12 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 



use a dead language. It then becomes necessary to make 

 choice among the living tongues. The safest course to 

 take was certainly to have ^Yritten in my mother tongue, 

 the sole language which we can perfectly possess ; but of 

 European languages, how few are so universally spread 

 as to be generally understood ? I therefore hold myself 

 sufficiently justified, for the reason just assigned, in pre- 

 ferring the French to any other modern tongue ; the same 

 reasons make me hope, that my readers will be indulgent 

 in examining my work in a literary point of view. 



It only remains for me to indicate the means which 

 have been at my disposal for the composition of my book. 

 It does not belong to me to eulogize our government, the 

 liberal protector of the arts and sciences ; every one knows 

 that His Excellency the Minister of the Interior omits no 

 opportunity of promoting the sciences, and that M. Van 

 Rappart also shews himself full of zeal, when there is a 

 question of favouring learning. All Europe knows, by 

 your numerous writings, that the natural sciences have 

 received a no less favourable reception from the govern- 

 ment of our Indies. I shall, therefore, say no more, un- 

 less to mention the name of His Excellency M. Van 

 EwYCK, governor of the pro\ance of Drenthe ; a name so 

 dear to science, to all who have witnessed the commence- 

 ment of our national establishments, and especially to me. 

 It is superfluous to say, that the rich collections depo- 

 sited in the galleries of the museum of the Netherlands, 

 have served as the basis of my researches ; but it is pro- 

 per to state the origin of those collections, which have 

 enabled me to assign with certainty to each species its 

 true country, and, consequently, to assign constant laws 

 for the geographic distribution of Ophidians. When, in 

 1820, you conceived. Sir, the project of erecting a Nation- 

 al Monument worthy of your country, the collection of 

 sei'pents consisted of about an hundred specimens, mth- 

 out any indication of their origin, and chiefly brought 

 from the old Academical Cabinet. The numerous con- 

 tributions sent to the Museum of the Netherlands by MM. 

 Reinwardt, Kuhl, and Van Hasselt — contributions con- 

 taining the greatest part of the productions of our Colonies 



