VI PKEFACE. 



later years, and almost confined myself to plants ; 

 but in a foolish moment, perhaps, the old hankering 

 to have a word or two with one's " first love " has 

 come over me, and resulted in this humble account 

 of " Our Reptiles." I make no pretensions to the 

 production of anything more than a popular volume 

 on a rather unpopular subject, to the espousal of the 

 cause of a much-abused and scandalised class ; and 

 if I only aid in recovering their character from a 

 little of the obloquy which attaches to them, I shall 

 not regret the venture. The man of science, if he 

 seeks for that which is novel or abstruse, had 

 better close the book and go no further. I do not 

 presume to have written anything for him ; but for 

 those who know little or nothing of the subject, I 

 hope that herein may be found a useful introduction, 

 and a trustworthy guide. The order of the chapters 

 is not precisely that of the classification of the animals 

 described, but in the Appendix a Systematic Ar- 

 rangement has been pursued. In conclusion, I 

 acknowledge with pleasure the kind and courteous 

 assistance rendered to me by Dr. Albert Gunther 

 and Dr. J. E. Gray, of the British Museum, in pro- 



