2 INTRODUCTION, 



beliefs. Not that we zvorsJiip them ! Far otherwise. Many 

 excellent and orthodox persons associate with a serpent all 

 the sin and misery which ever existed on our globe, and 

 are persuaded that the sooner everything in the shape of 

 one is exterminated the better. 



On the other hand, those who can look at a snake with 

 unprejudiced eyes and study its habits, find continual reason 

 to wonder at and admire the extraordinary features which 

 exhibit themselves in its organization. Owing to their 

 retiring habits, many of them nocturnal, and partly in 

 consequence of preconceived errors, less is understood about 

 them than almost any other natural group of animals ; 

 therefore — as the reader will discover — a student, when left 

 to himself, has to wade through ages of writers in order 

 to find out what to believe regarding them. Scientific 

 ophiologists are still engaged in settling mooted questions 

 concerning them. But apart from science there Is a glamour 

 of poetry, romance, and mystery about snakes, and not 

 without reason. There has been a great deal of what we 

 may call 'Drawing-room Natural History' of late years — 

 charmingly sensational and romantic ; attractive also in 

 illustrations and colouring, but not always intended as 

 reliable guides for students. 



All travellers are not naturalists ; and though they may 

 contribute valuable information in one branch of science, 

 it is possible they may mislead in another ; and from the 

 very popularity of their books, such errors are rapidly 

 disseminated. I aspire to a place on drawing-room tables 

 for my book also, but let me assure my readers that my aim 

 has been to assist by diligent search to establish truthful- 



