JNTRODUCTION. 15 



the ring snake glide swiftly towards it and catch it in its 

 mouth, we could not comprehend what was to happen next. 

 * What will he do with it ? ' we both exclaimed. We had 

 not long to wait. Somehow or other the frog, caught by its 

 hind leg, got turned round till its head was in the snake's 

 mouth and the hind legs were sprawling and kicking, but in 

 vain. Then head-foremost it vanished by degrees into the 

 jaws of the snake ; while the head of the latter, * poor thing,' 

 seemed dislocated • out of all shape ! It was a wonderful 

 but painful sight ; for how the snake's head stretched in 

 that amazing manner, and how the frog was drawn into the 

 mouth, was past our comprehension. 



An equally wonderful but far more attractive sight Vv^as 

 Mrs. Mann, a graceful and charming little lady in black 

 velvet, with Cleo coiling around her in Laocoon-like curves. 

 The rich colouring of the beautifully-marked reptile entwin- 

 ing the slender form of the woman, the picturesque and 

 caressing actions of Cleo, and the responsive repose of Mrs. 

 Mann as the snake was now round her waist, now 

 undulating around and over her head and neck, was 

 altogether a sight never to be forgotten. Two sweet little 

 children were equally familiar with the other boas, that 

 seemed quite to know who v/ere their friends and play- 

 fellows, for the children handled them and patted and talked 

 to them as we talk to pet birds and cats. 



Such were the ' vipers, cobras, and puff adders' that had 

 figured in the daily papers. . 



After this, the reptile house at the Zoological Gardens 

 became a new attraction. From there to the bookshelves 

 and back again to the Gardens, my little book of adven- 



