188 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



Pankburst was the keeper on tlie estate. There were 

 several members of my own fanjily and other friends 

 together at the time of which I speak. Make what- 

 ever use you please of this." — (Rev.) Wm. Burnett, 

 The Manse, Eythorne, Dover, August 7, 1900. 



Letter 7. — The following, taken from a communica- 

 tion I have received from Mdme. Elise Otte, is of 

 peculiar interest, inasmuch as it is the only statement 

 I know of from an eyewitness whose name is known 

 to scientific naturalists. Years ago Mdme. Otte was 

 well known for her work on marine zoology, and 

 as a capable and accurate observer I take the 

 following quotations from her narrative: — 



" The scene which I witnessed thirty years ago, 

 when I saw the young of an adder run into the 

 mother's mouth, was on an occasion when I had 

 come from Torquay to take part in a geological 

 excursion to Lustleigh Cleve. The late William 

 Pengelly, F.E.S., was to explain the nature of the 

 strata exposed to view in some recently made cut- 

 tings of a railway. As, however, I had previously 

 seen similar beds, I preferred to take the oppor- 

 tunity of reaching a point of view on the moor I 

 specially wished to see. Accordingly I applied to 

 the landlady of our inn for a guide to take me 

 through the network of intersecting lanes that had 

 to be traversed. A young girl was selected to be 

 my cicerone, and after innumerable turnings brought 



