narration, remarks 

 that the man who was bitten proceeded to bandage his leg above the wound, and to stroke it 

 downwards with a piece of some root. I have also inspected the identical substances used 

 in the two cases just narrated, and have come to the conclusion that no virtue resides in the 

 particular plant from which the charm is taken, but the whole of its value lies in the 

 confidence with which the possessor is inspired. 



There are three specimens of charmed woods, all belonging to different plants. One is 

 apparently a part of an aristolochia, another is so small and shrivelled that it cannot be 

 identified, while the third, on being cut and tasted, proves to be nothing more or less than 

 a piece of common ginger. This fact serves to establish the theory of Mr. Waterton, that there 

 is no particular secret in Snake-charming, except the possession of confidence and unhesi- 

 tating resolution. 



ONE notable peculiarity in the Cobra is the expansion of the neck, popularly called the 

 hood. This phenomenon is attributable, not only to the skin and muscles, but to the 

 skeleton. About twenty pairs of the ribs of the neck and fore part of the back are flat 

 instead of curved, and increase gradually from the head to the eleventh or twelfth pair, from 

 which they decrease until they are merged into the ordinary curved ribs of the body. When 

 the Snake is excited, it brings these ribs forward so as to spread the skin, and then displays 

 the oval hood to best advantage. In this species, the back of the hood is ornamented with 

 two large eye-like spots, united by a curved black stripe, so formed that the whole mark 

 bears a singular resemblance to a pair of spectacles. 



The native Indians have a curious legend respecting the origin of this mark, and their 

 reverence for the reptile. One day when Buddha was lying asleep in the sun, a Cobra came 

 and raised its body between him and the burning beams, spreading its hood so as to shade his 

 face. The grateful deity promised to repay the favor, but forgot to do so. In those days the 

 Braliminny kite used to prey largely on the Cobras, and worked such devastation among 



