38 THE TRIBES ON MY FRONTIER. 



latter no harm, for a lizard's tail is a contrivance for the 

 saving of its life, planned on exactly the same principle as 

 the faithful Russian slave who threw himself to the wolves 

 that were pursuing his master's sledge. I once saw a fierce 

 scorpion catch a lizard by the tail and plunge its sting into 

 the wriggling member; but before the venom could circulate 

 to the lizard's body, it detached its tail and ran away grin- 

 ning. The scorpion went on killing the old tail, and the 

 lizard began growing a new one. 



This was one of those little house lizards, called geckos, 

 which have pellets at the ends of their toes. They are not 

 repulsive brutes, like the garden lizard, and I am always on 

 good terms with them. They have full liberty to make use 

 of my house, for which they seem grateful, and say chuck, 

 chuck, chuck. They are low-minded little plebeians, no 

 doubt, and can see nothing in a satin-white moth with 

 vermilion trimmings except wholesome victuals ; but one 

 must put up with that, for they do good service. At this 

 season, when the buzzing pestilence of beetles and bugs is 

 on us, they tend towards embonpoint, but they bate nothing 

 of their energy, nor seem to get near the limits of their 

 capacity. They hold that the Bombay Gas Company was 

 established for their accommodation, and there is scarcely 



