Jo6 SNAKES. 



father. The eldest girl (in her teens), with an affected 

 shudder, cried ' Ugh ! ' and a boy exclaimed, * I am glad 

 it can't put it through the glass at tis ! ' 



August 3, 1877. — A gentleman, to all appearance well-bred 

 and intelligent, told his two boys, * That's the sting,' as they 

 were watching the play of a snake's tongue in one of the 

 cages. The boys looked wonderingly at the terrible instru- 

 ment, and were evidently anxious to know more about it, 

 and turned to ask their father. But he had passed on, and 

 was then calling to them to look at something else. 



July 1880, — A lady, apparently the governess of two girls 

 of about twelve and fourteen, and of a boy of about eight, 

 who were with her, was conscientiously endeavouring to 

 blend instruction with amusement, and was telling them 

 some strange and hitherto unheard-of facts about the 

 snakes ; as, for instance, that the rattlesnake was now 

 going to * crush a guinea-pig by winding itself round it ; ' 

 for it was feeding-day, and the keeper had just put poor 

 piggy into the cage. But the children got tired of waiting 

 to see what did not occur ; the rattlesnake was merely 

 investigating matters by means of its useful tongue. 'Now, 

 watch it ! ' cried the lady eagerly, * and you'll see it lick 

 the guinea-pig with its poisonous tongue.' 



Neither was this feat performed by the Crotalus, and as 

 the children got tired of waiting, and were impatient to 

 ' see something else,' the party moved on. 



But the reader will be weary of hearing what the tongue 

 of a snake is 7iot, and be desirous of knowing what it is ; and 

 to this purpose we will devote another chapter. 



