106 0UR REPTILES. 



about him sit the synagogue ; when presently a 

 deeper voice and evidently of one advanced in years, 

 chimes in ; a third joins the chant, and the recitative 

 begins. A little while, and a pause ensues ; then 

 the precentor sings again alone, some long-drawn 

 responses follow, when suddenly a hurly-burly, that 

 thrills through every fibre, bursts forth in the air. It 

 lasts some minutes, until single solos, in a minor 

 key, disengage themselves from the scattered tones, 

 which soon break forth again in a stormy chorus. 

 Thus does their music last on throughout the whole 

 night, and may be heard for many miles. Yet this, 

 it would seem, is but gentle music, when compared 

 to the uproar which hums in the ear of the traveller 

 when, on the shores of the Volga and the Caspian 

 Sea, the frogs in myriads celebrate their marriage 

 festivals. The bacchic rejoicings of these orgies ab- 

 sorb everything; all is grown froggish ; it is as 

 though the very earth were shaking with the rest, 

 unable to resist the inextinguishable laughter." 



The proportion of European frogs found in Great 

 Britain is small. Out of the nine species inhabiting 

 the continent we have but two. The little painted 

 frog (Discoglossus pictus) is confined to the ex- 

 treme south on the shores of the Mediterranean. 

 The bell frog (Alytes obstetricans) is smaller still, 

 and has a wider distribution, being found principally 

 in the central countries, and is not uncommon in 



