SNAKES. 201 



thing, althougli he frequently put both eggs and 

 frogs, the favourite food of this species, into the 

 box. When he was in the room, he used to let 

 the animal out of its prison. It would first crawl 

 several times round the floor, apparently with a 

 desire to escape ; and when it found its attempts 

 fruitless, would climb up the tables and chairs, 

 and not unfrequently even up the chair of its 

 owner, as he sat at table. At length it became 

 so familiar as to lie in a serpentine form on the 

 upper bar of his chair ; it would crawl through 

 his fingers, if held at a little distance before its 

 head, or lie at full length upon his table, while 

 he was writing or reading, and this for an hour or 

 more at a time. When first brought into the 

 room, it used to hiss and dart out its forked 

 tongue ; but in no instance did it emit any un- 

 pleasant vapour. In all its actions it was remark- 

 ably cleanly. Sometimes it was indulged with a 

 run upon the grass in the court of the college ; 

 and sometimes with a swim in a large basin of 

 water, which it seemed to enjoy very much."* 



The following curious facts recorded by Mr. 

 Jesse, remind us of the stories told of the Indian 

 Snake-charmers : — ^' A respectable land-surveyor 

 informed me, that while he was making a survey 

 of some property, he was attended by a man who 

 had the character among his neighbours of being 

 a shrewd fellow ; but what more particularly en- 

 titled him to distinction was his extraordinary 

 intimacy with Snakes. On being questioned on 

 the subject, the man said he would soon show the 

 party more than they had ever seen before. It 

 was a sunny spring morning, and they were run- 



* " Bingley's Animal Biogarphy," iii. 217. 



