INTRODUCTION. 13 



enter the Reptile House at the Zoological Gardens without 

 the premeditated * Aughs ! ' and ' Ughs ! ' and shudders. 



During the two years that witnessed the MS. of Atint 

 Jeimfs Adventiwes lying In first one and then another 

 publishing house, an especial occurrence acted as a great 

 stimulant, and Induced an almost obstinate persistence In my 

 apparently hopeless studies. 



This was the sensation caused by the dally papers 

 in reporting the case of ' Cockburn versus Mann ; ' and the 

 ' Snakes in Chancery.' To the horror and dismay of the 

 ' general public,' Mr. Mann, of Chelsea, was represented 

 as ' keeping for his amusement all manner of venomous ser- 

 pc7its ; ' or, as another paper put It, ' Mr. Mann had a peculiar 

 penchant for keeping as domestic pets a large number of 

 venomous snakes.' (I copy verbatim from the papers of 

 that date.) That these ' water vipers and puff adders ' were 

 ' apt to stray In search of freedom ; ' or, ' being accustomed 

 to take their walks abroad,' had * strayed into the neigh- 

 bours' gardens, to the terror of maid-servants and children ; ' 

 and were 'now roaming up and down Cheyne Walk,' and 

 ' turning the College groves into a garden of Eden.' So 

 an action was brought against Mr. Mann : for the neighbours 

 decided that ' there was no better remedy for a stray cobra 

 than a suit in Chancery.' 'Everybody' during July 1872 

 was reading those delightfully sensational articles, and 

 asking, 'Have you heard about Mr. Mann's cobras ? ' 



Mr. Frank Buckland was brave enough to venture Into 

 the dangerous precincts of Cheyne Walk, and even into the 

 house of Mr. Mann, to test the virtues and vices of both the 

 'pets' and their possessors. He finally tranquillized the public 



