220 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 



VARIOUS INCIDENTS RECORDED OF BRITISH 

 SERPENTS, 



Snakes and water. — " One sometimes hears people 

 talk of an English water snake, but of course they 

 really are referring to Tropidonotus natrix. The 

 ring snake takes kindly to water, as the following 

 incidents will show. They are led there primarily 

 by a desire to find suitable food. So it is when 

 Dante wants to describe the souls huddling together 

 (in the ninth canto of the ' Inferno ') he says : — 



' Even as the frogs before tlie hostile snake 

 Across the water scatter all abroad, 

 Until each one is huddled on the earth.' 



I fancy that this ' biscia ' which Dante saw in the 

 swamps round Ravenna was merely a ring snake 

 looking for her dinner. Gilbert White mentions 

 them actually lying under water in search of prey, 

 but I have never seen this. 



" Beyond the desire of feeding, snakes take to the 

 water for mere enjoyment. I have often seen them 



