264 RIVERBY 



constructed itself and traveled on. If he had waited 

 to see this process, his observation would have been 

 complete. On another occasion he cut one in two 

 with his scythe, when the snake again made small 

 change of itself. Again he went to his dinner just 

 at the critical time, and when he returned the frag- 

 ments of the reptile had disappeared. 



This will not do. We must see the play out be- 

 fore we can report upon the last act. 



There is, of course, a small basis of fact in the 

 superstition of the glass snake. The creature is no 

 snake at all, but a species of limbless lizard quite 

 common in the West. And it has the curious 

 power of voluntarily breaking itself up into regular 

 pieces when disturbed, but it is only the tail which 

 is so broken up; the body part remains intact. 

 Break this up and the snake is dead. The tail is 

 disproportionately long, and is severed at certain 

 points, evidently to mislead its enemies. It is the 

 old trick of throwing a tub to a whale. The crea- 

 ture sacrifices its tail to secure the safety of its body. 

 These fragments have no power to unite themselves 

 again, but a new tail is grown in place of the part 

 lost. When a real observer encountered the glass or 

 joint snake, these facts were settled. 



The superstition of the hair-snake is founded upon 

 a like incomplete observation. Everywhere may be 

 found intelligent people who will tell you they know 

 that a horsehair, if put into the spring, will turn 

 into a snake, and that all hair-snakes have this ori- 

 gin. But a hair never turns into a snake any more 



